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Kaus Borealis System
In proximity to HMNB Sentinel of the Void
The two opposing cruisers continued to lob whatever they had in their arsenal, torpedoes, autocannon weapons, energy bolts or their own fighters. The space around them a frenzied battlefield as fighters engaged in the space between the two cruisers. A pair of Republic Starwings were in hot pursuit of a wing of Devotion Heavy Bombers, as they were gunning straight for the FRS Gloria, dodging debris from fallen comrades and enemies alike, as well as natural, hazardous obstacles. One of the starwings had the leader within weapons range. “Gotcha.” He whispered as he pulled the trigger, a hail of gunfire as his autocannons unleashed their load, shredding the shields apart as the rounds made it past the hull, the bomber igniting, it’s wing mates scattering. “Target down, proceed to-“ The pilot was interrupted by the sudden entrance of new contacts, a pair of fighters of unknown making zipping past him. “Woah! Wild Wing Leader to Home nest! You seeing this?!?” The pilot cried out in surprise. “Got two unidentified bogies! They don’t look like Jannies!”
Shortly after the arrival of the unknown fighters, a broadcast was intercepted by both forces. From the command deck of the Gloria, Captain Gwendolyn Ranford, much like her compatriots in the other systems, had to slowly take in the fact that the anomaly that pulled her ship and the enemy’s ship in, was in fact the Gateway of legend. “Jesus Christ, I can hardly believe it…”
“Orders, Captain?” Her XO spoke up, a young woman by the name of Delilah Grant.
“…Stand down, order all fighters back home. I rather not start a war with these people.” Her Janissary counterpart, lyro, proved to have been just as reasonable, as his ships fell back away, both forces standing down to their host.
The two native fighters in turn put themselves into a circling formation around their station. Their movements seemed almost leisurely at first glance, but any experienced pilot could tell they were positioning themselves to be able to intercept fighters or missiles launched from either warship.
The station itself was on the smaller side and obviously equipped with the facilities needed to house a small crew. It possessed a single gun turret, roughly the size one would expect to find on a light cruiser, as well as a moderate amount of CIWS. Interestingly enough the hull and armor of the station looked quite robust, almost as if the designers had expected it to have to be able to withstand being rammed by a ship.
"This is the HMNB Sentinel of the Void to the unidentified warships. Identify yourselves and your affiliation at once." A calm, pleasant female voice broadcast. "Failure to do so will have you classified as pirates and handled as stipulated by the Offenses in the Void Act 124." The tone of the threat was spoken in was the same a civilian would use when ordering food at a restaurant: polite but expecting exactly what was being requested. "If you are unable to transmit for any reason you are directed to assume a direct course to the portal and leave this star system immediately."
Once hostilities had simmered down for both sides, both parties were able to properly analyze their current situation. From her command deck, Captain Ranford staring down the table, show a clearer map of the region, only six blips in display. The Gloria, the Prosperity, and the native fighters, station, and an inbound warship. “At their current stance, they’d stand no chance against the Gloria alone. Add on to the Jannies, and that really spells trouble for them.”
“You’d think they would a bit more panicked?” XO Grant stated.
“Who’s to say they haven’t already?” The captain answered, pacing around the holo-table, her eyes glued to it. “I’d see two outcomes; more reinforcements are well their way as we speak. “Gwendolyn paused, thinking. “Or…they know something we don’t and want to catch us off guard. Either way, we’re now in a very delicate situation, thankful the Jannies seem to think the same, or close, at least they’re sensible enough.”
The moment of silence lingered for a short while longer before both ships finally managed to announce themselves to the locals.
“This is Captain Gwendolyn Ranford of the FRS Gloria of the Free Republic Navy.”
“This is Captain Lyro Ordius of the Prosperity of Janissary Fleet Command, proud servant of the Ascendancy.”
Both captains explaining the extraordinary circumstances that brought both of them here and now in this star system.
"Captain Ranford, I am Captain Hudson of the Royal Navy, commanding officer of the Sentinel of the Void." Hudson didn't sound quite as calm as the female who had addressed the two warring ships earlier but was still in control. "It sounds like you had quite the ordeal." A moment's pause. "But fear not, so long as you don't start an incident here you will be recognized as our guest."
Much to Ranford’s relief, it seemed she and her crew wouldn’t have to fight a two front battle or be the officer to accidently start a new war with the first human colony to be discovered. “Thank you, Captain Hudson.” Ranford said. “And I assure you, I don’t plan to start a war with our new neighbors.”
"Excellent!" Captain Hudson hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath till he let it out. "I must admit its reassuring to have some evidence that we and the swimmers aren't the only life left in the galaxy. I wish I could offer to render you aid in any search and rescue efforts you might need to make for your fighter pilots, but unfortunately this station is ill-equipped for such an endeavor. The HMS Vampire, which should be here shortly, will be able to provide some limited aid, but you'll be largely on your own for the meantime. My apologies."
“Thank you for the offer, and don’t worry yourself, captain.” Ranford said. “We’ll take care of our own people, and we will find them.” With that said, Ranford was curious on what Hudson meant by “Swimmers.” With the way he speaks of them, it couldn’t hurt to ask. “Beg my pardon, Captain Hudson, but what can you tell me about these ‘Swimmers”?”
"Ah, well... Have you ever heard of a squid? It is, or probably was at this point, a marine animal native to old Earth. Thing had eight tentacles, bone crushing beak, but usually didn't get too big. Well take that, allow it to live and move through the void of space, give it the ability to spit plasma projectiles, make it way smarter, and allow it to grow to sizes larger than a warship and you've got an idea for what a swimmer is. Nasty buggers have taken to the taste of humans ever since their invasion of Gondwana. But fear not" A bit of pride crept into his tone, "we've pushed them back to the outer edges of the system, so you'll likely be spared the experience of seeing one up close."
These swimmers sound…unpleasant, in fact, they sound worse than the Yulzan. You can fight them and their converts toe to toe, but this? How do you fight a living, thinking being as big as a warship? Bigger even, can't exactly fist fight it. “That…doesn’t sound good at all, captain.” Ranford said with a hint of concern, I guess her people were lucky to deal with “human” sized aliens. “But you seemed to beat the odds, even against titans, I find this very admirable.”
"Thank you. I dare say that I may live to see them become little more than a denizens of our nightmares. Perhaps we can discuss the swimmers further at a later date. For now, I'd like to know a bit more about you and these Janissaries you are at war with."
Ranford’s expression quickly shifted to a pained look, she could list so many reasons, but she’ll try her best to keep it brief and simple. “The Janissaries are the foot soldiers of our real enemy, the Yulzan. Decades ago, their fleet arrived at our system, claiming to be refugees, fleeing a doomed world. We reluctantly allowed them to stay.” She paused, allowing herself time to breath. “Before they betrayed our trust, they both, shared their technology and built up a literal cult following, people starting to believe the Yulzan were gods in the flesh. Soon after they launched their invasion, and took my homeworld, Columbia within a few weeks. We’ve been at war ever since.”
"Hmm... Sounds like you were wrestling with figurative monsters while we battled literal ones." Hudson commented after a moment. "Aliens..." His face contorted into a scowl for a second before the royal captain regained control. The expression was so brief that Ranford could have missed it had she blinked. "Well, I can't speak on the topic at any official capacity, but I suspect my government will be sending a representative here to talk to either you or any representative your own government may send. Perhaps this will solve some of our economic woe." The last bit was little more than a half-murmured thought.
Captain Ranford nodded and grinned, she was getting somewhere, a possible ally maybe? Or at least their first trading partner, either way, she was among the first officers to rediscover another human colony, this is going to change everything. “I’ll see if we can manage to contact our leaders back home, they’re gonna piss themselves with joy with what I have to report.”
"[i]HMNB Sentinel of the Void[/b] Direct to Captain Lyro Ordius." The voice that greeted the Janissary Captain was the same that had ever so calmly threatened to classify him as a pirate mere minutes ago. "Thank you for ceasing hostilities and welcome to the Kaus Borealis system. While we recognize that you view the warship called FRS Gloria to be a hostile combatant, we strongly request that you refraim from resuming hostilities while in our territory. We will view you and your crew as guests so long as you agree to our request."
Once heads had cooled, as much as Captain Ordius would rather sink the Gloria where she stood, he knew better then to agitate the locals, this was something he wasn’t trained for, no protocols for extra-system powers, so for now, he’ll do as they say, all that needs to be done is to get back home. “Very well, for now, we will cease all hostilities as your guests, we wouldn’t want to risk a war.”
"Thank you. Normally I would offer your crew medical aid, should they need it, but unfortunately, I lack the facilities necessary to provide any meaningful aid. Still if there is anything we can do to help please let us know."
“Thank you for the offer, captain. “Ordius said. “We’re well equipped enough to locate our missing pilots, and if we’re too late, they at least died warriors worthy of Ascension.”
"Very good then captain. And I beg your pardon, but I am not the captain. I am the station's bioroid." There was a slight pause. "A bioroid is an artificial intelligence, although distinctly different from a nominal AI."
“Ah, my apologies.” The captain said, taking a while to register what he was talking to. “A bioroid? Interesting…” Captain Ordius thought to himself out loud. With the war going on, the debate on giving AI more autonomy was hardly brought up, and in few circles for that matter. The war and its effects on the daily lives of the citizenry overtaken most concerns. AI for the most part, are restricted to be immobile cores in ships, structures, and installations, although their digital avatars are allowed free reign to roam in the appropriate or authorized sectors, although even that is restrictive, avatars only allowed to manifest through holo-projection devices. “This is something a few prominent people back home will find promising. All I can say is, your masters are ahead of us in the AI race, our AI still bound somewhere in the crew deck, we haven't considered something like this yet."
"You are correct in broad terms. Most bioroids exist in a mobile platform of limited size. However, the bioroid brains used for ship and station bioroids are simply too large for that, thus it is common for us to remotely control a mobile platform or utilize a digital avatar." After a moment's pause Senny continued. "But I digress. I would appreciate it if you would tell me a bit about your country and that of your enemy."
Captain Ordius smirked. “I’ll happily oblige, construct.” Ordius cleared his throat as he begun. “Decades ago, our world, Columbia, was graced by the Yulzan’s arrival. We at first, showed little trust towards them…but, they offered so much gifts, healing the sick and crippled with their divine technology.” He paused, given himself a breather. “This was before my time, but I am told that the first to experience the realization of the Yulzan’s divinity was something to behold!” He paused once more, a tear creeping down his check. “The Columbian government grew envious, and tried to betray the Yulzan in secret, sending assassins to murder the High Ascendants, fortunately they failed. When word spread, and the command was giving, the Yulzan and the faithful joined side by side to take Columbia for ourselves, the URC surrendering any legitimacy. At present we fight their remnants, this so-called “Free Republic.” They are nothing but misguided fools that continue to fight a war they have no hope of winning.”
"So, this Free Republic is on its last legs?" Senny's voice remained perfectly neutral. She was listening in to the conversation between Captain Hudson and the FRN captain, she had enough processing power to take part in numerous conversations at once if she so wished and wasn't surprised that the two were telling different stories. If anything, she was surprised that the two stories weren't all that drastically different. She suspected that there was more than a kernel of truth to both sides, still very much like Captain Hudson she was inclined to lean towards the Free Republic's version. The very fact that the Free Republic was still able to field ships of similar apparent capabilities implied that they were not in fact on their last legs.
She also found the story of the Yulzan being a technologically advanced, high-minded society suspect. While possible that that had been the case, it was more likely that they had appeared at Columbia with the intention of colonizing the planet, using their gifts to weaken the local government, recruit locals, and make them dependent on the Yulzan. Had there been a powerful alien society on Laurasia when the human colonists arrived in Kaus Borealis, perhaps humanity might have tried the very same strategy.
"You have given me much to think about and to report to my superiors. I thank you for your time captain." Senny said, taking care to keep her voice perfectly neutral. "As I've said before, you are free to stay here as our guest if you wish or leave. In due time a government official of sufficient authority to deal with foreign powers will be made available. Should you decide to return to your own country to send us a diplomat we ask that you send no more than one warship to our territory as an escort."
Ordius nodded. “Thank you for your time, I will try to arrange contact with our leadership, they will find this all very…illuminating to say the least.” Another human colony, most likely not the last, which means even more worlds and people to spread the divine word of the Yulzan, growing the flock.
Kaus Borealis System
In proximity to HMNB Sentinel of the Void
The two opposing cruisers continued to lob whatever they had in their arsenal, torpedoes, autocannon weapons, energy bolts or their own fighters. The space around them a frenzied battlefield as fighters engaged in the space between the two cruisers. A pair of Republic Starwings were in hot pursuit of a wing of Devotion Heavy Bombers, as they were gunning straight for the FRS Gloria, dodging debris from fallen comrades and enemies alike, as well as natural, hazardous obstacles. One of the starwings had the leader within weapons range. “Gotcha.” He whispered as he pulled the trigger, a hail of gunfire as his autocannons unleashed their load, shredding the shields apart as the rounds made it past the hull, the bomber igniting, it’s wing mates scattering. “Target down, proceed to-“ The pilot was interrupted by the sudden entrance of new contacts, a pair of fighters of unknown making zipping past him. “Woah! Wild Wing Leader to Home nest! You seeing this?!?” The pilot cried out in surprise. “Got two unidentified bogies! They don’t look like Jannies!”
Shortly after the arrival of the unknown fighters, a broadcast was intercepted by both forces. From the command deck of the Gloria, Captain Gwendolyn Ranford, much like her compatriots in the other systems, had to slowly take in the fact that the anomaly that pulled her ship and the enemy’s ship in, was in fact the Gateway of legend. “Jesus Christ, I can hardly believe it…”
“Orders, Captain?” Her XO spoke up, a young woman by the name of Delilah Grant.
“…Stand down, order all fighters back home. I rather not start a war with these people.” Her Janissary counterpart, lyro, proved to have been just as reasonable, as his ships fell back away, both forces standing down to their host.
The two native fighters in turn put themselves into a circling formation around their station. Their movements seemed almost leisurely at first glance, but any experienced pilot could tell they were positioning themselves to be able to intercept fighters or missiles launched from either warship.
The station itself was on the smaller side and obviously equipped with the facilities needed to house a small crew. It possessed a single gun turret, roughly the size one would expect to find on a light cruiser, as well as a moderate amount of CIWS. Interestingly enough the hull and armor of the station looked quite robust, almost as if the designers had expected it to have to be able to withstand being rammed by a ship.
"This is the HMNB Sentinel of the Void to the unidentified warships. Identify yourselves and your affiliation at once." A calm, pleasant female voice broadcast. "Failure to do so will have you classified as pirates and handled as stipulated by the Offenses in the Void Act 124." The tone of the threat was spoken in was the same a civilian would use when ordering food at a restaurant: polite but expecting exactly what was being requested. "If you are unable to transmit for any reason you are directed to assume a direct course to the portal and leave this star system immediately."
Once hostilities had simmered down for both sides, both parties were able to properly analyze their current situation. From her command deck, Captain Ranford staring down the table, show a clearer map of the region, only six blips in display. The Gloria, the Prosperity, and the native fighters, station, and an inbound warship. “At their current stance, they’d stand no chance against the Gloria alone. Add on to the Jannies, and that really spells trouble for them.”
“You’d think they would a bit more panicked?” XO Grant stated.
“Who’s to say they haven’t already?” The captain answered, pacing around the holo-table, her eyes glued to it. “I’d see two outcomes; more reinforcements are well their way as we speak. “Gwendolyn paused, thinking. “Or…they know something we don’t and want to catch us off guard. Either way, we’re now in a very delicate situation, thankful the Jannies seem to think the same, or close, at least they’re sensible enough.”
The moment of silence lingered for a short while longer before both ships finally managed to announce themselves to the locals.
“This is Captain Gwendolyn Ranford of the FRS Gloria of the Free Republic Navy.”
“This is Captain Lyro Ordius of the Prosperity of Janissary Fleet Command, proud servant of the Ascendancy.”
Both captains explaining the extraordinary circumstances that brought both of them here and now in this star system.
***** ***** *****
"Captain Ranford, I am Captain Hudson of the Royal Navy, commanding officer of the Sentinel of the Void." Hudson didn't sound quite as calm as the female who had addressed the two warring ships earlier but was still in control. "It sounds like you had quite the ordeal." A moment's pause. "But fear not, so long as you don't start an incident here you will be recognized as our guest."
Much to Ranford’s relief, it seemed she and her crew wouldn’t have to fight a two front battle or be the officer to accidently start a new war with the first human colony to be discovered. “Thank you, Captain Hudson.” Ranford said. “And I assure you, I don’t plan to start a war with our new neighbors.”
"Excellent!" Captain Hudson hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath till he let it out. "I must admit its reassuring to have some evidence that we and the swimmers aren't the only life left in the galaxy. I wish I could offer to render you aid in any search and rescue efforts you might need to make for your fighter pilots, but unfortunately this station is ill-equipped for such an endeavor. The HMS Vampire, which should be here shortly, will be able to provide some limited aid, but you'll be largely on your own for the meantime. My apologies."
“Thank you for the offer, and don’t worry yourself, captain.” Ranford said. “We’ll take care of our own people, and we will find them.” With that said, Ranford was curious on what Hudson meant by “Swimmers.” With the way he speaks of them, it couldn’t hurt to ask. “Beg my pardon, Captain Hudson, but what can you tell me about these ‘Swimmers”?”
"Ah, well... Have you ever heard of a squid? It is, or probably was at this point, a marine animal native to old Earth. Thing had eight tentacles, bone crushing beak, but usually didn't get too big. Well take that, allow it to live and move through the void of space, give it the ability to spit plasma projectiles, make it way smarter, and allow it to grow to sizes larger than a warship and you've got an idea for what a swimmer is. Nasty buggers have taken to the taste of humans ever since their invasion of Gondwana. But fear not" A bit of pride crept into his tone, "we've pushed them back to the outer edges of the system, so you'll likely be spared the experience of seeing one up close."
These swimmers sound…unpleasant, in fact, they sound worse than the Yulzan. You can fight them and their converts toe to toe, but this? How do you fight a living, thinking being as big as a warship? Bigger even, can't exactly fist fight it. “That…doesn’t sound good at all, captain.” Ranford said with a hint of concern, I guess her people were lucky to deal with “human” sized aliens. “But you seemed to beat the odds, even against titans, I find this very admirable.”
"Thank you. I dare say that I may live to see them become little more than a denizens of our nightmares. Perhaps we can discuss the swimmers further at a later date. For now, I'd like to know a bit more about you and these Janissaries you are at war with."
Ranford’s expression quickly shifted to a pained look, she could list so many reasons, but she’ll try her best to keep it brief and simple. “The Janissaries are the foot soldiers of our real enemy, the Yulzan. Decades ago, their fleet arrived at our system, claiming to be refugees, fleeing a doomed world. We reluctantly allowed them to stay.” She paused, allowing herself time to breath. “Before they betrayed our trust, they both, shared their technology and built up a literal cult following, people starting to believe the Yulzan were gods in the flesh. Soon after they launched their invasion, and took my homeworld, Columbia within a few weeks. We’ve been at war ever since.”
"Hmm... Sounds like you were wrestling with figurative monsters while we battled literal ones." Hudson commented after a moment. "Aliens..." His face contorted into a scowl for a second before the royal captain regained control. The expression was so brief that Ranford could have missed it had she blinked. "Well, I can't speak on the topic at any official capacity, but I suspect my government will be sending a representative here to talk to either you or any representative your own government may send. Perhaps this will solve some of our economic woe." The last bit was little more than a half-murmured thought.
Captain Ranford nodded and grinned, she was getting somewhere, a possible ally maybe? Or at least their first trading partner, either way, she was among the first officers to rediscover another human colony, this is going to change everything. “I’ll see if we can manage to contact our leaders back home, they’re gonna piss themselves with joy with what I have to report.”
***** ***** *****
"[i]HMNB Sentinel of the Void[/b] Direct to Captain Lyro Ordius." The voice that greeted the Janissary Captain was the same that had ever so calmly threatened to classify him as a pirate mere minutes ago. "Thank you for ceasing hostilities and welcome to the Kaus Borealis system. While we recognize that you view the warship called FRS Gloria to be a hostile combatant, we strongly request that you refraim from resuming hostilities while in our territory. We will view you and your crew as guests so long as you agree to our request."
Once heads had cooled, as much as Captain Ordius would rather sink the Gloria where she stood, he knew better then to agitate the locals, this was something he wasn’t trained for, no protocols for extra-system powers, so for now, he’ll do as they say, all that needs to be done is to get back home. “Very well, for now, we will cease all hostilities as your guests, we wouldn’t want to risk a war.”
"Thank you. Normally I would offer your crew medical aid, should they need it, but unfortunately, I lack the facilities necessary to provide any meaningful aid. Still if there is anything we can do to help please let us know."
“Thank you for the offer, captain. “Ordius said. “We’re well equipped enough to locate our missing pilots, and if we’re too late, they at least died warriors worthy of Ascension.”
"Very good then captain. And I beg your pardon, but I am not the captain. I am the station's bioroid." There was a slight pause. "A bioroid is an artificial intelligence, although distinctly different from a nominal AI."
“Ah, my apologies.” The captain said, taking a while to register what he was talking to. “A bioroid? Interesting…” Captain Ordius thought to himself out loud. With the war going on, the debate on giving AI more autonomy was hardly brought up, and in few circles for that matter. The war and its effects on the daily lives of the citizenry overtaken most concerns. AI for the most part, are restricted to be immobile cores in ships, structures, and installations, although their digital avatars are allowed free reign to roam in the appropriate or authorized sectors, although even that is restrictive, avatars only allowed to manifest through holo-projection devices. “This is something a few prominent people back home will find promising. All I can say is, your masters are ahead of us in the AI race, our AI still bound somewhere in the crew deck, we haven't considered something like this yet."
"You are correct in broad terms. Most bioroids exist in a mobile platform of limited size. However, the bioroid brains used for ship and station bioroids are simply too large for that, thus it is common for us to remotely control a mobile platform or utilize a digital avatar." After a moment's pause Senny continued. "But I digress. I would appreciate it if you would tell me a bit about your country and that of your enemy."
Captain Ordius smirked. “I’ll happily oblige, construct.” Ordius cleared his throat as he begun. “Decades ago, our world, Columbia, was graced by the Yulzan’s arrival. We at first, showed little trust towards them…but, they offered so much gifts, healing the sick and crippled with their divine technology.” He paused, given himself a breather. “This was before my time, but I am told that the first to experience the realization of the Yulzan’s divinity was something to behold!” He paused once more, a tear creeping down his check. “The Columbian government grew envious, and tried to betray the Yulzan in secret, sending assassins to murder the High Ascendants, fortunately they failed. When word spread, and the command was giving, the Yulzan and the faithful joined side by side to take Columbia for ourselves, the URC surrendering any legitimacy. At present we fight their remnants, this so-called “Free Republic.” They are nothing but misguided fools that continue to fight a war they have no hope of winning.”
"So, this Free Republic is on its last legs?" Senny's voice remained perfectly neutral. She was listening in to the conversation between Captain Hudson and the FRN captain, she had enough processing power to take part in numerous conversations at once if she so wished and wasn't surprised that the two were telling different stories. If anything, she was surprised that the two stories weren't all that drastically different. She suspected that there was more than a kernel of truth to both sides, still very much like Captain Hudson she was inclined to lean towards the Free Republic's version. The very fact that the Free Republic was still able to field ships of similar apparent capabilities implied that they were not in fact on their last legs.
She also found the story of the Yulzan being a technologically advanced, high-minded society suspect. While possible that that had been the case, it was more likely that they had appeared at Columbia with the intention of colonizing the planet, using their gifts to weaken the local government, recruit locals, and make them dependent on the Yulzan. Had there been a powerful alien society on Laurasia when the human colonists arrived in Kaus Borealis, perhaps humanity might have tried the very same strategy.
"You have given me much to think about and to report to my superiors. I thank you for your time captain." Senny said, taking care to keep her voice perfectly neutral. "As I've said before, you are free to stay here as our guest if you wish or leave. In due time a government official of sufficient authority to deal with foreign powers will be made available. Should you decide to return to your own country to send us a diplomat we ask that you send no more than one warship to our territory as an escort."
Ordius nodded. “Thank you for your time, I will try to arrange contact with our leadership, they will find this all very…illuminating to say the least.” Another human colony, most likely not the last, which means even more worlds and people to spread the divine word of the Yulzan, growing the flock.
