This is your wake-up call (FT-Closed, IC)

[Yos Namoi]

It took a moment for Odaj to process all that Valtha had said, and over the course of the translation she had varied reactions. At first she couldn't help but blush at the thought that the Genomitans had assumed she was the leader of the entire planet. Her thoughts danced around the idea, only to be dashed by her own self-pity. Her face then turned to uncertainty as the other leaders were discussed. It was clear that the Genomitans had no idea of how Zaeri politics worked, and Odaj saw the danger in this naivety. Finally, her face changed to both surprise and concern as Valtha informed her that one of the new arrivals had chosen to broadcast a message to the whole planet. She knew this could very well create a problem for everyone involved, and feared the intentions of the new arrivals. Finally, she rested with a confused face as Valtha explained the asteroid coming for the planet, which was believed to be inhabited.

Odaj thought for a moment, attempting to figure out what to say. Finally, she pieced together what she thought would be best. When she was finished, the machine translated.

"Well, I thank you for your kind words. Our world is a very dangerous place, homed to many many dangerous predators that can give even the greatest warrior a worthy challenge. Not to mention, we have a history of cruelty and oppression as aspects of our government. As such, we are raised to be strong and persevere through hardships, no matter what they are. Likewise, we are raised to root out deceit and lies through our loyalty. Moreso, I appreciate that you thought I worthy of rulership over the entire world, but I assure you, I am not capable of even running this settlement, let alone the whole world.

But enough of my self-doubt, it seems you are ignorant of Zaeri politics. I do not hold this against you, nor do I find this surprising, but I feel I must explain to you that alliances and unifying the planet are not easy things to put into practice... you see, those who are born outside a settlement are consider an outsider by said settlement, and no matter what squabbles each settlement may get into with each other, all settlements collectively agree: Outsiders are not to be trusted. This is partly why Qayati is so... cold to your presence, not because she has anything against you personally, but because she, like all of us, are raised to be distrustful of outsiders. Even I was raised this way, though I do not embrace it like my compatriots do. Every settlement hates each other with a burning passion. If you were not born within their walls, you are the enemy. I cannot explain why this is so, but it has been this way for centuries, and is unlikely to change anytime soon. We are a stubborn people, you see. Difficult to accept change.

Out of all the settlements, however, you could not have picked a worse one. Yos Vanor, as I have said, has never been conquered. This has earned both the respect, and hatred, of it's enemies. Especially the latter. The other chieftesses... they aren't like me. They are... brash, bold, cruel, and most importantly, hateful. All in their own ways, some moreso than others. I cannot imagine them ever agreeing to an alliance with Genomita, for they can barely stand their own fellow Zaeri. In truth, I don't see any way to bring peace to the planet without total conquest.

Well, actually, there might be another way. If an alien power were to invade the planet, then undoubtedly all the Zaeri would rise up together and unite to fight off this foe. For although we all hate each other, I am sure we could all agree that, for the sake of our people and world, that alien invaders must be defeated first and foremost. Such a historical thing could even bring us closer together, but personally, I hope neither a world war nor an alien invasion ever come to Yos Namoi. I suppose we could try diplomacy... but I do not have high hopes for it being successful. I will have someone contact the other settlements and inform them of what is happening. I can only hope they will not hinder our attempts at unification and peace."

When the translator was finished, Odaj turned around and signaled down the empty hallway, seemingly to nothing. However, it quickly became apparent this was not the case, as seconds later a guard uncloaked before them.

"Send a message to the other settlements, and tell them of what is transpiring."

The guard bowed, and then like a flash, she cloaked again, disappearing before their eyes. Odaj turned back to Valtha and spoke again.

"Now then, you said a asteroid was coming toward the planet? And that it was inhabited?"

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

When the Vogegan message was first heard, everything had quieted. People looked to the skies like they had before, unsure of what to make of it at first. In Yos Vanor things went a little differently from the first time. They had already heard the Genomitans' message, so they were not as surprised to hear a foreign language they could not understand, but they noticed that this time the language was different. The citizenry could not understand, however, what this one meant anymore than the first. More aliens, perhaps? What did they want? Who were they? Where did they come from? Fear and suspicion were abound, as this time the voice sounded cold and harsh, unlike the Genomitans' message.

In the other settlements, things didn't go as smoothly. Similar to when the Genomitans contacted Yos Vanor, panic first overtook the peoples, coupled with violence... but unlike in Yos Vanor, the people weren't calmed by a speech from their leader, oh no, they were subdued by their government. Guards viciously beat the rioters, regardless of if they were violent or not. It was clear that these chieftesses were not like Odaj, they did not try to calm their people, they preferred to crush what they saw as unstable rabble, criminals, undesirables. Their word was law, and in their sadistic way they spoke the law in whispers, alone, where it could not be heard. They did ask their people to be calm, but they did so in their minds, where the people could not hear them, so that they could perform their acts of cruelty with no objection. One could ask why people would tolerate such oppression, but one would then be ignorant to how the Zaeri view cruelty.

For the Zaeri it was simple - the cruel, the vicious, the oppressive - were good leaders. For the Zaeri, the worst they had to offer were the best there were to lead. For the Zaeri, 'cruelty' meant 'strength'.

Unable to understand what the messages said, they went (for the most part) unanswered as leaders beat their people into submission in the streets. Meanwhile, in Yos Vanor, linguists prepared to copy the message and transfer it to the translator aiding Odaj with the Genomitans for future reference. In the meantime, they attempted to issue a reply, well aware that the Vogegans wouldn't be unable to understand it.

[Vogega]

V.E.S. Explor
Captain Makoe had just been playing a game of Sharkin Ball on the recreation deck, it would be a long time before they saw part of the empire again, when the Genomitan message was received by the bridge.
"Captain."
"Go ahead," he said over his com link.
"The Genomitans have sent a message to us."
"I'll we right there."
The captain took a lift to the bridge, some elevator music played, but it had a hidden purpose. It would drown out the sound of the elevator falling to the bottom of the ship in case of attackers using it to try to switch levels.
The doors slid open with a ding and the captain strode out.
"Play the message he ordered."

You are correct that we hold no sway over this system, and we have no intention of blocking you from conducting negotiations on your own. You are free to send down a representative of your own. However, any attempt to harm the envoy or hinder our negotiations with the natives will be treated as an act of war and will be responded to accordingly, as will any use of force against Zaeri that agreed to an alliance with the Star Community. Likewise, we will honor those terms in regards to your negotiations. We have come in peace. Let us keep it that that way.

The captain snorted. Hindering negotiations a declaration of war! Bah. It was good strategy.
The envoy slid onto the bridge his metallic gray skin shining.
"I suggest that we send diplomatic probes to all settlements that we know have different leaders. Especially the capital. Also, we should announce or presence in Scav. They were from this area and may have some ties to it."
"Resend the message but in Scav(Parts of the Zeri language).

Greetings, we are the Voegan Empire and we come in peace, but that depends on you. Any hostility will be seen as a declaration of war and as such, we will respond immediately. However, we would like to make friendly contact and if you could send us some coordinates to land on, it would be most appreciated.

"Should we wait for a response or send our probes."
"Send them," the captain ordered.
The probes flew out from the bottom hangar of the ship. Shaped like spheres, they had two "eyes" that held cameras and a mouth shaped voice box for the diplomat to talk through. The diplomat was plugged into a special chair that allowed him to control every probe. A machine gun that fired plasma could protrude from under the mouth if needed.
The probes fell through the atmosphere of the planet and its satellite heating up as they fell. They would reach just outside the settlements in minutes, firing thrusters to reduce impact against the ground.
A message was broadcast to the settlements of both the planet, and its satellite.

We have sent some probes to land outside your settlements. We believe that we will be able to reach an agreement. If you have a data pachakge of your language ready, we would like a copy for us to use to talk to you with.

[Genomita]

"Launch detected from the vogegan ship! said the Dhaina-magag, hir eyes widening as the ship's keen senses and sensores detected the launch of the probes from the Vogegan ship. "Permission to fire? I can shoot the objects down before they ennter the planet's atmosphere."

One of the screens showing what the ship saw focused on a spherical object with what appeared to be two camera lenses and something that looked like a mouth on their front as it sped towards the planet. "Hold your fire. I will inform the envoy first." The pilot nodded at this, immediately establishing a connection to the envoy's communicator.

"Envoy, the vogegan ship has launched a number of probes that re currently heading for the surface. Judging by their current trajectory they are headed for the settlements, including one that is headed your way. Here is a recording of one of the probes." Commander Rhes pressed a button on hir keyboard and Valtha and those near hir were treated to a recording of the spherical probe they had seen a moment ago. The Dhaina can destroy them before they reach their goal at your command."

Valtha glowered at the recording displayed on hir symbiosuit's wristpad. The situation was slowly beginning to grate on hir considerable patience, and the vogegans' actions certainly weren't helping matters. "Negative. They don't appear armed, but keep tracking them just in case. In the even that they do turn out to be hostile, i want them destroyed immediately and with pinpoint accuracy, provided the Zaeri don't destroy them themselves. Opening fire on these probes now would send the wrong message to both the Zaeri and the Vogegans, and I cannot have that. As for the one currently headed to this settlement, I will let Odaj decide how to deal with one. After all, she is the chieftess of Yos Vanor, and I am but a visitor here."

The commander responded with a grave nod. "Understood. We will do as you command." Once the channel was closed the commander immediately began to type a message to the vogegan ship.

This is coomander Rhes of the Dhaina. We have detected your launch of probes toward the planet's surface. Explain yourselves.

-----

Valtha's symbiosuit closed the wristpad's communicator after the message ended, giving it's host what seemed to be the equivalent of a worried look. The envoy nodded, beckoning the symbiosuit with both upper hands. It responded by splitting open and lowering itself to the ground at hir feet before slowly enveloping hir slender form beneath the robe. Valtha stifled a sigh of relief when the procedure was complete and the symbiosuit sealed. Ze was beginning to feel a little worried as well, though ze didn't let it show to Odaj and the translator. Hir honor guard, on the other hand knew hir too well to be fooled.

"Speaking of dealing with it, how do you suggest we approach this change? The probes will most likely serve a diplomatic purpose, so do you think we should go and greet the one heading here? I admit sending probes to contact several groups at once is a rather efficient approach to diplomacy if it is not taken the wrong way, though it does seem a bit... impersonal, no? Either way, if these machines turn out to be more than they appear to be you will have our support in dealing with them. Provided your people need our support at all, of course.

As for what you told me about Zaeri politics. If things are really as bad as you say and you are really the only chieftess wise enough to understand the importance of cooperation and understanding over hatred and distrust, then we must have come to the right place after all. And I fear that your people might very well spark a war with the vogegans if they destroy their probes without provocation. I pray that it won't come to that, or that your people will survive their response if it does."

[Neo ORB]

Gemini Class Destroyer: Zweig der Einsamkeit
Mistress: Tali Ronqi
Bridge:

It didn't take long as Tali watched the sun grow closer and closer until she knew that the light being reflected off of the hull would illuminate the vessel in a shining blue like solid Sapphire. However as Tali manipulated the controls she soon came to a stand still a few hundred thousand miles apart from the unknowns.
Tali had remained silent but she could hear the small chatter that the bridge crew beyond the tunnel clamored at as they watched with partial excitement as they watched the features of the strange vessels.

However for Tali as she floated alone she sighed lightly and continued to be ever vigilant as another ping rolled across the vessel. However instead of any voice rippling across her senses, a hologram of lettering appeared silently before her. The lettering and symbol were different but instantly the database worked and translated as the vase amounts of corrupted knowledge gained across millennia filled in the gaps that the vocal database couldn't follow.
Quickly a composed message was compiled and formed in a vast array of strange lines and dots and various other strange imagery unable to be explained.
However as Tali read the message she lightly sighed and felt embarrassed by the fact she overlooked such a simple barrier.

If you can read this, please respond in kind from here on. Thanks to your change of course our ship database has managed to identify your ship as Nare-made based on an older design discovered, however, that is unfortunately nearly all the information we have available at this moment. The only other note mentions a 'migration', but no details. If these terms are correct, please let us know. I am sure there is still much that we can learn about each other.

Tali lightly smiled... it seems this strange occupant had known of them. But there knowledge was only at the peak of such an iceberg, equivalent to only a drop of water in a vast ocean of potential knowledge and undisturbed horror's. But as Tali reread the massage once more she lightly smiled and then worked onto a response letting her fingers glide through empty air until a translucent dimly lit box appeared. Luckily the system seemed to hold long enough as she painstakingly wrote various strange symbols within a hologram in front of her with the tips of her delicate looking fingers. And then once finished with even a smile the pulled her hand from the box and watched the symbol change and warping into some strange new message built from the cumulation of data that spread across five thousand eight hundred plus known races.

As Tali looked at the message she smiled mischievously and then with a light flick of her fingers hit the outeredge of the strange box which she had typed her message and watched the box not only disappear but roar forward into the void on a head on collision with the unknowns. Of course there was no danger since this was but a message but Tali light smiled knowing that the same action of a simple flick also was the trigger for the release of missile silos hidden within the hull of the destroyer. As she waited she slowly once more looked the feeds and focused in on the hanger and those inside it.

However was she saw instead was the finalized crystallization procedure of the Mistress an her daughter as they were securely encased within a solid blue one by width, two point five meter by length crystal pod resembling a shaven crystal oval laying diagonally at sixty degrees from out of the hanger's floor. Inside the strange crystal the two were also encase within a protective layer of strange luminescent green gel which would protect them from fatal reentry temperatures and absorb the destructive blow should the crystal slam into the surface in the unseen circumstance of critical malfunction.

As Tali watched the crystal pod lightly start to reverberate, it slowly started to sink downwards as if the crystal around it had suddenly reformed into water. As the pod sank it reached to the point where two meters had passed between the pod and metal and then suddenly got stuck as the crystal around it hardened. However if one looked carefully the "end" of the pod was lightly hollow as a small glow suddenly started to build as a small bolt of electricity generated a small snap. As the glowing brightened the voltage increased until it was starting to leave small burn marks on the surrounding crystal as the arcs of pure energy generated burned at the crystal metal.
Then as small scales started to open up as small flares of directive energy roared from each opening scale. The pod roared destructively and was explosively fired as if the surrounding air exploded as though the strange crystal suddenly became a missile exploded downwards as a torrent of liquid metal seemed to follow with the flash jettison of the pod.
Tali quickly closed the feed and looked down only to watch the strange pod with its brightly glowing end blaze rapidly downwards away from the vessel. And then suddenly as if remembering that the pods launch could be taken as some sudden act of war. Tali quickly send the message out as the pod which had flared brightly as it exited from the destroyer, once more started to roll bright and bouncing electrical currents of energy along its frame as if they were fairy's mischievously dancing on a moon lit lake.
Of course this still looked dangerous as the bolts of destructive energy converged and exploded along the pods frame, however the currents were actually pushing the vessel and redirecting it towards the planet as the energy's converging beams reached the frontal end of the pod. Like its opposite location were the powerful engine lightly pushed the pod ever downwards the area was hollowed out however in it's center a spinning sphere ran stable in a singular motion. However as the various beams danced along the opening, the spinning sphere rippled lightly like a glittering gemstone as a small change in gravitational alignment at the entrance forced the energy's to converge and be drawn into the small spinning sphere. However this was just a continual force of power as the orb reabsorbed and then released the energy through the pod back into the engine while the process continued to endlessly feed power to the pod.

However as the pod's energy's danced, small bright lances of energy would once and a while completely ripple like lightning outwards. These massive lances of energy would majorly redirect the small pod as it rapidly accelerated towards the planet without any intention of stopping or slowing. Almost like a raging beast heading towards the interloper that encroached on its territory.

Can you understand this? We have no clue if this method will prevail to be understood.
Your terminology of "Nare-made" disheartens me but is none the less accurate. This vessel, known as "Zweig der Einsamkeit" in your language, "Standard"
is what we believe you children call it now, is a "Destroyer" Gemini-Class of the Nare Collective.

And although it shames me to admit, this communication was never intended to happen, however now that it has, we are left with... "few" options.
However there is no need to fear such barbaric solutions to such minor problems. And as you have stated you wish to know about us, we will be glad to ease such innocent curiosity. However your term of a "migration" means that your species has had contact at some point with at least one of our collective.
However you have no need to worry our purpose here is not of a "Migration" but of what you could call "Re-exploration" we were simply here to realigning our charts with this "Era" now that we have returned to this... universal stage.

However before that, please allow us to, jettison a rather precious package, while we know of one of the other "Guests", I can not say that our own personal relationship is one of steady terms and as this package is of great importance to us... we would rather not have them compromised should hostility breach appropriate levels, If you wish you can also count this as our delegation on this matter then do so as you please.

---

Blue, green, brown, white, black, ashen gray, amber, yellow, red, crimson, pink, colors that surrounded an every changing view. The chirp and hum of birds in the immediate vicinity unconcerned with the oddity's of life other then the continuation of feeding, digesting, flying and reproducing. The warmth of a sun far to big to imagine illuminating off of a massive world one felt like they could reach out and grasp within there fingers.
Various moons of different sizes and shapes glowing within darkness even deeper then the darkest shades of black imaginable.
Such a flurry of strange experiences is what "she" dreamt of, what she would have continued to dream of until something entered into her mind.

Something cold with a rush of small pain and something foreign... alien flowing through her body like sudden fire. A burning sensation suddenly seemed to tingle every cell, every nerve and thought that transpired with the hive of slowly growing cells that one cradled within there skulls. And the colors and world so far away only existing now within memory's that "she" had dreamt of faded until "she" was alone drowning within a void of emptiness so thick it could even hamper her sense movement.
Instantly within that emptiness she screamed and yet no voice would echo out from her throat. No glimmers of hope could escape her sight as her body slowly faded away into the emptiness. No matter how much she struggled she couldn't feel any movement in this emptiness. and quickly she could that her strength was leaving her until she grew so cold "she" stopped completely.
And then in that emptiness as she gave up "She" held within her own powerlessness, in her complete fear of this unknown that held her in its grasp...
But lost in this emptiness something happened, suddenly the cold that made her cease receded slowly like a vast ocean and slowly warmth grew to her extremity's and spread inwards as if the tide had returned. Quickly her body regained his warmth and then continued until she was burning like a bright torch.
The emptiness slowly dissolved as something bright took its place, a field of blue and luminescent green as far as the eye could see but still "she" could not move. And yet the warmth the seemed to cradle her was comforting, as soft as fresh dough and yet hard like a sturdy wall. Yet that was not all as she perceived something different, a strange constant warmth pressed to her back and legs. She wanted to feel what it was but in this immobilization no matter how she struggled nothing would give to her movement.

And so she sighed in her own powerlessness and studied the field until she glimmered something beyond her imagination as the strange blue field faded as if it had been mist on a piece of glass. Once more "She" plummeted into a strange new world of emptiness and darkness. And yet there was life and light in the strange bright dots while so far away that seemed to surround her vision. "She" was amazed, taken back by the surreal beauty of it all. But naturally who wouldn't be taken back by such a simple vision for the first time. Her amazement however only grew as the lights that were so far away were replaced with a new strange feeling.

"She" caught it by glance against the occasional bright flash, the appearance of shrinking crystal in a world of black... however something quickly took her vision as a sphere gained her attention. Then that sphere grew, it grew and grew until her vision was captured entirely. The vivid colors and scenes that remained her of the strange sphere that watched over her own memory's once more played in her mind. And then she watched the world turn to fire as her vision was clouded in orange. The land, the seas, the mountain's, everything was growing, expanding drawing closer and closer as the burning orange continued to hold on. "She" didn't know it but her arrival was thunderous as their descent broke the sound barrier over and over. "She" couldn't perceive it, but the way they descended was on a continual but slight angle as "they" ripped across the skies.

However as the bright orange that had roared constantly suddenly seemed to lessen, "She" was puzzeled, not by the sudden disappearance of the orange, but of the crack that had appeared... Of the crack that was relentlessly growing as they moved towards the ground. And then with a bang louder then anything she had ever conceived. "She" was falling toward the ground as something wet and clingy was stripped away from her body.
It was an odd silence that embraced her. The "bang" had robbed her of her hearing, Gravity had realigned her senses making her feel like she was floating. Wind resistance at the extreme speed she descended had stolen from her even the slightest twitch of movement...
Once more she was reminded...
Reminded of that silent horror. Of the vast emptiness that had only gripped her just a little while back... and so she wondered.
Was she still dreaming had everything she's seen been a lie, or had she woken up only to see lies and to continue the dream...

"She" was falling... Falling to her death, falling into the emptiness at waited for her once more with open greedy hands. And so oddly "she" closed her eyes and welcomed the emptiness rushing to met her. Her death would be quick... Her death would be painless... her death would be unnoticed... and then she would continue... Could continue to dream of an illusion so sweet that it was addictive beyond compare. However as "She" was forced to open her eyes against a sudden gentle embrace that grabbed her, she saw not the emptiness that she expected...

What she saw was greenery that ran into the horizon what she breathed was air as clean as that from the place so far away her hand could never reach it alone. However it was not the greenery or air that suddenly brought an obscurity to her vision... It was who held her in such a tender embrace, who had also fallen through the sky likely in desperation with a single goal. As "She" looked upwards to that person, a small tear stricken face was reflected back. Skin that seemed to hold a faded tribal tattoo that ran along her entire body, eyes that held too many colors to count. And the four wings that held them that shouldn't have been there... and so she spoke with curiosity at the one thing that seemed to concern her, Her voice was small, squeaking as small notes of high music and chirps ran from her throat.

"Mama?... why are you crying?..."

---

Yulasina had woken when they were in reentry as the reverberations roused her from the slight drugs that coursed through her system. Her spine was still on fire. The rapid growth of muscles, veins, artery's, bones, skin and feathers that relentlessly molted and regrew exhausted her mentally and physically. however she had a job to get them to the ground safely. The moment the "Migration" pod had entered the atmosphere it's sensors would have done a efficient sweep of the planets atmosphere. Any point were even a small trail could be picked up as their descent would roll them into a singular passing orbit before landing at the most recent location were disturbance would be located.

However there was a small problem, maybe it was the energy that danced along the frame, maybe it was that this pod was a relatively older model. Maybe it was how they entered or maybe they collided with a small piece of spacial debris however it happened really did not matter as a small hairline crack had appeared off to her right. Yulasina watched however in horror as the crack grew as they descended. The system knew of the... "abnormality" and scrapped the general protocol and was intent to head right to the surface but before it could safely align it's avenue of descent, the entire pod cracked and shattered like a fragile piece of glass as they hazardously to the surface fell like a rock.

Yulasina lost her grip on her child. And to her worst fears she watched in horror as her daughter suddenly fell to the ground only picking up more speed. she knew... knew that the girls own wings which hadn't even sprouted yet would not be strong enough to support her own weight... they would be weak... fragile just like her own. But as Yulasina fell she watched with little choice at the few dwindling options before her as they fell towards the face of the earth. And so she buried her arms to her chest and roared downwards speeding for her daughter and then reached... reached as far as she could as she watched "Tear" suddenly slowly turn to her. Her eyes closed with a small smile... did she know... did she know their rapidly approaching fate if she missed...

With no hesitation, Yulasina continued to reach ever forward as she desperately gripped towards her daughter, was it chance? luck? a divine intervention of Mother Lorthous? Somehow her fingers reached, her arms tightly wrapped and cradled her child once more. If they were to pass they would vanish together, never alone even if only by a single nanosecond... But before that; she would try everything to slow there rapidly falling descent. all thought their was only one option... to open her newly grown wings and activate the anti gravity field before she was ripped to bits...

And so as she fell Yulasina did just that she perilously opened her four majestic wings as they rapidly approached... And instantly there was a horrible tearing as the G's that had been pushing her to the ground met a new resistance even if it was what one would call insignificant... Her feathers and wings caught the air. Yulasina filled her Hylgas organ located by what a human would call its diaphragm to its brim with hydrogen and then flooded the various small sacks within her hollow bones with hydrogen as well.
For a moment she felt lighter then air as the forces decreased. However they were still falling. it was then she though she heard a voice so small that she felt she missed it among the rushing wind passing by her ears.

Yulasina looked at her daughter and saw tears... was she afraid? Yulasina's instincts kicked even further as she gripped her daughter even tighter and brought her face into her bosom. However with the way they were falling she prayed, prayed for the antigravity to kick in as she watched the ground and it's tree tops that looked like spears ready to skewer them to bits rapidly rush to meet them.
Yulasina unconsciously closed her eyes as the speed to impact reached only a few seconds from the tips. They were still falling at least three hundred feet a second, even if her wings had slowed the descent, even if hydrogen flooded her system, it wasn't enough... it would never be enough.
And so Yulasina shared her last embrace and accepted death... the pain never came... or was it so quick that there had been no pain to begin with...

Yulasina opened her eyes only to find herself and tear being flung through the winds as a small luminous coating simmered lightly... the antigravty had kicked in at the last possible moment. And then free from the embrace of gravity, they were thrown back into the air... all their descent speed was transferred into acceleration as Yulasina watched the tops of trees grow once more tiny as warm air launched her further into the sky... but the grace period couldn't last forever... she knew that if she didn't somehow get them to the ground there fate would still be sealed. But as Yulasina watched the trees or ground below them suddenly change to cityscape.
With there extreme speed she couldn't see the any of the details even with the blessing of there keen eyesight. she couldn't enjoy the potential difference's or knowledge that this planet had actually teemed with life as the anti gravity started to waine and dim as the ground rapidly grew horribly close.... and then in a protective cradle Yulasina flipped her body backwards as she saw the ground and braced for impact as the field died.

And then with a horrific cracking, everything came to a series of rapid deaccelerations as her wings smashed into something. Yulasina however felt more then just her new wings being shattered as she hit a solid object and pitifully flipped before bouncing off of something different and just as hard and continued along until she finally continued to endlessly rolled along as she was torn apart by the ground.
Her bones shattered, her joints and muscles tore, she screamed in utter pain as she felt three of her fragmented wings get caught under something that she had impacted and came shearing off in bits or in large pieces.
However as Yulasina finally skidded to a stop as she slammed into a wall, for a moment she rested almost serenely. Her uniform, that same one that had been made as if from pristine bandages was torn or shredded entirely and was caked in blood and dirt. Her legs were not only broken but like the rest of her body had likely been shattered as blood started to freely pour from major wounds and bone punctures.
Of her remaining lower left wing, it hung to the side held by only few strands of tendon and bone. Her long flowing golden hair was a tangled mess.

And yet from her right arm somehow a small girl was while spattered with her own small assortment of wounds was carefully cradled in the "creatures" bosom. For a moment relief was reflected in the creatures multicolored iris's. And then pitifully the torn up "creature" slid onto the ground as a deep crimson smear of blood followed the trace of it's fall as a small puddle of blood started to rapidly build while a green gel started to seep from the remainder of the dirty and torn bandages which seemed to try and cover the two creatures.

[Yos Namoi]

"Imbecile."

The word rolled off her tongue as she read the message on the screen of her hand-held pad. Aliens? Surely she couldn't be serious.

"I'm truly not sure who came up with this absurd, idiotic ploy. Qayati is smarter than this, but Odaj isn't smart enough for it. What is their game? Assassination? Ransom? Ha! Now that I think about it, Odaj would never agree to something so dangerous."

She deleted the message, and tossed the pad across the room.

"My lady, perhaps it is not a trick?"

She glared in her servants direction.

"Other worlders? Are you dense? And who gave you permission to speak? The insolence... I should have you castrated! Maybe then you'll hold your tongue when it is not wanted."

Cowering in fear, the servant dropped to her knees and begged.

"F- forgive me Chieftess Ussala! It will not happen again!"

Ussala grew a wicked smirk.

"Well, since you groveled... so be it. Now, begone from my sight. Oh, and on your way out, send a message to that stonehead Odaj that her-"

Ussala was cut off, as a load crashing sound was heard outside, followed by loud screams. She and her servant quickly rushed to the balcony of Ussala's private chambers, and looking out into the center of Olau Yuldi ("Great River"), and saw it: A ship, crashed in the center of the city, right where one of the most beautiful fountains on Yos Namoi stood... or rather, where it used to stand. As the water gushed under the fountain's ruins, and the craft lay there smoldering, a crowd gathered around it.

Ussala burst through the front doors to her palace, marching her way hastily to the object, shoving away anyone unfortunate enough to be in her way. She broke through the crowd, inciting a non-vocal fear amongst those that had witnessed her arrival. Upon spotting her, they bowed while her guards uncloaked and approached the craft. Finally, arriving at the crashsite, the crowd bowed at the very sight of their... 'beloved'... leader. She stared at the craft in both anger and awe. What was this thing that dare defile her magnificent settlement? Where did it come from? From who did it come from?

Suddenly, she noticed something next to the pod. Quickly, she made her way around the pod and saw it - obscured right between part of the fountain ruins and the pod itself - some... thing. No, two things. Two... creatures... nestled together, bruised and bleeding, covered in a strange green substance.

"What in the name of-"

Several guards and citizens slowly moved into positions in which they could gain a visual on the creatures, as whispers, gasps, and speculation filled the crowd. Suddenly, Ussala realized Odaj's message was no lie, and suddenly, the strange, unintelligible messages heard earlier made much, much more sense...

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

I do not believe they would outright destroy them, though since they won't be able to communicate with them I doubt they will able to go any further than that. We have managed to get so far due to this... intermediary language that you know of, which seems to somehow have loanwords from the language of the gods, much as ours does. The others, however, do not have translators like we do, for they have no use of them. We have translators, like the one you see here, to communicate and trade with the Zaeri on Yos Jmaon - our moon - who have developed a... rather strange dialect that seems to evolve and change every time we encounter it, making intelligibility more difficult as time goes on... and we are the only ones who trade with the Jmaoni. Thus, I have decided to see if we cannot gather us all together, so that we may be able to communicate together and make negotiations much easier... of course the Jmaoni will never come here, and Namoians will not go to Jmaon, so we will have to do without them for now.

Odaj thought about her words for a moment while the machine finished translating.

"If war comes with these... 'Vogegans', I am sure we will not need assistance. We have a strong warrior history, and know the terrain much better than they do. Even if they do manage to defeat us, they will never conquer the jungles. We have lived in these jungles all our lives, and yet even still we cannot tame them or their beasts. The Janols will especially be of no match for them, for those beasts can wipe out entire armies - and even settlements - if they so wish. At this point, I am not sure if it is a good thing or a bad thing that they are so rare."

Odaj paused and considered all possibilities. She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, sighing.

"But let us not speak of such horrors. I agree that we should meet with them in person- er, um... or... I'm not sure really. But, yes, let us meet with them."

As the translator finished, Odaj motioned for the Genomitans to follow, and so led through the halls of her palace, with the beautiful mosaics adorning the walls along the way, depicting love stories, legends, battles, and great warriors and leaders. Finally they arrived at the front doors, to which two guards uncloaked and opened the doors for the group. The group proceeded out the front door and down the steps, until suddenly a guard uncloaked in front of them and approached the chieftess.

"My lady,"

She said, as Odaj looked to her.

"The messages have been sent. The linguists report that these other aliens, the... 'Vogins', or... 'Vogans'? Something like that-"

Odaj interrupted.

"I believe it was 'Vogegans'...?"

The guard perked up.

"That's it! Anyway, we have received both of their messages. It seems to be in the same language that the Genomitans sent to us, the one the machine has been speaking and translating."

Odaj smiled a bit.

"Ah! Excellent! That means we can communicate with them! Thank you, tell the linguists to have the translator dispatch a message to the Vogegans, tell them this..."

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

The linguists listened carefully to what the guard told them, and so wirelessly contacted the translator.

"Translate this exactly as it is said so that we may copy it and send it to the Vogegans. Do you understand?"

Upon receiving confirmation, they relayed the message to the translator, who then translated it and sent it back to the linguists. Upon receiving it, they copied it and studied it. They then sent their message to the Vogegans.

"Greetings, Vogegan Empire. We are the Zaeri of Yos Vanor. We welcome you. Your language is known to us by the Genomitans, however it is known only to us, not to other settlements. We hope to gather all settlement leaders within the walls of Yos Vanor so that we may communicate together, and ask you to withdraw your probes. They are unsafe in the jungle and may become victim of the vicious predators that lie in wait. You are free to send an envoy to meet with us at our great settlement, and together we may all communicate together. Our settlement lays at the base of four mountains, on a large river that flows within the center of the continent. There are few mountains on Yos Namoi, our world, so you can not miss them. Again, we ask you to withdraw the probes from the other settlements. They may be attacked by wild beasts or by the Zaeri of the other settlements, if they are not they will not be able to communicate with the Zaeri of said settlements. We suggest you divert your probe near Yos Vanor to go within the settlement's walls and land in the center. We will clear a port for your shuttle if you wish to send an envoy. You are welcome in Yos Vanor, we do not seek hostility with you."

The message was sent. The linguists then contacted the translator and had it send them all it knew of this language so that they could study it. As the linguists examined the language and began to translate the original message from the Vogegans, they realized how blunt and and somewhat militant it was. It seemed to bring up the possibility of war immediately, making it seem brutish and brash. Perhaps inviting the Vogegans was a mistake... or perhaps not inviting them would have been a greater one?

[Vogega]

V.E.P.S. Traigo Viva
Captain Jace Ordel stared at the hologram of his father. The blue image sharp. HIs father was behind a wall firing his laser rifle down the hall towards pirates who had boarded a dozen years ago. The V.E.P.S. Traigo Viva had stopped above a planet for exploration. An inhabitable world between the Vogegan Empire and the rest of the galaxy. Pirates had boarded and his dad had died fighting them off.
He watched as a kinetic round hit his dad in the leg, spinning him around out of their sight. His gun slid across the floor out of his reach. The pirates rushed down the hall. Mac Ordel pulled out his pistol and took aim even as he bled out. The first pirate to round the corner had hid blains blown out and the second received two rounds to the chest. Both collapsed even as a third tossed an ion grenade around the corner. The grenade went off killing Jace's dad instantly and splattered his guts across the wall. The pirates now numbered only 3 and Jace himself came down the hallway. He was wearing no armor, but did have his Automatic Kinetic Weapon. The rounds from the AKW cut though the pirates sending them flying to the ground. Only one had survived and Jace picked up his father's pistol.
The pirate pleaded for his life. Jace shot one round. It entered the pirates head, shattering bone and sending blood and brain bits everywhere.

Jace was now the captain of the ship. He had made ornately carved wooden armor, it was actually pentasteel. His AKW was slung over his shoulder. He glanced at the tactical display showing his fleet. The three freighters carrying colonists and materials were close to his repurposed cruiser. The fleet had left 4 years before the exploration vessel. However, a massive breakthrough in hyperdrive technology had allowed the ship to beat them here.
Jace was here to establish a Vogegan colony. His dad had been fiercely loyal to the Emperor and passed that on to his son. The fleet emerged from hyperspace and Jace seeing the Vogegan ship in the system, hailed them with a message.

V.E.S. Explor

This is coomander Rhes of the Dhaina. We have detected your launch of probes toward the planet's surface. Explain yourselves.

The captain stood as he spoke.

The probes are diplomatic tools.

The captain had just had down when the Zaeri message played.

"Greetings, Vogegan Empire. We are the Zaeri of Yos Vanor. We welcome you. Your language is known to us by the Genomitans, however it is known only to us, not to other settlements. We hope to gather all settlement leaders within the walls of Yos Vanor so that we may communicate together, and ask you to withdraw your probes. They are unsafe in the jungle and may become victim of the vicious predators that lie in wait. You are free to send an envoy to meet with us at our great settlement, and together we may all communicate together. Our settlement lays at the base of four mountains, on a large river that flows within the center of the continent. There are few mountains on Yos Namoi, our world, so you can not miss them. Again, we ask you to withdraw the probes from the other settlements. They may be attacked by wild beasts or by the Zaeri of the other settlements, if they are not they will not be able to communicate with the Zaeri of said settlements. We suggest you divert your probe near Yos Vanor to go within the settlement's walls and land in the center. We will clear a port for your shuttle if you wish to send an envoy. You are welcome in Yos Vanor, we do not seek hostility with you."

The captain snorted. There had not been a world that the Empire could not tame. Equipment was valuable, but the hard metal exterior should be enough to protect the probes from harm. One probe was already one its way to the city, as it had the most radio traffic. The captain replied...

We are sure we can overcome the communication barrier. Predators have no chance against our technology. We will have a drone descend shortly. We would most appreciate a meeting of all the settlements.

As soon as the captain had finished the message, alarm bells rang as more ships emerged from hyperspace.

A hail immediately came over comms.
"Hello fellow Vogegan subject. I am Jace Ordel, captain of this fleet. You well fins us under A-76z1 in your computer.
The captain quickly looked down at a screen that an ensign had pulled up for him.
"So you are the private colony fleet."
"We are indeed. Our scans show this planet to be habitable."
"It is, we have started to make contact. The second planet may be suitable to our colonization needs. The natives have space flight, but have not expanded past this system. The planet may be too hot for them."
"Well, I will send probes to investigate the planet then."
"Explor out."
"Now," he said addressing his crew. "We see how they respond."

[Genomita]

"I hope that you are correct. But yes, let us focus on the negotiations. I am not well-equipped to talk of matters of war as an envoy either way, but if you wish I could ask the commander to provide you with a soldier's perspective of what some spacefaring nations are capable of and the Vogegans' most likely course of action if war breaks out. However, our first priority should be to work towards a peaceful and equal relationship."

Valtha was about to say more, but found hirself cut off as a guard suddenly uncloaked before them to relay a message to Odaj. The envoy's two guards shot the guard an annoyed look once she turned her back on them before sharing a brief look with one another and activating their symbiosuits' visors with a neural command, covering most of their faces with largely blank faceplates featuring several small, unobtrusive sensors that rapidly switched through different spectra as they attempted to avoid further surprises. Only their mouths remained uncovered, which elicited a small chuckle from Valtha.

"It seems my honor guard is getting rather annoyed at your guards' tendency to approach us while cloaked. I can sympathize. And i admit, I almost didn't hear this one until she uncloaked in front of us, so she must be rather capable. I didn't smell her either, and my people have a highly developed sense of smell. This might become a problem if the other chieftesses decide to come here and bring their own guards as well."

"I agree." said the guard to Valtha's right as ze faced the translator. "Forgive me if I speak out of turn. I'm sure your guards are equipped with sensors that allow them to see each other, but a skilled enough infiltrator might be able to avoid the guards at the gates and patrols and manage to blend in."

"As unpleaseant as the thought may be, it's unfortunately possible. I take it you have taken precautions to counter such methods?"
-----

Commander Rhes stared at the translation of the message sent by the Nare. Ze had not even bothered replying to the Vogegans' message, as it had been far too blunt and devoid of any proof of the probes' nature to warrant a reply. However. the message they received from the Nare was an entirely different story. Shortly after they had received the message their systems had detected a launch from the Nare vessel. However, it seemed something had gone terribly wrong and the object had veered off course, entering atmosphere at high speed. The coomander's fingers hovered above the keyboard as ze searched for the right words to convey hir thoughts.

"We understand, and I apologize for my disheartening choice of words. However, it seems the vessel containing your delegation went off course and landed in a different settlement than our envoy, and at rather high speed. However, we will inform our envoy of this development. If your delegation survived and contact is made between them and our own delegation I trust envoy Valtha will offer them the same compassion and support ze would show anybody else.

Once the message was underway, the commander opened another channel to Valtha and hir companions. The situation kept growing ever more complicated. They had yet to receive a reply from the asteroid habitat, and now the Nare delegates were most likely stranded in a settlement full of potentially highly xenophobic natives, if they were even alive at all!

"Envoy Valtha, we have just received a written message from the Nare vessel. According to them they sent a vessel containing a delegation planetside, but the transport vessel has gone off course and presumably crashed in another settlement. I will include a written copy of the message we received and the last known location of the delegation's transport."

The commander was just about to return hir attention to the command screen when the recon ships Teri and Roa detected several hyperspace signatures just before the Dhaina's own sensors registered the arrival of other appearantly Vogegan vessels. Commander Rhes stifled a groan of frustration as ze stared at the screen, instead settling for glowering at the symbols that represented the Vogegan ships for a moment.

Envoy, we have just detected several Vogegan vessels leaving hyperspace, likely either combat or colonization vessels. I will contact you again once we know more."

"Understood. It seems they have begun to show us their true colors. If these ships are what you think we can likely use this to our advantage to convince the other chieftesses to ally at least temporarily."
-----

Meranwhile, aboard the recon ship Roa:

"Seeker Rooq, we are now monitoring the communication between the Vogegan vessels as you requested. We will inform you once we have finished our translation. Also, please take a look at this"

The one adressed as Rooq raised hir slender, vaguely salamander-like head to look at the speaker, orange eyes narrowing to vertical slits as they adjusted from the dim light inside the recon ship's command room to the brighter datapad. The seeker took the datapad into hir upper right hand, studying it intently for a moment before handing it back to the other Genomitan, a younger member of the same species as the seeker. The seeker briefly looked the other Genomitan up and down, noting the small oval stone embedded into the chest area of the younger one's symbiosuit. The small stone was engraved with circular letters in native genomitan, detailing it's owner's name, caste and occupation.

"Are you a believer scout Roshan?"

"Yes, seeker." the scout answered without hesitation.

"That is good. Everybody needs something to believe in. Very well, you may proceed."

Roshan responded with a grateful nod and a salute before turning around and returning to hir post, leaving the seeker to hir thoughts. "Those Vogegans, are they really willing to risk a war over this planet?

[Neo ORB]

The gel covering was complete before even the first onlookers came on. Within a thin membrane no thicker then a few millimeters the two bled, continued to bleed as the first onlookers arrived. Yet for those who might be carefully watching maybe they would notice as thin tubes seemed to flow crimson taking blood that had spilled from the ground, filtered it and then slowly and carefully returned it to the two creatures held within.

However if that was surprising the follow up of dozens of bone protrusions on Yulasina's body slowly being pushed back into the body would have been more shocking, as the severity of the wounds rapidly started to heal. On the small child her various large cuts and scrapes were slowly healed as new cells rapidly grew as the gel returned any lost blood back to her body. With a small pulsation of gel around the girl as if it was moaning as if alive, the thin veins then seemed to close up as the girl was then carefully ejected away from the bigger creature and slid lightly among the surrounding rubble. However as the gel around the remaining creature was now slightly thickened.

A sizzling could be heard as the gel seemed to heat up near the creature as the green substance started to rapidly bubble like water at one hundred degrees.
However the sizzling was in reality the fusing sound of her shattered bones being reconnected. Slowly her legs took on there former proper shape as the open tissue as finally reconnected. However on the creatures remaining wing and the other three stumps, the gel covering it acted far different as the gel around it bubbled and dissolved the damaged tissue and bone and used it as material for any reconstruction that was needed.

As the healing process was rapidly finished in front of the spectators, the gel seemed to quiver for a moment and then slowly seemed to recede as if absorbed into the creatures tattered bandage like clothing. As the creature was laid once more into the rubble a small extension of her chest showed she was breathing without difficulty.
One singular moment seemed to pass, it was only a single moment for any possible silence to be revealed in as the sudden sound of something moving could be heard which broke any such reprieve, the sound of stone on stone being gently pushed. And then a small mummer rippled the air.

---

She was alive, her body was like a dwindling flame as she felt the hard rush of earth meet them, the feeling of impacts and she was sure that her mother would release her. but like a hawk her mother somehow held on as they came to a painful stop. No calling it painful was to make light of the situation. When they had impacted she could tell most of her mothers bones had broken, and the resulting pressure of the impact worked its way through her mother and into her. Although her injury's were far lighter she could feel immense pain coursing through her arms and her chest which made it difficult to draw air.

This was also further hampered as whatever small supply of healing gel kept within the clothing leaked out to cover them and work it's miracles . immediately she could felt relief as the gel worked its way into her cuts and scrapes and infiltrated her body like bacteria to a wound. She felt pain turn to warmth as her stressed and fractured bones reconnected as small portions of calcium was melted and fused back together.
any spilled and pooling blood was being cycled, decontaminated and returned somewhat forcefully back into her body as she felt the rush of blood rejoin her like a needle injecting vaccines.

And then the warmth as her cells grew, reconnected and then like a used can she was tossed out from the protective covering and left on the ground in a crumpled heap. slowly her eyes found themselves on her mother being treated watching as the gel devoured itself on her body working its magic. she couldn't tell how long she watched the spectacle but she pulled herself away from it at the part where her mothers wing started to be used as material. Then with a careful glance she found herself looking on those who surrounded them.

They looked similar to some old species teaching material as she racked her brain looking back on the education her mother and her teachers spent years on and no doubt would spend years to come. She wondered if they noticed her watching them, there was an array of expressions on there faces. And then something changed she didn't know entirely how, but she felt it, a distortion and warping on several spaces. Something was approaching that couldn't be seen visually yet somehow for a split moment she could feel there presence before they faded entirely and the sound of various people being shoved.

However moments later various beings instead faded in from thin air as the crowd suddenly bowed towards someone. She was staring... staring in anger and in amazement... No she had been staring, had been "there" watching for far longer then that, it was only that she only now had caught up as the information processed and the shock from the crash receded with the acknowledgement of her mothers safety. However the mummers, and the whispers she could hear. The continuous stares she could feel piercing her body as they moved to get a better look at her and her mother.

She inwardly sighed and then slowly roused herself as if she was "just" waking up from the crash. She slowly moved her arms pushing small rubble lightly away and lightly brought her upper body to a somewhat sitting position and then lightly stretched her arms and yawned as if waking up from a short nap. As her joints lightly cracked she made a satisfied expression as her eyes closed momentarily and then opened showing the brilliance of her grey iris's and finally took notice of the strangers starring at her.

And then she froze like a deer caught within the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. For a moment she could only grow further puzzled at the amount of inquiry they had gained as she noticed one of the beings who seemed rather... Important?
She wondered for a moment on that significance remembering how the others had bowed down to her it was somewhat similar to the greetings her mother would received whenever "She" accompanied her.
And so slowly she pushed herself off the ground and stood onto her own two feet and then quickly took notice of her clothing's rather damaged and soaked appearance and quickly placed her right hand onto her chest. And then pressed with her index finger where her heart would be and then slowly swiped down at an angle to the chest and then down to her belly button.

Instantly the clothing, the dress and socks which were more akin to a fully wrapped bandaging which had been in tatters lightly quivered for a second and then fell towards the ground as nothing more then fabric and then suddenly were sucked up like a vacuums electrical cord and were placed into a thin band around the girls arm. Barren of any clothing her appearance was nothing more then human child, abet a pale and sickly looking one as she lightly touched the singular white wrapping a few times tapping and swiping the white strip until a small blue light responded back silently once.

And then with a quick silence the band rapidly unraveled unfolding and multiplying over and over as it grew and rapidly expanded over her skin covering her frame wrapping her in bandages. As a simple full sleeved shirt and skirt combo which took form and solidified and then changed color as the shirt took on a color of silvery blue with dark blue edgings and the skirt took to a solid dark navy blue as the bandages like lines disappeared from sight. Satisfied with her appearance She looked to the important looking one and lightly bowed like she had seen the others do so and then lightly spoke. Her musical harmonics a flight with gentle tones while the sightly high toned bird song mixed in filled the area.
While her demeanor only showed a respectful child seemingly introducing herself.

"Hello, Miss, My name is Tear Al'lena Reforta Relu'na, Although since its long to pronounce most people just call me under the name Tear Relu'na."

As the girl, known as Tear, although to foreign ears it would only sound like the song of some blackbirds song, paused momentarily she looked at the rubble and the gushing water and then once more spoke pointing towards the fountain with a more somber tone of harmonics while her birdlike song seemed to be a little more weak then before as if apologetic.

"Ah... We destroyed your fountain, I'm truly regretful about that... If you wish we can probably compensate you for the damage's and replace it if you have the building plans."

---

Gemini Class Destroyer: Zweig der Einsamkeit
Mistress: Tali Ronqi
Bridge:

The moment Tali watched the pods entry she knew something had went wrong, the way it entered or how it shattered into fragments. Tali however wasn't all that shocked about such an occurrence, the pod had been a very old model known for such... defects.
If Yuli had placed them within there then that means she had a plan going on somewhere in the shadows. But for what Tali wouldn't dare try to comprehend, for the workings of her "Lovers" mind were akin to that of the "Mothers" when she corrupted Agenisi.

As Tali quickly worked out the projected course of the likely crash area in which the Mistress Yulasina and her daughter would likely be found taking into context only her wings as a cast away parachute for them to land with minor injury's. She was already far beyond her scope without realizing the horrible truth and simply worked on her response message. As she read the message that this envoy Valtha would show compassion if they somehow met up she couldn't help but lightly sigh. The adorable naivety well that would be quickly erased if the worst came to pass. but Tali was an optimist as she heard Yuli's approach from the bridge. A s she stuck her head in Tali flicked the message away.

"So, did they make it away from the Zweig der Einsamkeit safely?"
"Nope... burned and crashed in the atmosphere... really what are you thinking using a generation one migration pod... where did you even find the thing?"
"Scavenged a few defects from the Core dumping department before they got scudded and repaired them with the other collection I acquired. I had meant to get a few of the more recent generation's but its not like we earn a large amount of spare capital so I made due with what I could get my hands on."

"Typical, I can't believe you... just what are you planning..."

"Planning... you presume with pretext that i'm planing some villainous plot...
oh my adorable Tali... yee of soo little faith, i find it rather disturbing."

Tali sighed as she lightly raked her hand across her forehead, at the same time Yuli lightly smiled and pulled herself into the sub bridge and then looked at the projected course and then spoke after a moment.

"Your calculations are wrong honey... You didn't take into account wind formation or variable anti gravity decent at all did you..."

Instantly the temperature within the room plummeted faster then a thermometer within liquid nitrogen as Tali loudly cursed. rapidly her hands and fingers rapidly started pressing against the wires and streams as various data taken from the silent scans of the planet were displayed. instantly the expected range of location which had been but a tiny circle expanded across the entire planet. As the temperature continued to plummet Tali's head fell backwards into the strings and then a loud crack was heard as she broke from internal hysteria with steam coming from her mouth from a hologram. A small gimmick Yuli installed into the systems which read her partners mood and displayed holograms near her to signify effects and moods.

After all nothing said further annoyance like the visualization of a pulsating vein made from a hologram floating above your head while your significant other laughs there arse off.
However as Tali was in cooldown, Yuli lightly smiled and then lightly tapped the hologram of the planet and spun it with her finger while lightly laughing.
"Well now... where oh where could our little master's be..."

I see, well I have no doubt that they would have at least survived such a occurrence, I thank you for the assurance of such support should it come to such necessity. although i have confidence in our "Mistress's" ability to handle which ever situation she finds herself within. If you happen to lock down on a specific location, please notify us.
Mistress Tali.

[Yos Namoi]

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's just... well... our guards typically remain cloaked for long durations of time within and around the palace. It is an old tradition used by every settlement to typically mask any defensive presence. They typically only cloak when on important missions, or otherwise if they do not wish to be disturbed by the citizenry. I was also not aware you had such a keen sense of smell, or such impressive hearing. I, uh, I must ask you though... you are aware there have been guards here this whole time, yes? They have been following us for quite some time, you may have noticed the rafters near the ceiling inside the halls, this is where palace guards remain perched, hopping from beam to beam, patrolling the palace from above while navigating through small tunnels in the ceilings, floors, and walls in order to avoid detection. I am not sure if any other palaces have these special passages, but ours most certainly does."

Odaj, slightly blushing, put her hands together and did a half-bow.

"I apologize if this is uncomfortable for you, and I assure you I do not distrust you personally, it's just, well, this is how we do things here. Security is important, of course."

Odaj then turned to the guard that spoke.

"To answer your question: No, they are not equipped with sensors. We train our guards and soldiers very, very well in the art of detecting that which you cannot see, as well as remaining silent. It is not easy, and many fail. It takes many, many years to achieve almost complete perfection, and even still there is always room for error, sometimes even all those years of training isn't enough to stop an infiltration or assassination, but I have complete faith in my guards' ability to keep my people - and Yos Vanor - perfectly safe. Oh, and myself of course. I do appreciate your concern, however. If you'd like, I would love to show you my guards in training, and demonstrate our prowess in hand-to-hand combat."

Just as the translator finished relaying Odaj's last message, it turned to her rapidly.

"My lady, I have just been informed by the linguists that the Vogegans have sent their reply. Apparently, they underestimate the viciousness of the jungle beasts. I suggest we refrain from sending any further warnings, I have a feeling they will be too arrogant to listen. Should their arrogance get the better of them, it would not be our fault they disregarded our warnings. Oh, and they have a drone of some kind approaching the settlement. I would assume it is for diplomatic purposes, however if I may say, it seems rather... insulting, not to send an actual diplomat. Nonetheless, I have transferred them the coordinates of our current location. They will, hopefully, relay these coordinates to their machine and it should meet us here soon."

Odaj listened carefully, and paused for a moment.

"Very well. I will not tell them I told them so should the beasts somehow end up making quick work of their drone or some such. It will be on themselves, not us."

Odaj turned back to Valtha.

"It appears the Vogegans will be joining us shortly. The rest of the tour will have to wait, I'm afraid. I will try and request a living diplomat from their drone, and I can only hope they will agree. It is bad enough I must already speak through one machine, but two is simply ridiculous."

Her eyes widened as she realized what she said, and then turned to her translator.

"I'm sorry, I meant no offense."

The translator bowed respectively.

"It is alright, my lady. I share your convictions, honestly. My presence is necessary, their drone, however, is not."

Odaj smiled, sighing in relief.

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

Ussala stood back in awe, fear, and anger, as did the surrounding Zaeri, and even the guards, whose faces were covered by their visors. Instinctively, Ussala reached for the hilt of her Vetedei, unsure of what was to come. What was this thing, and why did it speak in whistles and chirps? She looked the creature up and down, unable to comprehend what stood before her. Finally, her face scrunched and she returned to her usual, hateful tone.

"Winged devil! You defile my settlement, my presence! Who do you think you are!?"

Ussala continued her tirade for several more seconds before realizing the creature, whatever it was, more likely than not couldn't understand what she was saying. Frustrated, her face scrunched up again. Quickly she turned to her servant, grabbing her by the neck of her shirt, and jerking her forward.

"You, welp, inform Odaj I have one- uh, two, of her alien friends and that I'm taking them with me on my way to Vanor."

The servant cleared her throat, and the nodded in fear. Ussala shoved her away, and the servant ran off to the nearest communications center. Ussala turned back to Tear, staring daggers in her direction.

"As for you, creature, I don't know who - or what - you are, but you're in the wrong place. Lucky for you I'm going to the place you need to go, and I don't feel like torturing anybody today so you'll get to go there in one piece, assuming you don't try anything stu-"

Just then Ussala remembered.

"...Why am I talking to you? You can't even understand me. Feh! Guards, take this thing to the hangar and put it on the shuttle. The little one, too. And someone clean this junk up! Melt it down into scrap - and get someone to rebuild my beautiful fountain! My ancestors built that thing, I won't let some spacefarer ruin it's legacy. Foul creature, ugly thing too."

Ussala stormed off as she finished, her guards looked around at each other, unsure, and shrugged. They then lowered the guard slightly, opting not to directly point their weapons at the Nare, and instead opted to motion for them to follow.

[Vogega]

Outside Yos Vanor
Two drones approached. One came from the North while the other came from the East. The one in the East was the first to encounter an animal. From the tree-tops, a massive feline jumped down. The drone tried to juke left, but failed earning it several long gashes that damaged circuitry and the cutting the video lines to the 'eyes' of the drone. It spun around firing its autocannon. The shots went over the feline's head tearing into the jungle. Several small creatures fell as bullets tore them apart. The feline leaped again and this time it finished off the drone. Its sharp claws punching through the metal exterior with relative ease. The drone crashed as its power feeds were ruptured spewing ions into the area around it. The ion stream met after bouncing off inside the drone's casing and the result was an explosion.

The other drone from the North fared batter against the wild animal it encountered. As it detected the feline jumping towards it it started to spin. The feline was thrown away. The drone couldn't be dizzy from the spinning and targeted the feline. It opened up with its autocannon. The feline jumped from tree to tree barely avoiding the rounds that cut down limbs and sent leaves spinning wildly into the air. The feline jumped straight towards the drone. A fatal mistake. The 75 caliber rounds tore into the creature chest and came out the others side carrying with them the flesh and organs of the feline. Its dead body smashed into the drone leaving a bloody smear on it. the drone continued on its way and avoiding any more trouble. It arrived at the gates of Yos Vanor and gave the appearance of looking up towards its walls. The three claw marks of the feline clearly showed in the 10' o clock light. The bright red blood of the feline stained its right side and it spoke with the voice of the Envoy far overhead in the only language that was close to what they spoke. Scav.
"Greetings. I am a representative from the Vogegan Empire and its subjects. Can I please come inside for the conference?"


Yos Jmaon
The satellite orbiting the home world of the Zaeri people had been on the far side of the planet when the fleet had arrived. The extra distance had taken the sub-light engines of the drone more time to reach he atmosphere. The probe had coordinates for the largest and most luxurious settlement on the satellite. It entered the atmosphere. A few seconds after it did, a loud boom could be heard as it encountered more than a little air resistance. The pod turned at perfectly timed intervals to avoid the destruction of itself. It fired its thruster at the last minute to avoid crashing into the ground at a speed to much for its metal exterior to handle. It landed and it wouldn't be long before the Zaeri showed up.

[Genomita]

"Insisting on a living diplomat might be for the best. It is generally easier to read a living being than a machine not designed to emote. It is doubtful that they would go along with it considering their behaviour so far, but it would be worth a try. I have little doubt that your fellow chieftesses might actually feel insulted if the Vogegans decided to conduct negotiations through a machine from the safety of their fleet, and we will need to remain calm if we want to avoid escalating the situation. And yes, I would like to watch your guards train if we get the opportunity, and I'm sure my honor guard would be quite interested as well.. It is quite impressive that you manage to train them to detected cloaked intruders without the aid of sensors, though I see no reason to let your body dictate the limits of your potential. In the Star Community physical and mental augmentation are not only available but also an intrinsic part of our culture. We have a long tradition of settling on planets many others would consider too hostile and adapting our bodies so we could thrive there. But that discussion can wait."

Valtha took a moment to straighten hir robe and hair while hir guards inspected their equipment, making sure everything was in order for the meeting ahead of them.
-----
Meanwhile aboard the Roa:

Seeker Rooq stood out of the way of the recon ship's crew, eyes focused on the screen showing the Vogegan ships, hir tail tapping a slow and steady rhythm when ze noticed Roshan approaching from the side. The young scout seemed somewhat tense, which was understandable considering the situation, which was echoed by the color of Roshan's symbiosuit.

"Seeker, we have finished our translation of the Vogegan conversation. here is what we found out."

The scout handed Rooq a small data white crystal, which was swiftly plugged into the seeker's communicator. The screen opened to show roughly what Rooq had expected, and ze turned hir attention to the scout after a moment with a satisfied nod.

"Well done. I will make some additions of my own, then we'll send this to the envoy through a secure channel. said Rooq before ze began to type something into hir communicator, hir long slender fingers rushing across the keys. After less than a minute the message was complete, and the two amphibian genomitans made their way to the command console.

"Roa-magat, send this to the envoy through a secure channel." said Rooq as ze plugged the data crystal into the console. The transhuman pilot answered with a slow nod, hir attention focused on scanning for other vessels headed this way.

The message reached Valtha's communicator just a moment later, which gave a slight hum to notify it's owner that a message had arrived. Valtha opened the screen to find a symbol a stylized eye looking back at hir, followed by what appeared to be a jumble of partial circles and lines gathered in larger circles. The envoy frowned at the strange message, holding it out to Odaj before opening a text program in an AR window, typing away with hir upper left while hir eyes were fixed on the jumbled symbols, hir brow knit in concentration.

"This is an encrypted message from a member of the Seeker caste, in a code only used if a seeker needs to inform an envoy of something important. All envoys are required to know this code, but it would be difficult to understand by someone who isn't familiar with the Genomitan language and it's many metaphors. it's quite effective both for conventional and cultural reasons. Ah, here we go, almost done...

Envoy, we have discovered that the new arrivals are a private colony fleet under the command of one Jace Ordel. We are currently working to uncover more information on this fleet and it#s commanding officer.We know that hey have already sent out probes to investigate the planet. We havo also discovered at least one drone headed for the moon, and will continue to monitor the Vogegan probes and drones to the best of our ability.

Also, I am required to remind you that gathering all leaders of the Zaeri in one place while the Vogegans conduct their negotiations through a drone from the safety of their fleet would allow them to decapitate all Zaeri settlements participating in this meeting with orbital bombardment to the meeting site without any real loss to themselves if they decide negotiations have failed. Please delete the original message as soon as you have finished translating it. Thank you.

"Well, at least now we know their intentions. I agree with the seeker, but I would also prefer to continue as planned for now to avoid suspicion. While other nations spy on each other all the time, things can get quite complicated when evidence of espionage is discovered. But since these are your people and your settlement, I will defer to you on this matter"

Valtha regarded Odaj with a calm yet expectant look as ze deleted the original message, hoping that the young chieftess would make the right decision.

[Yos Namoi]

When the drone first spoke, nothing seemed to occur at first. Suddenly, the heads of two guards peered over the 5-story walls, looking down on the drone in confusion.

"What the fuck is that thing?"

One of the guards, muttering to herself. The other shook her head.

"One of those alien contraptions, I'm sure."

The other guard looked at her.

"Should we let it in?"

The other guard shrugged.

"I guess, not like we can understand that gibberish anyway. Maybe that translator the chieftess has can understand it."

The guards shrugged, and opened the gate for the drone. One of the guards turned back, peering over the settlement, then went back over to the edge of the wall, pointing at the palace, and yelling something at the machine. Once it entered, the guards closed the gate again.

"Looks like it's been in a scrap of some sorts. Probably a garayl, annoying little pests."

The other guard scoffed and chuckled.

"It's lucky it was just a garayl."

----------

As the translator finished, Odaj stood there in shock and disbelief, unable to even contemplate a reply for a moment. A colony fleet. She knew exactly what this meant, and how the other leaders would react. She carefully thought about it for a moment. She exhaled deeply, and looked up at Valtha.

"So... they have come to colonize our world then. Then it is inevitable: They will bring war with them. We will not allow anyone to colonize our world. The other chieftesses, should they discover this, will undoubtedly demand they leave or face armed hostility. This act will bring war, whether they like it or not."

Odaj felt stressed from just thinking about it.

"I doubt we will be able to stave them off, they undoubtedly have superior weapons, technology, and perhaps even numbers... would it be too much to ask for your assistance should things escalate? I fear we won't be able to fight them of if it comes to war. This is of course excluding the possibility that they will reject our requests not to colonize our world. As for Yos Jmaon, well, that drone is doomed. The Jmaoni will attack it on sight, and if it doesn't flee, it will be destroyed regardless of defenses it may contain. The Jmaoni, the Zaeri there, they have... regressed. Socially, politically, technologically. We don't even call them Zaeri anymore - they certainly don't deserve to be called such. They are little more than barbarians now. Why, I don't know, but they are savages. That drone is as good as dead."

Just as the machine finished, the translator turned to Odaj.

"My lady, we have received word from the other chieftesses. They will all be attending the meeting and are en route as we speak. Also, Chieftess Ussala of Olau Yuldi has apparently retrieved two aliens from a wrecked pod and is bringing them with her. I suspect they are likely from the second arrivals, as it is unlikely it is another Genomitan ambassador since they seemed to presume this was a unified world, or Vogegan ambassador due to their preference towards machines for diplomacy."

Odaj listened carefully, but before responding the automaton chimed in again.

"My lady, forgive me, for it is not my place to advise you, but if I must give my own opinion on the matter, I agree with the Genomitans. From a logical standing, calling all the leaders of Yos Namoi to one spot is a very risky and dangerous move, at least to me anyway. From what little we know of the Vogegans, they do not seem to be a peaceful type of people, and are likely to respond aggressively to any attempts to stop them from colonization. Should they decide to attack, and I suspect that they will, it would be wise to make sure the other leaders are out of Yos Vanor by the time they do. I would also advise we keep the bunkers open and the people ready to moved inside should they begin bombardment."

Odaj took the machines words with sincerity, and agreed with it.

"I agree with you. Inform the authorities of the situation, but be as vague as possible. Inform them that there may be a war coming, and they should be on standby. And have them organize a fake drill of sorts and move the people into the bunkers on my command. Oh, and inform the Genomitans about the plan, and about the aliens that Ussala has."

The machine bowed respectfully, and transmitted a message to the local guard, telling them to be on high alert and to prepare a fake drill to move the people of Yos Vanor into the wartime bunkers. Once finished, it turned to the Genomitans.

"My lady has decided that we shall have the authorities on standby for the possible attack, on her word they will then move the people into the wartime bunkers where they should be safe in the event of any kind of bombardment, be it terrestrial or orbital. Also, it appears one of the other chieftesses has retrieved two aliens from the wreckage of a pod. I suspect they are from the ones that arrived shortly after yourselves, and believe it is unlikely they are Vogegans. If you could inform their masters that they are safe and en route to Yos Vanor, I believe that would be most appreciated. As for the leaders, I am afraid it is too late to prevent their arrival now, and we cannot simply ask them to leave after they arrive. We will have to provide them with a hasty return to their respective settlements should war indeed become a reality."

----------

As far as settlements on Yos Jmaon go, Queneyal was perhaps the least unappealing, and despite the small island it was on and the history of cannibalism among the Jmaoni, it remained a very populous settlement. Compared to the settlements on Yos Namoi, the settlements of Yos Jmaon were least sophisticated. They lacked the high walls of Namoian settlements, mostly due to the lacking amount of land predators unlike Yos Namoi. But they also lack any truly tall buildings, the lack of stone on Yos Jmaon made it's architecture more focused on wood, making their construction practices rather limited and primitive. What little metals that could be found we used in the creation of weapons and tools. Queneyal stood out from the rest due to it's utilization of the terrain in creating tunnel homes, leaving more room on the small island for shops and such. The primary trade hub for traders from Yos Vanor, it also possessed a large landing platform of sorts for ships.

When the drone touched down, it was met with silence - and unusual thing on the archipelagos of Yos Jmaon, as the mating calls of the many animals could usually be heard... unless there predators around. And indeed, there were predators about, but not of the animal kind.

Quickly emerging form the brush, the Jmaoni made his presence known. His body was covered in all sorts of strange tattoos, only some of which were visible. From his waist to his knees a grass skirt of types hung, wrapped around his waist with a belt made of reptilian skin, with a number of bones hanging down from it. His upper body was seemingly protected by some sort of bone armor, and likewise upon his head he wore the skull of a large creature. His forearms and shinbones were likewise adorned with a type of bone armor, ripped from the body of some poor creature and used for protection. He was a very fit man, he stood proudly and starred intently in the face of the machine.

Without saying a word, he took the large rock in his hand and threw it at the drone. He then proclaimed something, very loudly and aggressively, and simultaneously a number of men and women, in similar dress jumped out from the bushes, wielding an assortment of spears and tridents, though they were not as armored nor as heavily tattooed as the other man, who was clearly the leader of the group. He then pointed at the machine, and the group of warriors charged at it screaming and yelling, thrusting their weapons at it in unison.

[Vogega]

Yos Vanor
The drone entered after the guard at it. The message was clear. Come on in. It was clear because some words were understood, but mostly the door swung open for it. It floated it as the guards shut the gates again. It floated through town to be greeted by the curious stares of the people. They had already seen another species this day, so it was still a new sensation. Several Zaeri had looks of anger while others were of adoration. The amount that they had adapted to their environment showed that such a machine was rare. There was probably only one or two others in the settlement.
It arrived in the middle of town where Odaj and the translator stood.
It spoke "Greetings, Greetings. I am a representative from the Vogegan Empire and its subjects. How may I address any concerns of our arrival?"

V.E.P.S. Traigo Viva
"The probe results are in. We will have to move to another system soon. We may be able to colonize part of the world if they let us."
"Acknowledged." Jace Ordel said.

Queneyal
The drone saw the incoming threat and followed protocol. It raised itself out of stabbing reach and opened fire with its autocannon. The 75 caliber rounds tore into the mass of angry Zaeri and sent limbs flying. The one who led the charge, was not hit. He seamed to slide away from the bullets. The drone broadcast, even as it mowed down Zaeri, "I come in peace, please leave me be." The drone took a hit in one of its maneuvering nodes from a thrown trident that sent it spinning into the huts knocking them over. It fell where its autocannon could only shoot the birds flying overhead.
It rebroadcast, "Leave me alone. I represent the fleet orbiting overhead. We would like to talk."

[Genomita]

Valtha waited until the translator had finished adressing hir after it's conversation with the chieftess, digesting it's earlier words and looking at them from different sides as ze considered hir next words. It was clear that for all their martial prowess the Zaeri would need still their support in the event that hostilities broke out, and Odaj seemed entirely convinced that the other chieftesses' outrage at the prospect of colonization by the Vogegans would ineviteably lead to war. The question was how to prevent hostilities from breaking out, or at least stall them until they would be able to defend themselves properly without making their stalling tactics too obvious? Valtha began to slowly pace back and forth, all four arms folded behind hir back and eyes closed as a plan began to take shape in hir mind.

"If your fellow chieftesses cannot be trusted to remain calm if they hear about the colonization fleet no matter how carefully the news are broached, then perhaps we should avoid telling them about it until we need to do so. With any luck the Vogegans will bring the subject up themselves, and when they do they will be the one required to explain themselves. However, we cannot risk the others flying off the handle at the thought of having to share your homeworld with others. As for the Vogegans, concessions are, and always have been an important part of diplomacy. If we cannot dissuade them from colonizing your system, we might be able to convince them to limit themselves to a small space station or other artificial habitat for the time being. Doing so would both allow your people to slowly get used to the presence of other people in your system while limiting the amount of people and material they can bring here. And I'm sure our Seeker caste would be able to sneak in something that could be used to monitor thenm and ensure we receive ample warning if they begin to gather their forces there. On the other hand, allowing them to settle on the planet would make it easier for you to monitor them. You could give them a small patch of land where they could survive without stepping on your people's toes, but without much room to expand."

Valtha continued to slowly pace for a moment before slowly turning around to Odaj, fixing her with a determined look. "As for what happens if hostilities break out, that depends partially on you and the other chieftesses. My position as an envoy makes me a direct representative of the high council, but I am not authorized to declare war on behalf of the Star Community. To be honest, while we are a compassionate people and I am somewhat fond of you and your people and wish for you to join us as equals, it is not that simple. The high council will be hesitant to get the Star Community involved in an all-out war with the Vogegans if it believes that our help is unwanted by the Zaeri to avoid causing a schism among your people. And judging by what you told me so far it seems that your people would see little difference between us and the Vogegans, two outside forces fighting for control of your world, even though the truth would be different. In addition, while our exploration fleet is by no means defenseless the Vogegans seem to have the advantage when it comes to reinforcements, as their means of faster-than-light travel does not rely on a gate system like ours. While we would be able to bring in reinforcements through a gate in a neighbouring system the Vogegans would be able to send their troops here directly. If it comes to that, our best hope would be to set up an interdiction field to even the odds somewhat, but the Vogegans would have the advantage until then. However, there is still something I can do for you."

The envoy stepped closer to Odaj, hir gaze softening somewhat as ze approached and gently rested a hand on the translator's shoulder. "Understanding and unity. Wether or not conflict breaks out, your people and especially the chieftesses have to present a united front towards the Vogegans. Even if it means gritting your teeth and swallowing all the prejudices and distrust your people grew up with, it is important that your people at the very least appear united, even if it only by common sense and pragmaticism if not by mutual love for one another. The high council will soon expect my first report on the situation here, and showing that the Zaeri would be willing to work together with us would go a long way toward gaining it's support. At the same time, it is important that your people try to remain reasonable and avoid agitating the Vogegans. If conflict does break out, it has to be from their side, not ours. However, let us hope that things don't escalate at least for now and hope for the best."

Valtha was about to say more, but a subtle shift of hir honor guard's posture told the envoy that they had company. Turning around, Valtha noticed a drone floating down the street towards them. Valtha bowed hir head towards the drone as it arrived where they stood, which was echoed by the guards to either side of hir.

"Greetings, representative. I am Envoy Valtha of the Director caste, humble representative of the Star Community of Genomita. I do not wish to appear arrogant or presumptuous, but both the Zaeri and I have come to the conclusion that we would prefer to conduct negotiations with the person guiding you. I am certain the other chieftesses who have come from far away to partake in the negotiations would be much more favorable to your arguments coming from a person instead of what they might mistake for a delegate's mouthpiece. We would be most grateful if such a meeting could be arranged. Perhaps you could think of it as a gersture of your honor and goodwill. Now, if you would please excuse me for a moment, chieftess Odaj here informed me that one of the other chieftesses has met with the representatives of the Nare, and is now travelling here along side them."

Valtha stepped aside and pushed a button on hir wristpad to open a connection to hir ship. "Commander, please relay this text message to the Nare vessel."

We have just received word that your representatives are safe and en route to our current position along with a chieftess of the Zaeri.

[Yos Namoi]

Odaj listened carefully to Valtha's words as they were transitioned into Zaeri'nay by her translator. She prepared to issue a rebuttal until the Vogegan drone arrived, and she turned to address it. Before she could, Valtha spoke up, and Odaj's translator felt it prudent to translate everything the former said to her. When Valtha was finished, she too spoke up.

"Yes, as Valtha has said, we would very much appreciate a living representative instead of a machine- No offense, of course. I believe the other chieftesses will appreciate it greatly as well."

----------

With the disabled, the the Jmaoni moved in for the kill. Triumphantly they chanted and shouted in unison as their bone-clad leader roared with them and riled them up, and then went over to a large stone, and with all his strength lifted the massive rock into the air above his head, roaring along with the rest of the party. He soon stood there, holding the rock for a moment, and spoke to his comrades for a few moments, unleashing statement after statement in verbal and emotional anger, until finally he yelled something just as incomprehensible as the rest of what he said, which was then followed by an outbreak of roaring cheers from the others. Finally he turned around to face the drone, and, holding the stone as high as he could, he roared one last time, bring the large rock down on the drone before picking it up and smashing the machine with it again, and again, and again. He would proceed for several moments, before ripping the trident out of the drone and continuously stabbing it with it. Finally he ripped the trident out one last tine, and raised it in the air in a victory and he and his compatriots unleashed more roaring cheers.

[Vogega]

V.E.S. Explor
"Greetings, representative. I am Envoy Valtha of the Director caste, humble representative of the Star Community of Genomita. I do not wish to appear arrogant or presumptuous, but both the Zaeri and I have come to the conclusion that we would prefer to conduct negotiations with the person guiding you. I am certain the other chieftesses who have come from far away to partake in the negotiations would be much more favorable to your arguments coming from a person instead of what they might mistake for a delegate's mouthpiece. We would be most grateful if such a meeting could be arranged. Perhaps you could think of it as a gesture of your honor and goodwill. Now, if you would please excuse me for a moment, chieftess Odaj here informed me that one of the other chieftesses has met with the representatives of the Nare, and is now travelling here along side them."
"Honor is no good for the slain," Captain Makoe said as the message played through the drone's signal.
"Should we send the envoy?" asked an ensign who wanted to be moved up in the ranks to eventually command a ship of his own.
"Get me envoy Marrik."
"Yes," came Marrik's voice over the Captain's comlink."
"Can you go to the meeting with the village leaders?"
"Negotiations on the satellite have failed. I want them gone or surrendered. Because of this, I can go to the planet's surface to talk in person."
While the captain worked fro the Empire, he also had to follow the envoys command. Yos Janor would fall, or surrender. "Acknowledged."
The envoy's voice cam on once again, "I will need a guard unit and a Hawk transport."
The captain issued orders to those around him to get the envoy what he needed. He had just finished when the new message played over the comms.


"Yes, as Valtha has said, we would very much appreciate a living representative instead of a machine- No offense, of course. I believe the other chieftesses will appreciate it greatly as well."
"Reply with an OK."
Far below on the surface of the planet. The drone said, "OK."

Yos Vanor
The Hawk transport came down through the skies. It was heating up rapidly in the atmosphere as it came.

[Genomita]

"By the way Chieftess Odaj, do you think you could help shed some light on your people's customs?" asked Valtha after a quick peek at the display of hir communicator. "To be precise, I would appreciate it if you could inform us of any important pitfalls or important parts of etiquette when dealing with the other chieftesses. I would prefer to avoid accidentially antagonizing your colleagues or embarrass you as our host by acting in a way that would be obviously offensive to you, and since this is your homeworld and your people have been isolated so far there are no records of what is considered proper conduct among Zaeri in our database. Anything you can tell us now would help future negotiations between our people, and I'm sure the Vogegan representative will appreciate it as well."

The envoy took slow, graceful steps towards Odaj until hir position formed an imaginary triangle with that of the Vogegan drone and the chieftess, the color of hir symbiosuit shifting to a light earthy brown flecked with golden yellow where it wasn't obscured by the fabric of hir robe. "For example, would we be even allowed to adress the other chieftesses during the meeting or would that be considered a breech of protocol? Should we direct our eyes and words to your translator instead, or would avoiding eye contact be considered a sign of a deceptive nature? My training as an envoy has taught me there are just as many ways to make a fool of oneself and one's nation in negotiations as there are ways to die, and I'm sure you will agree with me that there are many ways to die indeed."

[Yos Namoi]

"Oh, oh yes, of course! I would be happy to help!"

Odaj perked up slightly, pushing the grim thoughts spurred up by recent communication to the back of her mind as she eloquently explained everything they needed to know for the upcoming negotiations as her trusty robotic translator relayed it in Scav.

"You may find this surprising, considering the norm of distrust toward outsiders, but we are a very hospitable people. It is in our culture to display hospitality to all guests, welcome or not, whether we like them or not. Some may choose not to follow this ancient custom, but for the most part it is important to most Zaeri to be respectful to ones guests, and vice versa for their hosts. Guests are usually subject to their hosts' will, and as such must ask before they do anything. Well, mostly anything. For example, if you would like to address the fellow chieftesses you will have to ask myself first, as I am your host. You, uh, might already be familiar with this custom, Valtha, what with that... incident earlier. It is also considered rude not to participate in a toast, or to not consume food or drink that your host has provided for you unless you are truly stuffed. Um, hmmm. Oh, yes, it is customary to bow upon first meeting as a sign of respect, the lower you bow the higher the respect you have shown for the person you are bowing too. Ummm... there are more customs, though I do not think any of them would apply in this particular. I mean, for example, it's considered rude to show up unclothed or to remove ones clothing without their hosts permission, but I do not think that will be a problem, so..."

Odaj struggled to find anything more worth saying as translator finished relaying her message. Finally, however, she noticed a foreign vessel descending from the sky, coming toward one of the hangars.

"Oh, that must be the Vogegan delegate! Excellent, now-"

Just as she finished, several other vessels began to appear around the skies of Yos Vanor. These she immediately recognized as being of Zaeri origin. More and more began to descend upon the city, landing in the many other hangars.

"Oh, the other chieftesses have arrived as well it seems. Well then, I believe we can begin the negotiations now then. Um, I will go dispatch dignitaries to the bring the chieftesses back to the palace, and also to fetch Qayati as her presence will be necessary for this meeting. I'm afraid you will be without me for the moment, but if you would kindly follow my translator and meet with the Vogegans, he will then lead you both back to the palace safely. But, as I said, I must depart for the moment. Though we will meet again in the council room of the palace, I assure you. And, uh, I promise Qayati will not be as hostile this time, I would like to apologize for the way she has acted recently. I will make sure there are no further altercations this time."

As the translator finished, Odaj bowed and left the party. The translator then turned to the other, the machine addressing them independently this time.

"My lady has departed for now, and so should we. Come, we must meet with the Vogegan ambassador."

The machine led them in the opposite direct that Odaj departed toward. After a brief walk the party arrived at the hangar just as the vessel managed to touch ground. As the party awaited for the occupants to depart, the translator turned to Valtha.

"If I may, it is in my programming to pursue feedback, positive or negative, of my functions. As I am as new to this language as my lady is, might I ask how I have done in regards to proper translation. I am aware that it was rather difficult at first to translate this new language going on nothing but the loanwords from the Ayeoda language, but I believe my programming allowed for immense improvements to be made later on. Still, I would very much appreciate any feedback at all on my services so far."

The machine awaited patiently for Valtha's response.

[Vogega]

Yos Vanor
Hangar A-C
The Hawk transport descended into the hangar kicking up dust that swirled and blocked out the sunlight for both the translator and Valtha. The guards' vision was obscured as well. The ramp lowered facing the town and the Envoy stepped off. His 'skin' gleamed in the starlight once the dust cleared and the 5 guards who followed him had the starlight reflect off their metal body armor. 4 carried ion rifles along with a laser pistol and a plasma grenade. Each also had knives in multiple spots hidden in armor and shoes. The fifth however, was different. The guard stood tall. His armor not shining. It was made from what looked like wood, though it was a strong metal, and was carved. The face looked like a creature that had been created for terror alone with fangs that looked like they could chew through armor with no problem and eyes so malevolent people curled up and cried once its gaze landed on them.. The torso and arms showed a muscle bound body of a Markan. One rifle was held in the top set of hands while pistols in the top right and lower left. Swords that crackled with contained plasma sheathed on his back. It was Jace Ordel.
The Envoy Marrick walked towards the two people who greeted him. He assumed that one would be Zaeri while the other would be Genomitan. He inclined his head slightly at the living creature and bowed more deeply to the robot.
"Robot, could you please guide us to the place where we will convene," the Envoy asked in Scav completely ignoring the guards that stood in the background.

[Genomita]

Valtha carefully listened as the translator repeated Odaj's explanation of Zaeri etiquette. What ze heard sounded quite reasonable by and large, and bowing was quite a common way of formal greeting where close contact was deemed inappropriate. From what Valtha knew the Niuti, the amphibians that had founded the Star Community used bowing as a way of greeting partially due to the poison they were able to secrete from their skin beneath (or through) their symbiosuits. The members of the Seeker caste in particular preferred this greeting as a way of showing they meant no harm to others. When the first humans (and later transhumans) had joined the Niuti refugees shaking hands had emerged as a second and less formal way of greeting.

Ze was a little surprised when the translator requested hir feedback, though it did not show on hir face. Asking questions like this implied that this unit was self-aware to some degree, which raised many interesting questions none of which Valtha was willing to contemplate at the moment. The envoy favored the robot with a gentle smile as ze answered. "You perform your intended function very well. Mind you, this is considered high praise among my people, as knowing your purpose in society and performing it well are very important to all Genomitans. Your translation has been very accurate from what I could tell, and in fact has helped me develop an -albeit still rather rough- image of your native language. Should things go well and relations turn out favorable the Star Community will no doubt suggest the development of language courses and portable translators. Not to make you obsolete mind you, but to further understanding and thus peace among the Zaeri and us."

The envoy grew quiet afterwards, enjoying their surroundings in comfortable silence until the Vogegan shuttle arrived. When the empire's representative stepped out Valtha was both strangely relieved and worried to see another augmented individual join them. Relieved because it would show the Zaeri that such things were somewhat common in the larger universe, and worried that their hosts might mistake him for another replacable machine and would take offense. Ze also noted that he made no effort to introduce himself and seemed very to the point, as well as that he expressed much more respect towards the machine than towards hir. Valtha stifled a shudder as ze began to consider why the Vogegan hadn't introduced himself.

"It is an honor to meet you at last. I am Envoy Valtha of the director caste, and I speak for the Star Community of Genomita. said Valtha as ze sketched a light bow towards the Vogegan representative, politely ignoring the uncouth appearance of the heavily armed Markan. Such coarse intimidation tactics were frowned upon among the Genomitans, but if the Vogegans insisted on looking rude and belligerent to their hosts the envoy had no intention of stopping them. Valtha could feel hir two honour guards edge closer to hir as the heavily armed alien stepped out of the shuttle, doubtlessly glaring daggers at the display from the safety of their faceless visors. Ze decided to make an attempt at defusing the situation before it turned even more unpleaseant. Ze turned to the translator, bowing before ze spoke.

"Pardon me, but would you kindly ask Chieftess Odaj and her guests to grant me a small request? You see, my pilot is still waiting inside my shuttle, and if they permit it I would very much like to have her along as she is a Niuti, the race that made the Star Community possible. I assure you that she is dressed for the occasion and will do no harm, and it would also allow us to demonstrate a small measure of the diversity among our people and help avoid unwanted misunderstandings. I will understand if you object, but if your wise chieftess decides to grant us this small favor please have her escorted to where we will conduct negotiations."

Valtha bowed again after speaking, hoping that Odaj and the others would allow it.
-----

The figure inside the shuttle stirred as the conversation turned to the possibility her joining the negotiation as a representative or hir people. Awaoko orisun omi ojo, pilot of the Seeker caste had followed the entire conversation through a live feed from the envoy's headset, yet this development still came as a surprise to her. The awaoko began to carefully inspect her clothing with her slender lower hands, from the standard-issue symbiosuit to the well-maintained pilot utility west and the pelvic curtain that obscured her cloaka from view, which was also slit on the rear end to make room for the Niuti''s slender tail. Both the pilot west and the pelvic curtain were cut from a light yet resilient light brown cloth and covered with an elaborate pattern of small golden yellow waves. Sea green eyes narrowed into vertical slits as she inspected the screen of her communicator again, first closing one eye and the n the other, as if to make sure both were seeing the same thing. Very clever young envoy, very clever indeed. Let us pray that they will grant this request. thought the awaoko as she raised her lower left hand to the small oval stone hanging from her slender neck.

[Yos Namoi]

"I am quite pleased to hear such grateful feedback on my functions, however I should make note that translation - and linguistics in generals - are not my primary function. To be honest I am merely a mechanical servant of sorts, with possession of a good deal of self-awareness. When my lady took power she preferred a non-living servant unlike her fellow chieftesses, and thus I was constructed. When my lady decided that she wished to try and open up trade relations with the Zaeri on Yos Jmaon, she had me updated with highly advanced linguistic capabilities so that I could translate between standard Zaeri'nay and the ever-evolving Zaeri'nay dialects of Yos Jmaon. So, assuming all goes well and attempts at improving the language barrier between yourselves and the Zaeri bring about easier translation techniques, I assure you I will not be rendered obsolete. Still, I do thank you for your honesty, Envoy Valtha."

As the machine finished, the Vogegan ship descended upon the hangar, and the Vogegan envoy approached the party, accompanied by four very heavily armed guards. The translator analyzed the few words spoken by the envoy, and within moments prepared a rebuttal.

"Greetings, Vogegan, and welcome to Yos Namoi. I am the personal servant of Chieftess Odaj of Yos Vanor, and I welcome you on her behalf, as she is currently preoccupied at the moment. Rest assured, you will have a chance to meet her very soon. My lady does deeply regret being unable to meet you here personally. I must say, you seem very well-armed for a diplomatic envoy... I am assuming this is merely some sort of cultural aspect that I am ignorant to due to lack of prior experience. While you will be permitted yours guards and their arms during the meeting, if it is not to much to ask, I think I may speak for my lady when I ask that you may wish to remove some of your weapons prior to the beginning of the meeting. The presence of such a heavily armed dignitary may very well be seen as rather threatening, to be quite frank, and may serve to ignite presently dormant hostilities. You need not discard them at this very moment of course, merely pass them over to one your guards while the meeting is taking place. I hope this is not too much to ask. Now, as for your question, I can very much guide you to the meeting place."

As the machine prepared to finish, it awaited Valtha's sudden interjection to finish, and then processed it quickly before replying.

"I calculate with great certainty that my lady would have no reason to object to such a request. However, if you'll just give me a moment..."

The machine then sent a message to Odaj, and quickly received a rather shortly reply.

"My lady has approved your request, Envoy Valtha, as I have predicted. Your pilot may accompany you - send word to her immediately if you can. Now then..."

The machine turned back to Jace Ordel.

"Please, follow me."

The machine then turned to the exit, leading the party out of the hangar and across the large streets, the multi-racial party gathering the wandering eyes of Zaeri going about their regular business before arriving at the palace. The machine stopped before the two large doors, as two guards uncloaked in front of them. One approached the translator, and after a brief conversation in Zaeri'nay, the guards opened the doors for the party.

"Please, let us continue."

The machine entered the palace, leading the others in as the doors closed behind them. After going down a long hallway, decorated with a number of beautiful mosaics, the party arrived at the doors to the meeting room. Once again, two guards uncloaked to open the doors for the group, and motioned for them to enter. As the group entered, the guards came in behind them, closing the doors and taking their positions at the side of the doorway. Meanwhile, the 3 other doorways to the oval shaped room were likewise guarded by two-uncloaked guards. In the center of the room was a very large table, which like the room itself was shaped like an oval. A great number of chairs were present as well, all of which elegantly carved from some very beautiful wood.

"Now then, my lady and the other chieftesses should be here any moment now... please, feel free to take a seat if you so wish. If you require any refreshments, please feel free to ask me."

----------

As the translator led the Genomitans and Vogegans to the meeting room, and Vanori dignitaries were dispatched to every other hangar in the settlement to greet and escort the chieftesses of the other settlements, Odaj found herself at the top of the Great Temple of Yos Vanor - the largest of it's kind on the planet. She slowly opened the large concrete doors, and entered the dimly-lit room whose soul light was provided by four large torches. In the middle of the room was Qayati, sitting on the floor, legs crossed, the smell of incense providing her with tranquility. Upon realizing her wife and chieftess was in the room, she opened her eyes and arose.

"I apologize."

Was all she said before turning to Odaj, who was slightly surprised.

"I may have... overreacted... to an extent... and I apologize, my dear."

It took a moment for Odaj to process all this, but when she did a faint smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you, Qayati. You made this much easier. Now, I need you come with me to the palace quickly."

Now it was Qayati who was confused.

"Are you sure? So soon after making up? It is rather unorthodox... but if you are willing, I will gladly-"

Odaj was, once again, confused until she realized what Qayati was insinuating, causing her face to grow red.

"Oh! No- No, no, not that... not yet... there- there is plenty of time for that tonight, ah ha... that's not what I meant, I mean."

Flustered, she struggled to find the proper words to say, as Qayati blushed with embarrassment.

"Oh... um, my bad then. Ha ha... uh, what is it that you wanted then?"

She asked, awkwardly laughing it off. Odaj looked back up at her.

"Well, um... I have been speaking with the Genomitans - yes, they are still here - and we have decided to try and... unite the Zaeri."

Qayati's slight smile faded into surprise.

"You... what?"

For a minute she thought it was a joke, so she chuckled a bit. After a moment of awkward silence, she realized her lover was not kidding.

"Wait... you're serious...? You can't be serious, can you? Are you out of your mind? 'Unite the Zaeri'? What on Yos Namoi made you- No, it was those aliens wasn't it? They talked you into it, didn't they? They're trying to make you their puppet - I just know it. You're being used!"

As Qayati continued with her rant, Odaj looked down, defeated and ashamed, only for Qayati to stop and take notice. She struggled to figure out what to say to Odaj, before finally just giving up. She sighed, and gently placed her hands on Odaj's shoulders. Odaj looked up, surprised, as Qayati inhaled and exhaled deeply, and looked up to Odaj.

"No- No, you- you... you believe you can do this?"

Odaj struggled to respond, but when she tried, Qayati hushed it.

"Then so be it. If you believe you can do it, I believe you can too... I have faith in you, Odaj. I swear this on the Gods."

Odaj's face lit up in surprise and relief, and Qayati smiled at her. After sharing a passionate kiss and loving hug, she turned back to Odaj. Suddenly, Qayati's smile turned to a frown.

"I still don't trust those aliens."

Odaj couldn't help but giggle.

"I know, Qayati. I know."

[Vogega]

Landing Pad
"It is an honor to meet you at last. I am Envoy Valtha of the director caste, and I speak for the Star Community of Genomita," said Valtha.
"Greetings. I am Envoy Maarek of the Vogegan Empire. The captain is currently working out the new arrival of the fleet of our friend here," he said gesturing to Jace Ordel.
"Pardon me, but would you kindly ask Chieftess Odaj and her guests to grant me a small request? You see, my pilot is still waiting inside my shuttle, and if they permit it I would very much like to have her along as she is a Niuti, the race that made the Star Community possible. I assure you that she is dressed for the occasion and will do no harm, and it would also allow us to demonstrate a small measure of the diversity among our people and help avoid unwanted misunderstandings. I will understand if you object, but if your wise chieftess decides to grant us this small favor please have her escorted to where we will conduct negotiations."
Maarek was running through what this meant. Perhaps they needed some back up because of the guards he had brought with him. The Envoy smiled. This could be interesting. Perhaps they represented different splinter cells of a government. The Empire had destroyed its enemies many times by fracturing them.
The droid then spent a few seconds asking them to leave some of their weapons behind.
The Vogegan smiled. This had been a lesson learned from the Nare. Not enough guns meant that you looked like you could be easily eliminated. This had eventually led to the destruction of the Nare home world and subsequent wars.
"Return to the ship," he said in Mesot, the native language of the guard and one the other people present would not be able to translate. The four guards turned and trotted back to the ship.
"Is that better," asked Envoy Maarek even as the droid turned to lead them inside.
They arrived at the doors and the two guards uncloaked. We will have to get our hands on this technology thought Envoy Maarek. The Empire had cloaking and stealth, but none that could hide a person unless they were wearing a special suit that protected them from radiation. The Envoy then switched some of his vision to infrared. The jungle made it hard to see the guards, but unusual fluctuations gave away their positions. It wasn't fool proof by any needs, but the envoy didn't want to move to radar. They might have technology that could detect the waves of sound he emanated and see it as a threat. A small circular bulge sat on his back. Having never seen a Vogegan before, they would assume it was part of his body. However, in reality, it was a spy drone. To be released after negotiations have been started.
Jace Ordel followed slightly behind the envoy.
They entered the room and saw the other guards guarding the doors. Four ways in, four ways out. The beautiful table and chairs waited... Empty.
Both Jace and the Envoy had been expecting the leader of the Zaeri to be here. Well, they could wait.
"After you," said Maarek gesturing to Jace as he pulled out a chair. Both Jace and the Envoy then sat and waited for the others to arrive.

[Genomita]

Valtha gratefully bowed hir head when the Odaj's robotic servant informed hir that Odaj had approved the envoy's request to take their pilot along. The Vogegan envoy's smile was not lost on Valtha as ze lifted the communicator to hir lips. Whatever conclusions he had drawn from hir request they were most likely wrong, or he wouldn't be smiling the way he did. Awaoko orisun omi ojo, our host has agreed to have you accompany us during the negotiations. An escort should arrive shortly to pick you up".

Valtha felt a light twinge of shame at the deception. In truth hir pilot was already aware of the chieftess' consent because she had heard it over the live feed from the envoy's headset, but ze comforted hirself with the fact that it was necessary. Ze decided not to comment on the fact that it most people considered it rude to talk in a language other bystanders couldn't understand when the Vogegan ambassador adressed his four guards in some unknown language. Valtha was as much a guest on this world as the Vogegans were, and as such understood that ze had no business chiding other guests for their behaviour. That was something best left to their hosts.

The Genomitan envoy and hir honor guards spent the remaining trip silently admiring the architecture and art of the Zaeri. When they eventually reached what had to be the designated meeting room for the negotiations Valtha was not bothered by the fact that odaj and the other chieftesses had yet to arrive. It would give hir more time to admire the room and organize hir thoughts. When the mechanical servant invited them to take a seat, Valtha and hir twin guards responded by bowing politely in the robot's direction, the guards' faceless helmets opening and sliding back as the envoy began to speak.

"Thank you, but my guards and I would prefer to remain standing until your chieftess assigns us our seats to avoid upsetting possible prior agreements on seating arrangements. The same will be true for my pilot. Refreshments are appreciated but can wait until you decide to serve them."
-----
Meanwhile Awaoko orisun omi ojo had risen from her seat, taking a moment to smoothe her clothes to ensure she looked pleasing when the escort arrived. From what the live feed had shown her so far, the Niuti wouldn't be surprised if the escort also consisted of cloaked guards that would only show themselves once they were right in front of her, but decided it didn't matter. She made her way to the ship's still open door with slow and graceful steps, taking in the vessel's surroundings and enjoying the pleasant weather. The warm weather and humid comfortably reminded the young pilot of the insides of Genomitan vessels, and she briefly wondered if this was what their ancestral homeworld had felt like. She briefly opened her mouth to smell the air, a content sight escaping her lips before she gracefully bowed to seemingly empty air. "It is good to be here."

[Yos Namoi]

As Awaoko seemingly finished bowing to nothing, a guard in a rather upset stance decloaked in front of her, holding her hands on her hips. The guard scoffed, and without a word motioned for Awaoko to follow her. The trip to the palace would be dull and quiet due to the language barrier, but then again, there wasn't really anything the guard had to say to Awaoko. After passing a number of glaring eyes and curious minds, they arrived at the palace, passing the great mosaics of the halls inside, and arriving at the doors to the meeting room, the guard opened the door for Awaoko, and motioned for her to enter. When she did, the guard let the door go and cloaked again, returning to her duties.

----------

"Ah, I believe this is your compatriot, Awaoko was it? Welcome, miss. My lady should be along soon."

The translator said, motioning toward the woman who had just entered. Just as it finished, the door opened again to reveal Odaj and Qayati, who then entered the room. Qayati turned to the Vogegans and Awaoko.

"More aliens? Wonderful."

Qayati thought, sarcastically. She then turned to Valtha.

"I... apologize for earlier. I overreacted. You could not possibly have known our customs at the time, and due to my distrust of you, I assumed the worse. I am... sorry for this."

She said, the machine translating. She did her best to avoid eye contact, and was clearly having difficulty with her apology. Odaj, in the meantime, we visibly pleased, and she then turned to Awaoko and the Vogegans.

"Greetings! I take it you are... Awaoko? I believe I got that right. And you two must be Vogegans? Welcome to Yos Vanor, and more importantly, Yos Namoi. I apologize for not being present to meet you in person, Mr..? "

She finished, the machine translating, awaiting for the Vogegans to introduce themselves.

[Vogega]

Metting Room
The translator said, "Greetings! I take it you are... Awaoko? I believe I got that right. And you two must be Vogegans? Welcome to Yos Vanor, and more importantly, Yos Namoi. I apologize for not being present to meet you in person, Mr..? "
"I am Maarek. My title is Envoy, as is my position. I see that you already Know Valtha and her compatriot. This is Jace Ordel, leader of the fleet that has arrived. Because of technological advances, we would have arrived longer after them instead of beating them here."
Jace Ordel didn't move at all.
"I will allow the Genomitans to speak first with their offer because they were here first."
This was not strictly true. He wanted them to go first, so he could offer an alternative that would beat their deal. He also needed time to stall, so that bombing raids may proceed on Yos Jmaon if it was deemed appropriate.