STGOD: DAS: Main Game Thread.

[Thirdfain]

-Almost everyone should read this in entirety. It relates to most of the major story threads currently underway.-

Presidential Palace
Warsaw
Wisla Megalopolis, Poland
Earth

"And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the Polish Republic."

The press room was filled briefly with polite applause. There were cameras and recorders from every corner of the explored sphere, and the speech which was about to occur would be broadcast far and wide at faster-than-light speeds.

"Good evening. I stand before you today to address the growing concerns many feel after the dramatic events of the last few days. Yesterday morning at nine twenty AM, Warsaw time, a heavy warship of the League of Thought engaged in a flagrant display of arrogance and disrespect, turning it's engines on an operating civilian dockyard on the Katowica station. Seven men and women operating refueling apparatus at the dock were killed in the thruster wash when a fuel line was breached. Fires erupted on three decks. When ordered to stand down by traffic control and approached by an Marine transport, the League vessel opened fire on vessels of the Polish Earth fleet. Five escorts, including the destroyer Olbracht, were destroyed before the orbital defense grid and the ships of the 1st Fleet Corps could put down the offender. The actions of the League of Thought betrayed an absolute lack of respect for human lives. They deliberately ignored even the most basic safety regulations, with a reckless abandon which lead to what I can only call murder. Regardless of our current disagreements with the NGTO, the Polish Republic must take a stand against such wanton disregard for stellar law and human life. We have dispatched scouting vessels to League space with the intention of issuing a demand for an explanation. I acknowledge that the events may have been the actions of a rogue officer or some other sort of mistake, but until official contact has been made with the League government, there will be no easy answers.
Which brings me to my next issue. The Polish Republic must continue to voice it's insistence that the NGTO disperse it's battlefleets until a CoN investigative team can be organized. We stand firm with the Khurlassian Republic, the Kingdom of Isdenestilom, and the many other nations which have prevented a firm front against what seems increasingly to be unwarranted and unprecedented aggression on the part of the NGTO. Analysis of the situation, as voiced recently on the floor of the CoN by the Isdenestilomi ambassador, seems to point to what is at best unrestrained and knee-jerk aggression or at worst open, planned deception. Such actions can not and will not be tolerated, regardless of this Republic's commitments elsewhere!
Finally, the Polish Republic offers it's condolences to the poor people of the Trans-Genetic Alliance and it's constituent occupied nations in Africa. The recent rebellions which have swept the continent are a tragedy, and despite our misgivings about the NGTO, we must offer as fellow children of Earth and members of the civilized community our support to the embattled Uche's monarchy. Let this message be an official notice that we will be more than glad to send humanitarian aid, and to provide solace to any who need flee the conflagration, even the Uche himself.
Considering the danger of the times and the uncertain direction events have taken, the Sejm has decided it is prudent to place all forces on alert status and consolidate the Fleets with the exception of pickets. We ask all nations to display restraint and care as we handle these crises as an international community."

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

Pretoria
South Africa
Earth

"Is this all of them?"

"Thaat would be telling, wouldn't it? You DO understand the purpose of a cell, hmmm?"

The tall man had the characteristic blonde hair and dark skin of an Afrikaaner. He held the rifle up into the dim light. He turned it over, enjoying it's dangerous weight.

"Fabryka Broni M-25. Solid wood stock, pressed metal body, high-durability barrel. Electronics include a rangefinder, smart-sight, and a wz. 91 bullet programmer. Fires 4.5mm caseless reactive metal rounds with a solid-state programmable detonation matrix at high velocity. Sixty rounds to a magazine, and it'll survive pretty much anything from mud to nuclear EMP while maintaining at the very least the ability to fire accurately."

"Polish design?"

The short smuggler grinned broadly.

"They export millions of the things a year to the outer planets. Who's going to miss a couple? And the price is right, too- it's got less punch than a p-beam or a hellwhip, but at half the price..."

"I get the idea. And the rest?"

"Oh, you'll like the 20-kilo backpack types. They use them for asteroid mining..."

"Enough. Here's the money."

"You'll need more shipments? It's hard to move this stuff..."

"But not AS hard when there's a civil war on. And the struggle for liberation will not be short- the Afrikaaner People's Liberation Front will not stop until the Cape is once more in the hands of people as opposed to freaks."

"Whatever, as long as the money's good."

[Academia Nut]

Somewhere in deep space South-West-Up of the Straltoc Borders

"Sir, the Logos Fleet has just arrived in system," the sensors officer replies.

"Ah, excellent, let us see what they brought to the party," Admiral Aquirz says while looking up the reports. Nodding slight, he says, "Looks like a good load out for pirate hunting, especially those interdictors. A pity we Straltoc never developed such technology and it will take years to integrate it into our fleet. Ah well, no matter. Comms, please open a channel to the lead vessel of the Logos Centrality."

After a few seconds the officer nods and Aquirz says, "Friends and allies in the Logos Centrality, welcome to the hunt. While waiting for you to arrive we have been listening in on the system next door, and we've heard some interesting things. We'll send you our data and you can check yourself with your famous sensor gear, but it is almost assured at this point that there is someone alive out there what with all the unsecured chatter."

[A-Wing_Slash]

Crulmax System
Crulmathi
Palace of Transcendence

Archon Brea looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. "I last saw them earlier at the party, though not since. I suspect the wiggle grass may have affected them somewhat adversely."

Ambassador Pitsiark had been down on all fours for almost a half hour when his stomach convulsed for the final time. He heaved another bit of his insides into the Straloc equivlent of a toilet, thankfull that the worst seemed to have passed. This last puke lacked the force of the last few, and compared to the last few he seemed to have lost very little out of his stomach. The Ambassador had been too proud to admit his reaction to the wiggle grass to the Straloc, but by now Pitsiark was swearing by the Sky Bear himself that he should have gone to a Straloc med team.

Still on his forepaws over the toilet, he took a few measured breaths. His body seemed to have riden out his violent reaction to the grass, and the ambassador was eager to get into the flow of the party going on outside. As he had rushed into the bathroom he'd ordered his aide to put on a good face for their Straloc hosts, but she was a young bear, and the ambassador had important buisness to attend to. Summoning up the remains of his strength Pitsiark slowly raised himself up onto his hind legs.

There was a shot of pain in his stomach, but it had stopped threatening to leave his body, so he ignored it. The ambassador pulled a small (for a bear) flask from a pocket of his jacket, and took a long swig of the amber liquid it contained. Returning the flask to its proper place, he waddled over to a mirror and proceed to straighten his vest and brush up his apearence. Satisfied that he looked presentable despite his recent condition, Pitsiark plucked his top hat from the counter where he had left it and cocked it ever so gently on his head. He ambled through the door and folled the sounds of happy voices back to the party.

[rhoenix]

Crulmax System
Crulmathi
Palace of Transcendence

Upon seeing the noble Sky Bear Ambassador, Archon Brea politely excused herself to go speak with him for a moment. She walked with a calm, measured pace to Pitsiark, and gently touched his shoulder with a concerned look. "Are you feeling alright? I haven't seen you for a few hours."

To his surprise, Pitsiark's stomach quickly calmed itself, even to the point of feeling empty and hungry again. Archon Brea leaned a bit closer, saying softly, "The soup is much more safe."

(EDIT: clarification)

[Academia Nut]

Crulmax System
Crulmathi
Palace of Transcendence

Quietly declining to comment on the waves of discomfort radiating off of the bear ambassador, Alraszi says, "Ah, Ambassador Pitsiark, how are you? Have you tried the smoked salmon we imported from Earth? I hear it is quite good tonight."

His inhuman face going grave, he then says, "That said, we have much to talk about regarding the NGTO and how the Straltoc fits in to all of this mess. Let me begin by saying that the Straltoc honour their agreements, and for as long as the treaty between our two people stand, we will always come to your aid."

"That said, we will not be participating in any action the NGTO takes, justified or not. We are not a part of that alliance, and until this issue blows over for good or for ill, we have no interest in involving ourselves in the current political morass. Should even a single fighter from the Heralds, the Polish, or even the Golden Sky Combine, infringe upon your territory and threaten your people, we will be there in an instant to stand with you."

"However, to both of you, and you can tell this to the other NGTO members, we will not be sitting this out quietly. We are somewhat far from where the various powderkegs are smouldering so unless we deploy our military forces directly there is little we can do upfront. But we will still trade with those nations we have prior treaties with or who are in good standing. While some might see this as morally bankrupt dealing with both sides, we will not set up stalls for just anyone, and it is unlikely that many people will want to come. We will however open our arms to any refugees displaced by any conflict. Our people suffered because they had no safe habour to retreat to, and we would never allow that to happen to others when we could have prevented it."

Smiling, Alraszi says, "So for the moment, you can think of us as effectively neutral on the current issues. I welcome you to change our minds on others."

[Redleader34]

Coalition Meeting Site

The Uche would be angry. He had gone away for a bit, and his country had undergone a civil war. The only ships with the firepower to blast the rebels
away were not responding, and the Neos fleet would take weeks upon weeks to arrive. He needed something. Now he knew that he could reverse the Orbital defense grid, but the access would require the help of the poles to reach. His few in system transports would not have the proper commuting systems to break into the network. There was no choice. HE was going to arrange a meeting with the poles. He would whisper to one of his guards, who would walk over to the Polish's Envoy, and ask "The Uche requests a meeting with your people on matters that concern the entire planet."



Neos IV
Prime Minister's Suite

Conference Ryand was concerned. Earth appeared to be in chaos, and the Uche was unreachable. The few ships, and battleships that could be spared ere launched at maximum speed, and their journey would take a week, but what a tense week it was. Already TGA-1 was calling this the failure of the Ryand-Uche Administration, and a blemish on the TGA's peaceful history. he had to make a statement

"People Of the TGA, we are at War with rebels, who will be easily defeated. They are not well orginazed, and they have limited funds. We will defend our state, and our people against the Tyranny of a small minority. We will win. We will Fight! For the Glory of the CoOperative!"

He would leave to applause, and a press begging for questions, which he refused to answer as he walked off.

Mt Kilimanjaro Fortress

The last of the raiding army would breach though the place, the fuel air bombs cracking open a hole in the side of the Mountain's heavy defense gates. The invaders would run in, finding a place devoid of all things, but a ticking device, when the first bomb squad members entered, and tried to disarm the device, it exploded. The explosion, which set of a series of chained nuclear explosives, lead to an multi megaton explosion which would turn the mountain into a tomb for these men, and cause chunks of sliding mountain side to fall and crush various nearby support troops.



Poland
Warsaw International Airport

The Lucky Star, recently hearing the message of the Polish group, would fly through international waters, and eventually land at Warsaw Airport. The Crew of the transport would be gladdened, as the cheif security escort walked out, and looked for any welcoming party.

The Veritech would land, and transform into its walker mode, the machine looking around for signs of weapons discharges.

Raven would look outside the window, and wistfully sigh "I don't think I'll ever see home again..."

Sarah, looked at her sister, and laughed "Well, If we landed here, then we are probably going to get help from the Poles. Defeat these Usurpers, and go back, sis. Trust me on this one." She would place her hand on her sister's waist, and look on the airport, full of activity.

[Adrian Laguna]

Don Juan, please decellerate from combat velocity while in-system. By interstellar custom and Polish law, your vessel is required to adhere to system traffic control regulations <<data follows>>. Your actions constitute a breach of those regulations, clearly transmitted by system command. Clearly you aren't from around here. Pirates are to be eliminated whenever possible, but this is Polish territory and here you will obey Polish law.

The Poles sounded a bit annoyed, but there was no overt hostility. Captain de la Vega decided to follow-up on their friendly overtures.

"Acknowledged, will comply."

A moment later he followed-up with,

"My name is Alfonso de la Vega, heir to the title of Marques de las Torres de la Pressa. I have no authority to conduct official negotiations of any sort, but I could meet up with some of the local nobles and talk, get to know each other. My King would certainly appreciate a detailed report."

"The Republic does not have nobility," came the reply.

There was a pause, a long pause.

"Who, who is in charge then?"

"The Federal Government, of course. We have a Governor appointed by the our Sejm in charge of local affairs."

"I am familiar with the term Republic. Res Publica, rule by the people. The Romans in ancient times had a Republic. However they had nobles, the patricians. You mean to say that your Republic has no position of power that is inherited? No titles of rule conferred by bloodline?"

"Property and money can be inherited, but political power cannot. It is always earned."

"That is... an interesting arrangement... I would speak with your Governor and members of the Sejm, if that is possible."

"Certainly, I'm sure the Governor is looking forward to it. You have been given clearance for orbit around Wysoka, the 17th Escort Regiment will escort you in."

Some time later Don Juan the Austria entered orbit around the Polish colony world, and a skiff carrying its Captain detached itself from the frigate and descended to the planet below.

[Dahak]

"As for the incident in orbit, well, the President is going to address it in his speech tonight. For your personal information, we decline to accept any blame for the events in orbit. The League ship willfully and constantly showed wanton disrespect and disregard for the Polish lives and property. Their entire attitude was absurd and aggressive from the start, and they made no pretense of even caring for the lives of non-psychics. Frankly, I think they are a menace. For the moment, we accept that it may have been a mistake, and are planning an expedition to contact their government to work this out. As for the NGTO, well, I think it's likely that they will back down under pressure- but we can not let them under any circumstances invade and conquer the Herald state. The whole thing indicates that they are either blindly aggressive at best or actively planning aggression at worst."

"Yes," Chaing-Tcherekov replied, "we understand where you coming from. We just feel a bit, say, wary of shootings around Earth. If anything, it is a very good reason to advance the pan-solar astro control so that we all act and protect the space around Earth together." He paused a second or two to drink a bit coffee. "We feel that the NGTO needs to be shown its place on the international stage. The Hegemony cannot, will not, allow a group of rogue nations to run around fabricating casus belli to invade unsuspecting neighbours. We as people of Earth should know what flragrant expansionism and disrespect for a peaceful together can cause. So, in any case, the Hegemony will prepare to act, should we need to."

[Imperial Overlord]

Sol System
Mars
Noctis Labyrinthus
The Spires of Jet and Gold

For the eldest of the arcanists, paranoia was a habit that had kept them alive through persecutions, wars, and upheavals. The long peace had dulled those instincts somewhat, but it did not eliminate them. So it was that the Ruling Council met in an armoured chamber at the heart of a spire.

"Things are moving to fast," said Adrian Pazak. "This conference was fine, but his war between the NGTO and the Heralds and the returned of these psychics was more than enough. Now Africa is burning and we don't know how far it will spread."

"We must either move with events, or better yet, faster; or be subject to them," said Daniella Huszar. "The NGTO makes war an unpopular nation with the flimsiest of excuses. That sentient machines are even less popular than witches does not reassure me. For the sake of our own survival, we cannot allow this to come to pass."

"And these psychics?" said Carl Gustoffson. "Two groups, both arrogant and disdainful. One cares nothing for diplomatic protocol and flails about, claiming grievances against nations that no longer exist. The others are worse, killing in a fit of pique."

"The psychics are psychics," said Huszar. "We have long studied this dangerous phenomena. Unlike the Gnosis, mastery of it does necessarily diminish with madness. Its power manifests not after training and discipline, but usually during the hormone stew of puberty. With them memory, the most reliable kind of evidence, is the primary source of information and record keeping. To them we are mental cripples, our thoughts caged in our own bodies and unable to affect the world. Their whims have power.

"Think of what that does to a mind. Given vast power at adolescence or perhaps even younger. A history and education where twisted memories, distorted by a succession of transmissions like a child's game of telephone, are the most vivid and important components. A society where reason and science are second rate studies compared to the mastery of psionic force. We have a word for such beings: dangerous. We should keep them at arms length and avoid contact and conflict with them if at all possible until we learn differently."

"And if conflict is not avoidable, First Councilor?" asked Pazak.

"We do not seek war," said Huszar, "but if it is inevitable we will not shrink from it."

[Cincinnatus]

Coalition of Nations Barracks
Earth

Marskdwarf Gilkas Vasten slumped into the barracks that his Royal Guards squad occupied. He hated this planet almost as much as he'd come to hate Envoy Zegular Kesreg. The dwarf was a fool more concerned about impressing the King than common sense. And if you even so much as looked in his general direction without asking her before hand, the Hammerer was all over you.

Vasten paused. The trunk at the base of his bed was open. He hadn't left it ajar. Looking inside to see if anything had been stolen, he found a small, tattered book.

Across the cover, in dwarven, was written The Communist Manifesto. Two humans with rather pitiful beards were pictured.

Attached to the book was a note.

Read this. Memorize it. Then burn it.

-A Friend

Intrigued, Vasten sat down on his bed and began to read.

[rhoenix]

Most of the galaxy did not know it, but a meeting was about to take place - one not limited by the bounds of distance. Rarely were such meetings called, but the frenetic events of the past few weeks nearly required it.

All participants excused themselves from what they were doing politely at the time, and went someplace quiet for meditation at the same moment in time. All of them began the deep, slow breaths that helped calm their minds, and allow them to find one another in the dark.

"Speak your voices, and be heard. The Council wishes to know of your progress." The voice, if such an adjective could be used in this way, was soft, but echoed strongly.

"I am here, Adjudicator. Members of the Coalition of Nations have cast doubt on the evidence used for the attack on the Xylyx. Moreover, the Xylyx have been granted asylum from many of the member nations. Despite my misgivings about the Xylyx as a people, the more vocal members of the Coalition perhaps have a point." Archon Prasad's voice, a rich, echoing baritone, was recognizable, even in this "place."

"Very interesting, but not entirely unexpected. Archon Orgos? What news of the NGTO?"

"I am here, Adjudicator. As per the Council's decision, I have informed the NGTO of our plans to forestall the assault on the Xylyx, pending investigations. Having the evidence used called into question gave me pause for thought myself." Archon Orgos' voice was low, like a soft wind blowing through a grove of trees.

"Archon Orgos, despite your relatively recent appointment as Archon, you are performing admirably. However, you must get used to being more...diplomatic. Wars are fought with words in politics, not with blade, spears of the mind, rifle, and armor. Archon Brea? What news of the Straltoc?"

"I hear, Adjudicator. They are being recalcitrant to a point, but they are honorable in their dealings. Though I do not trust the motives of certain founding members of the Coalition, the Straltoc have shown themselves to be an enigmatic, honorable, and fascinating people; one I hope we have more dealings with." Her voice, lighter and lilting, almost sounded as if she were about to begin singing at any moment.

"Very interesting, Archon Brea. I commend you for your work thus far, and give you the Council's blessing to continue. Archon Inzeti? What news of your progress?"

"I hear, Adjudicator. The Cretacean Confederacy is as secretive and enigmatic as when we first encountered their people, nearly a century ago. However, though I believe I shocked the Ambassadorial Ambassador I spoke with by being so direct at his request, I believe things are moving along promisingly. I believe they will make strong allies, should I show them what is happening in the galaxy."

"Archon Inzeti, I can only offer you the same advice I gave to Archon Orgos - learn the ways of words well, and they shall serve you as well as your armor ever did while you were active in the Jotun - with that said, you are doing remarkably well. Templar Prasad? What news of the fleet?"

"I hear, Adjudicator. The fleet has shown some surprise at my order to stand down from the movement on Xylyx space, but as they received the same communiques from their governments shortly after I gave the announcement, they appear...accepting, if not pleased." Her voice, low and rhythmic as a desert wind, seemed to float along.

"Very well. We must meet again in approximately two weeks' time; earlier, if events warrant. The Council will ensure all of you know the proper time beforehand."

With that, all participants opened their eyes, stretched, and got back to what they were doing beforehand. Their meeting had taken approximately five minutes.

[White Haven]

Requiem, League of Thought Space

The Nephilim diplomatic ship dropped out of FTL at the edge of the LoT system. After powering up it's sublight drives, the vessel began moving slowly towards it's rendezvous with Requiem.

A pair of dumpy-looking transorts move to intercept the arriving ship, swift for ships of such crude design, and not exactly system-patrol vessels, but nevertheless, they fall into flanking positions to either side of the new arrival. A transmission broadcasts outwards, preceded by the same words echoing in the psi-band, if anyone's capable of detecting it properly, "I don't suppose you're Polish? The home system can get dull, and I'd relish something exciting to do."

[White Haven]

Not all League psykers throw out uncontrolled waves of psi-force. Case in point, the light-built bald man in a black suit arriving at one particular tiny pocket of Polish border. Given the recent events, he avoided League transport and Polish airspace, instead taking commercial shipping to a nearby spaceport and hiring a groundcar for the trip to the nearest Polish embassy on Earth. There, he walks up to the desk clerk, gives a wintery smile, and says, "I do believe one of your government's spokesmen mentioned that he was looking for the League? I'm sorry to disappointed his 'scouting expedition,' but the League is most definitely looking for him. Now, why don't you be a good little clerk and make a phone call."

[Thirdfain]

Warsaw
Poland
Earth

The League man had been brought rapidly and comfortably to the small government office building at the edge of the federal district.

A Polish diplomat was waiting.

"What can I do for you?"

[White Haven]

The black-suited man sits down on one of the office's chairs, crossing his legs in a confident, casual pose. He leans forewards, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair, "My name is Daniel, of <flash-image of a white-hot needle approaching a human eyeball>, and I'm here to talk of murder, and agendas. You?"

[SirNitram]

Sol System, Heliopause.

Through sheer psionic will, the barriers of reality weakened and a half-dozen 'ships'... Though really nothing more than the manifested will and power of the Wanderers... Descended into realspace.

The transmission was voice, unlike the other signals, though picked up as a psionic transmission.

"This is the Wanderer ambassador to the Sol system, Archius Mnesoic. I am holding position at the Heliopause of your system and request permission to jump in-system. My escorts will depart upon confirmation. I have a data-crystal authenticating my identity and authority."

A shockingly different change from the first encounter Terra had with it's psionic brethren. For one thing, he used the singular personal pronoun.

[Darkevilme]

Chamaran embassy module, Kiro’ter’nah incomplete spacestation, Earth orbit

The three felines lie unmoving, supported and immersed in carefully regulated fluid and cocooned in a pitch dark soft padded coffin they sense nothing with any of the five forms of perception. This only makes it easier for their sixth to work unhindered, their minds fueled by the psi enhancing drugs coursing through their veins they dance afar from their physical forms. Their minds eye flickering across the world below, catching sound and sight, thought and emotional in fleeting glimpses.

Their minds find a curious thing asudden, an area where they get a fleeting glimpse of a helmeted man, then nothing as some form of barrier shunts their spying aside. It takes many hours before they complete their sweep, the drugs leaving their system and their minds returning, before they finally act on this find. The felines taking time to piece together satellite images and the fleeting glimpse they got of this individual before they know what ship he came on. The Quintana reborn orbiting close to the station still preparation for departure opens a tight beam channel to the Kitana vessel, giving return vectors and requesting a channel.

On audio only the channel opens and a somewhat robotic voice hinting at a translator in action speaks.
"This the Government Ship Spring Blossom. Captain Dark Hold speaking."
Amongst the crowd of Nekos one of them perks up and speaks out of turn, one of the psychers from earlier who discovered the representative of the Son of the Sun. That mental puzzle keeping her from her post Cee depression as her powers are nonexistent.
"Your reprresentative hides himself well frrom us- " Tess at the radio cuts her off before she talk more
"quiet Misha, This is the Chamarran embassy module, that was Misha. this is Tess speaking on behalf of the diplomatic corps forr the kingdom." She says with a pointed glance at the psycher kitty who gives her a semi innocent expression. The person on the other end of the radio speaks once again.
"Naturally he is, as a matter of state security. Which Kingdom do you represent? We have records of 20 in what could be termed Known Space," Dark Hold speaks

Tess smiles “The glorrious kingdom of Chamara, under house Chamarra and queen Karra the thirrd" Misha speaks up again "We only wanted to know what he was thinkin-" and gets cut off again "quiet Misha..." Tess sighs and motions, a pair of security felines picking up the now sulky looking psycher feline and lead her from the room. Tess turns back to the communications equipment. "sorry about that" she says and waits for a reply, hoping they haven’t ruined their first impression

"Sanctity of the Mind is one of God's commandments, we take pains to ensure it stays that way."
Tess nodnods and smiles, thinking she can speak on this from the Chamaran ancestor veneration religion "ah, your ancestors took a dim view of intrigue nyo?”
She gets the mildly perplexed reply of “Uh.... Continuing on, why have you wished to speak with us?"
Tess nods even if the other side can’t see it "we want to know who you arre, we have encounterred very few down below who Misha and herr sisterrs could not Esper." She waits and looks to the others in the room before the reply comes.
"We are the Sword of the Son of the Sun."
Tess continues to query "and what kingdom are you? we know no such group" Though behind her two nekos comment quietly"sword of the sun? wasn't that a legend on tv last quarter?"
The reply comes "That of the Son of the Sun." A couple moments pass... "Some once knew us as the Kitaka." Tess gets into the flow of back and forth with the mysterious captain of the other ship
"And where is this Son of the Sun?"
"Where else? Our home planet."
"which is where?"
"For reasons of state security, I cannot specify exactly where. To galactic north is the best description I am authorized to say."
"Oh so are we. About" Tess transmits the coordinates for the edges of Chamaran claimed space, which is larger than Chamaran colonized space by a fair margin "and why are you here?"
"We were invited"
"And what do you think of this place? or is that state security as well?"
There is a short pause from the radio "For reason of state security..."
There's a pause before Dark Hold continues."It appears to be a nice world. Green and lush. Some have yet to hear the word of God, but that can be rectified."
Tess head-tilts at the radio, "You're...missionaries then?"
"We are not here to spread the Word. Otherwise may some come to do so, however."

Tess wonders which god this Kitaka kingdom worship and whether its bad as the robots who attacked their diplomats and allies, or not, so she asks, "What does the word of god say, it doesn't say we should all strive together to fight her so she can squish the galaxy does it? Like the heralds one?"
"It's a long book. It doesn't say to conquer the galaxy, or anything of that sort."
Tess nods at the reply, "Maybe we'll read it sometime, *ahem* on behalf of the Chamaran Kingdom I extend the hand of friendship to the Kingdom of Kitaka in the hopes of greater trust."
"We can be contacted by a message buoy at" and a set of coordinates for somewhere north of Chamaran space is sent. Tess wonders what reward she’ll get for this and smiles to everyone in the room before signing off with the Kitana "The Queen will know, we will speak again I'm sure." Then the transmission ends and the signal array on the Quintana reborn turns towards deep space, picking out a star from the myriad and sending a high powered encrypted data burst towards the Marass starsystem for the attention of the Queen.

[Thirdfain]

The black-suited man sits down on one of the office's chairs, crossing his legs in a confident, casual pose. He leans forewards, resting his elbows on the arms of the chair, "My name is Daniel, of <flash-image of a white-hot needle approaching a human eyeball>, and I'm here to talk of murder, and agendas. You?"

"Anton Warshawski, Minister of State to the Polish Republic. I'm here to find out just when you intend on paying reparations for your ship's crimes?"

[White Haven]

"Anton Warshawski, Minister of State to the Polish Republic. I'm here to find out just when you intend on paying reparations for your ship's crimes?"

"Please, Mister Warshawski, don't try to lie to me. Then I'd be tempted to force from you the truth, and you wouldn't like that, and I wouldn't like your nation's reactions. Now, <image of a hatchet buried in a human chest> surrendered the guilty party, and you not only refused to accept that, but you didn't even attempt to collect him, the guilty party. That's quite blatant in its revelation of your deception...you didn't want justice, you wanted something in our vessel. The grouping knew that too." The man gives a humorless smile, steepling his fingers and watching the Polish minister over them.

[Thirdfain]

"You clearly don't understand, do you? Here in the Polish Republic, we have rule of law. And those laws were broken. A trial was in order- a trial which your mad actions made quite impossible. A body tossed out an airlock is not a conviction, a single crewmember on an entire starship is not an answer for a hundred broken safety regulations and more importantly a dozen Polish corpses!"

Warshawski mopped his brow. The pudgy man was a little red.

"Don't pretend you don't understand that, Daniel. There was no justice in your actions, and your captain's half-hearted attempt at fixing the situation was a joke which no rational sentients would accept. The issue here is the blatant disregard for our sovereignity and lives your people have consitently displayed."

[Beowulf]

Except from a 4th year history book, 1430 edition

In the year 1420, the most violent group of heretics to date attempted to flee the justice of the Son of the Sun. A full battle division was dispatched to follow them, and destroy them if possible, to prevent their resurgence, and possible future threat to the House of Peace. They fled to a nation known as Austria, where upon the local commander refused the heretics entry further into the system. Behind them, the Sword of the Son of the Sun appeared, blocking their retreat. With nowhere left to go, they fought, lashing out with their foul psychic energies.

The fight lasted for 2 hours, with the loss of many brave soldiers. The battleship Talon was lost with all hands, and her sister ship was heavily damaged. It was scrapped on return to the House of Peace. However this loss brought new hope. We met a new friend in the cosmos: the Habsburg Empire.

[Spyder]

Warsaw - Before the Announcement

For Spyder
\

"Unfortunately today I am on the clock, so to speak. I'm free for dinner on thursday though. But anyway, the NGTO, my employers are a little concerned. Intelligence is suggesting that this alliance is," he pauses to think of an appropriate word "unhealthy. Associates of the Open Corps have made some investments in the region and there are concerns that this may come under threat should an expansionist super power assert itself, which judging by their actions lately seems likely. They'd like to know Poland's position on the matter."

"Our position is quite simple... as a matter of fact, the President is going to make a speech on the matter this evening."

Anton stood up. and walked over to the window.

"At this point, our own sources are uncertain as to whether this whole thing was a mistake or not, but they are fairly certain that it was not an actual attack by the Heralds. Either the NGTO are reckless, or they are actively trying to create an advantageous situation for war. Either way, the Polish Republic is prepared to take the necessary steps to halt further Northerner aggression."

He sighed.

"Steps up to and including war. However, I personally think it's highly unlikely the Northerners will risk war over this little fiasco. Frankly, they don't have the numbers to take on a coalition of the willing. It's not just Earth, but a half-dozen other powers who are leery of this so-called defensive alliance."

"I see. Well I can safely say that my employers are not prepared to see Poland lose should there be a need for action. You will have their support, I couldn't tell you exactly what that would entail as they like to be somewhat closed lipped on the technical details, but whatever it is, you've got it."

[Imperial Overlord]

Somewhere in deep space South-West-Up of the Straltoc Borders


"Thanks for the invitation," replied Commodore Erickson. "Shall we go hunting?"

[Redleader34]

OOC Note: DAMN I wrote this.. Its a biggie which almost wraps up the Civil War Arc. The Epic Battle is coming later.

Rebel HQ
Deep Earth Shelter
Earth

There would be a meeting of the rebel lords, the men talking about tactics and stratagems "We only have a million men, and the fact is, half of the warlords are unsure about this! We cannot win!" one General argued this, while one of the Admirals responded with "We have a limited Navy, and its rumored that the Loyalist Guard and Sector Investigations could find... Ten men with FAMAS rifles, would appear behind the tale, their faces concealed with tactical battle masks "Who are you... how could you have gotten past the entire ...

Surface
Adis Abba Africa

The city would be a battlefield, an impromptu defense force, lead by Sectors Investigations chief Derek Wayland. The human knew that he could easily win. His Sector Investigations force had about one hundred thousand agents, and they military had a million rebelling men, but the rebellion had not countered on one thing. TV. They had shut down the most popular show on television, an import from another civilization called Cats in space!!, as some small group called the Afrikaner People's Liberation Front. They had gained weapons, and had been the foot soldiers, but the agents would take a bit more tie to figure out rough numbers. That was the last straw, and he had broadcast his message promoting a counter-insurgency, appealing to th e people's mind and hearts

Code: Select all

People of Adis-Abba, we have been taken over by people who are not tolerant, nay I call them warriors of the worst kind, people who wan to have a homogeneous CoOperative. This is not right.. This is the sort of thing which lead to the near Downfall of the old USA, and it could happen to us. WE will fight, and win. The power is with the People. We will fight! We Will Win!" 

Several divisions of old tanks were patrolling the city, while the newest tanks were defending the core regions of the city. The massive artillery cannons were omnipresent, and a battleship waited in the red sea for orders. Suddenly, at around 12:00, a funny thing happened. The Battleship, called Wrath of Uche, or as it was now called Defense of Liberty, suddenly started firing upon the city! Inside, there were dead officers, and one man, Sector Investigation Agent Tony Roove, who had shot the rebel captain, and who convinced the crew, tat this was a moral act through a rousing speech.


The local aircraft wing took off from the field, but instead of going to strike at the loyalist ship, the various Fighters would dive, and proceed to attack the battle tanks, their bombs blasting the main battle tanks into shrapnel. Inside the city, civilians, loyalists, and troopers who had changed sides had ran towards the barracks, capturing the soldiers who surrendered in shock. The heavily defended capitol city building was defended by tanks, artillery, and troopers, was hit by a huge Fuel Air bomb, from the 40st air assault wing, which had announced their intent "To destroy all rebels with the power of the Sky!"

Scenes were like this all over, as sector Investigations Counter Insurgencies were bursting through the rebel ranks. In fact, if one had went to the internet, there were thousands of videos of men, drones, furries, all working together to quash the rebellion, while the Uche watched this with a smile "Silly Rebels" he thought "You could not win against my Culture.. I planed this for 500 years, and a petty rebellion would not win


Back in the ground site, the Rebel leader would be in aw of the speed of Sector Investigations, while on the Surface, the few Guard Divisions that had remained on Earth, were starting to reveal themselves from their hidden basses in the Congo region. The Region of Nigeria was another rebel HQ, and the Guard would show them no mercy. Divisions of Main Battle Tanks, Bombers, Fighters, and on th sea, powerful PT-boats with low yeild nuclear weapons, as well as Coast Guard Clippers were all on the way up rivers, the Ocean, and the sea to Laps. The Invasion would be glorious, as one observer for TGA-1 would comment

In South Africa, the fighting would be fierce. The weapons of the Affrikaners would be powerful, and manage to shut down several divisions of the Sector Investigations force's UAVs, and the regional commander was frustrated "We can't get men down there , they have some sort of superior weapon, and in fact they have... Those would be his last words, as a massive series of nuclear weapons would impact Johannesburg.

The last non-accounted for nuclear truck would fire, its barrage of warheads blasting the city with the force that would rival the fires of the Trinity Weapon. the ABN network would fire a few Patriot-3 missiles, but of th e 12 weapons launched, only 3 were intercepted before the ABN network was wiped out. This would be a horror, as one million people died instantly, and the nuclear waste would taint the entire country for years to come. The Collective drones, DNA hardened, bodies readied against the nuclear assault would walk from the ruble, and broadcast a plea, to stop this combat before another city became like Johannesburg. After a few hours, and the fires had been stopped by one of the Transports in orbit dropping water onto th city, a good percentage of the rebels and rioters stopped. New Mombasa and Old Mombasa stopped, The North African Frontier calmed down, however the Laos rebellion still refused to listen to the commanders, and as such there would be retributions to pay.

The Afrkiners's core city smashed, the group's back would be broken, as a later breaking news report would reveal that one of the Afrikaners had fired the nuclear weapon. His last testament would be broadcast to say

Code: Select all

This is my will. I am going to destroy these freaks and their supporters, with the undying fury of the Atom. I'm sorry Emaka, I really am.

The report would hear several shots fired, and the sound of weapons firing, and you would see his face, a dark face, filled with anger, which would stare at the screen before it cut off.

Rebel HQ
Adis Abba
Africa
Earth

Derik would be looking at the reports flying in from networks all over, IT had been a tense 15 hours since the nuclear weapon "Ended the rebellion" as he called it, and still, this victory was hollow. one million had died, and Deep Space Network no 4 was off line, leaving a gap which New Mombasa height had to fill. HE would have a press conference, and simply say "The rebellion is ending. Laos will be invaded in a few hours. Any questions?

OOC: I think I may like to have Earth Powers play reporter here, for an Excperment in something, otherwise this post is done.

[Academia Nut]

Somewhere in deep space South-West-Up of the Straltoc Borders

"Yes, let's go hunting. Let's show pirate scum that the days of lawlessness and rule of the strong over the weak are over, and that a new era of law is beginning," Admiral Aquirz says grimly.

"Now, how do you want to proceed? Most of my ships have a considerable speed advantage, but we have no interdiction capacity. This close to the target FTL speed is mostly mitigated as we're going to be there more or less at the same time. On the other hand, your interdictors can pull ships out of FTL, no?"