A Diplomatic Meeting [Closed/TM Only]

[United States of Conner]

Conner City, United States of Conner
Earth, October 2072

President Joshua Swanner stood up from his seat at the massive conference table, swiping the holodisplay away for a moment. Any brief rest he could give his mind from the relentless briefing he had been going through was a good thing. Walking to the window, he said to nobody in particular, "Nick, open the windows. Give me a view."

From nowhere in particular is where a voice responded. "As you wish, Mr. President. I have Secretary Steager waiting downstairs, shall I send her up?" Swanner simply nodded and the AI continued. "I'll send her up. She looks rather tired, though you all do. I'll send some coffee, you need it." Swanner just smiled softly and nodded again. The AI audibly sighed as Steager walked in the room.

She came to stand at his right, looking with him at the city. They were on the top floor of the Capitol Building, 175th floor and nowhere near the top of the city. It really was a beautiful sight, especially at dusk. Hovercraft buzzed through the skies, their AIs taking them around the skyscrapers reaching for the sky. Swanner didn't want to look away, but the click of the door opening brought his attention to the worker who had brought his coffee. Swanner put on a smile and nodded once more. "Everything alright ... Sam?"

The worker clearly had had his day made with the President knowing his name. "Sir, the elevator up here was fast enough the coffee almost came out of the cup. Thankfully, it's all here. Same as always." Swanner thanked him, and the worker left as he returned to the window. Steager glanced at him. "You really do look tired."

Swanner just smiled. "I was elected in 2055. Think about how far we've come - AI was still in development then. This was one of the tallest buildings in the city, and flying between buildings was illegal. How can we even tell where we'll go next?"

Steager took in the view - glittering buildings, streams of people walking through the streets, sleek cars moving as streaks. "I just took an elevator going a mile a minute to get up here. I used to be able to walk from my car to my office. Who knows anymore?"

Swanner considered her point. "The Luxians always taught that life is always progress. It isn't the progress that's surprising, but the breaks that are. We figured out pretty damn well how to avoid the speedbumps."

At this point, the voice came back into the room. "I hate to interrupt the waxing, but the first jet has landed at CCI. T-thirty minutes until arrival." Swanner went back to his seat, Steager taking the one next to him, as an army of advisors and security entered the room. Swanner just pulled his holodisplay back up, projecting graphs and maps in the air in front of him.

"Nick, prep me for the meeting. Take our guests on the scenic road. This'll be important."

[North Timeria]

President Raso flew on Red Moon headed towards CCI. This was a pretty important meeting between 4 powerful nations at the turn of the century. The 22nd century was approaching and it was clear times had changed. With technology advancing and the discovery of intelligent life, it was clear nothing would be the same from this point.

President Raso was on the phone with Speaker of the House Kai Williams, from the Social Nation Group. Aneya Raso was already in her third term and congress had introduced a bill to limit the number of terms someone could be President.

"Of course I'm going to sign the thing Kai..." as Raso ensured him that she supported the bill a flight attended came to her seat.

"President Raso we're coming into CCI now." Raso thanked her and strapped on her seatbelt.

"Kai... I'm coming into CCI now. My party is on board with this bill and when it gets to me there will be no need to worry about a veto."

Raso hung up the phone and settled into her seat. She had no plans to veto such a bill as she knew what consequences would come. And frankly, Raso had no interest in running for a 4th term.

As the plane landed at CCI the President and Secretary of State prepared to greet the crowd. As the doors opened President Raso stepped out and waved to the crowd there to great here. Down below secret service waited for her along with Connerian vehicle. She made her way down the stairs followed by the Secretary of State and entered the vehicle down below.

The car drove through the large city and Raso took in the sights. There were people along the streets they waved and had signs near the conference building. Raso stepped out of the car and headed into the building.

[The Atmoran Diplomat]

Conner City, United States of Conner
Earth, October 2072

Empress Katherine II and Prime Minister the Viscountess Campbell were flying in a Fokker 123 it was a large airplane built by the Atmoran based company Fokker to be the official air transport of the Empress of Atmora to carry out her duties abroad. The gathering of the four great powers of the world be gathering in Conner City. As the 22nd century was fastly approaching it is clear of the importance of a large and power FTL capable spatial fleet to project and show a nations power--and Atmora had the second largest and advanced spatial fleet; the 22nd century looked bright for the Empire.

Victoria was seated across the Empress looking out the window at the skies over the USC. Victoria will be the youngest person at the meeting, she was only 25 and it was barely 3 years ago that she had begun her tenure and won the 2069 Liberal Leadership and beat her father: Prime Minister Sir Mariano Campbell for whom in recent history was labeled as Atmora's greatest Prime Minister.

Captain Boksen came over the intercom and informed the pair that they'll be soon landing at CCI, the Empress and Victoria strapped on their seatbelts for the descent into Conner City.

As the aircraft landed and the stairs were placed and the door was opened the Empress and the Prime Minister waved to the crowd and walked down to meet with Connerian Secret Security and got into the hovercraft.

.

[Irav]

Presidential plane, International Air Space.

''Estimated time until arrival at Connerian City International Airport is approximately thirty-five minutes.'' Arthur, president Volkerink's personal AI said calmly. As Volkerink's aircraft soared through the skies at speeds unheard of decades ago. For him the 2060's and in extension the 2070's had been a decade of enormous technological advances and social developments, as humanity broke the light speed and also made first contact with both friendly and hostile alien species.

With these advancements and developments in full swing and gaining in momentum. The four strongest nations of planet Earth had arranged a conference for themselves, those being the United States of Conner, North Timeria, the Atmoran Empire, and the Iravian Federation. Now that the twenty-second century is closing in and with the before mentioned social and technological developments it had become awfully clear that humanity needed to establish a number of common goals for themselves. Or at the very least they should be able to stop the pointless bickering among themselves. If for whatever odd reason humanity should fail here it would become a nightmare for them to fight for a suitable place in interstellar politics.

This was the philosophy of none other than president Jan-Douwe Volkerink, a seasoned veteran of many military campaigns and an extremely experienced politician. A man that was not by any means afraid to respond with military force, nor to waste young man's lives to accomplish these military actions. Neither would he shy away from causing behind the scenes political scandals to remove his enemies and opponents from their positions, or to instigate and justify a military conflict.

However, of course there were those who were fortunate enough to see an entirely different side of the ninety-one year old president and former Field Marshal. These were many of the people that he had worked closely with during his time in the United Forces and those who would be able to see through his usually ruthless and rather evil looking appearances. Instead of a ruthless military man they would see his cunning- and cleverness and that what he lacked in charisma and conversational skills he could more than make up for with his exceptionally high intelligence. Where others would see his inability to care for others and perhaps sometimes even a monster, others would find a passion to preserve his country and to see it thrive with a determination that would last a lifetime.

''Understood, thank you Arthur.'' He replied as he looked up to the rather small hologram appearance on his desk. ''Could you perhaps take it upon yourself to alert Van Eerd and have him meet me in my office? We have a few crucial things we need to discuss for our upcoming conference.'' Volkerink spoke as he looked down upon the figure of a man, no larger than a pencil, that was the hologram projected by his personal AI Arthur.

''Of course I will Mr. President. He shall be here in approximately seventy seconds.'' Arthur replied ever so truthfully, while the seat of vice-president Van Eerd was vibrating on the other side of the aircraft. With an urgent message dispatched to his phone it wouldn't be long before vice-president Van Eerd would show up at the presidential office.

[United States of Conner]

Swanner had finished preparing as the AI's voice came back into the room.

"Mr. President, our guests have landed and are en route. The first delegation - the Timerians - are in the building. The Atmorans and the Iravians are already on their way. We're ready to go."

Swanner nodded. "Thank you, Nick. Steager and associates, we have our papers ready? Good. I don't think we're missing anything else. All hands on deck, we're good to go."

The AI's voice came up once more. "You aren't on a boat, sir, and I know you get seasick. T-30 seconds until arrival. I'll be in your ear if you need me." Swanner nodded again as the AI's voice cut out, only to reappear in his ear, oblivious to the rest of the Connerian diplomats and security. "Just you and me now, sir. I'll have all relevant materials ready to go."

Swanner chuckled softly and thought, You can hold conversations with dozens of people at once, Nick. I'm not too worried about loading times. The AI made a sound that could have been a laugh. Swanner cut out his neural interface for just a second, to get some peace and quiet in his head. Having an AI in his head was nice, but it also could be a hassle when he essentially was thinking out loud. The price of convenience.

Any second now, the first delegation would enter the conference room through the doors, take their seats at the glass table, and they would begin.

[North Timeria]

President Raso headed up the elevator to the 175th floor which was quite an interesting floor to hold a meeting on. The elevators made quick work of the trip and President Raso was walking into an elaborate conference room. Once inside President Swanner was patiently waiting.

"Good evening Mr. President... Glad that we could come together on this day to meet. I have some important topics I would like to bring up and I think this would be the perfect time to do so."

Most of this dealt with the coming of the 22nd century; goals and achievement she wished to be accomplished before the end of the 21st. She also wanted to discuss the future of their alliances and global cooperation. Without a major antagonist, there wasn't much holding the nations together. They were all very competitive but their understand of the world and desire for peace kept things together.

"The other delegations should be up shortly and I'm looking forward to discussing these topics with them... And I almost forgot to tell you that our fleet ran into some trouble the other day on Eumia. Some fucking drone satelliteS engaged our ships. We were running test of their technology and the things went crazy. If you're traveling through be cautious."

[The Atmoran Diplomat]

As the Empress and the Prime Minister got into the elevator; Victoria tried her best to appear calm and corrected her pin on the right side of her blazer and held her hands in a lower position while quietly tapping her feat in nervousness. It wasn't like in the years of her Premiership that she hasn't sat down with foreign dignitaries before; however this meeting was her first time she had to speak to a room full of foreign leaders and dignitaries.

As the elevator reached near to the 175th floor Victoria thought You can do this, Vic. I won't allow this meeting to get the better of me, I'm the granddaughter of Bernard Campbell, and the IJzeren Vrouw. The Empress had her arms crossed in front of her simply waiting for the elevator to stop and open to the 175th floor before it did she looked at her Prime Minister, Katherine didn't worry about Victoria she knew that she would recollect herself and be prepared for the meeting when that door opened.

When the elevator doors opened Empress Katherine and the Viscountess Campbell walked into the the conference and per tradition it was the Empress that greeted the US President first. The Empress walked up to President Swanner and gave him a polite smile.

"Greetings Your Excellency... It's a pleasure to be back to your magnificent city once again."

Next to greet Swanner was the Prime Minister; Victoria reached out her hand to shake the President's hand.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. President, I do hope that we shall have a peaceful meeting. Her Majesty and I are delighted to be here today."

Victoria didn't bother to bring up any developing news with the UASC or from the Department of Colonial Affairs and it's branches... yet; for she suspected whatever she might say the President may have already have been informed about it already and she'd simply wait until the meeting to bring them up.

[Irav]

Last but not least president Jan-Douwe Volkerink and his right-hand man vice-president Ruben van Eerd had entered the elevator. Within only seconds this thing had taken them from the bottom floor to one a few hundred meters higher in the building. A couple of last thoughts passing through their minds before they would enter the conference room.

Unsurprisingly to many, president Volkerink didn’t think much of any of the other attendees. He had developed an entire military career, had fought in several wars, and had been promoted several times before any of the other heads of state were even born. If anyone knew how to fight conflicts and lead a country it would be him, and he solemnly believed in this.

Van Eerd too wouldn’t shy away from a conference every now and then, especially if much would depend on its outcome, as was the case today. He believed that if only everyone could join their forces for once, if only for a decade, the nearby universe could be at their knees. However that was for later. Today he too would have to prove himself a capable speaker and make up for his partners conversational shortcomings, something that he’d grown quite familiar up to this point.

‘’Greetings mister president, misses president, empress, prime minister.’’ Volkerink said in a neutral voice as he entered the room. He noticed that the other delegates had already arrived and had already began chit-chatting left and right.

‘’It’s an honour to be invited today mister president.’’ Van Eerd spoke as he greeted the other attendees. He always had seen himself as having superior manners compared to Volkerink and he enjoyed the small moments in which he could show it.

President Volkerink wasted little to no time as he took a seat at the table, wishing for the first round of negotiations and debates to begin as soon as possible. He had a thousand things to discuss and a thousand more he thought were worth mentioning.

Vice-president van Eerd on the other hand walked over to empress Katherine and prime-minister Campbell, wishing to make a quick chat before beginning with the first round of talks.

[United States of Conner]

Swanner nodded and smiled as Katherine and Victoria as he shook the Viscountess's hand. "It's great to see you both." He was about to continue when a voice whispered in his ear.

"Mr. President, you're needed briefly outside."

Swanner then gestured towards the table. "Please, make yourselves comfortable. We're going to get started in just a minute." Turning away, he made for the door, where he was met by two Special Services agents. They took him down the hallway and around the corner, flanking him on either side. Waiting for him was the head of SPEAR, Andrea Markson. Having a meeting to get to, Swanner was the first to dispense with all plesentries. Military efficiency and all that. "Go."

Markson nodded. "Sir, we have some unrecognized signals eminating from deep space. We aren't sure what they are at the moment, but we're required to inform you that we've picked something up and will alert you of any further developments."

Her real meaning was clear: protocol, nothing more. Swanner shook her hand and replied wearily, "Well, I have a meeting to get to. Thank you, Andrea."

"Thank you, Mr. President" faded away as Swanner returned straight back to the conference room. He had been gone for maybe 45 seconds in total at this point. He wasn't too worried about what Markson had told him, in fact, he had already pushed it to the back of his mind. Anything not relevant to the conference before him was gone, as the doors swung back open. He raised his voice just a little bit, but enough to get that commanding tone SHIELD instilled in a man. "Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you so very much for coming. Take your seats, please. It's time to begin."

[Irav]

Volkerink first looked at the door at had just closed. When he looked back he leaned back in his chair and felt his watch vibrating on his left wrist. From the distinct pattern of the vibrations he could tell it was his personal AI and assistant Arthur. He too could tell it was tell it was an urgent message.

The president took a quick look at the other delegations. The Atmorans, the Timerians, the Connerians, and of course his own delegation. Volkerink quickly answered the call from Arthur and put his watch near his mouth, so he could speak with his assistant, while not attracting too much attention from the others, who seemed more busy with each other than with him.

‘’Arthur. What is important enough to disturb this conference?’’ Volkerink asked slightly annoyed by this AI its timing. He always found some sort of enjoyment from speaking with Arthur, but this was one of the few times he couldn’t appreciate it.

‘’Mr. President. Throughout the Federation unidentifiable signals have been intercepted, these signals have also been intercepted by Connerian, Atmoran, Timerian services. I have been unable to find a match in our alien database and I have asked the aforementioned nations to do the same. Thus far all results have come back negative.’’ Arthur spoke in a somewhat monotone voice as his face appeared as a tiny hologram above the watch.

‘’It has been noted, but I don’t have time to investigate nor coordinate an effective response. You are going to have to take this up with Galahad.’’ Volkerink explained to his assistant.

Galahad was perhaps the most ambitious AI project in the world. Developed by several institutes and government agencies to assist the Federation President with his work. This meant that Galahad was effectively the second in command in Irav, only being overshadowed by the president and at times his vice-president. Galahad too was the AI that would oversee anything from the economy on Gaea to troop deployments on Earth. It was everywhere and anywhere and would be the first to notify the president when he saw it fit.

‘’Yes Mr. President. Galahad has placed the Federation forces on high alert and has ordered that no signal be send back. He too has asked all other governments to do the same.’’ Arthur explained. Saying that Galahad had already been working on a response.

‘’Noted. Keep me informed Arthur. If anything happens I would like to know.’’ Volkerink added before closing communications with his personal AI and assistant.

Despite not enjoying the home field advantage and being a thousand or more kilometers away from his capital city, the president always made an effort to remain well-informed about the world around him. This meant that even though Galahad was effectively in charge at the moment, he would be following the AI’s every move.

Volkerink trusted Galahad with everything concerning the Federation. Yet he too wanted to feel in control at all times and thus would demand that Arthur would keep him updated. Even if this would mean coming off as a rude and uninterested man at the conference. This part of his personality could be contributed to his participation in the Phanonn War, which nearly caught the Iravians unaware and had come as a nasty surprise for the unprepared UFSC forces.

[North Timeria]

Capt. Andrew Rain sat on the bridge as the unidentified ships cruised passed. Their fleet had just entered space outside of the Solar system and continued to move forward as if they were headed towards Earth.

“Sir...Unable to make contact with or identify the ships.” Just as the AI appeared in the bridge weapons systems across the port side began to light up. On the port side of the ship 3 point defense guns engaged a number of missiles headed towards the destroyer.
The crew looked amazed as the large fleet of at least 20 ships closed in on them. As the ship's defense went live the ship’s AI Lena requested to make an emergency FTL jump.

“Lena what the hell is this?”

“Sir I am unable to identify these ships and have attempted to make contact with them to no success...enemy fleet is too large, they will overwhelm our defenses and a critical hit is inevitable.”

Capt. Rain went over to his command station to get a full review on the battlefield. Their ship was out numbered and even if the nearest patrol was able to get here it would be futile.

“Sir our best option is the alert the home fleet and assist them in a fight to repel the attackers.”

“Lena jump protocol Unicorn!” The ship was connected to a wormhole system that patrols used around the Solar system. This allowed for ships to make quick jumps while on patrols. It was a short distance jump and only to be used in emergency situations.


After completing their jump to NORIA’s home station Asteria, Cpt. Rain made contact with Admiral Cyris Wolf on board the NORIA Mizuchi. The Mizuchi was a Ryuu class ship and led the North Timerian home fleet. They were assembled at Asteria and had little time to prepare. As the ships detached from the base they moved into position to intercept the incoming threat.

Over open channels Admiral Wolf sent out a warning to ships in the solar system.

“Unidentified hostile ships have been engaged outside of the solar system and are still on course towards Earth. Ship origin is unknown but are confirmed hostile. Please move in to intercept and switch communications channels to former FDC-Sierra. Estimated 35 hostile ships.”