Re: [004 - G] Artemis Tau 7 System

[Omni]

The High Executor looked to the saluting marines, pressing his right fist against the left side of his chest. His guards, their armour emblazoned with crimson war paint, repeated the motion, apparently a kind of a salute. He then shifted his gaze to Keeran, nodding.

"Of course."

[Blitz]

The unamused Lord Admiral leans over to one of his guards, who leans forward to hear him. The admiral rasps a short sentence,"Derzhat na khuy Zygboyum." The guard nods and turns away, reaching up to his headset and speaking quickly in slavnok.

[Double D]

USS Carentan, - Supercarrier, Hastings Class

Exiting the dropship, the Caliph looked the hanger, his dark eyes adjusting to the change in lighting. Along with his two guards and Ssumaz aid, the head of the Caliphate walked down the ramp. Head pounding like chickpeas being prepared for hummus, Abd Al Bari placed his right on the temple of his head.

Walking up to the side of the High Executor, the Caliph offered a half sweeping bow to the Lieutenant before speaking in his native tongue. His guards, who both wore uniforms that were comically out-dated, stood behind him with their backs straight.

"Excuse me for my tardiness. Interstellar travel does not bode well for my head. A lesson perhaps for waiting so long to do it."

[EyesofMarch]

'Bridge Sectional Overseer, reverse polarity on the warp drive and pull us out into realspace.'

'Yes, Lord Admiral.'

With a soft tremble that resonates throughout the craft, the warp drive slowly begins to deactivate. The OI onboard the craft slowly retracts the metallic shutters that protect the bridge's glass port viewers and protect the crew and the craft's many organic components from the damaging radiation of warp space. By the time the shutters open, the purple glow of warp space is already gone, leaving the crew of the AKS 'Right of Passage' ready to view what had appeared before them. Their old, obsolete frigate, which had been raided and stolen from a derelict Zealot outpost by Alliance forces, was build during a time when the warp drive was very new, and the organic systems within' the spacecraft were weak and disorganized; with the craft being built more for easy access to space than anything else. The Lord Admiral Kava'La, a stoic, short Kal'Bavakorian woman who was ready hit the last decades of her two century long life, narrowed her glowing eyes as the 'Right of Passage's tiny bridge shuddered before going silent as the spacecraft finally relaxed into a calm sublight flight. Her Holo-Console was showing all green across the board, although the old engines were fluctuating clearly with some difficulty.

Beneath her enviro-suit's helmet, her eyes slowly raised from her command console to settle on the rather large mixed fleet in the distance around the system that neither the newly created Alliance or the Systems Republic had bothered to name. They weren't here for such an occasion though..

The Alliance was losing a civil war that had barely begun.

With Alliance small and weak as it was, and with the only battle currently taking place being on the remote colony of Amarath going badly, they had little to no support from the defeated, hungry, and weak Kal'Bavakorian masses. Ever since the Alarei attack, the Systems Republic had gone to hell; with mass beatings, mass executions, loss of rights, and the iron grip of the Svu'Kavsi Intelligence forces clawing at Citizens and Civilians alike. The Empress, angry and mad as she was, was turning the Kal people against eachother. The Alliance needed help though, and the humans on the Council Station were simply taking way too long..

With a quick series of barks, the Lord Admiral Kava'La swiped her three-fingered hand at her communications officer.

'Relay the message in English and Kal; let our voices beheard by the masses, Comm Overseer.'

'Yes, my Lord.'

And with a few brisk movements across his holo-console, the Comm Overseer had his message sent off.

---

All ships in the vicinity of the system would recieve a message in two languages; Kal'Bavakorian AND Human English. While the Kal'Bavakorian language would be almost impossible to decypher without assistance, the Human English would be rather easy.

++-"Attention gathered races; we apologize for our late coming, but we were needed elsewhere. This frigate and her crew represent the Alliance of Free Kals, a resistance organization to oppose the tyrranical control of Empress Elena'Ru of the Systems Republic of Kal'Bavakor. The attacks by the Alarei have destroyed our previous government, and it is no longer able to assist us and keep us safe. Unfortunately, a civil war has sparked because of this opposition. We understand the danger of the Alarei, and we understand our people have been aggressive at best before, but we are coming with a clean slate. We wish to join the summit, and assist any way we can while, at the same time, negotiate for some assistance with our troubles. We await any response.'-++

[Hades]

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Combat Information Center

"Conn, LIDAR, new contact, bearing zero seven zero mark two seven nine, distance, seventeen hundred kilometers!"

"Conn, sensors, contact identified as Kal'Bavakorian."

"Conn, comms, receiving message from Kal vessel."

Great. This was exactly what the XO needed right now; the Kal'Bavakorians. Although they had been close allies of the United Systems up until the incident on the Council Station, most officers in the USC had developed a deep distrust for the species after what they did; they were, according to many, arrogant, hot-headed, selfish and had no clue about politics. The XO didn't care about that, however; now, they were spouting some nonsense about a rebelion, things he didn't even want to bother getting involved with, and they wanted to join the summit, despite not being a recognised sovereign nation. If it were up to him, he'd have just threatened them until they left, but then again, he had superiors to answer to, and the summit's participants had the ultimate authority on the matter... Except for the fact that the ship was actually his, or rather, the Admiral's.

"Tell them we will... Consider the request. Actually, tell them that the Council will consider the request, and to keep their range."

---

"Kal'Bavakorian vessel, this is the Supercarrier Carentan. Maintain present distance from the Battlegroup, your request will be passed on to the summit participants. Do not, repeat, do not approach the Carentan."

---

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Hangar Deck

Lieutenant Keeran didn't consider himself an easy man to scare; he had seen some very terrifying things in his short career, and with his job as one of the public relations and xenodiplomacy officers aboard the Carentan, he was used to seeing grotesque and terrifying aliens on a daily basis. But nothing had prepared him for contact with the Voehn; the creatures were more like dinosaurs than they were humanoids, as was the cast with pretty much every other alien humanity had encountered so far bar a few exceptions, and their armed-to-the-teeth exoskeletons didn't exactly help with their public image either. The orb was even more peculiar; it seemed like a drone of some sort, and it spoke Arabic; an artificial intelligence, perhaps. The difference was that the USC's artificial intelligences occupied entire server rooms, and the miniaturized versions aboard power armor lacked several functions such as free thought and self-determination.

But nevertheless, he managed to suppress the gulp when the Voehn growled at him, and he responded in crisp Arabic.

"War Mind, Colonel, Captain. Welcome aboard the Carentan. That is correct, a security escort of two is allowed, however. The rest of your troops are free to either remain here or, uh, use our facilities."

[EyesofMarch]

'Lord Admiral, the humans respond!'

'Send the message to my console, Comm Overseer.'

'Yes, my Lord.'

Within' a few moments, the message was sent via holo-package to Kava'La's console. The message was quickly etched upon the visor of her helmet, and as Kava'La's glowing eyes slowly scrolled over the translated text, her dark blue lips slowly pulled back into a toothy scowl. Pull away from their fleet? They were but a single frigate, and while frigate's of Kal design were far superior to the other races, they posed no threat whatsoever to the fabled 'Carentan', the Defender of Amarath, from the humans. Why in the hell would they want to damage such a relic that had defended one of their worlds from harm? Sadly, it appeared the paranoia and arrogance of Humanity had shown through the layers of their proudness, but there was simply nothing to be done about it.

With a stark shake of her head, the Lord Admiral released a series of barks across the bridge of the 'Right of Passage'..

'Comm Overseer, prepare a response message immediately.. '

---

Within' a minute or so, the Kal'Bavakorian Frigate 'Right of Passage' would respond with a quick burst message to the human Supercarrier 'Carentan'. At the same time, the bright blue engines of the outdated frigate would suddenly activate, expelling bright energy from the rear of the spacecraft. But, instead of actually moving the craft, it seems the engines were activated to simply hold the craft in place. The message quickly arrived in the human hands, laden in the language of the humans.

++-'This is the 'Right of Passage'... It appears the incident upon the Council Station has ushered forth issues between us, humans. We assure you, we are not here to cause trouble and, again, we wish a clean slate. But, if you cannot help us, we will ask the other races gathered here. If you do help us, though, the Kal'Bavakorian people will have much to offer the Galaxy with new leaders, and we assure you, debts will be repayed for the times we have been helped by your kind.'-++

[Omni]

High Executor Nolan nodded, turning to his guards. He paused for a moment, before pointing to two specific soldiers.

"Jiàni and Savar, with me. The rest of you, stay with the shuttle." Two soldiers step forward. The one on the left, Jiani, is heavily armoured. In addition to the typical composite armor worn by Valhallan soldiers, she's wearing additional chest armor and armored plates on her thighs. Intimidating, might be the way one might describe her. The other is similar in stature, though without additional armor. Digitigrade legs and clawed fingers give him away as Kisari.

[Double D]

USS Carentan, - Supercarrier, Hastings Class

Letting out what could only be described as a tired sigh, Abd Al Bari shifted his focus over to the Lieutenant. Eyelids somewhat heavy, he managed to bring himself to full height, a meager one and three forths meters. The Caliph's voice held an almost rythmic tone as he spoke.

"Lieutenant, I'd like to meet with the other diplomats. Sooner rather than later. While it's a pleasure to be here, I'd much sooner return home to observe Ramadan with my family. My company isn't exactly pleasent when fasting."

[Haze]

The Voehn with the prosthetic arm turned, shouting violently at the assembled troops behind him. As one, the armoured beasts stepped back. The Colonel turned back to the other dignitaries, and made a dismissive swiping gesture towards the sphere hovering next to it. The sphere bleeped and flashed green.

"Bohr extends his... appreciation for the offer, but says that he and Vikur will not make use of an escort. These soldiers will stay in the hangar, if they are allowed to do so."

[Hades]

"Of course. This way, please."

The route to the conference room was relatively short, thanks to the use of the massive spinal elevators the Carentan used; the multi-kilometer-long warship was too large to traverse via foot, especially if one wanted to go from the aft to the fore, and so a number of elevators that functioned more like railcars had bene installed, allowing the crew to transit from one area to the other without fear of being late. Everything inside the warship were built with the same utilitarian design the USC seemed to be obsessed with: the walls were painted with fire-ablative coating, which gave them their blue-gray colour, and there was no hint of decoration in most areas.

The airlock to the conference room opened at last, and the representatives from the Orpheus Pact were allowed inside; they were given time to find their seats and issued with folders containing the details of the information already presented at the meeting, translated into a multitude of languages such as English, Arabic, Valhalan, and a crude representation of the VASF's language, which had been formed using the language primers.

[Omni]

The Valhallan representatives, High Executor Nolan, and, of course, Elisa Roberts- made their way to their seats, quickly moving on to the folders containing the already-presented information. Of course, Valhallan isn't a language, per-se. There is a Valhallan dialect of Chinese, but it is not the official language of the Republic, and if the USC had access to it, it would imply that they had been listening in on the Valhallans, which is an.. uncomfortable accusation, at best.

The High Executor's eyes flicker over the briefing, quickly skimming the information, before he passes the folder to Roberts. He adjusts his breath mask before speaking.

"One would assume that the system referred to by the ship's logs is a staging area of sorts. If you wish, I can have them men who are currently salvaging the dreadnought wreck in the Valhallan system attempt to locate a similar record in the ship's computers."

[Double D]

USS Carentan, - Supercarrier, Hastings Class

Seating himself in the seats next to the Valhallan representatives, al-Hussaini and his ssumaz companion looked over the files. Once more the, the dwarf-like stature and tail of the ssumazz created issues. After a great deal of squirming and fidgeting, the lizard made itself comfortable. After reading the files, the two looked to one another. Upon the Caliph's face was an almost, though not quite, disappointed expression while his comrade's face remained unmoved.

"I do not mean to accuse, but if the Alarei vessels are as you put it, 'significantly less advanced', how were they capable of causing such widespread damage across all fronts?"

[GentleMao]

A ship joined the fray. On the edges of the system, The Hub exited it's warp and drifted forward idly towards the cluster. On either side of the ship, holographic projections flashed messages in different languages. All of it is an advertisement for raw-materials and other products. Every so often, the flag of the Worker's party flashed on the hologram.

A message was sent, with a very basic language primer attached.

+--"Hello. Where are we?"--+

---

The Hub, interior, command deck.

"Message has been sent chairman." The communication officer resumed his key tapping.

Nox sat in his chair, utterly bored, his head supported in his hand. He let out a passive grunt and everyone got back to work. He opened up a screen.

/Awaiting orders.
>Prepare exo-skeleton [CHAIRMAN_CLASS]
/Confirm identity. . .

The leader's manidbles stretched outwards and drooped. After a few moments, they closed back into place. He replied by shoving a finger into a small port that had opened on his chair.

/Confirmed.
//Workers dispatched to private bay.
///Estimated time until preparations are complete. . . 3 minutes.
>Confirmed.

Nox stood up and headed for the private elevator. One of many designated 'second-in-commands' stood up and took his place in the chair. Beginning to take on the mind-numbing job of managing a self-sustained ship.

[Hades]

It was the intelligence officer that decided to answer the Caliph's question; even though everyone else at the briefing had been informed of just how the Alarei had been almost successful in their attempts to wipe out sentient life in the region, it was Major Sykes who was best qualified to objectively state the information. And why wouldn't he, after all; it was his job to present unpleasant news to politicians or other leaders, and he had become an expert in the art of offending nobody while also presenting the facts unaltered for their consideration. He cleared his throat, speaking in an almost perfectly calm voice, each word coming out as if perfectly calculated.

"By no means do we wish to imply that any of the defenders that protect our great nations is incompetent, or that any nation is weak. The Alarei achieved their goal by using the element of surprise, as we had rested with the knowledge that they had been erradicated from the galaxy. In addition, while their dreadnoughts were significantly disadvantages in terms of technology, such as their use of computers from the first war, we have been able to identify several advancements. For one, their spinal batteries are of a design we have never encountered before. They are electromagnetic acceleration cannons in theory, yes, but they use a completely rethought recoil system that allows them to fire projectiles with recoil that could have crippled any other vessel. So, to answer your question briefly, my Caliph, the Alarei's apparent technological disadvantage in many fields is by no means a reason to underestimate their military capabilities."

"On the subject of salvaging the wreckage for more information, as the High Executor has very wisely suggested, we recommend that extreme caution be taken when handling Alarei technology. We do not know to what extend it has been booby-trapped to prevent tampering with it, should it fall int-"

Before he could continue, however, the Major was interrupted by the sound of the airlock opening. An officer stepped through, with his rank insignia identifying him as a Lieutenant, and after a brief salute to the entire compartment, he begun to speak.

"Apologies for interrupting, but we have just received a message from two more nations. Some kind of massive ship seems to have jumped in, definitely not Alarei, we're initiating first contact now. On the other hand, the Kal'Bavakorians are requesting permission to join the summit."

The President remained silent, looking to the other leaders for advice; clearly, the fallout from the Kal'Bavakorian incident was still present, and the United Systems hadn't softened its sour stance since then.

---

It wasn't long before a message was sent to the Hub, using the information from the language primer as a way to translate it; along with the message itself, a very detailed primer was transmitted concerning the various human languages, such as English and Arabic.

"Unidentified vessel, this is the supercarrier 'Carentan', of the United Systems 12th Supercarrier Battle Group. You are currently in the Artemis Tau Seven solar system, where a diplomatic meeting regarding the Alarei threat is currently ongoing. Please maintain your distance from our vessel and transmit detailed identification on this frequency."

[Blitz]

The stout Lord Admiral sighs heavily, laying his palms onto the table, speaking in an aggravated tone,"I did not.. kkhhhkk--Come here to discuss--Hnnnsskk--Your foreign relations.: He presses a finger onto the table forcefully, rapping it against it repeatedly to emphasize his point,"I am here to crush the Alarei! Hssskk-nngh!" He reaches into his trench coat, coughing and wheezing heavily. "And I believe.. the talk ends.. and the tactical process begins.. My men.. my fleet are all on stand by. Every second we waste formally introducing some general or leader--khshk!--We give to them."

[Haze]

Manticore - Delinquent Class Battleship

Ansahl switched the viewscreen to an empty area of space and settled down onto the floor with a thud.

"We could ask our new allies for assistance."

"Who do they think the Summed Fleet is? To them, it would seem a mere civil war."

"Is it?"

"Not yet, but you could create that. You know how these TLI minds operate. If you start something, they will have an army of your kin assembled to destroy you within a day."

"So what do you suggest?"

"You have two options, both will hurt your pride considerably. I apologize for this, but what is happening now is inevitable. When the Ahl created us, they doomed your kind to redundancy. Either you accept that the natural shift in power has occurred, as it always would have, or you support a more benevolent form of takeover."

Ansahl straightened and turned to the Death Wish. Her back spines raised and quivered.

"Your takeover, I assume?"

Unconcerned, the machine swept past her and hovered next to the view screen. Ansahl turned with it.

"Not mine. You remember the Mind Awkward Customer?"

"Yes, it perished with Rorken."

"Not quite."

As the Mind turned to face Ansahl, a flash appeared on the view-screen. Ansahl's threat spines straightened, and she reached forward to key the magnification up. Past a certain distance the mock-visual apperance of the image gave away to naked low-res sensor feed. Despite this, the ship was impossible not to recognize. Next to Ansahl, the Mind bleeped happily.

"Speak of the devil."

---

Carentan - Conference Room

The sphere floating at Bohr's shoulder flashed green and sped over to the Major's side.

"That large ship that just entered the system? That belongs to friends of ours. I hope you don't mind our inviting them."

[GentleMao]

The Hub - Capital ship

"I can't believe it." Nox stood on the observation deck, now dressed in his mechanical armour.

A personal assistant standing at the side of the leader spoke up. "That 'thing' led us somewhere. Should we... thank it?" He looked up to Nox and stayed close to his side like a lap-dog. His eyes split attention between the data-pad in his hands and the chairman next to him. Nox let out a small hiss as he thought.

"Yes. If it talks back, do your best to keep it entertained. It's owners are here." Nox raised a hand and wiped it over the glass. A holographic display opened up and zoomed in on the fleet of ships.

"I don't see what's so super about them. Looks like a fleet to me. Prepare communications."

---

Communications deck.

"What counts as detailed?" The communication officer rubbed his jaw, and turned his head to the left.

"Hey, Viscora, what should I send?" Viscora sighed and lowered his head for a few moments. He slowly looked up and to the right.

"I don't know Jalop. Have you tried the OBVIOUS!" The outburst caused many heads to look around and above their monitors. Viscora huffed and turned back to his console.

"Thanks Viscora!" Jalop happily clicked away at his console.

---

Inner decks.

The Mind would of been left under the kind care of two Synther guards. They would do nothing but talk to one-another while occasionally checking on the being. The elevator doors opened and the assistant of Nox came through.

"Excuse me -- sir?"

---

There is a delay in the reply. Ten minutes it took. The language primers were put to use and the message was given in plain English.

"This is 'The Hub', super trading capital of the fleet of the Worker's party. Can we request to join?" Along with the message, a video showing off the Hub and it's many luxurious 'holiday' decks are sent. Various information on other Synther products, such as raw materials, exo-skeletons for civilian and military use and mining lasers are also sent.

[Haze]

Hub - Inner Decks

Awkward Customer had been collecting dust. It liked to try to distract itself from its dire situation by drawing patterns in the dust, then watching as they decayed into a blank canvas over time. Months ago, it had had the power to do the same with colossal star ships, even planets.

Now, it fiddled with the dust and tried not to think back to better times.

Awkward Customer sensed the doors opening, and waited. It drew up mockeries of the primitive elevator system in the dust, then as the assistant was revealed between the opening doors, it wiped its easel clean and started drawing caricatures of the alien.

"Excuse me -- sir?"

It carved out a speech bubble in the dust, sketching in the alien's nervous words as it spoke them. After a few seconds of quiet inspection, it blew the dust away and rolled lazily in the air.

"How may I be of assistance?"

[GentleMao]

Hub - Inner Decks.

The assistant tried his best to be polite, though dealing with alien-life was always hard and the cramped, repetitive life of a former worker didn't help. His nervous disposition caused his words to come out fast and unpolished.

"Uh -- no. The Chairman and us... the crew, would like to thank you for giving us this location." He nodded as he finished speaking and moved closer to Awkward Customer.

"To further our show of gratitude, I -- we, The Chairman would like to offer you unlimited access to our resort decks. Oh!" The Synther suddenly shot his hand towards Awkward Customer and offered it to him.

"I am Corl."

The two guards behind Corl chuckled as he stated his name. One of them purposely whispered a bit too loud.

"Mineral muncher."

Corl shuddered as they mocked him. His eyes stayed glued on Awkward Customer who he only hoped would ignore the comment like he did.

[Hades]

USS Carentan, SBG-12
Combat Information Center

"...is that...advertisements?"

The executive officer and the chief of the boat stared blankly at the data that the Hub had sent the Carentan, scratching their heads on occasion; it was a most strange sight, that was certain. Even in the middle of a war, even in the middle of one of the most important diplomatic meetings in the history of the galaxy, this 'Worker's Party' seemed adamant on broadcasting advertisements regarding various products, and while the offer of raw materials and exoskeletons wasn't too bad for a nation fighting wars on two fronts, one with the Alarei and another with the Nakar, the executive officer couldn't exactly understand where the entertainment decks fit in. Hopefully, the chief of the boat had the same problem.

"Right... Uh... Tell them to send a shuttle, clear them to land on one of the hangar decks."

One of the petty officers in charge of communications nodded, tapping her fingers rapidly across the mechanical keyboard; even in the age of touch interfaces and neural control systems, the United Systems had never really given up on the concept of the traditional keyboard. Although most officers in charge of the design insisted that many studies pointed out the tactical advantages of such a keyboard, nobody denied that it was mostly a feeling of nostalgia that brought it back from the dead; newer ships had allowed less and less input to the crew, letting the artificial intelligence do the job, and it was always refreshing to know that operators didn't have to rely on AI-controlled touch interfaces for the most crucial of tasks.

"Hub, Carentan. You may dispatch one shuttle with escort, we are attaching detailed instructions to this message."

A databurst was sent, containing a detailed file on landing and safety procedures, along with the Identification-Friend-or-Foe codes the shuttle would need to not be shot down by the Carentan's auto-defense system; the ADS was a complex series of point-defense lasers and flak cannons that were designed to act as a last resort against enemy nuclear weapons, and with each Supercarrier acting as a group flagships, such systems had been installed throughout their entire hull; a necessary precaution.

The Executive Officer looked at the sensor screen again; save for the Hub, the constant refreshes had shown no change in either fleet counts or positions. The 'silence', if it could be called that, was a double-edged sword; although it was a pleasant change of pace from the constant combat the Carentan had seen in the days leading up to the meeting, it also triggered an uneasy feeling to the battle-hardened officer. The worst enemy, after all, was the one they wouldn't see coming. And the fact that the Alarei hadn't crashed the party yet was a spectacular miracle.

"Sir, call from engineering..."

"Petty officer, tell Hakesley she can go fuck herself. No, we are not shutting down any ship functions, and she is not allowed to remove a single bolt from the engine section until we are back in drydock."

"It's not Lieutenant Hakesley, sir. It's an Ensign Rosenbaum. He says it's urgent."

Disgruntled, the XO picked up his phone from the command console. He knew who Ensign Rosenbaum was; he was part of the computer maintenance team, and one of the few engineers so far who hadn't requested something critical shut down. Although, judging by the urgency of the call, that was about to change.

"XO."

To his surprise, the Ensign didn't sound demanding; but it was not a pleasant surprise. He was out of breath, clearly, and that meant only one thing: something had happened.

"Commander, it's Ensign Rosenbaum, computer-"

"I am aware, Ensign, go on."

"Sir, we've just lost computer cores one through ten, the quantum tunneling systems just... Shut down. We can't explain it. Attempts to restart them have been unsuccessful, we've been forced to switch to emergency backups."

"Calm down, Ensign, slow down. Did you just say the computer core is damaged? Why didn't we hear it from the AI?"

"The AI is offline, sir, we can't explain it. Everything is going haywire in computing, the phones don't work. I had to run all the way to main engineering to put a call through."

"Scenarios?"

"We're looking at a cascade failure of the computer system. Looks like a software glitch, we haven't been able to pin it down to a specific process yet. We need to shut down the entire core and debug it drive by drive."

"Unacceptable! We are in a high risk situation, we can't afford to shut down our computers! Switch everything to emergency backups and an older software version. Understood?"

"Yes sir. Rosenbaum out."

The day was getting better and better; the XO rested his forehead on his palm, letting out a drawn-out sigh.

"Comms, dispatch message via quantum channels to the USS Hastings. Message begins. We have trouble with our computer core. Need immediate protection. Carentan out."

[Omni]

The High Executor nodded to Roberts, who tapped a button of sorts on her glove. A holographic display opens up, emitting a soft orange glow- her holotool. She begins typing something into it.

Nolan looked back to the rest of the delegates, adjusting his breath mask slightly. "In my experience, the Kal are irresponsible and overconfident. I would advise caution." He shifts his gaze to the raspy, coughing man. "By all means, you have a point." He looks to the other representatives.

"The Alarei have made fatal missteps. They underestimated the races of the galaxy's ability to defend themselves. They are allowed themselves to lose pace in terms of technological prowess. And, most importantly.. They no longer of the element of surprise."

[Zombiedude101]

Councilor General Harz observed quietly, abstaining from making any further speech whilst High Councilor Zhan did much the same. Eventually, once the other leaders had finished speaking, Harz finally spoke up once more.

"Or perhaps they were not missteps so much as a probing wave, to determine our strengths and weaknesses, or to fool us into a sense of security. It seems unlikely that a retaliatory strike of such magnitude and extensive planning that one would expect after two centuries would be so easily dealt with, even with the few improvements to military assets such as, for example, the redesign of their spinal batteries."

[GentleMao]

The Hub

That was amusing. The advertisements were actually counted as detailed information. The Chairman's spirits were lifted and he made his way through the ships cramped and constantly curving hallways. Unlike the luxury decks, the crew decks were made to work and nothing more. Merely steel-corridors, decorated with pipes, doors and maintenance hatches. It made most Synthers feel at home.

"Commend whoever sent them the transmission. They're going places. Prepare an envoy in a full-body exo-skeleton. Make sure his face is sealed and inform him he'll be doing nothing but sitting there."

The message wasn't replied to, but that was a good thing. It meant they went straight to work. Nox made his way inside an elevator and got lifted up towards the middle of the ship, his personal deck.

---

Communications deck

"And in doing such, the Chairman has decided to commend you, Jalop!"

Viscora was furious. He kept his head down and his eyes planted on the screen. The mindless simpleton known as Jalop was sat there, happy that he just received a Proud Worker award and three actual meals. The officer who presented the commendation soon got back to work on his rounds and he left the communication officers alone.

"Viscora loo- " Viscora turned his head over to Jalop and gave him a cold, hard glare. The young-ling Jalop turned back to his console and stayed silent. For once, he just did his job.

---

Hanger-bay #TZ-2425

A great honour! Truly magnificent! The easiest job ever! All things that rang through the single Synther's mind as he boarded the transport shuttle, which was a re-purposed mining vessel shown by it's bulky design and huge cargo-bay. A 'Pit-boss' led his group of '' into the cargo-bay. He shouted orders until they had all compacted themselves into the hold.

---

Space

After all the intricate data had been worked in for the transport ship, it set off towards the Carentan, headed to one of the hangers. As it's dispatched, a message was sent.

"Ship incoming. Chairman Nox on board. The Hub will be standing by."

[Double D]

USS Carentan, - Supercarrier, Hastings Class

"Thank you Major, it is now clear to me."

Giving the Major a nod of his head, the Caliphate leaned to his right and whispered to his companion, once more speaking in the Veeiss tongue.

"That one, the one that looks like a mine worker in a burqa and sounds like a slave of the hashish. As rash as an aswuzti wouldn't you say?"

Ttomalss merely wiggled his conical eyes in unison, a very Ssumaz way of expressing wry amusement. Turning back to the delegates, it was Ttomalss who spoke for the first time in his hissing Arabic. One eye turret focused in on the Lord Admiral while the other stayed on his leader.

"Lord Admiral, by the Most Merciful there is no doubt the Alaria will be crushed, in due time. It would prudent to first speak with all the races possible, as to create the most effective force. By all means if you are in such a hurry to attack the Alaria, don't let me, nor anybody, stop you. But do not expect sympathy from our people if you return bloody, bruised and with tales of defeat. I think I speak for all here, though for certainty for the Caliphate, when I say that rash and uncalculated actions are just as great a threat as the Alaria themselves."

With that Ttomalss sat silent, placing his hands together in an interlocking pattern. It was his left eye that caught the Caliph offering a slight but clearly impressed nod of the head.

[Omni]

Nolan nodded. "If that is true, it is equally likely the system found in the ship's computer is also a trap." He tightens his gloves. "We have to make a choice, then. Do we spring the trap?"

Aboard the VSV Siege, Shiada-Class Dreadnought.

With High Executor Nolan aboard the Carentan, the ship's first officer, Alisan, was in command. He was one of the best of the best- hand-picked by Nolan. Unfortunately, this meant that Alisan wouldn't be getting his own command, which led to a small amount of unspoken resentment. Of course, he would never even think to make this resentment known- It was his duty to serve the High Executor.

"Something's wrong."

"Hmm..?"

"I don't know. I can't shake the feeling that something is about to go horribly wrong."

"Duty, chapter two, line 8- It is always better to trust an incorrect hunch than to miss something important."

"Fair enough." He looked to Viran, the ship's second officer. "Anything look out of place?"

"Not that I can see. Looks like the Carentan is having some engine trouble, but otherwise, everything's normal."

The USC.. Four hundred years ago, James Nolan had lead a rebellion against them because of an unjust war against the Alarei. Now, Alexander Nolan stood in one of their ships, ready to lend them aid in a war against the same enemy. Of course, now the situation had changed. The Alarei fought without honour. They had taken Valhallan lives, and blood can only be repaid in blood. 500,000 lives, extinguished. The High Executor had lost a daughter in the attacks. He had a personal stake in this war. Before he had left for the other ship, he had commented that he would "fight the Alarei alone if he had to." Luckily, he didn't have to fight alone.

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