Depths of Space (IC, OPEN, FT)

[Delta Eridanus]

Lyris pulled up an overlay of starship traffic in the Eridanus constellation, color-coded the same.

From the product, Dmitri could see the trading convoys of House Lupercal traveling between the Forge-Worlds of House Fellhorn, and the military ships of House Argenteus patrolling the constellation.

"The Martells have eyes all over the Eridanus constellation. They needed to be watched from outside the constellation."

----

"Yes, they are nice people. Just a bit too religious." Ionia explained.

Dmirti asked with concern, "Are they not to be trusted?"

----

Religion is bullshit, I've existed since the beginning of time and can give no proof of a higher being.

"The Martells are kind enough to outsiders - and so are most of the Cadians - But they have a tendency to backstab people."

Lyris thought for a second.

"Well, all of the houses do backstab at one point or another, but the point is: Trust them if you want, but keep an eye on them."

Lyris looked back at the crew.

"And your men seem to be ready to begin the jump."

----

"Ha! You should tell the Martells that. They would freak!" Ionia laughed.

[The Moscow Metro Red Line]

Sol System - Orbit Around Mars - Battle Group Sol - I.O.S. Relentless Zeal, Crown Prince Joseph Marx's Flagship - Hanger - 2030 Earth Hours

"Now that we are all here." Joseph spoke as he walked to the party. "Let us move into the lift. The banquet shall begin." He gestured towards the large lift in the side of the hanger.

Time to begin the planning, Joseph thought to himself.

------------------------------------------------------
Warhrihet System (Formally the Pravda System) - Warhrihet (Formally Pravda) - The former city of Vneipr - Industrial Complex 415

"Mmm. Anyways please follow me. There is much to discuss." Ulyanov walked Kale out of the dropship and began walking straight, towards a section called 'Command'. "For twenty-five years the Sovik Revolutionary Front has fought against the Ostian Imperialists. It took us awhile to get organized and unite under one banner, even immediately following the end of the Sovik Union." The party passed by an weary instructor drilling a few dozen recruits in an open space. "The factory complexes here give us a good place to rebuild and focus our operations. I was born during the war, in fact, this planet used to be my home. My parents worked in the one of the numerous factories here. Before the war they used to build starship components, then they were building munitions." Ulyanov stopped and looked around nostalgically, gazing at the empty factory floor and immobile conveyor belts. "I was there during the scorching. In fact I remember detail by detail." Ulyanov spoke softly, closing his eyes. "It was like any other day, the sun shinned and the workers went to their factories. My parents, strong patriots, left to the factory and left me at home. The soldiers told us that the Ostians had blockaded the planet, and there was little hope for relief. But regardless, everyone went on their day as normal. I was walking to my school when I heard the first siren. At first everyone thought it was a drill, and went about their business but the soldiers began ordering everyone to the bunkers. I did not make it to the bunkers in time, so the soldiers told me to get as far underground as possible. It turned out to be a blessing, the door had a faculty mechanism so all the people inside died due to radiation poisoning. I ran into one of the designated factories, and ran deeper and deeper into the ground. I can't remember how many flights I ran down as I heard the explosions above. The screams. The chaos. It was...."

"Anyways. Enough about me. Tell me about yourself."

------------------------------------------------------
Displeoa System - Heading Towards Lepota - Between Vryi and Lepota - 59 Hours to 60 Hours After Awakening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alyoayjTI2M&list=PL1D2A1D7806104C3C&index=13

"Defend the starbase. The remaining personal should be attempting to send a message to the rest of the Imperium. The alarm must not be interrupted for about 30 minutes. I and the rest of the fleet shall be attempting to stave off the Highbreed until then. After 30 minutes, assist personal in destroying the station and all its contents. We leave them nothing. Admiral Spehct out."

The Admiral's ship began its assault, it began firing its batteries at the nearest bioship. Two Battlecruisers flanked the sides of the Emperor-Class Battleship. Because of the heavier armament of the battlecruisers, they were more able to go toe to toe with the bioships. The Battleship had been firing its guns as well, this spearhead cut deep into the Bioship formation. Even the tendrils which the bioships used had difficulty breaking the hulls of the battlecruisers.

At this point in the battle, almost all of the smaller ships had been destroyed. The destroyers had formed some sort of formation, coordinating their fire at the nearest bioship. The Tehys put up a valiant effort but in the end, they were overwhelmed by the biofighters and were destroyed. And Battlesuit escort which protected the destroyers were overwhelmed and destroyed as well. The lone Coeuses and destroyers began firing their last. Even though the biofighters had destroyed the engines, the destroyers merely increased their engine output before hand so that they had enough acceleration to ram into another bioship which two of them did. A third one missed and instead, began to overload it's power core. A fourth one was destroyed by one of the tendrils.

The surviving began to form around the battlecruisers as they made their final stand. Despite having their own problems to deal with, both external and internal, the loyalist crews were preparing to overload their power cores as a secondary measure. They refused to be consumed by the Highbreed. Even the Prince had a hard time convincing his crew to stand down without alerting them to the All-Father's wish. The Royal Guard ignored his orders, ready to die a glorious death. The Admiral's battlecruiser had just joined the circle.

"Today, we join our ancestors in the halls of glory! Die well, my fellow Ostians." Admiral Specht spoke as his battlecruiser fired one last barrage at the treasonous frigates who attempted to stop his coming, effectively destroying their support. While there were a few reports of mutiny, the crew managed to overwhelm them.

"This is the Displeoa Fleet Starbase, we're having some difficulties containing a few traitors. We're pretty much a skeleton crew here and we can't track their movements. If you can, send an assault team over to flush them out. We're still transmitting the alarm."

3x Dauntless Class Cruiser
3x Pious Class Destroyers
14x Virtue Class Frigates
54x Relentless Class Boarding Pods
3x Tehys Heavy Support Battlesuit
4x Coeus Long Range Support Battlesuit
43x Hyperion All Purpose Battlesuit
35x Prometheus High Speed Close Quarters Combat Battlesuit
51x Stalwart Class Fighter Bomber

5x Bioships

https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=356566&start=725

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

Stien and Hawksin walked over to the lift, their guards behind them. This should be interesting. Hawksin thought, stepping inside the lift, followed by Stine and the Guards.

[The V O I D]

Displeoa System - Heading Towards Lepota - Between Vryi and Lepota - 59 Hours to 60 Hours After Awakening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alyoayjTI2M&list=PL1D2A1D7806104C3C&index=13

"Defend the starbase. The remaining personal should be attempting to send a message to the rest of the Imperium. The alarm must not be interrupted for about 30 minutes. I and the rest of the fleet shall be attempting to stave off the Highbreed until then. After 30 minutes, assist personal in destroying the station and all its contents. We leave them nothing. Admiral Spehct out."

The Admiral's ship began its assault, it began firing its batteries at the nearest bioship. Two Battlecruisers flanked the sides of the Emperor-Class Battleship. Because of the heavier armament of the battlecruisers, they were more able to go toe to toe with the bioships. The Battleship had been firing its guns as well, this spearhead cut deep into the Bioship formation. Even the tendrils which the bioships used had difficulty breaking the hulls of the battlecruisers.

At this point in the battle, almost all of the smaller ships had been destroyed. The destroyers had formed some sort of formation, coordinating their fire at the nearest bioship. The Tehys put up a valiant effort but in the end, they were overwhelmed by the biofighters and were destroyed. And Battlesuit escort which protected the destroyers were overwhelmed and destroyed as well. The lone Coeuses and destroyers began firing their last. Even though the biofighters had destroyed the engines, the destroyers merely increased their engine output before hand so that they had enough acceleration to ram into another bioship which two of them did. A third one missed and instead, began to overload it's power core. A fourth one was destroyed by one of the tendrils.

The surviving began to form around the battlecruisers as they made their final stand. Despite having their own problems to deal with, both external and internal, the loyalist crews were preparing to overload their power cores as a secondary measure. They refused to be consumed by the Highbreed. Even the Prince had a hard time convincing his crew to stand down without alerting them to the All-Father's wish. The Royal Guard ignored his orders, ready to die a glorious death. The Admiral's battlecruiser had just joined the circle.

"Today, we join our ancestors in the halls of glory! Die well, my fellow Ostians." Admiral Specht spoke as his battlecruiser fired one last barrage at the treasonous frigates who attempted to stop his coming, effectively destroying their support. While there were a few reports of mutiny, the crew managed to overwhelm them.

"This is the Displeoa Fleet Starbase, we're having some difficulties containing a few traitors. We're pretty much a skeleton crew here and we can't track their movements. If you can, send an assault team over to flush them out. We're still transmitting the alarm."

Disploea System
Xarintine / Lepota / Orbit
60 Hours After Awakening

Tyrant Orava stood in his bioship, which was severely damaged. He growled, issuing orders to the Highbreed under his command. The Bioship began selfrepairing and healing, using its tendrils to grab leftover chunks of the other bioships to repair itself. Not only that, but it dragged Ostian ships into the mass, the Highbreed onboard that had managed to conquer the ships feeding into the biomass. The Ostian ships' technology was seeped into and infested; their powercores were covered by thick organic coolant organs, to keep them from overloading or becoming unstable. The capital Bioship managed to repair itself during this process, becoming a lot larger as well as looking like a half-mechanical mass. Tyrant Orava wasn't going to let his Bioship fall; not that easily.

However, ontop of this, he learned that several Biogenerators had created enough biomass for more Bioships - and he ordered their creation as he watched this battle wage on. He summoned more Biofighters which continued to attack. Deciding that until the new Bioships were ready, that this one was most important to keep the battle leaning in Highbreed favor, or what he thought was Highbreed favor, he must do something. Tyrant Orava connected to the Bioship, sending a pulse of psionics into the Ostian ships that were fused unto the Bioship. Their powercores were activated to direct all energy to shields or cannons. These captured ships surrounded the Bioship in a large plasma shield and such, to protect it. Adapt and survive, Orava knew. Tyrant Orava began battering the larger ships coming his way with the Ostian's own battery cannons, as well as other weapons. The Biofighters and Spore-Cannons also kept firing, trying to infest more ships. Tyrant Orava stared out into battle; this one was unlike any previous one he had experienced. The people of this awakening put up a serious fight. But they would crumble, nonetheless. The Allmind knew this. And so did Orava. The psionic war effort was working, however, based on the increasing number of weak-minded Ostians serving the Highbreed in the system; this was good. It kept them all from uniting completely to destroy the Allmind. Tyrant Orava thought this was a good day; but not the day to die.

[Spindle]

Eris let herself fall into Khronos, feeling his hands as they ran through her hair. She was still feeling slightly woozy from the alcohol, but that did't dull her joy. She smiled as her head rested on Khronos' shoulder, hands at his waist, eyes gazing dreamily at his face. This was all they needed-time to forget about responsibility and nations and just be free. Well, not entirely free, Eris mused, but that could wait for now. She was willing to be patient, for now.

"We're going to get married." She breathed softly after a few seconds, "And I don't feel an different. I didn't realise before how much this was...a formality. What difference does a ring make at the end of the day, when I already have you?"




Ophius glanced over Shellist's shoulder and saw Josef coming, but his businesslike attitude had her somewhat off-guard. She followed him into the lift with a half-raised eyebrow and an apologetic glance over at Shellist. She would have to finish off that conversation later, if she got the chance. It wasn't everyday she met delegates from other star nations and she was curious to grill him over several cultural differences.

"Well, shall we get the formalities over with, then?" She asked Josef as the doors hissed close, "The Commonwealth of Spindle extends the warm and somewhat clammy hand of friendship to the Ostian Imperium and so on and so forth, live long and prosper. Anyway, what's the main course going to be?"

[Delta Eridanus]

New Hyperion, Cadia

Night had fallen on Cadia.

The Cadian sky, foreign yet familiar to those civilizations worlds away, was host to the twin moons of Masser and Secunda, and the brilliant constellations of Kios, Caridin's Griffon, and Judex, The Sword of Dawn.

However, no matter how much the Cadians liked to think they did, the immortal constellations had no bearing on the fates of those who walked the earth below.

In the Ironforged Fortress, the light of the heavens shone on Lord Darius Caridin, who laid asleep, dreaming.

Unlike the half-remembered dreams of humans, the Cadians created entire realms from memory. While some chose to remain close to home, some dared to dream of worlds far beyond the constellations they knew, waging war with the unknown.

Lord Caridin was one of the latter. Some nights, he was a lone knight with no allegiance in a hostile world, Others, he was but a single man among thousands on an ancient battlefield.

But tonight, he remained home, lost in a memory of the woman he once loved.

The sound of her laughter ringing in his ears, her deep violet eyes lingering in his mind's eye. The touch of her hand a vivid memory.

"You are a gentle, yet steadfast man, my lord. Might I ask your name?"

"Darius Caridin, and yours, my lady?"

"Allyria Dayne."

Shock rocked his entire system, and Darius awoke in a cold sweat.

The Lord of Cadia, after a moment, managed a quiet "What in the name of Talos..?"

He looked around, muttering a few prayers, and went back to sleep.

[Theyra]

[b]Displeoa System - Heading Towards Lepota - Between Vryi and Lepota - 59 Hours to 60 Hours After Awakening

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alyoayjTI2M&list=PL1D2A1D7806104C3C&index=13

"Defend the starbase. The remaining personal should be attempting to send a message to the rest of the Imperium. The alarm must not be interrupted for about 30 minutes. I and the rest of the fleet shall be attempting to stave off the Highbreed until then. After 30 minutes, assist personal in destroying the station and all its contents. We leave them nothing. Admiral Spehct out."

The Admiral's ship began its assault, it began firing its batteries at the nearest bioship. Two Battlecruisers flanked the sides of the Emperor-Class Battleship. Because of the heavier armament of the battlecruisers, they were more able to go toe to toe with the bioships. The Battleship had been firing its guns as well, this spearhead cut deep into the Bioship formation. Even the tendrils which the bioships used had difficulty breaking the hulls of the battlecruisers.

At this point in the battle, almost all of the smaller ships had been destroyed. The destroyers had formed some sort of formation, coordinating their fire at the nearest bioship. The Tehys put up a valiant effort but in the end, they were overwhelmed by the biofighters and were destroyed. And Battlesuit escort which protected the destroyers were overwhelmed and destroyed as well. The lone Coeuses and destroyers began firing their last. Even though the biofighters had destroyed the engines, the destroyers merely increased their engine output before hand so that they had enough acceleration to ram into another bioship which two of them did. A third one missed and instead, began to overload it's power core. A fourth one was destroyed by one of the tendrils.

The surviving began to form around the battlecruisers as they made their final stand. Despite having their own problems to deal with, both external and internal, the loyalist crews were preparing to overload their power cores as a secondary measure. They refused to be consumed by the Highbreed. Even the Prince had a hard time convincing his crew to stand down without alerting them to the All-Father's wish. The Royal Guard ignored his orders, ready to die a glorious death. The Admiral's battlecruiser had just joined the circle.

"Today, we join our ancestors in the halls of glory! Die well, my fellow Ostians." Admiral Specht spoke as his battlecruiser fired one last barrage at the treasonous frigates who attempted to stop his coming, effectively destroying their support. While there were a few reports of mutiny, the crew managed to overwhelm them.

"This is the Displeoa Fleet Starbase, we're having some difficulties containing a few traitors. We're pretty much a skeleton crew here and we can't track their movements. If you can, send an assault team over to flush them out. We're still transmitting the alarm."

3x Dauntless Class Cruiser
3x Pious Class Destroyers
14x Virtue Class Frigates
54x Relentless Class Boarding Pods
3x Tehys Heavy Support Battlesuit
4x Coeus Long Range Support Battlesuit
43x Hyperion All Purpose Battlesuit
35x Prometheus High Speed Close Quarters Combat Battlesuit
51x Stalwart Class Fighter Bomber

5x Bioships

https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=356566&start=725

"Major Flin, I need a squad of Sentinels with modified Observer drones on a dropship now".

"Yes sir, their suits locked and primed to to explode if their suits are compromised". "And the Observer drones are ready".

Dyr sighs and gets up. "I hereby order that Cole Protocol is now active. If we die here and like the Ostians will leave nothing. All information that the ship has is erased and the ship is primed to explode with the explosion is set to maximum yield with no chance of survivors or trace of the ship. "Tell, the fleet that the R.P. location is a go".

"Captain Dyr, the dropship is ready and is leaving now for the station".

"Fari, sent a message to the station that a squad is now it's way and should be there in two minutes". Dyr activates the comm network from his wristguard and talks to the whole ship including the assault team on the dropship. "This Captain Dyr and as you know we may die here. I want everyone to know that It is an honor to have serve with all of you".

The dropship cloaks before leaving the ship and heads straight to the station and lands in one of it's hangar bays.

The squad leaves the dropship and Captain Vos radios the Displeoa Fleet Starbase command.'This is Captain Vos of the Sentinels, we are here to find the traitors and will start our search for them". "Can you tell us about where the traitors might be"? The Observer drones cloak and go ahead in preparation for scanning for the traitors.

..........
six Sentinels
five observers drones-(they look like guilty spark from halo.)

[Harndar]

A wave of the press was outside the building and went to the docking station. The only protection was the Harndarian guards and their barricades.

The group goes to the dropship and leaves for the ship but, not without the media getting extra excited over them being insectoids. The dropships lands in the ship and the group walks to the conference room and waits for the comm link to be ready.

"That was different than I expected", Yryln said and was glad that the Harndarian guards kept the media back. "Master Rin what are your thought about the Harndarians before the link is established with the Council"?

"They seem friendly and don't pose a threat to us do to their level of technology". "While a formal alliance is unlikely, a trade alliance may be something the council is more willing to do".

"Captain Yryln, the link is active and the Council is ready to talk to you",said Vin over the ship's comm network.

"Then start it" said Yryln and a holographic projection of the Council appears on the table in the middle of the room.

"Captain Yryln, you have new for us"?

"We have made first contact with a human civilization". "We found them in a system where their was a small chance of alien life". 'Theses humans called themselves the Harndarians and are a separate civilization from the humans from Sol". 'In fact the Harndarians already meet them and have a alliance with them but, we know is that the Sol system has more than just humans in it".

There is some talk among them, "what about this Harndarians, can they be trusted"? asked Councilor Rasos.

Master Rin added, "The Harndarians themselves seem friendly and they are significantly less advanced than us". "We have met with their council and they want a alliance with us". "I know that an alliance is not allowed yet, but trade may be a good sign of goodwill and a good way of getting the government at Sol the UTT on good terms when we meet them next".

"Do you know what they are willing to trade with?" asked Councilor Toia.

'Not yet but, they are willing to trade more than just traditionally goods".

The council talked among themselves for a few minutes.

"Captain Yryln, we have decided that while a alliance is not possible at this time, we are willing to trade with them". "Get the the information of what resources they are willing to trade and we will see what will be exchanged". And the link closes.

Yryln activates the comm link on his wristguard, "Vin, I want a message sent to the Harndarians that "while an alliance is not possible, we would like to trade with them". "And perhaps a alliance is possible down the road".

Harndarians got the message and sends another.

We thank you for bring it up and hope we will be side by side with one another soon. We have not been able to contact the UTT as well. Good luck.

---
The Wintera Docks
"Alright, Captain Gunum, Your fleet is the first to be fully upgraded with FTL travel."One of the workers said to the man in charge of the Initar Pride.
"Thank you." Gunum said, he then went on the his ship and headed to the bridge.
"Sir." One of the crew members spoke up when he walked next to him."If I may tell you what has been upgraded."
"I already know we can use go faster than light." Gunum replied.
"Yes, we have that. Also we have better armor, 10% better than the last model, Incendiary Rounds for the Cannons, and 2 Rocket Launchers,"
"Great, now we might be able to survive what's beyond Rolm..."

[Theyra]

The group goes to the dropship and leaves for the ship but, not without the media getting extra excited over them being insectoids. The dropships lands in the ship and the group walks to the conference room and waits for the comm link to be ready.

"That was different than I expected", Yryln said and was glad that the Harndarian guards kept the media back. "Master Rin what are your thought about the Harndarians before the link is established with the Council"?

"They seem friendly and don't pose a threat to us do to their level of technology". "While a formal alliance is unlikely, a trade alliance may be something the council is more willing to do".

"Captain Yryln, the link is active and the Council is ready to talk to you",said Vin over the ship's comm network.

"Then start it" said Yryln and a holographic projection of the Council appears on the table in the middle of the room.

"Captain Yryln, you have new for us"?

"We have made first contact with a human civilization". "We found them in a system where their was a small chance of alien life". 'Theses humans called themselves the Harndarians and are a separate civilization from the humans from Sol". 'In fact the Harndarians already meet them and have a alliance with them but, we know is that the Sol system has more than just humans in it".

There is some talk among them, "what about this Harndarians, can they be trusted"? asked Councilor Rasos.

Master Rin added, "The Harndarians themselves seem friendly and they are significantly less advanced than us". "We have met with their council and they want a alliance with us". "I know that an alliance is not allowed yet, but trade may be a good sign of goodwill and a good way of getting the government at Sol the UTT on good terms when we meet them next".

"Do you know what they are willing to trade with?" asked Councilor Toia.

'Not yet but, they are willing to trade more than just traditionally goods".

The council talked among themselves for a few minutes.

"Captain Yryln, we have decided that while a alliance is not possible at this time, we are willing to trade with them". "Get the the information of what resources they are willing to trade and we will see what will be exchanged". And the link closes.

Yryln activates the comm link on his wristguard, "Vin, I want a message sent to the Harndarians that "while an alliance is not possible, we would like to trade with you". "And perhaps a alliance is possible down the road".

Harndarians got the message and sends another.

We thank you for bring it up and hope we will be side by side with one another soon. We have not been able to contact the UTT as well. Good luck.

---
The Wintera Docks
"Alright, Captain Gunum, Your fleet is the first to be fully upgraded with FTL travel."One of the workers said to the man in charge of the Initar Pride.
"Thank you." Gunum said, he then went on the his ship and headed to the bridge.
"Sir." One of the crew members spoke up when he walked next to him."If I may tell you what has been upgraded."
"I already know we can use go faster than light." Gunum replied.
"Yes, we have that. Also we have better armor, 10% better than the last model, Incendiary Rounds for the Cannons, and 2 Rocket Launchers,"
"Great, now we might be able to survive what's beyond Rolm..."

"Vin send a message to the Harndarians ", 'that after we meet the UTT, we will return to discuss trade options with you", said Yryln. The Resurgence then jumps to hyperspace and is on it's way to Sol.

[Theyra]

CNED Resurgence
Sol System

The Resurgence exits hyperspace and appears near Neptune. "Captain, we have entered the Sol system".

"Good, hold position and have weapons, shields and stealth drive ready as per protocol", Yryln ordered. Even through the UTT can be friendly we can not take risks". "Hopefully they will take kindly to us".

[The United Tributational Territories]

Dmirti asked with concern, "Are they not to be trusted?"

----

Religion is bullshit, I've existed since the beginning of time and can give no proof of a higher being.

"The Martells are kind enough to outsiders - and so are most of the Cadians - But they have a tendency to backstab people."

Lyris thought for a second.

"Well, all of the houses do backstab at one point or another, but the point is: Trust them if you want, but keep an eye on them."

Lyris looked back at the crew.

"And your men seem to be ready to begin the jump."

----

"Ha! You should tell the Martells that. They would freak!" Ionia laughed.

Dmitri looked worried as he said, "Should we even make this jump?"
The Argent Spire began to prepare for jump.

----

George laughed loudly as he floated around. That sounds funny. We should do it!

----

CNED Resurgence
Sol System

The Resurgence exits hyperspace and appears near Neptune. "Captain, we have entered the Sol system".

"Good, hold position and have weapons, shields and stealth drive ready as per protocol", Yryln ordered. Even through the UTT can be friendly we can not take risks". "Hopefully they will take kindly to us".

As the ship exited hyperspace and entered Sol, they were met by a large shield, surrounding the solar system. Alerts went off on all the UTT ships, and the crew members sent the ship a message.

State your name, nation of origin, intent for being here, and then leave. We have a summit going on about an attack.

----

Eris let herself fall into Khronos, feeling his hands as they ran through her hair. She was still feeling slightly woozy from the alcohol, but that did't dull her joy. She smiled as her head rested on Khronos' shoulder, hands at his waist, eyes gazing dreamily at his face. This was all they needed-time to forget about responsibility and nations and just be free. Well, not entirely free, Eris mused, but that could wait for now. She was willing to be patient, for now.

"We're going to get married." She breathed softly after a few seconds, "And I don't feel an different. I didn't realise before how much this was...a formality. What difference does a ring make at the end of the day, when I already have you?"




Ophius glanced over Shellist's shoulder and saw Josef coming, but his businesslike attitude had her somewhat off-guard. She followed him into the lift with a half-raised eyebrow and an apologetic glance over at Shellist. She would have to finish off that conversation later, if she got the chance. It wasn't everyday she met delegates from other star nations and she was curious to grill him over several cultural differences.

"Well, shall we get the formalities over with, then?" She asked Josef as the doors hissed close, "The Commonwealth of Spindle extends the warm and somewhat clammy hand of friendship to the Ostian Imperium and so on and so forth, live long and prosper. Anyway, what's the main course going to be?"

Ophius blinked in surprise as the steam jetted from the two escorts, before she turned to Shellist.

"We don't know yet. Unless anything goes enormously wrong we'll only know what's happening when they get back and send us the data. But we can discuss that at dinner." She paused for a moment, eying the two guards, the clouds of steam just beginning to dissipate, "Are those suits meant to do that? Because if not, you may be getting some crispy-oh, where are my manners?"

She curtsied swiftly, before her head came back up and she continued talking on.

"Anyway, I'm Lady Ophius. This is the first time we've met isn't it...face-to-face, at least. Yes, the last time we met I was sorting out the mess Scorpius had made. So, how's everything been since then? Any plans on settling down?"




Captain Ceto was bored. Her mind had been linked into the computing system of an Ophian: it was extraordinarily quick to respond, intuitive and flexible. She could have beaten the greatest chess player of the twentieth century with contemptuous ease in this state, could have solved hundreds of complex equations in a heartbeat and barely noticed it. In fact, she did, every second and every course correction.

But the genius mind available to her was being used for data-gathering. It was ridiculous! Why was a flyby necessary? The Ophains could have simply destroyed the largest concentrations of ships in a single, surprise blow and then take the system! It was by far the best option available to them! But Scorpius wanted information, so Ceto had needed to drop herself-her ship, rather-into an orbit to gather more detailed data from the planet, most of revolving around the plant life down there apparently being tidal, which made no sense given that the moons should cause tide that was from twenty to fifty degrees off of the observed tides. It was all so stupid! The big, dumb, ships there hadn't noticed them, the bigger, dumber planets were showing no sign of reaction and she was stuck here, bored out of her mind, collecting data on the various big, dumb objects floating around the system. If only something would happen!

As Josef motioned everyone over, Shellist had no time to respond. Shellist and Ophius exchanged a look as they followed Josef. We'll carry on that conversation over dinner., Shellist thought. They walked and Shellist said to Ophius, "Yes, the suits are meant to do that. Relieve pressure, so they don't pop."

[Delta Eridanus]

"Believe me, while the Cadians can be cruel, they will fight to the bitter end with their allies."

Lyris prepared for the jump.

----

Ionia opened a channel to The Spear of the Sun, the Martell flagship, and motioned George to go ahead.

[Theyra]

CNED Resurgence
Sol System

The Resurgence exits hyperspace and appears near Neptune. "Captain, we have entered the Sol system".

"Good, hold position and have weapons, shields and stealth drive ready as per protocol", Yryln ordered. Even through the UTT can be friendly we can not take risks". "Hopefully they will take kindly to us".

As the ship exited hyperspace and entered Sol, they were met by a large shield, surrounding the solar system. Alerts went off on all the UTT ships, and the crew members sent the ship a message.

State your name, nation of origin, intent for being here, and then leave. We have a summit going on about an attack.

Resurgence exits hyperspace as soon as they detect the shield.

"Sir, there is a large shield in front of ours, it appears to cover the whole system".

"Sir, a message from the UTT playing it now", "State your name, nation of origin, intent for being here, and then leave. We have a summit going on about an attack".

Yryln sighs, "we had to make contact with them when they are at war or something bad has happened to warrant a summit". "Send this message back and prepare to return to the Rolm system". I'm Captain Yryln Isoi of the Vryr'yks Coalition. "We are explorers and heard about you from the Harndarians and wish to meet with your government but, it appears that we have arrive at a bad time". "If you wish to contact us, we will be in the Rolm System to go over trade negotiations with their government".

"Message sent sir".

"Good, now take us back to Primsalis".

The Resurgence turn around and makes a jump back to Primsalis.

[The United Tributational Territories]

"Believe me, while the Cadians can be cruel, they will fight to the bitter end with their allies."

Lyris prepared for the jump.

----

Ionia opened a channel to The Spear of the Sun, the Martell flagship, and motioned George to go ahead.

The Argent Spire launched into space, knocking Dmitri off his feet, because he hadn't prepared. They slid silently out of hyperspace, and were in the middle of a system.
"Where do we go from here Lyris?" Dmitri asked, brushing himself off.

----

George floated over to the screen, and said, Religion is bullshit, I've lived longer than your people have existed and I know this to be true.

----

[spoiler=Theyra]
As the ship exited hyperspace and entered Sol, they were met by a large shield, surrounding the solar system. Alerts went off on all the UTT ships, and the crew members sent the ship a message.

State your name, nation of origin, intent for being here, and then leave. We have a summit going on about an attack.

Resurgence exits hyperspace as soon as they detect the shield.

"Sir, there is a large shield in front of ours, it appears to cover the whole system".

"Sir, a message from the UTT playing it now", "State your name, nation of origin, intent for being here, and then leave. We have a summit going on about an attack".

Yryln sighs, "we had to make contact with him when they are at war or something bad has happened to warrant a summit". "Send this message back and prepare to return to the Rolm system". I'm Captain Yryln Isoi of the Vryr'yks Coalition. "We are explorers and heard about you from the Harndarians and wish to meet with your government but, it appears that we have arrive at a bad time". "If you wish to contact us, we will be in the Rolm System to go over trade negotiations with their government".

"Message sent sir".

"Good, now take us back to Primsalis".

The Resurgence turn around and makes a jump back to Primsalis.

The message played on their screens, and the UTT responded with,

No problem, come back when we are done with the summit. We will contact you.

[The V O I D]

Eris let herself fall into Khronos, feeling his hands as they ran through her hair. She was still feeling slightly woozy from the alcohol, but that did't dull her joy. She smiled as her head rested on Khronos' shoulder, hands at his waist, eyes gazing dreamily at his face. This was all they needed-time to forget about responsibility and nations and just be free. Well, not entirely free, Eris mused, but that could wait for now. She was willing to be patient, for now.

"We're going to get married." She breathed softly after a few seconds, "And I don't feel an different. I didn't realise before how much this was...a formality. What difference does a ring make at the end of the day, when I already have you?"

The Imperator's Might
Capital Dreadnought of All Remnant Fleets
The Taari Armada / Remnant

Khronos smiled at her happily when she said that, kissing her nose, and forehead. Khronos checked the time via his envirosuit; time sure flies when stupidity occurs and then fun happens, apparently, as it was night in the daynight cycle. Time for bed, too, by the looks of it. Khronos stared at his future wife for a few moments longer, before pulling her closer and embracing her. He whispered to her.

"It's getting kind of late. Do you want me to carry you to bed?", he whispered into her ear. He continued to hold her as he spoke to her. His hold on her was one that said if Lyson threatened her or her family again, he would end. It was one that said he'd never let harm come to her or anyone else ever again. It was one that showed with an absoluteness only the gods and creators should be capable how much he loved her. And he did. Khronos wouldn't stop, either.

[Osnil]

Pravada System
Kale followed Ulymov and heard his story regarding the scorching, bowing his head. "I was born in space, above Ixia, in the Lumier System. I was fascinated with the military-specifically battle plans. My brother and I told each other that I would be a great military leader and he would be great inventor. My brother produced the Mewtwo Virus, which has been a major military weapon in the Commonwealth. He died in an explosion near the time that my military potential was recognized. It was during a battle the Ostians screwed up. The Commonwealth soldiers were basically cannon fodder for the enemy-sitting ducks if you will. We were ordered to charge the enemy with promise of air support from the Ostians. The Ostians never gave it. We charged anyway, and were all but destroyed-including my seargeant. Command fell to me of what remained of my unit. I managed to take the enemy's position at a great cost. So many lives were lost." Kale bowed his head.

[Harndar]

As the ship exited hyperspace and entered Sol, they were met by a large shield, surrounding the solar system. Alerts went off on all the UTT ships, and the crew members sent the ship a message.

State your name, nation of origin, intent for being here, and then leave. We have a summit going on about an attack.

Resurgence exits hyperspace as soon as they detect the shield.

"Sir, there is a large shield in front of ours, it appears to cover the whole system".

"Sir, a message from the UTT playing it now", "State your name, nation of origin, intent for being here, and then leave. We have a summit going on about an attack".

Yryln sighs, "we had to make contact with them when they are at war or something bad has happened to warrant a summit". "Send this message back and prepare to return to the Rolm system". I'm Captain Yryln Isoi of the Vryr'yks Coalition. "We are explorers and heard about you from the Harndarians and wish to meet with your government but, it appears that we have arrive at a bad time". "If you wish to contact us, we will be in the Rolm System to go over trade negotiations with their government".

"Message sent sir".

"Good, now take us back to Primsalis".

The Resurgence turn around and makes a jump back to Primsalis.

"Sir, seems as if the Vry'rk are coming back." A crew member said.
"Any new changes?" This commanding officer asked
"Not from what I can see."
"Then keep an eye out just in case."
"On it."

[Spindle]

Eris smiled lightly and wrapped her arms around Khronos' neck. He was all around her, like a bear. Warm and comforting, but all the while with that terrible power in his limbs that she knew would be unleashed should she ask for it. Tears pricked at her eyes as she thought that. She knew he would do anything if she asked...and that was why she couldn't ask him to do anything without considering it as carefully as was humanly possible.

"Oh, my knight in shining armour." She whispered into his ear, "What would I do without you?"

She buried her face in his neck and felt Khronos hefting her aloft without any apparent exertion. She smiled at that. It felt good being here...weightless, as if in water. The only person she needed was here with her, around her. She held on tighter and let the rhythmic rise and fall of Khronos' steps lull her into a half-asleep state, her eyes staring across his face, glazed over slightly.

[Delta Eridanus]

"Believe me, while the Cadians can be cruel, they will fight to the bitter end with their allies."

Lyris prepared for the jump.

----

Ionia opened a channel to The Spear of the Sun, the Martell flagship, and motioned George to go ahead.

The Argent Spire launched into space, knocking Dmitri off his feet, because he hadn't prepared. They slid silently out of hyperspace, and were in the middle of a system.
"Where do we go from here Lyris?" Dmitri asked, brushing himself off.

----

George floated over to the screen, and said, Religion is bullshit, I've lived longer than your people have existed and I know this to be true.

The Martells stood dumbfounded as they watched the Novakid.

The acting lord finally came to his senses, and began ranting about heresy and "those tradition defying Caridins" as a few crewmen dragged him out of sight.

---

Delta Eridani System

The Argent Spire had apparently come out of the jump in polar orbit of Delta Eridani's gas giant, Arborea.

What Dmitri could see at first was limited, as his eyes adapted to the light-blue light of the system's star, Diomedes to the Cadians.

Eventually, the UTT could see Argos, the icy world that some of the ancient city-states of Cadia had fled to when the Great Arcadian War had begun.

Finally, they saw Cadia. Even from Arborea, it was obvious why the Cadians called it the jewel of the Imperium. Between the clouds, the oceans of Cadia were the color of an brilliant sapphire, and the peaks of the Magna Hyperia Range poked through the clouds to reveal their stony peaks.

Before the Argent Spire could get any closer, one of the crewmen shouted.

"SHIP INCOMING!"

When Argent Spire turned to view the ship, some of the crewmen gasped. After all, this was the first true Cadian ship that many had seen in their lifetime.

The ICS Arngrim had the Golden Eagle, the symbol of the Imperium, emblazoned on it's hull, along with a purple stripe declaring which house it belonged to. In this case, it was House Dayne.

Lyris, attempting to keep quiet, had a smirk on her face. After all, she knew who was in command of this ship, as did every Cadian.

The crewman barely had enough time to yell to Dmitri that the ship was hailing them before the viewscreen came to life.

The Cadian bridge had many elements of the ship design the UTT had seen, but had also had some element of a old Norse longhouse like the ones back on Earth.

The commander of the ship shouted at one of her crewmen in Cadian. The crew of the Arngrim seemed well-trained, and were as unnaturally calm as Lyris was.

The commander, a young woman with dark golden-brown hair and piercing violet eyes, turned back to look at the screen. This was Rowan Dayne, one of the best captains of the Imperium, and also the first (illegitimate) daughter of Lord Darius Caridin and Lady Ashara Dayne.

She spoke in Terran, the trading language of the Imperium. "Who are you, and why are you in Imperium space?"

[Theyra]

Resurgence exits hyperspace as soon as they detect the shield.

"Sir, there is a large shield in front of ours, it appears to cover the whole system".

"Sir, a message from the UTT playing it now", "State your name, nation of origin, intent for being here, and then leave. We have a summit going on about an attack".

Yryln sighs, "we had to make contact with them when they are at war or something bad has happened to warrant a summit". "Send this message back and prepare to return to the Rolm system". I'm Captain Yryln Isoi of the Vryr'yks Coalition. "We are explorers and heard about you from the Harndarians and wish to meet with your government but, it appears that we have arrive at a bad time". "If you wish to contact us, we will be in the Rolm System to go over trade negotiations with their government".

"Message sent sir".

"Good, now take us back to Primsalis".

The Resurgence turn around and makes a jump back to Primsalis.

"Sir, seems as if the Vry'rk are coming back." A crew member said.
"Any new changes?" This commanding officer asked
"Not from what I can see."
"Then keep an eye out just in case."
"On it."

The Resurgence exits hyperspace near Primsalis and sent a message to the Harndarians. "Hello and we have returned to go over trade negotiations with your government". 'The UTT was in the middle of a summit regarding a attack and had a shield in place, that covered the whole system". "They said that they will contact us when the summit is over and we will wait for them here for them to contact us, if that is okay".

[Harndar]

"Sir, seems as if the Vry'rk are coming back." A crew member said.
"Any new changes?" This commanding officer asked
"Not from what I can see."
"Then keep an eye out just in case."
"On it."

The Resurgence exits hyperspace near Primsalis and sent a message to the Harndarians. "Hello and we have returned to go over trade negotiations with your government". 'The UTT was in the middle of a summit regarding a attack and had a shield in place, that covered the whole system". "They said that they will contact us when the summit is over and we will wait for them here for them to contact us, if that is okay".

That would be okay for the time being, just don't cause any trouble while you are here.

[The V O I D]

Eris smiled lightly and wrapped her arms around Khronos' neck. He was all around her, like a bear. Warm and comforting, but all the while with that terrible power in his limbs that she knew would be unleashed should she ask for it. Tears pricked at her eyes as she thought that. She knew he would do anything if she asked...and that was why she couldn't ask him to do anything without considering it as carefully as was humanly possible.

"Oh, my knight in shining armour." She whispered into his ear, "What would I do without you?"

She buried her face in his neck and felt Khronos hefting her aloft without any apparent exertion. She smiled at that. It felt good being here...weightless, as if in water. The only person she needed was here with her, around her. She held on tighter and let the rhythmic rise and fall of Khronos' steps lull her into a half-asleep state, her eyes staring across his face, glazed over slightly.

The Imperator's Might
Capital Dreadnought of All Remnant Fleets
The Taari Armada / Remnant

Khronos carried her back to her quarters. He enjoyed holding her in his arms. He looked at her, watching her carefully as he carried her into her room. He brought her to the bed, laying her down. He laid beside her, pulling the covers and such over them both. He moved close to her, wrapping his arms around her protectively. And then, he slept with her in his arms, not loosening in the slightest. But before he fell into slumber...

"Tomorrow, we will be husband and wife.", he whispered to her, as he kissed her forehead. Then slumber overcame him as he held her. And he had beautiful dreams of the wedding, her... everything. His people would be safe, have new worlds to live on. It was a great day. Khronos couldn't be happier. And for once, as he slept, it was calm rather than tense...

[Theyra]

The Resurgence exits hyperspace near Primsalis and sent a message to the Harndarians. "Hello and we have returned to go over trade negotiations with your government". 'The UTT was in the middle of a summit regarding a attack and had a shield in place, that covered the whole system". "They said that they will contact us when the summit is over and we will wait for them here for them to contact us, if that is okay".

That would be okay for the time being, just don't cause any trouble while you are here.

"I promise you that we will not cause trouble for you and we will leave if we have overstayed our welcome". "And can you send us a lists of the items you would wish to trade with so we can decide on what to trade with you".

[The United Tributational Territories]

The Argent Spire launched into space, knocking Dmitri off his feet, because he hadn't prepared. They slid silently out of hyperspace, and were in the middle of a system.
"Where do we go from here Lyris?" Dmitri asked, brushing himself off.

----

George floated over to the screen, and said, Religion is bullshit, I've lived longer than your people have existed and I know this to be true.

The Martells stood dumbfounded as they watched the Novakid.

The acting lord finally came to his senses, and began ranting about heresy and "those tradition defying Caridins" as a few crewmen dragged him out of sight.

---

Delta Eridani System

The Argent Spire had apparently come out of the jump in polar orbit of Delta Eridani's gas giant, Arborea.

What Dmitri could see at first was limited, as his eyes adapted to the light-blue light of the system's star, Diomedes to the Cadians.

Eventually, the UTT could see Argos, the icy world that some of the ancient city-states of Cadia had fled to when the Great Arcadian War had begun.

Finally, they saw Cadia. Even from Arborea, it was obvious why the Cadians called it the jewel of the Imperium. Between the clouds, the oceans of Cadia were the color of an brilliant sapphire, and the peaks of the Magna Hyperia Range poked through the clouds to reveal their stony peaks.

Before the Argent Spire could get any closer, one of the crewmen shouted.

"SHIP INCOMING!"

When Argent Spire turned to view the ship, some of the crewmen gasped. After all, this was the first true Cadian ship that many had seen in their lifetime.

The ICS Arngrim had the Golden Eagle, the symbol of the Imperium, emblazoned on it's hull, along with a purple stripe declaring which house it belonged to. In this case, it was House Dayne.

Lyris, attempting to keep quiet, had a smirk on her face. After all, she knew who was in command of this ship, as did every Cadian.

The crewman barely had enough time to yell to Dmitri that the ship was hailing them before the viewscreen came to life.

The Cadian bridge had many elements of the ship design the UTT had seen, but had also had some element of a old Norse longhouse like the ones back on Earth.

The commander of the ship shouted at one of her crewmen in Cadian. The crew of the Arngrim seemed well-trained, and were as unnaturally calm as Lyris was.

The commander, a young woman with dark golden-brown hair and piercing violet eyes, turned back to look at the screen. This was Rowan Dayne, one of the best captains of the Imperium, and also the first (illegitimate) daughter of Lord Darius Caridin and Lady Ashara Dayne.

She spoke in Terran, the trading language of the Imperium. "Who are you, and why are you in Imperium space?"

George started to break out into laughter the moment the Lord started to rant. Once he was taken away, George said to Ionia, That was HILARIOUS! We should do that again!

----

Dmitri was in shock. The biggest ship he had seen was the Golden Scythe, and he thought the Scythe was special. The Arngrim was maybe half the size of the Golden Scythe, which wouldn't be special usually, except for the fact that the Argent Spire was merely a transport vehicle, and had basic plasma cannons. This ship seemed to loom over them, and Dmitri had no time to react when all of a sudden, the alien on the screen began to speak. It talked in a language unknown to the UTT, and even the Universal Translator wasn't able to translate the language correctly.

Dmitri looked a Lyris and asked, "Do you know what they are saying? Never mind, of course you do. Please tell me what they are saying."

[The United Tributational Territories]

Captain Ceto was bored. Her mind had been linked into the computing system of an Ophian: it was extraordinarily quick to respond, intuitive and flexible. She could have beaten the greatest chess player of the twentieth century with contemptuous ease in this state, could have solved hundreds of complex equations in a heartbeat and barely noticed it. In fact, she did, every second and every course correction.

But the genius mind available to her was being used for data-gathering. It was ridiculous! Why was a flyby necessary? The Ophains could have simply destroyed the largest concentrations of ships in a single, surprise blow and then take the system! It was by far the best option available to them! But Scorpius wanted information, so Ceto had needed to drop herself-her ship, rather-into an orbit to gather more detailed data from the planet, most of revolving around the plant life down there apparently being tidal, which made no sense given that the moons should cause tide that was from twenty to fifty degrees off of the observed tides. It was all so stupid! The big, dumb, ships there hadn't noticed them, the bigger, dumber planets were showing no sign of reaction and she was stuck here, bored out of her mind, collecting data on the various big, dumb objects floating around the system. If only something would happen!

As the Ophian moved into orbit, the 'tidal' plant life stopped moving. It was very sudden, as if this was all calculated. The plant life then all moved into one spot, right below the Ophian, tracking it's movements. No sounds were coming from the planet, only plant life moving. The green on the planets all were tracking the Ophian, and it seemed like wherever the Ophian decided to move, the entire solar system's foliage moved in unison. It was eery. The planets almost seemed to be moving, closing in on the ship. It was a claustrophobic feeling, as if the ship was trapped. After a couple minutes of the ship monitoring the life on the planet, it tried to move to the next one. It tried. It couldn't. The planets surrounded the ship, and all at once, plant life shot onto the ship, hitting it from all angles. Spores were released. This seemed inescapable.