Sigma

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

@Dark Cloud The idea does have promise, of course it would need to be altered a bit since it's only been three centuries. We had vamps, and such, so cannibalistic ogre-like mutants is possible. Also I'll echo @Raylah, if, you like too, join us at the rp's discord server to discuss further details :D

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

@Creedmoor Welcome back! Looking forward to see new updates :)

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

Six Months Later

"We are the United Republic of Columbia. Like you, we seek to preserve our ties to Old Earth, yet we strive to be so much more. We seek to keep the old spirit of democracy, freedom, and cooperation alive in the stars and hope to spread this message, these ideals, to other worlds, to all of mankind. Columbia is home to many, both human and xeno alike, many of which were formerly our enemies, now are our brothers and sisters in arms. Together, we may reach a better tomorrow" A holographic image of a rather well-dressed young man announced on a loop in select parts of the Columbian portion of the Meeting Place. The interior of the Columbian embassy was designed with a strange blend of idyllic and brutalist designs, a bit of a boastful overstatement, but it was pleasing to the eyes, and rather calming. In the central office of the embassy sat the recently appointed Ambassador Vixril Ghask, the first Janari, let alone the first xeno, to be appointed such an honored position in the URC. He held a datapad, scrolling through as he kept up to speed on recent news. In bolded letters, the sentence "System Colonization Initiative in full swing!" stood out.

The aftermath of the gateways opening had led to a mass resurgence in stellar exploration, both throughout the galaxy and in their very own home system. The past six months saw preparations to establish a wider, permanent presence throughout the Americana system as whole flotillas of freighters, and construction vessels move beyond Columbia's orbit to establish proper infrastructure in preparation for future colonists.

Ambassador Ghask smirked at the news, after decades of reconstruction and isolation, Columbia has finally begun reaching out to the stars once more, this time, with new comrades by their side. He continued scrolling down to much more troubling news, although he had already been made well aware of the situation going on in the Zeta System, thanks in part to Liason Tanaka's announcement. The recent Zetan conflict has grind the senate to a stand still, some senators calling to for war and to deal with the threat the Zetans could become. Others call for the opposite, demanding the ECU end their war and to hear out the Zetan's side of the story. Officially, the URC will remain a neutral party in the conflict, no doubt, much to the relief of the ECU and Undefeated, however, some parties on both sides are seeking to change that.

---

@Crusader Lord
Columbian Space
Space Military Training Grounds

Admiral Wilson watched from the command bridge of the CSS Argus as the training exercise commenced, admiring the maneuverability of the Xandalian Military-Frames, always seemed to be a step ahead of their Columbian counterparts. Granted, spaceborne frames was an entirely new concept to the Columbian military, before the gateway opened, there seemed to be no need to move the combat frames up in space. The reports provided by Captain Brywell, however, proved that it was both quite viable, and tactically sound. Impressive really that the R&D department managed to churn out the Serpah Driive prototypes(The official, fancy name of the spaceborne propulsion boosters.) in a few months.

He continued to observe the mock battle before his comm officer spoke. "Admiral, we're being hailed by the Cyclostro. They're requesting your input on the current mock battle."

"Tell them that so far, I'm quite impressed." Wilson said with a smirk. "Never seen combat frames move with such grace, and I do look forward for further cooperation in this new technological path."

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

Six Months Ago

Xandalian Space
CSS Tokyo
The message by the Xandalians was received, much to the relief of the crew of the Tokyo. Captain Brywell and her bridge staff were gluing their eyes to the rather impressive combat frames escorting them. "Funny, even thousands of lightyears away. The idea of frames found their way here." Brywell said.

"I wonder what led to that." The X.O., a Urkani by the name of Zon Rathit, said, impressed with the designs. Their moment of wonder was interrupted as the message from Xandalians came through. Brywell stood up, looking to her executive officer. "I'm leaving you in command while I fly over to one of their ships." She ordered.

"Understood, ma'am." The X.O. replied, saluting her. "Good luck" Brywell nodded back as she walked past the doors, making a small journey from the command bridge, all the way down to the hanger bay. A Razorwing dropship was prepped and ready for her departure, all the while, she was met with a pair of marines in full armor, as a safety precaution of course. "Ready to head out?" The captain asked her bodyguards.

"Ready as ever, ma'am." One of them replied. She nodded as the trio walked up the boarding ramp, the door shutting behind them as they took their seats, the room brightening up as the engines roared. "Preparing for take off." The pilot announced. The razorwing lifting up, its wings folding back as it jetted out of the hanger bay, approaching one of the designated diplomatic vessels.

---

Some time had past, about a good hour or so, X.O. Rathit, along with the rest of the bridge staff, awaiting with anticipation of what would happen next, the Tokyo herself was an impressive ship but recent scans had shown that Xandalian technology was something else entirely, using power sources that wouldn't even register right on the scanners. Of course, he held on to the hope it wouldn't have to come to fighting. Such thoughts were shoved aside as one of the bridge officers spoke up. "Sir, the captain's bird is returning!"

"Anything going on?" He asked, curious if the talks went wrong.

"Negative sir, no signs of pursuit or weapon discharge."

Rathit sighed with relief. "Good, good. I'll meet with the captain in person." He said as he stood right up and left the bridge. A short while later, rathit found himself in the hanger bay as the captain's razorwing slowly met its descent to solid ground. The boarding ramp lowering as the captain and her guards emerged. "Talks went well I assume?" Rathit asked,

"I would say so!" Brywell replied with a smile. "Nice enough folk. The brass and senate will be interested in further talks."

---

New Hollyword
CSS Overwatch
"Rean, I'm leaving you in command." Hans said as the two brothers strolled down the corridors of the Overwatch, crewmen saluting them as they walked past. "I'll head to the station and see who we're dealing with here." The two walked into an elevator. "Shuttle bay." Hans said, the elevator complying with his command. The doors soon opening to reveal a rather cramped space, two shuttle craft jammed.

"Just be careful out there, Hans." Rean said, a bit anxious of the current situation. This is all so new to him, him and everyone else on board, Hans was better at hiding his doubts. "Relax, pretty confident these guys won't start firing at us. We got this far, right?"

Rean nodded. "Right." Hans patted his younger brother on the shoulder. "In and out, promise."

A short while later, Rean had returned to the command bridge, just in time to see his brother off as the shuttle departed, clearly visable from the bridge, approaching the nearby station.

---

A good hour had past since Hans' departure, the bridge crew going about their duties, if a bit bored. Rean on the other hand, had glued his eyes on the station for any suspicious activity, and so far, there was none, thankfully. Soon, Hans' shuttle was spotted leaving the ECU station by the ship's sensors. "Sir, the captain's ship is en route...no hostile activity."

After some time had passed. Hans had finally returned to the bridge, all eyes on him. "So..how did it go?" Rean asked.

"Pretty well, I think. The ECU are very...peculiar. They take cultural preservation very seriously. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing...regardless, the higher ups will want to hear of this, set a course home."

"Aye aye, captain!"

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

@Tortoise Now things will start getting wild :P

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

@Raylah
The chancellor thought over it. "They seemed...friendly enough." He said. "If rather unsettling. A fate I don't ever wish on my fellow man." He paused as he leaned backwards, clasping his hands. "But as it is often said, looks can be quite deceiving. They may prove to be valuable friends and allies." He paused as he shifted his chair to the right. "But they may also prove to be a potential danger. One can never be sure, I'm willing to risk it." He then shifted to the left.

“I’m awfully sorry to hear of your present situation on Ellra.” The chancellor said. “Before the Yulzan, we had a similar conflict with the natives, the Urkani.” He paused as he shifted back to facing the two. “But the arrival of Yulzan had forced both parties put aside any hard feelings to focus on the greater threat. I pray that you will find peace with the natives…and if not, perhaps we and others may be willing to help bring about peace.”

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

@Raylah
The chancellor chuckled. "We'll we had our own set of troubles before arriving to this point." He said as he motioned the pair to follow him down to a comfortable location to further discuss matters. The many eyes were drawn to the new arrivals as they walked down the Alamo's corridors, some stopping to salute both the captain and chancellor. Before long, the group had finally arrived to a small conference room, the doors sliding open as the lights flickered to life, revealing a round table. "Please sit." The chancellor said as he and the captain sat down.

"To follow up what I've mentioned earlier." He begun. "It would only be fair to share this with you, as we did with the Zetans." The chancellor paused as he cleared his throat, than continued. "Over three decades ago, our world was at war. A war for our very survival, against an alien intelligence of far greater technological level, the Yulzan."

"They were damned cowards." Captain jashi interjected. "They enslave and force other species to fight on their behalf. Mine and several others were sent to fight and die against the humans."

"For fifteen years, we've fought and struggled." The chancellor said. "It was truly a miracle when the Yulzan were beaten back. In their retreat, they had forsaken millions of their former slave soldiers." He paused once more, looking somber, his eyes drawn at the table. "Those that truly believed, fought and died."

"And others, like myself, surrendered to the humans." The captain said. "I hated the Yulzan with my being, and there was enough bloodshed."

"The short of it, we've made friends and allies, yes but it came at a great cost....But enough of that. Tell us more about yourselves! I'm quite curious to see how you've handled yourselves over the centuries?"

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

@Raylah
Earth
Aboard the CSS Alamo
Once the airlock bridge linked the two vessels, the chancellor, his guards and the captain were quickly pacing towards the meeting point with the Undefeated delegation, reaching the correct airlock just in time. "Decontamination in progress..." A feminine voice announced over the local intercom. The group standing ready to welcome their new guests, the chancellor making last minute prep as he fixed up his suit. "Decontamination complete." the computerized voiced announced as the airlock doors raised up to reveal Kelsie and Julianna as they stepped forward, two completely normal human women much to the relief of the chancellor's guards and the captain. The chancellor was the first to step forward out of his group, meeting them with a smile as he extended his hand forward. "Chancellor Constantine of the United Columbian Republic." He announced to the two women. "A pleasure to meet you!"

"And I'd like you welcome you aboard the CSS Alamo." The captain stepped up to add. "Safest place in the galaxy, I can guarantee you."

"And what do I call you, young ladies?" Julian said.

---

@Crusader Lord
Xandal
Aboard the CSS Tokyo
A few days had passed since the probe was detected by Sentinel Station, the message forwarded to High Command, soon after, the probe has self-destructed. The rather mixed message had raised concerns among the brass, leading to the dilemma of sending a warship to the colony of Xandal, the possibility of of a new war against an unknown power was quite distressing. For both as a safety precaution and a show of strength, it was decided that the CSS Tokyo, an Endurance Heavy Cruiser, be sent in.

And so it was done, the Tokyo had emerged from the other side of the gateway, was met a fleet of xandlian warships. Captain Ophinna Brywell and her bridge staff were anxiously approaching the fleet. "Open channels." She ordered. "No need to start a war here."

"Aye aye, captain." Her comms officer said as he pressed down a few keys. "Patching you through."

"This is Captain Brywell of the CSS Tokyo of the United Columbian Republic, we've received your probe's message and have come in peace, do not open fire. I repeat, do not open fire."

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

@Raylah
Earth
Aboard the Alamo
A short while has passed since the successful talks with the Zetans, the chancellor and his entourage having since returned to the Alamo, greeted by the XO of the ship, a woman named May Oliver. "Captain on deck!" An officer announced. "A success I presume?" she asked, standing at attention, saluting both the captain and chancellor, along with several other officers. "I would say so." Captain Jasi replied.

"First Contact with our first "human" colony went smoothly." The chancellor added, their rather frighting appearance still lingering in the back of his mind. "Although...I would hardly call them human anymore."

"Sir?" May inquired, the chancellor’s comment very eye-catching. "I'll fill you in later." Captain Jasi said.

"Nonetheless, they proved friendly enough, and are one step towards uniting all the colonies." The Chancellor said with grandiose in his tone, he certainly had a grand vision in mind. "But enough about that, have the other ships contacted us?"

"Yes, your excellency." XO Oliver replied to the Chancellor, tinkering with a personal datapad she brought along. "The ship under the banner of the "Earth Cultural Union" sent a small message of goodwill but had soon left system."

Julian frowned. "Huh, a shame." Julian said. "Would've been useful to hear their take on the Zetans. What about the other ship?"

XO Oliver was quiet for a moment, pressing down on the pad. "The vessel under the “Undefeated” has sent their greetings and have requested that their delegation board the ship."

"Of course, give them the all clear. Once we settle talks with the Undefeated, we'll set a course home."

---

@Ekreture
Sentinel Base
Grant and most of his command staff, along with a small squad of marines, had assembled at the docking ports of the station, seeing the trader ship slowly docking. Grant chuckled, garnering the attention of his second-in-command, Kazon. “What’s funny, sir?”

“Well, I never expected to be actually welcoming aliens to our home.” Grant said. “For ten years, I’ve thought we’d be at the frontline of new war against the Yulzan.” He added. “Guess that ship has long since sailed.”

Sentinel base initially was made for the purpose of both as a border outpost, and as a weapon against any future Yulzan attacks. Now, it seems Sentinel may serve as an interstellar port for future visitors from across the galaxy. Which in truth, would be a preferable alternative, the Yulzan forgotten as a bad memory, this new era taking precedence.

The Trader vessel was soon caught in the docking clamps, the airlock or whatever it was, slowly lowering down to revel the occupants of the ship. A mixture of human and xenos, not too dissimilar to grant’s little group, something they can find common ground in. Grant was the first to step forward and approach the new visitors, the first man in the system to shake hands with aliens and humans from outside. “Name’s Dennis Grant.” He stated his name. “Commander of Sentinel Base, and let me be the very first to welcome you to the United Republic of Columbia.” He extended his hand towards the lead man of the group. “And you are?”

---

@Tortoise
New Hollywood
CSS Overwatch
Hans and the rest of the bridge staff looked in awe, another world like Columbia, countless light years away from home. “We actually made it.” Hans said to himself.

There wasn’t much time to fully adjust to their surroundings, the natives of this world already responding to the Overwatch’s arrival in a timely matter. “Captain, we’ve just received a message from the colony, an automated message.” The communications officer said.

The ECU message begun to rang out over the ship’s intercom. “Orders?”

“Set a direct course for the nearest space station, tell the E.C.U. we come in the name of peace and that they can send whomever they wish to speak with us.”

“Aye Aye, Captain.”

“These folks sound pretty interesting.” Rean commented.

“Sounds that way.” Hans said, the message sent gave a certain impression of the ECU, both good and bad. Preserving cultural ties to Earth is not bad in itself, although, how fanatical is this devotion? Would it prove a detriment to future relations or merely a quirk that can be worked around? Only time can tell, and to actually hear the ECU out.

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

Collab between @Sigma and @Irredeemable


Earth
Aboard 1-Alpha-One
Sigma-Devi, and, by extension, the Collective, was not exactly pleased with contact being re-established. Two backwards states, one obsessed with warfare, the other with old Earth, and yet, without any understanding of what made old Earth great. It was displeasing. Immensely so… And yet, here came a new vessel, sailing through the portal.

A greeting was sent across- the same as the other two, but with a new twist. At the end, they were invited to come aboard and meet with a representative of the Zetan Consciousness, along with directions towards an airlock for boarding.

The exterior of the ship was rather strange-looking, at least by Columbian-standards. It was quite small and had various antenna-like structures protruding from the vessel. Granted, these people may have never experienced what Columbia has, so a ship like the Alamo may have been completely unnecessary for them at least. After some time had passed, the airlock doors started to whistle and whirl as the Columbian delegation team entered. The airlock doors opened up, the chancellor being the first to step forward as he was greeted by a rather surprising, and at the same time, unsettling sight. “Humans”, if you can call them that anymore, covered in head to toe in various cybernetics and machinery.

Sigma-Devi was once again there to greet them, and now with two anti-predator forms to match. Bowing deeply and then performing the hand-gesture, she smiled warmly, masking her surprise rather well, she thought. An honest, in-the-flesh sapient alien lifeform, walking besides humans? She remembered to get her greetings out first. “It is excellent to meet you. I am Sigma-Devi, these two are for my protection only, and I assure you will do you no harm as long as you abide by the same conditions.” She was faux-beaming, although cautiously optimistic that these new individuals might be more sensible than the last.

“As we declared, we are the Zetan Consciousness, we hail from the Zeta system- how about yourselves?, and, if I might be so bold, I am rather fascinated by the fact that you appear to have made contact with genuine sapient xenos life. Quite astounding, our warmest greetings to you as well.”

The chancellor quickly shook any thoughts out of his head as he extended his hand out. “Chancellor Constantine of the United Republic of Columbia.” He declared. “A pleasure to meet you miss Sigma-Devi.” He turned to his delegation. “And these are some fine officers of the ship that brought me here, the Alamo, and members of my personal guard.” The escort and officers both put up some smiles, although in truth, they were clearly afraid of what they were seeing. “And Captain Iskel Jashi, captain of said ship.”

“Charmed.” The captain spoke with a bow. “As for my standing here with humans...let’s say that is a complicated story..”
United Republic of Columbia. That sounded promising. Names like Alamo brought to mind the ECU, but they were different peoples. Remain positive. Remain cordial. When Constantine reached out, she shook his hand once, firmly, and then turned. “Please, follow me. I’m afraid this is not an exploratory or diplomatic vessel, so you must excuse me for the slightly unprofessional appearance. We are already working on a proper set of diplomatic vessels and stations.”

The halls of the ship were tight and cramped- just big enough for the anti-predator forms to comfortably walk through, but otherwise stuffed with pipes, tubing, foil insulation, regular insulation, panels and all other manner of equipment and infrastructure. After just a minute or two of walking the small group emerged out onto what was very obviously a cleaned up cafeteria, Sigma-Devi offering the chancellor and his companions a seat.

“The other ships,” she explained, “are being piloted by representatives of the ‘Earth Cultural Union’ and ‘The Undefeated.’ They seemed rather concerned by our augmentation, which was disappointing.” She pulled a seat out for herself, lifted up a corner of fabric that threatened to be tugged if she wasn’t careful, and sat down. “I assure you that we are no less human just because of a little metal.”

The chancellor and his entourage took their seats, the poor captain was not exactly at his most comfortable. Small spaces like this were suboptimal for humans, but for a Janari, a bit too cramped for his liking, even bumped his head a few times on the way. The chancellor and others had a little chuckle at his expense. Julian turned his attention back to the Zetans. “I’ll..take your word for it.” The chancellor said, trying to be as polite as possible, although, he couldn’t help but perhaps agree with those other groups, but no need to be rude to possible friends. “Although I must admit, your form, with respect that is, has taken me aback, what brought on such changes to the human body? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Apologies, we didn’t expect for someone of a… Significantly taller stature than our defensive forms here to ever wander through these halls.” Sigma-Devi inclined her head slightly, before answering the question. “The world we hail from, Zeta, is not one that is inclined to allow humans to live on it without a great amount of strife.” She paused for a moment.

“Human beings are naturally adapted to life on Earth, and we found ourselves subjected to radically different conditions. Conditions of temperature extremes, higher radiation, a more toxic atmosphere and a lack of water. All of these needed to be compensated for, lest we wished to be cast into the evolutionary dustbin. With flesh not sufficing, we had to use alternative methods of biological progress.”

“That seems awfully tragic in a way.” The chancellor said. “You’ve sacrificed so much to survive on an unforgiving world, you’ve beaten the odds, but by the looks of it, it has cost you much.” The chancellor paused…the Zetans will probably take this as offensive. “But…in a way, it’s also enduring, you’ve dominated your world, where others would’ve given up or simply died out. Granted. I wouldn’t wish such a fate on anyone purposely.”

The frown was obvious on Sigma-Devi’s face, and she made little attempt to hide it… Until the compliment came. “Thank you. The others thought a similar way about the tragic nature of it. We do not see it that way.” She reached up to run a hand along the metal replacing her neck. “To us, this metal is not a sacrifice, or a burden, or a rejection of our humanity.” One of the defensive forms behind her splayed its articulated hand out as if admiring its fingernails.

“Throughout history, mankind has changed and adapted itself to fit new environments. When we were cold we sewed ourselves clothes. When we needed to cook food we lit fires. When we needed to safely hunt we made bows. When we needed fast transportation we made cars, planes, rocketships, telegrams for communications and guns for fighting. We have always been a species that defined itself not by the limits of its form, but by what it could create. We have simply internalised our tools.” A small drone rolled over to the table, carrying several meals taken from Zeta specifically for guests. “Please, enjoy,” she continued.

“And, I can assure you, it is a fate that we undergo quite willingly. Nobody forces us to undergo augmentation, but having a way to surpass it only highlights the limitations of the original human form.”

The chancellor pondered Sigma-Devi's words, resting his chin on clasped hands. “While I don’t necessarily agree with some of the changes, it is not my place to judge you on circumstances that were beyond your control. Granted disagreement won’t equal condemnation, our society thrives on the age-old human pastime of disagreements and debate, it’s how anything gets done or differences made known and are respected or ignored, there’s ups and downs.”

“I’m very glad to hear you still follow the democratic methods of old. As the saying goes, it’s the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried.” She smiled at her own joke. “The Consciousness is a democratic society as well, although we prefer a more direct approach to voting.”

While the two talked, the officers and guards helped themselves to the meal provided, surprisingly good for food made by robot people. “Heh, all too true.” Julian said in reaction to the joke. “A bit surprising, but comforting to see humanity has not lost its way in ways of democracy. On Columbia, we’ve fought hard to preserve the old spirit of freedom, both from our own, and others.”

Sigma-Devi’s eyes flicked between the non-human and the rest of the Chancellor’s entourage, her mind mulling over his word. “From others.” She stated, although it was not a question. “It seems you have quite the story to tell. I shared how Zetans came to be augmented, perhaps you could share a tale of your own?”

“It would be fair to share, yes.” The Chancellor said. “Over three decades ago, Columbia was visited by an alien intelligence of far greater technological level than humanity, they called themselves the Yulzan. We didn’t and still don’t know how far their empire reaches, all we knew was that they were large enough to conquer and enslave several species.”
“My people, the Janari were among them.” Captain Jashi added. “I and many others were forced to fight for the Yulzan, it was all we knew of our lives…”

“We’ve fought for fifteen years, in the aftermath, the Yulzan left our world scarred and broken. In their retreat, they had left millions of their slave soldiers behind, at our mercy.”

“Many of my kind fought still. But I and many more others, grew tired of war, and surrendered.”
“The long and short of it, we’ve fought and beaten an interstellar empire, and in the end, we’ve made new friends and allies out of former enemies.”

A concerned expression spread across Sigma-Devi’s face, and at once the Consciousness had a new thread to focus on. An interstellar empire, likely with a greater technological might than Zeta, enslaving races to fight underneath it? Zeta had no navy, no army and little interest in weapons technology, but this… This was cause to prepare.

“Thank you for sharing,” the diplomat said kindly. “It certainly sounds like you’ve had some tremendous obstacles of your own to overcome.” A long pause hung in the air of the cafeteria.

“We have, yes.” Julian agreed as he leaned back. “But we emerged stronger, more cautious of the stars. Never again will we be caught off guard.”

“I have a proposition for you, chancellor. As we speak, plans are being made for an embassy in the orbit of Zeta-5 and for a station established here above Earth. We would like to welcome you aboard either, or both, of these vessels- or, whichever diplomatic staff you would prefer, in the hopes that we could facilitate strong diplomatic, trade, and perhaps even military links between our nations. Together, we are much stronger than split apart.”

The chancellor smiled, some friends are being made today, the travel was well worth taking. “I will gladly take you up on your proposition, Sigma-Devi.” He said, leaning forward once more. “And you are very welcome to establish an embassy of your own in our orbital outpost, Sentinel. The station has more than enough space for such facilities.”

“The Consciousness has granted me the honour of overseeing the embassy here over Earth, but no doubt another of my fellows will arrive to your system in due time.” She extended her hand out to the man. “To forthright relations.”

Julian replied in kind, shaking her hand. “And to a better tomorrow.”

These are people we can do business with. Thought the Collective.