The Eldar Rise; First Contact (ID)

[Equalsun Empire]

The planet of Hope drifted in the void, dead and cold. For countless years it had spun in the emptiness of space, following the same path over and over again. It's once-great shipyards sat dormant, and the great cities of light had long since been swallowed by shadow. It could be that this planet was dead for good, that it would stay dormant forever, never reawakening to the world outside. However, deep inside, a screen flickered to life, shedding a sliver of light into the darkness. All throughout the planet, power cores were coming back online, their dormant fuel unaware. Lights flickered to life, and the planet glowed with energy. This was not a random malfunction, however.

Someone was coming.

[Lolder]

Galac probe control outpost # 14, near Eldar space.

Two figures, tall and thin, sat monitoring several holographic screens in the dome-like room they were in. Each one showed a different probe's perspective, statistics, and operational status. This outpost was made to monitor the deep-space probe network and report interesting finds. At the moment, one screen glowed and flashed. Both Galaclanians, each clad in a suit of armour, rushed to see. The probe showed that a massive energy spike was happening near it. The duo hastily sent this information back to Gire and tried to figure out what had caused the surge. "Oh my, it was on Hope." said the taller of the two. The other, shorter but slightly stockier, said "I see. Its been dormant for a while. Ever since the Eldar up right and vanished, but now one of our probes wanders to close and suddenly..." He left that thought hang.

They each shared a look, their faces etched with curiosity and excitement behind their masks. Before long, the Council decreed a science team with heavy escort go to the newly-awakened world, and see if there was.... well, anything. Any life, any technology, just anything to make this discovery worthwhile.

[Equalsun Empire]

Galac probe control outpost # 14, near Eldar space.

Two figures, tall and thin, sat monitoring several holographic screens in the dome-like room they were in. Each one showed a different probe's perspective, statistics, and operational status. This outpost was made to monitor the deep-space probe network and report interesting finds. At the moment, one screen glowed and flashed. Both Galaclanians, each clad in a suit of armour, rushed to see. The probe showed that a massive energy spike was happening near it. The duo hastily sent this information back to Gire and tried to figure out what had caused the surge. "Oh my, it was on Hope." said the taller of the two. The other, shorter but slightly stockier, said "I see. Its been dormant for a while. Ever since the Eldar up right and vanished, but now one of our probes wanders to close and suddenly..." He left that thought hang.

They each shared a look, their faces etched with curiosity and excitement behind their masks. Before long, the Council decreed a science team with heavy escort go to the newly-awakened world, and see if there was.... well, anything. Any life, any technology, just anything to make this discovery worthwhile.

Hope

The planet continued powering back to Awakening, even the great Infinity Nexus beginning to spin up. This would set a power surge through the planet, maybe even reawakening... No, that would not happen. However, deep in the corridors of the planet, a glass case suddenly lit, showing a 3-meter-high suit of armor. Gleaming, the vacant mobile fortress sat in the abyss... Waiting for it's occupant to return. The sensor panels were now all lit up, showing incoming ships...

[Nezon]

Were space to have air, a sound like nails on a chalkboard would have been heard, as two Nexus Carriers ended their jump. Nemesor Toz rebooted, as with the rest of the bridge crew, and other Nezon aboard. The Combat units however were left in shutdown mode.

The exploration fleet wasn't really a fleet in this case. Nexus having decided risking three Nexus Carriers in a potentially dangerous journey. They were sent to see what they could find in the Eldar space, perhaps artefacts worth studying. From information from the Procreators (The Nezon's creators) records, they were seeking relations with the Eldar, or maybe they were having friendly relations. The deciphering was hard work with half the records being destroyed.

"Why did we stop?" asked communications officer Rol.

"The ship picked up energy signatures coming from the Planet below. Perhaps this trip will prove useful." said Toz

"Sensor officer Tel has detected activity on the planet"

"Stand by, we will wait for whatever is on there to make the first move."

Toz speculated there may be some form of AI down there. Perhaps why only now it has begun powering up. Toz was still trying to process wether that was a good thing or a bad thing. There was obviously something down there. However it may not be as dead or disappeared as everyone had believed.

[Equalsun Empire]

Hope

At the center of the planet, energy levels began to peak, a massive device spinning up. With a sudden flash, massive light poured forth into the entire planet, a massive blast rocking it to it's foundations. Shining forth with a brilliant radiance, the vacant planet sat there, waiting...

Hope Citadel

In the Citadel, a beacon came online, unused since ancient times. Without a message, it simply transmitted a signal from the highest point on Hope. In the middle of the room, a table came up. In the center was a massive blue glyph, floating above the table. Below, there was a niche where it could be pushed back in...

Hope Hangar #1

Inside the massive hangar, lights came online, showing massive battlecruisers kilometers long. A charging cycle started, the Psicrystal reserves in the ships slowly filling back up after so long unused. The ships gleamed as if new, untouched by time.

[Nezon]

"Nemesor, More activity on the planet, it seems to be powering up. A beacon has been activated on the planet."

"Then we need to move, fast. Send a landing party down to the planets surface. Inform commander Ise that he will be leading this expedition. He can hand pick the forces required."

"Yes Nemesor"

Ship Hangar

Sixty five Nezons were picked for the mission, thirty Skirmishers, fifteen Nexus Infantry, ten Heavy Infantry, five bodyguard units and Two Grav tanks, both refitted with a Laser cannons and designed for fast movement and limited transport capability. (Ten troops each)

Their first and foremost goal was to find out what was down there, possibly get a better idea of the planets surface.

They loaded themselves into a Nexus transport vessel, launched and headed towards the planet at speed. The Nezon were shut down for the duration of the flight, and were escorted by five bombers and seven fighters, their mission was to do a survey of the planets surface as well as support the group in the transport.

They had no idea what was going to happen down there, but since they were Nezon, they didn't really care.

[Lolder]

Tal' Jami watched as a screen displayed the flickering brilliance of light playing outside the Asylum, the flagship of this hastily assembled Galac exploration group. With five science vessels and over 20 warships. The fleet were all traveling through a warp tunnel, which used several innovations of different species for swift, intra-galactic travel. In grossly simplified terms, a mass free tunnel that altered space time to make the travel distance shorter, combined with an anti-matter core engine, served to propel Galaclanian ships throughout the cosmos.

In what looked like a thunderstorm in space, the fleet entered real-space, and immediately noticed extra-terrestrial ships nearby. Quickly sending a hail asking for identification and intent, Shipmaster Jami and his crew worked to identify the build and ownership of the other formation.

[Nezon]

Tal' Jami watched as a screen displayed the flickering brilliance of light playing outside the Asylum, the flagship of this hastily assembled Galac exploration group. With five science vessels and over 20 warships. The fleet were all traveling through a warp tunnel, which used several innovations of different species for swift, intra-galactic travel. In grossly simplified terms, a mass free tunnel that altered space time to make the travel distance shorter, combined with an anti-matter core engine, served to propel Galaclanian ships throughout the cosmos.

In what looked like a thunderstorm in space, the fleet entered real-space, and immediately noticed extra-terrestrial ships nearby. Quickly sending a hail asking for identification and intent, Shipmaster Jami and his crew worked to identify the build and ownership of the other formation.

The Nemesor was surprised by the amount of ships in the organics fleet. The amount of ships would be problematic if they were to attack the two Cruisers for any reason. Toz decided he would have to be diplomatic, and maybe he could convince this new fleet to work together with him. He hailed them and waited for them to accept the video conference.

[Equalsun Empire]

Hope Core

The Core flared even brighter, power very nearly peaking. Then, suddenly, it slacked off, and the power levels fell drastically...

Hope Citadel

The beacon began transmitting words in Lesser Eldenian. If any who were near could understand the language, they would receive this message:

Table... Table... Table...

The words kept repeating over and over...

Hope Hangar #1

Inside the hangar, the ships continued charging. Meanwhile, massive turrets on the outside of the planet started powering up as well...

[Nezon]

The Drop ship landed a mile away from the Core, unloading its passengers. The Fighters and Bombers flew overhead, using scanners to analyse the environment.

Ise walked out, his bodyguards flanking him with Energy pikes. No time to waste, he ordered the troops to begin making a makeshift base of operations, unloading the communications equipment and some Automated Laser Cannons and Tesla turrets. Ise saw the Core and judged that it would be a good place to start if they wanted to find out more about this place.

[Lolder]

"Hello, alien fleet. This is the flagship Asylum of the Galac expeditionary fleet. I hope you are aware that the nearby planet, which is named Hope, by the way, belongs to an ancient and highly evolved race known as the Eldar, and it has weapons instillations that are coming online. You don't want to be near them when they activate."

The Shipmaster concluded via the video link. "I'll try to delay their activation process wirelessly, but I doubt I can stop it. Find a way to deactivate those turrets, or we'll both be blown to bits. I'm Shipmaster Jami, by the way."

[Equalsun Empire]

Hope Core

As the machines looked into the Core, they saw a swirling vortex of blue energy, rapidly shrinking. As they watched, it shriveled to nothing, though the power throughout the rest of the planet remained intact... Around them, they saw turrets rising from the ground, only to sink back when delayed by a Lolderian deactivation code.

Hope Citadel

The Beacon switched messages, transferring to Binary so that all could understand:

The Table; Deactivation of turrets; Reawaken Protocol

This, again, kept repeating over and over...

Hope Defenses

Much slowed by the Galactican jammers, the Turrets ground to a halt. They started slowly rising, however, as the automated systems fought the jammers for control. It was apparent they would not be able to fire for some time.

[Nezon]

"Hello, alien fleet. This is the flagship Asylum of the Galac expeditionary fleet. I hope you are aware that the nearby planet, which is named Hope, by the way, belongs to an ancient and highly evolved race known as the Eldar, and it has weapons instillations that are coming online. You don't want to be near them when they activate."

The Shipmaster concluded via the video link. "I'll try to delay their activation process wirelessly, but I doubt I can stop it. Find a way to deactivate those turrets, or we'll both be blown to bits. I'm Shipmaster Jami, by the way."

On the video screen Toz appeared as a skeletal metallic figure, with orange lights where his eyes should be. He spoke in a metallic emotionless monotone, and his skeletal mouth never moved.
"I am Nemesor Toz of the Nezon Empire. We have already sent a landing party down, do you have any ideas for how we can deactivate the turrets? We may be able to upload a virus into the turrets targeting AI, however that will take considerable time and we will need to get to a terminal connected to the turrets. We may require some of your troops to reinforce our landing party. If you could provide some we could ensure an optimal probability of success in this mission."

Planet Surface
As he saw the turrets sink back, Commander Ise told his troops to move fast, boarding the scouts into the transport grav tanks and sended them towards the Core. The rest of the troops marched quickly towards the Core as well.

[Lolder]

Tal' Jami started:
"Greetings, Nemesor. We should be able to delay the auto turrets long enough for a solution to be reached. We're sending thousands of phantom signals to confuse the targeting system into thinking there is many more targets than there actually are. If only the Eldar themselves were here..."

He paused, consulting a flashing screen. "Apparently there is an alert being sent from the planet. It is reading something about a 'reawaken protocol.' I wouldn't put it past the Eldar to have some of their species in stasis in Hope. Also, seeing as these are precarious circumstances, I cannot commit any soldiers. I'm sorry."





(OOC: Galaclanian delay codes, Equalsun, not Lolderian.)

[Equalsun Empire]

Hope Core

As the machines approached, the Core opened, revealing the expanse of time and space. Looking through, they could see a message in Lesser Eldenian:

The clock is ticking until rebirth
the hour nears at last
when the Eldar return to rid
the universe of it's past

Up atop the lonely tower
a single table sits
upon which the key to revival
slowly lowers to fit

A barrier of hardlight then formed around the Core, preventing the machinations from coming any nearer. Around them, turrets rose, only to be stopped by Galactican codes once more.

Hope Citadel

The Glyph sank around an inch before stabilizing. If the sentients wanted the Eldar to return, they would let them.

Hope Defense Command

The ancient consciousness began to grow tired of toying with the aliens. If they did not push in the glyph soon, they would be in peril. The turrets started powering up, combating the Galactican codes with new force.

[Nezon]

Hope Core

As the machines approached, the Core opened, revealing the expanse of time and space. Looking through, they could see a message in Lesser Eldenian:

The clock is ticking until rebirth
the hour nears at last
when the Eldar return to rid
the universe of it's past

Up atop the lonely tower
a single table sits
upon which the key to revival
slowly lowers to fit

A barrier of hardlight then formed around the Core, preventing the machinations from coming any nearer. Around them, turrets rose, only to be stopped by Galactican codes once more.

Hope Citadel

The Glyph sank around an inch before stabilizing. If the sentients wanted the Eldar to return, they would let them.

Hope Defense Command

The ancient consciousness began to grow tired of toying with the aliens. If they did not push in the glyph soon, they would be in peril. The turrets started powering up, combating the Galactican codes with new force.

Ise looked at the message, cocking his robotic to the side. He knew the language because of early Nezon forays into previously Eldenian controlled worlds. Though he was less than fluent, he got the jist of it.

"Send the scouts up, they can mobilize quick enough with the grav tanks to get there. "

"Commander, to where are you referring?" Squad leader Tro asked.

"I thought I told you, get to the beacon."

"Negative commander, you did not say anything about the beacon."

Strangely confused, Ise looked at Tro "That is irrelavant, you have my orders, execute them"

"Affirmative commander, we will head to the beacon immediately"

While they sped up towards the beacon, Ise stopped for a second, quickly preforming a systems diagnostic check. He found nothing which could have caused the Error in his memory. However he then realised what it was. It was the first sign of degradation. He knew he was old, but was he so much so?

He had best keep this to himself, after all, it was illogical to allow something such as that to effect the mission.

Beacon
The 5 Scouts took the grav tank up towards the beacon, pouring out to quickly enter. They came to the table and the Squad leader moved to it.
Squad leader Tsor contacted both the Ise.
"We have found a glyph in the beacon room. Should we activate it?" Not sure if this could be some sort of trap, and if they should contact the Nemesor before doing something that may jeopardise the mission.

Ise replied, having the same thoughts "I'll contact the Nemesor, once he gives the go ahead, be ready to push it"

Nemesor

Nemesor Toz replied to Jami, still using video link.

"Our troops have discovered that they cannot enter the Core, however we have found a Glyph in the beacon room. It would seem that time is running short. It would also appear that we have three options, Destroy the Turrets, Flee, or activate the Glyph. We have calculated that activating the Gylph has the best possibility of success out of all these options, as we do not wish to be terminated or come back to our superiors with nothing. However your opinion would also be welcome, as we are in this situation together."

[Lolder]

Tal' Jami replied:
"I assume you should press it, but be ready to evacuate. I am reasonably assured that it will deactivate the planet side defense turrets, but with Eldar technology, you just can't be sure. Additionally, you've probably noticed those turrets are coming to bear."

He then continued with the bad news:

"It seems as if some sort of AI is combating our codes and countermeasures. I wish we had something that advanced.. But back to practicality, press the glyph now and be prepared to flee."

[Equalsun Empire]

Hope Citadel

As the glyph was lowered into the table, a small click was heard as it fit into place perfectly. Harsh, blue lightning emanated from the device. Surprisingly, however, it did not go for the machines. It instead flowed into all of the turrets, neutralizing their energy signatures with certainty. Completely shut down, they sank back to their original positions.

However, originating deep inside the planet, massive waves of energy were moving towards the surface... The suits of armor in the corners of the room suddenly glowed with light, the hardlight in front of their forms vanishing. Their heads turned towards the machinations, eyes now luminescent with blue energy. The room vibrated as a deep, echoing telepathic voice was heard, resonating throughout the planet and into the void beyond, possibly even reaching the nearest galaxy.

"GREETINGS, MORTALS. THE ELDAR HAVE RETURNED."

[Lolder]

Watching the developments from the bridge of the Asylum, Tal' Jami mumbled aloud what appeared on his Heads-Up-Display. "Turrets offline, glyph activated, good good. Now what is-"

"GREETINGS, MORTALS. THE ELDAR HAVE RETURNED."

Everyone paused and looked for the source of the echoing message. "Did that come from-" started one technician, "Impossible" another interrupted. It was true, though, as the Shipmaster confirmed by turning to the crew on his bridge. "Let's give ourselves a round of applause ( ) for awakening the Eldar." He said to the stunned crew.

The crew nodded, still in shock about the whole event. "Now let's go find them. I want two dropships, only our best commandos. Gemini squadrons. There is another alien military force down there to, remember." The Shipmaster continued unfazed. The crew followed their leader's example and continued their respective duties, as if the event had never happened. Meanwhile, two drop ships, each shaped like a isosceles triangle based pyramid, with a crew load of 12 each and two pilots, moved towards the outer hull of the ship, where a magnetic rail gun (made for rapid deployments) flung them into Hope's upper atmosphere, plunging towards the beacon.

The pair of transports neared the place where the Nezon task force had activated the Eldar artifact. The dropships opened circular panels on their undersides, and the troops dropped out, landing with grace, while the dropships pulled back up to monitor the two dozen commandos. The special forces wore dark black armour with a reduced profile, and their units insignia appeared on every soldier's left shoulder plate. It showed an image reminiscent of the specialized long-range rifles the commandos carried slung over their soldiers. These were high powered anti-armour rifles meant for downing an opponent who had had their shields stripped away by the regular forces.

The group approached the Nezon that had pushed the glyph...

[Nezon]

All the Nezon had heard it, having devices made to pick up telepathic signals built into them. However the Nezon in the gylph room were more concerned with the suits of armour that had just moved, they unlatched their weapons, however did not point nor fire at the suits of armour.

Squad leader Tsor turned to the newly arrived force. He was short, skirmisher units being short for Nezons, and like the other skirmisher units his skeletal body was hunched over. However unlike most Nezon he had a scar down his eye, caused by a Procreator phaseblade, he assessed it as minor cosmetic damage that did not require attention.

"I see you Organics have arrived." he said in a metalic voice "I assume you have come to find the Eldar? We have been told that is our new objective as well. Your assistance would be appreciated, and any knowledge on the Eldar and what they might look like would be appreciated also."

As he spoke, the other Nezon arrived at the beacon room, Commander Ise at the front of the group.

[Lolder]

"A friendly greeting to you to." One of the Galac soldiers mumbled as one of the commandos whose armour had silver detailing steeped forward, looked first towards the imposing suits of armour, then to the synthetic, hunched humanoid in front of him. "I am Cid' Thom, commander of Gemini squad. Yes, we're here to help find the Eldar, and by the looks of things..." he gestured towards the imposing armour suits at each of the rooms corners ".... we already have. You see, Eldar are actually composed of energy, and each of these tall suits carry one of them. They are immortal, as well. So it seems we are in the presence of Gods."

"Of course" he continued, "they are not Omni-potent, and are frequently defeated in battle for whatever reason. But still, their technology is millennia ahead of either of ours." The Captain walked up to one of the hulking Eldar. "Can you hear me? Looks like you just came out of stasis. Are you even understanding me?"

[Equalsun Empire]

The Eldenian form turned to the Galac commandos, it's focus now on both species. "Yes, we can understand you, mortal. We may be a little tired, but we still have our wits about us. I am Eldenor, and this is Eliana. Who might you be?" Eldenor asked, directing his consciousness to both the machine and the organic.

Meanwhile, the Core reactivated, multiple scout ships powering through into the galaxy nearest to Hope. Ancient, cloaked Ingress' that had survived the test of time reactivated throughout the galaxy, an ancient teleportation grid coming online. Through them, the scouts appeared, sensors scanning all in sight. They had been gone far too long, and it was not good to be behind on the news.

Finally, a battlefleet of ships rose from the planet, engines activating as they embarked on patrol paths around the planet. A Patrol (11) ships headed toward the Alien fleets, to make sure they were lightly armed and (at least slightly) friendly. Flare-class fighters headed the patrol, the groups of 10 rocketing towards the foreign ships.

[Nezon]

The Eldenian form turned to the Galac commandos, it's focus now on both species. "Yes, we can understand you, mortal. We may be a little tired, but we still have our wits about us. I am Eldenor, and this is Eliana. Who might you be?" Eldenor asked, directing his consciousness to both the machine and the organic.

Meanwhile, the Core reactivated, multiple scout ships powering through into the galaxy nearest to Hope. Ancient, cloaked Ingress' that had survived the test of time reactivated throughout the galaxy, an ancient teleportation grid coming online. Through them, the scouts appeared, sensors scanning all in sight. They had been gone far too long, and it was not good to be behind on the news.

Finally, a battlefleet of ships rose from the planet, engines activating as they embarked on patrol paths around the planet. A Patrol (11) ships headed toward the Alien fleets, to make sure they were lightly armed and (at least slightly) friendly. Flare-class fighters headed the patrol, the groups of 10 rocketing towards the foreign ships.

Tsor looked at the Eldar, analyzing it. If indeed they were a species made of energy, they could be worth studying. From what Tsor had seen of their technology, they obviously had greater tech is many areas. They seemed to be an interesting species indeed.

"I am Squad Leader Tsor, of exploration fleet 34, of the Nezon Empire. Our commander should be on his way. It is more than probable he will have questions for you."

As if on cue, commander Ise entered the room, his form was a tall, skeletal one, flanked by taller bodyguards with glowing pikes. The Commander looked at the Eldenor curiously."I assume you are one of the lifeforms know as Eldar. I may have a few queries if your willing to answer them." He said this with an emotional monotone voice, and did not mean it to be demanding or to be rude. Most Nezon were programmed to get strait to the point without any pretense or guile.

Orbit
The bridge picked up the signals of Eldar craft approaching. The ship however did not move or target the ships. The Nemesor having ordered the ships not to react. Instead a message was sent to the ships.

The Nemesor sat down in his command chair, somewhat concerned that the Eldar might see bringing heavily armed Carriers into their space as an aggressive act. He would have to deal with that little variable when he comes to it. In the meantime, he would have to wait for the Landing team to report back.

[Lolder]

"Okay, now that you two have met; as I said, I am Cid' Thom, Captain of Galaclanian commando team Gemini. We came here when we detected an energy spike on this planet, likely caused by the proximity of one of our probes. One of our expeditionary forces came to investigate, we met them-" he pointed to the skirmisher standing near him "- and after avoiding some defense turrets that were evidently hostile, care to explain that?, we activated a glyph and... well, we're standing here now."

"Now-" the Captain's head cocked to the side, as did all the others of Gemini squad. They were each receiving a transmission. His head going upright again, Cid' Thom continued: "it seems as if my Commander was startled by the sight of approaching Eldar ships. He wishes to know where they are going, and how long you were in stasis, if you know at all."

[Equalsun Empire]

Hope Citadel

Eldenor turned to the multiple aliens, his consciousness grinding into action. After so long in stasis, he found the questions rather annoying. However, the aliens deserved answers for their hard work. "Greetings, Squad Leader Tsor, Commander Ise, and Captain Cid' Thom. To begin, I will start with your questions, Ise." He said, turning to the skeletal machination. "Eliana, if you could answer the questions of Cid' Thom, that would be spectacular."

Eliana moved into action, communicating to the captain via telepathy. "Greetings, honorable Captain. To answer your first question, the turrets were managed by the oldest of us all to ensure any aliens that came here did not come here for unsurpassed technology or weapons of war. No, they must come here to awaken us only, and only in need. I assume that is why you are here?" Eliana questioned. Not giving the Captain time to respond, she continued, "The ships are on their way to make sure your ships are relatively lightly armed and take the information from your data banks. Do you have any other questions?" she asked, stopping the flow of information. Unfortunately, she had been speaking in High Eldenian, so the aliens may not have understood...

Hope Space

The ships neared the alien fleets, scanners charging to examine the foreign vessels. Meanwhile, on the planet, the turrets came back online, though they did not aim at the aliens. They simply charged up, defensive cannons ranging from 1 meter to 10 kilometers powering back to operational status. Orbital platforms also returned to life, their power sources awakening from stasis and pouring their life into the defensive and trade structures.