STGOD 2k8 MkII Molochi Summit

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2008-06-23 01:13pm

"Yes, Syndicalist. We dare to dream that humans can live freely. You see, here on Moloch the old Imperial order still stands- the men and women who actually do the work of maintaining the nation, the workers and soldiers, are subordinate to a bunch of pampered aristocrats and armchair generals. It's positively tragic." She smiled sadly, as if contemplating the plight of the faceless masses. "Of course, in the Syndicalist worlds men and women like the Molochi aristocracy have been thrown down, stripped of their titles and made to do honest work like the rest of us. I image the Molochis are afraid their own people will finally see that they've been had and do the same to them!"

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-06-23 04:06pm

Space blurred and distorted for half a second, heralding the sudden appearance of the hulking, deadly shape of an Imperial heavy assault destroyer, of the sort produced in the galactic south. Flanked by a pair of escort frigates, the NRS Courageous began to prowl the outskirts of the system, just inside the Oort cloud.

The Nashtari battleship's powerful comms equipment began a transmission.

"Molochi Control, this is Commodore Vincent Trevor, commanding NRS Courageous and her battlegroup. Our government has received your summit invitation and we are here to deliver diplomats per your request. Please transmit the approach corridor for our ambassador's shuttle."

He didn't need to say the rest of his ship's message: We're here with a fraction of our power, and that fraction could take any capital ship in any of your fleets and crush it like a bug if we so chose. We do not presently so choose. Don't make us change our minds.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2008-06-23 08:09pm

Thirdfain wrote:"Yes, Syndicalist. We dare to dream that humans can live freely. You see, here on Moloch the old Imperial order still stands- the men and women who actually do the work of maintaining the nation, the workers and soldiers, are subordinate to a bunch of pampered aristocrats and armchair generals. It's positively tragic." She smiled sadly, as if contemplating the plight of the faceless masses. "Of course, in the Syndicalist worlds men and women like the Molochi aristocracy have been thrown down, stripped of their titles and made to do honest work like the rest of us. I image the Molochis are afraid their own people will finally see that they've been had and do the same to them!"

"I...see." The concept of a ruling class which had not earned their titles through merit was foreign to the Lady-Colonel.

"Still, I find it difficult to believe that such a civilization like the Molochi would have survived, much less prospered, were their 'pampered aristocrats and armchair generals' not the least bit competent. Through history, many a fool has levied such accusations at their ruling elite, only to discover that the lofty ranks and titles possesed by those they would depose had been earned through martial prowess, service to the state, and the backing of the very people they would seek to 'free'."

As she spoke the last words, the glow in her eyes flared slightly, and the beverage in her hand was suddenly topped by a flickering blue flame. Without looking, she set it back on a passing tray. Before she could continue the conversation further, one of her subordinates, a young man with dark hair and blue eyes which had just started to take on the golden tones characteristic of the augmented, approached to a respectful distance before interjecting through a private comm channel. <Lady-Colonel Lux! One of the delegations is from the Humanist Union. They have been here for some time now, but we were unable to find them due to the size of the crowd here.>

She turned to the Syndicalist. "This conversation has been most enlightening. If you will excuse us though, I have some regional matters I must attend to."

Her conversation with Helen Take had been informative. The Syndicalists were a coalition of demagogues, gathering power to themselves in the name of the people, acting to install themselves into the ruling bodies of other powers, spread their message to the guillible like a cancer, and eventually sieze control from within. Little wonder the Molochi were so wary.

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2008-06-24 01:37pm

"Mrs. Sakamoto." There stood Andre Tell. "I've got a private message for you from my government."

"Oh?"

"Indeed. I'll get right to the point. The Republic of Makay needs help, and the Internationale is going to do whatever it can to provide it. We need good terraforming gear- lots of it, and fast. Your firms are well rated, and the 135 Loyal Syndicates seem more or less content with working conditions, so there's no political dissonance on the matter. Do you think we could reach some sort of agreement?"

Tanasinn · Post by **Tanasinn** » 2008-06-24 02:52pm

Sakamoto gave the fastidious man a thin, cool, but genuine smile, "Our governments and ideologies may not always see eye to eye, but humanity comes before politics. I'm sure some sort of arrangement could be met that will satisfy us both. Particularly in light of recent events in the north."

Dark Hellion · Post by **Dark Hellion** » 2008-06-24 03:10pm

"Courageous, this is Molochi control. Please leave your bigass battleships outside the system and courier yourselves to dock 11a16 on the Meridian Ring. Docking teams are on stand-by. Thanks for your cooperation."

Haven't seen one of them in a while. Cute little things. The Sector fleet's had tennis courts inside. Pretty fun, although a lob could trigger the auto-guns. Nothing like a shower of flechettes to ruin a good doubles match.

Dark Hellion · Post by **Dark Hellion** » 2008-06-24 03:23pm

O'Brien quietly slid out from under the covers, leaving the naked Mindi bathed in artificial moonlight. Slipping on his pants and shirt he carefully walked out the door. About three steps down the hall, a girl sidled up beside him, extremely similar to the girl he had just left napping. He started to speak when she interrupted him.

"Yes, I am her younger sister. I know you just got done fucking her. No, it doesn't bother me, and hell no, you will never get in a work edgewise with this family. Now lets get done to business, you already got your pleasure for the evening. At the summit, sometime this week we will be announcing the rebuilding of the Molochi Merchant Marine, and will be putting out around 50 new trade vessels. This is all well and good, but we don't have any trade partners who can utilize that amount of bulk tonnage. Most of the items will be gaudy bullshit, but we can provide some interesting things, like, say, advanced cybernetics, or non-hereditary gen-mods. Would you be willing to start trading? We really want those jobs. We have financiers and Naval Officers running desk work, and getting them back into the field would be a boon to Molochi economy. There are other buyers, but a stable government like yours is better than a pissant state no one knows, who might dissolve tomorrow. What do you say?"

O'Brien went to answer, only to be cut off again.

"I see why Mindi was interested in you. You're very cute. If I wasn't married, I'd give you another amazing night, but as it is, you'll have to settle with just one of us. When you make up your mind, talk to my brother, Sgt. Platz Drascoll. Good night."

With that she disappeared around a corner into a doorway which closed behind her.

Women!

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-06-24 03:47pm

"Acknowledged, Control. Ambassador Shelton's shuttle is departing Courageous's hangar bay now. We will clear the system once the shuttle has made safe distance."

The shuttlecraft showed up on the Molochi scanners after it had made some distance from the cruisers and their defensive jammers. A short time later, the three heavies spun up their hyperdrives and vanished from the system in a triple flash of radiation.

In their wake, the crew of the NRS Nightstalker waited with bated breath, the ship's stealth fields fully active, to see whether or not the Molochi fleet would pick them up in the absence of the heavy ships' powerful jamming and sensor distortion.

Meanwhile, the shuttle flew in on its designated course, as though the crew had no knowledge of the lurking frigate - mainly because they didn't.

Lancer · Post by **Lancer** » 2008-06-24 04:47pm

The subordinate who had interrupted Lady-Colonel Lux approached Mrs. Sakamoto, unable to see Mr. Tell until he had practically bumped into the man due to the positioning of the three Molochi security agents continually shadowing the Syndicalist representative.

"Ah, pardon me sir. Miss, I am Lt. Gregory Carne of the Dawn Star delegation. Lady-Colonel Lux wishes to discuss some regional matters with you before the summit begins."

Tanasinn · Post by **Tanasinn** » 2008-06-24 04:50pm

O'Brien shook his head. These Royalists, he thought in a disconnected way, running a hand through his hair to straighten it as he continued to walk. Finally gaining the exit, he turned his thoughts back to what Mindi's sister had said.

Trade with Royalists, hmm? The die-hards won't care for it, and neither will the syndicalists or communists. Then again, they don't care for much of anything, the idea of political incompatibility didn't particularly bother the diplomat: he fully ascribed to the idea that ideology was to be applied when convenient, and bent when not. Something the Humanist Union's leadership acknowledged, even if they didn't like it.

On the other hand, he considered, The Union's dedicated merchant-marines have been out of service. It'd require some dedication from the shipyards to get a force up and running again, and we're also in need of warships as it is, he resolved to speak to this Sgt. Drascoll nonetheless; this was the sort of thing he and his fellow diplomat were here for.

Speaking of which, he thought, I wonder if Emi's managed to find any interesting situations of her own?

Ohma · Post by **Ohma** » 2008-06-24 05:07pm

Varan checked the time; he still had several hours before he had to get back aboard the Proof of Concept for the next tour. Light and Roy were off somewhere probably in fusion with some Molochi drones. Finder’s Keepers had docked with the PoC and had been quite adamant about needing some rest. Astro and Wildstar had stayed behind to make sure everything was working for the tour.

Damn it was good to be away from those four for a while.

Varan swaggered into one of the banquet halls, plucking a flute of some swirling, multi colored liquid from a tray on his way in. He was scoping out the crowd in the hall when he bumped into a woman in a red dress.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-06-26 12:04am

The Nashtari shuttle landed and offloaded its passengers: The ambassador and four Marine bodyguards, all human. The Ministry of State had briefly considered sending Ronoghan and Zambaran representatives, but had decided against on the basis of prevailing anti-alien sentiment in most of the former Transhuman Empire. The shuttle's crew waited with their ship.

Without fanfare (the battleship and cruisers had already provided enough of that, he reasoned) Horace Shelton quietly introduced himself to whoever was maintaining the guest book and moved out to mingle with the other representatives, his guards trailing at a discreet distance.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-07-01 03:02pm

Ambassador Shelton set out through the crowd of delegates searching for a representative of the Humanist Union.

Tanasinn · Post by **Tanasinn** » 2008-07-01 03:47pm

Emi Sakamoto, glancing from the corner of her eye, noticed another figure approaching her through the crowd: this would be Horace Shelton. Sakamoto surmised that he was probably the representative from the latest nation to show up with warships in-tow: the commander of her own craft had relayed information of that and other notable arrivals directly to her through her comms implant.

She resolved to let the man approach her, as other diplomats had before. International relations was a delicate game to play, and she certainly didn't want to give the impression that the representatives of the Union, and by extention, the Union itself, were specifically interested in any one party present. At least, not yet.

She took another sip from her glass.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-07-01 03:59pm

"Good day," the ambassador said brightly as he approached. "I understand you represent the Humanist Union. I'm Ambassador Horace Shelton, of the Republic of Nashtar; I'm given to understand that one of our scout ships made contact with elements of your fleet recently, and I am instructed to establish more formal contact, as our respective naval commanders discussed."

Tanasinn · Post by **Tanasinn** » 2008-07-01 04:19pm

Sakamoto turned and gave the Nashtar ambassador a polite smile, "Yes, I'm familiar with that particular incident. Fortunate that things turned out as they did. As for me, I'm Emi Sakamoto, and I'm authorized to speak on behalf of the Union to other nations. Formal contact between our two nations is welcomed, naturally. What in particular do you wish to discuss?"

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-07-01 04:41pm

"Quite," Shelton said with a half smile. "Fortunately, Captain Vanada is a level-headed type." He didn't add the rest of what he was thinking; that it was fortunate the Shadow class destroyers did their jobs so well. "The particulars involve trade, for the most part," he continued, sipping a glass of something non-alcoholic that he'd managed to half-threaten out of one of the gala's attendants; he could have sworn that their hosts were trying to get the delegates drunk, and was probably right. "Since the fall of the Empire, we've found certain industries of ours suffering from the lack of the Imperial tradeships, and our leadership finds it prudent to seek trade agreements with our near neighbors."

Tanasinn · Post by **Tanasinn** » 2008-07-01 04:53pm

At this latest bit from the Nashtar ambassador, Sakamoto gave a polite nod, "The Union, too, is opening itself to trade. These are still dangerous times, but not as turbulent as those immediately after the fall. I'm sure we can come to some sort of trade agreement that would benefit both of our states."

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-07-01 05:45pm

Shelton's voice lowered a bit. "Excellent. If it's all the same to you, I'd rather discuss the particulars somewhere other than the middle of a gala; some of what I have to say I'd rather not have the whole galaxy hear."

Tanasinn · Post by **Tanasinn** » 2008-07-01 06:23pm

Sakamoto gave a nonchalant nod, "That's agreeable for me. We have time yet, I'm sure, before the summit proper starts. And time after. Unless you have a preference, my shuttle is still docked, and it will be secured against any listening devices. Well, except the Union's own," at this last comment a small smile flashed across her face.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-07-01 06:27pm

Shelton smiled. "You're hearing what I have to say anyway," he observed mildly. "Shall we?" He jerked his head and the Marines in attendance began making their way over, pointedly ignoring the proffered pleasures of the reception.

Tanasinn · Post by **Tanasinn** » 2008-07-01 06:33pm

Sakamoto gave no verbal reply, responding with a short nod and leading the way back to the shuttlecraft, her two accompanying Union Guard in-tow.

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-07-01 06:46pm

Once aboard, Shelton wasted no time. "As your government is doubtless aware from the information Captain Vanada provided, we encompass the majority of former Imperial Subsector Delta 23, which includes the Orodan shipyards and industrial complex. The heavy construction yards for Imperial capital ships were destroyed in the aftermath of the Fall, mostly beyond repair, but we have most of the lighter construction docks, which are adequate for our needs. Despite our own mining operations, however, we are unable to supply enough raw materials to run even the remaining yards and planet-side industries to capacity." He heaved a deep breath. "This is why I didn't want to talk about this out in public; most of the powers represented out there probably already know the location of the major shipyards, including ours, but I'd rather not confirm it's still in operation to all and sundry. I'm authorized to share this with your government because of the potential for a mutually beneficial trade agreement; we have little desire to paint a larger target on our core systems than the Imperial records already have."

Tanasinn · Post by **Tanasinn** » 2008-07-01 07:09pm

Sakamoto listened to the other speak in silence, pausing a brief moment before responding, "Your caution is understandable. Considering how many nations are struggling for their piece of the Empire, such facilities could turn out to be quite dangerous to possess," she paused, "the Union is adequately wealthy when it comes to raw materials, though we're interested in importing more agricultural goods to supplement our own output."

Rogue 9 · Post by **Rogue 9** » 2008-07-01 07:13pm

Shelton smiled. "And as you should know, we were the Oversector's breadbasket. Foodstuff exports would be trivial for the production capacity of Mintar and Marince." How easy! He had been authorized to offer the export of completed ships if necessary, but if the Union was in need of foodstuffs, perhaps he wouldn't have to use that concession just yet.