Dust to Dust (FT, ATTN: Feazanthia)

[Morningstar Coalition]

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NPP-1346-D System - Morningstar Coalition Fleet
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Shortly after the Destroyer-class MCDF "Eternal Spring" left the fleet, two additional Destroyers broke away as well; the MCDF "Clensing Light" and the MCDF "Forgiveness Unbound". The former was commanded by a Gaian named Jerard Shaw, while the latter was commanded by a Shanii named Sharisenna. The two ships followed the Eternal Spring out to the nearest Slipstream entry point, then waited for their fellow to enter Slipstream and exit the system. These two ships were headed for the same initial waypoint, the Keflek system. After syncing up their navigation systems, the two ships entered Slipstream shortly thereafter.


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Sector JK24 - Keflek System - 18.2 AU from Keflek Star
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The pair of three-hundred meter long craft left Slipstream and re-entered realspace exactly when and where predicted, though each ship had obtained a different orientation. After righting themselves and forming up together, the two ships set a course for Keflek VII, broadcasting ahead of themselves.

"This is Captain Shaw of the Morningstar Coalition. I am requesting permission for two vessels to enter Keflekki space to negotiate access to the IRON Slipgate. Shaw out."

[Keflek VII]

"is that thing even operational yet?" one of the puzzled traffic control officers asked his superior.

"Just last week, but it's been silent except for test probes. Access that channel they used to hail us and let me talk to them."

"Open, sir."

"MCDF Vessels, welcome to Keflek. Please state your destination and the nature of your expedition. Keflek Airspace Control, over."

[Morningstar Coalition]

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Sector JK24 - Keflek System
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"Keflek Control, Captain Shaw. Both vessels are on diplomatic missions, the Cleansing Light is bound for the Kiith Federation, and the Forgiveness Unbound will be using the Argos system as a waypoint, final destination is Ataster space."

Aboard the Clensing Light, the two Captains discussed with each other through the ships' dataspaces. Jerard Shaw glanced again at the representation of the combined sensor net the two ships had formed with their sensor drones. So far none of the local traffic had changed to intercept courses with them, so at least the locals weren't going to shoot them down anytime soon. Shaw looked up as Sharisenna asked, "Do you think they will allow us to access the gate network? It's going to be a very long trip if we can't use their gate systems to cut some corners."

Shaw sighed and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. He knew that Hecate, the captain of the Eternal Spring had been given information on the Hermes gate protocols, but as yet Morningstar had no information about rules, restrictions, or terms of use for the IRON slipgates. It was very possible that even if the Keflekki allowed them access, whoever controlled the destination gate would not permit foreign ships from a non-IRON nation to enter their space. It was a gamble, but one which would save time and resources if it paid off. "To be honest Sari, I have no idea if we'll be welcome or not. We'll just have to wait, and pray."

[Keflek VII]

^{ooc: my post got deleted, who knows why...}

"Morningstar Vessels, you're clear to enter. Happy trails, and good luck with whatever lay on the other side."

[Morningstar Coalition]

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Sector JK24 - Keflek System - MCDF "Clensing Light"
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"Morningstar Vessels, you're clear to enter. Happy trails, and good luck with whatever lay on the other side."

"Well I suppose that answers that question. Good luck with the Ataster Sari. Just keep in contact with Fleet Command while you're out there, we still don't know what's happened out that way since Meyers returned from that op." Shaw smiled and waved to the other captain's avatar before they broke the dataspace connection and each vessel lined up to make use of the Keflek slipgate.
Shaw's vessel, the Clensing Light was headed to the Coruc-Tel system, which according to their information was one of, if not the most central of the Kiith Federation systems. It was hoped that once there, Captain Shaw would be able to negotiate with the Feazanthians for the technologies and resources that Morninstar needed to survive.

So it was that the destroyer entered the slipgate and was on it's way...

[Feazanthia]

<\ \> KDF.KEFLEK.SG15 >> KFEF.CORUCTEL.SG1
<\ INCOMING TRAVELER
<\ MORNINGSTAR COALITION DEFENSE FORCE
<\ DESTROYER CLASS
<\ MCDF CLEANSING LIGHT (REG - G192.295.253)

---

Directly in the path of the destroyer, a rift completely beyond the realm of visible light but distinguishable by a short burst of Hawking radiation appeared. To the casual observer, the Cleansing Light would appear to be swallowed by space itself in the time it takes the average human heart to beat once.

Halfway across the galaxy, the destroyer would repeat the process in reverse. While the Keflekki gate had been barely used, the Coruc-Tel gate was a hub of activity. The Light was bombarded by several dozen targetting signals, eminating from geosynchronous orbital defense satellites. These signals were quickly switched off, however, as data from the Slipgate disseminated through the local TacNet and designated the destroyer as a non-hostile. Had the Morningstar personnel bothered to check whatever scanners they had, they would see myriad vessels swarming over the Slipgate and the surrounding space. They ranged in size and purpose: from single-person transports, to immense Majiirian battleships, to even an Empress-class mobile yard approaching the gate at a steady 1.2g acceleration. Numerous ships were also docked to the gate facility itself, the overwhelming ratio of civilian to military vessels signifying the station's use as more than a simple method of transportation. Had the Morningstar vessel scanned the Slipgate, they would have noticed it had a much higher amount of wear and tear than the Keflek gate, a factor which would suggest it being a good deal older. The bursts of Hawking radiation as vessels departed and arrived were often - but not always - far greater than the one that had brought the Morningstar to Coruc-Tel.

Beyond the gate, much of the ship traffic would be more martial in nature. Approximately one astronomical unit spinward from the destroyer, a pair of KFEF battle groups slowly circled each other at several light-seconds distance. The exchange of low-energy signals between them would suggest combat exercises, if the Morningstar were keen to look. Several more Empress yards hung in orbit of the single planet in the habitable belt, with more Majiirian battleships in various stages of construction. If they looked close enough, multi-kilometer arrays would be visible orbiting both the binary suns and the pair of jovian planets in the system. Thermal signatures visible in the system's Oort cloud suggested ship activity within it - at least a year ago.

A radio data burst was directed at the Cleansing Light from one of the floating communications buoys. If played through the Morningstar vessels' speakers, it would contain the voice of what sounded like a young female human speaking in perfect Galstandard.

"Morningstar Coalition Defense Force vessel, we have you on our sensors now. Welcome to Coruc-Tel. How may we be of assistance?"

[Morningstar Coalition]

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Sector PE55 - Coruc-tel System - MCDF "Clensing Light"
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Captain Shaw did not have enough time to react as the ship came through the gate on the Feazanthian side, however the shipmind Hephaestus did. In the few seconds the local system defenses were tracked and locked onto the ship, the destroyer's shipmind was considering options based on mission and probability of their vessel's destruction. Eventually the shipmind concluded that this was a normal, albeit somewhat aggressive, response to incoming traffic from the gate. Since no-one had fired yet, Hephaestus decided to leave the issue off the record and simply reported to Shaw about the numerous mass-shadows detected by the gravitic sensors. Other sensors and scanners would have to wait for if and when they were allowed to deploy the "Whisker"-class sensor drones.
"Captain, I am receiving an incoming transmission. Channel is still open." Hephaestus used the limited sensor ability it had to track the signal back to source, though refrained from actually entering the datastream represented by the open comms line.

Jerard Shaw blinked and sat up in his gel-chair, "Well that was pretty quick. Let's hear it Hephaestus."

"Morningstar Coalition Defense Force vessel, we have you on our sensors now. Welcome to Coruc-Tel. How may we be of assistance?"

"Well that's either very personable, or downright cryptic of them. Alright Hephaestus, open the line." Jerard paused a moment till he saw the indicator light up in the holo-tank, "This is Captain Jerard Shaw of the MCDF "Clensing Light", here on a diplomatic mission from the Morningstar Coalition fleet. I have been ordered to this system to attempt to establish diplomatic contact with the Kiith Federation, or whatever governing body is in place here. At this time I am requesting permission for my vessel to dock with whatever facilities you have which can facilitate diplomatic functions. Shaw out."

[Feazanthia]

It took nearly a minute for the response to come. In that time, flurries of electromagnetic chatter arced across the system like lightning. Ships approaching the gate altered course in order to give the Morningstar destroyer a wide berth. It seemed the Kiith didn't know exactly what to think of these newcomers. However, the voice returned with the air of perfect calm.

"MCDF Cleansing Light, your request is granted. Follow the designated docking beacon to KFES Monta-suu. Further instructions shall be transmitted as you near your destination."

Sure enough, one of the Empress yards in orbit began transmitting a constant stream of relevant docking instructions from one of its larger external bays.

[Morningstar Coalition]

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Sector PE55 - Coruc-tel System - MCDF "Clensing Light"
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Jerard frowned when he heard the response from the Feazanthians. Maybe showing up in a military destroyer hadn't been the best idea, however the Fleet hadn't had any better options, with the only civilian craft being the large supply freighters MACE had had on hand during the early weeks, and those had been converted to habitation transports rather quickly. ~Oh well. One does what one can, with what one has. Hopefully these people are more hospitable in person, or this will be one awkward mission.~ Jerard mused to himself as the ship followed the course laid out for them by traffic control. Jerard was slightly annoyed with the cold tones of what little communications had been passed; he'd been raised on a Shanii colony world, and so had picked up that species penchant for hospitality and easy companionship, and so far Jerard was feeling very outcast indeed. "Hephaestus, I'm going to my quarters to change. Just keep us in their traffic lanes, and see if you can get permission to launch a few whiskers so we can take a look around."

#Understood Captain, I estimate docking to be in five minutes, depending on how automated their procedures are.# The shipmind turned it's attention inwards, examining the minimal sensor coverage the ship's internal sensors allowed, then opening a comms line to the Monta-suu,

#Clensing Light to Monta-suu. We would like permission to launch a small number of sensor drone craft to increase our scan coverage and resolution, at the moment we are operating with minimal internal sensors, and my Captain would be more comfortable if we could see local traffic before we came within kilometers of it. Clensing Light standing by.#

The ship continued to keep a slow pace as it followed the course to it's destination.

[Feazanthia]

Another minute. More electromagnetic chatter. An active array washed over the destroyer's hull as if they were checking to confirm the shipmind's story. A pair of bulbous frigates deviated their course slightly, their parabolic route now taking them within a few hundred kilometers of the destroyer. Finally, the voice returned.

"MCDF Cleansing Light, request for sensor drone deployment has been approved. In the interest of security, it is requested that all drones remain within a ten thousand standard kilometer radius. Coruc-tel local defense out."

The communications signal cut out, but several seconds later a new signal began transmitting from the shipyard itself. The audio crackled before a more masculine, accented voice spoke.

"This is Monta-suu dock authority to Morningstar Defense Force vessel. Hangar seventeen has been cleared, receiving crews are standing by. Adjust heading: X minus point one-one-seven, Y plus point zero-one-five-two. Set full relative deceleration to four point five zero minutes. Clamps online. Umbilicals awaiting airlock targeting data. Over."

The shipyard would be fully visible now. It was a massive asymetrical rectangular hulk spanning over two kilometers on the long axis. Long, fat cylinders rotated along the axis to provide rotational gravity to the station's habitat areas. A large portion was cut out of the yard's port hull, instead playing host to various manipulator appendages and docking berths. The designated hangar bay was marked by the radio signals, and a half dozen of its manipulators glowed with electromagnetic energy.

[Morningstar Coalition]

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Sector PE55 - Coruc-tel System - MCDF "Clensing Light"
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Hephaestus monitored as the Feazanthian frigates approached and took up what it assumed were escort positions. One could say that the Shipmind "felt" the brush of the active sensors, or at least that was how Hephaestus itself imagined the scanning sweep, like brush of the wind. This was supposed to be either friendly or at least neutral territory, so the Shipmind was unconcerned for their safety. When Hephaestus's request to launch whiskers was approved, the shipmind mentally sighed with relief. It was disconcerting being partially blind, with only mass sensors and the basic external EM receivers to help it avoid hitting local traffic.

On one facing of the ship, an armored hatch slid aside to reveal ranks of launch tubes, packed with the small spherical Whisker-class sensor drones. Low-energy mass drivers ejected the machines from their tubes and Hephaestus began coordinating them into a spherical antenna array formation, keeping all the drones within the ten thousand kilometer limit set by local TraCon. As soon as the drones' sensors came online, information flooded the Shipmind's awareness, and suddenly the Clensing Light had a much better idea of where they were, and what was around them.
No longer partially blind, Hephaestus had no trouble instructing the helm officer when the ordered course correction was recieved. Multiple passive sensors, and a handful of active bands made out the details of the Monta-suu shipyard as the four-hundred meter long destroyer cut engines and coasted the last few meters into their assigned berth. Hephaestus used the nano-capillary system of the outer armor to alter the composition on the surface of the expected docking points, considering most of the original armor material was non-magnetic. A final low-power pulse of the plasma engines and the ship came to a stop with a very faint jolt as the shipyard's magnetic clamps locked into place.


Down in his quarters, Captain Jerard Shaw was closing the last seal on his dress uniform. A form-fitting tunic, vest and pants made from nano-weave ballistic cloth, colored a warm blue-grey shade with teal and cyan trim. Over this was a long, flowing, floor-length coat resembling a "gunman's duster". The pants were tucked into low-rise reinforced boots which resembled polished leather but was a durable polymer material.
Checking himself in a holographic mirror, Jerard nodded to himself. He'd heard the announcement Hephaestus had passed over his dataspace implant, and had felt the slight bump as the destroyer docked with the Feazanthian shipyard. Now he'd be joining his first officer as they went to greet whoever was waiting for them aboard the Monta-suu shipyard.


Jerard smiled and nodded to the male reikoan as the airlock cycled green, then the exterior hatch finally opened to admit the two Morningstar officers into the docking umbilical. The pair walked quickly down the passage to board the shipyard proper, one seemingly human, the other looking for all the world like a humanoid skunk with red and teal fur. Jerard glanced around his surroundings, looking for their welcome party.

[Feazanthia]

The actual entrance to the shipyard was without gravity, as evidenced by insect-like drones soaring to check the clamps on tiny puffs of air. It was too impractical to include rotational gravity in the docking berths, both from an economic and construction standpoint. Heavy materials were simply easier to move when one was not fighting the forces of gravitic acceleration.

The umbilical was clearly marked and, while the words were written in the symbols of Kushan-la, the painted arrows were a fairly universal language. The flexible corridor led to a sort of vehicle that, once the Morningstar representatives strapped themselves into the padded seats, rotated itself into a relative vertical position and passed through an opening in what was now the ceiling. The Morningstars would find themselves rising out of the "floor" to a company of armored marines and a young man in silvery robes.

"Ee-mah! Choo sutah! barked the robed man, which immediately caused the half dozen monolithic armors to snap into a salute - weapon at the side and left fist clenched against the chest with the head slightly bowed. The man stepped forward and bowed deeply at the waist. Physically, he resembled a human male of mid twenties. His ethnicity would be a blend, with olive skin and distinctly eastern asian facial features, but the lock of braided hair that hung from the left side of his otherwise bald head was a striking orange. His thick robe covered his torso from his shoulder to the floor, cut in what could be taken for a traditional Tibetan style. It was thick, yet either by design or trick of the light seemed to flow about him like liquid giving the impression that it was very light. Atop the afore-mentioned bald head sat a black wushamao.

"On behalf of the crew of the Monta-suu, Kiith Nabaal, the Federation Expeditionary Force, and the entirety of the Dominion, I bid welcome to our guests from afar," he said in Galstandard with a pronounced accent, rising out of his bow. His dark eyes immediately rested upon the skunk thing, and the next noises from the man consisted of a startled "ah" and "oh" and "hmm" as the corner of his mouth twitched. Turning back to more human of the pair. "I am Snorod Nabaal, secondary minister of interpolitical relations to Kiith Nabaal and personal advisor to the phia-sa of the Kiith Federation Expeditionary Force. Should you need anything during your stay here, please do not hesitate to ask me."

[Morningstar Coalition]

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Sector PE55 - Coruc-tel System - Monta-suu Shipyard
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The transition from the destroyer's internal gravity to the docking bay's freefall caught Jerard by surprise, and he almost hit his head on the upper bulkhead before Danaan reached up and pulled him back to the deck. "Thanks. Didn't expect them to bring us in without gravity, but I suppose it makes sense for a shipyard."
The Reikoan chuckled once before sitting down in the seated transport that waited for them, the Captain following suit and the pair looked around as the lift rose upwards. As the lift slowed to a stop, Jerard's attention was immediately drawn to the Feazanthian soldiers as they came to attention and saluted. As soon as the lift had stopped, both Morningstar officers were rising and returning the gesture in their own fashion, back board-straight, heels together, right fist slapped to the breast across the heart, head tall and eyes front. Then the Nabaali officer stepped forwards and offered his name and a short greeting.

That was Jerard's cue, who relaxed from his salute, then returned an equally deep down to Snorod, "On behalf of the destroyer "Clensing Light" and the Morningstar Coalition Fleet, I accept your gracious welcome and thank you for your hospitality. My name is Jerard Shaw, of the Gaian species, Captain of the Clensing Light. This is my first officer, Daanan Khest Al Siddou, of the Reikoan species. We have come to make official contact with the Kiith Federation for the purposes of trade and diplomatic exchange. If possible, I would like to arrange meetings between my staff and representatives from Kiiths Nabaal, Sjet, LiirHra, Soban, and Somtaaw. We are seeking contracts for the exchange of resources and technical information, so should any of our requests require it, we also ask that a representative of the Diamid be available. I understand this will take time to arrange, so I would like to either ask for permission for some of my crew to take liberty aboard your station, or we will wait aboard our vessel."

Bowing a second time, the Morningstar officers awaited the Nabaali officer's reaction.

[Feazanthia]

The robed Nabaali minister mouthed silent words for a moment, obviously shocked at Captain Shaw's seemingly intimate knowledge of the Federation's political system. However, he quickly composed himself and offered the captain a quick bow.

"Of course, Captain Shaw. As luck would have it, many of the ministers you have requested should be within gate range for this system. I shall make the necessary arrangements. Also, Captian, you should know that, as this is officially an Expeditionary Force system, the phia-sa shall wish to have a delegate on-hand to represent his - ah - interests. In the meantime, we will of course vacate a section of the station's habitat for your crew. Unfortunately, we are somewhat between resupply shipments at the moment, but I do believe the anamahej tesh keeps a substantial store of Kush delicacies. I shall have them sent up for you. Erm...approximately how many individuals shall be relocating to the station?"

[Morningstar Coalition]

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Sector PE55 - Coruc-tel System - Monta-suu Shipyard
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"That is indeed fortunate Minister Nabaal, and I have no objections to the phia-sa being present in any or all negotiation meetings. Thank you for the shore leave as well. At present my vessel carries a compliment of twelve hundred crew, however I will not be bringing any more than a hundred at a time, assuming this is not too many for your hospitality?" Jerard bowed briefly in deference to the Nabaali. "If necessary, we have brought with us a limited cargo of refined ores and gemstones we had intended as barter material, if this will offset any inconvenience which may arise from hosting any of my crew, then please, it is yours."

((OOC Note:))

Want sure where else to go with this Feaz. I'll get with you on IM or TG to see where we want to take this thread, and more importantly, how we want to get there.

[Feazanthia]

Snorod tried to speak, but his voice seemed to catch in his throat. He smiled weakly and made several small, soft popping noises with his lips.

"Twe-twelve hundred, you say? One thousand...two hundred individuals?" He cleared his throat and straightened once more. "Your offer is most generous, my good captain. However, it is unnecessary. We Nabaali pride ourselves on our hospitality to such honored guests."

He tapped the back of his neck with his hand and his eyes became unfocused and seemingly glazed over for a few seconds. "I have ordered the lower half of the city evacuated and prepared for your crew's arrival. Additional docking tubes shall be fastened at once, and our drones will be most gentle with any cargo you may wish to bring with you. As for your crew, you said they would come in groups of one hundred individuals? And they are all...as yourself, then? Yes?" He was clearly indicating the human captain.

[Morningstar Coalition]

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Sector PE55 - Coruc-tel System - Monta-suu Shipyard
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Daanan could not hide the smile as Snorod's voice caught, but he did manage to suppress the chuckle that had threatened to bubble up. Jerard shared the Reikoan officer's amusement at the Nabaali's shock, however he was better at keeping his amusement private. Jerard once again bowed deeply to Snorod, "Thank you once again for such hospitality. I will endeavor to ensure I and my crew do not abuse such graciousness. Perhaps you would be willing to consider a compromise? I can have the first of my crew aboard unload some of our food stores, so that your staff might sample some of the food and drink of our cultures? Yes, I thought that keeping the numbers of my crew aboard your station would be best. I'm afraid not. I am but one of only ten of my species aboard the Clensing Light. At present my crew has representatives from six different species."

Even as Jerard managed to address each of the Nabaali's questions, Daanan's voice slipped in over the Captain's neural link to the ship's dataspace, ~For a moment there I was certain he was about to choke. You don't think our multi-species nature is going to sour this relationship?~

~I certainly hope not Daanan. The Kiith have too much the fleet needs. We can't afford to botch this mission.~

~Copy that Captain. Still, if it helps smooth things over, we can always keep shore parties to just the Diplo-Corps teams. We've enough supplies onboard, we could stay almost a month out here if we need to.~

~I know. I'll keep it in mind if Snorod or any others here look like they're about to have a heart attack or a sudden case of xenophobia. Still, only one of the negotiators is Gaian, so these Feazanthians will have to get used to at least a few aliens among them. Thanks for the offer though.~

~Just doing my job Captain... Just remember to bring me back a few drinks if I have to stay behind.~

The Reikoan's mental chuckle concluded their silent conversation, all of which took place in the handful of seconds the Captain was waiting for Snorod's reaction...

[Feazanthia]

"Ah," said the Nabaali minister, pausing for just a moment to absorb what he had just been told before re-establishing the mask of utter neutrality. "We would be most honored to sample some of your civilization's cuisine. I shall have the galley prepared to receive additional stores immediately." Again his eyes unfocused as he issued a mental command via his neural lace.

The floor rumbled, and the "ceiling" opened up to reveal a rather expansive view of the "city". The Monta-suu's habitat module was shaped like an immense cigar, rotating "slowly" on its long axis in order to provide artificial gravity. The deck beneath them shuddered and began rising towards the new opening, bringing more of the city into view.

Like all Kiith shipyards, the Monta-suu's habitat was given a day/night cycle by a long luminescent strip spanning the length of the cylinder designed to replicate the solar effects of the Kush/Asrend system. As the day progressed, the strip brightened until "noon", when it began to slowly darken until it switched off completely at night. This ensured both the morale of its inhabitants, and eased their ability to maintain the Kiith military clock so far away from home. Beyond the strip, the Morningstar would see buildings, streets, and (if their eyes were powerful enough) even people along what would appear to them as the ceiling.

"Honored guests," said Snorod, "I give you the primary habitat module of Kiith Nabaal's finest mobile shipyard. Would you and your command staff enjoy a brief tour of our facilities?"

[Morningstar Coalition]

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Sector PE55 - Coruc-tel System - Monta-suu Shipyard
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Jerard had to admit, he was impressed with the Feazanthian habitat inside the shipyard. To manage to get such a large habitable volume into a space-borne construct without any kind of gravitic technology was rather impressive, and this evaluation showed on the Gaian's face as he looked around. Finally turning to Snorod and smiling as he bowed, I am impressed with Nabaali engineering my friend. If this is but even a sample of your peoples abilities, then we were right to come to you. Thank you. I would be honored to tour the facilities."

While Jerard and Daanan were away, the upper ranks of the destroyer's crew formed into groups of a hundred at a time down in the cargo modules. Additional docking umbilicals had been connected to the modules to allow offloading of the food stores the Captain had promised. Among the offerings were several varieties of alcoholic drinks: wines, distillations, and liqueurs. Added to the drink were samples of alien meats, breads, and fruits from a dozen worlds. The crew of the Clensing Light were instructed to keep the festivities subdued, and to not overwhelm the Feazanthians. Still, there was a certain air of celebration now it seemed that their mission may well be a success.
Among the species represented here were quite a few skunk-like Reikoan, their pelts where visible changing color with the mood; the almost canine Khyrolii, in both bipedal and quadrupedal sub-types; one or two human-seeming Gaians; the mechanical Marduk were few in number, not usually prone to celebration; and there were even a few of the predatorial Tejhiik, these trying their best to avoid spooking the local humans. In short, to anyone who had not had much experience with species not their own, this might well appear more a circus than a diplomatic meeting...

Alright Feaz, let's go ahead and skip ahead a bit quicker here before things drag out too long. Feel free to gloss over whatever you'd like to point out, but let's more or less move ahead to actual meeting and negotiation with the various Kiithid.