Galactic Empires (IC)

[Qwanch]

Qwanch System [Holm]

A flash, and suddenly the small Confederate Research Ship Numirron entered the Holm system, Clawson drive powering down as it activated its' sublight engines. At about eight tenths of the speed of light, it darted through the system, slowly approaching the sole, inhabited planet.

Planet Holm had been extremely loud in the past few decades, and with immediate action, the Numirron sent a blast of meaningless communications waves down onto the planet, hoping to silence the locals as it drifted in orbit. The automated ship, occupied only by the hyperintelligent sapient computer BABEL-1, sat and scanned the planet, processing every tidbit of information it got.

King Altroose the Second was still looking at the thing that fell... no life on board...

Suddenly, the radios all started blaring static. As the radios hissed, Altroose II looked up and asked, almost to himself... "Could it be aliens?"

His tail was twitching, and so was the nose on the tip of his muzzle. This could be what Holm needed...

(OOC: The planet is radioactive due to a nuclear mishap, to those who missed me earlier...)

[Melpomenia (Ancient)]

A square of red appeared on the side of the pod and seemed to melt away. The soldiers stiffened, raising their weapons slightly. Then it stepped out, some form of robot, just a bit smaller than the soldiers. They panicked as it jumped and raised their weapons, only to be ordered to lower them.
The being seemed to pass them over with a strange, uncaring feel. One on of it's back appendages, and an odd looking tool was waved around.
It stopped and waited.
The group waited back. Cadi walked forwards, not looking overly confident. Her artificial fur coat ruffled in the harsh biting wind. She reached into a satchel of kinds, and drew out a small circle, a holographic repeater. Her eyes, with their four leafed clover-shaped pupils, scanned the mirrored visor anxiously. She slowly held out her arm, following out the procedure in her head. She clicked a command in her bird like speech, and the hologram played back. On it were images of the galactic coordinates, maps of continents, biological diagrams of DNA, mathematic formulas portrayed in light, the entire history of the Snefu race condensed into 20 seconds and finally, the Unity's national anthem, a collection of alternating beats and rhythms.
The holographic video abruptly cut of, and she packed the small device away.
She walked back a few paces and waited for a response.

Yishra stared at the holographic feed, slit-pupilled eyes closely analysing the somewhat paltry information it provided. Meanwhile, the Omni-scanner observed and absorbed, feeding all the information, including the few bits of speech, to the Pod's central computer.. It probed communications signals, too; seperating analog from digital, it began sorting through various signals, decoding them, analysing the local speech, observing Cadi's physiology for any clues as to how their language had developed.

It drew conclusions, and suggested these to the central computer, which processed and corrected them, before applying the language update to the suit's universal translator program. Within seconds,Yishra opened his mouth, and through the speakers on his maintenance suit, produced robotic, rudimentary speech;

"Hello."

The reflective cover of his visor lifted, revealing for them all to look at his flattish nose, reptilian yellow eyes, and pallid grey skin. He waited patiently for them to respond; any speech they provided would help his translator program become gradually more effective.

[East Brundus]

It stood quiet for a moment. Then hello. The whole group was taken back. Even Cadi's face took on something that Yishra could describe as shock. Cadi regained her self and spoke out. In bird like clicks, squeaks, screeches and rasps, she asked how it knew our language. Then she asked, more slowly, why they had come here.
The soldiers spoke quietly between themselves in a vulgar accent on what it could be and how ugly and yet similar it was.

[Vredlandia]

Ter'shik
-zip-
The soldier walked away,after saluting the officer

B'rok meanwhile prepared something. He didn't like the guests, but their safey had to be ensured though.
20 more soldiers were hired to protect them. Influencal men didn't like the humans, but as the King did, they had to like them too.
Unfortunately B'rok heard rumours about some Zorks who hired mercaneries to ensure their power.

A young Zork soldier entered the cave and started speaking to B'rok in their language. "Two Lords have cordoned off their areas."
B'rok nodded. "Well, better this way than fighting."

[Melpomenia (Ancient)]

It stood quiet for a moment. Then hello. The whole group was taken back. Even Cadi's face took on something that Yishra could describe as shock. Cadi regained her self and spoke out. In bird like clicks, squeaks, screeches and rasps, she asked how it knew our language. Then she asked, more slowly, why they had come here.
The soldiers spoke quietly between themselves in a vulgar accent on what it could be and how ugly and yet similar it was.

The Omni-Scanner absorbed everything; the clicks and rasps of the guttural language, the soldiers' rude comments, feeding it into the pod computer, and once again the results were brought into effect with the universal translator program. Confident that a large enough vocabulary had been acquired, Yishra spoke once again.

Servos whirring as his suit-extended arm gestured at the Omni-Scanner, he said;

"Universal translator. Works wonders."

As Cadi spoke again, Yishra was thrown into a bit of a dilemma. As a Mechanic Caste, he had not been taught how to deal with pre-FTL politics; in all likelihood, what he was about to say would have ramifications would have effects on further Confed-Local relations. Deciding to 'enhance' the truth, he held out a palm, the in-built holographic scanner projecting the atomic structure of Titanium into the air.

"We thought this was a dead system, and came to mine."

[East Brundus]

Cadi was slowly regaining confidence, despite the situation. She had been trained for it. Universal translator, works wonders. She eyed the thing curiously. She was just about to ask how it works when the being once again said we came here to mine. It showed her a pattern of what seemed to be molecules. Her memory failed her but it seemed to be some sort of metal. "Why did you crash. And how many of you are there here now?" she paused, looked to the soldiers and spoke in their sub language, using gestures too. They hurried of, shouting orders as they went.
"I want you to understand that the ........ of my people have been expecting extraterrestrial contact for decades now. I never thought it would happen in my lifetime, but I am not as surprised as you may think. I also want you to understand that you won't be able to leave ......., due to the situation." she pointed at the pod with the palm of her hand "Are there more of your ...... in their?"

OOC

To add a bit of spice, "......" means untranslatable word

[Mexican Liberation]

Ter'shik

Up in the mothership,communications specialists and other such task forces work constantly non-stop around the clock to ensure even the smallest aspects of the mission runs smoothly

Several messages are sent to and from the ships underwater and back home

Scout ships are deployed every two hours or so to patrol and examine the planet's atmosphere and layout from up close,but they are strictly forbidden from entering the waters,since a large majority of them are not water-resistant

ODRT's are the main ships used for the mission,about a third of them are underwater with the Zork people as of now...but many more may soon come...

SOIC (Special Operations and Information Communications) ships pose and disguise themselves as ODRT's,but in reality,they actually scout and observe areas where Scout ships cannot (think of an army of soldiers,but in that army,there is one super-spy,say,the James Bond type of spy,posing themself as a typical "Average Joe" recruit)

In the many docking ports of the mothership,several ODRT's are prepping to be launched,they will go when they get the word

Meanwhile,back in the underwater volcano,the officers and researchers pay attention to every detail of the inside of the volcano.Then they seem to occassionally whisper to each other,sometimes happily,sometimes angrily.Although it is rather awkward that they are surrounded on all sides by guards for their protection,they seem to find comfort in the palace,they feel as if they are scholars,taking a tour in a very prestigious place,but in reality,they are here for another reason...

Area 91706

News reporters from Thesus and Athenos have seen more activity going on in Area 91706 than usual.Less and less ships are coming out of this secret military mega-facility.And there have been reports coming in from Ironis Sinori that strange noises are being heard throughout the tiny dwarf planet.It is also apparent that the military may be holding a massive force behind it's walls,waiting for something to happen.Hundreds,possibly thousands of ships are visibly seen at one point of the day,before returning back to the core of the gas giant.

(Though the permanent population of Area 91706 is just a little above 500,000 people,it is estimated that tens,possibly even up to a hundred million,come in and out of the base each day,then returning to their normal duties.)

The military may be preparing for something big...

[The Vekta-Helghast Empire]

"Let's go"Sonar called, her small formation leaping into action, literally. using the front five as a boost five of the Kroot leapt up high into the air, before landing on top of the mutant, making quick work of it with their bladed rifles, at a sign from Sonar three groups moved forward, whilst two groups moved to each side respectively, the two human groups stayed at the back whilst Sonar's group moved into the square created, each group was face outwards whilst Sonar and her group watched the ceilings and the floor for any more of these mutants.

One of the Helghast Soldiers rush up, patting Sonar on the shoulder, whispering, "Ma'am, I've had a look at the schematics of the facility, before we arrived and by the looks of this area, the labs we're looking for with the documents are down an elevator which should be around the next corner then along 30 feet. Once in the elevator, we just need to go down two levels and bam, we're in the labs." As he finishes speaking, suddenly his radio begins to buzz, and the sound of gunfire rings out through the facility, the soldiers turns up his radio, listening to the screams of terror and combat emitting from it, before turning to Sonar once again, saying, "Uh.. Lt. Snow and her squad have reached the generators, so soon the main power should be back up.. It's just uh.. Aparently something just pulled their combat mech through the wall and brought down half the ceiling.."

[Mishmahig]

Galileo City, New Capitol of the Confederacy of Independent Solar Entities (CISE)
Office of High Chancellor

Tiberius Valen was not having a good day. Granted, he hadn't had a good day since before the terrorist incident that had knocked out communications with the rest of the galaxy, an incident the media had already dubbed the "Blackout", but this was an especially bad day. He stood in front of the window in his office, looking out over Jupiter and pondering the situation at hand. A gleam of metal drew his attention to one side, where a flight of shuttles was about to dock in Galileo City. Where once the shuttles might have disgorged dozens of tourists, or tons of food and supplies for the shipyards, it now deposited platoons of armed fighters.

Sighing, he turned to the man standing in front of his desk. His new Chief of Security, after the last one had fallen to a rebel sniper, and the one before that had had an unfortunate incident involving a plate of vegetables and some mashed potatoes. Where the previous ones had stormed and stomped and ordered, this one fidgeted and asked instead. But he was scraping the bottom of the barrel, he thought with another sigh, turning back to the window. It had been going so well.

When the Blackout first occurred, he had taken it as an omen, moving rapidly to seize power, cutting off all communications with the rest of the solar system. With his massive Planetary Security Force, he was able to crack down on all dissidents, and ensure the loyalty of his people. That had lasted all of a day, before the governor of Ganymede, that damnable Elizabeth McKenzie had incited the citizens against him. Sensing a threat, he had moved quickly, sending troops to arrest all the governors, only to have them be repelled by armed bands of citizens! The sheer nerve of the people! he thought in annoyance. I was doing it to protect them, and they act like I'm murdering them in the streets!

He had poured thousands of troops into the battles, ordering them to contain the nascent rebellion at all costs, leading to some unpleasant massacres that had made him even more unpopular. It had all been for nothing, though, for the troops began to turn on him, squads and platoons joining the rebels. First Ganymede rebelled, then Callisto rioted, then Io. And as a final insult, they had begun to send shuttles to the major space stations, sparking riots there as well. Kepler City had been so damaged in the battle that it had actually started to de-orbit, causing a panicked evacuation before it was stabilized.

And now.......all was lost. He had started with three moons and hundreds of space stations, with almost a billion troops and thousands of ships. Now? Now he had less than a few hundred troops, and only controlled the few corridors around his office. As he paused in his contemplation, he could hear the sizzling of the lasers as the rebels slowly pushed his troops back, until a sudden silence fell. Frowning, he gestured at his Chief of Security, who hurried to the door.

As his hand fell on the handle, it suddenly burst open, and a group of armed soldiers tackled him, while others took up position around the room. The pause that followed was only broken by a slow chuckle from the High Chancellor, which grew louder and louder until it was cut off by a voice from the doorway.

"Is something amusing you, Valen? Please, do share the joke," Elizabeth McKenzie said, striding into the office. Dressed in a spotless business suit, she walked across the office until she was standing a few feet away from the High Chancellor. "I'm sure we could all use a bit of a laugh in these terrible times."

Still chuckling, Tiberius shook his head wordlessly. "No?" Elizabeth said. "A pity then. Now, onto business. High Chancellor Tiberius Valen, it is my duty as the duly elected governor of Ganymede, approved by the Terran government and representative of the people of the Jovian bodies, to inform you that you have been arrested on charges of crimes against humanity. This is your trial, Chancellor, and I am your judge, jury, and executioner. And in the interests of resolving this entire incident quickly and neatly, I hereby find you guilty, and sentence you to.....death," she continued, almost caressing the last few words. "Do you have any last words?"

The High Chancellor stood gripping the back of his chair, stunned. "Y-you can't kill me," he said. "Hasn't your entire cause been based on preserving the rights we had before? If you kill me, you're as much of a hypocrite as I am!" he continued, gaining strength through his words.

"Heh," Elizabeth said. "Quite true. Except you're overlooking one thing. I'm completely hypocritical---everything I've said has been to rally the people around my cause, instead of remaining loyal to you. You gave me an opportunity to do what I've wanted to do my whole life, and I took it with both hands. But who said anything about executing you? No, no, that will simply not do," she said, coming around the desk to face the High Chancellor directly. "Instead, my personal guard will have battered down the last few defenses, and come bursting into here, only to find that you have, oh so tragically, decided to take your own life. You will not be a martyr, Valen. Of that I will make certain." she said, a smile growing across her face.

Turning away from the stunned High Chancellor, she gave a slight nod to the Captain of her guard, and walked out of the room. As she headed down the corridor, she heard the sound of a single gunshot behind her, and smiled in victory.

Below Galileo City, nestled in the atmosphere of Jupiter, the Great Red Spot swirled on, unceasing, not knowing or caring about the humans who sailed through the atmosphere, or lived on the moons. It had always existed, and it would exist long after the last of the great Station-cities fell into the atmosphere, one by one, and the moons returned to their barren state.

[The Blazing Aura]

"Let's go"Sonar called, her small formation leaping into action, literally. using the front five as a boost five of the Kroot leapt up high into the air, before landing on top of the mutant, making quick work of it with their bladed rifles, at a sign from Sonar three groups moved forward, whilst two groups moved to each side respectively, the two human groups stayed at the back whilst Sonar's group moved into the square created, each group was face outwards whilst Sonar and her group watched the ceilings and the floor for any more of these mutants.

One of the Helghast Soldiers rush up, patting Sonar on the shoulder, whispering, "Ma'am, I've had a look at the schematics of the facility, before we arrived and by the looks of this area, the labs we're looking for with the documents are down an elevator which should be around the next corner then along 30 feet. Once in the elevator, we just need to go down two levels and bam, we're in the labs." As he finishes speaking, suddenly his radio begins to buzz, and the sound of gunfire rings out through the facility, the soldiers turns up his radio, listening to the screams of terror and combat emitting from it, before turning to Sonar once again, saying, "Uh.. Lt. Snow and her squad have reached the generators, so soon the main power should be back up.. It's just uh.. Aparently something just pulled their combat mech through the wall and brought down half the ceiling.."

"Hmmm, are there any stairs down there to the lab, I doubt the elevator could take all of us in one go and I really don't want to split our group into two smaller groups. But if it's the only way let's go." Listening to the soldiers continued report Sonar nodded grimly, "Great something like a Krootox is here, and there one hell of a bugger to take down, still we must move on, I have a feeling these documents and destroying them are more important than a few lives."

[Melpomenia (Ancient)]

Cadi was slowly regaining confidence, despite the situation. She had been trained for it. Universal translator, works wonders. She eyed the thing curiously. She was just about to ask how it works when the being once again said we came here to mine. It showed her a pattern of what seemed to be molecules. Her memory failed her but it seemed to be some sort of metal. "Why did you crash. And how many of you are there here now?" she paused, looked to the soldiers and spoke in their sub language, using gestures too. They hurried of, shouting orders as they went.
"I want you to understand that the ........ of my people have been expecting extraterrestrial contact for decades now. I never thought it would happen in my lifetime, but I am not as surprised as you may think. I also want you to understand that you won't be able to leave ......., due to the situation." she pointed at the pod with the palm of her hand "Are there more of your ...... in their?"

OOC

To add a bit of spice, "......" means untranslatable word

Yishra stared at the odd being for a while, his suit whirring as it stood still. The UT program had started recognizing some incomprehensible speeach patterns; it was either a glitch, or they did need the 14.7 update. He made a mental note to check with the Programmer Caste; maybe they would tell him what the problem was.

"There was a... coordinate error," he half-lied. In truth, a Sapient drone had been sucked into one of the reactor cooling vents in transit.

"Depends on what you're asking. Bios or Robots?"

Trying to work out what she was saying by context, he huffed and spoke presumptiously;

"With all due respect, Miss, I think that we'll decide when we want to leave, not you."

Finally, he answered;

"More of my species? No. More of my co-workers? Yes."

[Photana]

The Robs have reemerged from their silence. Having extracted all they can from this system, they have taken to the stars, with many fleets spreading out in all directions. Archos still controls them all, and it resides on the flagship of the fleets.

[Bojikami]

The Bojikami ships start mobilizing to combat their own problem. The Horde. These...things were some sort of Robotic Zombie. On the colony of Frekar 1000 Horde carriers soared above it dropping their diseased soldiers to fight Bojikami. The military arrived soon and assaulted the Horde in full force.

[Somali Caliphate]

The Solacarian Empire had been gaining in strength for the past two centuries. The Solacarians were a people who of mixed human-Jinn descent and descended from the large numbers of people expelled from the Confederacy of Satimia, a Scandinavian kingdom on Earth which covered Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Germany and extended as far as Turkey, Egypt and the Levant. Hence, the Solacarian people spoke Thuri, a language composed of Swedish, Norwegian, German, Finnish, Sami, Icelandic, Turkish and Arabic and Solacarian culture was a mix of the nations controlled by the Confederacy, although Swedish culture had been the most dominant.


President Thurvik Elgemar, President For Life of the Solacarian Republic had carefully laid plans for the domination of the solar system. The Solacarian Republic spanned three planets, Saturn, Xerac and Humino as well as the moons of Saturn, each planet with a population of about 1 billion. The economy, dominated by agriculture, mining, trade and the quaternary sector had grown in recent years and the Solacarian Pound had stabilised, giving the Solacarians much needed economic security. The Solacarian Military had received billions of Solacarian Pounds to expand and modernize its force and now numbered 5,000,000 officers (another 5 million reserves), 100,000 robots, 15,000 vehicles as well as over 45,000 space fighters, gunships, bombers and cruisers. The Solacarian Republic had ultra modern weapons, such as microwave and laser guns, missile defense systems, advanced EMTs, etc. In addition, although the age of space colonization had reduced the need for naval ships, the Solacarian Republic had measures in place to insure that it could expand its small defensive navy of 15,000 ships (mostly used by the emergency services) to a military grade force of 45,000 within two weeks. The Solacarian Republic had mastered the art of fast space travel and so could now reestablish links with Earth, building trade relations with the nations of Earth. In Terra-forming the Solacarian home planets, the early pioneers of Solacaria, the 5 founding fathers had decided to build the largest underground network of tunnels, bunkers, shelters and production quarters (farms and factories) in the solar system. This would be used to protect civilians in the case of war and all civilians could easily be evacuated to the subterranean shelters.

The Solacarian Republic sends emissaries to all other civilizations in the Solar System to establish trade and diplomatic relations.

[Photana]

Logs from before Rob emergence show a system called Sol, and that it could contain many valuable resources. A Harvester fleet is sent to the system, and will setup operations on the nearest object, a semi-planet called Pluto. It is made of a lot of Water Ice, perfect for a sub-brain to cool off in. The gas giants can supply methane, Hydrogen and Helium, all very much needed commodities in the expanding Rob Empire.

[Mexican Liberation]

Sol System

Aside from their secret mass-mobilization for reasons unknown,the military still has plenty of time to fund exploration projects and missions

One of these missions being a diplomatic one

Unlike previous missions,this one is no secret,and is public to all other civilizations

Military ships and Exploration teams are preparing to travel to the Sol System,the origin of all Human Civilizations

It really shouldn't be that difficult...the only real challenge is getting there

The mission is to re-establish diplomatic relations with nations of the planet Earth

It has been over a century since UCIN-Terra relations were cut off completely

It was not due to hostile and deminishing relations,it was due to a matter of "maturity"

The UCIN and Terra had simply...grown apart from each other

When the humans on Earth realized that the UCIN was too far away to control,they had granted them autonomy in 2311

People from both the UCIN and Earth were not happy

The UCIN wanted full independence,the Earth wanted full control of them

Similar to what the 13 American colonies did 535 years ago,the UCIN,along with several other Earth colonies,declared independence from their original homeland

Frantic,the governments of Earth tried desperately to repress the inevitable revolutions,seeing that almost every colony rebelling was crucial to Earth's economy and well-being

In 2323,one of the most intense standoffs in UCIN history occurred

Ships from the UNSC (United Nations Space Command) had intercepted a message from the UCIN that was meant for another colony

The message described a possible coup attempt on Earth,and of the numerous military and political figures on Earth who were in on the plot

This alarmed the Earth governments,in retaliation,the military had sent several ships to the planets of those colonies,and had all of the traitors on Earth publicly executed

When the colonies heard of their plot being foiled,and several Earth ships coming to surround them,the UCIN,the leading colony of the revolution,sent forward a message to all other colonies

The message indicated that the master plot is to begin

As the Earth ships came closer to the colonies,a majority of them to the UCIN,the mastermind,many ships from colonies near Earth,most of them not even having a single trace of rebelling,ravaged Earth ships departing towards the further colonies

This provided a distraction for the colonies far from Earth to send their ships to Earth

Meanwhile,back on Earth,uprisings and revolutions from many parts of the planets,as well as the moon,began

After a long while,the forces from the near-Earth colonies were nearly decimated when the far-Earth forces had arrived

Most ships from Earth had managed to slip through the offensive and made it to the far-colonies,at the same time that the far-colony ships made it to Earth

It was by this time,that the remaining Earth forces who stayed to defend were decimated,and all colony forces were surrounding the Earth completely

But at the exact same time,a majority of the ships sent to the colonies arrived

Both sides had recieved word that the other had surrounded their homeworld

With the revolutions in Earth ceasing,this gave no further motive for the Earthlings to surrender rather than stand their ground

One of the longest diplomatic and military standoffs in human history occurred

Both homeworlds of both sides were at the mercy of the other's,neither side did not dare fire a single shot for fear that the other would do the same with their homeworld

The standoff lasted for nearly 7 months

After several failed attacks on ships to the other side,both sides were running low on supplies,namely fuel and food

Civilians from both sides pleaded for them to stop this madness

So did soldiers

And Commanding officers

Impatient of this insanity,revolutions on both homeworlds had begun once more

This time,however,it was in favor of the independence of the colonies

After one more month,the crippled and decimated Earth governments gave in to the movement

At last the colonies were independent

The ships returned to their homelands

Though most colonies still kept good relations with the planet Earth,and it's remaining colonies,over time,they grew apart from Earth

As the years progressed,many former colonists stopped associating themselves with the planet Earth,and actually associated themselves with their homeworld

They stopped seeing themselves as Ex-Earthlings or Colonists,and saw themselves as UCIN citizens etc

As if they completely ignored the fact that they originated from Earth

Though they still traded with them,they associated Earth as more of a different civilization than an Ex-Homeworld

Many UCIN historians consider that these intense events contributed to the downfall of Earth's sphere of influence,in what is now a shadow of it's former self

The UCIN is now on a mission to restore frienship with the Earth colonies,or check up on how they are doing

Since the last time the UCIN had contact with Earth was about 100 years ago,the UCIN has no idea what may be waiting in the Sol System

[Vredlandia]

Ter'shik

-zip-

Meanwhile,back in the underwater volcano,the officers and researchers pay attention to every detail of the inside of the volcano.Then they seem to occassionally whisper to each other,sometimes happily,sometimes angrily.Although it is rather awkward that they are surrounded on all sides by guards for their protection,they seem to find comfort in the palace,they feel as if they are scholars,taking a tour in a very prestigious place,but in reality,they are here for another reason...

The guards observed them. No guard spoke their language, so they had to look at every action
There were guards at the bottom of the volcano and some at some kind of platforms. The one at the bottom had swords and the one on the platform bows. "What do you think of them?" shouted one guard on a platform to a different Zork on another platform. The other one replied. "Maybe we should kill them, just like some Lords though of." A soldier of higher rank stopped the discussion of the two Zorks. "Shut up! This shouting could make them nervous!" he said.

[The Vekta-Helghast Empire]

"Hmmm, are there any stairs down there to the lab, I doubt the elevator could take all of us in one go and I really don't want to split our group into two smaller groups. But if it's the only way let's go." Listening to the soldiers continued report Sonar nodded grimly, "Great something like a Krootox is here, and there one hell of a bugger to take down, still we must move on, I have a feeling these documents and destroying them are more important than a few lives."

"Well.. There is one stairwell.. But uh, that's where the 'rescue' party became K.I.A., you see 24 hours after the incident we sent in a 'rescue' party to re-asure the administrator that no one survived, and well.. They reported heavy resistance, before lossing contact on the stairwell... But if you really want to take it, it's on the left then along about 5 Meters." Replies the soldier, gulping at the mention of the Rescue team becoming K.I.A.

[The Blazing Aura]

"Hmmm, are there any stairs down there to the lab, I doubt the elevator could take all of us in one go and I really don't want to split our group into two smaller groups. But if it's the only way let's go." Listening to the soldiers continued report Sonar nodded grimly, "Great something like a Krootox is here, and there one hell of a bugger to take down, still we must move on, I have a feeling these documents and destroying them are more important than a few lives."

"Well.. There is one stairwell.. But uh, that's where the 'rescue' party became K.I.A., you see 24 hours after the incident we sent in a 'rescue' party to re-asure the administrator that no one survived, and well.. They reported heavy resistance, before lossing contact on the stairwell... But if you really want to take it, it's on the left then along about 5 Meters." Replies the soldier, gulping at the mention of the Rescue team becoming K.I.A.

"And how do we know that the elevator will have less resistance than the stairs?" Clone asked, "Still I'll send an advanced party down first to check and secure the surrounding area. Corse" she called out behind her, to one of the humans leading his group, "Your group will go in advance, sweep the immediate area and set up radio contact, we'll move down through the elevator one group at a time, Srok'a" she called to one of the Kroot shapers leading his group "Your rearguard, we'll set up a small area outside the elevators to wait in, you go into the elevator last."
Clone turned to the human beside her. "If the elevator is too heavily guarded we'll go down the stairs, I doubt they've faced Kroot before."

[East Brundus]

Yishra stared at the odd being for a while, his suit whirring as it stood still. The UT program had started recognizing some incomprehensible speech patterns; it was either a glitch, or they did need the 14.7 update. He made a mental note to check with the Programmer Caste; maybe they would tell him what the problem was.

"There was a... coordinate error," he half-lied. In truth, a Sapient drone had been sucked into one of the reactor cooling vents in transit.

"Depends on what you're asking. Bios or Robots?"

Trying to work out what she was saying by context, he huffed and spoke presumptiously;

"With all due respect, Miss, I think that we'll decide when we want to leave, not you."

Finally, he answered;

"More of my species? No. More of my co-workers? Yes."

"Coordination error...." she repeated. She listened to the rest of the questions. "So you were the only one on board this craft? And, with returned respect, I am afraid you will not be able to leave so quietly, after all, how will you accomplish that without a spaceship?" suddenly, a soldier, a masked one this time, with different symbols on her vest, came up to her and whispered in her ear. She then stood up straight and waited for Cadi's reply. Cadi gesticulated towards another plane, coming in over the distance, making an awful noise as it came. "It's time!" she shouted over the roar of the plane "we will board now, you said you where the only one here, right?".

[Mishmahig]

Galileo City, New Capitol of the Confederacy of Independent Solar Entities (CISE)
Office of the President (Formerly Office of the High Chancellor)

At exactly 3:30 pm, Terran time, every screen, television, billboard and sign in the entire Confederacy shut down momentarily before rebooting. The smiling face of Elizabeth McKenzie beamed out at every single citizen, and her artificially enchanced voice boomed out from every speaker. The broadcast emanated from Galileo City, passing through the other great Station-cities, transmitted and retransmitted from every dish and receiver around Jupiter. The moons of Ganymede, Callisto and Io went momentarily dark as the broadcast interrupted daily life, and every ship stopped its engines to listen. For the moment, the Confederacy was quiet, hanging on every word she said, looking for meaning and reassurance in the desperate times.

In the elaborately appointed Presidential Office, Elizabeth sat behind a mahagony desk in her customary business suit, looking serious and somber. Behind her high-backed chair, eagle-eyed viewers could almost make out a faint red stain on the wall, but only if they were looking, and for now, they were listening.

"Citizens, friends, of the Jupiter region, I speak to you now in these dark and terrible times. We have been hit by an unprecented catastrophe, blinded and cut off from the solar system, blindly searching for help and aid. And in our most desperate hour, our voice was cut off, our liberties revoked, our people oppressed under the orders of Tiberius Valen, who sought to abuse his power for his own gain! He sought to form his own empire, his own private fiefdom, built on the backs of the hardworking people of Jupiter! And for a while, it seemed as if he would succeed, that all hope would flee from the world, until a group of citizens stood up, and said 'No'. Those citizens, my friends, were you. And it is to you that I speak to this day."

She gave a brief smile and shuffled a few papers on her desk before looking back up at the camera. "Yes, we have suffered a catastrophe. Yes, we have been oppressed, and yes, we do not know what is happening, nor why it has happened. I understand your fear, and your confusion, and I understand your agitation. But I do not understand, nor do I accept, defeatism or division in this time of crisis. We are the noble people of Jupiter, the backbone of the entire Solarian Navy before the Blackout! We wrestled with this planet to build all that we have, and we won! Our ships are still here. Our dockyards are still here. Our station-cities are still here. We are still here, my friends, and while we are still here, while we still bear the name of 'Jovians' with pride, we shall not falter, nor fail!"

Clasping her hands more tightly, she looked intensely at the camera, her gazing seemingly boring into the minds and souls of every citizen. "Our greatest enemy now is ourselves," she said, softly. "Our own doubts and fears feeding on each other, building and building. We will only fall, my friends, while you stand strong. And there is no reason not to stand strong, not to weather this storm, even if it lasts as long as the Great Red Spot below! We still have food supplies, we still have fuel, we still have ships, and we still have each other! And while we have those things, we will survive and prosper. I implore you, Jovians, turn to each other. Turn to your friends, family, even the strangers in the street. Turn to each other, and trust. Together, we shall survive. Together, we shall prosper. Together, we shall triumph!" she continued, thrusting a fist into the air at this last, an action repeated hundreds of thousands of times across the Confederacy.

"And trust equally in me. I have always done my best for us, and I always will. I will make another address shortly, to update you on our ongoing efforts to restore stability. Goodbye for now," she added softly, as the red light blinked off on the camera. The sound of clapping brought her suddenly back to her office, as a man walked in. "Excellent broadcast, President," he said, picking up his coffee mug. "It should keep the citizens occupied for some time, I would think."

"Good," Elizabeth sighed, stretching in her chair. "That gives us more time to deal with our problems. Speaking of which, give me an update on the situation, especially Kepler City. The last I heard, they were working to re-establish an upper orbit so they can work on it with dockyard techs. How's that going?"

"Quite well, actually. Latest reports have it at less than a month before Kepler City is back to normal," he said, extracting a folder from under his arm. Flipping it open, he perused the contents for a minute before handing it to the President. "In other news, we're boosting food production on Ganymede and Callisto, and the main communications relay has been repaired around Io. We received one message, from Saturn," he continued, handing over another folder. "They essentially want trade, probably in one thin---"

"Food," Elizabeth said, looking up. "If I remember from my tour a few years ago, they were working on boosting their food-production capacity, right? They were almost completely reliant on imports, although that's probably changed...Send a reply, detailing the usual---'thanks for concern, dealing with it, will begin trade negotiations, etc, etc'" she said, waving a hand dismissively. "Deal with it--I don't need to handle minutiae like that. Oh, and ask them to send an ambassador."

"As you command, Madam President," he said, bowing before heading for the door. As he opened the door, Elizabeth looked up. "Oh, Antonin, don't forget to send out the broadcast," she called at the retreating figure. Seeing it acknowledge her with a wave of the hand, she sighed and turned back to the stacks of folders beside her. So much to do, so little time in which to do it.

To: The Solacarian Empire
From: The Confederacy of Independent Solar Entities

We are pleased to hear that you, our longtime friends and allies have managed to both survive and prosper in these turbulent times. We hope that our reciprocated expression of support and friendship will lead to the betterment of both our peoples.

In these dark times, however, the future is uncertain. What had once been solid and dependable but a few years ago no longer exists. We must assume that there is no support for us, and that every coalition must depend on itself for survival and prosperity. However, this does not need to be so in our case. As the two major Jovian gas-planets, we share a deep connection, aided by our long history of friendship. It is with that in mind that we propose the joining of our planets in an alliance, the Jovian Alliance. Together, we can support and aid each other more readily, and make our needs and desires known more strongly to others that might seek to take advantage of us in our current state of weakness.

Most sincerely,
Antonin Yarslav, Chief of Staff to President Elizabeth McKenzie
Confederacy of Independent Solar Entities

To: Broadcast into space
From: The Confederacy of Independent Solar Entities

This is the newly-established Confederacy of Independent Solar Entities, constituting the remnants of the Jovian shipyards and various orbiting bodies. We have suffered a massive breakdown in communications, and lack knowledge and information about current ongoing events. We implore everyone that hears this broadcast to respond, or signal in any way possible.

Message repeats one hundred times before ending.

[Photana]

The Sub-Brain's ship lands on Pluto. It mines into the frozen surface, and spreads out. Two signals are picked up on. One, from the Jovian system, particularly interested the sub-brain. Jupiter had a large reserve of Hydrogen, which was necessary for Fusion power. If they wanted to harvest past the first two gas giants, they would have to fight an unprofitable war.
A smaller scout fleet is sent to Jupiter announce the Rob's presence.

[Melpomenia (Ancient)]

"Coordination error...." she repeated. She listened to the rest of the questions. "So you were the only one on board this craft? And, with returned respect, I am afraid you will not be able to leave so quietly, after all, how will you accomplish that without a spaceship?" suddenly, a soldier, a masked one this time, with different symbols on her vest, came up to her and whispered in her ear. She then stood up straight and waited for Cadi's reply. Cadi gesticulated towards another plane, coming in over the distance, making an awful noise as it came. "It's time!" she shouted over the roar of the plane "we will board now, you said you where the only one here, right?".

Yishra raised a hand and scratched the back of his suit's neck.

"Yeah, I might want to offer a little elaboration on that..."

Another part of the pod started to glow red as the plane approached. Once again, the outer shell of metal melted, the armoured shell peeling back to reveal a slowly-opening blast door. The sun glimmered on the silver-coloured gate as it opened.

Soldiers stood in the aperture.

The first row of metal troopers, suited in the same fashion of Yishra but with their weapons larger, blockier, and more obvious, their bodies more lean and slightly shorter, and their heads sunken deep into their bodies, jumped down from the ship, and in a unitary, robotic fashion, stepped forward. Another row jumped out, and another; ten rows of fifty in all marched from the ship, weapons held it a forward-aiming manner as they emerged from the great structure.

A single one more followed, his silver armour tainted with a hint of blue, and approached Yishra and Cadi.

"No non-citizen life-forms are to be allowed entry to the ship," the Sapient machine announced brusquely, unarmed but still glaring dangerously through a lifeless visor at the two of them. "without the authority of the Captain."

[Mexican Liberation]

Sol System

The ships on the mission to the Sol System have come across a message from one of the Jovian Planets,most likely Jupiter

The message is sent to the UCIN

UCIN high command decides not to reply,but since ships are already on the way,there will be an investigation once the ships arrive

Ter'shik

The officers noticed the guards shouting to each other

One officer whispered to another's ear

"Their talking about us,but what are they saying about us?"

The other officer whispered back

"I don't know,but be cautious.If they make one false move,we'll send the signal,if we make one false move,we'll send the signal.Got that?Do not,I repeat,Do not send the signal unless I tell you,that goes for all of you,understand?"

The officers all nodded

Meanwhile,back in the mothership,all ships are ready to be deployed,they simply need the confirmation signal from the officers below to go

Down in the ocean,soldiers from the ships have returned inside...

Vekta

The president,after a long while of walking with the princess,looked at her,and said

"Why so silent?"

[The Vekta-Helghast Empire]

Vekta

The president,after a long while of walking with the princess,looked at her,and said

"Why so silent?"

She turns her head to him, as she calls for an elevator, saying, "No reason, just in thought, you know how it is." She gives a slight grin, before the elevator finally opens and she and the president, along with some Security of course, enter it, before it's doors close and it begins to accelerate at incredibly fast speeds to the top floor, where a large suite awaits. The Princess then goes on to say, "This is where you'll be staying during your visit, you'll have 24 hour security in the Lounge." She points to a large Mech, and several soldiers who sit in the corner of the Lounge, their eyes scanning everyone as they exit the elevator.

---

And how do we know that the elevator will have less resistance than the stairs?" Clone asked, "Still I'll send an advanced party down first to check and secure the surrounding area. Corse" she called out behind her, to one of the humans leading his group, "Your group will go in advance, sweep the immediate area and set up radio contact, we'll move down through the elevator one group at a time, Srok'a" she called to one of the Kroot shapers leading his group "Your rearguard, we'll set up a small area outside the elevators to wait in, you go into the elevator last."
Clone turned to the human beside her. "If the elevator is too heavily guarded we'll go down the stairs, I doubt they've faced Kroot before."

"Erm.. I doubt the things in here have faced anything before, all the creatures in here are parts of experiments, they're brand new.. Some of the things in here have the ability to rip the arm off a mech then beat what's left of the mech down with it." The Helghast soldiers move up, checking out the hall-way leading to the Elevator. Within several seconds the troops begin sweeping the hall, checking the side rooms incase anything is waiting to jump out, after a few more minutes the area is cleared and the soldiers yell back for Sonar and the others to approach.