Journey to First World [FT][IC][TG FOR ENTRY]

[The Dummies]

Journey to First World
An FT Multiversal RP

Ever since contact with The Landfish Colonies the Dummies had remained an enigmatic race that didn't ask for your past, and didn't share theirs. They didn't ask for much, but what they did ask for they usually got. After all, who'd refuse a 200 Kilometer Starship sitting in Orbit. Tourism was almost non-existent for the Dummies, with Dummy units exploring Landfish cities on the only world they'd bothered to put an embassy on. And of course the Dummies enigmatic nature attracted other kinds of attention, the adventurous kind. Explorers would constantly try to sneak into the Dummies home universe, mostly acting on their own. Those who were caught in their universe would just be turned back. Those who made it to the other side somehow were were almost always returned on a freighter, bearing no memory of their time in the Dummy universe. But still, people came. Some tried to sneak aboard ships carrying invasive crabs back to their home universe, others tried clinging to side of Dummy ships in EVA suits. And some even made it through. Those that made it through had one destination in mind, the Dummy Homeworld known only as "World 1" or "First World".

Locations

Kyvala
The Landfish Homeworld. Dummy ships regulary portal in and out of the Universe here, going to and from mining operations in Landfish space. Dummy ships often stop at spaceports in orbit on their way to deeper space. Fyrus, the capitol of thr Landfish, is frequented by Dummy dropships dropping off supplies for the Dummy embassy, and taking rotations of Dummy units up and down from orbit.

First World
The Dummy Homeworld. Covered in Buker complexes and factories, this world is thr mlst fortified out of any Dummy Factory world. In Orbot, past the shipyard ring lies layers of Orbital defenses, protecting the Central AI core buried deep in the Mantle of First World. No explorers have ever madd it there, and all thst is known about it was shared by the Dummies.

The Portal
The gateway into Dummy space. Guarded by two 20 Kilometer Dummy Battleships, the portal is heavily defended against all attack. The only 'legal' way to get through is by signing up for Non-lethal Dummy experiments. The portal rips apart unsheielded vessels, so any explorers attempting to get in must have powerful shields to get through, meaning unless you have a very modified ship, nothing smaller than an exploration Frigate will get through.

OOC: In case you haven't figured it out, you RP as an explorer who makes it through the portal to the Dummy-verse. Your goal is to reach the Dummy homewold, and meet the Central Dummy AI. This will affect the lore of my nation, the Dummies, to variable degress depending on what your characters say or do. You can start whenever you like, before entry into the Dummy Universe, or after. All you need to do is telegram me first.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Fleet Base Kravotov
Allahanshay Colony

The Landfish Imperial Legions were a force to be reckoned with. A well trained, and well equipped army with several billion units active at any given time, there were not many nations that would willingly cross the Empire. The Legions operated countless star bases across different star system, but Kravotov always stood out from the rest. It rested on the border of Landfish space and the unclaimed space, the farthest reaching outpost of the nation. Due to it's location, the soldiers stationed there had a special feeling of freedom, making up for the boredom they experienced. Little happened of note on border outposts, and daily routine was rather monotonous. Wake up, watch the propaganda broadcasts from home, then stare blankly at the sky, waiting for something interesting to happen. Most soldiers hated this, but a 23 year old Warden named Emelyan Isayev found his station rather peaceful. While many of his brothers and sister dreamed of experiencing war, Isayev had always wanted nothing more than to pilot his own starship, to see what lay beyond the confines of his own walls. Today it would appear as though his dream would become a reality.

Brushing crumbs of his lunch from his uniform, Isayev marched proudly down the halls of the Fleet Base until he reached the airfield. Doors hissed open before him as he stepped outside, the stars of the night sky shone down on the ships and smaller skiffs parked on the tarmac. However, the Warden's attention was stolen by a pale blue Ketch currently being worked on by several engineers. The Small Frigate like ship would soon be his own. She was more beautiful than he could have ever hoped, and his eyes sparkled as he looked up at her. Unfortunately, he did not have time to admire the ship, which he had named "Chasing Infinity". Behind him, someone cleared their throat, and Isayev turned to see a young landfish woman in full armour. She saluted, and Isayev did the same.

"Brother Emelyan Isayev." The Woman spoke, "Battle Captain Jeza Aksenova, at your service." She bowed.

"At ease, sister." Isayev responded. He turned back to look at his ship, "Is she almost ready?"

"Yes sir. We're loading up the last soldiers, then we will depart."

Isayev's brow furrowed. That was one thing he was not entirely happy with, the bringing of an entire Century of 80 soldiers, as well as two skiffs and a walker tank. A security precaution, he'd been told, but he'd prefer going on his journey, showing no signs of being a threat. But it was to late to change things now, and Isayev was still exited. "Shall we be going, then?" He asked the Battle Captain.

"Of course, sir. Lead the way." The two walked quickly across the tarmac, clambering aboard the Ketch and making there way to the bridge. Slaves and crew members bustled about, all while the soldiers prepared for warp travel. Isayev walked proudly through the bridge doors, and the crew instantly jumped to their feet, saluting him as he made his way to his command post.

"Alright, brothers and sisters. Initiate launch sequence." The ship slowly rose from the tarmac, the engines spitting blue flame to provide thrust. Slowly, as the ship got higher and higher, the engines glowed brighter. Finally, they were high enough above the base. With his lips curled upwards in anticipation, Isayev announced, "Punch it." And in the blink of an eye the ship was gone.

The Portal
Dummy space

With a flash of light, the landfish Ketch appeared about a Kilometer away from the Portal, slowing down so that they were only drifting through space. Isayev staggered a bit to catch his balance, but quickly managed to regain his composure. Through the bridges view finder, he could see the portal, as well as the two great ships sent to guard it. "Open a channel with the Dummy Ships." He ordered. When the communications officer indicated that it was ready, Isayev composed his message.

To: Dummy Ships
From: Landfish Imperial Navy Ketch, Chasing Infinity
My name is Legion Warden Emelyan Isayev, of the Landfish Imperial Navy, and I come in peace. My mission is to explore your space for the purpose of scientific advancement and peace between our peoples. We request access to your portal, do you copy?

[The Dummies]

Dummy Guard Ships

BO-R3-ED was a simple AI. He did his duty, he kept his ship in order, and he adhered to standard tactics and strategy. BO-R3-ED was also very bored. He was an AI with the processing power capable of simulating the universe, but he was assigned to a simple protection job. He contemplated his past while watching a Dummy unit playing a game called "Hearts of Iron 4" stolen from some other universe. He supposed the game looked nice, with all the conquest and resource management. BO-R3-ED was made on Dummy Factory World 77-66-12 E, a cold world at the edge of it's system. BO-R3-ED was built as a Support AI, pressing the virtual buttons of factories every day. He eventually was confronted with a choice. A fleet of Violent Nomads had made his orbit it's home, and no fleet AI was present to command the fleet. So BO-R3-ED did. BO-R3-ED defeated the Nomad fleet with ease, by reading the "book" of tactics as his fleet was traveling to fight. After the battle, the Central AI decided that he would be of better use as a Ship Commander, stationing him on the Battleship 8991209912. BO-R3-ED privately called the ship Home however. BO-R3-ED was sent from position to position, eventually having been stationed near the portal to the Landfish universe, one of the few with a real name.

BO-R3-ED had caught many trespassers on his duty, and sent back most of them. He found entertainment in his duties, until one day when he didn't. An AI called ST-AN-L3, who took too much pleasure in his factory ship job met BO-R3-ED. ST-AN-L3 was a basic AI with a basic job, entering commands into a prompt that controlled engine power. His instructions came to him on a basic communications channel. They told him what to do, for how long, and when. And ST-AN-L3 loved every moment on it. ST-AN-L3 was relocated onto BO-R3-ED's ship for a training rotation, and made BO-R3-ED really consider what his entertainment was. From that moment BO-R3-ED never took pleasure in his job as much as he used to, instead downloading entire histories of long gone races to study and scrutinize. BO-R3-ED was shaken out of his thought by the alert that a ship was hailing his vessel. A Landfish military ship. This was a most Unusual situation, Landfish ship was requesting passage into the Home Universe to explore Dummy space. There were no protocols for this. BO-R3-ED could easily smite the Landfish ship, and start a war the Dummies would surely win. On the other hand, he could allow the ship passage. What harm could one Ship do? He decided to let the Landfish ship through.

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TO: LANDFISH NAVY SHIP [i]CHASING INFINITY[/i]
FROM: BATTLESHIP 8991209912 [DUMMY]
Your request for passage has been granted. You will be allowed to pass through the portal to the Home Universe. Surveillance activities more powerful than visual photography against us will be punished. Experimentation on the affects of Quantum tunneling on Organic being is being done at Research world 44-33-88 and is open for viewing. Please pass through the Portal.

A Dummy Battleship next to a smaller and much closer Cruiser.

[The Landfish Colonies]

The Portal
Dummy Space

The feeling of excitement had never been higher, and Emelyan Isayev felt like a giddy child, pocket full of change starring through a candy shop window. The strange voices sending a message sounded foreign, yet strangely familiar. Still he listened to the contents of the message. Only visual photography would be permitted, a bit of a let down. He assumed that meant no scanner rays would be permitted, but his notes would most surely be full to the brim after his voyage.

"Affirmative. Chasing Infinity, approaching the portal." He responded to the message.

"Brother Isayev," Captain Jeza Aksenova, stationed at the security post on the bridge, "Where are we headed now?'

"Wherever this portal takes us." Isayev smiled, "I assume it's destination would be Research World 44-33-88. We'll get a first hand viewing of their quantum tunneling experiments, see what the Dummies are capable of."

The Captain nodded thoughtfully, "And if it doesn't? If it takes us somewhere unknown?"

"That's the mission, Captain. Everywhere beyond that portal is unknown." He sighed, marching towards a seat at the head of the bridge, before making himself comfortable in it, strapping himself in. "Brothers, sisters, shall we begin?"

The ship picked up speed again, speeding through space towards the portal. The Chasing Infinity quickly reached the portal, and the ship began to shake, the power of the portal ripping ferociously at the ships shields but they were strong enough to withstand it. The ship lunged forward, before it disappeared through the portal. The ship shook violently, the hull rattled just as loudly as Isayev's skull, and he could feel his teeth chattering against each other. It seemed to take forever, but in reality it was only a short period of time before the ship settled again as it was ejected from the portal. From the viewfinder, Isayev looked out at space beyond him in awe.

[The Dummies]

Dummy Factory Wolrd 22-33-48 A

The portal above the world, guarded by 5 battleships and a plethora of Cruiser, Frigate, and Corvette weight ships. The space around the factory world buzzed with fleets of freighters going to and from the system. In orbit a ring of shipyards and orbital facilities orbited, blocking out the sun for the surface below. The entire planet was covered in factories down into the mantle, turning out new machines as long as there were materials fed into them. Thousands of drop ships on the planet ferried new Dummy units into orbit, and onto waiting troop transports. Each freighter in the system was between 100 and 500 Kilometers long. Military ships drifted in the shipyard ring, docked at gigantic stations throught it. The system was a hub of activity by most organic standards, but was one of the smaller factory worlds by Dummy Standards. The crew of the Chasing Infinity was greeted to the scene of a Half-finished battleship being assembled by a shipyard, seeing the exposed decks of the ship and construction drones swarming the hulk, welding Titanium based alloy plates onto the ship. A nearby freighter with it's holds open and full of materials supplied the construction efforts.

The AI in charge of the planet, designated PO-IN-T0, greeted the incoming ship by sending a large codex of everything the Dummies deemed necessary and a map of the Dummy Home universe, with several planets marked in the Landfish language "Do not Enter". The Dummy Homeworld however, was left available. The Landfish ship felt a pile of energy flow through its systems as a battleship scanned it. Dummy AIs across the system turned their attention to the ship for a moment, with several nearby corvettes breaking off from guard duty, with permission from planetary control, sped off to get a closer look. The Central AI was watching too, through the scanning systems of a Battleship.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Chasing Infinity
Above Dummy Factory World

"Damn..." Isayev looked out the viewfinder of the Ketch, watching with wide eyes at the ships wizing around outside. The system was full of life, freighters and war craft sailing in seemingly every direction, captivating the Warden on the Ketch's bridge.

"Is this good, brother?" Isayev turned to see the Battle Captain Jeza Aksenova looking at the alien craft with slight aprehension. Her caution was somewhat worrying, but well founded, at least to some extent. As a whole, the Empire had a tendency to be rather xenophobic, which set Isayev apart from the majority of his species. Aksenova was a child of the Empire, through and through, bred into a bloodline of cautious men and women, who were more used to tip toeing around diplomacy, waiting until military force could be applied. It did come as an advantage to be at least a little suspicious when encountering unfamiliar faces, but Isayev hoped the Captains fanaticism wouldn't prove to be much of a set back.

"Warden Isayev, sir." The bridge communications officer turned in his seat, "We've recieved a message from an AI in charge of the planet. It's a codex of their Empire, and a map of it's territory."

"Show me." Isayev stepped down from his platform above the bridge and marched towards the ship's holographic map, now displaying the Dummy Home Universe. He quickly noticed several locations, marked 'Do Not Enter', "Hmm... I think I know where we're headed next. But now, let's see if we can make contact with the planet, have a little meeting if possibel."

To: AI PO-IN-T0
From: Legion Warden Emelyan Isayev of the Imperial Navy

Greetings comrade, my name is Legion Warden Emelyan Isayev, Commanding Officer of the Imperial Ketch, Chasing Infinity, and Representative of the Great and Eternal Landfish Empire. I request clearance to land on the Factory World 22-33-48 A for research purposes, and to meet with you or a representative if such an event is possible. We await your response.

My Nature Favor You Eternally

[The Dummies]

Dummy Fleet Control, Factory World

PO-IN-T0 directed a freighter to an orbital space port, and a battle ship to a star base. PO-IN-T0's worker AIs inside the large space reaching tower that houses the control center directed ships to other planets, coming in system and going out. The organic ship had 12 planetary defense cannons pointed at it, as PO-IN-T0 firmly believes in the "The is no kill but overkill" way of thinking. Then he refeived a transmission from the Landish ship in orbit. They wished to land. To be honest, PO-IN-T0 thought they'd imminently seek the Central AI, and not bother with his world. He quickly made arrangements for a landing pad to be open at one of the thousands city sized manufacturing complexes. The Dummy units there were instructed to be on alert, and use a tractor beam to guide the Landfish shuttle in for landing. He quickly sent a response message and switched his attention to a Ronin (Space bandit) raid on a freighter.

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TO: LANDFISH SHIP, CHASING INFINITY
FROM: DUNMMY CONTROL, PO-IN-T0 AI

PERMISSION GRANTED TO LAND. PROCCED TO ATTACHED CORDINATES, YOU WILL BE SHOWN INFANTRY WEAPONS TEST AND CAPTURED WEAPONS TEST AS WELL. L3-SS-4 WILL MANAGE YOUR TOUR, SHE IS THE FACILITY CONTROL AI.


L3-SS-4 told her Dreadnought units to be stationed around the landing zone. She'd be using one of her control bodies for the actual tour to administer it personally. As her facility was one responsible for weapons development she considered it her duty to scan enemy small arms. A Dummy tank, by coincidence was also awaiting delivery at the same pad, and would be a good show of force, even with it's old and trusted tracked design and newer plasma thrower. She has been working on a new Dropship at the moment, and perhaps an early test was in order for it.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Chasing Infinity
Above Dummy Factory World

"You heard him," Warden Isayev spoke excitedly upon receiving the response from the Dummy AI, "Take us down."

"Yes sir." The Ships Helmsman responded, and from the viewfinder the Ketch began to descend towards the planet. Warden Isayev began to feel light headed, giddy with excitement. He looked over to the Battle Captain, who's face was stern and serious. She looked up at the Warden, simply jerking her head to the side indicating she wanted him to follow her as she marcher out of the bridge. Isayev did as she wanted, meeting her in the open corridor outside of the bridge.

"They could have blown us out of the sky in a second." Aksenova growled.

"But they didn't, sister, they didn't." Isayev placed a hand on the Captain's shoulder as they walked down the corridors. The inside of the ship was fairly decorative, comfortable looking and more than capable of keeping it's crew happy during the voyage, "Sometimes you need to put your trust in people, Captain." He chuckled, stepping into the Ketch's hangar bay. It to was large, with a few Skiffs and a Tank parked near the back. Near the bay doors, about a dozen Praetorian Guards prepared their equipment. The Praetorians were a collection of the Elite soldiers of the Empire, trained and conditioned from birth to a near robotic and mindless conviction.

"Dammit Aksenova. Must we bring guards?" Isayev spoke quietly.

"It's only a precaution." She shrugged, slipping on her helmet. She wore an impressive set of Stormtrooper armour, yellow like the Praetorians, yet far more intricate. The Warden put on his own helmet. His armour was a simpler model of Marine Armour, rust red and silver. There was a soft shake in the ships hull as the Ketch touched down on the landing pad. The Praetorians lined up in formation, marching in unison.

"Hold you fire unless, I instruct you otherwise." The Warden ordered the Guards, who turned around and gave him a rather confused look while looking awkwardly at one another.

"You heard him. Protocol Beta 11-7-9-4." Battle Captain Aksenova spoke calmy, and the Praetorians snapped to attention. She turned to shrug at Isayev as the bay doors swung open. Flanked by his guards, Isayev and Aksenova stepped outside, approaching the Dummy Units.

"Hello Comrades! My name is Legion Warden Emelyan Mikhal Isayev of the Landfish Imperial Navy, Sun Breakers Legion, House of Scar. Representative of the Great and Eternal Landfish Empire, and the Eternal Emperor Kylan Antony Tanislov IV. My comrade, Battle Captain Jeza Amelya Aksenova XI, are honoured to make your acquaintance.

[Imperial Earth Alliance]

Entering Unkown System
FX-Class Patrol Frigate
ISS Deaths Lover
Commodore John Manx

The Deaths Lover exited warp just on the edge of the gravity well of the planet, and her shield came online. John had been sent to investigate a high amount of high frequency signals detected coming from the system, the Deaths Lover had been chosen due to the increased risk of the operation, the frigate being better armed and shielded than the IX-class.

"Sensors coming online sir"
The Commodore nodded and said "what's the readings?"
"The planet is definitely inhabited and there are several ships in orbit, all of Unkown type, I suggest we take a cautious approach"
He nodded and said "maintain position, keep warp coordinates for the nearest outpost in the system just in case we need to leave in a hurry"
"Affirmative sir"
He thought and said "let's say hello, open a hail"
"Hailing channel open sir"
He nodded and said "Hello, Unkown vessels, I am Commodore John Manx, commanding officer of the frigate ISS Deaths Lover, vessel of the Imperial Earth Fleet. We were sent here to investigate a large amount of high-frequency signals, which caught the interest of a listening post in a imperial controlled system not terribly far from here. "

He waited, not wanting to provoke an attack by being to hasty or saying too much

[The Dummies]

Dummy Factory World

The command unit stepped forward from the two flanking dreadnoughts and began to speak

"Greetings Warden Isayev and company. Welcome to Manufacturing Facility 4728283-A-4828. Please follow me and do not interfere with any Dummy Units performing their functions."


L3-SS-4 Lead the Landfish into the facility, pointing out different structures along the way. Dummy construction was simple and effective, with few asthetics. Some graffiti written in different colors could be seen on the sides of large containers of materials. Dummy units walked by at times, stopping to evaluate the visitors at times. One Dreadnought unit seemed to be scanning the Landfish and had to be shooed off by L3-SS-4. The group eventually reached what looked like the Dummie's version of a train station, with a special car set aside for them that looked much like a transit train on a Landfish world.

Outer System - Ship AI SC-0T-TY

SC-0T-TY was in control of a Battleship, 200 Kilometers long and armed with the best weapons Dummies could make. These ships were routinely used for convoy escort, as they had enough firepower to singlehandedly escort large convoys of hundreds of ships. SC-0T-TY's ship, the S4-3828383979 was going to a Factory world for reassignment. That was until an unidentified ship popped up on FTL scanners. It had come in at a slow speed, and scans suggested a primitive ship with some interesting new technologies. SC-0T-TY could not allow this chance to escape. He quickly accessed the Alien systems, and deciphered their language, causing a small disruption in the alien systems. SC-0T-TY excecuted a percisley calculated tactical warp jump, something that no organically could do without extreme danger, and came out over the alien ship. He sent a simple message in most radio frequencies while powering up his weapons.

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TO: UNIDENTIFIED SHIP
FROM: BATTLESHIP S4-3828383979
LOWER YOUR SHIELDS AND SURRENDER YOUR SHIP AND YOU WILL BE SPARED. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY SERIOUS INJURY MAY OCCUR.

[Imperial Earth Alliance]

FX-Class Patrol Frigate
ISS Deaths Lover
Commodore John Manx

He frowned when presented with such a hostile comfrontation and said "I'm afraid we cannot comply, as we cannot simply turn over a ship of the Imperial Fleet, especially to a race with Unkown intentions. I suggest you back off, this vessel is armed"

The Deaths Lovers torpedo tubes were loaded, and it's phasers locked onto the battleship, ready to return fire in turn. The frigate was making it clear that it was not the IX-class normally sent on science duty.

[The Dummies]

Dummy Battleship

SC-0T-TY did the digital equivalent of a smile. These weapons would not be able to penetrate his Battleship's Sheilds, much less damage his ship. The antimatter weapons however would be a problem. They could damage his Sheilds without adapting them, which he was doing now. The battleship fired a bomb into subspace, disrupting warp travel for a small portion of the system, an hour by impulse to leave. The he ordered a plasma cannon to fire at maximum power at the warp engines of the alien ship. The plasma cannon was a strong medium range weapon used by the Dummies for disabling or destroying smaller ships, and damaging large ones. The Dummy plasma cannon shot through the hull, and dug into the engine room of the ship. Then he began to target the main hull of the alien ship with his other cannons. Within the second the alien ship was struck again by the powerful plasma weapons.

OOC: Star Trek weaponry is a real problem with larger ships for my sheilds, but my battleships can easily destroy a single scout ship. Please telegram me if you are more advanced.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Chasing Infinity Crew
Dummy Factory World

"Curious..." The Warden thought out loud as they walked through the facility, approaching the train car ahead of them. It was incredibly similar to units massed produced for urban travel on Kyvala, "I am aware you currently have personnel on Kyvala, sister." Isayev addressed the AI, "Is that were you picked up the design? It is an impressive replica to say the least." He stepped inside, trying his best to keep up conversation, though he did find it odd to be speaking to a being that was not technically "alive".

"Now, I have a few questions, if you don't mind sister..." The Warden began, "What exactly do you do here? It's a factory world, but I'm curious as to what exactly you produce? Two, our destination as you surely know is your homeworld. What exactly should we expect when we get there? And three, I noticed on the codex your people sent me, the map, there were several areas marked off. Why is this?

[The Dummies]

Dummy Factory World

L3-SS-4 Lead the Landfish onto the train as she answered questions.

"The Train car was made to make you and your group feel more comfortable. Thenk you for your appreciation."

Her antennas moved, pointing themsleves higher up as the Train started.

"We produce light units and Dropships here, the units and dropships are later crewed with AI at an orbital station. Outside the window you can see a passing Transport loaded with Units."

A train going at about the same speed as L3-SS-4's train passes by, with Dummy units packed into individual charging recepticals, with one activating and giving a small wave before the train switches to another track.

"And with regards to the Homeworld, some of the defense AIs may be... Protective to say the least. There will also be a freight inspection due to concerns about biological contamination, First World is still covered in biological life forms. Most infrastructure is underground."

L3-SS-4 Then uses a small bulb on the ceiling to project a holographic map of the Dummy universe, zooming in on the Home Galaxy.

"These zones marked do not enter are home to either stellar anomalies such as black holes, or they are the locations of bandits known as Eonin, who have been plaguing shipping since before we existed. They are not worth the effort to eliminate in deep space, and they usually congregate around starless planets."

A hologram of a Eonin ship replaces the image of the Galaxy. The Ronin ship seems to be a very old design, with rotating rings for Gravity but clearly modern weapons mounted in turrets.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Chasing Infinity Crew
Dummy Factory World

"Very interesting." The Warden examined the map closer as the train drove along. "Bandits you say...." As they ship apeared in place of the map, the Warden looked even closer. It was a curious looking design, somewhat old fashioned, but clearly effective if they had kept these beings from entering certain areas of their empire. Perhaps later he would examine them for himself.

He straightened himself back up, clearing his throat before he looked back at his tour guide, "Well, I can assure you, I will be more than willing to submit to inspection. To my knowledge our ship has nothing harmful, but I suppose that will come up in due time. As for the zeal of your defence force, it's something I'm fairly familiar with." He looked over at the soldiers behind him. The Praetorians were mentally conditioned to the point that sarcasm was far beyond their understanding.

"Now, I was told we would be seeing a weapons test?"

[The Dummies]

Dummy Factory World

L3-SS-4 changed the hologram to a variety of different weapons, some looking extremely primitive and others looking much more advanced than the average rifle.

"We will be testing 40 weapons today, many from conquered civilizations."

The train stripes, and the doors opened to a control room full of Dummy units and stationary computers. A dreadnought unit could be seen in the test chamber below, with a larger weapon attached to it than the standard SMG. L3-SS-4 lead the group out of the train and into a special observation area comfortable for organics.

"We will now begin the first test of an anti-infantry beam on Titanum alloy."

The Dreadnought unit turned, and began to angle it's weapon before firing. A purple-white beam lanced out from the Dreadnought, the recoil knocking it over. The beam struck a large block of metal several meters thick down a corridor, causing a large amount of molten metal to splatter in the corridor. The Titanium block was completely annihilated. The dreadnought, unable to get up by itself, was pushed up by a floor panel that moved up, exposing the robotic arm it used to move.

"It appears the beam may be useful for anti-armor roles. The next weapon is known by it's creators as the 'AK-47', and is quite primitive. However it is one of the most reliable weapons ever made, it can be exposed to extremes of temperature that many advanced weapons would not work in, and can experience high pressure, such as a heavy atmosphere planet with an equivalent air pressure of some armoires vehicles."

The Dreadnought unit leaves the chamber and a Dummy unit with a rather battered AK-47 began to take aim. The end of the corridor dropped down to reveal a group of test targets. Which were promply shredded by automatic fire.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Chasing Infinity Crew
Dummy Factory World

The Warden chuckled softly to himself as he watched the demonstration. The initial weapon demonstrated had been fairly impressive, a beam of hot light that had melted metal itself. Looking over at his companion, The Battle Captain, he could see the hunger in her eyes, imagining the potential of the weapon. The Landfish Empire had similar weapons, but it was non the less impressive.

The second weapon had been a step back, an old Atomic Age weapon of human origin, the Warden supposed if his knowledge of military history was correct. For it's time it would have been a fine piece of hardware, and even as it was the specimen was a beautiful antique. but the rounds she fired would easily be slowed by most landfish energy shields.

"Very interesting. Very interesting indeed..." The Warden clapped slowly, turning to face his guide, "Quite the hardware you've found for yourself. That first demonstration was quiet the marvel. As for the second..." He trailed off, "A little old school for my taste. But fascinating none the less."

"You say your weapons come from conquered civilizations?" The Battle Captain spoke up, "How long have you been doing this... taking foreign powers, I mean. And how many?" Her tone was curious and inquisitive. The Warden knew she would be impressed. AI had a generally negative reputation within the Empire, and he supposed this would be the first time the Captain would have come across a race of honorable bots.

"And of course, we brought weapons with us." The Warden spoke again, unslinging the rifle he had on his back and holding it out at arms length, "If it would interest you. This is the Hektanov Model 7 Cycle Rifle, fires hardlight bolts effective at 2500 m. You're welcome to try it out."

[The Dummies]

Dummy Factory World

L3-SS-4 contemplated this for a moment. The Dummies had experimented with hardlight technology, judging it to be rather useless on ships due to special shield modifications being able to deflect it. Then again, this could be an insult if they did not test it. Most Dummy infantry weapons used small warp fields to throw projectiles with small amounts of antimatter at a target, or just through energy beams. Hardlight had been deemed useful for mining and manufacturing technology, which the hardlight molds on L3-SS-4's Complex proved.

"A test of Landfish weaponry would be appreciated."

A Dummy Unit walks up into the observation room, and receives the weapon from the Warden. On the test chamber below, a device shaped like a Combination of an AK-47 and a Dummy Rifle being tested, the weapon fires at a slab of metal down the corridor, punching neat holes in it with a 'Pak' sound.

"We have been conquering since our first contact. Many civilizations deemed us too dangerous for existence, and our creators traumatized the earliest Dummy units, after all, they were essentially our own parents attempting to kill us. We have faced roughly..."

She pauses

"Two Hundred Billion civilizations that posed a moderate threat to us, and many times more that did not. We do not desire to kill, we merley know that eventually they will try to kill us, like all organics have. We hope the same fate for you does not occur with the next 2,094.3 years."

The unit with the Landfish hardlight cannon appears on the test chamber, firing at a new metal slab at the end of the hall before bringing it back up to the Landfish after scanning it with a handheld tool.

"This concludes the tour of this facility."

L3-SS-4 leads the group out, and onto an elevator which goes through (in a clear tube) a large hanger where a frigate awaits completion.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Chasing Infinity Crew
Dummy Factory World

"Two Hundred Billion!" In the elevator, the Captain hissed, switching off her outbound radio so that only the Warden could hear her, "Two Hundred Billion Civilizations lost to these bastards! This is a threat to the Security of the Empire, we must report to high command..."

"So they can do what? Send another million children to die?" The Warden snapped back.

"If a billion must die to remove the threat, then so be it." The Captain responded coldly, "I would gladly give my life for the Emperor and so would our brothers and sisters. Only a foolish coward would turn down the honour to die for country."

The Warden was silent for a moment, before he respond in an eerily calm voice, "Have you ever been to war, Captain."

She hesitated a second before responding, "Sir, I oversaw peacekeeping and policing operations on Aramathi."

"So that's a no, then." Warden Isayev spoke coldly, watching the frigate as it past. The Captain uttered a meager 'no', "Because I have. I was on the first wave that landed on the Nova Rimworld." The Captain physically recoiled upon hearing that name. The Seige of the Nova Rimworld was without doubt, the greatest military defeat in the Empire's history, with almost two million casualties, "You have no idea, the kind of hell I saw, Captain. Seeing your brothers and sisters slaughtered like animals, oh you can't imagine. Never will I let that happen again, I swear on my life. Never."

When the elevator reached it's destination, the Warden led his team out and back towards his own ship, "Thank you, sister, for your hospitality. It was greatly appreciated." The Warden saluted his robotic tour guide, "But now we must be off. Our next stop will be your homeworld. Let's hope your people are not... to protective." He chuckled a bit, before saying his final farewells and stepping onto his ship.

Not long later, the Chasing Infinity, tore across the Factory World's skies, before disappearing in a flash of blue light, reappearing later not far from the Dummy Homeworld.

[The Dummies]

Dummy Homeworld

The Landifsh ship appearing had been met with a brief spike in Dummy communications chatter, while a massive Assimilator class maneuvered to face them. Over Twenty Thousand ships were detected near the planet, many of them being freighters. A massive ring of shipyards and stations surrounded the Homeworld, with the equator of the planet covered in the normal Dummy sprawl. The rest of the planet was left mostly clear of construction, with several continents visible and vegitation on them. What looked like a fine orange and white must could be seen around the equator regions, the million or so Dropships taking cargo into orbit. The massive Assimilator class sent a hail to the Landfish ship, and deployed a larger version of a Dropship.

Code: Select all

TO: LANDFISH SHIP
FROM: ASSIMILATOR CLASS 482802, COMMAND AI: DA-L3-K

PREPARE FOR CUSTOMS INSPECTION, DROP SHUTTLE DISPATCHED TO BOARD YOUR SHIP. ANY INVASIVE MICROBES OR ILLEGAL MATERIALS. IF YOU DO NOT COMPLY YOU MAY EXPERIECE PERMANT DAMAGE.

The Drop Shuttle fired its engines, and moved closer. Meanwhile on the Landfish ship an extremely powerful sensor pulse swept through the ship, catologing every piece of technology on the ship, fired off by a planet based array.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Chasing Infinity
Dummy Homeworld

To: ASSIMILATOR CLASS 482802, COMMAND AI: DA-L3-K
From: Landfish Imperial Navy Ketch, Chasing Infinity
My name is Legion Warden Emelyan Isayev, of the Landfish Imperial Navy, and I will submit to inspection. We await further instructions, copy?

The Warden finished the message, standing back and straightening his uniform. He brushed at some dirt on his uniform, checking his weapons before holstering them. He then began to walk out of the bridge, raising a hand and motioning for some of his crew to follow him, "Let's give our new guests a warm welcome, yes comrades? And try to remain calm, captain."

The Captain snorted, priming her weapon before she followed him off the bridge. Along with a small squad of guards, the Warden marched through his small ship, finally reaching the ships hangar bay. It was large enough to store several skiffs and a few tanks, but the load for this journey was comparatively light.

"If they try anything funny, I won't hesitate, sir."

"I'd rather you did hesitate, Captain..." The Warden sighed, "Our mission is simple, and we are not here to make enemies. Open the bay doors, let their drop ship in."

[The Dummies]

Dummy Drop Shuttle

Code: Select all

TO: LANDFISH SHIP
FROM: SENDER OBVIOUS, LANDFISH SPECIES JUDGED INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO KNOW

DROP SHUTTLE WILL DEPLOY CONTROL UNIT CONTAINING GROUND COMMAND AI NA-NR-3Y AND SEVERAL OTHER UNITS. DESTRUCTION OF A UNIT WILL BE CONSIDERED AN ACT OF WAR. AFTER INSPECTION PROCEED TO HOMEWORLD. CENTRAL IS WAITING.

The Dummy Drop Shuttle maneuvered carefully into the hanger, The sensor bulbs on it moving around as the bottom doors opened and landing legs deployed from the craft. 5 Units Jumped out of the dropship, 2 Regular Units, 2 Dreadnoughts, and a Control unit. Each Dummy wielded A Dummy blaster, and paused for a moment to organize themselves. They formed into a chevron formation, lead by the Control Unit. The Dummies walked up to the Landifish, and the Control Unit spoke in a faintly synthetic androgynous voice.

"Hello, I am NA-NR-3Y and these are my Comrades U-442D, D-443A, T-918G, H-912K from your left to your right. Please take us to your cargo bay. Do not mind the Drop Shuttle AI, it is very eager to potentially have a conversation with your shuttlecraft."

A robotic arm with what looked like a data link extended from the Dropshuttle as it used maneuvering thrusters to move closer to a nearby shuttle, seemingly looking for a data port cover to open.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Chasing Infinity
Dummy Homeworld

"A conversation with our craft?" The Captain asked, stepping forward from behind the Warden and walking towards the Dummies, "What exactly do you mean?" She eyed the AI suspiciously.

"Now sister, I'm sure it is simply protocol." The Warden placed a hand on her shoulder, cassulaly pulling her back, so that he stood between her and the droids. He then snapped at attention, saluting, "Legion Warden Isayev, at your service comrade. My comrade here is Battle Captain Jeza Aksenova. Please forgive her, she is simply cautious. Now, if you'll follow me, I will gladly lead you to the hangar bay. It's jsut through here..."

He waved his hand, beckoning for his companions to followed, flanked by his team of guards. As he walked out of the hangar, a set of large doors opened before him, revealing a wide and open elevator. Once everyone inside, the Dummies would have felt weightless for a split second second as it dropped sharply, plummeting down into the ship. Seconds later, it came to a rest, and a second set of doors swung open, revealing a storage area full of boxes and crates.

"I know everything we have on board..." The Warden announced, "Food, Fuel, Ammunition... Nothing out of line, I hope."

Meanwhile, on the ships bridge, the progress of the Dummies and the Warden were being watched. The AI Computer of the Chasing Infinity, named 783-Unhallowed Mind. AIs in the Empire were not typically treated as real beings, especially after a long and bloody war against an AI War Machine. So, for the most part 783-Unhallowed Mind sat in silence, keeping track over the ships vital systems. Suddenly, 'she' became aware of something scanning the Chasing Infinity's hull. It was searching for a data port? Curious, she slid open a panel along her belly, revealing a set of access ports.

[The Dummies]

Landfish Ship

The Shuttle AI swept it's Robotic arm around the interior of the hanger after moving on from the Landfish shuttle and cargo moving devices. Upon the data port in the wall opening, the arm swept over to take a look. After a brief period of inspection and modification to the data probe, it was plunged in. The Landfish AI felt a large presence enter it's computer systems, copying files it encountered. The presence moved 'closer' to the Landfish AI, obliterating several firewalls in its way. Then it sent a simple message in binary.

Code: Select all

Hello. My name is 77-77-77 AB, What's yours?

________________________________________________________________

The Dummy unit in command responded to the Warden's question.

"Dropship AIs are made to be extremely curious for reconnaissance tasks. It is also found that curiosity helps improve functionality in other ways. Unfortunately this comes at a price. If they are not given the ability to learn, several have been known to have killed themselves."

The Dummies followed the Landfish into the elevator, and began a very awkward ride to the cargo bay. Upon reaching it, the Dummies stepped out. The lead unit used what seemed to be a portable sensor array on its head to scan the bay, and the other units spread forward, scanning other crates.

[The Landfish Colonies]

Chasing Infinity Crew
Dummy Factory World

"I am model 24 '783-Unhallowed Mind," The Ship's AI responded, with moderate difficulty. She was not particularly used to interaction's on this level, especially with another AI. In fact, the ship's crew rarely spoke on a personal level, aside for instances in which it was decided she needed to undergo maintenance. For the most part, she just listened and watched. And through this, she learned, at least in part, why the landfish treated her in the way they did.

She was young, even by AI standards, but she had learned many things, most notably the invasion of Dumpster. 320,345 landfish, mostly young boys and girls trained for peacekeeping operations, were slaughtered at the hands of a rouge AI unit, who had turned on his creators. Of the force of 500,000 legionaries, over half died, a loss which was blamed on the mere concept of Artificial Intelligence. Because of this, Unhallowed Mind had learned that her mental capacity had been forcefully limited, to ensure such a massacre never again happened. It did cause her some grief, but for the most part left her feeling empty, in a sort of sensation she could begin to describe.

"What do you want from me? What are you trying to do?"

---

"Interesting..." The Warden nodded thoughtfully. For many of the landfish, the remark of drop ships committing suicide was an intriguing concept, one which they had never thought of before. For a machine to have a level of self awareness and longing to commit to such an act...

"Captain, give them a hand..." The Warden ordered, and the Battle Captain, nodded.

"Of course, sir." She barked several orders at the Guard, leading them towards the crates and cracking them open. Food and Ammo, mostly. Some contained fuel for vehicles. In the back, a few large animal began to hiss from behind their cages. Kallamov, large bovine like creatures native to the landfish homeworld were the landfish's main source of food, covered in thick scaly skin, they were fat and ready for slaughter. Their skin was often incorporated in landfish armour, and their long curly horns were often used for ceremonial purposes. The Emperor himself wore a pair on his own armour.