STGOD 4 Game Thread

Shark Bait · Post by **Shark Bait** » 2004-05-09 06:44am

Hectori lead Sir Brian out of the command deck and gave him a systmatic tour of the various "dry" decks including engeneering and the remote fighter control systems. by the end of the tour both had learned a great deal about the technology of the other. All in all it had been a very successful day.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-05-09 12:02pm

When Sir Brian was shown the sleeping quarters, they found Karsus, taking a small catnap, floating in a flooded chamber wearing swimfins, his foot wraped around a piece of artificial kelp. He seemed to be breathing just fine

He woke up, swam over to the side of the chamber and waved at Sir. Brian in a jovial fashion.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-05-09 12:09pm

consequences wrote:The Machines had to be destroyed. Letting them survive and spread would be allowing a malignant cancer to infect the body of the Combine, and like any good antibodies, the Marines were prepared to pay the cost. But they weren't dying stupid, nor were they dying cheaply.

The Programmer was really getting the hang of this 'anger' stuff. The insipid little monkeys were making progress. No matter. The Perimeter might fall, but it would continue to hold the line. The Replicators, deep beneath the surface with it, continued to work on the last ditch effort.

Further up, the Machines didn't budge from their spot, unaware of the concept of surrender or retreat. This presented a difficult problem: Many of the Constructs weighed far more than a man, and they were starting to fill the passageways.

The Programmer was annoyed it hadn't had time to plant explosives like those the monkeys were now using. The screams of the dying as the caverns collapsed would have been so melodious right now.

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2004-05-09 03:34pm

"Screw this. Push down to our best guess at appropriate saturation depth, recover whatever wreckage we can of these things, and our losses, and prepare to implement case Zulu."

The Marines pushed forward with renewed vigor, stopping when they met heavy resistance, or one of those bastard tank hulks blocking the passage. Guarded salvage and medical teams moved behind them grabbing up any portable Machine wreckage, breaking some of the larger constructs apart to render them portable, as well as any of their fallen, and hustling them back to the surface.

Soon the Marines stopped trying to push any farther. Soon after that, they began rapidly falling back to the surface, leaving their recently replenished decoy suits and sensors behind them.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-05-09 03:50pm

Straha wrote:General Fedayn leaned back in the chair as the Arcane Delegate stood uncomfortably across from him. Fedayn was really going to enjoy this.

"You see this? These are plans for a device by the Atlanteans to trawl our oceans. Now, might I ask why the hell you went above our heads to do this? Why, you had this built? And why, in all the hells, do you seem to want to tick us off?"

(OOC: Those plans could not have gotten to you because we planned them on the ambassadors ship, and there is no way you could have them yet. But I will run with it)

"I have no idea how you go those... But they are intended to purify your oceasn of radiation and toxic chemicals, stabilize the aters salinity, and help toheal your planet. We went over your head because we wanted them to be a surpise, a gift. It isnt like there is anything elft in your oceans left alive to harm.."

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-05-09 03:52pm

consequences wrote:Soon the Marines stopped trying to push any farther. Soon after that, they began rapidly falling back to the surface, leaving their recently replenished decoy suits and sensors behind them.

As the marines fell back, the Programmer considered it's situation. The losses inflicted did not match anticipated requirements for forcing a withdrawl. It remained well beneath the surface, releasing a Sensor drone.

The tiny drone was smaller than all other Constructs, and floated on antigrav. It skimmed up through the tunnels, it's myriad sensor packages searching for why the Organics were falling back..

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-05-09 03:56pm

Ix'Agal

"So is the forensic analysis of the gun complete?"

"Yes sir, we have managed to trace it ack to its place of origin due to the metal used in ists costruction. From there it was just amatter of detective work to figure out who bought it.

Whoever was getting this through was a real bitch. Filed off the serial number and took it trough third parties and backalley buys. What they didnt count on though was a Harper planted as a weapons dealer. We have his name, and his adress. Should we make an arrest?"

...

Bugsby · Post by **Bugsby** » 2004-05-09 04:06pm

The Combine fleet dropped out of hyperspace above the blockaded machine world. Shi ships swarmed around the world, and quick scans immediately showed the presence of troops on-world. It looked like the Combine had arrived too late.

"Shi fleets, this is the Krell Combine. We have been sent by our Monacoran clients to aid you in eliminating the machine presence on this world. What is your status?"

Shark Bait · Post by **Shark Bait** » 2004-05-09 04:40pm

After Sir Brian had left Hectori walked once more to the sending chamber and sent several mesages to Rock Ledge, Little Pool, and Atlantis. In his mesage he requested authorization to trade technologies. As well as reporting that a reseach station was offered on New St. Paul, and that the offer of land on Little Pool was accepted. As an after thought to his thought transmission he requested at least three more possible diplomats be found.

after sending the transmission he sat back and waited for the response whcih evenutally came

the Leaders of all worlds had agreed compleatly and sent some specifications for recycling technology as well as maps outlining the offered area of Little pool, and rock ledge would be sending a pre-fab kit which would arive in a few weeks. But the best news of all was that one diplomat had allready been trained in english and was on her way to earth, several more were being trained and Hectori was to be the perminant ambasador to the Arcane due to the good relations he had established with their empire.

Captain tycho · Post by **Captain tycho** » 2004-05-09 05:27pm

Marcao · Post by **Marcao** » 2004-05-09 06:22pm

Grand Empire Space
Gladsheim Prime

Dinner with the Empress had been as enjoyable as previous visits, although this time it had been underlined by polite discussion about the language involved for their impending alliance. Both nations wanted the document to be as specific as possible, making sure to outline what their alliance would cover and what it would not. The joining of two distinct nations was never easy, and while both people felt that an alliance could work, they also wanted to maintain a say over their own future. It was a balancing act between the sovereignty of a nation and their desires to cement ties in an official manner. Nonetheless, he was certain that this would work.

After dinner had finished, Veliam Munei thanked the Empress for her time and company before excusing himself and walked back with his escorts towards the Veithan embassy. Once there, he began the process of creating the first draft of what would become the official document binding his people with those of the Grand Empire.

Veithan Space
Veitha III
Government Headquarters

Introductions went as expected and Mr. Trea proved himself to be a more than competent host. He did not speak a great deal however, only doing so after the Ravenlock delegation had been led to the railway and the director made his pleasure known. His eyes glancing at the director and his companions for a moment before replying to their words. “You are quite welcome. We all felt that at the very least you arrival to our world and meeting with our government should be handled as quietly as possible.” The media would have to wait until after the meeting. His head turned, glancing towards Miss Diego and nodding his head before continuing. “Yes, I have heard of Miss Diego from the original meeting between our representatives. They spoke highly of all your people.” He went silent then, answering the Director’s questions as fully as he could and offering precious few in turn. It was a worthy exchange.

The Veithans were relieved as a whole that the scanning process went about without trouble. Problems at that stage would have slowed down the proceedings significantly. After the Ravenlock delegation reached the meeting room, they would be on their own. The moment when both delegations saw the others punctuated primarily by the physical differences between two men in particular. Neither man seemed willing to make an issue of it at the moment, and thus the moment passed the president seizing it as he spoke.

No one had to wait long for an answer as the director spoke, the Director’s words considered and then analyzed before the president nodded. “I am pleased that your journey was uneventful, these times have been more eventful than most would wish as of late.” There was obvious meaning beneath the words, the various conflicts and the razing of Earth foremost in his mind. “We are also glad that your arrival was satisfactory. We did what we could to make it as…painless as possible.” He smiled, obviously referring to the decoy convoy that had misled the media from their location. The president’s eyes left those of the director and slid toward Ms. Diego. “Ah yes, I have heard about her. All good I assure you.” He paused for a moment, his final words considered before met with a nod. “Yes, when Magdalena spoke of that name it raised a few eyebrows here.” That had been the last communication of their late secretary of state, and the room seemed to deaden for a moment as the name was uttered. The effect lasted for only a second or so before the president’s words banished the sensation as the rising sun banished night. “I am certain that we do. What exactly did you have in mind Director?”

[VNN] Veithan News Network

Ravenlock representatives visit capital

Representatives from the Ravenlock consortium a relatively new star nation in the galactic scene are currently visiting the Empire’s capital Veitha III. The visiting delegation arrived roughly six hours ago in a single ship, which was escorted by two Veithan battleships to orbit over the planet. A shuttle carrying the Ravenlock delegates was tracked down to a government facility in the edge of the planetary capital. The ravenlock delegation was lost however, when the vehicular convoy which had been expected to carry the delegates proved to be a decoy. The current location of the Ravenlock delegates is a mystery, although it is believed that their purpose in the planet is a meeting with the Veithan government. Several news companies complained about the methods employed by the government in order to maintain the privacy of its meeting with the Ravenlock delegation. A government representative had this to say. “The Veithan government places immense value in the various news agencies within the Empire. However, it reserves the right to guarantee the privacy of foreign dignitaries. This was one of the cases where the government felt that a bit of leeway and consideration would better serve the people of the Empire. The government will make every effort to hold a news conference with the Ravenlock delegation after their meeting takes place. This is of course, assuming that the Ravenlock consortium delegates prove receptive to the idea.”

Galaxy Wide News debut met with tepid response

The first broadcast by the so called “Galaxy Wide News” was met with tepid response by the people of the Empire. Although the newscast was met with a respectable initial number of watchers coming within twenty two points of the concurrent VNN newscast, the GWN points fell almost immediately afterwards as its content, ideology and journalistic integrity was brought to question. Virtual chat rooms and message boards within the Veithan information grids were abuzz as the citizens considered and talked about various points of the newscast. Some of these points was the apparent attack upon VSN and USN two established agencies that have existed for decades. As one Veithan citizen put it in a chat room “VSN and USN have existed for decades. They have proven themselves to the galaxy with their accuracy and integrity. GWN is a newcomer to the scene, it has to earn its place among them instead of assuming it. As far as I am concerned, the GWN executives are fooling themselves if they think that anyone is going to consider them equal to VSN or USN at this time.”

Many other Veithan citizens and analysts within VNN and other news organizations found the GWN motto a bit hard to swallow. As one VNN analyst put it “Almost all news casts will be laced with a measure of opinion and bias. We at VNN temper our bias by attempting to provide as clear a picture as possible coming from both sides. The fact that our home nation is not involved in hostilities or occupations allows us a greater degree of freedom. GWN which is based in the United Protectorates cannot claim the same. The U.P is linked at the hip with the arcane forces as they occupy the worlds of the former Covenant of God. The question then becomes, what was the purpose for the creation GWN? Is it to present the so called “absolute truth” which they claim or is it to try and spin events in a positive light for their own government or those allied to it? I for one cannot say at this time. The quality of GWN broadcasts will speak for themselves.”

The GWN coverage of the occupation of the former covenant of god worlds was perhaps the piece that attracted the most skepticism. Everyone that has been paying attention to the newscasts from VNN, USN and others have not been fooled by what one Veithan citizen in the VNN site in the Veithan information grid called “the GWN spin zone.” One of our analysts had this to say. “The claims by the GWN are not only ludicrous but ill thought out. Everyone that has been paying attention to the occupation of the former CoG worlds has seen rioters cooked alive by arcane troops using their lightning magic, has seen families mourn the disappearances of their loved ones. These disappearances have been catalogued and established, these deaths have occurred in front of cameras. The allegations of abuse by occupying forces were not conjured up by some cabal against the arcane empire and its allies. Furthermore, what does the governing types of the various countries that make up the alliance have to do with their occupation practices? A bullet coming from a weapon kills just as easily irregardless of whether their countries are a magocracy, a democracy, a republic or a monarchy.”

It appears that the birthing of GWN has been at least in the Veithan empire a difficult process and only time will tell if GWN will gain a foothold within the Empire. Nonetheless, as it stands now it is unlikely that GWN will be able to compete with established news services such as VNN, USN and others. In a quote that attracted a great deal of attention, Alex Johansson, chief editor of the “Ashanti Times” said the following. “GWN has as of this moment as much a chance of becoming an established newscast within non-alliance space as a snowflake has a chance of surviving in a star.”

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-05-09 06:23pm

Eketrina Cluster
Hudson System
Ouster Occupation Zone, Edge of Known Space

Bondman Subspeaker Ajax su Achtzehn nodded. "I agree. The Arcanists have been overzealous. their power bloc is a constant threat to us all. I can not help but sympathise with your interest in providing a counterbalance to their.... indiscretions. To be most honest, we feel that the Arcane tendancy to strike with overwhelming force and act unilaterally is most dangerous."

"My government has acted to ensure that the Mages do not... move too rapidly. We feel that a strong line must be drawn, and that the Mages will continue to attempt to cross it, unless some sort of buffer against their Alliance is formed. I'm sure you've noted the violent repression on Ix'agal, and the truly brutal punishment the Arcanists unleashed against the Krynor for some mere acts of piracy and terrorism."

"This being the case, we would be honored to accept an embassy from your government. Space could be cleared on a grav-wheel on the cluster proper, or a section of Hudson could be set aside. As for other details- what do you have in mind?"

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2004-05-09 06:45pm

SirNitram wrote:
consequences wrote:Soon the Marines stopped trying to push any farther. Soon after that, they began rapidly falling back to the surface, leaving their recently replenished decoy suits and sensors behind them.
As the marines fell back, the Programmer considered it's situation. The losses inflicted did not match anticipated requirements for forcing a withdrawl. It remained well beneath the surface, releasing a Sensor drone.

The tiny drone was smaller than all other Constructs, and floated on antigrav. It skimmed up through the tunnels, it's myriad sensor packages searching for why the Organics were falling back..

The drone had great reason for puzzlement, as the suits left behind seemed to be merely filled with high density carbon, with a single anti-armor grenade in the center. The drone could easily sense the movement of the organics as they left the tunnels and hurried aboard their ships.
As the shuttles lifted off, leaving a single remote relay unit on the surface, the suits rose as one, and began moving further down the tunnels.

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2004-05-09 06:47pm

Bugsby wrote:The Combine fleet dropped out of hyperspace above the blockaded machine world. Shi ships swarmed around the world, and quick scans immediately showed the presence of troops on-world. It looked like the Combine had arrived too late.

"Shi fleets, this is the Krell Combine. We have been sent by our Monacoran clients to aid you in eliminating the machine presence on this world. What is your status?"

"We're hoping this will be over momentarily, Krell Combine. Feel free to land troops, but you probably want to wait at least a few hours"
Hordes of shuttles are clearly visible rising from the surface.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-05-09 06:59pm

consequences wrote:
SirNitram wrote:
consequences wrote:Soon the Marines stopped trying to push any farther. Soon after that, they began rapidly falling back to the surface, leaving their recently replenished decoy suits and sensors behind them.
As the marines fell back, the Programmer considered it's situation. The losses inflicted did not match anticipated requirements for forcing a withdrawl. It remained well beneath the surface, releasing a Sensor drone.

The tiny drone was smaller than all other Constructs, and floated on antigrav. It skimmed up through the tunnels, it's myriad sensor packages searching for why the Organics were falling back..
The drone had great reason for puzzlement, as the suits left behind seemed to be merely filled with high density carbon, with a single anti-armor grenade in the center. The drone could easily sense the movement of the organics as they left the tunnels and hurried aboard their ships.
As the shuttles lifted off, leaving a single remote relay unit on the surface, the suits rose as one, and began moving further down the tunnels.

The trap was blindingly obvious. The Programmer implemented a simple response to see the effects, as heavy Constructs began collapsing the tunnels the suits were entering by. Microfusion cannons and explosives rung silently, collapsing rock in front of the trapped suits.

Post by **Alyrium Denryle** » 2004-05-09 07:06pm

CoG worlds has seen rioters cooked alive by arcane troops using their lightning magic, has seen families mourn the disappearances of their loved ones. These disappearances have been catalogued and established, these deaths have occurred in front of cameras. The allegations of abuse by occupying forces were not conjured up by some cabal against the arcane empire and its allies. Furthermore, what does the governing types of the various countries that make up the alliance have to do with their occupation practices? A bullet coming from a weapon kills just as easily irregardless of whether their countries are a magocracy, a democracy, a republic or a monarchy.”

"We take great offense at the allegations of abuse. What do you expect us to do? sit back and allow violent rioters to kill our soldiers and hundreds of thousands of innocent people? A protest stops being a protest when missiles start flying from the crowd. Never have we dispersed a peaceful protest, nor has anyone inncent of wrong-doing ever been harmed by our actions. Every body is catalogued, and every rrest is made publically with a warrant, and a public trial is given. Never has anyone "disappeared" and because of that, you are being seued by our government for libel.

And just for the record, here is the talley of our troops killed.

150 combat mages
600 arcane archers
1200 mage blades.

We have made thousands of arrests and almost as many convictions. And the only ones we killed were involved in violent actiosn against our troops.

Here are the casualties due to terrorist activities

14000 civilians

You expect us not to crack down? You are on whatever drugs can be found on your homeworld"

~Raistlin

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2004-05-09 07:08pm

The trap may have been seen, but as soon as the tunnels began to collapse, each suit erupted in an enormous ball of flame, as the micro-encapsulated antimatter was released, each suit releasing nearly a megaton of destructive force. And there were hundreds of them, detonating simultaneously, channeling their blasts throughout the tunnels.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-05-09 07:15pm

consequences wrote:The trap may have been seen, but as soon as the tunnels began to collapse, each suit erupted in an enormous ball of flame, as the micro-encapsulated antimatter was released, each suit releasing nearly a megaton of destructive force. And there were hundreds of them, detonating simultaneously, channeling their blasts throughout the tunnels.

Far from the collapsing tunnels, the Programmer received reports of higher radiation. Mostly prion; it would superheat some matter around it, or decay if it hit only the vacuum of the tunnels. Most of the upper levels were going to require extensive excavation, but the main construction hall was now located near the core of the moon, and the series of explosions would not seriously disrupt matters this far down. Indeed, as the Programmer observed the collapse of most of the tunnel systems, it might even lead the Organics to beleiving they had won. It sent those Constructs trapped on the 'outer' side of the cave ins on a suicide run up towards the surface to support this trick, as it prepared to repair what little damage had seeped this far down.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2004-05-09 07:20pm

Gladsheim Prime

"Very well, Ambassador," the Empress said, "I'm looking forward to see the final draft. May it be a fruitful friendship. You will find that we stand by our convictions."

After Mr. Munei left the dining room, she kept discussing this with her various assistants and Councilors.
<<Whatever we're getting us into, it seems like a good thing. They are as enigmatic as we are,>> the Empress sent a digital chuckle.
<<They seem to be as neutral as we are. And don't rush headlong into any adventures. Unlike other nations...>>
<<Yes, which brings us to this entirely ugly matter of galactic politics. The Veithans and others are, well hinting that the Arcanes are not very politically correct, shall we say, in this whole occupation matter. And then there is the Earth matter.>>
<<I don't exactly like those Arcanes. They are suspicious and I can't quite grasp it. Duke Nethington shares my thoughts, after his personal contact with one of theirs. But on the other hand, we shouldn't start pissing over them as others do. And we have extended our help, and more importantly ships, to help Terra. So we should leave it at that and just continue to make our best in this world, shall we?>> the Empress said, and the meeting was done.

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2004-05-09 07:36pm

Veithan Empire Space
Veitha III, Capitol

The Director took a seat, a solemn look upon his face as Magdalena was mentioned. “First, I would like to offer my condolences for the loss of Miss Hyrt and her aides. The final transmission from…our delegation from Terra involved the very same thing that raised eyebrows here, my name,” with that, the Director removed two data crystals, encoded to Veithan devices, as well as a small hand-held device which looked like it might be some sort of medical diagnostic system. “The first of these data crystals contains that last transmission. The other explains in some detail why I am here. I will let you review them later, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll get to the point. As I’m sure you have heard, a man going by the name of Jon Cameron was at the Grand Ball of Terra. That man also died in that attack. As you may have noticed from the newscasts since the event, that man looks quite a deal like me. Now, I’m certain you’re wondering why I am bringing this all up. The reason is that I was on Terra at the Grand Ball, and I did die in that attack. I have no memory of the event, just this last transmission from myself, informing me that your Miss Hyrt recognized me. Given that the Grand Ball was my first trip outside of Consortium space, and that I arrived incognito, this was a somewhat distressing turn of events. Two possibilities formed in my mind, one being that your people had somehow managed to infiltrate our government on a scale we have not seen since the Dra’kol war.”

The Director took in a deep breath before picking up the second crystal, “This crystal contains some basic information concerning the second possibility. This will become public knowledge the moment I give a press conference to the galaxy at large. We call it Soulcatcher. It is, quite simply, a safeguard against loss of individual sentience due to violence, disease, and, to a limited degree, even age. We can create hard backups of the minds of Humans and Dra’kol, grow clone bodies, and restore them to life should their current version meet an…untimely end. Obviously, we have rigorous controls in place to ensure that a Soulcatcher copy and an original are never activated at the same time, which brings us to why I am here.

“Your Miss Hyrt acted as though she had seen me before, and not just in a passing fashion. Since I doubt that your people have instigated some sort of large scale covert intelligence gathering operation on us, this leaves us with the other possibility, that whoever Miss Hyrt thought I was might be a Soulcatcher clone. For this reason, I have brought a simple medical device with me to run a DNA analysis between your Jon Cameron and myself. I have no intention of leaving here with any of these three objects today, but rather the specific knowledge to either confirm or deny my suspicions.

“Please understand that this in no way affects our relationship as far as I am concerned. Once this matter is completed, I would be more than willing to move on to much more pertinent matters of state.”

Marcao · Post by **Marcao** » 2004-05-09 08:01pm

[VNN] Veithan News Network

VNN sued by Arcane Empire!

In a move that surprised many VNN has been sued by the Arcane Empire. The suit seeks to establish that VNN misrepresented the facts involved in the CoG occupation, especially pertaining to the VNN coverage of disappearances within the arcane controlled occupation in CoG occupied territories. VNN vigorously denies the charges and its leadership was quoted as saying the following. “VNN takes its place as one of the premiere news broadcasters in the galaxy seriously and will defend itself from these allegations vigorously. Our reporters have been trained to being thorough in their investigations and catalog the information presented to them. We will make this information available to the Arcane Empire, in the hope that this lawsuit is averted. If not, we here at VNN are prepared to go into litigation and are confident that the lawsuit aimed against us shall be overturned as frivolous.”

Legal experts weigh in on Arcane Empire suit against VNN

Various legal experts based within the Veithan Empire and neighboring powers have weighed in on the pending arcane lawsuit against VNN. The consensus being that as long as the documentation which VNN claims to have exits the lawsuit will be likely thrown out. One of the chief lawyers for the Empire had this to say. “In order for the arcane empire to prove that VNN is liable for its newscasts it must prove that VNN had information that it willfully ignored or produced in order to harm the arcane empire. With the VNN claims that they have thorough catalogs and affidavits from the citizens of the covenant, that avenue seems closed to the arcane empire. Even if they manage to produce documents that can persuasively say that these people were never missing in the first place, VNN cannot be held responsible for the lies that the citizens of the occupied cities perpetuated.”

Outrage over VNN suit grows, demand for arcane goods continue to fall

In wake of the arcane empire’s attempt to sue VNN demand for its goods continue to plummet. The Veithan information grids are abuzz with activity all pertaining in some shape or form to the suit, public opinion polls suggesting that over 78 percent of the Veithan populace believes that the suit is retaliation for VNN broadcasts contrary to arcane empire desires. Thousands of anti-arcane sites have sprung up across the grid, all listing goods and services that the arcane empire provides within Veithan space. The public outrage has harmed demand for arcane goods within the Empire, goods that were already suffering beneath the arcane occupation of CoG worlds. A senior economist within the “Veithan Economic Journal” was quoted as saying the following. “The arcane suit against VNN necessary or not suffered from poor timing; Had the arcane empire made its displeasure known through less public channels, it may have avoided this situation. However, its suit is perceived by most as pure retaliation and demand for its goods have fallen even more as a result. I have no idea how far the public will go to avoid purchasing arcane goods, but already Veithan colonies and Myheri and Manasan markets are making every attempt to pick up the slack. At this rate, within six months the Myheri and Manasan star nations will replace the arcane empire in many fields of exports to the Veithan Empire. It is possible that the arcane empire may retaliate against Veithan goods, but Veitha is not a major exporter of goods to the arcane empire due to the dissimilar technological methods and capabilities of both nations. Veithan luxury goods could be harmed of course, but the Myheri and Manasan markets could pick up the slack there as well.”

Bugsby · Post by **Bugsby** » 2004-05-09 08:07pm

consequences wrote:"We're hoping this will be over momentarily, Krell Combine. Feel free to land troops, but you probably want to wait at least a few hours"
Hordes of shuttles are clearly visible rising from the surface.

"We are a purely naval power and do not have any ground forces to speak of. We see that you are withdrawing your transports from the planet. Have the mechanics been entirely eliminated?"

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2004-05-09 09:06pm

Thirdfain wrote:"This being the case, we would be honored to accept an embassy from your government. Space could be cleared on a grav-wheel on the cluster proper, or a section of Hudson could be set aside. As for other details- what do you have in mind?"

"It is a somewhat widely known secret that the Hajr, among other powers, is attempting to uncover the secrets behind the force of magic--or to gain at least a greater understanding of the phenomena. You have no doubt gained some access to books of spells, training manuals, and the like. But without the necessary experts and grounding in the field, such efforts would be very slow, difficult, and they would yield only limited returns," Basil said.

Ajax su Achtzehn nodded, "Go on."

Basil smiled, "Our foriegn ministry is in the position of possessing some numerous personnel with working knowledge in such magic, who could not only explain the spell books you may already have but also produce more... and bring with them spells of a level somewhat higher than those taught to neophytes. Of course, the advancement would not be extreme and upsetting to the balance of power by any means; my people rely primarily upon their innate magical talents and spells of a more-than-usual level of power could not be shared freely. Now, I could see to it that our embassy staff included some diplomats of these talents, with appropriate instructions as to their duties here."

"And in return you would expect...?"

"Nothing too ambitious," Basil said, "equipment and materials imperative to the construction of naval vessels, primarily."

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-05-09 09:44pm

"That of which you speak interests us. Our efforts on the books so far have produced only ambiguous results."

Ajax smiled as he spoke. In fact, the results had been most disappointing- of all the testers they had used, none had displayed a penchant for spellcasting. Some suggested that a consequence of the genemod package was a lack of connection to the occult- an unfortunate side-effect the engineers could not have forseen. Never the less, the Blackeyes were benefitting greatly from their improved understanding of magical processes.

"You are of course correct. The assistance of your... diplomatic staff would be much approved. Yes. I believe your proposal is more than acceptable. Our industry is, as you may have seen, blooming. The wealth of systems is being converted into such as you need- warship parts, construction equipment, fuels, raw materials. An exchange would be most welcome. We accept your proposal."

consequences · Post by **consequences** » 2004-05-09 09:56pm

Bugsby wrote:
consequences wrote:"We're hoping this will be over momentarily, Krell Combine. Feel free to land troops, but you probably want to wait at least a few hours"
Hordes of shuttles are clearly visible rising from the surface.
"We are a purely naval power and do not have any ground forces to speak of. We see that you are withdrawing your transports from the planet. Have the mechanics been entirely eliminated?"

"Unknown. We're going to leave a presence orbitting the planet, and establish weapon stations to fry anything that even starts to generate a power signature,as well as seismic sensors to report any abnormal movement. Short of blasting apart the moon entirely there's not much more we can do, and we're looking into ways to efficiently do that. You wouldn't happen to have any suggestions on how to easily accomplish that, would you?"