Re: [004 - G] Artemis Tau 7 System

[Omni]

// The Orpheus pact'll be along shortly. Sorry, I've been a tad busy lately.

[Blitz]

The Lord Admiral speaks up, wheezing loudly,"The.. Republic.. is ready to donate its.. highest military operators-kkhhkkk.. To assist in the.. reconnaissance needed. As for the.. offensive to be.. planned. We will divert all possible.. of the 1st Fleet.. and-unnnnkkkhh.. reserves of the 3rd. We cannot assist as much as-hhhheghkk!.. As we would like.. We are occupied in.. domestic issues."

[John_Roxton]

Conversing with one of her escorts for a moment, Finley would sit up and speak.

"At the moment the Coalition can spare three AFV Divisions and two infantry divisions, as well as a fleet of planetary force carriers. At the moment we cannot spare much more, but that will change if things go our way.".

[Omni]

With a burst of crimson energy, the Valhallan Dreadnought Siege enters the system, accompanied by several heavy cruisers and other Orpheus pact vessels.

// Sorry for the short post. Have to head to work.

[Hades]

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Combat Information Center

"Conn, sensors, multiple gravitational fluctuations detected, recommend alert one!"

"Conn, LIDAR. Multiple ships just entered the system, resolving signatures..."

"Conn, communications. Receiving IFF identification, two signatures consistent with United Nations protocols, one unidentified. Recommend alert one."

"Conn, weapons. Batteries have fixed target bearing on new contacts, recommend weapons to full power."

The colonel stared at the unidentified contacts on the screen, and for the first time in a while, he sighed. Depending on who the new arrivals were, this could either end very well, or very, very badly. With dignitaries from half a dozen nations aboard the Carentan, he just couldn't afford to take a UN-matching identification as granted just because it was being broadcast. He turned to one of the petty officers responsible for ship-to-ship communications, giving her a quick nod as he issued his order.

"Send a hostile challenge and ID. Chief of the Watch, set condition one, launch alert fighters."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Conference Room

The conference hadn't even started yet, but apparently, the crew of the Carentan was a bit too triggerhappy about their alarm. Loud klaxons blared around the ship, and at the same time, the lights turned red and started flashing. A male voice echoed throughout the chamber, and seemingly the entire vessel.

"General quarters, general quarters, all hands to action stations, set condition one throughout the ship. Multiple unidentified contacts, weapons to full power, launch alert fighters. All hands stand by for battle maneuvers."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artemis Tau 7

The Orpheus Pact fleet would detect a strange sight: a mass of fleets, both human and alien, keeping visible distances from each other. Squadrons of fighters patrolled each of the respective fleet groups, and the USC's battlegroup seemed to be getting ready for battle: its batteries were brought to bear on the unidentified contacts, and half a dozen fighter squadrons were catapulted out of the starboard launch tubes to reinforce the existing combat air patrol.

An encrypted identification challenge was sent to the fleet, demanding immediate identification using wartime-approved passkeys.

[Bospy]

Odck's envoys visibly exhibit impatience with the lack of any activity, and often times Odck's form distorts and his true form of holographic nature shows being projected from the blue staffs his envoys hold. As the alarm rings, a thunderous voice erupts from the main envoy.

"We will not spare ourselves until we know who the destroyer of one of our ships sent for the glory of retaining the independence of a species is. Odck dispatched this Alarei 'threat' within one star cycle of their arrival within our glorious home system. He sees these enemies who have actually threatened us, those who have killed a crew of 1500 able men, more of a threat."

[Haze]

Artemis Tau System Rim

A few minutes after the arrival of the rest of the Orpheus Pact fleet, the VASF first battlegroup tumbled into spacetime with all the grace and fluidity of a housecat tossed into water. The splinter-like ships spiraled and twisted away from each other immediately. The battlegroup consisted of five ships, four which were roughly the size one might expect from a cruiser class vessel, and one which seemed more on par with a battleship. As the warships spun and pirouetted, they began to unfold. Skeletal arms flexed out of the sides of the ships, each housing an array of weapon hardpoints.

From the largest ship in the group, a message in Arabic was broadcast.

"Well, you've shown us yours and we've shown you ours. Can we stop playing doctor and get to the business at hand?"

[Omni]

Artemis Tau System Rim

Along with the massive dreadnought, three other Valhallan vessels are in the area, all Quántóu-Class Heavy Cruisers. One is somewhat damaged. Not that that should change much, however. The Shiada-class Dreadnought Siege is a daunting foe on it's own; a single shot from the ship's massive main gun (which happens to be primed and ready to fire) is more than enough to cripple, if not outright destroy most ships.

VSV Siege

"All hands to battle stations! I repeat, all hands to battle stations!" is the phrase repeated over the loudspeakers across the entire ship.

"Wángbā dàn." The High Executor shakes his head, pressing a few keys on the keyboard in front of him. The holographic display in the center of the room shifts from the previously displayed starmap into a tactical readout of the star system. High executor Nolan sighs, rubbing his nasal bridge. He presses a hand to his earpiece. "All hands, at ease. Don't want to accidentally fire at those have done nothing to deserve it." He pauses for a moment. "Actually, all the same, it's probably best that we keep our weapons primed and pointed in their direction. Just in case." He types a few more things into the keyboard in front of him, opening up a comm transmission to the USS Carentan.

<:: This is High Executor Nolan, of the Valhallan Republic. Onboard this ship are representatives of both the VASF and the Caliphate. Fire upon our ships and you are declaring war on the sovereign nations that make up the Orpheus Pact. Stand down, or we'll make you.

[Hades]

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Combat Information Center

"Hold on, resolving the signature now Colonel... They're friendly!"

The executive officer let out a deep sigh of relief; the last thing he wanted was a confrontation. The three fleets had evidently powered up weapons, but the signatures were clear. He would recognise the dreadnought 'Siege' everywhere, any time. He knew just what the ship was capable off, and it was one of the things that made him respect Valhallan engineering: they knew how to build a ship well. The alien signatures were obviously allies, since they weren't firing at each other, and the message was in Arabic, so they were most likely allies of the Caliphate too. Without the ship's impending doom in the way, he activated the intercom.

"Action stations stand down, set condition two throughout the ship. Friendly contacts. Recall alert fighters."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Artemis Tau 7

A few seconds into the stand-off, the USC fighters turned back to land on their respective ships and the weapons were pointed away from the fleet. The dreadnought 'Dauntless' turned slightly, presenting its relatively unarmed broadside to the Orpheus fleet as a clear sign of peaceful intentions; most of the dreadnought's firepower was focused on the bow of the ship, on the massive spinal artillery cannon, and by comparison, the myriads of turrets placed on its hull were nothing. A message was sent to the Orpheus Pact ships, on the same encrypted frequency.

"This is Carentan Actual. We apologise for that, can't be too careful these days; the Alarei have used fake signals to confuse us before. We've stood down from action stations, the meeting is already underway aboard the Carentan. Send as many shuttles and escorts as you like, but be sure they are combat ready."

[John_Roxton]

// this is only if Odck is referring to it.

Finley would perk up, the situation Odck described highly matched that of the Coalitions naval shoot down of a Hakoni siege craft. Discussing the details for a moment Finley would stand and speak.

"Your siege craft was shot down on the charges of planetary terrorism. Each crewmen died for your vain and ridiculous cause over the planet..".

[Mother Superior]

The Federation's representative looks up from her leather-bound notebook and turns his head to face the oncoming political argument, she shifts her head from diplomat to diplomat, gaze soon resting between the two, she then pipes up.

"Charged with planetary terrorism when helping a race be relieved of tyranny? You seem to have something mixed up here, Diplomat."

Hoefler shakes her head is disbelief, a questionable look coming over her face as she awaits a retort from either side of the argument that she had just involved herself in.

[John_Roxton]

As soon as she had finished responding to Odck, Finley would turn to the federations representative.

"Relieving, as you called it, is not firing a siege weapon into populated areas. They were there to retrieve resources, they made sure to broadcast that during the terrorist act.".

[Mother Superior]

"Yes, let us take resources from an already populated land; I think they call that aggressive expansion, something that the Spaniards of old are rather familiar with. While firing a large energy based weapon into a population center is not the most stable course of action, neither is aggressively invading land that is not yours in order to gain resources."

The representative then turns on the swivel chair and continues to take notes within the leather-bound notebook of hers.

[John_Roxton]

Finley would smirk, then sitting back down.

"You must try to be misinformed if that is how you believe the Coalition took control.".

With that she'd look back to the U.S.C. president, waiting for the meeting to continue.

[Omni]

High Executor Nolan nodded, looking to the rest of the delegates onboard the Siege. "You may return to your own shuttles or you may come aboard ours. Whatever you wish." He then turned to a soldier- a guard, presumably, who had been standing quietly since the meeting began. "Lieutenant, go prep a shuttle."

[Haze]

VSV Siege, - Dreadnaught, Odin Class

The sphere bobs slightly, bleeping again.

"I fear my associates might ruffle the upholstery of your shuttle somewhat, but thank you for the offer. We will retire to our transportation and follow your departure to the USC ship."

With that, the translator sweeps out of the room. The pair of Voehn share a look and a low grumble, then trundle along after it.

[Double D]

VSV Siege, - Dreadnaught, Odin Class

"I thank you for your most generous offer High Executor. We shall accept, for I see no reason to make any unneeded hassle. Please just allow me to alert the captains of the First Diplomatic Flotilla."

Reaching into the only pocket of his thawb, Abd Al Bari pulled from his pocket what could only be a PDA device. Typing nimbly, the Caliph placed the device back in his pocket and looked up. Turning to his entourage, he'd dismiss most of them, keeping only his two guards and the Ssumaz that joined them. The rest left the room and headed to their shuttle, to return to the Queiq. Looking to Nolan with a full toothed smile, the Caliph nodded.

"Lead the way High Executor."

[Omni]

The High Executor nodded curtly as the VASF delegates left the room, before turning to the Caliphate representatives. After they respond, he turns towards the door, making a 'follow' motion with his hand. He walks out, his guards following behind the Caliphate's. After some time, they arrive at a hangar not unlike the one the delegate's shuttles arrived on. Inside lies a shuttle of sorts; the Valhallans don't have a dedicated diplomatic craft, and so this vehicle is pretty clearly a modified dropship. Walking up the landing ramp, the High Executor turns to the others.

"I apologize in advance if it's slightly less comfortable than you're used to- the shuttle's not exactly designed to carry heads of state and the like."

He turns back, leading them into the shuttle. The interior looks, more or less, what one would expect of the interior of a dropship to look like. Seats line the walls, with the cockpit in front. The High Executor nods to the pilot, who swivels his chair and speaks into his headpiece.

"This is Dove-Alpha, outbound." He receives a response- "Affirmative, Dove-Alpha." With that, the ship rumbles, moving forward, passing through the hangar's ray shield. High Executor Nolan lurches a bit as the shuttles's own artificial gravity takes over; it's roughly 75% of the gravity aboard the dreadnought for power-saving purposes. The High Executor turns to the other representatives, motioning to the seats. "Best we take our seats." He himself takes a seat near the front, strapping in. The shuttle begins to make it's way to the Carentan, eventually nearing the ship, transmitting to the vessel.

"This is Dove-Alpha, inbound. Requesting permission to dock."

[Double D]

VSV Dove-Alpha, - Dropship, Shield Class

"If this is the most uncomfort I must bare while trying to to secure the safety of my people, then I will consider myself Blessed."

The Caliph sat back in the seat, letting out a soft sigh as he closed his eyes. His Ssumaz companion squirmed in his seat, his tail struggling to fit into the seat. Opening his eyes, the dark skinned man smiled as he spoke in Veeiss.

"Perhaps next time I will bring you my son's booster seat, I hear Ssumaz fit well in them."

"With all due respect my Caliph, your Veeiss is still soft in the mouth like rotten dates and your pronunciation pains my hearing diaphragms."

Eyes locked, the two remained silent for a few moments before opening their mouths, the Caliph answering with a vocal laugh and the Ssumaz with his silent toothy laugh.

[Hades]

"Please, everyone. Let us resolve the Alarei matter first, we will discuss all others after we have come up with a plan. For now, I must call for a small recess; we are expecting representatives from the Valhallan Security Command, the Caliphate and the VASF. They are going to be landing soon, our security will have them escorted straight to this chamber." came the reply from the President, who obviously didn't want to discuss the Kotunga matter now; there were far more important topics to clear up, after all.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Dove-Alpha, Carentan. Permission granted, you have been assigned to starboard docking bay one alpha, landing corridor twenty-seven. Hands-on approach, call the ball." The Carentan's landing bays seemed to still be busy; the dozens of fighters that had been launched earlier were still in the process of landing, but most of them had been redirected to other hangar bays to make things easier for the shuttle.

[Haze]

The larger VASF shuttles follow suit, tagging along behind the Dove

[Omni]

Dove-Alpha maneuvers it's way into it's designated landing bay, slowly entering it. Once it enters, it lowers to the ground, extending it's landing gear. A few jets of gas spray from a rear port as the interior equalizes pressure with the hangar bay. The landing ramp lowers slowly with a mechanical groan. Inside, High Executor stands, placing a gloved hand on the pilot's shoulder and nodding. He turns, walking out of the shuttle, his hand on the hilt of the therm-blade holstered on his hip, his posture proud, if not a little hurried. His guards soon follow behind him.

[Hades]

Dove-Alpha and the VASF shuttles were first lowered from the landing deck into the hangar and maintenance deck, since the former was freely exposed to space; only after a short decontamination sequence and a repressurization of the elevator compartment was the all-clear given to open the hatches, and when they did, a platoon of Marines was waiting outside; they were not in ceremonial uniform, but they nevertheless saluted the dignitaries. The leading figure approached, addressing the High Executor respectfully.

"High Executor. I am Lieutenant Bill Keeran, and on behalf of the Carentan's crew, I wish to welcome you, the Caliph and the VASF dignitaries aboard our vessel. We have arranged for your transport to the conference chamber."

[Zombiedude101]

The High Councillor politely bowed his head, speaking once more.

"Agreed, it would be impractical to bicker over matters which are secondary to those currently at hand, as would it be such to discuss without the presence of our soon-to-be-associates."

[Haze]

Flanking the Dove, the VASF shuttles lowered to the ground and promptly began to unfold from the sides. The roof of each shuttle extended outwards like a petal, then curved down to touch the floor, leaving both shuttles looking somewhat reminiscent of filleted fish.

Atop the deck of each shuttle were ten figures, each more monstrous than the last. The Voehn standing at the front wore what seemed to be some kind of organic carapace armour, enclosing them totally like some giant insect's shell. They both dropped to the floor of the hangar with hefty thuds, and began moving towards the other Orpheus pack diplomats.

The Voehn behind them were even larger, and seemed to shake the floor itself as they dropped down to the ground. Each squad of nine sauntered after the two leading figures. These aliens were quite obviously some kind of bodyguard. Instead of the sleek, almost elegant carapace their leaders wore, they were enclosed within massive battlesuits. Every space possible had been occupied by some kind of hardpoint. Some of the weapons could quite easily be identified as variations on common energy projectors, others appeared only as oddly shaped lumps of metal scattered across the troopers' armour. Out of the back of each of these behemoths stood several meter long spines, raised proudly and pointing slightly upwards. They were black, perfectly black.

As the two leading Voehn reached the party, Bohr (made distinguishable only by his sinister looking artificial arm) pulled free a small grey sphere from his prosthesis. The sphere slid into the air, flashed green, and bleeped, before starting to speak in Arabic.

"The day's pleasantries extended to you. I am an aspect of the War Mind Humour my Death Wish, these are my comrades, Colonel Bohr of the Fate Line..."

The Voehn with the prosthetic arm made a low rumbling sound, like a tiger growling.

"...who is... impressed with your security forces..."

The creature named Bohr snapped its head in the sphere's direction, making a noise like a distant explosion with its throat.

"And this is Captain Vikur of the Raptor..."

The second Voehn opened its mandibles, leaned forwards, and ejected a violent roar towards the Keeran, before straightening and making a sharp grunting noise.

"...who extends his respects. Now, I'm assuming we should leave the tactical squads in this hangar?"

As if on cue, the eighteen leviathans thudded up behind Bohr and Vikur. In unison, they tilted their helmeted heads down, staring at Keeran through black shaded eye-slits.

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