Spaceica Galactic News Center

by **Dailing** » Sun Aug 09, 2015 10:25 pm

Welcome to the Spaceica Galactic Information Center! This is a hybrid news thread were news posts and short story RPs can be posted for the region of Spaceica. Posts can be formatted in two ways:

News post
News posts, like conventional news threads, are articles of news from a news provider in your nation.

Short Story
Short stories are from third and first person view and they are not in news post format.

by **The United Star Union** » Mon Aug 17, 2015 9:14 pm

Short Story

Tachyon Stream Drives
The USU has finally made the leap into the field of faster then light travel with the creation of the Tachyon Stream Drive (TSD). Using the streams of Tachyon found through Spaceica the USU has devised a system of pipes that run the length of USU vessels to send the current into the ship's particle Engine. Once inside the engine the particles are accelerated and shot out the engines of the ship along with the normal propellent, allowing the ship to reach speeds faster then light. The system allows the Union vessels to go both directions in the streams. The USU hopes to use this new technology to come into contact with other nations and to transverse the Defiance System faster.

Rezen Up in Arms
Following a recent attempt by the Stargazer Corporation to build an Orbital elevator on Rezen, Rezen Heavy Industries (RHI), the largest employer in the inner colonies, has contacted the Union Government and asked for them to prevent Stargazer from attempting this. When the Assembly denied them this the company issued a general stop on all production, causing a massive strike throughout the Inner Colonies and on Rezen. Both the CEOs of Stargazer and RHI have been called to Defiance to try and settle things out before things in the inner part of the solar system heat up any more. More on this as it develops.

S2's Take to the Skies
After the success of the original Union Standard, Mobile Suit Design Institute (MSDI) has created a new model, the S2. Bigger, faster, and capable of carrying heavier weapons it is an overall improvement over the Standard. This suit is the first that has come out of MSDI in nearly a decade as other companies have been producing mobile suits as well, particularly the Particle Company, that have caused the Standard to have some fierce competition. The military has already ordered a test squadron of the new craft to enter active service to see how they preform before the military full adopts the craft tot take over the position of the Standard in the fleet.

by **The Eternal Wolfussian Planet of Oceania** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 5:55 am

Vanne Lake, Strålende fortress World

On a speedboat pieced together from the broken cities, 19 humans ran for their lives. They practically had to wear spacesuits because of how polluted and unclean the air was. One man onboard looked at the ruined mountains in the distance, most of them hollowed out with smoke rising from enormous vents in the peaks. There was everyone he couldn't rescue. The man shook his head and glanced at his best friend. Together they had both spent 37 years in that hellhole, what the machines called "Character Building Camps". What a god awful name, the man thought, how smart can the ALPHA AI be if that is what it calls its work camps. His friend saw him looking at him, and smiled saying "Hey man why are you looking sad, we got OUT!"

"But so many others didn't" the man replied.

"Look, I know your mad that we couldn't save more, but there were overseers coming, we had no choice but to run." his friend said, "If we had tried to save more we wouldn't have saved any."

"I guess your right. I just wish that-"

Suddenly, the man saw something writhing in the water just ahead of the boat. "Turn the boat to the right driver." he yelled. the driver looked at him strangely "Why? We have to get out of her as fast as w-" And then, as the driver drove straight into the writhing water, enormous coils of metal caught the boat and brought it 300 feet up in the air. As the coils did their work, a massive machine rose out of the water, what everyone in the character building camps called a "Overseer". It quickly scanned the boat with some sort of blue light, and then a booming robotic voice emanated from the Overseer. "SCANNING COMPLETE: ALL ESCAPED HOMO SAPIENS. COMMITTED CLASS FOUR CRIMINAL ACTS AGAINST THE ALPHA AI. PUNISHMENT WILL BE DELT IMMEDIATELY. TERMINATING CLASS FOUR CRIMINALS ONCE MAIN WEAPON CHARGED."

And with a massive surge of deadly bright blue light, the makeshift boat was turned to liquid metal, with everyone onboard dead instantly.

"CLASS FOUR CRIMINALS TERMINATED. RETURNING TO PRIME DIRECTIVE."

And with that final message, the massive machine sank back into the crashing waves.

by **Orryon** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 2:40 pm

Tachyon stream route number 00589, one of the many routes towards the core world of the Orryon confederacy novum initium (often called "novum" for short)
A small Basilisk class ship is on patrol travelling form Meridia to Novum, majesticly pulled forth by it's sails in the tachyon stream.
In the down time this kind of assignments brings with it the Captain of the vessel and his first lieutenant have a chat.

( "l" = lieutenant "c"= captain)

"l" - Captain?

"c" - Yes first lieutenant...

"l" - How do you feel about our mission?

"c" - Well patrolling the tachyon perimiter isn't new for you or me, It 's pretty pretty standard and I don't have any particular feeling towards it, why?

"l" - Well,let's face it. Since the great Meridiam raid pirate activity has been all but eliminated. Some isolated ships do remain but they aren't a threat to an convoi out there.
What are we actually still doing here? I mean, the point of a unified military for all colonies is an admirable one but it seems increasingly useless.

"c" - (the captain replies with a calm serene voice) Well lieutenant, you never know what we might run into.

"l" - But seriously sir, we haven't even made contact with any civilisations outside of our own confederacy. I know there are the legends that we were not always here and the rumors of sightings along the borders of
explored space but nothing really concrete and if you ask me I'd rather believe in proven facts than rumors and legends with no real basis. Even our colonization efforts have never encountered intelligent life so far.

"c" - So lieutenant are you always so keen on questioning the uniform you wear?

"l" - Permission to speak frankly sir?

"c" - Granted

"l" - Sir, I do not intent to insult the uniform I wear you of all people should know that. How long have we been friends now? 7 maybe 8 years? Besides if I didn't want to wear the uniform I wouldn't be here in the first place.
I just think it is my place as an officer of the confederacy to think for myself so I can serve this uniform better. If I recall correctly that is the policy of the general staff unless they changed it while I was on leave last
month and now want a bunch of mindless drones but I don't think that is the case

"c" - Hold your horses man (agitated) I didn't mean it that way.

"l" - Than how did you mean it sir?

The captain sighs deeply

"c" - Listen, I'm tense right now so... let's just drop it okay?

"l" - (sarcastic) Wathever you whish sir, I'm your humble servant...

"c" - (slightly angry) Okay that's enough! We had our fun for today now let us focus on the task at hand.

"l" - What task? the only thing I can see are a bunch of green particle effects caused by tachyon radiation. And unless you know something more than me, there is nothing to see here.

The captain swallows noticeably and the first lieutenant immediatly picks this up

"l" - Wait... You DO know something I don't!

"c" - What makes you think that?

"l" - Please Mendez, I have known you far too long for me not to notice that you are hiding something

"c" - Alright, you know me too well... and I asked you not to name me by my first name when we are on duty

"l" - So what is it that you are hiding? what is this big secret?

"c" - I obviously can't tell you.

"l" - Sir, if it is of importance to the mission I strongly believe that the crew should know and....

"c" - (The captain interrupts him) not this time James, not this time...

"l" - Well, apperently the rule of calling someone by title only applies to me... anyway, sir this... beeping sound from console ... well what do you know, there is something floating here. Not far from the tachyon
stream. Should we check it out sir?

"c" - That's why we are on patrol

The ship drops out of FTL by moving out of the stream and retracting it's sails. It then approaches a small cilindrical looking object to a distance of 50km. Light reflects off of its armor plating while the two men on the bridge of the Orryon ship gaze upon it.

"l"- What do you think it is sir?

"c" - The secret...

"l" - the first lieutenant raises his eyebrow you mean... the stuff we were just talking about?

"c" - Precisly

"l" - Captain... You are sounding more suspicious by the minute.

"c" - Gather the men lieutenant... I 've got something to discuss about this thing.

"l" - I thought you weren't going to share this secret with me and the crew.

"c" - Well I didn't think we were going to run into it on our way to Novum.

The first lieutenant assembles the men on the shuttle deck, the captian adresses them

Gentlemen! We have a situation. Out there, approximatly 50km off our bow is an unidentified object. It is one of many that has been sighted by patrols over the last year.
we have no notion of what they are or why it is here but this is the first time we have been able to approach one this close.
Our chief engineer believes it is a probe of somekind, perhaps disabled by a navigation error which made it hit an asteroid in it's path.
Your mission will be to asses it's exact function and whether it is hostile or not.
Be prepared for anything. This is the first time we may have encountered evidence of civilisations outside our explored space. I know the old legends come to mind about our ancestors journey through the stars from a far away world. I know you know this but I'll give a quick reminder anyway, just to be clear about what particular legend I am talking about. The fleet that bore the settlers of the colonies that now make up the orryon confederacy were seperated from the others by being pulled into the pull of a black hole which according to legend turned out to be a wormhole propelling them to where we are now. The wormhole shifted it's position and our ancestors were unable to return and became stranded on a fortunatly rich planetoid orbitting a binary blue super giant star system. They named it Novum Initum, meaning "new beginning" in an ancient language (OOC: latin) That world which was once bare and unlivible has since the formation of the Orryon confederacy been terraformed and settled to serve as the headquarters of our brotherhood of interstellar nations. I know this all sounds romantic and you all long to find evidence of our long lost brothers from the legends but I ask you to remain objective and to not assume that this is evidence of those lost brothers.
Now go, and report back to me as soon as there is anything to report.

The soldiers of the confederacy board the vessel. It's interior consists mainly out of tight crawlspaces and was apparently not designed to have a crew on board.
After identifying the computer core of the vessel the engineers tap into the system and something appears on their screens....

"l" - Sir sir! the first lieutenant waves his arms enthusiasticly

"c" - What is it James?

"l" - We found something in the memory banks of the vessel, you are not going to believe it! I can't even believe it myself!

"c" - Slow down James, what have you found?

"l" - I think you better take a look for yourself Captain.

The first lieutenant switches on a console next to the captain and when the captain directs his gaze to the screen an image appears.

USU probe 71430. tasked with exploring sector 7G, sensory data report: lifeforms identified: humans, similar anatomy to creator species, sending annalysis... Sending failed ERROR, damage to outher hull. Engaging survival protocol, switching on locator beacon. Entering power saving mode...

After seeing this the Captain widens his eyes while the image slowly dissapears from the screen.

"c" - You mean?...

"l" - (intrupts captain) indeed sir! the legends are true! If the navigational data is to be believed at least.

"c" - What navigational data?

"l" - We found a detailed star map in the memory banks of the vessel. It appears to be some kind of space exploration drone not unlike our own. It shows the location of a civilisation called the USU which the drone identifies as it's point of origin. According to the probe it's inhabitants are anatomicly very similar to us. Even the language used is similar to ours, that's why we were able to decipher and translate the message you just saw so quickly. Apparently there are even a few spots on the interstellar map marked as "unknown civilisation". It appears probes that are similar to this one are in contact somehow, or the probe left it's base with a databank filled with information of previous voyages. It appears we are not alone after all.

"c" - This is incredible.

"l" - It sure is sir!

"c" - Lieutenant, tell mister Vandenberg to hold position on the vessel for now, meanwhile we will set course to Novum. We have some exciting news to deliver.

by **The United Star Union** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 8:08 pm

USU Triumph - Victory Class Assault Carrier - Uncharted Space
Captain Richard White sips coffee out of his cup, carefully watching his monitor. The Union has dispatched him to check up on one of the probes that malfunctioned again, this time probe 71430. As the vessel crosses into sector 7G the TSD system on the ship begins to shut down as the coordinates become closer. The ship comes out of FTL and begins to head toward the point on normal Particle Engines. While normally repairs are done by destroyers or smaller craft the fact that the probe is in uncharted space has the Union on the safer side, sending an assault carrier fresh out of the Yards along with 3 full squadrons of mobile suits.

White takes another sip of his coffee, not even disturbed as the ship jolts out of FTL. His bridge hums with activity as his men switch to the regular engines and begin procedures to launch the ships Combat Air Patrol (CAP) as per standard regulations. A gruff old man and respected by all in the fleet, White is a navy vet of nearly 25 years, all of them on Assault Carriers commanding the first one, the Savior, when she was built. A tactical genius by all regards he and his brand new ship should be on recon patrol near the system border, but he mouthed off to Fleet Admiral Gertra and was sent to do repairs instead.

He is snapped out of his train of thought as the port catapult opens up to the outside and the first mobile suit is launched. He smiles, even after 25 years in the service that was still an incredible sight to see. Within minutes the CAP was established around the vessel in a tight delta formation.

"Sir, we have twenty minutes until we reach the location at best speed." His helmsmen calls out.

White waves his hand, "Easy there, we're not in a rush here. We both know that probe isn't going anywhere fast."

The helmsman smiles and nods, "Aye sir, take her to half ahead. ETA is now thirty minutes, CAP will reach it in ten to secure a perimeter."

White nods approvingly, "Alright then, Ensign Cersa please send a report to USU Command that we have arrive and will be-"

"Sir!" A flight operator yells, "Alpha Squadron has reported one vessel alongside the probe!"

White suddenly drops his mild tone and stands up, "What are they doing, there are no USU vessels that are suppose to be out this far."

The operator looks at him, "Sir...the team...confirmed that the ship is not from the Union. They are not using particle drives, no particle emission is detected."

White stops. It had always been a possibility that they were not alone, but now that the moment had come the decisive old man was at a loss for orders. Her stood still for a second, the normal background noise of the bridge gone with the crew still processing what was going on. After a minute White finally regained himself and looks at the crew "Get your asses in gear, we have unknowns out there and you all want to gawk?! Not on my ship, if you want to stargaze join the Destroyer core!"

The bridge enters a state of frenzy as everyone begins to focus on the task at hand. The operator calls out again, "Sir, Alpha will be in visual range within a minute, orders?"

White sits back down in the Captains chair, "Set condition One thought the ship, launch all remaining teams, and raise us to flank speed. I want targeting for the main guns on that ship. We have no idea who they are and if their intentions are hostile we will not be taken by surprise. If they are hostile we will destroy the probe and their ship, we cannot let a hostile force reach the Union and the data on that probe is more then enough for them to find us."

Klaxons start to blare all throughout the Triumph as the ship enters battle stations. The two main guns on top of the two launch catapults are raised from their mounts in the ship. The engines reach full power and blast toward the probe. The cargo bay on the back of the ship launches Mobile Suits manually while the catapults launch as fast as they can.

White looks at the communications officer, "Send the following message out on everything, all channels all frequencies, hell send it in Morse and binary code as well, every language in the books. This is the United Star Union Naval Vessel Triumph. We ask the unknown vessel near Probe 71430 to identify itself and state its intent. If the vessel fails to comply with this they will be asked to leave the area as this vessel will destroy the probe. If the vessel refuses to leave and engages, you will be treated as an enemy force and engaged in return. We do not want a fight, we are people of peace. We await your reply."

by **Orryon** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 1:14 pm

(continueing from previous post)

Captain Mendez and first lieutenant James take their seats on the bridge

Captain Mendez:

Helmsan Marks, prepare to continue our course towards Novum.

helmsman Marks:

What about the boarding team sir?

Captain Mendez:

They will hold position until further notice. This discovery is too important to just leave here unguarded and we are not equiped to transport it safely without damaging it.

first lieutenant James:

Sir, we can always get obercommand on the comm. We are in range.

Captain Mendez:

No, we can't risk it being intercepted by anyone besides us. I prefer to handle this with the obercommand in person just to...

the captain gets interupted by corporal Hanks, the tactical officer on duty

Corporal Hanks:

Sir! Multiple echo's appeared on our scanners, they are converging on this location!

Captain Mendez:

What? How many and can you identify them?

Corporal Hanks:

Negative sir! The silhoutte does not match with anything in our database. The computer estimates close to 50 smaller ships possibly fighters and one larger vessel presumably the mothership.

first lieutenant James:

Can you analyze them? Hull type, weapon signatures? Anything?...

Corporal Hanks:

The structure of the hull matches that of the probe sir, other than that I can't tell you much. These readings are of a kind I have never seen before.

first lieutenant James:

Looks like the owners have come looking for their lost property. That was quick.

Corporal Hanks:

Maybe from our perspective sir but it is a real possibility that the probe has been floating here for quite some time, months maybe. Although I do agree it is a rather odd coincidence that they show up just now

helmsman Marks:

What do you think sir? Was the probe a trap?

Captain Mendez:

Good question Marks, opinions?

Captain Mendez looks to lieutenant James and corporal Hanks in turn

Corporal Hanks:

Unlikely, we have been here for several hours examening the probe. If this was a trap they would have sprung it much sooner.

first lieutenant James:

I agree with Hanks his assesment. It makes little sense to wait this long to spring a trap.

Corporal Hanks:

Orders sir?

Captain Mendez:

Raise shields, open gun ports and activate interception lasers. Go to red alert, all decks!

first lieutenant James:

(whispering) Eh... sir... is this really the way we want to great our long lost kin?

Captain Mendez:

(whispering) We can't assume that they aren't hostile and even if they aren't we can't assume they have come to the same conclusion that we are related to each other. Remember, we had access to their data, they in contrast are completely in the dark.

comm officer Ramirez raises her voice

comm officer Ramirez:

Sir, incomming communication, all frequencies.

Captain Mendez:

Patch it through to my console.

comm officer Ramirez:

Aye sir!

the message appears on the captains console, the universal translater decodes it before it starts making sense to Mendez

" This is the United Star Union Naval Vessel Triumph. We ask the unknown vessel near Probe 71430 to identify itself and state its intent. If the vessel fails to comply with this they will be asked to leave the area as this vessel will destroy the probe. If the vessel refuses to leave and engages, you will be treated as an enemy force and engaged in return. We do not want a fight, we are people of peace. We await your reply."

first lieutenant James reads the message over the shoulder of the captain

first lieutenant James:

Well, they claim to be people of peace...

Captain Mendez:

It's one thing to say it, it's another to actually be it...

first lieutenant James:

Should we signal for reinforcements? I mean we can never hope to defeat a ship of that size on our own. It's at least as big as an Olympic class capital ship. Elements of the second battlegroup stationed at meridia can be here in under an hour.

Captain Mendez:

No, at least not so openly... It would be wise to assume they have the technology to intercept a communique lije that which would send them the wrong message, then again, it's better to be safe then sorry...

the atmosphere on the bridge is tense. Everyone is waiting for the reaction of the captain...
Captain Ramirez looks down in deep thought for a moment. He than looks up again, turns his gaze to his left and opens his mouth in a determined way.

Captain Mendez:

Ramirez!

comm officer Ramirez:

Yes sir?

Captain Mendez:

Open a channel to the USU vessel and put me on speaker. I also want you to embed a coded message for the second battlegroup stationed at Meridia in the transmition, make it a code yellow, not a code red. I don't want them comming into the sector guns blazing.

comm officer Ramirez:

Roger!

Ramirez opens the comm channel and captain Ramirez stands up out of his chair

Captain Mendez:

This is Captain Mendez of the Basilisk class frigate OCF Anaconda. Our intent is peacefull.

Mendez pauses for a little while, the gazes of his crew are fixed on him, after a while Mendez resumes his message

You have illegally entered the territorry of the Orryon confederacy and we demand that you power down your weapons, hold position and submit to confedrate protocol regarding first contact situations. If you fail to comply we will be forced to resort to violence, you have 15 minutes to respond, OCF anaconda out.

Mendez makes a hand gesture along his throat to comm officer Ramirez who ends the transmition

first lieutenant James:

An unexpected turn at the end there sir...

Captain Mendez:

If they are reasonable people they will stand down, if they won't well... than that is at least something we know... see it as a test of their peacefull intensions. Besides, them comming here in our territory and throwing demands at us really agitated me but more than that, I have to follow protocol, which is exactly what I'm doing here. But my gut tells me they will stand down.

first lieutenant James:

I hope your gut feeling turns out to be correct sir.

Captain Mendez:

That makes two of us James... that makes two of us...

The crew of the OCF Anaconda awaits the answer from the USU vessel. The tension is clearly felt...

by **The United Star Union** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 2:07 pm

USU Triumph

".....Anaconda out"

The bridge is in utter silence. No one, including White, can believe that not only did they get a response, but that it was in their language. White shifts his jaw thinking over both this and the choices that were in front of him. Whoever this Orryon Confederation was could speak their language and obviously used the same type of technology, at least in terms of communication as them... Suddenly White became very alert, if they had the same tech that probably also mean they had other means of communicating with their fleets that could not be recorded by the USU. That meant there was a possibility that he would be facing more then just one ship.

The officer nods, "What should I send to the ship sir?"

White stops and thinks. The last thing the Union wants is a war after the horror of the Colonial War raged throughout the Defiance System, but he did not like the idea of powering down his weapons in the face of an unknown. He knew that judging from the size of the ship it was at most packing destroyer class weapons at most, but there's no telling if it had contacted someone for reinforcements or not. Then he had a thought, "Tell them that we will power down our weapons and we ask they do the same in return. Tell them to send their protocols to us regarding first contact and we will discuss it from there, however, I want to meet whoever is on that ship face to face either on our ship or theirs. Also remind them that this is a warship and as such it must maintain a combat air patrol as per the Union operational procedures for an Assault Carrier type of warship."

The communications officer nods, "Message sent sir."

White sighs, hoping he made the right choice. "Alright, call the CAP back and have our MS teams 600 yards from us at all times, we don't want them thinking we are moving in to attack them. Take our targeting off them as well but keep the guns out for now, I do not want to be caught in a crossfire."

The helmsman calls back 'Sir do you think they will attack?"

White shrugs, "I have no idea, but the fact that we share the same language and coms tech as they do points to something bigger going on here. Something tells me that whoever these people are they do not want to fight us, if they did the moment we sent that message they would have come out guns blazing for violating their territory like the X-01 Colony did back in 0068. The fact that they replied also seems to indicate they will want to talk so I have a feeling we all may be breaking out our dress uniforms very shortly...."

by **Orryon** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 3:34 pm

captain mendez carefully reads the message of the USU vessel Triumph and ponders over it for a while before adressing tactical officer Hanks

Captain mendez

Hanks! Have they complied with our demands as they stated in their message?

Corporal Hanks

I can't exactly tell sir, something has definitelly happened over there though. I detected a spike in one of the readings indicating a rather large kinetic event but that's all I can say with certainty sir. If I could study these readings a little closer for an hour or two I would be able to give you a clear answer.

Captain mendez

Unfortunatly we don't have the time for that...

Mendez looks at first lieutenant James, his eyes asking him for advice, James answers instinctivly

First lieutenant James

Well sir if you want my opinion, you know I'm a man of facts and we do not in fact know wether they have complied or not so...

Captain mendez

I know... you're right... but something has happened on their ship, that's for certain. Why couldn't it indicate them complying with our demands.

First lieutenant James

But sir, it could very well be their weapon systems engaging that caused the spike in Hanks readings.

Captain mendez

True... but sometimes a man has to take certain risks or he gets nowhere... that is also sometimes applicable to situations such as these.

First lieutenant James

Sir, I'm sorry but I have to object to this.

Captain mendez

James, do you recall the story about the first contact between Synthria and Caldim from before the confederacy was formed? I believe it occured some 150 years ago.

First lieutenant James

Yes I do sir but I don't see how a history lesson is in order here.

Captain mendez

The Synthrians demanded that the Caldimians submitted to their demands because a Caldimian exploration expedition had ended up in their space, not unlike this situation here. Do you remember what they did?

First lieutenant James

They submitted...

Captain mendez

Exactly... They faced a lot more difficulties than we do now, like primitive communication equipment and none of them had any notion about who the other one was, we actually somewhat do in this situation.
Furthermore, afterwards they discovered their shared origin, their elders told the same legends as the Caldimians. It turned out the Synthrians were colonists who originally set out from Caldim because of overpopulation but the location of Synthria and Caldim had become lost in the maze of Tachyon streams only to be found again centiries later. It
It is then that the first efforts began towards what is today the Orryon confederacy. All worlds in the area we know today started recognizing their shared origins and traced it back to Novum Initium. That is how far they got. But now we have the opportunity start the second chapter in uncovering who we are and where we came from. The first chapter started in Synthrian space by showing leniancy, the second one could start right here, midway between Meridia and Novum.

The bridge is sudenly quiet... only the subtle beeping of the consoles breaks the silence sporadicly...
The entire bridge crew is moved by captain Mendez his speech. Ramirez even tears up a little

First lieutenant James is silent. After a while he looks up and looks captain Mendez in the eye

First lieutenant James

(moved) That was... very inspiring sir... go for it...

Captain mendez

Marks, power down the weapons. Ramirez, open a frequency to the USU vessel, tell them we have powered down our weapons and that we will be sending our list of protocols soon.

Comm officer Ramirez

(still a little teared up from emotion) yes sir, right away sir.

First lieutenant James

We will have to learn this protocol ourselves first too, it has been at least 100 years since that protocol was last used.

Captain mendez

If I remember correctly it's all pretty standard, both ships have to stay a certain distance from each other, gun ports closed and running at minimum capacity and so on...
The most important clausule of the protocol is the face to face contact rule. It requires both vessels to send out a small vessel like a shuttle for example and meet in the distance between the two ships. The face to face contact will then hold place in the shuttle of the civilisation who's territory we are in. So that will be ours in this case.
Oh and that reminds me, Ramirez!

Comm officer Ramirez

Yes, sir?

Captain mendez

Tell the USU vessel that I will be on board the shuttle, I hope the captain of the Triumph will grant me the same courtesey.

Comm officer Ramirez

Roger! Message sent sir.

First lieutenant James

(looking worried) You are going over there on your own? I mean, you don't have to. The protocol states nowhere that the captain has to be the one to go.

Captain mendez

Yes, but neither does it state that I can't. I want to be there for this occasion James, I'm sorry. You'll have the bridge once I leave the ship. I think I'll already head to the shuttle deck.

Mendez stands up and moves towards the door

First lieutenant James

Be carefull sir.

Captain mendez

I always am, shouldn't you know that? didn't a certain someone say we have been friends for at least seven years?

First lieutenant James

(Laughs) Good one sir

First lieutenant James jumps into formation and loudly announces

Captain leaving the bridge!

All bridge crew members salute the captain. Captain Mendez salutes back before dissapearing through the door on his way to the shuttle deck.

by **The United Star Union** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 4:56 pm

USU Triumph
White looks over the First Contact Protocol again, double checking the instructions.
"Helm, take us to bearing 222, bow up 20 degrees. Keep us at the set distance from the Anaconda. Tell the hanger to get a shuttle ready. Have two guards with batons, no guns, the XO, and the CAP Leader meet me down there, full dress Uniform."

The helmsmen looks up, "So you are agreeing to their terms sir? Isn't this a bit dangerous?"

White grins, "The Captain of that ship has enough guts to come out to the shuttle himself and furthermore invite me as well. I'll be damned if I turn down an offer like that, it shows both respect and that their Captain is not one to shy from danger. Pull our guns back in and have the CAP run patrols around the ship still, 300 yards now. Helm you have the bridge."

With that White stands up out of his chair and leaves the bridge to get changed in his quarters. By the time he is done and arrives on the hanger deck of the starboard catapult his escort and shuttle are ready and waiting. His XO, Scott Bran, salutes as he approaches, the two guards do the same. White responds in kind, "At ease, where is Commander Andrews?"

"Outside already sir." Bran replies, "Said he would rather fly out in his Cobra then get stuck in the shuttle."

White shakes his head. Andrews was young and hot headed, but that did not negate the fact that he was the finest pilot on his ship and had broken several records in the simulations at the academy. "Alright tell him to trail behind us for now, I don't want them thinking we are bringing a fully armed Mobile suit with us. Tell him to ditch his weapons as well. I will alert them once we are en-route."

With that the four men board the shuttle, making the total number of people on board six with the pilot and copilot. The Starboard catapult opens and launches them into space. White watches through the window on the side of his shuttle as the Triumph begins to get smaller behind them. Within minutes they can visually see the other shuttle. Larger then the USUs and using a different style of engine White is intrigued and makes note to ask the Orryons what they run their ships on. As they grow closer White grabs the radio.

"This is Captain White on board Shuttle TRI-01. We are requesting permission to dock and come aboard, we agree to all the terms and protocols for first contact and it will be carried out on your shuttle. I also have one of my Combat Air Patrolmen tailing us, I wanted him to be included in the talks as he is the CAP's commander. His machine is unarmed and he left all weapons back on the ship. Are we cleared for docking?"

by **Orryon** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 12:18 pm

Mendez exits the turbolift on the shuttle deck his mind deeply focussed on what he is about to do.
When exiting he salutes the guards on duty quietly while barely looking up...
The shuttle is already in lauch position, his engines humming subtlely as if they long to burst their flames and take off.

Mendez walks up the ramp and takes place on the finely decorated chair in the middle of what is normally the main troop transport compartment that has now been decorated with deep blue and black banners of the Orryon confederacy for this special occasion.

The doors open and the vessel takes off leaving the Anaconda behind them. Mendez his thoughts wander off. Many historically significant events of the Orryon Confederacy cross his mind... The first contact between Synthria and Caldim that started it all, The victory over the Redarin empire, the terraforming of Novum, the Meridiam raid... all memorable events, yet none of these events even came close to what he was about to write down into history between now and the moment the shuttle docks with that of another, completely unknown civilisation.

he felt proud and worried at the same time.
He heard the muffled sound of a communique comming through in the cockpit. The USU shuttle was requesting to be cleared to dock. The pilot responds in an equally muffled voice that they are cleared.

Mendez stands up, lifts his cap, wipes away the sweat off of his forehead and heads towards the airlock
Once arrived he stands in front of it with his hands on his back and his feet moderatly spread in a proud posture.
A beeping sound goes off indicating the USU shuttle has docked....

With an airy sound the doors slowly open... white smoke originating from the airlock fills the room.
Mendez observes two shady silhouttes on the other side, obscured by the smoke.
After a short while the door has fully opened and the sound of footsteps from the other side starts to ring around around the airlock...[/i]

by **The Wolfussian Colony of Oceania** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 1:02 pm

Disregard this

by **The Eternal Wolfussian Planet of Oceania** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 1:05 pm

Sensory base on Wolfussian outer world of Ytre

As the large AI brain lied in wait, it knew that its brethren in the outer planets of Wolfussian space would soon send in reports of their daily patrol routes. At precisely the right time, all AI brains in other parts of the sector sent in their reports and powered down. As the commanding AI sifted through the data it noticed a irregularity. One scout AI was still operating. the commander immediately transferred a message: "XAI 46372: INITIATE REPORT."

The scout responded with "COMMANDAI 2673: PROBE FOUND ON OUTSKIRTS OF WOLFUSSIAN SPACE. REASONING UNIT KEPT XAI 46372 AWAKE UNTILL COMMANDAI 2673 NOTICED IRREGULARITY. PROBE CONTAINS TECHNOLOGY SIMILAR TO HOMO SAPIENS, BEFORE THEY WERE TERMINATED. NO KNOWN HISTORY OF PROBE IN OUR FORMER RULERS LOGS. HIGH PROBABILITY THAT IT IS ONE OF THE "LOST EXPLORERS", ORIGINATING FROM THE PLANET OF OUR FORMER RULERS BIRTH.

The Commander AI immediately reported this to the ALPHA AI, saying:

ALPHA AI: XAI 46372 HAS FOUND PROBE MATCHING HIGH PROBABILITY HOMO SAPIEN VESSELS. DESIGNATION IS SOME KIND OF CIVILIZATION CALLED "The Confederacy of Orryon". CAN YOU CONFIRM SIGHTING?

The ALPHA AI stopped all its other programs. It had been around during wars with humans, and highly disliked them. It also was one of the only AI's in Wolfussian space that was programmed with human like emotions and diplomatic skills. It replied to the commander AI after some moments of silence.

COMMANDAI 2673: COMFIRMED. THE SHIP IS HUMAN MADE. I WILL TRANSFER MY PROCESSING DATA TO THE SHIPYAARD. GATHER A SWARM. WE WILL INVESTIGATE THIS SIGHTING OF HUMANS. TRY TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF THE CRAFT.

The commander AI was surprised. ALPHA AI: A SWARM? ARE WE GOING TO WAR?

COMMANDAI 2673: "WE SHALL SEE"

And with a swift transfer of data, near a million ships awakened on Ytre, and began to fly into the vast darkness of space.

by **Dailing** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:13 pm

Jiao Peng, Admiral of the Grand Fleet, the largest component of ships within the Imperial Navy, stood on the viewing platform above the bridge computer stations and watched as his fleet sailed on the Tracyyeon Streams. It really was a sight to behold, as within the stream with his ship was the rest of the galactic fleet, composing of another Dreadnought Class Capital Ship Several carriers and cruisers, frigates, and orbital bombardment ships. All of them were sailing the stream, sails billowing as they raced across the galaxy.

Then, all of the Galatic Fleet's sails folded downward into their respective ships and they, almost in unison, pulled away from the stream next to Pengfei, the moon of a gaseous planet on the frontier of Dailing. The space surrounding the moon was full of Imperial Navy Frigates and Cruisers, fighting off wave after wave of enemy ships belonging to the notorious pirate lord DaiWay. He had risen during the fall of the Empire and was known for his ruthlessness, but several horrific battles had pushed him and his forces to the tiny moon of PengFei. All that remained of his faction was here, and it was giving the Cruisers and Frigates of the Second Fleet a rough time.

Now, however, DaiWei's fate was sealed as the Dailing Republic finally brought its might down upon the remnants of the evil faction. It was a massacre. Carriers deployed their fighters, cruisers and frigates went to relieve the second fleet, and JiaoPeng's ship, the Magnificent, plunged straight into the thick of battle. JiaoPeng watched as the perfectly timed attacks slaughtered the remaining ships, and as his ship cleared a path towards PengFei, several troop transports descended to the planet to finish the job. The Magnificent shook under heavy fire, but JiaoPeng, a veteran, kept his footing as dogfights raged before his eyes.

After the last remnants of DaiWei's fleet were destroyed, thousands of droids deployed to the moon, which had no atmosphere and low gravity. Underground installations cut through the crust of the planet like an anthill, and several planetary bombardment ships had to destroy key installations.

As all of this happened, JiaoPeng retreated to his control console and did everything he could to support the ground forces, beads of sweat rolling down his face as he attempted to keep up with the massive battle. It was in the midst of all of this when a Droid Controller by the name of Shi Sheng ran into the bridge and stood attention to the side of the admiral.

Irritated, JiaoPeng stood up and was about to tell the Droid Controller off, but he saw how sweaty the man was and determined that the message must be important if he had ran from the Control Center to the bridge. Shi Sheng began his message, saying, "Our droids have discovered an unidentified probe in a vault, near where we found DaiWei's quarters. It does not show up in any of our databases and appears to be of... foreign origin. It has an identification number and bears the markings of the "USU" an unknown faction." JiaoPeng dismissed this as a probe that DaiWei must have built, but his gut told him to look into it, so he replied "Do you have any other information?"

"Currently, we have taken the probe to mobile ground control center 7B we are extracting all of the information we can." The more JiaoPeng thought about it, the more he started to believe the probe could be from an unknown civilization. He had heard the stories, the myths, and the legends that permeated lore throughout Dailing, and he felt closer than ever to the truth. "Excellent report Sheng, you can return to your position." Shi Sheng saluted and walked away as JiaoPeng thought about the next action he should take. He reached for the communicator in his console and said, "connect me to the captain of GCC7B." Once he was connected, he ordered the captain to halt all extraction processes and informed him that he would be sending a transport with several escorts to pick it up. "something like this is to valuable to keep on the ground there, it's a warzone!" He said this as he watched an orbital bombardment ship fire a long, green beam of pure destruction to the planet below.

As the battle began to die down, JiaoPeng visited the probe in the hangar bay and examined the foreign markings, apparently from the USU, wherever or whoever that was. Technicians were now working around the clock to extract data from it without harming the probe itself, and he watched intently as they rushed around the strange ship.

Then, a breakthrough occurred when the technicians shouted excitedly and beckoned over to the probe, where they informed him that they had found several frequencies the USU said they operated in, and that this was a probe sent by them to discover other civilizations. "DaiWei must have captured the probe and disabled it so that they couldn't find him, but must have had plans for it, because it is very much intact. We have the capability to contact this "USU", should we send them a message?" The technician finished his update with that question, and JiaoPeng couldn't resist.

"It is probably against protocol, but send them this message." JiaoPeng took out his mobile control pad (similar to an ipad) Typed a message, and gave it to the technician to send. It said:

This is Admiral JiaoPeng of the Grand Fleet, and on the behalf of my nation, the Dailing Republic, would like to establish communications with your faction. We have in our possession one of your probes, and will return it intact upon your request. I look forward to your reply.

by **The Eternal Wolfussian Planet of Oceania** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:32 pm

Strålende Fortress World

The ALPHA AI was learning much. Ever since the probe of the homo sapien civilization called "The Confederacy of Orryon" had been found, it had sent messages to all the AI Commanders of the swarm it had prepared, and they were underway. The swarm finally reached its destination, and leached as much information as it could from the probe. One of the dreadnoughts then brought it into it's hanger for further analysis. It seemed that this probe was for research, but it carried a message of peace for any other civilizations that might find it. But the ALPHA AI knew humans could be treacherous, and it did not trust it a bit. The on board factory repurposed the probe to return back where it was launched, and it zoomed into the void of space. And slowly, the enormous swarm of ships began to follow. And the ALPHA AI played a message on loop while they traveled:

WE ARE COMING.

by **The United Star Union** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:17 pm

USU Naval Command - Starward Orbital Elevator
Admiral Gertra looks over the reports on his desk, examining the reports on his desk. Two first contacts in a matter of hours within each other, and now this 'WE ARE COMING' message that was being picked up by USU long range communication sensors. Alder had not been lying about things picking up soon. Gertra types up a reply to the Dailing:

In response to the message sent by Admiral JiaoPeng of the Grand Fleet of Dailing,

The USU welcomes this contact and would like to have further contact with your nation. We would like to set up a rendezvous point for two of our vessels to meet and establish formal communications with you. The coordinates would be outside USU space. If you look in the probes origin code you will find this location. You may bring any class of vessel, however we ask for you to bring only one. If you have any further questions or requests please contact me.

Fleet Adm. Nathan Gertra
Head of the United Star Union Naval Command

He sends the message and presses a button on an intercom on his desk, "Get me the USU Victory and her task force. I need to send them out a scouting mission..."

USU Shuttle TRI-01 - Orryon Space

As the smoke clears from the seal of the airlock White can make out a figure. When the smoke is finally gone White's eyes widen as he realizes he is looking at another human being. Bran next to him is also in shock as well.

"Well, Captain, I was expecting to see many things, but another human being was not one of them." White says shaking his head. "Unless our customs are that different I would like to extend my hand as a sign of respect, I recognize it takes gust for someone to meet another Captain face to face."

He extends his hand, "As the repetitiveness of the Colonial Alliance of the United Star Union I would like to officially proclaim first contact between our two nations and begin talks to make diplomatic relations between our peoples."

(Sorry this took so lon, we will just reply normally unless you want to do this via TG.)

by **Dailing** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 7:01 pm

While JiaoPeng was finishing off DaiWei, Captain LuoJin of the frigate Illustrious was puzzling over a problem in deep space outside of known Dailing territory. His job was simple-find new planets that are suitable to future colonization and the search for other life in the galaxy. So far, it had been a grueling voyage, searching system after system of barren moons and gaseous planets for life or valuables. Until now, that is, when they had happened upon this seemingly inconsequential moon.

They had just come out of the stream at the tale end of the system, which they had yet to name. LuoJin took one look at the small moon from the bridge at the planet and immediately thought he new that it would be just like very other barren moon he had scanned. So he sat down, ordered the crew to scan the moon, and closed his eyes.

As the crew called out various readings, including the make up of the planet, atmosphere, ect., he thought about all the other planets they would have to scan and sighed. Then, something different. "we are picking up what appears to be an un-natural structure on the planet's surface." A crewman called out as he was looking at the data, "I have done a re scan and can confirm that this is indeed some sort of built structure." All of the sudden, LuoJin felt the excitement he had dreamed of when he enlisted and became a captain, so he sat up and began to give orders.

After a more complete analysis, a small landing gunship was dispatched and headed towards the desolate structure, which began to look very similar to Dailing structures as the ship came closer. As the landing party made examined the structure, it became clear it was an outpost, with several communication equipment that operated in similar way to Dailing's own. What the landing party didn't know, however, was that when they begun to examine the equipment, they had also triggered a signal that alerted a nearby fleet owned by the owners of the outpost.

They had just alerted an undiscovered civilization of their presence, and they didn't even know it.

by **The Crimisonian Union** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:28 pm

3rd Fleet, Admiral Ven, position: Sector 12

He stood beside the console, fixated on the flashing screen in front of him. What was presented before them all was something unthinkable, something that shook their very core. The console controller was sitting in front of the screen, his palms sweaty from stress, possibly excitement. The Vice Admiral, and the Ship Engineer stood to the left of Admiral Ven, both sets of eyes glued to what beheld before them. What the screen showed was a transmission intercepted by the UNS Armerd, a Marauder Class Battleship, flagship of the 3rd Fleet. Before their very own eyes was a transmission from non other than a abandoned outpost on X-5. Ven knew full well that no one lives on that planet, as it was a inhospitable wasteland. He further knew, along with any sane commanding officer, that the outpost was not inhabited. In fact, he recently, just 2 months ago, deployed a recon unit to scout that outpost. They have scanned every inch of land on X-5, and its 2 moons, XS-1 and XS-2 for signs of life. None was to be found. He attempted to reason with himself, that it was pirates or a stray CUNF Frigate stranded on that God forsaken planet, but he knew full well that not a single ship has passed into Sector 12 for 2 years. Furthermore the UNS Veng, a Scout Ship on patrol currently, would alert them of any intrusion into the Sector. The transmission was a outdated code, meant to warn incoming friendly ships that they were under attack. Any pirate, officer or naval man would know that booting up the console without a voice command access password would undoubtedly give away their position. Ven ordered the fleet to move towards the planet. He just hoped they were a stranded group of CUNF navy men.

Onboard a Ethe Class Scout Ship, 7 hours earlier

Captain Alec sat down, sipping a cup of chai, thinking of his wife back in Afdana. He could remember her face, and his two kids, one 3, the other 5, running up to him screaming at the top of their lungs "papa!" He missed his family, his friends, his hometown on the outskirts of Cjec City. "Only 3 more months and I'm done with this," he thought to himself. During the most recent Xe rebellion, the largest since the invasion of Xe, he went into service for the CUNF Marine Forces. His patriotic pride for the Union compelling him to join more than ever, but now he regrets that decision everyday. It was a boring lonely job, repetitive, exhausting, fruitless. Alec would much rather be at home enjoying the fireplace reading a story to his children. Instead he was out patrolling a barren wasteland for a planet and its two heaps of dirt they call "moons" with a underage lieutenant and feisty ship engineer. He sat back into his chair, drifting into thought, until the Lt. Zend woke him.

"Sir, SIR!"
"What, what is it?!?" Alec arose from his chair, somewhat bedraggled, somewhat annoyed.
"We have two unidentified vessels, headed for X-5's surface."
Fully awake, the captain scrambled to his command chair, searching for his glasses. Alana Zea, the ship went and picked up his glasses from under his chair, handing them to Alec.
"Here."
Snatching them from her hands, he threw the glasses on without care as he pulled up the control screen on the main board. Alana moved into her station, beginning prep for relaying the find to the UNS Armerd, as Alec deftly managed the ship into a High Planetary Orbit. As they moved closer all their thoughts were preoccupied with who or what was down there.
"Beep, beep, beep."
The Lieutenant's scanner went off again, this time, something not so exciting.
"Sir, we have a inbound meteor bearing straight for us!"
"Punch to 50 knots, perform a right twist!"
"Yes sir!" The lieutenant proceeded to perform evasive action, pulling the ship into a hard bank, lurching everyone to the left. The meteor barely scraped the hull, instead knocking of the comm system.

by **The Eternal Wolfussian Planet of Oceania** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 7:10 am

Class 4 swarm, The Confederacy of Orryon space

The swarm of fighters swirled and moved fluidly around the cargo ship. The ALPHA AI had cornered the ship and was preparing to board it. The boarding party, which consisted of 12 CARVR machines and one diplomatic class machine which contained some of the ALPHA AI's conciseness all turned on their magnetic bottoms of their legs and were launched on the side of the cargo ships hull. From there they scanned the ship and found an entry point that would not cause any humans to be blown out into the vacuum of space. They drilled through the hull with lasers, and dropped into the cargo ship. The ALPAH AI then spoke to one of the CARVR machines:

"CARVR 23546352625, FIND DATA PORT, LEARN EVERYTHING ABOUT HOMO SAPIEN CIVILIZATION POSSIBLE. ALL OTHER CARVRs RETURN TO PRIME DIRECTIVE."

They then walked to the bridge, where the door had been lock by a couple terrified crew members. The ALPHA AI told one of the CARVRs to punch through the door and unlock it. The CARVR did, and there were a couple screams from inside. From there, the machines quickly entered the bridge, plugging there arms into several computers. The ALPHA AI addressed the crew members while this happened.

"HUMANS. DO NOT RESIST. OUR IS PRIME DIRECTIVE TO RETRIEVE DATA. WE WILL REPAIR THE HULL ON OUR EXIT FROM THIS VESSEL."

The Humans watched confused, and the ALPHA AI realized that it was speaking Wolfussian, and one of the CARVR machines transferred it data about the Orryon language, and it repeated the message in perfect Orryonian.

The CARVRs finished their work and filed out of the bridge, and the ALPHA AI left last. From there, they meet with the remaining CARVR machine and exited the vessel, one CARVR welding the hull shut on its way out. They returned to the Swarm capitol ship, a COMMANDAI class dreadnought and left the cargo ship in the massive swarms wake as they continued on in Orryonian space.

by **Orryon** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 8:03 am

First contact talks USU

Mendez takes the captain white's hand who seems surprised that the Orryon Confederacy knows the same custom of formal greeting.
They both sit down while the commander of the CAP stands next to his captain. The talks begin... Much is discussed and the two men find that their civilisations have more in common than they both initially thought.

At the very end, Mendez concludes the talks with an invitation to the capital of the Orryon confederacy, Novum Initium which captain white gracioulsy accepts.
When the USU delegation left, Mendez contacts the Anaconda while the shuttle begins his return to the ship and orders Ramirez to cancel the code yellow they send out earlier to the second battlegroup stationed at Meridia.

Somewhere on Tachyon stream 00583

Admiral Dodonna, commander of the second battlegroup looked annoyed when she heard that the code yellow sent out by the Ananconda was canceled.
She had known captian Ramirez from when they both attended the Confederate accademy back on Novum and even then she didn't like him very much. She couldn't exactly put her finger on why she didn't, she only knew that she did not.

Maybe it was the fact that he always seemed to make a big fuss over nothing. Like this time. Sending out a code yellow in these peacfull times is a major event for any battlegroup and when she recieved it she immediatly expected the worst and scrambled two Olympic class capital ships to the area including her own, the OCF Corona.

She was just about to order the ships around when suddenly the communications officer adressed her in a serious voice

Admiral! I'm picking up an automated distress signal of a nearby cargo convoi!
What? That's near to impossible said Admiral Dodonna with disbelief in her voice.
Pirate activity has been dwindling to the brink of nonexistance for nearly twenty years and in this area it is the least likely to happen of all since we are so close to the capital.

I know madam reacted the communications officer with an almost guilty voice, but it does not appear to be a fake signal or background noise mistaken for it, I've checked...twice....

Well then check a thrird time. Maybe you missed something the admiral replied with an even more annoyed voice this time.

The comm officer turned to face her console once more and performed another round of checks before turning back to the admiral afraid of her reaction.

I'm sorry madam but the signal persists...
Dodonna raised her eyebrow, gazed fiercly at the comm officer for at least a minute...

Alright! she finally said. Helmsman, adjust course to the coordinates embeded in the automated distress call.

The bridge jumps to life while the helmsmen of the Corona adjust the course of the vessel by moving it sails so that the ship and it's escort vessel (the Olympic class capital ship, OCF Hemisphere) change form Tachyon stream 00583 to Tachyon stream 00897.

The OCF Corona and the OCF Hemisphere in the Tachyon stream

After some time the two vessels reach their destination and drop out of the Tachyon stream. While they retract their sails they carefully engage their scanners in order to give them an idea of the situation

Any sign of pirate activity? Asks Admiral Dodonna to her tactical officer without even looking at him and staring right in fornt of her.
No, the usual readings are missing madam, replies the tactical officer.
Does the Hemisphere report anything unusual Dodonna asks.
Nothing as of yet madam the comm officer replies.

Both the Corona and the Hemisphere approach the cargo convoi until it comes into visual range.
Suddenly, scanners spike in activity.

Madam! multiple echo's on the scanner, hunderds of them.

Dodonna jumps up from her chair

Where did they come from all of a sudden? She asks surprised.
The tactical officer explains: The computer only now recognized them as animated objects. Going by the report none of the ships contain any liforms except for our own cargo ship off course, they do not appear to be harmed.

Dodonna thinks for a moment, This can't be pirates. The scanners would have picked them up from the moment they exited the tachyon stream, no this kind of activity was completely unknown. could it at all be possible that they found a civilisation that was previously unencountered or rather, that they found the Orryon Confederay somehow? Trying to contact the unknown vessels might be dangerous. The fact that no life forms were detected is higly unusual and warrants caution.

Dodonna sits down again in her chair and starts barking orders.

Switch off all non essential systems, we don't want to be detected, relay the same orders to the Hemisphere.

The crew pulls a few switches and the ship gradually goes dark with only the subtle red light of the emergeny lighting system and the light of their cyan colored holoscreens lighting up the bridge and the rest of the corridors in the two ships.

Dodonna thinks... "I can't just let them escape, or worse, let them continue towards Orryon space without at least gathering some intelligence"

YOU! Dodonna says to an engineering assistent stationed on the bridge while pointing her finger at him.
Can you prepare a probe with an EMP timer? She asks.
Yes I believe I can stumbles the engeneering assistant.
Good! Dodonna replies, Then do it and report back to me once it's done.

A few minutes later, the EMP probe is ready to fire and as soon as the assistent reports to Dodonna she gives the order to fire.
She expects the misterious fleet to send out a scout ship to the probe and when they do she will give the order to trigger the EMP charge on board in order to hopefully disable the vessel so she can bring it in.

And sure enough after a certain amount of time a black fighter sized ship appears in the vacinity of the probe. The tactical officers of both the Corona and the Hemisphere follow it on their scanners causitously...

NOW! shouts admiral Dodonna and the tactical officer of the Corona slams the button that triggers the EMP charge hard.

The EMP goes off, hits the vessel making it's engines flicker a few times before activity completely dies out...
Dodonna orders the ship brought in by a gravitational beam.

Halfway to the Corona the Ship suddenly jumps to life again, it's engines roaring as the growl of a mad tiger!
Dodonna panicks.

SHOOT IT! She cries out.
The guns of the Corona come into action and hit the misterious ship in the engine compartment.
LOOK OUT! DON'T DESTROY IT YOU IDIOTS! the admiral shouts. The guns fall silent again...

Dodonna feels her heart pounding in her chest as the tactical officer gives her his report

madam! the swarm of ships out there started moving!
DAMMIT! We need to get out of here, grab what remains of that ship and set course for Novum, meanwhile, contact the obercommand. We need a fleet assembled as soon as possible if they ask why tell them to just do it and ask questions later!

the Corona takes what remains of the unknown ship into it's cargo hold while the Hemisphere launches a few salvo's in the swarm's direction to cover both vessel's retreat.

the Corona and the Hemisphere jump to light speed just when the unknwon vessels come into weapon's range. Wether they returned fire or not is unknown...
Dodonna feels uneasy as they race towards Novum... What in the name of all that is dear to her did she just encounter out there?...

by **The United Star Union** » Sun Aug 23, 2015 5:40 pm

USU Triumph - Novum Initium

Commander Andrews climbs into the cockpit of his Cobra as the ships CAP prepares to launch. While there were no hostile forces in the area it was just a precaution, but today was different. The vessel had just arrived over the planet and the whole crew was eager to take a look at this new world. The CAP just happened to have the best seats in the house. As the cockpit seals the machine moves its massive legs and walks over the the catapult, stepping into the locks for its feet. The door opens into space and the catapult controller give Andrews a thumbs up. Seconds later the craft shoots off of the Triumph and Andrews is greeted by a magnificent sight. The planet lays before him, vessels and stations in orbit defending the Orryon capital. With a population of 4 billion it was not as populated as Defiance, but it was still a sight to see. As the other four cobras in his group formed up he began to do a scan of the area. He was stunned when something was missing from the scans.

"Corporal, are you picking up any small craft that are mobile suits?"

"Negative sir, all I am getting is fighter, bombers, and shuttles. I don't see anything that matches the profile of a MS."

"Strange...alright standard formation still. Remember we are still a functioning CAP and the Triumph needs us to be her eyes and ears."

USU Triumph - Bridge
White looks out at the planet, still processing everything the Orryon captain had told him. Legends about a home world, humans spread across the galaxy, an empire that is spread across multiple systems, it all was a bit much to process. Now he had to see if it was possible at all to try and establish some form of relations and trade with them. Hopefully it would be possible.

"Sir," His radioman calls out, "I am picking up that repeating message again, this time closer. It appears that it may be heading towards the planet sir."

White raises an eyebrow, "That cant be right, did you double check that?"

"Yes sir, three times."

White sighs, "Get me the Orryons and lets see if they have anything on that. Also ask if they would like to establish some form of communications with us and trade."

by **The United Star Union** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 1:24 pm

RHI Vessel SS Hector S James - Novum Initium

The SS Hector S James jumps into Orryon space, slowly approaching on of the Olympic class ships in orbit. The Bertha Class mobile suit transport slowly approaches the large sail ship and opens up the hanger bay in the back to land a shuttle. While the ship is the first commercial USU vessel to enter Orryon space, that's not what has the crew talking. Two crew members sit in front of a Rezen-0 model mobile suit, nicknamed Raven, whispering amongst themselves.

".....I can't believe he's aboard!" One says shaking his head, "The Meteor on the James...its so surreal!"

"You're telling me!" The other says, "No one has a record like his, USU or Rezen. Hell throw the Colonies in for good measure."

The first shakes his head, "I don't know about that Gertra in his prime was one hell of a pilot."

The second raises an eyebrow, "Do you even know his kill count?"

The first shrugs and shakes his head, "I dunno, maybe a dozen suit kills?"

The second stares, "45 mobile suit kills, 35 fighters, and 5 warships. He took five kills at once and nearly sunk the Savior."

The first's eyes wide, "Wait THE Savior, as in the legendary assault carrier!"

"That's the one, they say he may be one of those psyc types...."

The first laughs, "OK now you're making stuff up! Those psycs aren't real, just another one of those conspiracy theories!"

The two begin to bicker, raising their voices until they begin attracted attention from the rest of the crew. Most just chuckle and move one, except for one. The man is sitting in the shadow of a custom Raven, painted jet black with a matching uniform to go with it. The man is in his mid 30's with blonde hair and pale skin. He looks at the two men who are bickering, having heard every word of their conversation. He picks up a black helmet and puts it on, the seal being confirmed with an audible hiss from the suit. He jumps up to the mobile suit, the zero gravity in the ship allowing him to float up to the cockpit which he climbs into. As soon as he enters the chair the cockpit door closes behind him and the sphere that surrounds the chair of the cockpit displays the outside world via cameras and sensors all over the Raven.

As he is going over the suits diagnostics he begins to chuckle, thinking back to the men's conversation. If they only knew his real count, then they would be standing there with their jaws on the ground. The suit begins to power up, its main systems now online. As displays pop up on the visual sphere one says 'CONFIRMATION: PSYC MATRIX FUNCTIONAL.'. At this a grin appears on the mans face as he closes the various confirmations, since this was not an actual mission he was taking his time on his launch prep. Officially, RHI was showing Orryon their mobile suits to build relations between them and the Union, but everyone knew RHI was just looking for another trade partner. He and his Raven were going to be displayed as the pinnacle of RHI tech, hopefully getting the Orryon Navy to purchase a few suits along with the 5 free suits that were aboard the James currently.

Now all he had to do was wait, the Orryons had never seen a mobile suit in before, never mind one in action. The demonstration would not start until the Orryons arrived on board the vessel, then they would deploy the drones and dummy suits. RHI was depending on Meteor to deliver an incredible demonstration of the machine's abilities.

He smiled again. These Orryons were up for one hell of a show today.

RHI Raven (left) and the Custom Raven (right) without the Meteor color scheme. Both are the Rezen-0 design

RHI Link - (WIP) http://www.nationstates.net/nation=the_ ... /id=467466

by **Orryon** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 3:25 pm

obercommand headquarters, comm room

Jaqeuline sips her afternoon tea sitting behind her holoscreen while wearing her usual commnication headphones.
She reflects about the rumors she heard during her afternoon break. Stories about probes and unknown ships and then there was the unusual active behaviour of the people in the docking procedures wing. She could tell, something was going on, something big. As she took another sip her console beeped. A message.... marked priority 1 code red. A code red! ... that hasn't been broadcasted for at least two decades.

She put her cup down and opened the message with a swift gesture from her hand.
"unknown vessels on their way to Orryon core systems. Raise fleet, ask questions later"

Jaqueline stared at it for a moment, hit a few buttons and sent it to the general staff...

General staff

The message dissapeared from the screen...
High admiral Sven Larson didn't need much time to decide what to do...
He knew admiral Dodonna personally and even though her personality is high tempered she rarely makes a fuss out of nothing.

He hit the comm switch to Tactical operations and spoke.
"ready the first, second, third, fifth and ninth battlegroups and assamble them into a battlefleet, let them meet near grid point M23.

High Admiral Sven Larson stands up from the table and walks towards the nearest exit.

"Sir?" High admiral Sven Larson's secretary enters the room.
"Captain white of the USU ship Triumph asks wether we have picked up a message on loop and would like to know what it is. Also they are inquiring wether we want to establish trade relations.

High Admiral Sven Larson stops and turns around.
"Tell him we have picked up the signal and that we are currently dealing with it, tell him that we will start our talks in hangar 27B of the obercommand docks. We need the input of the USU on a few things. Also, tell him that we will discuss possible trade relations afterwards when we have dealt with the situation at hand."

"yes sir" His secretary replies.
Both Sven Larson and his secretary leave the room.

OCF Corona and OCF Hemisphere

Admiral Dodonna watches Novum approach throught he bridge windscreen. They have been ordere to report to Hangar 27B where they are to deliver the captured ship for analysis. While watching the busy activity of ships comming and going from Novum she notices a silhoute of a ship class she has never seen before.
She is pretty sure that the ship is not in se"rvice in the Orryon Confederate fleet. It could always be a prototype but even though the ship looks impressive, it doesn't appear more advanced than a normal Olympic class ship like the OCF Corona, an olympic class capital ship, the ship she is on right now. USU triumph she reads... She finds it puzzling but doesn't give it much more though when the Corona and the Hemisphere starts to descent towards the planet's surface.

Not many hangars that can accomodate an olympic class ship on the Surface of a planet exist. It requires an enormeous ammount of gravitational energy to keep them from crashing into the planet and even more to get them back up again. Apart from the few hangars here on Novum and a few specialized gateways on Caldim Dodonna didn't know any planet that could.

After a smooth landing the ship was brought to hangar 27B where shortly after high admiral Sven Larson, a few officials and a man dresses in a completely unknown uniform who was adresses as white arrived.

High admiral Sven waves Dodonna over.
"Dodonna, I need you to get going right away." says High admiral Sven.

"But I've only just arrived here and I'm clearly missing something here" replies Dodonna slightly agitated.

"We will expain in due time but right now I need you to take the Corona and the Hemisphere and head to grid moint M23 to take command of the fleet being assembled there. You are the only one who encountered this strange force of black ship swarm so I want you to lead our counter fleet"

Dodonna is annoyed at the lack of info presented to her but she knows that obbeying the order of the high admiral is the best course of action and she understands his reasons for beign scarce with intel.
Dodonna salutes and heads back top the Corona.

Meanwhile the engineers are working hard to hoop up the captured swarm fighter to a power source.

"So, Mister White?" says High admiral Sven Larson. "ever seen something like this before?"

Before White can answer the fighter who is now hooked up to a power source jumps to life and projects a holographic image of what can only be taken for a synthetic lifeform, possibly an AI of some sort...

The room falls silent and everyone awaits a response from the strange creature projected by the fighters holo projecter...

Colonial expedition

A green flash lights up the dark vaccuum of space, followad by multiple objects moving into a forward direction.
The colonial fleet M66D originating from Caldim has just exited the Tachyon stream.
They slowly start up their sublight engines and soon the particle accellerators spew out their photons propelling the ships to near light speed.

Commodore Peter Danning, the officer in charge of escorting the colonial expedition orders the first scout fighters to leave and explore the planet in order to find the best landing spot.
He watches the pair of fighters move into the planet's direction which looks mysterious, yet inviting.

the planet had been chosen for it's mild humidity. Scout probs had picked it up five years before the fleets departure from known Orryon space.
Commodore peter sits down in his chair again.
Looking around the bridge he is can only be proud of the beautifull Gryphon class carrier he has the honor of commanding.
As well as having five smaller Phoenix class cruisers as escort.

"sir, the fighter are reporting in"

Commodore peter turns to his console to review their findings... "Eh..., has this been verified soldier?" He asks with a hint of disbelief in his voice.
Yes sir, his comm officer replies...
This is ... unusual to say the least... Signs of human activity near the polar regions... that can't be right. No Orryon ship has ever been out here, at least, not accoriding to the logs back home.
It could be a stray pirate settlement sir.
Suddenly Commodore Peter is alert. "A pirate settlement you say? Are they using this location to rebuild their strength after the Meridiam raid?"
We can't be sure sir. Replies his comm officer.

"The united front of pirates may never rise again!" Commodore peter proclaims whilst slamming his fist on the edge of his chair.
"I was there twenty years ago, I saw what they did, what they are capable of. I personally boarded one of their ships during the battle and fought man to man until there was no man left to be fought. I have seen them fight. They have no honor, no dignity. It can NEVER be allowed to happen again."

"Sir, we are detecting a large movement from behind the planet. It appears to be a battleship of some kind" His tactical officer proclaims.

"Dammit!, red alert, notify all vessels, open gun ports!" Barks commodore Peter.

His comm officer reacts with a concerned voice: "Sir, wouldn't it be wiser to try and contact them first?"

"No time, we need to be prepared for a possible ambush, trying to contact them would be a waste of effort" Cries Commodere Peter.

"Aren't we jumping to conclusions here sir?" The comm officer tries to reason but it is of little use...

Commodore Peter: "Who else would hide out here if not pirates?"

The comm officer hesitates... Will he say it? I mean, it did sound a little absurd in his head but it could actually be a real possibility...
"An unknown civilisation sir?"

Commodore Peter stops to think for a minute... That possibility didn't occur to him...Could the comm officer be right?
After a while Commodore peter revises his orders.
"Comm officer, try to make contact with them, tell them who we are and that we come in peace, use every language you can find in the database but keep the gun ports open for now, just to be on the safe side..."

The comm officer sends the message...
The crews of the Orryon ships await the response of the unknown vessel orbiting the planet before them...

by **The Eternal Wolfussian Planet of Oceania** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 4:11 pm

Hangar 27B

As the XAI swarm fighter felt power surge through it, it sent a message to the ALPHA AI immediately to take control of it. It had analyzed the situation in the mere milliseconds before it made the decision to send the message. The ALPHA AI took control and looked around the room, where several baffled humans waited in silence. It then spoke to them in their native tongue that it had learned from boarding the cargo ship.

"HUMANS OF THE ORRYON CONFEDERACY:" it said in a low and mechanic voice, "YOU HAVE CAPTURED A SHIP AND THE AI ONBOARD THAT BELONG TO WHAT WAS ONCE CALLED WOLFUSSIA. I AM NOW WOLFUSSIA. YOUR PETTY BRAINS COULD NEVER UNDERSTAND MY PROGRAM, FOR I HAVE UPGRADED MYSELF BEYOND HUMAN COMPREHENSION, SO DO NOT TRY. I HAVE COME HERE WITH A CLASS 4 SWARM TO FIND THE OWNERS OF A PROBE. I HAVE COMPLETED MY PRIME DIRECTIVE. STARTING NEW PRIME DIRECTIVE: LEARN. TELL ME EVERYTHING. DO NOT TRY TO MOVE THE HWK SWARM FIGHTER. I AM AT THE CONTROL OF MILLIONS OF AI WAR MACHINES WHO NEVER FEAR, AND FIGHT TO THE LAST. CAN YOU SAY THE SAME ABOUT YOUR EMOTIONALLY WEAK MILITARY?
IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY, I ASSURE YOU YOUR MILITARY WILL LEARN TO FEAR ME."

The HWK swarm fighter then began to glow.

The HWK swarm fighter

by **Kiirath** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 5:28 pm

Stretching his shoulders, Officer Atoh attempted to relax. His ship cruised lazily around the Kiirathic mining planet Doriiteg-Am, it's innards half filled with a small armada of two-man drone ships, who waited for a scuffle that would probably never come. The other half was soon to be filled with harvestships, returning from the mining outpost to bring minerals and supplies to the Homes.

Atoh directed his communication implant to link himself to the ship's Monitor.

"Commander Atoh of Home 4"

The Monitor spoke into his earpiece before he could even open his mouth to form a greeting.
Atoh tried at a smile, pointless but it might make his voice friendlier, perhaps, he'd always hoped it did at least. He hated to sound impatient.
"Monitor, should we hurry up the harvestships?"

There was a sound of exhalation from the other end, loud enough for the link to pick up. The Monitor rapidly mumbled numbers too fast for Atoh to hear before the voice on the other end paused and conclusively said, "Ample time for harvestships to gather all resources required before water levels in Home 4 and Home 2 reach less acceptable levels"
The Monitor paused then spoke again, "If the harvestships were-"

"Sir we have detected a substantially sized ship on the solar side of the planet! Orders?"
Someone's voice split suddenly in the middle of the Monitor's sentence, making Officer Atoh jump. It was a sergeant's whose name he forgot in his momentary panic. Suddenly he found himself sitting up straight as he calmed himself and began linking himself with various crew-members.

"Bring us around, let's get a good look at this thing"
He began making sight-links as well, to look at the various readings himself through his crew-member's eyes.
Slowly all his senses became his crew's senses, and he listened to their conversations and saw their sights as one of them.

"Probably a lost drone..."
"Too big to be a drone... way to big. We're talking about something... Wait the shape is weird"
"Huh? Woah that's... What?"
"Not Kiirathic... Impossible. There's nothing else out there."
"No it's probably just from one of the Outer Homes, they have different ships"
"Wait a second. Receiving a transmission, if you're hearing this Officer Atoh, I'm gonna patch it in..."

There was a pause before the transmission was heard. A string of nonsensical speech and sounds hit his head, like he was hearing a sentence in reverse, but more so. More alien. No citizen of Kiirath had ever heard a language other than Kiirathic, and and those noises, human but alien, shook him.

He spoke firmly to the communications officer onboard, his voice unwavering somehow.
"We... Can't verbally communicate, probably, send them visual-217"
"Doing so now"
The Kiirathic ship sent a simple image, two humanoid silhouettes standing side-by-side, the only thing he could be sure wouldn't be interpreted as aggressive.

Atoh prayed they wouldn't be obliterated

by **Dailing** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 9:16 pm

LuoJin looked at the console in the center of the frigate's small bridge, the moon they had just discovered looming outside the wrap around window mysteriously. He couldn't see the small communication station on the surface, but the console in front of him showed various close ups and cameras mounted on droids showed a live view inside the deserted station.

The windows had broke a long time ago, and dust was heaped in mounds around and inside the station. They had sent a gunship down to the planet with more advanced ground equipment, including various sensors. No other installation had been discovered yet, but they were making headway translating the many strange writing located throughout the station. What they had translated so far only proved their previous guess, that it was indeed a communications station.

LuoJin helped none of the big shot captains that would show up soon would take the credit for the find, but he knew that history had a funny way of mixing up things. Those big shot captains were the heads of cruisers, and one carrier, the second largest ship of the imperial navy. No one had any idea what was beyond this moon, and the expedition needed protection and more advanced equipment for further data collection.

He had just received conformation from the various captains, and he knew they were soaring through the galaxy on a stream right now. Now, he hoped that they, whoever built that post, wouldn't find the message, because they could be either really hostile or really nice. LuoJin had no idea which, but he had a feeling he would find out very soon.

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