STGOD 4 Game Thread

[admiral_danielsben]

"By all means... The interesting thing is, a play very similar to this payed in the 1960s and was a hit... though, cultural changes are to be expected I suppose."

"Perhaps. We have only limited information, but what we do have seems to indicate that the 1960s were a very... irreverant time in Earth history. Although the bulk of the artistic materials we have from the era is in the form of music, there is no reason why it should not also extend to plays - note that we have records of only two major English-speaking playwrights of the era, Arthur Miller and Tennesee Williams, whose works were among those brought by the first humans to come here."

"Digging through the old files from the era while doing historical research, we found a jewish man by the name of Mel Brooks. he originally came up with an idea for a play like this back in the 60's and it mades its debut in the play "The Producers" which was a hit for several decades afterwards. We have also found another troupe called "Monty Python" they are so funny we are considering broadcasting them again"

"We have records of a 'Mel Brooks' but he is recorded as being the director of satirical motion pictures - not plays. We have knowledge of 3: 'Blazing Saddles', 'Spaceballs', and 'A Brief history of the world'. 'The Producers' is not among those we have knowledge of."

"and we've never heard of this 'Monty Python' character. Would he have anything in common with Brooks?"

"A lot of the works we have from Earth are of a more classical nature. We have a fairly complete reference to the complete works of William Shakespeare, for instance, of the late sixteenth/early seventeenth centuries. We have virtually nothing after the twenty-first century, which would appear to have been over a millenia ago, when the first humans came to Avea, the Union's home planet."

[Alyrium Denryle]

"We have records of a 'Mel Brooks' but he is recorded as being the director of satirical motion pictures - not plays. We have knowledge of 3: 'Blazing Saddles', 'Spaceballs', and 'A Brief history of the world'. 'The Producers' is not among those we have knowledge of."

"Oddly enough he also wrote several plays, and The Producers was adapted from a motion picture.

Monty Python was a British acting troupe that did a number of satirical films such as Monty Python: The Life of Brian. ABout the man born next door to Jesus
Monty Python: The Meaning of Life. In which they make fun of the entire human race
And Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In which they butcher the legend of King arthur in comedic fashion. They also had a rather successful television show.

[Shark Bait]

TO: Admiral Santiago's vessle
From: Atlantian ambassador Hectori

Greetings honored admiral I have recently been informed that when Karsus of the Arcane handed himself to you, the crew of his transport was seezed as well. While I understand the need to question all party's involved, perhaps it would be better if I was at least present due to their inability to speak english.

"Ambassador, we have universal translators that work wonders, remind us to give a pair to you when you show up. If you wish to be present for what remains of the questioning of the crew you are welcome to come, however most of the questioning is already over, and you'll have to move rather quickly if you want to be present for any of it."

That would be compleatly acceptable I will not be present in that case, however to avoid incident I have two requests one please do not smile at them, the bearing of one's teeth is a sign of agression in our species, and two please do not isolate them for long periods of time it is considered a most henious act due to our social nature.

[admiral_danielsben]

"We have records of a 'Mel Brooks' but he is recorded as being the director of satirical motion pictures - not plays. We have knowledge of 3: 'Blazing Saddles', 'Spaceballs', and 'A Brief history of the world'. 'The Producers' is not among those we have knowledge of."

"Oddly enough he also wrote several plays, and The Producers was adapted from a motion picture.

"Hmm.... interesting."

Monty Python was a British acting troupe that did a number of satirical films such as Monty Python: The Life of Brian. ABout the man born next door to Jesus
Monty Python: The Meaning of Life. In which they make fun of the entire human race
And Monty Python and the Holy Grail. In which they butcher the legend of King arthur in comedic fashion. They also had a rather successful television show.

"This could be interesting. I kind of liked 'Blazing Saddles' and 'Spaceballs' myself, although they were rather cheap and slapstick humor."

"As I said before, most of our material is of a more classical nature. And most artistic material from that time period consists of motion pictures and television, as well as music. Some of the latter is really unusual, often offensive, and almost always irreverant, and in countless styles. We have records of over 30 distinct types of music from the twentieth century, of which more than 20 seem to have been offensive for the time. It is intruiging how a popular culture can produce so much music that some elements of it find offensive."

[Alyrium Denryle]

"As I said before, most of our material is of a more classical nature. And most artistic material from that time period consists of motion pictures and television, as well as music. Some of the latter is really unusual, often offensive, and almost always irreverant, and in countless styles. We have records of over 30 distinct types of music from the twentieth century, of which more than 20 seem to have been offensive for the time. It is intruiging how a popular culture can produce so much music that some elements of it find offensive."

Well, take this play for example, some enjoyed it, I sure did, but others were ready to kill because of it. Whether something is a masterpiece or smut is rather subjective. and at the time the US and other major countries practiced, as we do, freedom of expression. So long as noone was harmed, the people in the US had the right to say anything, or create any form of artwork they wanted. We have similar provisions. While it is sad when someone is offended, they do not have the inherent right not be offended."

[Thirdfain]

"This display of anachronistic knowledge is quite impressive, Ambassadors, but I think perhaps we have issues of far greater import to examine."

Bondwoman Subvoice Quisa su Ithaca interrupted the conversation, seperating the Union ambassador from the Lizard. The Vulcan was somewhat shocked by the Ouster, who monopolized his attention with no regard for the others around them. He knew her species instantly, his intelligence reports had mentioned the human subspecies, with their brief lifespans, uncommon strength and speed, and strange culture.

"My people know little of yours, bondman Ambassador. I am curious as to the sort of nation you come from, what sort of worlds you inhabit, how your people think. As a newcomer to the stage that is Known Space, I think you would be well-suited to speak with and understand the viewpoints of all the powers, wouldn't you agree?"

[Alyrium Denryle]

"My people know little of yours, bondman Ambassador. I am curious as to the sort of nation you come from, what sort of worlds you inhabit, how your people think. As a newcomer to the stage that is Known Space, I think you would be well-suited to speak with and understand the viewpoints of all the powers, wouldn't you agree?"

"Well, I suppose it would be prudent to start with our worlds...

We inhabit worlds, much like this, terrestrial, high in natural resources like iron. The climate varries from desert to tropical rainforest, though wetend to place our cities in river valleys surrounded by sheer cliffs. Though that is not needed, simply prefered property, like beach-front on other worlds.

Our cities as yoou can see, are constructed out of a combination of granite steel, and a grown crystal.

Our nation itself can only be described as a libertarian state. We generally operate on what Earthers would recognize as Objectivism. All beings have the right to life liberty and property. They cannot be granted, they can only be taken. As everyone is born living, everyone is born free, and everyone wll persue property as part of their nature. In order for any of these to be taken, force must be initiated. wHich is the purposeof government. To protect the citizens from such force. Which is the only thing our tax dollars go to. Law enforcement, courts, the military, and a diplomatic corps used to protect the peope from invasion before it even begins.

While ur people are under n obligation to help others, they often choose to do so, simply because we have a tight knit social structure, and an altruistic nature. For example, while or government cannot send foreign aid, a corporation may choose to do so out of the kindness of their hearts for no charge... Tell me a bit about your people ambassador, if you dont mind"

[Dahak]

Varathrax, Dragonic space

He sighed. Finally something interesting. He was about to enter a virtual party over all this endless droning about those details of Earther culture.

"Very interesting, ambassador. But why haven't you entered the galactic politic state earlier, if I may ask?"

[Alyrium Denryle]

"We didnt know it existed as an actualy vibrant political entity. The only experience we had with alien species was with pre- industrial worlds and a few minor industrialized fiefdoms. Then we decided to check out the source of those WW2 transmissions and we found three interstallar empires at once"

[Straha]

That would be compleatly acceptable I will not be present in that case, however to avoid incident I have two requests one please do not smile at them, the bearing of one's teeth is a sign of agression in our species, and two please do not isolate them for long periods of time it is considered a most henious act due to our social nature.

Admiral Santiago repressed a chuckle.

"Too late now, comm just send back a reply that we aknowledge reception of their transmission. Navigation, prepare to begin Hyper space journey to co-ordinates I'm sending you."

Thirty Minutes Later, Dreadnought Alexander

The two Atlantean captives were lead along the halls towards an unkown destination. They were told the interogation was over, but there were still eight marines escorting them. Finally, they arrived at their destination, the shuttle bay of the large ship, and saw the worst sight they thought they could behold. Their beloved little shuttle, their pride and joy, was missing its door, though technicians were attaching a large metal cap in its place, something they recognized as a procedure used to ensure that atmosphere within a derelict was retained during a space flight. What was seemingly worse was that the small shuttle was slung underneath a much larger alien shuttle craft. The horror and pain in their eyes was lost on the officer who walked over to them, and started speaking to them through a universal translator.

"Your shuttle has lost its airlock, and structural capacity to make an un-aided space flight, sorry about that but you must have understood that it would happen when you made the trip here. It can be repaired, our techs say it'd probably only take a day, and it would most likley be pretty cheap. Anyway, this big ship that is carrying your shuttle now is a Jardanian JR-74 personel and small cargo shuttle craft. It's yours now, it goes about ten times as fast as your shuttle, it carries low grade shields and two turret mounted defense cannons, and it works on low grade fuel so it won't cost you too much. Those pilots inside will show you how to pilot the thing, but we'll slave your ship and guide you out through the Oort cloud. Enjoy."

The officer then turned and left, but not before signing to the marine escorts to ensure that the Atlanteans didn't do anything rash.

Five Minutes Later, Dreadnought Hector

Admiral Santiago watched the sensors as the shuttle was guided away. It had been a pesky shuttle, it'dcome carrying the last of the crew needed for the fleet to operate, but they hadn't realised that all the shuttle bays had been full. So they had carried it from Airlock to Airlock untill nowm when they'd finally gotten rid of the damn thing. It wasn't like it was a good shuttle to, it was ten years old and four generations out of date. Oh well, thing of the past now.

"Helm, open up a Hyperspace hole, and send us on through."

And, with that, the fleet turned and left the system.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Army Prison: God knows where

Dalamar sat in his cage, brooding. He was an elf, and 25 years was a drop in the bucket compared to the rest of his lifespan. He contemplated many thngs. escape, revenge, both.

It wasnt as if his nation would suffer if he did either of those, If he culd escape this purgatory he would be able to reap vengeance, then go astral and never be seen or heard from again. Welcomed back as a hero by the remnants of the empire.

But as it stood, he meditated, in a slumber only interrupted to eat, drink or relieve himself. None dared come near him....

[Stormbringer]

[Asgard Imperial Intelligence, Cubicle 4765]

"Listen, I know the interogation transcripts are classified beyond my clearance but I need access. It's important damn it, can't you get me clearance?"

The young intelligence analyst was making yet another fruitless call to an indifferent superior.

"WHY? I've told you why a dozen times. The rebels tactics don't add up and I think I might be able to figure out why."

Despite long caffiene driven hours banging his head against the problem Ryan Kenyion was still no closer to the answers he was after. For several weeks now he had been pouring over all the information he could get in order to figure out what the rebels had been after. And so far no one had been able to explain why they had held so many troops at the military space ports for so long, even though it had cost them their goal of grabbing the Imperial Family out of the Palace.

"Listen, if I can get access to those I think they might explain things. I don't buy the 'communications breakdown' theory, it just doesn't fit and it seems everyone knows it. Now can you please get me those reports?"

A thoroughly frustrating half hour later, he had gotten an "I'll try" and been hung up on. He went back to pouring over the evidence until well after midnight when he fell asleep at his desk.

[Thirdfain]

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

The huge gallery stretched for almost a mile, one side seperated from cold, hard space only by a deceptively transparent synthetic wall. The view was impressive- it looked out over the warship Wombs surrounding Eketrina. For months, they had been lit up like incredible, cyclopean jewels, shining with the light of a million floodlamps, a billion welding torches. Now, the seven Wombs were dark, huge, elongated shapes floating in the Void, visible only in the stark contrast of the sunlight from over an AU away.

The gallery was filled with the highest members of the Hajr, along with countless gawking soldiers, spacers, and workers. The Speaker, as well as almost the entire Council, was present. Only Sayus, the Speakers's second and main supporter in the Council, was conspicuously missing. The Vampire ambassador, DeLarge, was in a place of honor, along with a handful of Floaters from Inisha and Shiva. Aleksandra su Jhalar was present, as were officers from the 1st War Cluster.

A bomb set off here would have tidily decapitated the Hajr, but security was tight, and there was little chance of a Flatlander sneaking his or her way onto the zero-G habitat without being noticed by the Blackeyes agents patrolling. A formation of capital ships from the 1st War Cluster hung over the shielded facility, providing additional protection for the spaceyards and the officials.

And then, suddenly, the wombs lit up, one by one. Outlined in brilliant, glittering light, were four sleek Attack Carriers- The Red Queen, the Swift Predator, the Slayer of Weaklings, and the Crimson Fang. The mighty craft pulled from their moorings, engines lighting off for the first time. As they pulled free, squadrons of newly-built Strike Cruisers, fresh from their week-long journey from Elysium, formed up around them. One hundred and fifty frigates, evenly divided up among the "Knife", "Tarsis", and "Vampire" classes, spun around the capital ships in a dizzying display of showmanship.

Finally, the three largest Wombs came to life. The strangely maneuverable forms of two huge Cataphracts pushed themselves out of their moorings, their newly-painted black hulls lit dimly by their interior red ship's lights. the Diaspora's Harbinger and the Heroic Sacrifice formed up with the rest of the newly-constructed warships. They were the strong offensive punch of the squadron, a pair of battleship-equivelents.

The Fleet Tender Divinity of Purpose, mothership to the grand new War Cluster, came to life, to applause from the assembled officials. At 15 kilometers in length, she was one of the largest mobile starships in existence, a massive supply and repair base for the new 4th War Cluster.

The vessels realigned themselves and headed for the edge of the system, where the newest ships would begin their final trials and engine tests. The 4th would soon be heading home to Elysium for drills, while the tired and damaged 3rd War Cluster would rotate back to Hudson, it's duties patrolling the Edean and Krynori sectors taken up by the 1st War Cluster.

The Speaker, having finished congratulating the Fleet's new Admiral, Miyako su Kynisnet, took a moment to watch the ethereal beauty of the warships firing up their Kincaid drives, rending space into a pattern of disappating gridfire as they made for Elysium. She smiled. the Hajr's fleet, fueled with the plunder from two dozen star systems, was now the most powerful single astral navy in Known Space. It would take it's toll on the civilians at home, but as long as there were virgin systems for the booming population to move to, the clusters would accede to her demands for more resources.

Already, the strings of freighters were returning to the still-cooling wombs, and the construction lights continues to glow as preparations were made for the laying of new spines. There was little doubt now as to the power of the Hajr.

[Dahak]

Al-Quadim system

The small fleet of ships swalloed out of their wormholes above Al-Qaudim's sixth planet, a especially large gas giant, surrounded by no less than 15 moons.
The commander of the escorting squadron of fast destroyers immediately was in contact with Verdandi.
<<Greetings, Admiral,>> he 'vised. <<All ships are safe and sound. We will leave now. We are ordered for Covenant space. Will you be at the fleet dinner next week, Admiral?>>
<<Yes, Pjotr,>> she sent a virtual chuckle. <<Even if I have to attend via Datanet. I won't miss it. Have fun on your new job. Tjoerhom out.>>
The twelve fast destroyers opened their wormholes and vanished.

The small fleet of construction ships and freighters went to work. An especially large ship descended into the atmosphere of the planet until it reached a depth of 50 kilometers. It unfolded sections of it, transformed itself, and became the first, temporary center of Gladsheim presence in the system. Construction drones started swarming around it, expanding upon it.
In orbit, a small space station was beginning it's construction, and freighters belched swarms of sensor drones and small orbital weapon platforms.
Mining ships, smaller versions of their planetary cousins, went to work on one of the moons, starting to strip-mine it for resources.
Soon enough, it would be a fully-fledged colony of Gladsheim.

[Marcao]

Veithan/Grand Empire Space
Al-Quadim System

The Veithan Empire like the Grand Empire had not wasted much time in beginning to exploit its new territories. It took a bit of time to arrange the resources necessary, but when the Veithan flotilla of construction ships arrived in system, no one could doubt that the Empire had plans for Al-Quadim as well as Sharis and Yvela. The first thing which was arranged was the deployment of sensor platforms; these platforms would form the core of an early warning network.

The asteroid belts of Yvela and Sharis had not been exploited by the arcane empire; the Veithan empire had every intention on making use of them. Factories were seeded along the belts, their resources exploited efficiently. The planetary bodies which the Veithan Empire had claim for where seeded with defense satellites until larger, orbital weapon platforms could be brought in. The systems were abuzz with activity, temporary facilities displaced to the planetary surfaces. The worlds would be military first and foremost, as the Empire had no need to displace large population centers to these worlds just yet. In time, it would be done but as of now the military moved in first and foremost.

In orbit of Al-Quadim three, Veithan construction vessels settled in orbit and began their work. It was all a matter of time now. As the work progressed, the path for the formerly arcane worlds was altered. In her tower, Lilandra watched the spectacle quietly. Her mind aware of nuisances that lesser minds would miss, it had begun.

Veithan Space
Mulaya III

Voice 1: “so everything will be in place within the week?”
Voice 2: “yes, if the Minmatar are to be believed.”
Voice 1: “and you are certain that all the precautions were taken?”
Voice 2: “absolutely. The Minmatar have managed to survive by not asking many questions. Their shipyards are used by many, and they wish to keep it that way. Nonetheless, I made sure not only to follow the usual procedures, but throw a few more in for fun.”
Voice 1: “and the prospected recipients of our gifts?”
Voice 2: “they have proven to be receptive to the idea.”
Voice 1: “good. Has the possibility of betrayal being taken care of?”
Voice 2: “as much as it can be. Control estimates that the chances for betrayal are less than nine percent. Both sides stand to benefit, and these tools are necessary for their continued survival.”
Voice 1: “very well. Keep me updated.”
Voice 2: “as you wish, sir.”

Minmatar Space

The Minmatar had survived the tragedies of old through the application of common sense and sound business sense. Currently, their weapons and technology while slightly behind that employed by most powers, still managed to perform admirably. Furthermore, due to various Minmatar practices, such as trade agreements and some of the most stringent privacy laws in space, their factories and shipyards remained in demand. The Minmatar would build anything and sell anything discretely, as long as the price was right. It was a fact that many nations exploited, and as long as that remained the Minmatar would continue to survive.

This particular shipyard was located in the outer edges of a solar system, a local asteroid belt providing some of the necessary materials for construction work. It was a relatively unattractive structure, designed purely for efficiency and little else. Within the shipyard four hulls rested silently. These were not warships, the lack of weaponry emplacements made that clear. Nonetheless, they were being worked on extensively, their cargo holds filled with a mixture of surprisingly modern equipment. The vessels were nearly complete their buyers, expected within the week. One of the lead engineers paused for a moment and considered the vessels. They would not last long against military opposition, but he had a feeling that was not their point. No, these vessels were not meant to tangle with military opposition. He smiled thinly, shaking his head and pushing his thoughts aside. He was not being paid to consider what that which he built or modified was meant to do. As far as he was concerned, the ships he was working on were big lumps of credits. That was what he was paid for. He continued to work on the complex circuitry buried within the vessels quietly; aware that he like everyone else within the yard, had deadlines to meet. If they did their job well, they may even get a second or third order. He rather liked that thought…

[Straha]

Chief Petty Officer Richard Ancaris stared at the screen. This was the same probe, same alerts, but this time it was the real deal. He immeadietly picked up the phone, and sent the message right on to Earth.

(I may edit this later to add more detail)

---------------------

Admiral Santiago looked at the messgae. It was straight from the Priest, and it was clear. He was to move to a rendevous point, meet with a Monacoran Marine Special Task force, and maybe a few other allied fleets and then move on to assault a Siliconoid system. Estimated arrival time would be six days to the planet, accounting for a day to rendevous. They were to begin, and they had, the journey immeadietly.

----------------

Far Point, Monacoran System
Broadcast to: All Nations' Naval Command

We have co-ordinates of a large production center of the Siliconoids. We move to strike now and request that all allied nations that can send a fleet to help us to immeadietly assault our mutual foe. Co-ordinates and time for a rendevous point in deep space are provided. Move now!

[Thirdfain]

<< Our word is our bond, Monacoran command. The 2cnd War Cluster's 1st Carrier Swarm has been dispatched to arrive on station concurrent with your own vessels. We will provide specialist equipment for breaching Machine fortresses. Good hunting.>>

[Alyrium Denryle]

Far Point, Monacoran System
Broadcast to: All Nations' Naval Command

We have co-ordinates of a large production center of the Siliconoids. We move to strike now and request that all allied nations that can send a fleet to help us to immeadietly assault our mutual foe. Co-ordinates and time for a rendevous point in deep space are provided. Move now!

We tend to have a non-interventionalist policy However if you could prvide us with information on the siliconoids, we may very well have need to deal with them as well.

[Alyrium Denryle]

General Products Board Meeting

"Well gentlebeings, we just got confimation of our next contract wth the federal government. Capitalism be praised... As you all know, they need uus to build a new fleet in order to bring us up to speed with the rest f the galactic empires. Some of them are a bit expansionist and have more ships and a larger industrial base than us... you can see where that could lead.
Here are the hulls we need built within the next 6 months

4 Dreadnoughts

8 Cruisers

5 carriers

Full fighter compliments

30 missile destroyers

50 escorts

After that, the companies responsible for the on-board systems will handle the instalation of weapons shields etc... you know the drill.

....

[Stormbringer]

Far Point, Monacoran System
Broadcast to: All Nations' Naval Command

We have co-ordinates of a large production center of the Siliconoids. We move to strike now and request that all allied nations that can send a fleet to help us to immeadietly assault our mutual foe. Co-ordinates and time for a rendevous point in deep space are provided. Move now!

To: Monarocan Naval Command
From: Asgard Admiralty
Re: Siliconoids

We would be happy to detach some of our forces pending more detailed intelligence information.

[Straha]

Far Point, Monacoran System
Broadcast to: All Nations' Naval Command

We have co-ordinates of a large production center of the Siliconoids. We move to strike now and request that all allied nations that can send a fleet to help us to immeadietly assault our mutual foe. Co-ordinates and time for a rendevous point in deep space are provided. Move now!

To: Monarocan Naval Command
From: Asgard Admiralty
Re: Siliconoids

We would be happy to detach some of our forces pending more detailed intelligence information.

Information is sketchy at best, sensor reports from the drone showed a planetary establishment, no life forms, and at least five (OOC: Nitram if this ain't right I can understand moving it up or down.) keels layed down in various states of construction. We will provide you with the co-ordinates of the base after we have destroyed or neutralised it.

[Dahak]

Far Point, Monacoran System
Broadcast to: All Nations' Naval Command

We have co-ordinates of a large production center of the Siliconoids. We move to strike now and request that all allied nations that can send a fleet to help us to immeadietly assault our mutual foe. Co-ordinates and time for a rendevous point in deep space are provided. Move now!

"We will have to assess our capability of taking part in this battle, as we already have fleet units bound in the Al-Quadim system, and we do not wish to further diminish our protection of the home systems.
Should we come to a descision, we will let you know.

[Straha]

Far Point, Monacoran System
Broadcast to: All Nations' Naval Command

We have co-ordinates of a large production center of the Siliconoids. We move to strike now and request that all allied nations that can send a fleet to help us to immeadietly assault our mutual foe. Co-ordinates and time for a rendevous point in deep space are provided. Move now!

"We will have to assess our capability of taking part in this battle, as we already have fleet units bound in the Al-Quadim system, and we do not wish to further diminish our protection of the home systems.
Should we come to a descision, we will let you know.

You don't have time to mull over your choices, our fleet is only going to be at the rendevous point for twelve hours. After that no one else is going to be able to join in the expedition. We will go it alone if we have to.

[Alyrium Denryle]

"Having read over data at our embassy, these Siliconids are a credible and real threat to our republic, we will send the 4th fleet to the rendevous point"

[Stormbringer]

Information is sketchy at best, sensor reports from the drone showed a planetary establishment, no life forms, and at least five (OOC: Nitram if this ain't right I can understand moving it up or down.) keels layed down in various states of construction. We will provide you with the co-ordinates of the base after we have destroyed or neutralised it.

We will be dispatching the 6th and 7th Battle Cruiser Squadrons. Our only other resquest is for a formal delineation of this command.