Sunset: Then, Now, Tomorrow (Maintenance & Role-Play)

[Sunset]

SDF-Niagara, Behind GEC-39992, The Fringe...

It was the double-whammy - or was it a triple-whammy? - of disasters and Lt. Felicia Bunj was close to pounding her console in frustration. Instead, she clenched her fist and dug her nails into her palm until they were close to bleeding.

"I can't pick anything out of the clutter," she complained, "Not with the... whatever they are... Milling all around and the planet between us and the crash site."

If Lieutenant Collins had been there. But that was something of the issue; Captain Taev had taken the Lieutenant and a pilot on what had been considered a joyride until something had opened fire on the shuttle. Now all three were missing in action but that was not the only complication. There was also a survey and engineering team scattered through the wreckage of the city-ship on the moon's sandy brown surface and if something on the planet's surface had a directed energy weapon capable of shooting down an (admittedly) lightly armored shuttle then the engineers might be under a similar threat. The Captain was important but there were nearly thirty men and women on the moon and thus the hard decision had been made to keep the Niagara between the planet and the moon while they were retrieved.

It had been reckless and irresponsible but there was no use, at least not right now, in blaming the victims and Lt. Bunj kept those thoughts to herself.

"We can either get closer;" That would mean moving the ship around to the other side of the planet, "Or we can deploy the VDA to increase our sensor fidelity."

"I don't really like either option," Commander Waretram shook his massive, horned head. He'd been given command when the Captain had left the ship and now he was in charge of the search. The Troll was a dominating figure on the bridge and his calm manner had kept the rest of the bridge crew from undertaking any hasty actions. "We haven't taken any fire or picked up any other trace of hostile actions. This could have been a purely defensive attack against an unidentified intruder."

Captain Taev had informed the ship as soon as they had found life - presumably sentient - on the planet but she had continued and contact had been lost shortly afterward. It was possible, though all of the sensor scans indicated otherwise, that there was an advanced technological civilization down there and she had sent her shuttle through their airspace without as much as a 'by your leave'.

"Prep one of the fighters for dispatch," he ordered, turning to the Tactical Officer. "We'll send it down to the surface and have it come around the planet close to the ground. If there is someone down there they'll have a harder time picking it up and we can try to move up on the crash site with some stealth."

It was one of the rare instances where a fighter came in handy; The Niagara carried two of the older Aggressor models and the drones would do the job without risking any of the crew.

"Bunj, I want another very thorough sweep of the planet's orbit and whatever else you can think of for anything that looks like a surveillance satellite. Or even a big bird's nest. Let Tactical know what you find before they dispatch that fighter."

"Yes, Sir..."

[Sunset]

SDF-Ixutsangi, Shun'Jan (For Lack of a Better Name) System...

Their discovery of the frozen body floating in the debris field had been a personal triumph but not a lonely one; When the trio had returned to the ship they had found that, far from being a singular event, there were many thousands of corpses in all shapes and sizes slowly orbiting the distant star. Between the resources of the two ships there were now hundreds of samples spread out in individual isolation units in one of the Ixutsangi's cargo bays.

Doctor Philus and Doctor Gwelaven, the ships chief researcher and chief medical officer respectively, stood between two of the more interesting. One was a prime specimen of the humanoid species they had discovered earlier. It was large and heavyset, almost hulking, with a slightly hunched over stance. The face, if it could be described as such, was a single arrow-shaped armored plate with distinguishing ripples that reminded observers of nostril holes and cheek and brow ridges. This first was not the case but the second was with these proving some protection to four small eyes arranged in pairs on each side of the head. There were more plates around the body as well, particularly down the back and chest as well as forearms and hands. These were large and clawed with only a small thumb that lacked the wide range of movement of its Human counter-part.

As mentioned in Trinya's initial report, there was a long mane of blue hair that trailed back from under the edge of the blue-gray plate. There were also additional patches of hair at the chin and cheek where, on some samples, they gave the appearance of sideburns or a beard. There was also a thick, short tail and this was fully covered in thick, medium-length hair.

On the other table was another sample but this one was different yet similar. It was a quadruped, about half the size of the humanoid, but with many of the same features. A ridge of armored plates, each with their own fringe of hair, trailed down from head to tail. It too had four eyes but a long, wolf-like muzzle.

"Someone once said that if aliens visited Earth during the Twentieth Century, they might assume that the cow was the dominant species on the planet due to their numbers and economies centered around their care," Philus began. He was about to continue when he was interrupted by a purple-skinned woman standing near the back of the room.

"Shit, they weren't?! All those mutilations wasted..."

Philus eyed the ArAreBee for a sigh-filled moment before continuing, "And in this case it appears to be true."

"Extreme sexual dimorphism," Doctor Gwelaven picked up. "That is, there two samples are the same species but rather than being a separate gender we are looking at something close to various insects where this," she indicated the quadruped, "Is the reproductive element of the species while this," she looked to the humanoid, "Is something like a drone except much more complex. In fact, these are sentient - though sterile - while these are not. They are animals who give birth to these more-evolved young. It is one of the oddest examples of evolutionary selection I've ever seen. Based on the number of eggs we've found in some samples - this half of the species is hermaphroditic - the drones are produced at a ratio of around six to one. Based on the number of samples recovered, something between here and there eliminates about ninety percent of the breeders."

"Do they eat em?" It was the same purple-skinned woman. "They don't look that bad..."

"I was under the impression that your species subsisted entirely on the Thursday menu in the galley; Classic Americana. Hotdogs, hamburgers, and ice cream floats," Philus stated dryly. "Sampling frozen food from distant stars doesn't seem very toothsome."

"Lies and slander!" But there was a wink and a nudge there as she moved closer. "But seriously, these things look reasonably edible. And there are other examples of cannibalism out there."

"It is something we'll investigate as we re-survey the Crescent and whatever we find here. A lot of what we found will be subject to considerable re-interpretation based on this new information. For example, given that the sentient drones lack any reproductive organs and would thus have no particular sexual drives, their titanic construction may be re-examined in that light. Many insect species with similar but non-sentient drones engaged in building practices that might be considered similar. The enormous mounds of Odontotermes could be considered exemplary in this matter."

"It doesn't explain their lack of written documentation though," Timmons noted, speaking for the first time. "And it is especially odd given the disparity between the two. Can the drones even talk to the breeders?"

"We're still investigating that," Gwelaven finished. "Cloning is still a few days off but once we have living examples we should be able to determine the answer to a lot of the more nuanced questions."

[Sunset]

Dr. Ambrose' Laboratory, Under the Art Annex, Neo-Vancouver University...

"By whom and for what reason? That is the question they should be asking themselves," the Doctor muttered to himself as he looked his prize over.

He was almost licking his lips but it had nothing - well, hardly nothing - to do with the woman in the sleek charcoal black cat suit. What wasn't open mesh was armor plates and what wasn't armor plating was a long line of bare flesh from just under a collar at her throat to where it split at her navel to wrap around for an open back with an articulated armored spine linking top and bottom together. Her latest acquisition was held in hand and Agent 16 nonchalantly leaned back against the railing that surrounded the central holo-display to allow him to examine it and presumably her.

"Well done, well done indeed;" A rare complement but in his opinion one that was deserved. "I trust retrieving it was no simple task?"

He wouldn't have assigned her to it otherwise. A squad of goons - easily replaceable and largely more fun - would have been more suited for any routine smash-and-grab. But the fragment of a stone circle laced through with metallic threads and inscribed with runes from an unknown civilization would have been well protected. That he'd even learned of its existence in the first place had been a work of chance. A rumor, nothing more, traded to a seaman in his unknown employ had indicated that these Dulyani were in possession of something that might interest him. Agent 16 had been dispatched and she had just now returned with the artifact.

An Artifact of the Lost Empire of Shatterblood.

That was not its true name, of course, but madness resulted when one attempted to translate the unspeakable works inscribed on the few markers that remained into anything resembling normal language. He'd seen its like before - he even had a sample - but his recent attempts to activate the portals had been in vain.

"This, this might give us another chance. Place it on the scanner, would you?"

The Agent complied with a sway of her hips and a long bend that ended with her glorious backside high above her shoulder blades. She turned and looked at him for confirmation, the motion showing a generous amount of what was nominally concealed under the armor cladding across her chest, "Is this correct, Doctor?"

For a long moment he stared, eyes sliding around the hidden recesses, until there was a mental snap and he focused on her positioning of the object.

"Yes, that will do nicely. This is just a routine scan which, if history has anything to say about the matter, will tell us absolutely nothing."

It never had. While visual observation had allowed the identification of the substances that the circle was made out of - common stone and various metals - anything beyond that came back as nothing. There was no cracked stone circle, no archway through which nought but blackness was seen. It was, as one famous scientist had put it, weird.

"That said scientist was me simply makes it all the more unusual," he said, talking to himself as he finished. "And once again, we have..."

The results came up in the holo-display or rather, didn't.

"Nothing. That must have made it very easy to smuggle out of whatever vaults they'd hidden it in, no?"

"Yes," she agreed simply. She didn't want to go into details mostly because it would be so disappointing. A little - very little - red dress and some flirting had allowed her into the museum and then it was a matter of knocking the guard out and walking out the front door. The very properties that made it invisible to scanners had masked her movements as well and there had been nary a whistle as she'd made her escape. "It was the penetration that was the most enjoyable part."

"Mmm, good." He was distracted again and didn't catch that last part. Instead the Artifact was moving and rather casually at that into a tub he'd already prepared that was half-filled with a mysterious solution. "We'll let this soak overnight and see what happens. It should restore much of the original volume. If not, I'm sure the subject in Chamber Fourteen will have some more blood by then."

Maybe it wasn't all that mysterious.

"He doesn't seem to need it. One of these days I'll have to figure out why."

[Sunset]

CME Monitoring Facility, Denali, The Yukon System...

Present in spirit, if not in body, Katryna wasn't exactly overseeing the current stage of the project but instead enjoying the experience of watching a lot of very smart men and women going about the business of being smart. That is, until one of the Akashan Union scientists spotted her hologram coming up behind her station and pushed her chair away to roll right into the young woman's path.

"I had an idea."

Katryna stopped and looked her over; She was just past middle aged with the dark hair and facial features that marked her ancestry as coming from the Indian sub-continent. There were already a few streaks of gray in there as well and she was wearing a short lab coat over a more traditional sari and blouse combination. The various markings on her jacket indicated she was in the planetary sciences section, which would be more important when the system was up and running and they needed to determine just how to best use it against various targets.

"This system doesn't have to be a weapon," she went on, now that she had the Director's full attention. "One important aspect of jump-starting various terraforming projects is to heat the existing atmosphere to life-tolerant conditions. Right now we mostly accomplish this by building large heating units on the planet's surface, but what if we were to bring the heat in from an outside source?"

"The CME," Katryna guessed. "Go on."

"Furthermore, depending on the star and planet in question, gases might need to be imported to create an atmosphere. This system might allow us to do both. Instead of one large burst of corona mass;" Otherwise known to the public as a solar flare, "We could use it to send a steady stream of specific gases to the target world. Furthermore, why limit ourselves to stars? The system is designed to withstand these energy levels," she gestured to the console, where a stream of data showed the tremendous heat, "And this puts it well inside the tolerance for operating near most gas giants. With some tuning the same system could be used to direct a stream of gas towards a prospective planet."

"We need to get the system working first, but once we do, why not?" Katryna agreed. "This would make a lot more star systems and planets potentially habitable. Good idea."

[Sunset]

Erika and Demi's House, Botany Bay, Chuh-Yu...

"Ha! No."

Joking or not, Demi shot down Erika's suggestion of a Betazoid wedding as soon as it had been made. The widespread cultural acceptance of casual nudity aside, as well as the significant differences between a wedding in Sunset versus other more traditional cultures, there was no way she was going to miss out on a chance to play the princess for a day.

"Suit, dress, or gown?"

She already knew - within a hundred choices or so - which dress she wanted. There would be silk and fine lace with a heart-shaped bodice and a veil with a full skirt. But no train. White was still a very traditional color but the Japanese influences in Sunset culture made both red and black acceptable as well. That was fine with her; A red dress would suit her Spanish ancestry as well. Or maybe pink?

"Dress," Erika answered; She'd been on her way through from the garage to the upstairs bedroom when her suggestion had been made and she barely answered before disappearing into their room.

"Two dresses. I like that. Makes the kiss a little awkward, but we'll manage."

The kiss was another one of the few surviving elements from the old traditional weddings. There would be no religious references and the vows were more along the lines of heartfelt promises or even a short poem or story. In fact, for most of the Human side of Sunset society a wedding was more just an excuse to dress up, give gifts, and have a party. Which brought up the question of both guests and venue.

And when.

"We could have it here," she mused, flipping through a catalog of dresses before looking out the window at the dripping rain that had turned the grass soggy. "Do we want a big event or a good time?"

One often precluded the other; A big event with lots of guests would mean a lot of details for both to be involved in. A good time would mean a very limited guess list - on the order of a large house party - and would be more fun. At least with some planning.

"We do have a butler..." Demi looked around. Alex was around somewhere, possibly out in the garage, but did she want to leave a lot of the details up to the servant? "Big picture," she decided. "I'm not going to get married every two weeks and I'd rather remember it for the fun we had than the misery of planning out all the details."

[Sunset]

SDF-Sailfish, Imperial Spaceport, Sovereign Empire of California...

"Ooofph..." Sloan's grip nearly slipped and for a moment she sagged against the bulkhead as she tried to keep the awkward bundle of her end of a rolled up carpet - Persian, of course - from slipping out of her grasp. "Hold a sec..."

'Mrrpgh!'

"Shut up, you!" Kami was tempted to plant a foot right in the middle of the roll but held herself to gripping her end just a little bit tighter as her partner steadied herself. "Pull her..." Sloan shifted the bundle and she compensated, "Yeah, there."

Then they were completely inside the airlock and the two could breath easy. A quiet click-clunk and the indicators - unneeded in the atmosphere of Earth - switched from red to yellow to green in a flash before the inner hatch started to cycle open.

"Not there!"

Kami had started to head towards the stateroom but Sloan stopped her with the admonition and a barely felt tug on the rolled-up floor covering. She was in a hurry and the adrenaline was surging but the blond girl had a better idea.

"Can't lock that. Put her in," her elbow bashed at a control panel for one of the lockers once, twice, three times was the charm, "Here!"

Inside were racks of armor suits and other supplies that might be needed for individual operations outside of the ship. It wasn't the best choice but the space was confined and the Sailfish lacked anything that might be called a brig. Or the trunk of a '79 Buick. Tipping their bundle upright - or downright, as the sounds of protest indicated - they propped it up against the lockers and slid the door shut.

"Alright, let's get out of here!"

The pair bolted for the command deck and seconds later Kami was vaulting right over the rail and into the chair and through the somehow startled-looking hologram of Ensign Ybari.

"Ready?"

"Ready! Lift-off!"

[Sunset]

The Planet Fernethon, The Sessool Empire, The Fringe...

Describing the men who lounged around the audience chamber as goons was not only fair but entirely appropriate. Whereas all of the soldiers-slash-guards that the quartet had encountered thus far had been a model of nameless, faceless, and intimidating professionalism these were definably and despite their exact same armor and weapons goons. However this had something of the opposite effect than likely intended on the faux leader of their group; Where a merchant or underling might be intimidated by the expressed potential for random violence, Captain Sasura seemed to thrive on it.

"...and you can't trust a pirate," she fixed one of the black-armored men with a hard stare and then a laugh, whipping out her sword and holding it just a hairs-breadth away from the throat of a startled looking Marie. "Old Captain Graycock is as good to his word as he is between the sails and there were a pair o' Imperial customs frigates with their colors out and teeth bared for blood. Rotten luck too; I recognized one of them as an old drinking buddy and I'd stiffed her with the tab and the wingman at the last port!"

There was laughter at this and a raspy chuckle from the cowled Factor who sat ensconced in the chambers Second Seat. The High Seat was empty - and always so - as it was there that the mysterious Sessool would sit to pronounce her edicts during a rare private session.

"How then did you and your... fine companions come to grace my Lord's chamber with so well-laid of a trap at your heels?" The lizard-like Servant asked with a hiss, looking them over once again.

To Marie and Meli, who had both experienced the delights of the Palace on Gasroul, it seemed more like they were being sized up to become the next meal but the alluring pirate captain took it another way and with a sway of the hip she continued.

"It was closer than I can tell it. I put us on a course straight for Graycock's ship, knowing that the old fool would want to take the shot himself. I also knew that he, well," she nudged the Neko with an elbow, "Always shoots a little too soon!"

More laughter and she went on, illustrating with her fine hands the movements of her ship. This had the pleasant side-effect of twisting her hourglass figure as well and the whole room followed her explaination.

"We cut around him and it was as close as your morning shave between my hull and his. His volley went wide but mine did too; fair thing as I was aiming at the customs frigates. Now to a man of the law it might look as though the pirates had pulled the triple-cross and were back on the same team. But with Graycock braceted between the three of us it was him that gots the worst of it."

"And now we find ourselves here, Oh Servant of the Great Sessool," she pronounced without a trace of sarcasm. A low bow, with the attendant expanse of cleavage, and she rose and gestured to the crates behind her, "Along with trinkets and baubles from the far reaches of the galaxy and many a story to share."

[Sunset]

GEC-39992, The Fringe...

Wind roared through the trees and the natives looked up only a moment before a thing alive-yet-not passed over their heads with a howl and a long tail of flame. It glinted dully with the shine of the metal they knew but could not yet use and there was a bare flash of an emblem they had seen but did not recognize. In a moment it was gone and they were not left with questions; Their existence was still too brief and savage to worry about strange flying animals.

"Another native village, Commander," Lieutenant Bunj counted off. "That makes eight, and I'd say they are getting denser as we get to the crash zone."

They knew approximately where the shuttle would have come down; A long oval sketched out in blue on the holographic sphere of the planet's curve. The heavy fighter was fast approaching the fattest part as it zipped over meadow and through forest to pass within a hand's breadth of the mightiest tree.

"How many," Commander Waretram asked, "Villagers, that is."

A recording of the Aggressor's high-speed fly-through of the scattered huts and fire pits appeared in the main holosphere while the terrain continued to zip past on the main display. This one went past much slower than the sonic flight of the drone and several pairs of eyes counted out the numbers.

"Thirty-two.."

"Thirty even..."

"Forty odd," Bunj finished. "With the small children."

"Send the recordings off for a complete analysis by Anthropology," the Commander ordered, swinging his massive body around in the chair to looks at her, "But we'll call it thirty-five. Either way, does it look to you like they are getting more numerous as well?"

There were collective nods at this and he continued, "Something is helping to increase both the size and number of these settlements. Normally interesting, but double-so when it's close to whatever took down the Captain's shuttle."

It was only a few more seconds before what that something was partially revealed itself. The drone cleared the forest to find itself at the base of a long hill. The ground was rough but overgrown, strewn with rocks and boulders as well as the shattered remains of the trees that had once grown there. Just lopsided to the crown was a construct that was clearly unnatural. While more stones and branches were stacked around it like a shroud the glint of metal could be seen through the disguise.

"Looks like we've found our source," Waretram said, just as a brilliant flash lit the screen.

"Two of 'em," the officer at tactical confirmed. "Drone is evading weapon fire from a turret on the dorsal structure. Took some scorching on a pylon, nothing serious. Kill it?"

"Back off and set up for observation," the Troll ordered. "I'll risk the drone to learn a bit before we have to sift through the wreckage."

[Sunset]

Erika and Demi's House, Botany Bay, Chuh-Yu...

Thunder rolled and crackled across the bay and Erika sneezed and wiped a finger across her nose.

"...hey," sudden realization struck and Demi sat up from her comfortable place sprawled out on one side of the couch, "Are you sick? You can't be sick!"

"Too much?"

"What?"

"Is it too much?" Erika asked again. "I'm testing a chassis functionality routine that simulates minor illness. Is it too much?"

"Yeah," but Demi paused. She'd been about to say something about the uncanny valley but a pleasant morning kiss had led to more. "Or maybe not. Something I'd have to get used to. As long as you can turn it off for the wedding."

"Ha, yes. That would suck; A bug that gives me a bug!"

----

Through the Portal, The Far Lands...

Thunder rolled and crackled across the vast open plain and Agent 16 looked down on it from her place as twisted redeemer. It was no tree that held her, no nails that pierced her but rather the blood dripped down from cruel barbed talons and wretched bones held her firm. Her eyes were sightless from pain but they still looked out cold-blue at the army that swept away before her in fractal array.

Another figure stood there, cowled and robed and silent. He was there and not; Where cloth meet flesh it flickered and shifted and for longer than a racking sign past bloody lips Shatterblood was not there at all. Once again he was back in the real world beyond the stone and metal portal that twisted here with a life of its own.

"Witness your doom;" the words came intermittently as the speaker obeyed the laws that somehow bound him to two places but a second voice spoke as well; A strong chorus that always continued, "The armies of the Far Lands will wash away the impure."

"The injustice done to our kind will be repaid and your world will become our own, trapped between the here and the not, all those millenia ago. Millenia..." A harsh laugh and a hand extended to brush her own. "Time. An interesting concept I have only begun to understand. The armies of the Far Lands will wash away the exalted. Where your kind visited a thousand horrors on us, we will visit ten thousand. A million deaths, a million deaths to the violators!"

[Sunset]

Saint Medical Systems Corporate Headquarters, Notch, Mojang System...

"What did you say she was, again?" Dr. Wilt asked with a bit of a sigh as she held up the medical scanner to look through the appature into L'la's eye. It was a time-honored tradition that made the patient feel better and often that was as important as any other treatment. "The Empress? Azerothian?"

"Auracexian," Kami supplied. Like the semi-kidnapped Secretary of Industry, she too was sitting in Dr. Wilt's office though more for the same reason Lieutenant Commander Sloan and a pair of Marines were standing outside the door. "Close though."

"Mhmm," Mona bent closer, a fingertip edging down the ArAreBee's eyelid so she could examine the underside.

The Marines weren't there to protect the Secretary but rather to keep her from escaping. Something was wrong with her and it was more than an emotional crush. As soon as they'd lifted off she'd gone into what could only be considered withdrawal; Tucking herself up into a fetal position, she had begun to shake and complain of both pain and illusionary voices calling her back. One other name had emerged from between the green-skinned woman's gritted teeth and that had sent them to Notch in search of Dr. Mona Wilt. She'd taken one look and ushered them into her private office overlooking the soaring canyon that the corporate arcology bridged like a jeweled crown.

"It looks more like an allergic reaction to me. Your sub-cutaneous glands are enlarged, you've got increased hormone - or what passes for hormones in ArAreBeens - activity all over, and if you weren't green I'd say you'd be yellow."

"Allergic?! To what?" Kami sounded incredulous. "The hottie Empress?"

Mona shot her a shut-up look, "Mhm, maybe. Unless you've eaten some strawberries or something else."

"Not allergic to strawberries." L'la's voice was nearly a gasp. Despite the pain relievers she was still clearly suffering and had only managed to pull herself out of a ball of pain with the forced-help of the Lieutenant Commander and the Doctor. "Please, not her..."

"But why would she want to stay there so bad, Doc? We practically had to..." Kami paused, "Okay, we kidnapped her. Orders from on high. We were nearly a week overdue," she looked over at L'la somewhat accusingly. "Tricked her into coming out and gave her the ol' Persian Rug routine."

"Maybe I'm allergic to Persians?"

Dr. Wilt walked over to her desk and pulled up a hologram, typing into her console as she looked over her shoulder, "Or maybe you're addicted to Auracexians. Which... I've never heard of. And neither has the medical database."

"Didn't look familiar to me either," Kami admitted with a shrug, "Big galaxy though."

"If I had a genetic sample, I might be able to do a reconstruction and find out. I don't suppose you stole her toothbrush, did you?"

"No," L'la hesitated, "But we had sex. A lot."

"Great;" the Doctor was already pulling a sample kit out of a cabinet. "Take off your clothes and let's get to it. Should have had you put on a gown."

[Sunset]

SNN Nightly News with Tanya Zaldano...

"...has ended an engagement with pirates in the Federation of Nygilla. The Patrick Henry, along with friendly vessels from the Tetheri Republic, destroyed or disabled three vessels as well as forced the surrender of an illicit port facility known as Cataclysm Station. Our sources within the Defense Force indicate that this may have something to do with the attack, nearly three months ago, on the Ghost Island colony. While they cannot say whether this puts the matter to rest, other sources have stated that the investigation is still on-going and this leaves several possibilities open. As usual, the official statement from the Secretary-General's office is that no report will be filed or statement made until all the facts are at-hand."

The wall of holograms behind Tanya faded away and she was back on the set; Decorated to somewhat resemble a modern bar, there was a long glass counter along one side with matching stools mounted on impossibly thing spindles. A few tables sat in the middle and there were faint, almost impossible to see, images of various patrons walking, sitting, and talking. Tanya too was dressed for an evening out in a tiny blue cocktail dress that miraculously covered everything except her usual tight line of cleavage but left nothing to the imagination in terms of shape and movement. Her fashion flavor of the moment hung at the confluence of the dress's neckline; A shiny bauble that swung back and forth as she moved and only served to draw visual attention lower which was right where she wanted it.

"With a little less than a month left before the twenty-one seventy new year and the Senate elections, a surprise has thrown observers of the normally boring process into a bit of a tizzy." A hologram of a middle-aged but attractive looking ArAreBee woman with green skin and short purple and black hair appeared. "This afternoon, Ares local time, Secretary of Industry L'la G'rnla announced her immediate resignation to the Senate! We haven't been able to get any official statement, either from the Senate or from the ex-Secretary, but right now speculation is that it has something to do with the Secretary's just finished trade mission to the Sovereign Empire of California. We've spoken to several members of that delegation, including Rachel Blaine, Chairwoman of Tristi Financial, and while the trade mission was extended for several days due to detailed negotiations, nothing in particular struck those we talked to as unusual in the realm of high-level trade talks."

"While we're continuing to investigate the cause of the sudden resignation," Tanya sauntered across the room, hips swaying and with a delightful bounce to her chest, to lean up against the counter and take a suddenly visible drink in hand, "Speculation has already started as to who will replace her and that is expected to potentially impact the upcoming Senate elections."

Holograms began to solidy to reality around the room; Men and women sitting at tables or, in one case, right behind her at the bar. It was this one, a Neko woman, that she turned to first.

"One surprising name that has emerged is that of Alwyra Maric, former Governor of the Parson's Shoal system and President of A'iruka Industries. She has been involved both with the development of that system and in the establishment of the modern economy on N'Xypndiltn and this would, according to the prognosticators, give her a useful take on development given the current colonial expansion plans. She does have a bit of a dark side though; A former debt laborer, she was sent to Hanson's Kneecap after killing a man on Mars."

"On the other hand, President Ateyf al Saleef of McGrader-Dougal is more of a mainstream choice. While she is the head of a major clothing manufacturing company, she has a degree in economics and is well-versed in the ins-and-outs of corporate and business affairs. And she's fantastic in the sack..."

----

"I'd rather be known as fantastic in the sack than an murderer," Alwyra sighed, sinking down into her bath until just the tip of her nose broke the water. 'Blurble burble blub...'

[Sunset]

Lethe, Elysium System, Ares Super-Cluster...

"It is beautiful," admitted the contractor - one Angus Svern - and for a long while he paused in his work to look up at the panorama that played out across the sky.

From horizon to horizon the stars were blotted out by the enormous expanse of the Asphodel nebula. The Elysium System and its attendant planets and heavenly bodies was nestled in a small cup, carved out of the gas field by the inexorable force of gravity that had also given birth to the star itself. In one corner of his vision was the dense cluster of stars that was the nebula's birthing grounds; Elysium was an outlier, a young child born far after her siblings had already made their way in the world. She was small, often unnoticed, and thus perfect.

Both her location and her stellar geography had allowed those who would attempt to settle her to engage in an easy matter of Appellomancy; Kokytos, Lethe, Acheron, Styx, and Phlegethon circled her in slow orbits. All were small and none held atmosphere or life beyond the simplest amino acids.

At least for now.

Returning to his work, Angus rejoined the others as they made their slow way around the long, irregular shape of the valley that would eventually be home. His footsteps were enormous with many meters covered by the metal legs that joined his hips. Here was one place where the conventionally derided form of the giant humanoid robot was useful. Along the jagged ridge of the valley, moving between its boulders and crags, he could find innumerable purchase and use the titanic hands to shift material around as needed. Clearing away the skree down to the rock, he placed a palm up against the mountain and fired.

"Nine-hundred-ninety-nine to go..."

It was a deliberate distortion; He'd already used the impact hammer mounted under his off-arm to drive many hundreds of mooring pylons deep into the rock. These would hold the thick cable that he reached out to snag, pull, and thread through the hook in place. Stretching it tight he locked it down and moved on. Another unit was slowly working her way from the beginning to move aside intervening boulders and add additional pylons where needed before tightening the Imnsvale-woven super-cable yet again. Behind her another followed though this one was yet more specialized.

Like an enormous caterpillar reconstructing the jagged leaf it had just consumed, the robot was moving back and forth between the two rims of the valley and the anchoring cable to weave an enormous canopy across the intervening space. It was actually three; The outermost layer was a thick polymer that reflected the harmful radiation from the star. The second was a combination of the outer and the inner; Both a reflector and a radiator, it would work to keep the heat in once the space between the three was filled with the inert gas that would make the whole act like an enormously odd-shaped triple-glazed window.

The whole thing would then be inflated like a balloon by the atmosphere pumped into place underneath it. These long rivers of plastic would then be terraformed to provide spaces for colonists until they were shimmering green and blue and filled with life...

[Sunset]

SDF-Ixutsangi, Off the Shun'Jan Crescent...

"There's a human phrase; A face only a mother could love..."

Lae nodded. It translated well into most languages and cultures. It also didn't apply to him; He was young, athletic, and tall and all were part of the beauty standards of a wide number of species across the galaxy. Enough so that his cjali - a Cyar word that meant something between fiance and birth partner - was a Human woman from a world hundreds of light years and a millennia of technological development ahead of his own.

"...pretty sure their mom would still think they are fugly," Trinya finished.

"Speaking as the mother," Philus looked up, across the pen where the young animals roamed, "I can only agree with this twist of tongue. Among my own people there is a tradition of adopting a totemic animal that is then used to influence our personal decorations and even our personality to a certain extent; " Philus' was a bird-like creature that was something of a cross between an owl and a fox as evidences by the symbol that hung on a wide double-sash that draped down his chest and back, "And I doubt there are any who would adopt this one."

The babies could make no argument in their defense. Instead they continued to grunt and squeal, roaming around the creche to eat and play though they were so slow that what might have been the rambunctious play among other animals was more a thick nudge. Each was squat and fat under a series of still-soft plates and resembled an especially ugly grub or maggot. A fringe of thick fur trailed off from under each segment and these gave it a grizzled appearance.

"I'm feeding them a combination of our own food that we've determined to be protein-compatible and what we've been able to reconstitute from their local varieties," the researcher explained before switching subjects. "Already I can tell you this; Based on their neurological biology and development, this species is incapable of sentience and even mid-level language functions. They will be limited to these vocalizations for their entire lifetime. While they undoubtedly mean something;" he was interrupted by a particularly disgusting sound, "It is likely very simple in nature."

"I just took a dump on the floor," Trinya guessed.

It was, as stated, a particularly disgusting sound.

"Simpler."

"What's next then?" Lae asked, bending down to run a finger across one of the creatures. When he did so, he felt a tingle across the back of his hand and he ran his arm in and out for a few seconds, "What's that?"

"Mild atmospheric force field," Philus explained, pointing to a control panel. "That is likely the best reason why we will never reproduce this species on a large scale. Their atmospheric requirements have turned out to be mildly toxic to many of the species in the Republic, including your own. While you wouldn't die, immediately, it would not be pleasant to breath and would eventually poison you."

He went on to list out the various ingredients with Trinya following along and Lae quickly glazing over. Despite his completion of academy training, he still didn't have the advantage of a full education that Trinya did and some things were still too esoteric.

"The next step is to determine the factors that control their aging and reproductive processes so that we can quickly advance a few to sexual maturity and see what their reproductive cycle is like. Based on their current growth rate, we'd be waiting around for around four years otherwise. Then we'll see what happens when they give birth to one of the drones."

"Will they?" Trinya asked with a bit of a guess, "Maybe they won't produce any of the non-reproductive drones until there is a sufficient population of the breeders."

"An interesting though," Philus agreed. "We have ten, but since I do not see producing them in numbers I do not feel inclined to add more to our foul little herd."

[Sunset]

Chuh-Yu, Ares System...

The young man stood at the top of the hill for a while, looking down at the bay and the cluster of houses around it. Turning up his collar against the cold and thrusting his hands deep into his jacket pockets he began to trudge down the path towards the water. One hand rested on the pistol, its solid weight giving him some assurance of purpose as he walked. Out this far from the city the road had become a path; The last maglev station had been a few kilometers behind him and all of the houses had hover vehicles of one strip or another parked outside or in garages.

These were the residences of the rich and powerful. Many were gated with tall fences surrounding them and, for a while as he trudged, he considered the seeming irrationality of this. There were no poor people around to steal from them, no tenaments to avoid looking at, no pollution from squalid factories to block. The homes of their neighbors were sitting on grounds just as manicured as their own.

The only reason for the walls and fences were selfishness or paranoia.

There was a small smile at that. The house that was his destination had no fence, no gate, just a meandering path that led down the cliffs to the shoreline. It was to him an oddity that a person with such power would have neither. He came from a world and time where Princes dwelled in palaces and appeared once a year to assure their subjects thay they were alive and that yes, it was still their lot to labor, fight, and die for a man they might never meet.

But her death would be important; This he had been told as the gun had been pressed into his hand. And the one who killed her? Who started the revolution? Set the example? Immortalized.

A thin line of decorative trees seperated the path from the edge of the cliff now and he looked down through it as he walked. The house was attractive - a palace to one used to a shelter of reed and branch - but it was small compared to the others around it and somehow felt more... lived in. A car sitting half-out of the garage, a bicycle leaned up just inside, a pair of muddy shoes on the step.

There were people home too. He could faintly see them through the windows as they moved about. Which one was which? If he knew he would have taken the shot from there, from the top of the hill, for he fancied himself a marksman and a killer. In truth he was neither and some small part of him knew that he would have to get very close. Close enough to see her eyes widen in sudden shock as he pulled the pistol out and her mouth just start to open as he put a neat red hole in her forehead.

What would come next?

He didn't think about that part. It was always the smooth draw, the single gunshot, and the slow collapse of the woman he was told he should hate. He didn't hate her. He had told the one who had brought him the gun that he did but he had no real notion of how he felt about someone he had never met.

Then there was the cat.

It was sitting under a tree at the top of the path, watching him in utter unblinking silence as he stopped there. For a moment he thought it might be one of those fake cats they were so pround of but why would it be here? A fake cat would be inside, curled up in some adorable fake-cat place just waiting for its owner to come pet it or call for its attention. This was a real cat; Hair puffed out against the cold, it looked slightly damp and a little uncomfortable.

As he began the trudge down the hill it got up and began to follow him. Perhaps it belonged to the woman in the house, the woman he would kill. He did not feel sorry for it. It was just a cat. But he did turn and look at it from time to time and it looked up at him. Perhaps it was hoping that he would let it inside, to retreat from the cold and curl up someplace warm and dry.

He would knock, he decided, and she would come to the door and when she opened it he would pull out the gun and shoot her.

No.

Better to shoot through his jacket.His hand gripped the weapon. Better that she not get a chance. Even if he would then have to pull it out and finish her. Place the gun against the side of her head and pull the trigger as she begged.

The scene ran through his head a dozen times as he walked to the bottom of the hill and as he reached the last slope he considered his own thoughts. Did they mark him as insane? Replaying it over and over in his head? Or was he, as had been told, a patriot? A savior, a prophet come to free his people from tyranny.

No choice now; There was a little fence here, just as much retaining wall as barrier, and beyond was the small lot behind the house that led to the garage and the door. Should he sneak in through there? It was open and the usual assortment one might keep there was stored away here and there. A door as well but after a moment he chose his original plan.

She would come to the door, he would shoot her - kill her - and he could then escape. There was a wide porch in front of the door and he mounted the step just as the door opened.

It was not her. His hand had tightened on the gun and his finger was on the trigger but it was not her. The woman who leaned up against the door frame was young with a splash of freckles and a uniform that marked her as a servant of some kind. He paused, mental plan destroyed, and she looked at him with a small smile on her lips.

"You just missed her;" her accent was strange, a bit of a song compared to the regularly flat tones he'd grown used to, "But you can wait for her inside if you want. You'll have to leave that," she glanced down meaningfully, "Out here.."

[Sunset]

GEC-39992, The Fringe...

With the cover of the trees and hill in front of them, the Marines began their careful assault on the fortress at the summit. Risking the drone had shown that the battery that had brought down the shuttle had a limited arc and something else as well. During another quick dash across the weapon's periphery they had picked up the crash site and another unit had been dispatched to investigate. Now they knew that Captain Taev was dead along with the pilot but that Lieutenant Collins was missing.

Traces of what they assumed were native activity had been found and while the details were gruesome, these suggested that the Lieutenant had been removed from the site. There was no evidence of him to be found in the surrounding villages and suspicion had fallen on the lonely tower and who, or what, occupied it. That it had proven aggressive to the outsiders was more justification for what was now a careful approach by the armored Marines.

"No response," Ensign Whiteman relayed once again as he passed word of the continued attempts at contact by the Niagara to the team on the ground. "Nothing but silence."

Lieutenant Ju nodded, the movement invisible under the fixed helmet but shown on the small video stream inside the heads-up display of the others in his unit.

"Push forward," he ordered, putting action to word as he moved the barrel of his rifle and its accompanying camera around the next small piece of cover. "Close eye on the flanks."

One of his secondary concerns was the natives. To put it politely they seemed to have consumed the corpses of both the Captain and pilot as sustenance. While they hadn't shown any signs of aggression towards the Marines, they hadn't given them a particularly wide birth either. The opposite was true; They were utterly ignored and more than once any number had moved through and past as though they weren't even there.

One by one, the armored forms worked their way up the hill under cover from both their fellows and the fighter that slowly slid across the sky behind them. While the firepower built their confidence they didn't want to resort to it. The possibility, however remote, that the Lieutenant was still alive meant that by the time the base of the structure not a single shot had been fired. Pressed up against the base, they released a group of the small black drone spheres to zip around the far side and examine it in detail while still more swarmed upwards from their location.

"Haven't seen anything that looks like a sensor or camera, Sir," Whiteman once again relayed as he watched the feed from several. They were equipped with their own pattern and image processing gear but it was, as was often said, a big galaxy. "There are vents, intakes, and hatches under the camouflage though. It really looks like some kind of ship, though a banged-up one."

He pushed a particular segment through to the Lieutenant; A section of the inner-outer skin had buckled in a long seam and torn to show a piece of internal member poking through like a steel-gray bone. Between the gaps the results of some kind of patch-job could be seen in the form of bubbles made of some kind of black foam or gel that had filled the intervening space.

"An escape pod?"

Both realized the same thing at once and internally the Ensign looked up towards where the faint sliver of the moon could be seen.

"From there, maybe? Crashed ship, crashed pod. Kinda big though."

Stacked on each others shoulders, the Marines would have barely reached the midsection of the tower and if there was any part of it that was under ground it might have been nearly forty meters tall.

"Why armed?"

"Only one way to find out," Ju shrugged, "Knock. See if you can't find some way to sneak a drone or two inside the hull. If we run into trouble, it would be nice to flank them. We'll edge around, find a proper hatch, and bang on it."

[Sunset]

The Law Office of Herr Gustav Lerner, A'iruka, Parson's Shoal System...

"My advice," Gustav began, his tone and wording as precise as the watch on his wrist, "Would be to immediately and politely turn down any nomination for government office."

Gustav was her lawyer and while the sparse Sunset legal code had mostly eliminated the profession there was still call for them. Large companies often had one on staff and while A'iruka Industries was reasonably small potatoes on a galactic scale there were complications that made Gustav a valued member of her staff.

Cheap too. She said she wanted to go out for dinner and he had decided to dine in. That there was some question as to whether she had given consent for dessert had been the only thing saving him from a date with the state.

"And if I'm a little bit interested?"

He raised an eyebrow a tiny fraction of a millimeter, "My advice remains the same. You have killed twice and attempted murder once."

"Justifiable!"

"The law sees no difference, even when one is an abusive boyfriend, the next a sadistic employer, and the last an aggressive and duplicitous alien warlord. "

"Who looked like a giant cockroach. No bug stomping clause, is there?"

The sharp-faced German shook his head.

"Didn't think so," she sighed. "There's no proof though. I built a fucking city on him. You know, I've been wondering this," her tail swished as she walked around the room, "Who suggested my name for this gig anyway?"

She wasn't expecting one but Herr Lerner had an answer and it came with little pause but some explanation.

"When I heard the rumor, I wondered that myself. There are, if I might be the slightest bit rude;" he continued without waiting for something like permission, "Many who are both more qualified and who come without your particular baggage. So I did some reading and the tradition is that a list of suitable candidates is drawn up based on suggestions by the previous occupant and those in the Senate who might have appropriate knowledge."

"So..."

"It appears that you were on Secretary G'rnla's list."

"Why?!"

"There it gets a little more interesting. Looking back through the records of previous Secretaries - and Presidents - it seems that most kept two lists. One was a list of specific persons who would be best for the job under specific circumstances. The second was a list of those who should not, under any circumstances, have the job."

"So you're saying..." Alwyra flopped back into one of the comfortable-looking chairs that were scattered around his office, "That I could be on the second. Great. Should that make me feel better or worse?"

"Since there is no way of knowing which until Secretary G'rnla's death and the release of her papers," he left the implication unfinished but continued on a similar vein. "Better about the future of the Republic and thus about the future of your business. Ms. al Saleef would be much more suited to the job, if other rumors are true."

"And better in bed, if other rumors are true."

"I can't comment on that; Her proclivities are not in my personal tastes."

"Ha! You made a joke!" He nodded slightly, the smile just cracking his lips, and she went on, "Who released this list though? You just said it was only after death?"

"Leaked, and I would guess to score a political point. If I were to hazard a guess it would have something to do with your past and Ms. al Saleef's noted libertine attitude. Perhaps by someone on the more conservative side?"

"Like..." Alwyra was just about to jump down the rabbit hole of speculation when the phone in her head rang. Checking the caller, she sat suddenly upright and looked over to Gustav in surprise, "I just got a call; It's Ateyf, oh, Ms. Saleef," she stumbled.

Another carefully and minutely raised eyebrow and the spectral form of Ateyf al Saleef, President of McGrader-Dougal, was shaking hands.

[Sunset]

CORE-3 Station, Deep Space, The Periphery...

The Director's sanctum was a mixture of both the modern and the arcane with elements of both Republic technology and her own million year old civilization integrated into a bio-metallic whole. A desk, chairs, and consoles flowed out of organic looking forms that sprawled over the walls and ceiling. The one flat surface was the floor; A nod to her occasional humanoid visitors, even those of a holographic nature.

"Our surveillance as well as additional information has confirmed that the assassination attempt originated inside the Tonhi community on Zeta Irregularis," the Kal-En-Vesho explained, detailing the results of the investigation thus far. While they talked, she hung upside down from the ceiling and seemed - and likely was - completely detached despite the importance of the event they were discussing. "But the assassin was from N'Xypndiltn, which likely means..."

"That it could involve the entire Tonhi segment," Erika finished. "Roanian?"

While most of the Tonhi that resided in Sunset were the result of an overt extraction campaign during a recent conflict between their government and that of the belligerent Eternal Radiant Empire, they were ultimately of Roanian extraction. Some of the refugees hadn't been as interested in adjusting to life in the Republic as in profiting from it and some of the more recent arrivals seemed more Roanian than Tonhi.

"We haven't found any direct links in that direction, no," the Director supplied. "The Roanian expatriate community seems to confine itself to mostly links to the various Triad organized crime syndicates;" Much of what the Triads offered related to vice; Prostitution, gambling, and recreational drugs. All of which were legal in the Republic and thus the Triads generally operated legitimate businesses as a front for seedier activities and affinities. "Right now our speculation runs in two directions."

"We think the most likely connection is to someone inside Senator Thong's organization, perhaps the Senator herself, though we haven't gotten even a touch of evidence in that direction. If she has anything to do with it she's being very hands-off. It doesn't seem rational either; Even an unsuccessful attack is likely to backfire if we choose to publicize it. The second would be towards the more spectacular; An attempt to draw Sunset into a war with Roania to avenge the fiat conquest of the Tonhi."

"Why me?" Erika had talked to the young man in her own living room for quite a while before summoning an Anathema Agent to take him into custody just before Demi returned home. Thus she had a good idea of his reasons why but the reasons of an impressionable youth were often not the reasons of those that impressed them. "I can understand - at least rationally - a military reason. Take out the enemy commander. But this seems more political and if it was Senator something, she's got as much power as I do."

"It's certainly not military," Director agreed. The Roanians and everyone else in that sector has been very quiet since the wedding. I believe, if it had been military in nature, that it would have been successful. You've chosen to make yourself vulnerable in exchange for personal freedom."

"Treat your leaders like kings and they will act like one;" The quote was one of Erika's personal favorites. "What's your advice? Publicize the attempt? Mass deportations?"

"It depends on the varying levels of freedom you're willing to impinge," Director offered matter-of-factly. "We can simply let it drop. They know nothing about your personal security and any attempts on the same level will likely fail. Some expansion of your security and they will always fail. The next step up would be a public admission and investigation. If it turns out the Senator was connected, she could be removed from office and either deported or imprisoned. But the risks to yourself would go up; The potential for a revenge attack would increase."

"And I've got a fiance and a wedding coming up. Dispassionately I know she understands the risks, but I don't want to risk her."

"An Anathema investigation wouldn't be messy, but more troubling options would open up," Director noted, shifting about on the ceiling. "There are plenty of places left in the cold storage lockers. Putting them away for ten thousand years would solve the problem nicely."

[Sunset]

Classified Special Projects Facility, Denali, Yukon System...

"It's time..."

"For what?" Doctor Kraus looked around the lab with a concerned expression, searching for the overlooked experiment, "Which one?"

He did have a lot on his plate, after all. Between reconstruction work being done on samples sent to his laboratory by distant Defense Force explorers, consultations on the on-going CME project, and his own side projects, there was always something percolating.

Percolating...

"Oh... Oh!" Realization dawned and he went to wrap an arm around Meri's shoulder and the blue-skinned Kaissi looked up at him with a smile," Let's get right to it then!"

Experiments could wait, or at least be handed off to his long-suffering and under-worked laboratory assistants; The great long-term experiment was about to begin, duration a lifetime. A few minutes later they were walking into the facility's small medical center where the staff physician was already waiting.

Birth, for Meri, was not the tortuous process of the past; Medication was dispensed, machines were used, and in a process that could rightly be called clinical the new mother and her baby were separated and then rejoined as one was presented to the other. While the infant nestled between her mother's breasts and unconciously sought the nutrition presented, Fredrick put his hand on top of hers and looked down at her for a moment and then away, a slight moisture in his eye.

"Tears? I've never seen you cry," Meri said, her voice sounding distant and faded thanks to the drugs that kept her pain-free. "Why? It all went so well..."

Indeed, the process was nearly complete. While they talked, the Doctor was moving an equipment bar into position over her abdomen and adjusting the settings to account for her Kaissi physiology. It would speed the healing process considerably and, after a few hours, she'd be able to walk out and feel as though it had never even happened. It was a far cry from Meri's own birth; A shrieking process that would have been familiar to any woman of the 19th Century.

"I was," he wiped a finger across his lashes, "Hoping for some tentacles. Or perhaps a third eye. But she's..."

"She's perfect..."

"...yes," he agreed, though he carefully lifted the edge of the wrap to check once again for any interesting abnormalities. This earned a distant laugh from his wife and he finished in agreement, "Perfect."

"Healthy," the Doctor confirmed, running a medical scanner over the child. "And no tentacles. Sorry, Kraus. Interesting color though. Whether it will last, well, this is the first Kaissi baby I've ever seen."

[Sunset]

Graduation Ceremony, Defense Force Training Academy, Sakaldale...

"...look to your left, look to your right;" the Commander continued, with some of the now former Cadets following his instructions. "These are the values we want you to take with you into the galaxy; Values of diversity, of knowledge, of courage. Sometimes you will face challenges and at other times acceptance..."

Nica returned to her parade stance as the speech continued, but her mind was mostly elsewhere. Shortly - if he'd ever get done with the boring part - the Commander would begin to list off their first duty assignments. These were the rewards for all the hard work and training. Where one went and what rank they were given was the first strong indicator of where their career in the Defense Force would go. For some, they would simply be content to serve in whatever capacity they were ordered to but Nica wanted more. She was a warrior; Glory and honor were the prize and everything depended on that first posting though in the back of her head she had hesitation.

Too much time between the sheets rather than studying or training.

But she knew that and, as the speech ended, she was silently hopeful that it wouldn't be as bad as it could be. When she'd been inducted there had been a girl there who had made Lieutenant - Lieutenant! - right out of the gate. Ensign would floor her, to be truthful, but Seaman would be a stain on her honor that she...

"Nica U'Xypndi;" There it was, she crossed her fingers, "Seaman..."

'Uh oh,' she deflated instantly, though she still shook the offered hand gratefully.

"Third Class..."

'A little better!'

"SDF-Ganymede..."

'What the hell is that?' Then realization struck her, 'Trojan-Class?! An Outpost?! I'm being sent to a station?!' Which means she was, as a Marine, 'A security guard. Fuck.'

On the positive side, the little stations were generally posted at the edge of Sunset space. The potential for action was high and she would have all the comforts of home while she waited for it. But she would also be waiting and if that action never came she would be hard-pressed to advance in rank. It was still better than Seaman though.

"Aliliv'Agrayt..."

The boyfriend-slash-bed buddy-slash-competition! Nica perked up, eager to see where the young Coatlicue would end up. With his combination of skill and natural ability, she had to be honest and admit that he was probably going to end up...

"Ensign, Defense Force Base Schumann..."

He stepped forward and she couldn't see whether he knew where he was going, but she had to look that one up. A quick check and it seemed like he'd be going for specialty training of some kind. Schumann was located on Chains of Jade and, by the brief, it was a terraformed world with a lot of different species on it. New species too; Some she'd never heard of and likely just seen for the first time.

It wasn't, after all, just a Graduation Ceremony. It was also an Induction and standing opposite, still dressed in their civilian garb, were several long lines of new Cadets. While - aside from obvious examples like herself - most of the first graduating class were either Human or Coatlicue and reflected Sakaldale's majority population, the next class would be far more diverse. Just from where she stood, she could count nearly twenty different faces and there were probably more she couldn't see or just couldn't distinguish.

"Lord Jatori," the Commander stopped at a very tall figure quite a ways down the line, "Lieutenant, Defense Forces Academy Sha'ukhufa..."

[Sunset]

SDF-Typhus, Queen of the Valley, The Periphery...

"I got a message this morning from Lord Jatori," Kami began. Together, she and Sloan were roaming the halls of SDF-Typhus, a Lagrange-Class in orbit of the far-away Queen of the Valley. "The first class graduated yesterday."

"Sure," Sloan had gotten a few messages from former students herself. Some had been just announcements or catching-up while others had been both bold and veiled appeals for help or a good word. "How did he do?"

"Lieutenant, posted back to the Academy there."

There was a trace of both pride and something else in her tone and Sloan looked at her face for some clue before replying, "He was a really good student..."

"He is," she agreed, "But I think there was a bit of politics too. They'll want to establish a strong link between the nobility and the government and graduating him as a Lieutenant will give them an excuse for a quick series of promotions. I wouldn't be surprised if he's an Admiral and running the Academy there in a couple years."

And there it was, though from an objective perspective it made sense. Lord Jatori, as part of the nobility, was one of the keepers of Coatlique lore and learning. His influence would ensure a steady stream of new recruits and would help keep the Academies on Sakaldale operating at the high standards the Republic expected. It did, however, make Kami a little jealous.

The best way to address it was directly and Sloan dived right in, "If you're bucking for a promotion it's a good time for it," she suggested. "With the classes graduating, they'll need places for them and officers to lead them. A pair of Lieutenant Commander's helming a crew of five isn't very effective. Better to move us to a larger ship and put a Louie in there."

"Sure," Kami nodded, "And I can't say I'll miss it. At least not too much; A good ship, a good crew, but ferrying people around?"

There had been some excitement but it wasn't exactly the kind she'd been hoping for. Covering up the excesses and frailties of a very public person wasn't the kind of high-profile action that would get her a promotion to Captain. It had, however, earned her a favor in certain other quarters where such things were often just as valuable.

"We're going to have a busy month," she sighed, "With the New Year, the elections, and all the new personnel as well as promotions, we've already got twenty-three trips scheduled to move people here and there. It would have been a good time to put our fingers in;" she gripped Sloan's hand; Wherever she went, at this point, she was determined to drag the Freodian along with her, "And see about a promotion but we'll have to roll with it. Get things going after..."

There was a shudder under her feet and she paused but Breoho was already in action, digging in her pocket and turning around to pull Kami along behind her at a dead run.

"Explosion in the ventral crew quarters, they've ordered all crews back to their ships;" Beside the Sailfish there were a half-dozen other ships of various stripes docked with the station, "And we've got incoming! Multiple ships! Come on!"

[Sunset]

SDF-Sailfish, Queen of the Valley, The Periphery...

"Battle stations!" Kami vaulted over the rail, skipping the command chair altogether and heading straight for the hatch that led to the escape pods and the destination for her unnecessary order. "Get us away from Typhus and close to the Khamsin!"

Her butt hit the crash couch and she scrambled to jack in, running the cable from the console to her datajack and slipping it into the port just as her other hand finished pulling the harness across her chest and clipping it into place. A second later she was in the battlespace; The confines of her ship were replaced by the empty depths of space except that, for her, the Captains of the other ships were just at her elbow while vastly upscale representations of the ships and local geography began to move. Much of the minutiae of the fighting would be handled by the computer while broad movements, targets, and responses would be handled as something of a gestalt.

She already knew one thing she was going to do, regardless of orders otherwise. The Sailfish wasn't a proper warship and even a couple hits from a larger ship would take her out. In any other situation and with any other officer at the helm she'd run but Kami wasn't ready to run.

"Keep us close," she ordered, though Ensign Ybari was already keeping the smaller ship under the protective shadow of the Khamsin's bulk. "We're going to play point defense."

A glance had already told her that the attacking force was mostly composed of ships that were much larger than herself; Even if her own guns were vastly advanced compared to theirs, they wouldn't have much impact. Meanwhile she could free up some of the Khamsin's batteries for damage-dealing by taking care of incoming missiles.

If the enemy used missiles.

Orders set for the moment - she'd follow the big cruiser around the battlefield and let their more experienced officers work out the geometry - she looked back to the incoming vessels. They weren't as much incoming as already on top of the locals. It was a battle royale with the cruiser, a heavy explorer, and a pair of frigates that she didn't immediately recognize trying to keep the more numerous attackers away from the station and the planet. There had been another two ships there as well, but one was a transport and was making a beeline for the far side of the planet and the other was an explorer that was nowhere to be seen.

'Where is the House Meniver fleet?'

That answer was all around them. Debris was floating here and there and it was clear that the attacking fleet had prepared for the ambush; Only the unexpected Republic starships were left to defend and they had taken losses already.

'...Thabit has been destroyed.'

'That answers that,' Kami gulped. The tiny Spectra-Class wasn't much larger, or hadn't been, than the Sailfish. 'Easy target...'

'Patrol Group Seventeen is on their way, four minutes and twenty three;' A counter appeared in the corner of the battlespace showing the slow countdown to the arrival of their closest reinforcements but it was agonizingly slow, especially in the stretched out time of the battlespace. 'Fleet has been informed, they are dispatching reinforcements.'

There were plenty of reinforcements but Queen of the Valley was out-of-the-out-of-the-way. Against a superior force, the best the small collection of ships could hope for was to hold out for those four agonizing minutes without losing too many friends in the process.

"We need to win free," the Captain of the Khamsin stated, his voice calm despite the chaos that was raging just outside the hull of his cruiser. A hand reached out and drew an arrow through the melee towards the planet's moon and the station's namesake, Typhus. "Get them away from the planet where we can keep them busy chasing us. Dispatch your fighters along this route, clear us a path," he looked to the commanding officers of the other ships.

There was a momentary distraction; One of the nearest enemy warships went up as the two frigates concentrated fire on it. In the slow-time of the battlespace it almost looked like long blue beams linked the trio for a second as they burned through the ship's hull and whatever ordinance it carried or power plant it used ruptured in a brilliant light show. There were other ships around it and Kami studied them for a second as the Captain's orders continued.

She'd never seen anything like them; The closest were the living metal ships of the C'tan though these were still different. Tapering arrowheads stacked inside each other with a broad matching scoop out of the top and bottom of each. There were no roaring drive cones; They moved on the same mountains of gravity that the Defense Force warships used. Weapon emplacements studded the edge of each blade and between these and the shallow depression of the inner surface there were designs that might have been circuitry of some kind. Each time they fired, blue current rippled along these away from the weapon in question. Heat sinks perhaps?

One Captain nodded and his mouth began to move as he silently gave orders to his subordinates, "We'll clear it out," he confirmed after a moment.

Broad tactics set, time as it was perceived by those in the battlespace began to speed up. Fighters, some of which had already been on patrol and some which were rapidly launched from their bays, began to swarm out along the selected path while the warships struggled to either disengage from or finish off their closer opponents. Pulses of blue-white light lit the distance between the starships of the Defense Force; Energy converted into light as it collided with the tenuous interstellar media. The true damage came as the dense packets of high-energy packets slammed into unknown metals at nearly the speed of light.

This was no mystery force with nigh-unbreakable hulls. Where they hit, the advanced weaponry of the Defense Forces starships had an impact. Clean holes punched through some and in others ragged tears occurred or deformed sections of armor where they encountered heavier resistance. It was rapidly obvious that their opponents were not uniformly protected. The outer edge of each blade and the presumed drive section near the rear were densely packed with both weapons and armor while everything between seemed to be a veneer.

The exchange was not one-way. Since they had arrived, a steady bombardment had rippled out from the attackers. Concentrating their firepower in a more limited number of batteries, they tended to inflict more grievous damage where they hit and already the defenders were suffering. Hitting the nimble little Sailfish was proving difficult but her larger protector was a different matter. Already her hull was torn in a dozen places and several batteries had gone silent. The other ships suffered similarly but the worst was reserved for the transport that had attempted to run.

Battered from a half-dozen directions, she had lost a large wedge out of her forward cargo section and the saucer was now trailing the supplies she carried behind her as she desperately maneuvered. Her escape attempt was futile; Pods arced away and she rolled one last time to put her bulk between the majority of her attackers and her fleeing crew before going dark to drift along her last vector. More fire raked her as they finished the transport off. Whether it was malice or caution, a few moments later fire ripped her apart and what remained began to spread out as it plowed away from the planet.

'Nothing we can do,' the Captain of the Khasim stated; Kami hadn't had a chance to grab his name, 'But take advantage of it.'

The fighter had been an easy risk to take and there the dice had come up sixes. Unmanned drones, they could learn a lot without risking valuable lives and now they turned what they had learned into reward. Flying in close, they took advantage of thin coverage and thinner armor to punch holes in the thin mid-sections and launch volleys of missiles into the interior spaces. Armor bulged in scattered chains and a pair of batteries went dark and then exploded away to consume a fleeing fighter while others took advantage to kill the adjacent weapon emplacements.

One pilot, emboldened by the seeming hollow nature of their opponents, blasted a hole open and ducked inside. A live stream appeared at one edge of the field and Kami watched the interior roll past while the pilot shot up anything that moved. Twisted and alien, the inside looked like a cross between a wind-blasted desert and an open pit mine. Strange machines roamed here and there except where they exploded violently as the drone laid waste. Closer to the walls smaller figures moved but these disappeared into nooks and crannies or washed away into dust as the fighter's light weapons engaged them.

'Spread your fighters out,' the order came. 'If one fighter can tied down a whole ship we might have a chance.'

That chance was closing. Fighting was fierce along their chosen escape route and there were complications. The Shroud had lost a drive nacelle and if she lost the other she'd be dead in space. The remaining frigate had moved to guard her flank but this had brought her an unequal share of grief and she was nearly as battered. Adding to that, the enemy was not standing still.

'They're going after the Typhus.'

It wasn't a long nor valiant struggle. For the first time the enemy ships brought their launchers into action and a broad volley of over-sized missiles shot away. It was clear why they had waited to use the weapons; They were slow yet powerful and while the station disposed of a few it only took one. Just before impact it exploded and a long lance of fire tore the thick mushroom-stalk of the station away. Aboard the station they would be punching out; explosive charges launching the escape pods away while the stalk pinwheeled towards the planet. Fire trailed it and a final volley finished the main section before her killers began to form up to run down the remaining defenders.

[Sunset]

SDF-Sailfish, Queen of the Valley, The Periphery...

"No... No!" Kami screamed. "Turn us around!"

She could see it unfolding already and it was not the story the enemy wanted to present. Instead of a final rally to crush the remaining defenders, the victorious attackers were forming up to begin their bombardment of the planet below. Perhaps they somehow knew that help - fresh reinforcements - were only scant seconds away but they would exterminate the twin colonies on the surface while the rest of their fleet kept the defenders tied up.

And she would stop them.

"Full speed!" Her hand swept a straight line right through the enemy and then right across their bow. "We'll sweep across, line her up for maximum coverage of their launchers!"

The tiny Sailfish was past the first enemy ship before it even realized she'd turned and as it heeled around to give chase a brace of torpedoes took it amidship. Brief fire tore it apart and she looked back over her figurative shoulder to see the wounded Shroud following. Her action had thrown both the friendly and enemy fleets into chaos. Some broke to follow while the Captain of the Khasim took the opportunity to savage another pair.

"Faster!"

She could urge her ship on until she was hoarse but already they were at maximum acceleration and pulling rapidly ahead of all pursuit. Ahead now, the small enemy force began to do as she suspected. Turning, they moved again into a broad formation just as the Sailfish rounded their flank. Brilliant energy shot past but she ignored it as she concentrated on the enemy and there they were; Dozens of missiles burst from their tubes and headed for the cities below.

For the guns of the Sailfish it was the perfect shot and she tore through them. Missile after missile fell as she mowed up the line like a scythe through standing wheat. Her own salvation was the twisting hulk that had been Typhus and she swept behind it as a barrage of fire chased her tail.

"They'll reload," she realized, "And we might not get lucky again. We've got to slow them down!"

At least they would not be receiving help; Her allies were tied up but so was the remainder of the enemy fleet. They would not do so for long though. A moment later the Shroud succumbed to her wounds and, missing more of her hull than remained, she began to drift.

"There, that one," a finger picked out a target somewhat larger than the others. It was only a guess but a guess would have to do. "Straight for her, target the launchers and cross your fingers!"

More missiles, staggered now, but her guns pecked away at them as she arrowed towards her target. They could not destroy her, not with the light weaponry Sailfish carried, but perhaps a lucky shot as she fired. But it was not to be; Their target held her fire as they zoomed within a hair of the hull and then there was nothing.

----

Was she dead?

No...

The darkness was only a side-effect. Something had abruptly cut her off from the battlespace and she yanked the connector loose and sight was restored. She was strapped into her place in the escape pod and beside her Sloan was also pulling herself back into the real world.

But something was off and she realized what it was just as a voice from one of the consoles intruded on the silence.

'Sorry...'

There was no gravity in the pod and no atmosphere outside to transmit the shockwave as the Sailfish plowed headlong into the enemy ship and tore it assunder. There was nothing they could do as reinforcements arrived moments later and dozens of warships scattered the attacking fleet like leaves. Nothing they could do but watch and wait and mourn.

[Sunset]

SNN Nightly News with Tanya Zaldano

"...and live from Queen of the Valley we have our old friend, Trent Lockwood, with the details. Trent?"

Tanya hated to get scooped but this was right place, right time, and Trent was sitting on the biggest story of the day. Which didn't mean she'd let the freelancer steal all her thunder; While he was doing his bit she would be right there beside him, pulling up tidbits from the social media feeds and mashing together whatever facts she and her producers could find. And if they tripped him up? Well...

"Thanks Tanya;" his smile was as perfect as ever and even the worn-looking outfit he wore made him look more like a rugged, adventurous journalist rather than a down-on-his-luck ex-anchorman. "Less than an hour ago, the joint colony on Queen of the Valley was attacked by an unknown force and nearly destroyed. Nearly; If it wasn't for the actions of some very brave members of our Defense Force."

Behind him an action shot appeared, possibly taken from a civilian satellite, of a small ship speeding broadside in front of a number of larger ships while frantically shooting down missiles that seemed to be almost the size of the ship itself.

"This was clearly a long-planned attack;" More video, this time of ships appearing out of nowhere to fire on others of a more unfamiliar but conventional design. "An attack targeted on the fleet and colony of House Meniver, which governs the second of the two colonies being built on the planet. Very reasonably the attack would have been completely successful if not for the presence of our own forces and clearly the attackers had some foreknowledge of the positioning of their targets. All of the initial attacks were made at close range and were, by the information we've reviewed, carefully balanced to ensure success in every action."

"That asks a lot of questions, doesn't it Trent?"

"That's right, Tanya. How did the attackers know the exact positioning and disposition of their targets but yet not those of the Republic forces? Sources inside the Defense Force have told me that they have no record of any sensor activity or the appearance of any unfamiliar shipping before the attack. What's more, there are rumors inside the Defense Force that House Meniver was expecting just such an attack and had made preparations for it. But despite this it seems that success was complete. Every ship belonging to House Meniver was destroyed including their flagship, which was lost with all hands."

"What about Princess Shasta Meniver?" Tanya produced a hologram of the Princess, apparently taken while she was in talks with some Republic officials. Notable was Ambassador Love, who was talking quietly with the Princess while others moved around them. "What happened to her?"

"We can't confirm it, but she was supposedly aboard the flagship and at this time she is presumed to be among the casualties. While the recovery operation is still going on;" More video, this time of live footage of Defense Force recovery cruisers and civilian tugs at work around a scattering of destroyed ships, "We've already got a preliminary estimate of casualties. Taking the brunt of the attack, House Meniver may have lost nearly nine thousand military personnel and the Defense Force around five hundred. The light explorer Thabit was destroyed in the initial attack with all hands, Station Typhus was destroyed during the fighting, the frigate Shroud was damaged beyond repair and will be scraped, and the courier Sailfish;" Again the video of the small ship racing ahead of the larger attackers was shown, this time from a different angle, "Rammed one of the attacking ships before it was able to fire on the colony below, undoubtedly saving many hundreds of thousands of lives."

"All of the ships present were damaged," Trent went on, "With the heavy explorer Yukon expected to be in drydock for a month, the frigate Duqlo similarly laid up, and the fast cruiser Khamsin expected to spend a week or more under repairs. While exact details have not been provided, sources indicate that several Battle Groups - a group of five warships, centered around a heavy warship such as a Dawn or Extinction-Class - have been dispatched to reinforce the colonies here."

"What about House Meniver?" Tanya asked. "If the Princess is dead, who is taking over their local government?"

"Prince Dayn is the ranking survivor but he's young - barely sixteen - and at this point he is waiting for instructions from the upper echelons of his House. Which brings us to the next question; What is happening to the rest of the Dulyani Empire? While all I have at this point are bits and pieces, I can already tell you that this was not an isolated attack. The Great Houses are notorious for holding their secrets close to their vest, but already it seems as if all have suffered significant losses in a variety of attacks. This attack on the House Meniver colony on Queen of the Valley may have been only the opening thrust in a wider conflict..."

[Sunset]

The Grand Refactoring... And You.

---

What does it mean for me and Sunset as written and roleplayed?

Not much. A few things have changed stat-wise but the observant might note that I don't (always) stick to the information as presented on the NationStates main page. Some I do, some I don't, and some I re-balance myself. What it will mean is that I will try to start answering issues, where applicable, to adjust the main page towards my roleplayed Nation. Some things are never going to change, of course, because they are just not covered in the kind of depth that one can in a nearly-30 page long thread with 722+ posts. The environment will probably always be terrible and the people will always be fat; After twelve years of answering the same issues and taking the same massive hits to health and the environment it's looking pretty bleak in the morbidly obese underbelly of this futuristic paradise.

~Sunset

---

[Sunset]

SDF-Ixutsangi, Off the Shun'Jan Crescent...

"That's it?" Daenia looked out through the window to the dark crescent below. "You're... We're all done here?"

The Duab'Akii's efforts to insert herself as one of the team had borne fruit but it had been easy to pick and not very far from the ground; Timmons had already picked up one stray. Adding another hadn't bothered him overly much.

"Yeah, well, yes and no," Timmons answered. "We're done as in this ship and this crew. We've got the big picture and a lot of good detailed but we, this team, we're explorers. There might be researchers later."

"Every type of 'ist you can imagine," Trinya added, "But yeah. Time to move on."

"What's your criteria for that?" The Seeker wondered. "Or is it just one of your hunches?"

"There is a bit of a mental checklist," the big explorer admitted, leaning forward across the bar and putting up a finger. "Lager, thank you. A bit part of it is how much is already on our plate," he turned to the young Duab'Akii woman while he waited. "Sure, this ship goes where we think it should go, but that doesn't mean we operate in the dark. Rumors, hints, or even just some random bit we find in the paper. It all gets tossed around in our heads until something sticks."

"And when something new sticks, you leave?"

"There's a few more things than that. Sometimes we'll head home to call in a specialist. Something really interesting might be going on that we just don't have the expertise to understand or decipher. Another is need. Sometimes my boss has something she needs our eyes for and then it's time to pack it up and head for whatever the Sec-Gen thinks is more important. Which what we're doing this time."

His drink arrived and he thanked the bartender with a tip of his glass.

"A couple hours ago an unknown fleet attacked one of our colony worlds;" Daenia nodded; She'd seen it on the news, "And supposedly it's connected to a mysterious and missing artifact. We're not looking for that - other people with other skills - but she wants us to see if we can track down the source of the artifact."

"That's a hell of a longshot."

He looked at her cross-wise for a moment and returned to his beer, "Where did you pick that one up? Television?" She nodded and he continued, "A few hundred dead sailors is worth any longshot. Before I was an explorer, I was a Marine. Those were and are my brothers and sisters. I owe it to them to find out why they died and see if I can keep it from happening again. Which... Doesn't mean I have to like it."

The last of the liquid disappeared and he set the glass down with a thunk.

"This is going to be different. No primitive species throwing spears or crawling around in the mud. The Dulyani are an advanced civilization with technology equal to our own. But we're looking for something in their past, something in their attic. And, according to the report I was given, they might not like it. They're divided up into a dozen or so Great Houses with each acting as the focal point for the part of the population under their control. Business, trade, government, laws, military... It all goes through the Great House and they don't particularly like each other."

"Enough that one of the other Houses attacked the House Meniver fleet when it was trying to build a colony on Queen of the Valley," Trinya noted. "Which is the same colony that was attacked. We - or at least the Secretary-General - is convinced the two events are connected. House Meniver had some kind of artifact that was maybe-sorta from whoever attacked them but it's gone missing. The design of the ships and the archive images match up though. They claim it was the only object of its kind..."

"But we're not so sure," Daenia finished as the dark world outside the window behind them began to shrink in the distance.