STGOD2k6 Main Thread

[Thirdfain]

(OOC: 5 part post, aimed at a number of players. I'm posting now and will be editing in all sections over the next hour.

1. For 3rd Impact:
Tarsis Deux
Kergudter March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

Tarsis Deux: The Port of One Thousand Destinations. The most heavily populated system in the Empire and the crown jewel of Crobuzon's expansions for over two centuries, Tarsis Deux had once been a paradise. Now, the grand Engine of Industry had converted her surface to a thing of bustling metropolises. Hundreds of spaceports covered the surface, some of them the size of large cities- huge deserts of concrete. Those who lived near those mighty centers of trade had no day or night- the constant glow of aethership exhaust, projected by liftoff after liftoff, was all the light they knew.

Deeper in-system lay Tarsis Profanae. That tiny rock was 'blessed' with an orbit which matched her rotation, keeping one face in constant, hellish light. The other face, insulated by thousands of miles of rock, was an icy desert where nothing could live.

It was in the Twilight zone, that thin band between the two faces, that the Imperial naval base made it's home. Huge pylons reached into low orbit, anchoring a halo of spun carbon cable at the edge of space. Fortified slips and armoured bases studded the grand peice of military jewelry- even with much of the Fleet warring in distant lands, there was an entire Battle Division in-system, the four dreadnoughts berthed and undergoing routine maintenance.

The incoming Pfhor probe had not gone un-noticed. In it's transit through the bulk of the Kergudter March, listening posts had tracked it. As it arrived in-system, a squadron of three torpedo-boats lay in wait. It's first contact signals were responded to.

"Identify yourself immediately."

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2. Dahak's turn!
Tarsis Deux
Kergudter March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

The Promise of Fortune had arrived at the edge of the Kergudter March at one of the many small border-systems which made up the frontier. A trade representative had directed them to Tarsis Deux, the one place in the entire March best suited to welcome foreign dignitaries with promise of fresh new markets.

The Falau'un ship was directed to a berth over Tarsis Deux with no more or less ceremony than was due any of the other thousand ships in-system, and never came close to anything like a warship with the possible exception of a customs cutter. However, the Promise of Fortune's crew had a most exceptional welcome.

As the elegant Falau'un disembarked into the vast arrivals gallery, they were greeted by a bizarre gathering of officials. Two grey-skinned, burly men in simple suits flanked a tall, elegant woman. Her beauty would have been exceptional to other human-like sapients, were it not for the huge, iridescent scarab that sat unsettlingly upon her neck where a head should be. The disturbing thing clicked and hissed, and a scent like bitter almonds wafted towards the Falau'un.

"Lady the Honorable Ju nii Crais bids you welcome, brave travellers, on the behalf of Nova Kergudter Packages LTD., to Tarsis Deux in particular and the Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon in general."

The man who had spoken had almost missed the attention of the Falau'un visitors, he was so slender and unassuming. His only outstanding feature, besides his exceptionally well-cut clothing, was the bizarre and oversized pair of spectacles he wore. It's huge brass rims were studded with tiny moving parts and strange little vents. The whole contraption clicked and whirred faintly, and as the man completed his greeting, tiny puffs of steam rose into the air from the brazen mechanism.

The khepri (for that was what Lady Ju nii Crais was) spread her arms in a gesture of greeting, sandsilk and lace ruffling against her smooth, ruddy skin. Her headlegs moved in tiny patterns and she emitted another series of clicks. A sickly-sweet smell hit the air, wafting around the delegates.

"Lady Crais invites you to join us in more comfortable quarters. She would know who you are, where you hail from, and most importantly, what we can do for one another in the field of commerce."

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3. For Beowulf:
Imrha's Reach
Sparse March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

The Gaius Julius did not make it as far as Albiachor when she made contact with the Parliamentary Empire. Imrha's Reach lay almost exactly along her course. That world was home to the exploratory fleet of Salácus Street Northwest, and local space was filled with mass-produced aetherclippers on a hundred missions ranging from deep exploration to local mineral and resource surveys.

The Stropworth Adventurer was almost exactly the same as the poor ship which had been shot down a month ago over Shearwater, sparking the current conflagration. She did mount, however, newly purchased hypercomms. It was with these that she hailed the onrushing cruiser.

"Welcome to the Salácus Sreet Northwest Company's Primary Exploitation Zone, as chartered by Parliamentary vote and Mayoral decree. This is the ICS Stropworth Adventurer. How may we help you?"

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4. And for Adrian!
ICNS Sovereign of Rohag
Deep Space
The Silver Flame

<<Repeat: Unidentified vessel. This system and the entirety of Kreshayan territory are under interdiction by order of the City and Empire for crimes against it's citizens and property. Identify yourself immediately, or face the consequences.>>

'This is LC-64 Boulder of the Mekidar Republic. Who are you and what is your quarrel with the Silver Flame?'

Grossadmiral Johan der Vandermere was having a rough, rough day. He'd just finished organizing a retrieval operation for the Admiral Stevanaphulis, which thank Jabbar hadn't torqued into insanity upon lighting off it's teardrives, and was in the midst of dealing with the latest communiques from Shearwater when the alien ship arrived.

Already, they'd dealt with one bizarre alien starship of unknown origin, a tiny wrench in the works to be sure, but an element of uncertainty he certainly didn't want to deal with. A second arriving was not something he wanted to deal with.

The Iron Fleet was guarded by a vast web of escorts and fleet scouts, and it was a ship of this vital force which had intercepted the incoming Mekidar vessel.

The ICNS Sanguine Straights was the ship, an armoured cruiser of the Bered Kai Nev class. Her guns were already tracking the onrushing cruiser at long range.



Johan der Vandermere decided immediately to take a hard line- on an operation like this, fleet security was paramount.

<<Boulder, you are to break off, change course to the following heading, reverse acceleration and adopt a stationary position relative to this vessel. Failure to comply will result in the usage of deadly force.>>

Already, two squadrons of torpedo-boats and one of gunships were changing course, powerful little engines bringing them rapidly into range to support the Sanguine Straights.

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5. And finally: Meanwhile, at Shearwater:
Shearwater

Even as the ship was dragged into abreality by the teardrives of it's tugs, the bridge-crew of the captured freighter was hustled back to the 3rd Battle of Armada. Questioning began immediately- harsh, but nonviolent. How many systems did the Kreshayans inhabit? How many warships were in ther fleet? What sort of defenses did they have?

And, of course, the big question:

Where is the homeworld?

Safe in pockets of their own air, the quelectin were given the chance to talk of their own free will.

[Dahak]

Tarsis Deux
Kergudter March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

The Promise of Fortune had arrived at the edge of the Kergudter March at one of the many small border-systems which made up the frontier. A trade representative had directed them to Tarsis Deux, the one place in the entire March best suited to welcome foreign dignitaries with promise of fresh new markets.

The Falau'un ship was directed to a berth over Tarsis Deux with no more or less ceremony than was due any of the other thousand ships in-system, and never came close to anything like a warship with the possible exception of a customs cutter. However, the Promise of Fortune's crew had a most exceptional welcome.

As the elegant Falau'un disembarked into the vast arrivals gallery, they were greeted by a bizarre gathering of officials. Two grey-skinned, burly men in simple suits flanked a tall, elegant woman. Her beauty would have been exceptional to other human-like sapients, were it not for the huge, iridescent scarab that sat unsettlingly upon her neck where a head should be. The disturbing thing clicked and hissed, and a scent like bitter almonds wafted towards the Falau'un.

"Lady the Honorable Ju nii Crais bids you welcome, brave travellers, on the behalf of Nova Kergudter Packages LTD., to Tarsis Deux in particular and the Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon in general."

The man who had spoken had almost missed the attention of the Falau'un visitors, he was so slender and unassuming. His only outstanding feature, besides his exceptionally well-cut clothing, was the bizarre and oversized pair of spectacles he wore. It's huge brass rims were studded with tiny moving parts and strange little vents. The whole contraption clicked and whirred faintly, and as the man completed his greeting, tiny puffs of steam rose into the air from the brazen mechanism.

The khepri (for that was what Lady Ju nii Crais was) spread her arms in a gesture of greeting, sandsilk and lace ruffling against her smooth, ruddy skin. Her headlegs moved in tiny patterns and she emitted another series of clicks. A sickly-sweet smell hit the air, wafting around the delegates.

"Lady Crais invites you to join us in more comfortable quarters. She would know who you are, where you hail from, and most importantly, what we can do for one another in the field of commerce."

The crew carefully observed the coming and going traffic of the system. It was quite clear, given the number of various ship designs and types, that Crobuzon was a busy place and very much into trade and commerce. Its sensors took every detail in quite carefully. Anything could be important.

Falau'un, by and large, xenophobes who still tried to wrap their heads around other, more bizarre species. But they also were masters of deception and disguise, so their inner shock at the strangeness of their welcoming party wasn't visible to the outside world. The telepathic chatter immediately rose a few notches, though.

The leading Falau'un, a young male of exceptional beauty even for a Falau'un with hair so fair it almost seemed translucent and eyes so blue they seemed to glow by themselves, stepped forward and slightly bowed. His robes were a black that seemed almost liquid and showed him to be a member of the merchant order.
"Mage-Merchant Revn Jah'chtan, House Jah'chtan, at your pleasure. And we gladly accept your invitation. The Falau'un are always looking forward to new business opportunities."

[Beowulf]

3. For Beowulf:
Imrha's Reach
Sparse March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

The Gaius Julius did not make it as far as Albiachor when she made contact with the Parliamentary Empire. Imrha's Reach lay almost exactly along her course. That world was home to the exploratory fleet of Salácus Street Northwest, and local space was filled with mass-produced aetherclippers on a hundred missions ranging from deep exploration to local mineral and resource surveys.

The Stropworth Adventurer was almost exactly the same as the poor ship which had been shot down a month ago over Shearwater, sparking the current conflagration. She did mount, however, newly purchased hypercomms. It was with these that she hailed the onrushing cruiser.

"Welcome to the Salácus Street Northwest Company's Primary Exploitation Zone, as chartered by Parliamentary vote and Mayoral decree. This is the ICS Stropworth Adventurer. How may we help you?"

The cruiser stopped in space, while it located the frequency that the transmission occured on, as well as the location transmitted from and translated the language it was in.

"We are looking for a plenipotentiary representative of the City and Empire of Crobuzon."

[ooc] Want to talk this over AIM later today? Instead of having 3 billions posts back and forth? [/ooc]

[Companion Cube]

Tarsis Deux
Kergudter March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

Tarsis Deux: The Port of One Thousand Destinations. The most heavily populated system in the Empire and the crown jewel of Crobuzon's expansions for over two centuries, Tarsis Deux had once been a paradise. Now, the grand Engine of Industry had converted her surface to a thing of bustling metropolises. Hundreds of spaceports covered the surface, some of them the size of large cities- huge deserts of concrete. Those who lived near those mighty centers of trade had no day or night- the constant glow of aethership exhaust, projected by liftoff after liftoff, was all the light they knew.

Deeper in-system lay Tarsis Profanae. That tiny rock was 'blessed' with an orbit which matched her rotation, keeping one face in constant, hellish light. The other face, insulated by thousands of miles of rock, was an icy desert where nothing could live.

It was in the Twilight zone, that thin band between the two faces, that the Imperial naval base made it's home. Huge pylons reached into low orbit, anchoring a halo of spun carbon cable at the edge of space. Fortified slips and armoured bases studded the grand peice of military jewelry- even with much of the Fleet warring in distant lands, there was an entire Battle Division in-system, the four dreadnoughts berthed and undergoing routine maintenance.

The incoming Pfhor probe had not gone un-noticed. In it's transit through the bulk of the Kergudter March, listening posts had tracked it. As it arrived in-system, a squadron of three torpedo-boats lay in wait. It's first contact signals were responded to.

"Identify yourself immediately."

clear transmission
origin: Autonomous drone 009222517 (REG: Khfive automanufactory combine, Lh'owon L2)
destin: Alien vessels
ref: first contact
stamp: salutation

Greetings! This construct is invested with full plenipotentiary powers, and represents the Provisional Government of the Pfhor. The drone is unarmed, and though it is not capable of direct communication with the PG, it has authority to establish a hypercomm relay to the home system if the possibility of amiable contact between your civilisation and ours exists.

OOC: By "hypercomm relay" I mean a chain of transmissions between the consular drone and other probes and vessels closer to Lh'owon, likely taking a fairly convoluted path before arriving at Lh'owon itself. (No sense in assuming the Crobuzoners can't track hypercomm traffic )

[phongn]

WEXF News
Know ... now

FOREIGN Service representatives today have announced a treaty with the foreign nation known as the Collective, a group of artificial intelligences who protect a number of pre-space-age polities. A breakthrough in negotiations is said to have occurred late last night and the resultant document is due for ratification and signature later today at Trantor 5.

United Stations merchants and traders will be permitted full access to the Collective's protectorates but will not be permitted to trade weaponry with the natives. Nor will the Collective permit exploitation of tylum or naquadah deposits on planetary surfaces; information sharing of such elements with pre-Information Age socieities is similarly forbidden. Instead, exploitation of asteroid resources will be permitted with fees levied by the Collective to be negotiated at a later point. Finally, US corporations will be permitted to open up outposts within Collective space, subject to regulation by the Collective.

Greatly increased trade towards the cluster North is expected in the near future by most analysts. In addition, the Collective is said to be negotiating innocent passage rights for military vessels through the United Stations.

[Adrian Laguna]

<<Boulder, you are to break off, change course to the following heading, reverse acceleration and adopt a stationary position relative to this vessel. Failure to comply will result in the usage of deadly force.>>

Almost immediately, the ship turned and fired its engines at full burn. Now pointing 135 degrees away from its previous course, it would both slow down and move away from the Iron Fleet. Hidden by the engine burn, Boulder’s sensors powered up. A message followed the maneuver, “The Republic would be most interested in talking with you, but lacking authorization from the higher-ups, this vessel is currently unable to do so. Until the next time.” The radiation from the active sensors arrived on the heels of the transmission, and would have lit-up the Crobuzon fleet like a Christmas tree had the Light Cruiser been closer.

Fearing a violent response, the Fold Drive was activated, and the warship streaked away as soon as it got a return signal from its sensors. No time spared to do anything more than give the armada a quick once-over.

Away from Shearwater and its besiegers, LC-64 deactivated its Fold Drive. Then it sent a report back home via a tight-beam subspace transmission. Many hours later, the Iron Fleet might have detected the bright flash of the warship engaging its Rip Drive.

The spacing guild representative laughs politely. "Oh hostile atmospheres won't be an issue. The spacers have spent centuries perfecting means for atmospheric protection. Besides, we have over 2,000 different species on record. I'm sure we can find someone that can breath it."

"We're certain that you have proper protection, and if you didn't we would have provided some. Furthermore, they wouldn't need them while in the embassy or their homes. Our concern is the confort of your diplomats, representatives, and other embassy staff. They would be unable to go outside without evironmental suits. I guess your people can look at the proposed locations and then make a decision."

"There is one last thing we would like to discuss." Vlaska's tone takes a tone of grave seriousness. "Certain... specialty items that the Republic is well know for."

The sheet given earlier beeps audibly, to draw attention to itself. The image displays a long list of species names. Seemingly of its own volition, and ignoring any commands imputed manually, it highlights "Humans". The list is replaced by three things, "Male", "Female", and "Both". The latter is highlighted and a long list of strange names appears. "Morvain" is selected, and text replaces the list. It describes a drug that numbs pain both physical and emotional. Users feel content and carefree for a few hours, then the drug's effects simply wear off. The description says the drug is mostly harmless, provided the user does not ingest it more than once between sleep cycles. It also says that if addiction occurs, the user can be weaned off over the course of a few months without much trouble. Several other drugs are listed as faster addiction cures, with side effects of various degrees of unpleasantness next to each one. The links to these drugs, and any other commands other than scrolling through the currently displayed page, are unresponsive.

"What is displayed on that sheet is but a single example tailored for one species. Much was lost during the Great Wars, but our drug cartels still have extensive recipies for many chemical substances and engineered micro-organisms that you might find to be of interest. Recreational, medical, or otherwise."

[Thirdfain]

Tarsis Deux
Kergudter March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

Lady the Honorable Ju nii Crais was positively jolly as she retired to her chambers. The meeting with the strange beings, these "Faloon," would ensure OEL's dominance in both the Spiralsworn AND Kergudter Marches. An Imperial monopoly and Primary Exploitation Zone Spiralsward, AND a monopolistic trade agreement with thaumaturgically and shamanistically advanced xenians from far across the Sphere!

The creatures had been gorgeous, attractive to her multifacted eyes apart from their ugly heads: She'd always hated how humans looked, their khepri bodies topped with those absurd shaved ape-headds. These creatures must have been a human subspecies like the scabmettlers, their features fine and ethereal. Of course, they'd denied any such allegation, but Ju knew that each species had it's own creation myth placing themselves at the center of it all.

She'd gone right for the matter at hand- a trade agreement between Nova Kergudter Packages LTD, which until now had been a fairly medium player in the shipping industry throughout the Kergudter March, and the House of Da'shu. NKP, LTD., would use the significant assets of it's parent company, Ostward Expansions LTD,, to avoid tariffs and sell Faloon goods throughout the Empire. Additionally, they'd help the Faloon establish an embassy on Bas-Lag, not to mention corporate offices on Tarsis Deux. In exchange, House Da'shu would agree to sell goods in New Crobuzon only to NKP, Ltd., and to sponsor the dispatch of an NKP representative to the Faloon capital to discuss further trade relationships.

Ju nii Crais suspected that the meeting was going to make her a VERY rich woman- and she was already one of the wealthiest.

It had been a good meal indeed.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(OOC: Dahak wrote this)
Mage-Merchant Revn Jah'chtan, House Jah'chtan smiled as he rematerialised on board the freighter. It had definitely been a good day. They just came to take a look and left with much more. Granted, these people were still, well, alien. But also magical, which was a plus. That thaumaturgy or what they call it is totally unlike the Falau'un magic, but the knowledge that there is more to the universe than mere physics gave them a common ground. And, after a while, even the revulsion at the sheer alieness ebbed down.

The trade monopoly would make a profit for House Da'shu, and through it the other houses. House Jah'chtan, of which he was a rather prominent member, and its associated companies were producing special fabrics, and other luxury goods, so they were sure to get their decent share out of the trade. Also the Crobuzon goods might offer some nice additions to Falau'un markets...

The Council itself was quite pleased by the arrangements made on the political side. Diplomatic teams were already prepared for their capital, as well as teams for the corporate offices on this planet. And the Council had itself also prepared for the arrival of the Crobuzon representative.
Crobuzon certainly was a potent partner in this time and good relations were a good thing.
He has got some reports that seemed to suggest that Crobuzon is in some sort of military engagement with one of its neighbours. Though he was quite certain that the Parliamentary Empire would be able to win, there was a slight possibility to sell some weaponry or other war-related materials. War is, after all, good for business.


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

Imrha's Reach
Sparse March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

“That was very kind of you, Madame Joyeuse, very kind of you indeed to interrupt your busy schedual to join us here this evening.”

“It is my pleasure, Mr. Johnes. Your offer was most intriguing. I appreciate your willingness to assist in our contacts with your government.”

“Salácus Street Northwest delights in an opportunity such as the one you present, Mm. Joyeuse.”

Bertholamew Johnes, Senior Shareholder in the Salácus Street Northwest corporation, had spent the last twenty minutes in the luxurious automobile chatting with the stunning foreigner. She was a cold one, for sure, but her brief descriptions of the land from which she hailed- far beyond the Spriralsworn March- had convinced him that there was a great deal of advantage that could be gleaned through good relations with this “Collective.” The opportunity had already come close to slipping through his fingers; as the Collective warship had wanted to transit directly to Bas-Lag. He’d had to call up the planet’s governer to arrange a formal dinner: he didn’t doubt that this lovely and inhuman ambassador would have stayed her course towards Bas-Lag for nothing less.

“And what, Mr. Johnes, do you mean by that?”

“I’ve been thinking, Mm. Ambassador. The ebb and flow of Crobuzoner politics and economy are… complex beasts. Those untrained and new to their dangers can find oneself in a very poor position indeed. I don’t doubt the competence of your people, but you might find it helpful in the future to have, shall I say, an inside man?”

The woman cocked her head inquisitively.

“I don’t like bandying words, Mr. Johnes.”

The executive wondered how she’d been able to speak such fluent Ragamoll so quickly, but pushed the thought out of his mind- he had business to attend to.

“I happen to represent a significant concern inside the City and Empire. Salácus Street Northwest- we operate the starship which met you out in the Primary region- could be very useful while you establish relations with my government. In fact, we could even help you with any trade you’d like to arrange- I can personally assure you that any goods you imported into the Empire through my associates would be completely tariff-free.”

“An interesting offer, Mr. Johnes, but I don’t doubt you’d want something in return for the service.”

The lawyer’s face expanded into a grin.

“If you’d agree to using Salácus Street Northwest exclusively as your importation agent, and receive exports exclusively through our channels, we’d sell your goods without tariffs. Also, we happen to have the Mayor’s ear- he listens to us, we could ensure that any diplomatic problems you have are worked out smoothly.”

“An interesting proposal, Mr. Johnes, but how can I be sure as to your company’s ability to provide those services?”

Twenty minutes later, as they pulled up to the Governer’s mansion, Bartholomew was positively beaming. His descriptions of the Salácus Street Northwest company’s resources and government clout- significant enough to ensure them an Exploitation Exclusion zone all the way out to the Cluster rim- had more or less convinced the woman.

“Your offer is acceptable, Mr. Johnes. I’ll be sure to inform the Mayor of your hospitality when I arrive at Bas-Lag.”

Bartholomew shook her hand firmly.

“A pleasure, Mm. Ambassador.”

It had been a very profitable drive indeed.

[Oseng]

Written with consequences over AIM

ON VOKUN

The shuttle descended with a profound lack of ceremony, casually dropping into its assigned landing spot. What emerged would probably go down in history as the scruffiest Honor Guard that the Kurak had ever had the experience of encountering. Everyone except the apparent VIP was armed, and all of their weapons were in perfect condition. That is where any sense of uniformity frankly vanished.

The guard also lacked the rigid bearing or obsequious deference usually present. It would take a master of the nuances of Human body language to fully understand the near-reverence that they in fact held towards their chosen protectee.

Along either side of the paved pathway leading from the landing pad, armored ceremonial troops snapped their admantium halberds to attention.

Along the middle of the walk, an older gentleman dressed in fine clothing, walked towards the group closely followed by a pair of well armed black clad mages, the Imperial Shadows, the ninja like elite mage unit that answered directly to the Imperial Family. A large group of bystanders had gathered to watch the landing, held back by constables carrying what looked to be some kind of stun staffs, and a weird version of a stun gun. Throughout the crowd Imperial Shadow Operatives watched ready to swing into action.

The VIP strode forward past his guard. He was a slightly over muscled man of average height, clad in a utilitarian black jumpsuit and long coat. A truly improbable array of empty holsters, sheaths, and equipment pouches lined the interior of the coat. He made a beeline for the older gentleman, inclining his head slightly as he intoned: "I am Ravener, formerly known as Laughing Murder". Behind him, the second sentence caused a slight visible stir amongst his guard.


The elderly man came to a stop a few feet away from Ravener, and bowed. "I am Duke Varian, the Vice Governor of this planet." He gestured down the pathway, and stepped to one side. "Food and drink has been prepared for you in the Governor's Palace. Please follow me." His two ninja/mage bodyguards scanned the group for any threats, seeming to talk through a telepathic link of some sort. One of them stepped forward. "You are welcome to bring any bodyguards or weapons you wish to bring, as per the governor's orders." he looked like he was a mite upset about the idea.

Ravener glanced backwards, and pointedly looked at the shuttle. What followed was a nearly telepathic exchange of infinitesimal interactions, ending in four of the guards taking the rest's weapons and heading back to the shuttle, looking dejected. The rest fell in behind Ravener as he followed the Duke.


After several minutes of being led past a good sized crowd, carefully watched over by constables they came to a small vehicle park. They were loaded onto a VIP skimmer, and several military combat skimmers took up a protective formation around it. Around ten minutes later they reached a large estate, consisting of a large castle like structure and several large gardens. They were led into the great hall, where a man of about 80 years waited surrounded by various people. "Come, come in, and have a seat. I have a list of items that the His Imperial Majesty wishes me to discuss with you." He stepped slowly over to the Ravener giving him a sheet of paper, the writing on the sheet of paper blurred and twisted for several seconds as the translation spell took effect. "I am Earl Adam, the Governor of this planet. This is PDF General James, the System Admiral Jasmine, and the Marine General Jade."


"I am Ravener, leader of the Fafnir contingent, and senior member of the Council of Ravener."

"Welcome to the planet of Vokun." he sat down at the table, gesturing for them to sit down and eat as he took a bite. "The paper has on it what we would be willing to offer in exchange for trade, or for a world or two." He grimaced slightly before speaking. "As you can see, we are a bit overpopulated and are in need of more planets.

Ravener looked over the paper, raising an eyebrow as he continued down the page. Looking up, he said "You should know that we have encountered a planet that seems to share a common origin with your people. While we have spent a significant time working to improve it, it still remains vastly under-populated compared to this world. We would be willing to transfer it to you as is, in exchange for the items on this list, in addition to colonization rights on your *untranslatable*, sorry, translator problem. On your planets that would tend to be closer to the solar body, and have extreme temperature and atmospheric conditions. We would also alert our scouting arm to pay more attention to the inhabitable but not yet inhabited biospheres that we generally pass over in order to concentrate on our Uplifting efforts, and pass their findings along to you."

The governor nodded, looking over his own copy of the paper. "That would be very much agreeable to us; I have been empowered to act on behalf of the Emperor and the Royal Court in this matter. So I accept." He motioned and a little later, an aide came in bearing a crystal. The Governor took it placing it on the table and activating it. A hologram sprang into life above the table, flashing through a series of planets. "We have a number of planets with the conditions you describe, allot of the systems we claim have these kinds of planets. We would be willing to give you one or two of these systems."

"It would be good if our experts could go over their specifics before making a decision. I'm afraid our translators aren't yet up to fine distinctions of planetary characteristics in twenty words or less."

The governor nodded, shrugging slightly. "I quite understand where you are coming from; we are actually using a translation spell to be able to talk you ourselves." He gestured at the crystal, handing it and a smaller data crystal over. "Take these crystals, they are yours to look over and contain the data you asked for.”

"Thank you. And thanks for making this less painful than the usual interminable runaround."

The governor smiled slightly. "Ah, the wonders and joys of diplomacy between two groups." I was given rather strict orders to work out some kind of deal, or else answer directly to his majesty." he shivered slightly

"Officially, we have no one leader. Unofficially, She Who Must Not be Pissed Off took me aside after the last council."

SEVERAL LIGHT YEARS BEYOND THE VOKUN SYSTEM

"Damn!" The sensor operator swore, looking up at Captain Fraiser. "We lost them, they probaly went FTL."

He turned and pointed at the scryter vision crystals which were displaying the data he had recoreded.

"It looks like they drifted away, at which point I lost them. The next time I picked them up it looked like they were entering FTL. But it was a ship of some kind, a magical ship at that."

Captain Fraiser nodded, turning to the communications tech.

"Send a tele-message to the flagship, then continue on our patrol. The System Admiral will probaly want to step up the random out of system patrols."

She shook her head, grimacing slighty.

"Weird though, we are the only star-faring nation that I've ever heard of that uses magic for ships."

[Adrian Laguna]

Princep’s Office, Meklon’s Capital City

“We’ve analyzed the report written by LC-64’s CO, and the raw data from their quick ping-and-run operation. The results are as follows: Some of the emissions are distinctly Arisian, a very large portion are unidentifiable without further analysis, and the rest we have no clue. Fact is they are putting out a lot of energy. When one considers that it is probably in combat alert, but not at full power, that single fleet is about on par with our entire Space Forces. Because of the ship’s inability to get closer, the resolution is generally poor. However, it did get a relatively good look at the vessel that intercepted it. It appears to be either a large cruiser or a small capital ship. Based on that, we can peg the fleet at about 100 warships, give or take at the very least 30 vessels.” The officer turned away from the fuzzy images and incomplete telemetry, and looked at the people assembled, “That is all for the report.”

“Thank you, Commodore. You are dismissed,” said the Princeps. The officer saluted and left the room.

There was much discussing and general bickering about what to do next. Mostly the Defense Minister, and most of the Assemblymen present vs. the Princeps and the majority of the military staff. The first group wanted to stay out of it, and the second very much wished to do something. The lengthy arguing was mostly moot, as nothing would happen until the General Assembly debated the issue and arrived at a decision. That particular process took the better part of day, with impassionate speeches thrown left, right, and center.

The Assembly decided that something must be done. The wheels of fate began to turn, where they lead still unknown. The Shrine of Brilliance? Or the Halls of Immense Stupidity?



Interstellar space

LC-64 Boulder receives the orders it had been waiting for. In light of the situation, they shouldn’t be surprising, but nevertheless there is shock among the officers and crew. The warship is reasonably certain that it is roughly in the middle of the area occupied by the Silver Flame. Taking precautions to avoid alerting the ‘Arisian’ fleet, the ship makes a simple FTL transmission intended for the Quelectin. “The Mekidar Republic is offering a deal of the gravest importance, as it concerns the large fleet currently sitting outside Shearwater. Time is not a luxury available to either of us at the moment, so we request audience with your leaders immediately.”



Conversation between two random Mekidar officials

“You think the Diem will go for it? The last report we got pegged them as very insular and obsessed over having borders in space.”

“Our diplomats will probably offer them the same deal we gave the Grektch.”

“Hah! Lot of good that did them!”

“It’s not our fault their sensors grid sucked.”

“Yes it is, what is not our fault was complete worthlessness of their counter-espionage operations. That is why their entire sensors grid suddenly exploded.”

“Must have been the Hab-Yin. They sent a massive invasion force shortly after that.”

“Hab-Yin? Hardly, they were about as subtle as a nuclear warhead. When the war was over, suddenly a bunch of our fleets that were supposedly engaged somewhere else came in and cleaned house. The weakened invading fleets did not stand a chance. That is simply too convenient.”

“The Gretch were too busy hailing us a saviors to notice.”

“More like our intelligence services did a very good job of spreading mis-information."

“In any case, I do not think the Diem will mind, very much. A trading station outside their systems would probably be greately appreciated. That will probably curb any distaste they may have for the rest of it."

[Thirdfain]

ICNS 3rd Battle of Armada
Deep Space
The Silver Flame

"I'd like an explanation for your lack of progress, Captain."

"They won't talk. Some of them don't even seem to understand us."

"Not a single one of them has come under... strenuous interrogation?"

"I'm an officer of the Navy, sir. Where I come from, that means something. These might be the enemy, but they are merchan..."

"Enough, Captain. The Empire, the Parliament, the fleet, and most importantly, I, don't have time for this delay. You can praise Jabbar your record is so... spotless."

"Now, you hold on just a second, Commissioner. Last time I checked, a ship of the fleet is under jurisdiction of the Navy, not you goddamn Militia bas..."

"HOLD your tongue, Captain, lest it betray you. I have all the authority I need, signed by the Grossadmiral himself."

"... yes, Commissioner."

" Good. My associates and I require immediate access to the prisoners. You've identified the ranking officers?"

"... yes, Commissioner."

"That will be all, Captain."

Militia fuckwits. slumming about, interfering in Navy business. What the frozen hell IS Civil Militia Section "H?"

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

ICNS Sovereign of Rohag
Deep Space
The Silver Flame

Grossadmiral Johan der Vandermere examined the aethergraph. The report was less than a page long, sketchy, and clearly rushed. It was the most beautiful thing he'd seen in weeks.

Not even a dozen worlds, and no ship even close to the size of a superdreadnought Battleship of the Iron Fleet. The capital wasn't even that distant. The most threatening thing the enemy had was some sort of space fortress in high orbit over their capital, this "Lesser Librarium."

Then, the co-ordinates. Already, the fleet scouts had tracked down the target.

There was only one order to give in a situation like this. His warships had been on alert for hours, now.

"Mr. deGranigut, distribute co-ordinates inform the Fleet that we are to jump in ten minutes. Weapons are to be hot."

"Sir?"

"Indeed, Mr. deGranigut. We are going to end this."

[Spyder]

5. And finally: Meanwhile, at Shearwater:
Shearwater

Even as the ship was dragged into abreality by the teardrives of it's tugs, the bridge-crew of the captured freighter was hustled back to the 3rd Battle of Armada. Questioning began immediately- harsh, but nonviolent. How many systems did the Kreshayans inhabit? How many warships were in ther fleet? What sort of defenses did they have?

And, of course, the big question:

Where is the homeworld?

Safe in pockets of their own air, the quelectin were given the chance to talk of their own free will.

The civilian freighter crew offerered little resistance. After initial confusion at exactly what a Kreshayan was they offered up answers as best they could. Most of them weren’t accustomed to being taken prisoner and had no conditioning or any idea what to expect. Simple interrogation techniques would have proved effective.

A vague idea of the forces they were up against, defense satellites, space stations, warships and fighters, a lot of fighters. None of them were military men, none could give exact details. One clue about the size of the force they were up against was one of them commented that the Iron Fleet presented more contacts then any of them had ever seen at once.

The homeworld question was a little tougher. When you spend your entire life navigating by entering Quelectin script denoting your destination you tend to skip over the minor details. An argument broke out among the crew as they contested which star was home to the fabled “Lesser Library.” This resulted in a vague recollection about which way the ship orientates before the ORC drives engage.

The navigational computer however, would likely have all the data they needed.

"We're certain that you have proper protection, and if you didn't we would have provided some. Furthermore, they wouldn't need them while in the embassy or their homes. Our concern is the confort of your diplomats, representatives, and other embassy staff. They would be unable to go outside without evironmental suits. I guess your people can look at the proposed locations and then make a decision."

"There is one last thing we would like to discuss." Vlaska's tone takes a tone of grave seriousness. "Certain... specialty items that the Republic is well know for."

The sheet given earlier beeps audibly, to draw attention to itself. The image displays a long list of species names. Seemingly of its own volition, and ignoring any commands imputed manually, it highlights "Humans". The list is replaced by three things, "Male", "Female", and "Both". The latter is highlighted and a long list of strange names appears. "Morvain" is selected, and text replaces the list. It describes a drug that numbs pain both physical and emotional. Users feel content and carefree for a few hours, then the drug's effects simply wear off. The description says the drug is mostly harmless, provided the user does not ingest it more than once between sleep cycles. It also says that if addiction occurs, the user can be weaned off over the course of a few months without much trouble. Several other drugs are listed as faster addiction cures, with side effects of various degrees of unpleasantness next to each one. The links to these drugs, and any other commands other than scrolling through the currently displayed page, are unresponsive.

"What is displayed on that sheet is but a single example tailored for one species. Much was lost during the Great Wars, but our drug cartels still have extensive recipies for many chemical substances and engineered micro-organisms that you might find to be of interest. Recreational, medical, or otherwise."

This was met with a mixture of looks on the representatives on the other side of the table. Alastair of the Trade Guild held cautious optimism for a future endeavour of this kind, Sutiri Ngav of the Spacing Guild seemed fairly indifferent, the drugs were of little interest to his species. Nickolai of Concord however had an expression that cops usually get when people try to sell them drugs. Jacob knew he’d better open for the next statement, leaving Nickolai to make this point on his own could be disastrous.

“I think we should hold off on medicine exchanges until we have firmly established common legislation and quarantine procedures. It really is an enormous can of worms.”

“Exactly,” Nickolai added, “pharmaceuticals are one of the most tightly controlled industries within our space and for very good reason. Concord would not approve of open pharmaceutical trade prior to a thorough security review.”

“It’s not just the addicts,” Alastair broaches the topic, “there are market forces to consider as well. In earlier times the pharmaceuticals market was rife with commercial price gouging. Regulation is difficult enough in our own sphere of influence.”

“I would motion that the topic of pharmaceutical trade is tabled for now, it can be revisited at a later date. In the meantime,” Sutiri speaks, “with the Mekidar approval a Guild-Union Embassy will be established on the Mekidar homeworld. An ambassador capable of survival in the Mekidar atmosphere will be sent.”

“We can open a trade forum here on Loch. With the trade lanes open it’ll now be up to the traders to figure out what they want from each other.” Jacob smiled.

“Well Mr Ambassador, is there anything else you wish to discuss?”

---Adrian wrote this:


Vlaska sighed disappointedly, “Very well then. However, I do warn you that if there is demand for them, Mekidar pharmaceuticals and other products will show-up in your space, through either our independent traders or yours. Though I suppose you already knew that, and the door does swing both ways.”

“There is one other thing we wished to discuss. The first pertains to a sequence of events that took place ages ago, during the Great Wars.” One of the other Mekidar takes out a small device. When activated a sizable hologram fills the space between the various diplomats.

“The Pfhor Empire had just emerged victorious from a war against a weaker neighbor. Naturally, they enslaved the surviving population. However, the Pfhor had no use for so many slaves, so the majority of them were slated for extermination. The Republic had informants within the Empire, some officially recognized, others not. When we learned of the plans, it became clear that an incredible financial opportunity had presented itself. The Empire was contacted, and told that we might be willing to buy some of the slaves they were preparing to slaughter.

Now, slavery is something the Republic and its citizens generally find… distasteful. However, there was not much that could be done in that situation. Getting the Pfhor to sell their new slaves to us was rather easy. Wholesale slaughter can run expensive in money and resources. The Empire was glad to have anyone take them off their hands. Each life cost the Republic less than a small slab of meat.

Unfortunately, we were unable to find enough buyers for all the targeted population, and the Pfhor unhesitatingly exterminated those that remained. Records indicate that while the slaves were sold all over the cluster, the chief buyer was Loch, which desperately needed to replace a population ravaged by war. The records are quite clear on the customer being Loch, but somewhat unclear on what exactly was the point of delivery. There are allusions to the slaves being intended for one of Loch’s holdings, rather than the planet itself. Many Mekidar individuals, groups, associations, partnerships, and corporations became quite rich by the end of that deal.

We later heard that the slaves were freed and fully integrated into the general population. By then the Republic had generally withdraw operations to areas closer to home. For the sake of historical completeness, we would like our historians to take a look at your records. If it’s not too much trouble, this diplomatic team would appreciate if you would regale us with the short version.”

----

“There are stories. I can tell you that the slave holders of old Loch didn’t remain masters for very long. The slaves were sent to Antiga to aid in the reconstruction efforts of an old empire clinging to existence. Long story short, slaves rebelled, they gained control of Antiga before returning to Loch to finish what they started.” Jacob glanced across the room. “The long version makes for some compelling reading. The events that lead to the rebirth of modern civilisation within the region were apparently shaped by one man. It was because of one wise leader that managed to still the bloodlust of the new order so no vengeance was taken against the Pfhor, the slavers of Loch or the Mekidar that sold them to them. His name was Conrad Saratov and it is said that he single handedly prevented a war that would have cost billions of lives, including that of the Mekidar. Our public archives will be available for your perusal. In the meantime, I believe we are finished here.”

The group stood and prepared to leave. On their way out the door Nickolai approached Vlaska regarding his comment a moment ago. “I’m sure we’re all looking forward to a prosperous future together, but let’s get one thing straight; all traders within our sphere play by the rules. We make life easier for those that do.”



Silver Flame:

LC-64 Boulder receives the orders it had been waiting for. In light of the situation, they shouldn’t be surprising, but nevertheless there is shock among the officers and crew. The warship is reasonably certain that it is roughly in the middle of the area occupied by the Silver Flame. Taking precautions to avoid alerting the ‘Arisian’ fleet, the ship makes a simple FTL transmission intended for the Quelectin. “The Mekidar Republic is offering a deal of the gravest importance, as it concerns the large fleet currently sitting outside Shearwater. Time is not a luxury available to either of us at the moment, so we request audience with your leaders immediately.”

At first there was dead silence. Currently at one of the gravest points in Silver Flame history, the Quelectin had little reason to trust outsiders. Still, the Mekidar vessel was recognised from data received from the recent diplomatic expedition, and it did have a point about time. The respondent would have to be careful until trust could be established.

“State your intent.”

[Thirdfain]

Argentia Croix
Spiralsworn March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

Argentia Croix was a bustling border system of the type only Crobuzon's voracious economy could sustain. A year before, the system had been dead and empty, untouched for centuries and inhabited only by a few scattered tribes of human nomads. Amongst the sandy, blasted remains of dead cities, the primitives had hunted. Trees and vines had covered hollow arcologies; there were beaches were the sand was made of rust and the decayed remains of dead machines.

IT was to that scene that the OEL pioneer ships had arrived. In only ten months, Argentia Croix's fallow fields had been re-inhabited. It had taken less time to build the huge, prefabricated cities then it had to eradicate the natives. Millions lived around the spaceports, in metropolises of two and three story buildings- it was cheaper to build out than up.

There was a vast band encircling Croix, the system's sun, a ring like that usually found girding a gas giant. However, this great cosmic band was formed not of rocks or ice, but of the shattered remains of some antique battlefleet. Obscene sculptures of flash-frozen atmosphere and twisted metal filled space, quintillions of shekels worth of refined raw materials. It was this celestial graveyard which brought wealth to Argentia Croix. Among the necrotic hulks, swarms of harvesting ships laboured. Ranging in size from multi-kilometer bulk haulers to tramp prospectors, concerns as diverse as the Mayor's private concern down to ten-shekel mom and pop operations made fortunes by picking the bones of what had once symbolized the pride and failure of a long-dead people.

Fast Transport ICS Easy Jenny was deep in the Graveyard when it picked up the transmission. The ship's captain, a young man low on money but high on hopes, was lucky enough to be closer than anyone else- and in an agile craft, at that. The little transport arrived at the diem-noy craft long before anyone else had even started to move.

<< Alien vessel, this is Captain Vaughn of the Crobuzon Ship Easy Jenny. Welcome to Argentia Croix. I, uh, come in peace.>>

[Dahak]

Uninhabited System, near the core

The Elaun Aran was a Friial-class freighter and almost in perfect shape. There was just that scratched spot on its right flank that wouldn't go away, much to the dismay of its Mage-Merchant, Raa'l Aran, House Del'shu. They were transporting several megatons of goods on way to their new Crobuzon trading partners. Her sister ship, the Rama'dna Aran and a Fleet's destroyer were also with her, though they couldn't currently see them. All ships were alone in Netherspace. But soon they would reach their target. He was really looking forward to this Crobuzon place. He wasn't as xenophobe as his colleagues and relished in the new. A rare trait in his people.
"You know Crayn," he said to his assistant, "I-" He stopped as powerful vibrations ran through the ship.
"The fuck?" He shouted.
"Something is ripping at us from real-space. Some sort of anomaly."
"What anomaly?" He shouted as the vibrations grew in volume.
"Some sort of interdiction field?" Crayn shouted back. "But it doesn't matter soon. The nodes are about to let go. We need to drop out. Now!"
He simply nodded and send the telepathic commmand to engineering. What normally was a very smooth, gentle thing was now a rough, metal-ripping shock as the ship reemerged into normal space. The vibration immediately vanished, only a soft purring sound from aft was felt.
"Status!" he barked.
A image formed in front of him. And what he saw was not what he had hoped - though expected. A group of small ships were behind him, and ahead of him were two more groups of ships, and one group clustered around a larger ship. Must be the interdictor. The group behind him started accelerating hard towards his ship.
The image rippled as his sister ship emerged, quickly followed by the destroyer. It immediately went to battle status and started maneuvring for the group clustering around the interdictor. The remaining two ship groups responed in kind and moved for the destroyer and the freighter.
Suddenly, he felt it; and all Falau'un on his ship, too. A shrieking mind-sound from her sister ship.
"By the maker!" He snapped. "Get us away. Quickly!" The main drive went into full thrust, trying to veer away from the freighter. Course projections manifested themselves in the image. It did not look good. The destroyer suddenly stopped its run and turned away from the damaged freighter.
What was burning in his mind like a life volcano was a very rare, but very dangerous effect. The Rama'dna Aran's Netherspace nodes must have suffered one fatal blow from that interdiction. Normally, the nodes were quite safe, even though they manipulated the universe at its most basic principle. The universe did not notice or realise it was manipulated; but the damage the nodes sustained to their delicated magical structure was like a beacon. Suddenly, the universe saw a strange thing that shouldn't be. And it reacted to protect itself. A soft, almost imperceptible ripple manifested itself around the freighter. It grew slowly in size and intensity. The pirates didn't seem to realise it and kept on coming.
The ripple turned more violent and stared glowing a very cold white. Now the pirates reacted, too. They seemed to loose interest in their prey; but one look on the image showed that it was not enough. And it was a very close call for them, too.
When the reality storm reached its apex, space seemed to...shatter. Reality fractured and shards of space-time seemed to shoot out of its center. The freighter immediately was destroyed. Not even molecules remained of it. The space-shatter rushed out from its center, quickly engulfing the pirates and destryoing them. The space-shatter rushed for them; hours seemed to pass, then his view went black.

***

Falau'un System, Falau'un Cruinne, High Command Palace

"Two ships destroyed," The High Grand Battle-Mage barked, "one destroyer heavily damaged and only twelve survivors!"
"Eleven, Sir," the Air-Mage dutifully reported. "The survivor that teleported into the fountain at Council Square died from his injuries about five minutes ago. Instinctive teleportations do carry some hefty risks."
"Pirates!" he snapped. "How dare they attack us?" His eyes grew dark and flames started flickering around his head. "We will dispatch a battle group to deal with any surviving pirates. Wherever they hide or have hidden, we will find them and erradicate them! Whoever their friends were, their friend's families. We will find them!"
"Yes, Sir," he simply nodded. "Should I contact Grand Air-Mage Frwen?"
"Do so," the supreme commander of the Falau'un forces simply answered.

***

Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon
Tarsis Deux

"I would like to speak to the Lady the Honorable Ju nii Crais," Elev'nan Da'shu, House Da'shu told the secretary. "I know it is on short notice, but I have some urgent matters I would like to discuss with Lady Crais. The Council thinks it would be of interest to her."
The ambassador that had been sent to Bas-Lag was about to arrange a similar meeting. But do to their relations, especially with Lady Crais and her corporation meant that they were deemed important enough to discuss the matter with them, as well. And it should benefit both sides.

[consequences]

Deep Space
Southwesten Quadrant of the Cluster

The preparations were nearing completion. Rather than conduct extensive and noticeable refittings, that would amount to near-rebuilds, extensive time and effort had been made to render the signatures of the fleet as generic as possible. From the engines, to the shields, to the weapons arrays and sensors, and even the external hull every effort had been made from the resources available to muddle the ships' origins. There would no doubt be a dropoff in efficiency, but that was the price of accomplishing the job properly.

The last modifications were made to the communications arrays based upon the newest electronic intercepts. One final test later, and the ships began to depart from their various gathering points, still practicing all practical measures to conceal their presence, and avoiding the territory of any but their target as they gradually moved closer.

OOC: Force Declaration:

5x Pirate King class Convoy Manglers[20][+5W]

20x Ambusher class Cruiser [10][+2W]

12x Waylayer class attack Cruiser[15][+3W]

18 x Swatter class Gunship[5][+2F]

15xHyena class Frigate[3][+1W]

30x Gnat class gunboat[1]

10x Informant class Stealth-ship[1]

-All modified to disguise origins, and in groups of no more than twelve ships. For practical purposes, given the nature of the modifications, there will be at least a ten percent dropoff in effective value.

[Beowulf]

Empire of Kurak

CS Tamerlane dropped out of hyper, her turrets facing foward and guns stowed under covers. She began transmitting IAW the standard first contact protocol.

[Stormin]

"We understand that, which is why we proposed borders centered around something concrete. A fixed radius around each system you have a significant precence in would do nicely."

"In my opinion, an isolationist policy is never successful in the long-run. Unless one has powerful friends, and said friends have a vested interest in one's survival."

Tadom gave a mental command to his internal nanonics and a sliced map of the galactic section appeared over the table again. Obscuring the external dimensions of explored space would probably be pointless, such information would be aquired later by other means. The majority of the space flagged Diem had every star with a small purple orb around it signifiying a sphere that extended a short ways beyond the outer debris sphere of the sytem.
Inside this was a large clump of systems with blue spheres around them that overlapped, each sphere extending atleast 10 light years from the center of the system star.
"This is the compromise I am allowed to give. The purple zones are allowed traversment though all incrusions will be tracked. Entering the displayed zones requires forewarning, and actions taken within Diem space will be reacted to as appropriate.
"Blue zones are listed as off limits to travel or any incursion. Automated active defenses will be taken and warning may not be given...situationally depending.
"For trade agreements, an area can be set up either within the purple zone, in unclaimed space or within Mekidar space. A listing of appropriate diem and unclaimed systems can be datavised. The majority being binary due to energy advantages of such locations."


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Argentia Croix
Spiralsworn March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon
<snip>

Chestin looked the message over. Expected bandwidth and wave, minimal variance in language and transmission coding which could be compensated for by both sides. The interface between the magic used by these people and the electronic communications used by Chestin's ship would limit bandwidth greatly, little more than video and audio would be possible for now.
An audiovid link was attempted. "Greetings, I am farseeker Chestin species Diem-Noiy. By standards of your outer worlds my ship is effectively unarmed and I will not approach any population centers or facilities without prior permisson and given flight path.
"Within my ship I have articles of trade including low mass ammounts of several exotic matters, as well as semi-rare or energy intensive normal elements and compounds (this means stuff like platnum or high grade artifical gemstones such as diamonds). I also have artifacts of the ancients avalable for trade and currencies of several human star-nations encountered in my explorations.
"I require ammounts of common elements for repairs and refueling of my ship as well as semi-organic compunds for replenishment of consumable synthasised stocks. I am also looking for articles that will be useful for exchange further in my explorations, as well as star maps and exploration reports. I am willing to bargain to the benifit of myself and any others for these things.
"Further, I have examples of processes and other items that can be of interest to whatever governments, or other organisations of your people, that can form the beginnings of any discussions between your people and mine."

[Thirdfain]

System Center
Talon
The Silver Flame

Naval conflict had shaped the City of New Crobuzon and it's eventual Empire. At Symbalene Wash, Admiral Cillice-Neuville had forced the Surochi battlefleet back into port, neutralizing it and allowing the Bloody Surf campaign which had done that maritime empire in, millenia ago. At 3rd Armada in the 1600's, Commodore Ghalchrist's Fast Squadron had broken through the Armadan lines, where it would torch the floating city and ensure Crobuzon's dominance of the waves. The Venomfleet's only sally, in the waning days of the Frigid War, had lead to the only capital ship fleet engagement of that sad chapter in human history, when Admiral Stevanaphulis had lead the Iron Fleet to a bitter but complete victory, sealing the doom of Tesh and the Witchocracy.

Grossadmiral Johan der Vandermere intended add a victory of his own to that august list, though hopefully without the embarrasing losses or transient nature of some of those antique victories.

A telltale lit off on his fine teak desk. It seemed, then, that he'd be needed on the flag deck. He had a historic victory to win.

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

Alarms rang across the Talon system. A sensor operator, body displaying whatever disgusting function those despicable aliens used to show distress, callled over an ashen-faced superior.

The powerful early warning sensors that defended the planets of the Silver Flame had no problem tracking the massed weight of the Crobuzoner fleet as it sped towards the core systems. It could not, however, have predicted the sudden change of course.

The Lesser Library was not the target of the sudden thrust.

On board the Sovereign of Rohag, Grossadmiral der Vandermere sat in state in his thronelike command chair. The hum and click of difference engines filled the chamber, and the scent of incense and machine-oil filled the air.

"Reserve Squadron is on station and ready for action, sir!"

"III. Battle Squadron is on station and ready for action, sir!"

"II. Battle Squadron is on station and ready for action, sir!"

Vizeadmiral Southerly saluted crisply.

"Grossadmiral, I. Battle Squadron and your Flag are on station and ready for action, sir!"

Illustrated in a strange, three-dimensional pointalism, the industrialised mass that surrounded Talon hung in the command deck's waterwatch. Space habitats, ports, refineries- and shipyards. Huge, expansive, vital shipyards, just as Section "H" had reported.

Vandermere nodded, lips curling out of a sneer into a look of businesslike determination beneath his patrician cheekbones.

"The Wall of Battle is to advance. Transmit the following message on all bands, in Kreshayan, all known galactic languages, and Ragamoll. 'The Government and military of Kreshastan, the Silver Flame, are to be held accountable for their criminal actions against the citizens and property of the great Empire of Crobuzon. All ships and military facilities in this system are to stand down immdiately. Failure to comply will result in the immediate usage of deadly force. May St. Jabbar have mercy on your soulds.'"

As promised, vengeance had finally come to the Silver Flame.


Invasion of Talon
CO: Grossadmiral Johan der Vandermere

Wall of Battle
CO: Admiral Siyr tlii Khazan

1. Battle Squadron
CO: Vizeadmiral Esteban Southerly
I. Division
- BB-13 ICNS Sovereign of Rohag (Flag)
- BB-14 ICNS Emperor of Shankell
- BB-15 ICNS Empress of Tesh
- BB-16 ICNS Empress of Bered Kai
IV. Division
- BB-7 ICNS Mayor Weathers IV the Explorer
- BB-8 ICNS Mayor Saxe-der Krimage II,
- BB-9 ICNS Mayor Wrightby IX
- BB-10 ICNS Mayor Kasmir-Fennec
XI. Division
- BB-173 ICNS Urbis Militant
- BB-174 ICNS Urbis Benevolent
- BB-175 ICNS Urbis Munificent
- BB-176 ICNS Urbis Belligerent
I. Fleet Escort Division
- CE-1 ICNS Ghosthead
- 18 "Vampir" Destroyer Escorts

2. Battle Squadron
III. Division
- BB-17 ICNS Emperor of Suroch
- BB-18 ICNS Diarch of Armada
- BB-196 ICNS Fearless
- BB-197 ICNS Valiant
V. Division
- BB-198 ICNS Conqueror
- BB-199 ICNS Courageous
- BB-1 ICNS Mayor Triesti XII
- BB-2 ICNS Mayor Tremulo the Reformer
XII. Division
- BB-172 ICNS Northwatch
- BB-177 ICNS Viribus Unitas
- BB-178 ICNS Viribus Potens
- BB-179 ICNS Viribus Firmus
II. Fleet Escort Division
- CE-8 ICNS Battle Saint
- 18 "Vampir" Destroyer Escorts

3. Battle Squadron
VI. Division
- BB-192 ICNS Black Queen
- BB-193 ICNS Red Duke
- BB-194 ICNS Ambitous
- BB-195 ICNS Unwavering
VII. Division
- BB-188 ICNS Bellicose
- BB-189 ICNS Challenger
- BB-190 ICNS Steel Prince
- BB-191 ICNS Iron Lady
III. Fleet Escort Division
- CE-9 ICNS Ostramandius
- 18 "Vampir" Destroyer Escorts

Reserve Squadron
XX. Division
- BB-124 ICNS St. Jabbar's Writ
- BB-97 ICNS Hieraeophant
- BB-106 ICNS Warlock
- BB-132 ICNS Endurance
I. Launch Tender Group
- CT-1 ICNS Dominion
- CT-2 ICNS Tyrant
- CT 3 ICNS Master
III. Escort Group
- 6 "Ghul" Destroyer Escorts

Fleet Scouting Squadron
II. Fleet Scout Division -
- CA-4 ICNS Celebrantus
- CA-5 ICNS Imrha's Reach
- CA-6 ICNS Sanguine Straits
IV. Escort Group
- 6 "Ghul" Destroyer Escorts

6 "Pax Crobuzona" Superdreadnought Battleships (720 points)
18 "Mayor Radaghast VI" Dreadnought Battleships (900 points)
8 "Urbis Victorious" Dreadnought Battleships (320 Points)
4 "St. Jabbar's Writ" predreadnought Battleships (100 Points)
- 2040 Points Total

Cruiser Units:
3 "Dominion" Torpedoboat Tenders (60 points)
3 "Ghosthead" Armoured Cruisers (60 points)
3 "Bered Kai Nev" Armoured Cruisers (45 Points)
- 165 points total

Escort Units
54 "Vampir" Destroyer Escorts (432 pts)
12 "Ghul" Destroyer Escorts (60 pts)
- 492 pts total

Small Craft Units
22 squadrons "B3" Gunboats (440 pts total)
6 squadrons "G5" Torpedoboats (120 pts)
5 squadrons "G1" Torpedoboats (50 pts)
- 610 pts total

Ground Forces
300 points Civil Marines

TOTAL:
3607 pts


-edit-

The Fleet's light forces: 1 and 2 Cruiser Squadrons and 1 Battlecruiser Squadron, are deployed in a loose net between Talon and the Lesser Library, running cold and stealthy, watching for movement.

[Adrian Laguna]

“State your intent.”

"Well?" asked the Captain in regard to the message.

"It checks out."

"Alright, begin transmission."

"There is no time for diplomatic nicieties. We'll go straight to the point." The voice was calm and measured. "The current situation is simple: the Silver Flame can not win. The Mekidar Republic has decided that it will not allow the people invading you, the Arisians we call them, to expand in this direction. Four of our fleets are on their way here in the hopes of creating a stand-off, and if not assist you in defending your worlds."

A slight pause. "It must be recognized that nothing comes for free, and that includes this offer. We will not commit only because we wish to check the advance of a large foreign power. If the Silver Flame will agree to become a Protectorate of the Republic, then we will help. The deal is simple, you pledge half your armed forces and military-industrial complex to us, we protect you. The Quelectin will be allowed to mantain self-government, and Republic interference in your affairs shall be minimal if you so desire. We cannot guarantee the same of those that have invaded you."

Another pause. "We can discuss the details later. Now only one thing is important. Do you plunge into the known abyss, or reach for the unknown light we offer?"

[Spyder]

A slight pause. "It must be recognized that nothing comes for free, and that includes this offer. We will not commit only because we wish to check the advance of a large foreign power. If the Silver Flame will agree to become a Protectorate of the Republic, then we will help. The deal is simple, you pledge half your armed forces and military-industrial complex to us, we protect you. The Quelectin will be allowed to mantain self-government, and Republic interference in your affairs shall be minimal if you so desire. We cannot guarantee the same of those that have invaded you."

Another pause. "We can discuss the details later. Now only one thing is important. Do you plunge into the known abyss, or reach for the unknown light we offer?"

"That's rediculous, we have no way of even knowing if you're even capable of what you say you are. If you truely desire to be our protectors then show us the force of your protection! Here are the locations of their forces throughout our territory. Once you have driven them from homes we can discuss this protectorate business at your leisure. Until then there is nothing more to discuss."

*click*

Meanwhile, in Talon.

"Fellow Quelectin, guardians of the Silver Flame, it is with deep regret that in the face of overwhelming odds, we have had no choice but to commense discussion with the Crobuzon forces regarding terms of surrender. We are attempting to come to an arrangement that will involve minimal disruption to the lives of our citizens and ensure a peaceful co-existance between our peoples."

[Adrian Laguna]

Subspace, near the Silver Flame
A man sat on a couch. Everything pitch black. Everything exept a piece of paper he was reading, it seeming to glow with inner light. He put the paper aside and the scene changed. Bright dots appeared before him, and other people, some standing, some sitting, were illuminated by lights with no aparent source.

The man was now discernible. He looked like a human seventeen years of age. Decent height, athletic build, visible but not prominent musculature, and a youthful complexion. There were, however, two things out of place for your average 17 year-old. The first, and most obvious, was the crimson uniform of a Mekidar Republic Spacy flag officer. The second, and most stunning, were the eyes. They were completely white, not the milky white of a blind man, but the solid and iridescent sheen of pearls. Vice-Grand Admiral (Operations) Asdvadz looked at the others and began to speak.

"This is Silver Flame space. The red system is the location of the Arisian fleet. The green one is our destination. We'll be splitting into two Fleet Groups. High Admiral Radoslav is in charge of Group Beta, composed of the Sixth and Seventh Fleets. It will jump into the system. Group Alpha, the First and Fifth Fleets, is commanded by High Admiral Kavadei. The First will go here, and the Fifth here. The Silver Flame's early warning systems should pick them up, but the Arisians won't see shit unless they're dragging around a sensors station."

The images dissapeared and all was again submerged in darkness. A chessboard on a stand appeared beside the VGA. He looked at it for a few seconds then moved a piece.

"Checkmate."

[Oseng]

Empire Of Kurak

A patrol group of 3 Aero escorts responded to the CS
Tammerlane's communications.

They kept their shields up, but the weapons were not powered.

One of them the Imperial Prince began transmitting response message as soon as the translation spells had begun to work.

"This Captain Rook of the IKS Imperial Prince. We welcome you to the Empire of Kurak's space. We have orders to escort you to the inhabited planet in system. The Planetary Governer is waiting to meet you and begin talks with your nation."

On board one of the Aero's a young crewman turned to an older crewman.

"What is this, the third group this year?"

[Adrian Laguna]

Diem – Mekidar negotiations

The diplomats silently look at the map for a few seconds. Gavril begins to speak but goes silent again. A couple more seconds pass, and he finally speaks, "Your proposal is acceptable. We will require a copy of it to present to our General Assembly for official approval." Gavril pauses for an moment.

"A new thing just came-up, though. Our ship just received a transmission from home and routed it to us through the shuttle. It seems a nearby power, Arisia we call it, is invading the Silver Flame, one of our neighbors. It goes against our interests for any of our neighbors to succumb to foreign powers. As part of the Republic's general response, we will be stationing the Eight Fleet outside your space. This could happen anytime between 'now' and 'in the near future'.

In the meantime, we will be building a base in a system of your choosing somewhere in this area." Gavril points to section of the map in the direction of Crobuzon. "The base could also have sections dedicated to mercantile endeavors. Since those sections would be for our mutual benefit, we'd appreciate it if the Diem-noiy would assists us in their construction. As a bonus, if you wish to engage in trade with other nations, you could route it through there. The Diem can have their own forces in the system if they wish."



The Lesser Library

Group II came-out of subspace outside the system and transmitted a low level IFF code. The Quelectin wouldn’t recognize it as a friendly code, but they would likely recognize it as belonging to the Mekidar. Not awaiting a response, the two fleets Folded into very high orbit above the Lesser Library.

“This is Fleet Group Beta of the Mekidar Republic’s expeditionary force. Fleet Group Alpha is holding outside the system.” The transmission came from a shuttle much closer to the planet. “I am Vice-Grand Admiral Asdvadz, commander of the Republic Expeditionary Force. If you wish us to help in defending your homes, I recommend that you direct me to the local command center so we can coordinate fleet operations.”



Republic Expeditionary Force
CO: Vice-Grand Admiral (Operations) Asdvadz


Fleet Group Alpha
CO: High Admiral Kavadei

1st Fleet
Squadron I
DN-1 Pride of the Republic
DD-11 Warrior
DD-12 Indomitable
4 Frigates (FF)

Squadron II
BB-2 Horrors of War
DD-13 Fire Dancer
DD-14 Rapid Fire
CC-1 Alliance [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-41,42)
4 Frigates (FF)

Squadron III
BB-3 Pain of Loss
DD-15 Starshatter
DD-16 Iron Storm
CC-2 Friendship [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-43,44)
4 Frigates (FF)

Squadron IV
BB-4 Weeping of Widows
DD-17 Battle of the Line
DD-18 Mauler
CC-3 Hive [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-45,46)
4 Frigates (FF)

5th Fleet
Squadron XVII
BB-8 Throes of Death
DD-40 Ripper
DD-41 Lucky Bastard
DD-42 Rendezvous at Barkesh
DD-43 Vicious
8 Frigates (FF)

Squadron XVIII
DD-44 Cross-eyed Loon
CC-13 Violent [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-98,99)
2 Frigates (FF)

Squadron XIX
DD-45 Straight Shot
CC-14 Raid on Sullust [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-100,101)
2 Frigates (FF)

Squadron XX
DD-46 Valiant
CC-15 Artful Dodger [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-102,103)
2 Frigates (FF)


Fleet Group Beta
CO: High Admiral Radoslav

6th Fleet
Squadron XXI
BB-9 Agony of Despair
DD-47 Coward
DD-48 Evil Clown
DD-49 Shattered Skies
DD-50 Jade Moon
8 Frigates (FF)

Squadron XXII
DD-51 Warmonger
CC-16 Wanktastic [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-104,105)
2 Frigates (FF)

Squadron XXIII
DD-52 Liberation of Gerrard V
CC-17 Debt Collector [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-106,107)
2 Frigates (FF)

Squadron XXIV
DD-53 Random
CC-18 Scared Shitless [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-108,109)
2 Frigates (FF)

7th Fleet
Squadron XXV
BB-10 Cruelty of Fate
DD-54 No Name
DD-55 Pyromaniac
DD-56 Flesh Cleaver
DD-57 Skin Flayer
8 Frigates (FF)

Squadron XXVI
DD-58 Heart Crusher
CC-19 Corombion Campaign [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-110,111)
2 Frigates (FF)

Squadron XXVII
DD-59 Bone Breaker
CC-20 Avenger [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-112,113)
2 Frigates (FF)

Squadron XXVIII
DD-60 Spine Ripper
CC-21 Jade Moon [3F & 2B]
2 Light Missle Cruisers (CL-114,115)
2 Frigates (FF)


[3F & 2B] = [3 (points) of Fighters & 2 (points) of Bombers]


Ships of the Line [1125]
1 Dreadnaught
6 Battleships
29 Destroyers

Cruisers [372]
12 Carrier Cruisers
24 Light Missle Cruisers

Frigates [290]
58 Frigates

Strike Craft [60]
36 Fighter Flights
24 Bomber Flights

Total: [1847]

[Thirdfain]

2 hours prior to Mekidar arrival:

Talon
The Silver Flame

The latest transmissions confirmed it. The quelectin had agreed to terms. The war was over.

Grossadmiral Vandermere nodded curtly at the news. Unfortunate that he never got a chance to fire a shot in anger, but at least he had a bloodless victory to present his superiors.

The wall of battle sailed close to Talon, guns tracking the assembled defenses but remaining quiet. Breaking from the formation, a trio of heavy transports began to fall slowly towards Talion's atmosphere, fat smokestacks pouring puissant effluvia into space.

<<Talon, be advised- we are landing prefabricated basing structures at the following clear location->> - a section of open land 100 miles south of the planetary capital- <<- along with personelle to staff. Be advised, we are landing a representative in the capital to discuss any further concerns regarding the treaty and trade.>>

Elsewhere, over the Lesser Library, the ICNS Basilaerus detached from her picket duty observing the Silver Flame fleet, and launched two fast couriers. One was a pinnace, destined for the Lesser Library, her well-appointed interior playing home to an Imperial diplomat. The other, an assault shuttle, broadcast it's intentions. It would land Imperial Marine engineers on the orbiting fortress. After all, one of the conditionos for surrender had been the dismatlement of that impressive bulwark.


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

Tarsis Deux
Kergudter March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

"... And finally, the problem of piracy can not be handled simply by a one-time sweep of our combined forces. We'll need a long-term system to patrol and maintain the Trans-Cluster Line."

The Faloon. Elev'nan Da'shu, nodded.

"A sytem of forts and patrol routes. I can assure you, my government would be interested."

He grinned.

"And of course, we could charge non-Falau'un or Crobuzoner shipping fees to use our line."

Ju nii Crais nodded, interested, leaning closer over the sumptuous feast the servants had just laid out between the khepri mogul and the Faloon lord. Her headbody clicked and rattled, spraying more bizarre pheremones in the air. A suited interpreter cleared his throat and spoke for the xenian executive.

"There is a problem. The cost of such a line would outweigh the benefits. The Fleet is short on escorts as is. We could only cover, maybe a third of this distance."

The Faloon deflated slightly.

"... indeed. Out own forces would face difficulty..."

"Perhaps, then, the answer lies in synergy. We need to bring in a third party, someone else to help set up this grand undertaking. As luck would have it, I know just the ones to talk too."

The slender alien cocked his head quizzically.
"Who would these people be?"

"They call themselves the Lh'won PRovisional Government. They've approached us about a trade agreement. Perhaps they'd be interested in something more- a 1/3rd share of the work... and the profits... of maintaining a Trans-Cluster Line."

The Falau'un nodded.

"A joint diplomatic mission, then?"

Lady Ju nii Crais extended a ruddy hand over the table.

"Mister Da'shu, myself and my government would like nothing more."

[Beowulf]

Suigin System

Joyeuse turns to the diplomat.

"Hmm... A situation has occured that you should be aware of. The Silver Flame surrendered to the Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon an hour and a half ago. You might want to inform your superiors about this."

[Dahak]

Tarsis Deux
Kergudter March
Parliamentary Empire of Crobuzon

"Lady Ju nii Crais," Elev'nan Da'shu smiled, "I think this could turn out very well for all of us. A maintained and secure trade line would be quite profitable indeed. I think, these Lh'won would agree." He sipped from a glass of some sparkling exotic drink.
"Just one other point to raise. A small military task force is on its way here as we speak and should arrive soon. It will search for, and ultimately hunt down, pirates responsible for the destruction of a group of freighters. As it'll be operating near your space, we think it prudent to tell you, and pay a courtesy visit here." He raised a hand before the Lady could answer. "Before you say it, we are willing to invite a small ship, say a light cruiser or destroyer, to accompany the task force. Not only would we profit from your knowledge of the region, but it would also be a bit of trust-building, given our military will see some cooperation in the near future. If your military agrees, a liason officer would be allowe aboard the flagship. Grand Air-Mage Frwen would like to work personally with your people."
Even if the Lady Crais was no specialist in Falau'un expressions, she certainly felt the level of reverence and one might almost say fear Elev'nan Da'shu had in his voice as he spoke the Grand Air-Mage's name.