STGOD2 Main Story thread

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2004-01-05 04:42pm

"You are free, Nguyen, to suggest some locale that isn't patrolled by some old, destroyed Empire in the delusion that it still can control things." Andrew muttered. "Space is littered with the likes of the Star Kingdom. Or maybe you think I should slither on my stomach back to the Lost, begging their forgiveness." He spat. "The Magellenic Clouds... A longer transition, but at least none of the self-important remnants of ages past ever laid claim to them where we're headed."

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2004-01-05 05:17pm

phongn wrote:
Dahak wrote:We are unaware of any "private territorial holdings" of yours outside the approved Orbital Station, from where ships should be easily able to leave our space.
Your ships are free to leave unharmed, and if registered, may stay in the designated zones for foreign craft.

Should you choose to remove your presence from Orbital Station and are unable to do so with your current shipping, we are willing to offer you adequate freighter space from us.
Perhaps the Stuart Corporation is unable to read: the "private territorial holdings," was a direct reference to your holdings, not that of the Star Kingdom's.

Your ships may leave Stuartian space unharmed.
If you want to send ships into our territory, you may request it. Otherwise it's an illegal violation of our territorial integrity, which we not tolerate in this time.

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2004-01-05 05:25pm

Kyle wrote:1)
From: Department of State United Terran Republic
To: Stuart Corportation

The United Terran Republic is sending this message to add it's support to the protests of it's ally the Star Kingdom of Serenity regarding the new policies of the Stuart Corporation. If entente vessels are harmed or molested we will fully support any response by the agrived entente members.

We are just responding to the current problems in this galaxy.
Your ships will not be harmed or molested, unless they violate our territory. Simple as that.
It's not you have heavy traffic, anyway...

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » 2004-01-05 10:12pm

Dahak wrote:
Kyle wrote:1)
From: Department of State United Terran Republic
To: Stuart Corportation

The United Terran Republic is sending this message to add it's support to the protests of it's ally the Star Kingdom of Serenity regarding the new policies of the Stuart Corporation. If entente vessels are harmed or molested we will fully support any response by the agrived entente members.
We are just responding to the current problems in this galaxy.
Your ships will not be harmed or molested, unless they violate our territory. Simple as that.
It's not you have heavy traffic, anyway...

We were not concerned about our own shipping, which as you said is rather light outside our own space, but just wished to inform you that our allies have are full support.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-01-05 10:32pm

Dahak wrote:Your ships may leave Stuartian space unharmed.
If you want to send ships into our territory, you may request it. Otherwise it's an illegal violation of our territorial integrity, which we not tolerate in this time.

From: HM Ministry of Foreign Affairs
To: SC
Re: Expulsion.

The merchant corporations operating ships flagged by the Star Kingdom have been notified of this and are removing their presence from the Stuart Corporation's private territorial holdings at this time. We estimate that it will take no longer than three Terran days from the time of this notification.

Due to the increased delays inherent in advance notification, the attatched list of merchant and freight organizations have suspended just-in-time shipments to the Stuart Corporation. Future shipments to or from the Corporation may expect a delay of up to eight Terran days.

Attachment included

Darksider · Post by **Darksider** » 2004-01-06 09:18am

:::::KSN diplomatic vessel, uninhabited neutral system near Affront space:::::

The Diplomatic vessel hailed the approaching affront vessel.

"We are ready to begin negotiations, please respond"

(OOC: Sorry about the long respond time Stormbringer, with all the holiday stuff I kind of got side tracked. Can we just pretend this takes place in the "Past" So your ship dosen't have to wait for two years?)

:::::::Krytos, Present day:::::::

"Emperor, the Azegart survivors may turn on us next when they're done with the TSC."

"We've already started pulling the ships and troops out of the occupied zone, and we should be ready to turn control over to the locals soon. I'm sure they won't present a problem."

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » 2004-01-06 12:39pm

phongn wrote: 3. "The Advisor is active again, Minako."

"Him? I thought that those people had enough with the galaxy and left."

"Not him ... he hid himself remarkably well. SIS only confirmed that he was still in the area eight years ago. Information is scarce, we know little about him. What we do know is from Meiou."

"Meaning we know nothing of substance." Minako smiled. Pluto rarely gave useful information these. Something about keeping time intact, as usual.

"How are the rest of the Planetary Senshi coming along?"

"They're doing well-enough, they don't need me anymore. A mission, I assume?"

"Yes. Keep your primary mission, but get more information on this Advisor. Figure out if his friends are heading back here, or if he's just acting alone."

The Advisor was not an easy man to find, even for one such as Minako. His complete invisibility and immunity to magic or psionics added an extra layer of complexity that meant she had to rely on conventional methods.

Methods that the advisor was prepared for. It wasn't tiem for a face to face meeting between him and one of the senshi, but he also knew she wasn't going to just get frustrated and give up like most people who tried to find him.

He had gottent he title of advisor hundreds of years ago for a reason. He had fingers in almost every government in the galaxy, with a few exceptions here and there. He had a plan too, but what it was was known to him and him alone. "Get me Lord Frusan on the primary comm." Frusan was the ruler of the Jenistaz Protectorate, a neighbor of the Grand Empire of Brisbane. The advisor was a person that prefered not to waste words, so he kept it simple. "I've been watching recent activities, it's time."

"Are you sure? The fleet is still very raw."

"They will fulfill their mission, and that is what matters." and then die shortly afterwords but there was no reason to let some petty dictator know that. "Remember what you owe me." and with that the conversation was over, and the signal stopped.

"Begin recording a message for Minako." he sat down in his command chair ont he old space station and considered what to say. Best to keep it simple. "I know you're trying to find me. You won't. But I'll let you know this, I no longer represnt my government and am here as a private citizen not as an officer of our miltary. You need have no fear of our fleets swooping down on this now defenseless galaxy."

"Make sure this gets to her, and don't let her trace it back to you. If she does..." They all knew that when you worked for the advisor that it was death before capture.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-01-06 02:39pm

Kyle wrote:"Begin recording a message for Minako." he sat down in his command chair ont he old space station and considered what to say. Best to keep it simple. "I know you're trying to find me. You won't. But I'll let you know this, I no longer represnt my government and am here as a private citizen not as an officer of our miltary. You need have no fear of our fleets swooping down on this now defenseless galaxy."

"Make sure this gets to her, and don't let her trace it back to you. If she does..." They all knew that when you worked for the advisor that it was death before capture.

The message came two days ago in a sushi bar on Neo Hokkaido, one of the UTR's world. She didn't know who dropped it there, but a small envelope, her name written exquisitely in the old ways, suddenly appeared next to her. There was no sense of air displacement, so it wasn't a teleport. Someone had gotten under her guard ... she cursed herself. The man next to her was too ordinary to be real. Too average, instantly blending into the crowd.

Ms. Aino,
I know you're trying to find me. You won't. But I'll let you know this: I no longer represent my government and am here as a private citizen, not as an officer of our military. You need not have fear of our fleets swooping down on this now defenseless galaxy."

Minako inwardly grimaced. So, he knew of her mission. He probably knew that she wouldn't stop on the account of a mere note, either. Something was cloaking him from the Astral plane as well, and she was far too unskilled in the arts of the chi to even attempt such methods of tracking. She could feel his impression on the Astral -- it was not exactly magical or psionic, more a projection of one's spirit and soul -- but it localizing it was impossible.

From what she knew of his birth-nation's technology base (and SIS had much more information than they suspected), they were not capable of such acts, preferring almost entirely to work in the mundane. Of course, their achievements could hardly be called as such, but it was such an easy descriptor. And as for him claiming to work independantly...no, she didn't believe it. Not for a moment. She would have to continue digging and find out more information on this ... Advisor.

She paid for her meal -- in cash, with the local currency -- and left, plotting her next move. But first, she had to drop off a warning note in that numbered account for her agent on the Five Fangs. It would be indirectly written and passed through her own computer analyses first, but the man should understand the gist of it.

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-01-06 08:45pm

-: Desjardins :-

An envoy entered the embassy of the Centrally Directed Republic of Marvels, bearing letters from the Office of the President.

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2004-01-06 10:56pm

Given a choice between dishonoring their oaths with painful results, suicide, and virtual house arrest, many of the remaining Zodiac heads chose to kill themselves. One or two even hearkened back to the ancient ways of Japan and showed the dead Queen the "depth of their sincerity" by disembowelling themselves. It was all well and good to Oyugun, right hand of the Triad Head, and now effective khan of the territories formerly monitored by the Zodiac. He could spare a few old men.

The deaths of the middle tier of the Zodiac were more painful in a business sense. These were men with skills he could use, but though none of them owed actual oaths to the throne, few chose to change sides. Leaderless and isolated, they were slaughtered. The bottom tier of the Zodiac, the informants and actual earners, noticed a change of management, but it wasn't much their concern. New management arrived, different orders came from above.

The SIS might have wondered exactly what the Triad had been looking to gain when they displaced the Zodiac. Part of the very reason they were to able to win wsa because the former lords of the manor had done only "soft" crime and information gathering, and had therefore had much less money than the omnipresent crime syndicate that was the enemy. Operations into organizing professionals in larceny, gambling, and chemical sales would begin quickly. There were always professional criminals, whether or not they were organized by and paid tribute to a head organization. But the SKS had less of these operations than almost any place in the galaxy, and profits there would be slim--barring a major economic depression (larceny was more profitable as police funding fell, a simple equation).

It would take the SIS some time to pin down exactly what the motivation had been, because everything was hidden behind veils, smokescreens, and wrong answers that looked quite correct--and all this deception coordinated with efficiency and skill.

However, Oyugun knew precisely what his orders were. The SKS had a very high standard of education, was populated primarily by youma (who had great physical toughness and potential magical strength), and had a population of people who recalled wealthier times. It was necessary for the Zodiac to be displaced, because they never would have allowed a recruitment drive in their territory.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-01-07 12:09am

When one is doing a divination as to predict the future, having the ouija board suddenly burst into flame, leaving behind a few cyrillic characters (when it was previously using the Aurabesh alphabet) is most disconcerting. Discovering that the numbers decided to switch to hexadecimal from octal was ... odd, as well.

So, it appears the Zodiac have been wiped out, then he looked again at the results. Almost....

---

The young red-heared woman tried to compose herself in front of the most powerful man in the Kingdom -- Lord Calcite. She knew why she was summoned here; she felt the shift of destiny already and knew what it meant.

"My apologies, but you understand why I have taken you from your meditations."

"My brother is dead. The fool tried to break his curse and sold out the whole of the Zodiac. Destiny turns against us, the lady Fortune favours those ... barbarians."

"Indeed. But you're a special case that had not been seen in the history of the Zodiac, even our records dating to the pre-Diaspora Age. The duality of the Gemini is not linked via the Astral, the Soul or the Chi. In fact, we cannot find any link between you -- a contradiction of the duality of your powers that you most certainly shared. Instead, his links were shared with your sister, who was just murdered four hours ago.

"Our intelligence indicates that the Triads do not know about you. The believe the duality of the Gemini refers specifically to Twins. But what of two of a triplet? No, that would be impossible to forsee. A strange duality, perhaps related to your mother's imprisonment by the Atlanteans.

"This gives you an advantage. You clearly want to restore the Zodiac. That will be quite easy. You clearly want vengeance. That can be undertaken, but with patience and clarity of soul and thought. I am offering your a way, but will you accept?"

"Yes! Of course I will!"

Calcite smiled. The Gemini in front of him would do well. He summoned an aide who took the woman away.

---

Christina McNichols was one of a triplet. Her parents were now dead, victem to a terrorist bombing off-world. Her siblings were also dead, courtesy of the criminal organization known as the Triads. The leader of the Star Kingdom had offered her vengeance ... and she had accepted. You accepted too quickly. You didn't even think about it!

She was lead through many hallways and tunnels and doors until she reached a hallway. Eleven people were seated, each with a faintly-glowing symbol on their heads. More were leaning against the walls, one was standing at the podium.

"Welcome, Ms. McNichols. Welcome to the Hidden Directorate."

---

Calcite was speaking to Minako over an encrypted connection from the Kingdom's embassy on Earth. She needed this information quickly, and conventional methods would not do. At any rate, this one-time cipher would be immediately destroyed afterwards, and various magical methods would instantly alert either person to any form of eavesdropping.

"The Triads played directly into our hands. They killed off most of the Zodiac and most of the rest killed themselves. The next generation manifeted itself -- almost all of their agents in SIS, if you could believe -- and we've got a nicely malleable leader for this bunch. The Zodiac are under our complete control now."

"Sounds good. Our Advisor has proven more slippery than I expected. He knows that I'm looking for him."

"Be careful. But I should know better than that, talking to you? Anyways, the Triads are going to find themselves facing more resistance than they thought..."

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-01-07 12:24am

Sarah O'Neal laughed as she took off from her final stop, somewhere in the Aquarian Union. Those silly fishes were virtually bankrupting themselves in their zeal to make themselves an impregnable fortress against attack. It was quite silly, of course. Nobody could do that, and at any rate, this fortress was quite weak from within.

As usual, she didn't know how her weapons dealer did it. She only knew that this time, she received an extraordinary number of arms from many former worlds of the Grand Alliance. They weren't top-of-the-line, but they were quite modern and in service. Plenty of explosives, too, but that could be found anywhere.

She'd spent the last month after their first wave of attacks planning what to do next. She loaded up on sound-projectors in particular to disorient the militia and hopefully make more green-on-green casualties. You could never have too much chaos. Secondly, she chose her explosives for the maximum shock effect, again to disorient her enemies. Finally, she went over propaganda and training material from all the nations she sought to emulate.

Oh, yes, she also had a lot of enthusiastic rabble (many indigenous, even!) who more or less looked like rabble that was trained by someone. Stuart Corp? The Commonwealth? Maybe, but didn't their tactics look awfully familiar? Azgert? O'Neal could imagine the thoughts that would go through the police's mind afterwards.

Most importantly, each cell was precisely compartmentalized to ensure that if someone was caught, the whole op wouldn't go down. It was phased, of course. The core worlds of the Union would be set afire, pinning them down, while then the outliers would be hammered in waves of attacks. The Core would not be able to send anyone to help. In the end, the forces of the fish would prevail, but more cracks would appear in their society.

Ah, yes. The first attacks should be going on right about ... now.

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-01-07 12:42am

One of the Provisional carriers was down, and another was seriously damaged and venting atmosphere, but their fighters had already launched. The Azegart squadrons had fought with ferocity, but their concentration on the carriers had left them open to the guns of the interceptor swarms and the fleet's escorts. The Azegart squadrons would not be making another sortie of nearly that effectiveness.

The fighter pressed their strike on the damaged carrier finishing it off before they broke off. Their heavy losses hadn't detered them at all; they were superbly trained and supremely dedicated. Still, they took heavy losses.

One of the Azegart carriers broke off and headed back to the PRC. Reinforcements were waiting after all and this fight was far from over.

{ooc: I'm trying to wait on Beowulf since this is supposed to be a joint operation of sorts.}

Stormbringer · Post by **Stormbringer** » 2004-01-07 12:44am

:::::KSN diplomatic vessel, uninhabited neutral system near Affront space:::::

The Diplomatic vessel hailed the approaching affront vessel.

"We are ready to begin negotiations, please respond"

"And we're ready to listen. What is it you wish to speak with us about?"

ooc: works for me

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-01-07 12:59am

-ooc- Ok, whatevs. Remember , itll be a while gametime till he arrives from the PRC, and about an hour and a half until my ships in the Commonwealth can translate through the multitude of linking jumpgates, Oh, and you should declare losses from the Commonwealth missile fire. Recall that this particular fleet has a heavy emphasis on missile firepower, with it's 2 Dreadnoughts both being missileboat models. Losses will be heavy. -/ooc-

Sous-Admiral Marcao watched as his fleet's first volley landed among the oncoming warships. Reports from the Provisional commander told him that two of the fleet's escort carriers had bought it. It was hardly important- in the long run, it would be expensive to replace, but for this engagement, their usefullness was over. Their squadrons of fighters were in space, prepare for combat.

The Imperial forces were closing. Soon, it would become a knife fight.

"Three more volleys of regular missiles, then switch to the SRM magazines. Have the Michigan, the Arbiter, and the Swordsman form up along the spinward flank in assault formation, and the Glaive , the Battle of Togo , and the Ashkaga form up in assault formation to the antispinward flank."

The six large cruisers moved to comply.

Raxmei · Post by **Raxmei** » 2004-01-07 03:40am

Somewhere in the galaxy, someone groaned, "not again."

***
[some news program]
The Nyfitsar Council of Seers has now given permission to the Space Guard to build and operate capital scale warships. The recent pirate attack on the Aquarian Union was cited as the reason for the change. Defense analysts say they doubt the ability of the Guard to repel such a large and determined attack using only its space stations and small craft. Critics point out that the Black Alliance no longer exists, and that this is obviously a buildup to war.

***

[general announcement]

The Nyfitsar government is now accepting bids for the delivery of 160 million cubic meters of armorplast[*], which is to be used in an unspecified secret project. Further details may or may not be available upon request, as this is a very secret project.

[*]Armorplast is a catch-all term for armor and armor materials. Anything from durasteel on up is acceptable.

Post by **Beowulf** » 2004-01-07 05:20am

Thirdfain wrote:-ooc- Ok, whatevs. Remember , itll be a while gametime till he arrives from the PRC, and about an hour and a half until my ships in the Commonwealth can translate through the multitude of linking jumpgates, Oh, and you should declare losses from the Commonwealth missile fire. Recall that this particular fleet has a heavy emphasis on missile firepower, with it's 2 Dreadnoughts both being missileboat models. Losses will be heavy. -/ooc-

Sous-Admiral Marcao watched as his fleet's first volley landed among the oncoming warships. Reports from the Provisional commander told him that two of the fleet's escort carriers had bought it. It was hardly important- in the long run, it would be expensive to replace, but for this engagement, their usefullness was over. Their squadrons of fighters were in space, prepare for combat.

The Imperial forces were closing. Soon, it would become a knife fight.

"Three more volleys of regular missiles, then switch to the SRM magazines. Have the Michigan, the Arbiter, and the Swordsman form up along the spinward flank in assault formation, and the Glaive , the Battle of Togo , and the Ashkaga form up in assault formation to the antispinward flank."

The six large cruisers moved to comply.

[ooc] You forget that I already have some forces there. It's just that the PRC combat fleet isn't there. And Stormbringer? You can handle the portion that I own until the PRC fleet gets there. Also, please note that while the Daidoji Fleet does consist of mercenaries, they are well paid mercenaries. They also recognize that one of the best ways to stay alive is to keep their equipment up to date. They also, for various reasons, have a higher income than can be accounted for by simply looking at their contracts.[/ooc]

Onboard the Rekai's Arrow, Admiral Spee watched the battle. "Form up our fleet. We are going to be assaulting that formation of cruisers on the enemy's eastern flank. How long until the reinforcements arrive from the PRC?"

"We're just getting hints of the gravitic distortion from the fold drives now. Shouldn't be more than another 15 minutes."

---

Elsewhere, above the Galactic plane.

"Third, Fourth and Fifth fleets have joined us. We will be able to begin the attack shortly."

---

SKS sensor station, somewhere in the Core.

"We're picking up a fairly massive fleet movement above the galactic plane. Only definite is that they're not Black Alliance ships. Drives are similar to ours. They seem to be headed towards the south of the Galaxy."

[ooc] Hope you don't mind that I'm borrowing a sensor station Phong. [/ooc]

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-01-07 02:09pm

FROM: Heavy Response Manipule Alpha (Ulrich)
TO: Outworld Alliance Expeditionary Force
SUBJ: Req. Assistance

-::-

Things look tight here over Ulrich. As per the Grand Alliance agreement, we request immediate assistance against resurgent Imperial Azegart and mercenary forces over Ulrich in the Azegart Empire.

-: ENDTRANSMISSION :-

"Message sent, Sous-Admiral."

"Excellent."

Sous-Admiral Marcao examined the displays.
"Have the Provisional large warships stand back as a mobile reserve. Order the figher wing from the surviving carrier to load up on strike munitions and then relaunch."

Companion Cube · Post by **Companion Cube** » 2004-01-07 02:16pm

Thirdfain wrote:FROM: Heavy Response Manipule Alpha (Ulrich)
TO: Outworld Alliance Expeditionary Force
SUBJ: Req. Assistance

-::-

Things look tight here over Ulrich. As per the Grand Alliance agreement, we request immediate assistance against resurgent Imperial Azegart and mercenary forces over Ulrich in the Azegart Empire.

-: ENDTRANSMISSION :-

ATTN: Heavy Response Manipule Alpha (Ulrich)
FROM: Outworld Alliance Expeditionary Force
SUBJ: On the way.

As per our agreement, we are on our way. We are prepared to support you, and we have contacted Solitaire to begin preparing possible reinforcements to follow our main force, which will be en-route as you receive this.

-: ENDTRANSMISSION :-

OOC: I'll try to dig up a roster for the expeditionary force, and add it to this message...

EDIT: Here they are, for what it's worth:

-12 Charon Destroyers
-40 Styx Frigates
-1 Acheron Cruiser

Note that more ships will be forthcoming, probably a Dreadnought or two, and they'll be assembling at a secure area outside Azegart territory. It'll probably take them a day or two.

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-01-07 02:17pm

FROM: HRM Alpha (Ulrich)
TO: Outworld Alliance Expeditionary Force
SUBJ: RE: Require Assistance

-::-

Thanks, Outworlders. It's looking hairy over here.

-: ENDTRANSMISSION:-

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2004-01-07 02:28pm

The 10 ships were slowly towed out of their construction slips on huge fleet tenders and, under the protection of the tenders shields, were brought through the turbulent atmosphere up to orbit where they settled into high orbit near the Orbital Station.

A message was sent to the Aquarian Union.
"Your ships are ready. We will be expecting your crews. You will be exempted from the foreign transportation ban for it."

Companion Cube · Post by **Companion Cube** » 2004-01-07 02:29pm

Over the skies of New Mecca, the OAN was preparing for war. Squadrons of frigates and patrol craft scurried along patrol routes, CGT arrays covered the area for light-years around, and personnel were rushing to their stations.

The Solitaire's onboard shipyards had not been idle, rushing out warships and fighters. Passing under the superstructure of the gargantuan space station, a group of twenty Charon Destroyers flew in a loose formation, an enormous Lightbringer Dreadnought at their centre, preparing for hyperspace. Dozens of corvettes, escort carriers and frigates formed up on the Destroyers and Dreadnought, and together the group sped forward out of subspace.

Kyle · Post by **Kyle** » 2004-01-07 02:39pm

TNS Republic continued her acceptance trials. The massive warship, the largest military vessel built by the UTRN since the Atlantean invasion, had so far perofrmed at or beyond all projected capabilities. Another week of excercises and tests then a temporay deployment with the new fifth fleet before a permenant transfer to Home Fleet.

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-01-08 11:03pm

Sous-Admiral Marcao fidgeted in his command chair. The last few seconds had felt like DAYS.

Thirdfain · Post by **Thirdfain** » 2004-01-08 11:34pm

-: Via secure line on Desjardins :-

FROM: Office of the President (Desjardins)
TO: CD-RoM Embassy (Desjardins)
SUBJ: Req. Reinforcements

-::-

We appreciate your descicion to assist operations in the Azegart Empire. Currently, Provisional Azegart soldiers and small teams of Commonwealth PSAINTs are engaged with Azegart terrorists across the Empire. Ground troops would be appreciated to help quell then uprisings. Joint operations with Provisional soldiers and Commonwealth Legionnaires would be necessary.

Victory!

-: ENDMESSAGE :-