STGOD 4 Game Thread

[Dahak]

To: Draconis Republic
CC: All Nations
From: Gladsheim Imperial Foreign Affairs Ministry
Subject: Tortugan affair

We are of the opinion that dealing with pirates in a swift and decisive manner is a valid operation. Full scale invasion under the pretenses of piracy to further enlarge your nation is not.
We support the Monacorans sanctions, as limited our part could be.
Draconis cititzens are asked to leave our orbital installations and until further notice all Draconis ships daring to enter Gladsheim space will be escorted out of our space.
We retract our diplomatic staff, as well as all other citizens from the Draconis Republic.
It is normally not the way of the Grand Empire to interfere lesser powers operations, but you brought yourself into this unfortunate position.

Best Wishes.

[Dahak]

To: All Nations
From: Asgard Trade Office (Medical Division)
Re: Prolong treatments

The Asgard Medical Office has cleared the first generation prolong treatments for inter-species sale. Import licenses and clinical test maybe arranged through this office.

We are not interested in inferior technology.

[Spyder]

Minmatar Territory - Outskirts

A small independant pirate vessel pressed forward towards the edge of Minmatar space.

"We cleared the checkpoint. Looks like we're home free." One of the men smiled as he flipped a coin over his fingers. The other just tapped at the controls, while the first man was calm the other was still displaying some tension.

"Shut up man, we're not out yet."

"Oh come on, we're a billion miles from anywhere. What the hell's going to go wrong now?"

Sure enough, a warning light flashed on the console.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" The nervous one practically cried as he looked at the warning indicator.

"Allah Christ, calm the fuck down." He flicks a control on the com system. "Let's wait and see what they want."

Moments later...
"Unidentified vessel, reduce power to your engines and prepare to alter course. You will be escorted to the nearest checking station. Comply immediately or we will open fire."

"Ok, now we run. Full throttle!" The pirate vessel begins to pick up speed as the engines are taxed to maximum capicity.

"There's two of them! Minmatar strike fighters. Oh man, we're fucked. We're so fucked." The co-pilot had already been stricken useless with panic.

"Just sit tight, we can still."

Suddenly a pair of small craft buzzed past the ship at twice their current acceleration.

"Damn, fast bitches. Looks like we're going to have to fight."

"Fuck this shit man, just give up!"

The red light on the console faded and was replaced by green.

"Ha," the pilot laughed, "they're out of range. Guess they didn't like what they saw hanging off our gun pods."

The indicator flashed red and was accompanied by a rapid beep as the two fighters turned around and closed the range.

"Holy shit!"

Successive blasts from the lead fighter followed by his wingman struck the pirate vessel, piercing the hull and exploding from within.

"Oh God, Zues, Satan, fucking horseshit somebody!" The co-pilot cried as the air rushed out through various holes in the hull moments prior to the vessel's explosion. A hulk, some debris, mostly wrecked free floating contraband and two frozen corpses were all that remained.


...



MSF Xeron Mark II Promotional

"We of the Minmatar Starforce are proud to present the newest inovation in our line of space military hardware; the Xeron Mark II Strike fighter. The Xeron is one of the fastest and most powerful vessels of its size at a total length of 28.4 meters. This two seater fighter craft is designed to function in a multitude of roles. Its three stage Gravity Over Drive accelerator system and total inertia control system give the Xeron Mark II unprecidented speed, acceleration and maneuverability while modular fully customizable weapon modules can be fitted with neutron cannons, gluon pulse guns, kinetic pulse charges, missiles weapons, torpedoes and heavy bombs allowing the Xeron full operational capacity as either a superiority fighter, an interceptor or even a bomber. The two forward swept low profile wings also allow the Xeron Mark II to function effectively as an atmospheric fighter increasing the already impressive combat capabilities of this craft.

The Xeron Mark II is truely a next generation fighter that will serve as the corner stone for MSF carrier based combat for years to come."

"Minmatar Starforce. Do you have what it takes?"

[Alyrium Denryle]

To: Draconis Republic
CC: All Nations
From: Gladsheim Imperial Foreign Affairs Ministry
Subject: Tortugan affair

We are of the opinion that dealing with pirates in a swift and decisive manner is a valid operation. Full scale invasion under the pretenses of piracy to further enlarge your nation is not.
We support the Monacorans sanctions, as limited our part could be.
Draconis cititzens are asked to leave our orbital installations and until further notice all Draconis ships daring to enter Gladsheim space will be escorted out of our space.
We retract our diplomatic staff, as well as all other citizens from the Draconis Republic.
It is normally not the way of the Grand Empire to interfere lesser powers operations, but you brought yourself into this unfortunate position.

Best Wishes.

Via our standard policy of reciprocity(And supply and Demand), all those engaged in trade sanctions against us, will also be met by equal sanctions against you and yours on our part. Basic law of supply and demand, almost noone in our nation will trade with you, given the choice, at this point.

[Alyrium Denryle]

"The Government of Tortuga has tried to negotiate a deal with the Draconis Republic, but the Draconis were not willing, nor even co-operative, to sign a treaty. All that was asked for in the treaty was coverage of the damage done by the Draconis to the Tortugans on the planet. We are open to renewed negotiations, but we fear that its goal is hopeless at this time."

<Sends copy of both treaties(major points of the tortungan version only) to major media>

"The Tortugans were intent on forcing us to pay reparations when they were the ones that initiated force by commiting acts of piracy against our nation. They were in no position to make such demands, and we offered to rebuild their infastructure, provided they renounce the citizenship of those involved in pirate acts against our nation. We are also open to negotiation, and will not advance upon their positions unless fired upon. However, if they fire on our troops or attack us in any wayy, we will use deadly force. As far as we are concerned, the cease fire, if not a workable treaty, is in effect.

It was one final media transmission, the preparations for a resumption of hostilities was back on.

"We merely asked to be repayed for what they had destroyed. It was not our fault they did not do it. There is no cease fire, its sole purpose was to establish a treaty, it has failed. We await, with minor trepidation, the coming of the new attacks."

"They demanded that we repay all damages, including what they themselves destroyed with their near indiscriminant use of nuclear weapons, and military costs. This is unacceptable, and noone has done this since the End of World War One on Earth, to our knowledge. We offered to rebuild their civilian infastructure which we directly destroyed. Their power generation, and the parts of their power grid destroyed by our own EMP weapons. But they refused. This stipulation would not be acceptable to any other nation, nor is it acceptable to us. We will not continue our attacks unless fired upon, so we have reached a stalemate."

[Dahak]

Via our standard policy of reciprocity(And supply and Demand), all those engaged in trade sanctions against us, will also be met by equal sanctions against you and yours on our part. Basic law of supply and demand, almost noone in our nation will trade with you, given the choice, at this point.

The Grand Empire shivers with fear.
As there won't be any negative consequences to us, and you will find that there is no trade going on between our nations, all this will bring is bad reputation for you.
If you continue on your ill-advised path, be known that we will use your actions as a shining example of how not to do it.

[Straha]

The press finally found a foreign secretary that was aggravated enough to give a statement.

"Look! Bugger off, okay? A cease fire requires two agreeing parties for it to be in effect, and as of right now we have one party saying no cease fire. Thus there's no cease fire and the deadline is till on, okay? Good? Fine, now can I get some peace please?"

[Stormbringer]

TO: All Fleets
From: Asgard Admiralty
Re: War Warning
*encrypted ansible transmission*

All Fleet and units will consider this a formal war warning. Repeat this is a war warning. We are not currently at war but we consider the possibility that the Draconis will not agree to a cease fire likely, war may break out with no further warning.

All ships will be setting defense condition 2. In addition, no ships of the Draconis are to be allowed with in Asgard space. Appropriate Fleets and units will ready for departure, if necessary. All units will maintain level one readiness.

[Stormbringer]

[Asgard Foriegn Office Complex]

The Tortugan envoy was escorted into the meeting. The secruity surrounding it was heavy, though the results of it wouldn't be too closely guarded. An open secret was often times useful.

"Ambassador, we're glad to meet with you. We hope to help your people in their plight."

"We thank you, my people appreciate any help you can give."

"I'll be breif, in exchange for the PIR vessels we have in surplus we're asking for basing rights when your planet is retaked. Is that acceptable?"

[Bugsby]

The space above Sirius was above with activity. The Hephaestus shipyards were building the new Krell fleet, now over halfway completed with the aid of massive funds pouring in from the former Overseer territory, now the Krell salvage area. New contracts helped, too. Money can rolling in from itelligence contracts, and even more from the new military contracts. Civilians were being hired by the thousands, equipped, and sent to the shipyards. Although machines did most of the work, everyone who could hold a welder was helping seal hull plates in place. Electricians were being hired away from their jobs at home to come and wire shield coils. Engineers were helping nestle the engines in their mountings. The funds would not last long, and soon these workers would be unemployed yet again. But for now, they were paid, and paid well. Construction buzzed along.

Even more hectic that the shipyards were the fleet preparations. Munitions suppliers from the planet shipped up energy cells and missiles. Cargo transports from around the border worlds brought in the reserves of fuel, replicator jellies, and other good essential for day-to-day living. The Krell fleet was going out to war. New mobilization orders had come from Diama just hours before, and Krell techs were readying the ships for their next assignment, prepared for at least a month in deep space.

The Tortugan taskforce, totalling about 1/3 of the Krell fleet and led by three dreadnaughts was already prepared. The last few transports undocked from the fleet, and the ships sped towards Tortuga. They would arrive in an hour. The war that was brewing would be fought everywhere, but the first blow would certainly be at Tortuga, and the Krell would be there.

Another huge taskforce of about the same size was getting its last-minute checks. It had been 36 hours since Adar Krell had ordered the fleet to full readiness, and the last ships were almost ready. Three hours later, those ships too headed in a different direction, set to fulfill a different contract. Their orders were to defend.

The last portion of the Krell fleet stepped down from ready alert. the two Krell fleets had been deployed. Adar was determined to keep some ships in reserve. After the war, who knew what would come? The Client Worlds must be defended.

One area of Krell Space grew silent. The shipyards still worked.

[Bugsby]

Earth
Talys walked slowly down a lane in the archology park. The park took up an entire floor of the massive archology, and Talys had to admit, it really was beautiful. The Bhaeloreans had done an excellent job. The park had been designed to look like New York's Central Park, and there really was no difference. Except for the ceiling 20 meters overhead. Rumor had it that a holoscreen would go up there to mime an outdoor sky, but work on that hadn't started yet. The setting remained an artificial paradise.

The guards had rotated, so it was a different man that walked behind Talys than had during the afternoon when the strange man had come to visit. An hour ago, Talys had announced his intention to leave to go to the park, and the guard had called in to report the change of location, then had escorted Talys to the park. Talys had wandered for a long time, but he did not leave. The visitor would find him. That was certain.

Talys walked under one of the many low stone bridges that were all over the park. The guard followed. Behind them, a figure slipped into the small tunnel the bridge created. A security camera stood at one end of the tunnel, but the figure reached up and flicked something on the camera. It went dead. The man hurried to catch up to Talys and the guard before they could leave the deep shadows at the end of the tunnel. The guard heard the rapidly approaching footsteps and started to turn, but before he could even see the figure approaching, a blue light lept out from a device in the man's hand, and the guard crumpled to the floor, unconscious. Talys turned, and was grabbed by the assailant. It was the visitor from earlier.

"Jesus, what are you doing here? Why didn't you meet me an hour ago?"

"Too many people. No one listens, you hear?" Talys nodded, looking around. This late at night, he could see no one on the path, and the only other witness, the guard, was twitching on the ground. "Is he..."

"Dead? Nah. Just sleeping. Hit him with an electric discharge, he'll be out for at least another fifteen minutes."

"Will anyone notice?"

"Sensors pick up an electric discharge? Yeah, of course. But this is an archology. No one will think twice. You're mine for fifteen minutes. Tell me what you know."

"KNOW? I don't know anything. They captured me before I could even look at the tapes. And they blocked my transmission. The data is with them."

"Don't play stupid. You should be able to figure out what was on those tapes. What did they ask you in interrogation?"

"It was all about this one cruiser, Starkiller. What did I know, what was my interest. How much did I know about their interrogation procedures. Those kind of things. I think.... I think it was security tapes that document an investigation they carried out on that cruiser. But I don't know. I don't know."

"Who was your source?"

"The little slime, I never got his name. He worked at this bar, the Tipsy Iguana. The shorter of the two, blue hands. Don't go after him, though. He's dirty. He betrayed me to the government. And I bet he betrayed them, to. He contacted me, wanted to sell me the data. And he did take my money, he even wanted more! That fuckin snake. My life is on its ass, cuz that little hisser wanted to make a quick buck, from me and the Dracs!"

"What else? Tell me everything you know about this case."

"Nothing, I swear there's nothing."

"Good." The visitor pulled out a blaster and fired. Talys only barely had time to register surprise before he was dead, a crater burned into his torso. The visitor turned dispassionately, and fired another bolt into the head of the still-twitching guard. Taking a bit of snakeskin out of his pocket, he rubbed down the handle and trigger of the blaster, and dropped it on the ground. He was glad to get rid of it. The thing had felt awkward in his hands; it had been made for the claw of a 4-foot lizard, after all, not the hand of a 6-foot human.

The sound of the blaster being fired had alerted some other people walking in the park. But by the time they arrived, there was nothing left in the tunnel except two corpses and a Draconis blaster.

[Marcao]

Veithan Empire
Veitha System, Veitha III
Unknown Location

Avery awoke.

His eyes focused on the familiar ceiling above him, the comfortable bed beneath him stirring memories to bubble forth. The facility in which he currently resided was one of the best within the Empire, catering to the special needs of the Order; His nostrils flared slightly the clinical odor of the room sampled. His neural enhancements could have given him a detailed breakdown of the molecules in the air and projected the information to his retina if he so wished it, but he did not. Instead, his mind expanded seeking the presence of another. A gentle nudge brushing against his probe as words coalesced within his mind.

~The operation was successful Avery. The enhanced Gestalt has been implanted, it will be up to you now to test your new strength and your own limits.~ the voice was female and utterly familiar. His mind intertwining with those of his guest as he replied. ~Thank you for the information Natalya. There is something…different about your presence.~ Avery paused, for a moment considering the proper thoughts. He knew Natalya’s mental signature well, but it had changed what had been a strong star now seemed to have grown, expanded, as if that star had moved closer, or had been replaced by a warm sun. Natalya laughed softly, her thoughts answering his contemplation. ~I was one of the first to have the improved gestalt installed Avery. Are you surprised? I have been testing it for some time. Remember this however, with greater strength come greater risks. As a member of the Order, it is your job to push yourself to the limit, but not to cross it.~

Avery sighed softly, his body moving as a singular whole as he sat up upon his bed, a mental switch flicked as his new gestalt was activated. He felt the process start, the artificial mechanism amplifying his already considerable mental might, a second passed and then another, and another. The process continuing to the point where it had always stopped, where his original gestalt had reached full capacity but it continued. The implant continuing its work, within his mind Avery felt himself grow, expanding like a sun in the throes of exploding. His eyes widened, head tilting to the right and losing itself upon Natalya’s smile. It took three more seconds for him to force the process to seize, his implants informing him that the gestalt was still well below full capacity. He felt as if he could move worlds, shatter mountains, overflowing with an artificially generated vitality that he knew he could not reach without the implants within him. Nonetheless, he was also well aware of the risks, the strain. It was there, in a corner of his mind spreading slowly, crawling through his being. Natalya’s thoughts whispered to his mind. ~It will take practice to get used to the new levels you can reach, but you will succeed. I know this as you do, in time you will push your new gestalt to the maximum as you pushed the one before. And when that occurs, you will be once more ready to serve.~

Natalya moved, the motion caught by Avery’s sharpened senses and she came to sit by the edge of his bed. Her eyes watching him closely, her usual smile widening slightly as her thoughts manifested once more. ~Now, let me tell you about the man that gave you so much trouble in Manasa…~

[Hotfoot]

Ravenlock Sector
Corvus
Office of the Director

The Director stood in the doorway to his office, looking in at a sight he had been deprived of for far too long. Everything was as he had left it, save for one slight detail. Someone else was sitting at his desk.

“I hope all of my settings have remained unchanged, Jenkins.”

“Of course, sir. I always back them up whenever you go on a vacation. I was just reinstalling them now. I’d have done so sooner, but there has been a simply dreadful amount of business that has been coming in while you were off enjoying the luxuries of other worlds.”

“Things needed to be done. A lot has happened since we rejoined civilization.”

“Yes, and you’ll find roughly half of it in your inbox I’d imagine. I had to upgrade your terminal in order to handle the load, I hope you don’t mind.”

The Director paused for a moment, “You upgraded my terminal. To deal with the load.”

“Well, that’s what I told the work crew at least, and I’m sticking to it.”

“Jenkins?”

“Oh, calm down, you’ll love it. Everything is so much faster now.”

“I doubt I’ll really care about the difference of a few picoseconds when loading documents,” he sighed, walking up to his desk and shooing the frail man away. “Now, I believe you mentioned to me a special delivery from the Veithans?”

“Yes sir, hand delivered during the security summit. Your DNA only. Believe me, I was very tempted to take a peek. The suspense is phenomenal.”

“And the pool has already reached five digits, right?”

“Seven, actually,” the Director raised an eyebrow at the frail man, “Only just…”

“Right. If you would?” he motioned towards the door.

“Well, I was rather hoping to see the look on your face, actually.”

The Director sighed. “Fine, have it your way.” The frail man produced the package and placed it on the Director’s desk as Jon sat down. The Director eyed the package for a moment before unlocking it, revealing a data crystal within. Gently removing the crystal from the package, Jon placed it into his terminal, which automatically scanned the crystal’s stored information and opened a highly detailed report, a short synopsis, and a document with links to information sources and background data.

“See, much faster than before,” the Director didn’t reply verbally, but rather opted to shoot the frail man an annoyed glance before returning to the numerous datasheets now presented to him. Quickly, he digested the synopsis and blacked out the screen.

“I’ll be sending a copy of this to our archivists, in the meantime, I’d like you to get the medical records of all registered telepaths together, past and present, and get their DNA. Run traces on the families, see how far back we can get them. Cross-reference them with breakthrough hyperspace physicists while you’re at it.”

“Right away, sir. Any reason?”

“Well, I don’t have a rogue clone, but apparently I do have a rather large extended family out there.”

“Oh dear…”

“What, did you lose the pool?”

“No, I won, but I suppose now I’m going to have to update that list of holiday cards I’ll be sending out this year.”

[Spyder]

Jormungandr

"Do you have anything to declare?" The man asked the other as he approached the customs desk. There was a brief moment of silence.

"You've no doubt heard all possible humerous responses to that question." The man answered. The customs agent quietly nodded.

"Then I won't waste your time." He smiled briefly. "I'm carrying a change of clothes, some business documents, sunglasses, my wallet, watch and my PDA." This was confirmed by the scanners.

"Purpose of your visit, Mr," The man behind the counter paused for a momen as he scrolled through the available information, "Sullivan?"

"Business. I'm meeting with the Helsinki Beverage Corporation on behalf of the Minmatar Alcohol and Tobacco Union."

[Thirdfain]

Under the desk, a seperate set of sensors looked the man over. Ever since the Arcanist threat's days, measures had been in place to keep an eye on any possible metaphysical threats were detected; the Harpers had been a constant worry. Now, every person to come through customs got a once-over with a small suite of quantek scanners.

If the man was half-human, possessed, or at all different from the Human standard, they'd know. It would not mean anything at this point- the Jormungandrian desk clerk had no access to the sensor readouts. The Hajr agents who monitored traffic in the area, on the other hand, did. If the man didn't check out cleanly, they'd know.

[Dahak]

Gladsheim Prime, Imperial Plaza

<<This whole Draconis affair is highly irritating,>> Silas Orvold said. <<They just don't know when they should pack up and run home. The Monacorans are on the war path...>>
<<Yes, so it seems,>> Empress Elana looked out of her office down on the clouds. <<Apart from the cosmetic sanctions, like sending home their diplomats, this matter is of no further concern to us. But if would come to a shooting war, we might have to take part...>>
<<Well,>> Admiral Farshaw said, <<we could lean back, and watch the fireworks. Or we could join and help.>>
<<But what good would it do?>>
<<We may secure a foothold in the inner sphere of Known Space. Al-Quadim is shaping up nicely but to have another base would certainly help us.>>
<<But we would have to deal with the populace in those systems, should they fall into our hands,>> Orvold mused.
<<We would control the high orbits and the system. These mudballs are of no interest to us.As long as we destroy their higher infrastructure, they can live their simple lifes.>>
<<Intriguing idea,>> the Empress answered.
<<Or we bombard it and scrape the resources off of it, both would work.>>
<<Admiral,>> Orvold looked calculating, <<that certainly wouldn't go well with the other powers. That would have to be a last resort.>>
The Admiral looked grumpy. <<IF you say so...>> After a short period he went on, <<Anyway, if we should go to war, we should also consider putting further ships into construction so we can replace possible losses quickly.>>
<<Yes, put up a plan for the yards,>> the Empress acknowledged. <<Is that all?>>
<<I have one further point, your Highness,>> Orvold answered her.
<<Yes?>> she signaled him to go on.
<<With all those refugees on Orbital One, and the various diplomatic staffs there, our allies might be lacking the privacy they would want.>>
<<What do you suggest?>>
<<Well, we have some unused stations, like old Chires station. It isn't used currently. We could refit it for use by foreigners, even equip it with those archaic manual terminals and interfaces, and float it up in atmosphere. The Veithans and Ravenlock would have their own private space, complete with all diplomatic necessities.>>
<<SOunds good. Begin with it.>>
<<Yes, your Highness,>> he smiled.
The Empress rose. <<Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a appointment for a tennis match with my son and his consort. I tell you, I either give this Ravenlock a medal or have him shot. I'm still unsure,>> she chuckled. <<I don't know why, but this sport is spreading like a wildfire. I even saw some AIs play it in Datanet, can you believe it?>> Shaking her head, she left.

[Spyder]

The Hajr agents who monitored traffic in the area, on the other hand, did. If the man didn't check out cleanly, they'd know.

The scan results yielded nothing out of the ordinary aside from a slight vitamin deficiency. Nothing a small adjustment to Mr Sullivan's diet couldn't fix. Otherwise he was as normal as humans get and in reasonably good health.

"Was there anything else?"

[Thirdfain]

" No, sir. Welcome to the Republic of Jormungandr, and enjoy your stay."

[Darksider]

::::::::Outlying Asgard Colony world, several months ago:::::::::

The ambassador looked at his Asgard counterpart.

"As I said, a Monacoarn representative may wish to witness these talks, We don't have a problem with it, as long as it's alright with your government."


(OOC: I took care of my RL concerns and am ready to play)

[Stormbringer]

::::::::Outlying Asgard Colony world, several months ago:::::::::

The ambassador looked at his Asgard counterpart.

"As I said, a Monacoarn representative may wish to witness these talks, We don't have a problem with it, as long as it's alright with your government."

(OOC: Loki System?)

"We have no objections to our allies the Monacorans attending. Whatever you have to say can be said in front of them. We will contact them and arrange a representative so that our talks may continue. Whenever you wish to begin?"

(OOC: I took care of my RL concerns and am ready to play)

Great, you picked the right time.

[Spyder]

HBC corporate offices

"Sir, Mr Sullivan from the MATU is here to see you. He has an appointment."

[Thirdfain]

HBC Corporate Offices
Republic of Jormungandr
Ouster Occupation Zone, Rimwards Edge of Known Space

Mr. Sullivan was ushered into the HBC offices. The Helsinki Beverage Corporation ran a simple trade. Fancy alchohol, a low-weight, high-cost good, was imported from the Minmatar Freehold and a handful of other regional powers. The HBC made cheaper knock-offs on planet as well, and as such could provide it's customers with a range of prices and qualities.

The HBC had only been a Hajr puppet for a handful of months now. Some of it's members had been sequestrated, and others had been replaced. It was not a particularly overt organization, but it was a useful courier for small objects and cargoes that needed to be disseminated across the Rimwards Edge without anyone noticing.

Sullivan met the HBC rep, a florid gentleman who cordially took his hand, giving it a brief but firm handshake.

"Welcome to Jormungandr, Mr. Sullivan. My name is Albrecht, Albrecht Zimmer."

His English held a light Jormungandrese accent. He sounded quite well educated and polite.

"Please, have a seat. What can I do for you?"

[Bugsby]

Thebes System News
Broadcast locally throughout the Client Worlds and surrounding territories

"...bystanders agreed that the minister had never looked so foolish.

"In other news, a startling report has just come in from Earth. The Rape was months ago, but the killing continues. The man known only as Talys was found dead last night in the New York archology. Talys was the focus of some media attention last week as the defendent in a criminal suit of treason against the Draconis Republic. Talys was cleared of all charges and released to Monacoran control, and was just settling back into his routine when he was murdered. Witnesses at the scene said they got a clear look at the murderer, a Draconis. The weapon used was one of standard Draconis make. No suspect has been identified at this time. Also killed was Talys's guard, 27-year-old officer Willy Green. Our prayers go to the families of the victims. For more on this, we go to foreign affairs expert Bob Jackson. Bob?"

"Thanks, Sandra. I find this murder particularly cruel, especially because it was perpetrated by the Draconis. They let the man go, probably to gain something political, seeign as how the details of his release were never made public. Since they couldn't give him the death penalty on Varathrax, they followed him to Earth and killed him anyway. I'm shocked at the audacity, but not surprised. The affairs at Tortuga have betrayed the Draconis to be bloodthirsty killers, and this only proves it further. I only hope that the killer is found soon so we can find out who he was taking orders from."

"Thanks, Bob. More on this at 11."


The story caught on in Krell Space. It was the subject of much debate by the talking heads for several weeks, and the story was picked up by other, larger news nets.
____________________________________________________________
Cadmus
"Thank you for coming today, Mr. Freeman. I am sorry we couldn't get this data to you sooner. The information was so sensitive that we felt a personal delivery would be more appropriate. Take a seat, if you will." The UP intelligence officer nodded, and took his seat across the desk from the Krell agent.

"Do you mind...?" The UP agent took out a recorder and set it up, then motioned for the Krell officer to continue.

"Our investigation of the Krynori files led us to the immediate conclusion that the Krynor alone were not resonsible for the continuing disturbances in the former Covenant territory. At leasst 2/3 of the capital and manpower came from a secondary source. By tracking shipping logs, we were able to determine that the BIC, a large Nashtar corporation, was funding the rest of the Krynor movement. However, the involvement of the Nashtar in helping quell the resistance makes it obvious that the BIC is not under Nashtar control. It appears to be a front from some larger government." The Krell officer paused a moment, and the UP officer leaned forward eagerly.

"We already had a few agents inside the BIC, but we inserted many more in order to deal with the growing need for intel on the corporation. We lost many of our agents. I hope you realize how serious this is. The company was clean, except for a few members at the very top. We found that these people were not truly human at all, instead modified aliens, amde to look human. You may have heard of Ouster genemodding, a process by which an Ouster can be made to appear human. Unfortuantely, genemods leave some very distinct traces. We were able to analyze the DNA on a few key sources. We found no evidence of genemodding, rather something far more sinister and unexpected. The genetic pattern was not human at all, not even close. It was not the Ousters." The Krell officer paused again to take a sip of water, noting the confusion on the UP agent's face. After a few seconds, he continued.

"The DNA we found belongs to Dra'kol, a shapeshifting species. As you know doubt have heard, these Dra'kol are a subspecies within the Ravenlock Consortium. It was the Ravenlock who caused all those problems on the Covenant worlds. I understand you allowed a team of Ravenlock psychers into your territory recently. If I were you, I would send that team away as quickly as possible. That advice is free.

"Here in this packet, we have all the data you need to confirm what I have told you. The only piece we have missing is the DNA strands themsleves, taken from the Dra'kol. It was damaged in the lab, of course, and it is far too difficult to obtain another sample. We do, however, have the analysis in full, along with the records of the analysts themselves. We have also provided all information we have on the Dra'kol, some courtesy of a high-ranking official we have within Ravenlock space. Unless you have any further questions, we consider this transaction complete. Good day."

The UP officer nodded dumbly. This wasn't what he expected at all! He took the recorder off the desk, flipped it off, and left the room.

[Alyrium Denryle]

The Draconis Republic objects to the charges of state-sponsred murder.

first, we have reviewed the evidencewe have so far, and not only have none of our people gone to Earth since sanctions were put in place. But everyone has been accounted for after they were placed as well. All have returned to Our space

frankly if we were going to assassinate Mr. Talys, our forces would never have left the weapon at the scene and would have been invisible due to our changing skin coloration. The data does not fit.

Also, the man was charged with espionage, not treason. For matters of national security we cannot of course divulge. We reached a plea agreement with Mr. Talys and deported him on pain of death, which, is also a possible punishment for the charges.

[Rogue 9]

Lastport, United Protectorates

The intelligence captain got up at once after signaling in guards to escort the representative out and jogged to the signals room. He saluted the colonel on duty and handed him the dispatch. "Sir, it is my belief that this needs to be encrypted and forwarded to Nashtar at once!"

The colonel took the dispatch and skimmed over the report. His eyes widened. "I think you're right, Captain." He strode over to a comms station and handed the dispatch to the lieutenant. "Relay this to NRI at once, Alliance encryption protocol Alpha Three Gamma."

"Yes sir," acknowledged the lieutenant, inserting the information disk into his workstation terminal and inputting the proper encryption instructions and signal destination.

The information went out over the transmitter within minutes.

Comms room, NRI Headquarters, Nashtar, Nashtar Star Cluster

"Incoming transmission from LPIA in the UP, sir," reported another signals lieutenant, this one wearing a Nashtari uniform.

The watch officer, this one a major, strode over to the coding printer, and his eyes shot up at the encryption protocol and header. "This goes to the Director. Decrypt and send it to his office."

"Yes, sir."

Office of the Director of Republic Intelligence

A civilian aide walked into Director Romley's office with a datapad in his hand. "Sir, FLASH traffic from the UP. Tagged as urgent, sir."

Romley sighed and reached for the datapad, shoving aside the briefing he had been reading. "Thank you, Goldman."

"You're welcome, sir. I must get back to the take from Operation Redear. Good day."

Romley nodded as the senior analyst walked out, then looked at the datapad. He entered his personal ID code and gave his thumbprint to the scanner, and the information came to the screen.

He read for a minute, then almost hit the roof. He hit a button on his desk. "Brinkman, call up Director Sachs over at the Bureau of Investigation, now! Get him on my secure line."

"Yes, Director."

Minutes later, the green phone on the desk warbled. Romney picked it up.

"George, your secretary called, said you wanted to speak to me."

"That's right, Fred. You on a secure line?"

"Would I not be, if you ask for one?"

"Right. I'm going to need you to make a bust. It's a big one. I'm sending you the scoop now," he said, reaching over to place the data disk into his computer to send. The encrypted data burst reached it's destination at the NBI building across town and was decrypted by Sachs' machine at the other end. He read quickly.

"Jesus, George!"

"Not quite, Fred. I need a bust. If they are Dra'kol, it'll take a lot of skilled people. It'll need to be fast, and it'll need to be simultaneous. They BIC has buildings both here and on Maeglos."

"No problem. I'll have SWAT at their offices in thirty minutes."

Basque Industrial Corporation Headquarters, Nashtar

Faced with the prospect of shapeshifters, the Nashtari police were taking no chances. Police Captain Taylor looked up out of the unmarked repulsor truck's passenger window at the building. He then turned away and, twisting around towards the back like he was rummaging for something, turned on his radio as he flipped a switch on another device set between the front seats. "Transport inhibitor activated. Team Bravo, go, go, go!"

The repulsorlift pods moved in on the high office windows of the executives in question. The windows were broken, shot out if necessary, and flash-bangs and stun grenades were hurled inside. The ordnance was soon followed by armored police officers.

"FREEZE!" shouted many an officer, pointing sedation guns and more lethal weapons at the suspects. Others went in with heavy cuffs to shackle the executives in question. The same scene was pretty much repeated at the Maeglos offices.