Beginnings of a Demigod (Closed)

[Fenvaria Republic]

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Roon Husila, Arcadia Heavy Industries Orbital Shipyards
Dock 22 Atrium
Reception Ceremony

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Picking up the clipboard, Admiral Agliullin Damir Petrovich looked it over and looked around the atrium of Dock 22. Which had four large and arching cermai metal columns in each corner and large Imperial Banners draped from each one, the air conditioning making each one appear to slightly flutter in the wind. There were three ways to get into the atrium, and each one of these ways was covered by a massive set of spruce wood doors and a set of guards. One door sat in front of him, another one to his left and the final one to his right. Each one of these doors was finely crafted and had a set of finely crafted door gun metal handles.

As for the guards, they wore their formal grey uniforms and all of them appeared to have red markings around their collar. This indicated that they were from the Imperial Army, some of the guards wore berets, indicating their enlisted status, while a select handful wore peaked caps, indicating their officer status. All of them had pistols and their shortswords on hand, it was a common cultural practice to be armed at all times. However, for the time being, the guards seemed to be relaxed with some of them smoking cigars and chatting with other guards.

Smiling a bit, it was nice to see a bit of relaxation before such a large event. In front of him sat around a dozen tables each of them with four chairs. He had doubts about how many would show but he figured having more tables and chairs would be a good thing. Each one of the tables had a small model of the Great Wolf Mother, that sat in the middle of the table. Also on each table there was a small drink menu, which had a small selection of wines, vodkas, and whiskeys. Also on the menu there were some snacks to go along and keep the guests fed.

“Admiral” came a voice behind him, this caused Admiral Petrovich to jump a bit and quickly turned around only to find that it was the Grand Admiral standing behind him.

“My lord, you shouldnt have scared me....nearly killed me.”

The Grand Admiral smiled and chuckled, placing a hand on Admiral Petrovich’s shoulder. “I know it would take more than a fright to kill you. Anyway, that is not why I am here, I am here to check up on the preparations for the party. Hopefully, several of the nations we invited will come and be impressed by how far we progressed.”

“Indeed, I hope that they will find beauty in our latest warship and more importantly I hope that they understand why we constructed such a warship. Beta has been edging closer and closer to a hellscape with the Welded pushing further into the quadrant. And with the Welded banging on our front door, wartime economy and innovation is bound to happen.”

“Indeed” replied the Grand Admiral with a sigh “Well, how goes the preparations? Do you have a plan for this party?”

“They proceed as planned and yes I do. First we shall greet the guests and reveal the warship with her escort through the covered windows behind us. After that we have a question board about the ship before finally taking them aboard and showing them a small fraction of the weapons she has on board. We will also show off her armor and new shielding, after which they will introduce some of the new technology before finally ending with the last question board.”

“What about the AMI unit?”

“Well I planned on introducing her near the beginning, when the guests board the ship and such. However, I can reveal her here at the opening ceremony.”

The Grand Admiral simply shrugged and smiled “It is your event and your planning, I am here just to observe and help out.”

“Damn you. Very well, they will see her when they board.”

“Heh,” chuckled the Grand Admiral. “Anyway it seems like a nice, but quick party...very well, carry on.”

“Thank you my lord, I will not let you down nor the Empire”

The two officers would converse for some time before one of the guards approached them and saluted, informing them that the guests had arrived and were docking at the station. With a nod the two officers walked back to the stage and took their seats. The guards quickly extinguished their cigars and moved into their assigned positions, two men on either side of each door and two men inside and outside of the atrium to help guide the guests to the atrium.

[Alexzonya]

Originally, the Thalduhm event was to be attended by the new Quadrant Commander for the GRA’s new BETACOM, Admiral Jacob Perseus. Alas, the Admiral had been called back to Arkasia at a sprint, taking as much of the quadrant fleet as could immediately depart with him. This left the GRA with a sudden shortage of suitable representatives, as the sector had been stripped of both Admirals and its best ships. The head of BETACOM was, for the moment, a senior Captain, and the Arkasians didn’t have two capital ships to rub together in the quadrant (there was one, an old Athena-class Light Battleship, that was in dock at Anchorpoint after suffering a mechanical failure, and her crew had been stripped and was en-route back to Arkasia as well.)

Which is how Captain Natalee Bailess had ended up en-route to the Thalduhn Empire. In 99.9% of her service, Bailess’ family’s status had been studiously ignored. This was only the second time that she had been pulled for duty on the basis of her father being the President; in the status-focused Thalduhm Empire, it was thought her presence might blunt the sting of the GRA being represented by a Captain. For her part, there wasn’t any outward sign except perhaps her name badge, that would indicate she was the daughter of Arkasia’s most powerful man. Brown, curly hair, cropped short and straightened, piercing blue eyes she inherited from her father, and a stature that hit almost exactly at the Arkasian human female means, in both height and girth.

Then there was her ship, the ARS Stalwart Heron. Despite having a newer two-part name, the hull itself dates back as far as Natalee does; it had been renamed to clear the old title for a newer capital ship. The old-style Endeavor-A cruiser had been left behind in Beta for a reason; her obsolete monolithic armor scheme made hull retrofits significantly more difficult, and so the vessel retained the original sleek curves of the Endeavor-class, with no bulged troop bay, protruding bombardment guns, or strap-on spinal cannon mounted above the saucer hull. There were a small number of added-on weapon blisters, but compared to more modern GRA retrofits they were sparse indeed; each blister took several times the effort to mount to the old A-series ships relative to the newer Bs and Cs. The missile batteries were the old Longbow type; while technically larger, more powerful, and longer-ranged than the Javelin type replacements that had been retrofitted to most GRA ships, the Longbows were much more expensive to build and much less flexible in deployment. Still, the mammoth launch tubes loom intimidatingly, flush against the hull about a third of the way back.

Despite the looming obsolescence and reduced capabilities of the Arkasian cruiser, the vessel’s sleek, 672 meter long hull had been carefully prepared by the shipyards at Anchorpoint; the color-changing surface layers had been refreshed and the entire ship cleaned up to parade standards, a dignified state the 40-year-old warship hadn’t seen in more than a decade. The ship’s FTL drive hums happily, and the gravitic nacelles were performing at a steady, surge-free state that they hadn’t managed since they had taken a nasty jarring during the Nyteborne war; it’s amazing what the Anchorpoint yards could accomplish in a hurry when they put their minds to it.

As the ship exits at the edge of the Roon system, the sensors begin picking up a horde of small vessels, gunships and corvettes. “The Thalduhm always have had a preference for the beehive approach,” Bailess mutters to herself. The sensors didn’t immediately pick up the new dreadnought, though she assumed they had kept it out of sight. The briefing documents had almost no information; Fleet Intelligence had very few sources in the Thalduhm Empire, and their former ally had not been forthcoming about the particular specs of their new ship prior to the event. The ship shifts into a parade color scheme on arrival; bright blues, whites, and yellows alongside blacks that are near-perfect matches for the void of space. After a curt conversation with the local traffic control, the GRA cruiser is directed towards the shipyard, where it stops short of docking and dispatches a shuttle with Captain Bailess and a pair of Marines, all in dress uniforms. Bailess makes sure her distinctive red exploration and patrol corps beret is perfectly tossed, and then steps out, before making her way to the atrium. Her eyes darted cautiously about, taking in as many details as she could; she had a diplomatic affairs tablet in a case slung around her shoulder, which would be handy for quickly checking records or taking notes if the need arose.

[Fenvaria Republic]

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Roon Husila, Arcadia Heavy Industries Orbital Shipyards
Dock 22 Atrium
Reception Ceremony

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When the GRA visitors arrived, the first thing they would notice was how cold it was on the station. As the station mimicked the average temperature and climate of Arcadia which had an average temperature of around 40F. Concerned that delegates might freeze, prior to their arrival the Admiral ordered one of the guards standing near the docking bay to start handing out heavier jackets to the visitors. Then they would be escorted to the atrium where they could see two well dressed fenvarians conversing with one another. Behind them stood what appeared to be a massive window, but for the moment the window was covered by thick metal retractable armor. Both of the fenvarians were military as they wore the standard issue naval formal uniform, one of them was holding a clipboard and was scrolling through it while the other one was listening. The one holding the clipboard was Admiral Agliullin Damir Petrovich, while the one listening was the Grand Admiral of the Imperial Astro Navy. Around the room, Bailess would see well placed tables and chairs with security lining the entrances. While they were safely within the core of the Empire, they were still well armed.

The Admiral then looked up from his clipboard and turned around, quickly spotting Captain Bailess and her escorting guards. He placed the clipboard into his heavy formal coat and began walking over to the captain with the Grand Admiral in tow. Both men had seen their fair share of warfare as scars covered their faces; however, the Grand Admiral stood out because of his ice cold eyes. Which seemed to make the room colder and had the ability to cut right through a person’s soul. But there was also the ranking on his collar that further identified him as the Grand Admiral, four blue horizontal bars over five vertical bars with the middle vertical bar being gold and the two bars around it having gold centers.

Upon reaching Captain Bailess, the Admiral gave her a true Thalduhmian salute, his right fist smacking across his left breast with a mighty thud. “Welcome, you must be from the GRA. I am Admiral Agliullin Damir Petrovich, commander of the Imperial Home Fleet and organizer of this event.” He then gestured to the individual beside him. “This the Grand Admiral Tauno Janhunen, commander of the Imperial Astro Navy. He will be overseeing the event and helping me with it.”

“Greetings.” came the Grand Admiral, his icy blue eyes studying the human woman, before then turning to her guards. “I trust that our staff has been polite and helpful, we do apologize for the uncomfortable temperatures, we do not see alot of humans on Arcadia nor in the Roon Husila system.”

“And what is your name?” asked Admiral Petrovich asked in a respectful tone and with a small smile

[Kisia]

Fleetmaster’s Quarters
LAV Naiyukeishan
en route to Roon Husila

Fleetmaster Kurisaimo Jundiri Izuimyuan stood still with her arms outstretched as her orderly dressed her in the jet-black parade dress of the Federal Astrofleet. The recent induction of the Thaldumian Empire into TSAR and the unveiling of a new class of capital ship were both very impressive and concerning for the leadership of the League, who was leery of Thaldumian intent since the 15 Minute War, even if the two states had enjoyed a friendly- if cool peace.

Jundiri hailed from Izuimyuan, a major city in the Kisian Coreworlds, with her family's impressive warrior caste lineage stretching back at least six generations of officers across the Imperial Starfleet, Republic State Navy, and now the League Astrofleet. Their family had been one of the first to back the Republican rebels during the First Republican Rising, and Jundiri had cut her teeth as a lesser Shipmaster for the rebels during the civil war, before making an even greater name for herself during the First Republic fighting pirates and subjugating native states on the frontier, before eventually becoming a full-fledged Fleetmaster both as a reward for her meritorious service, alongside happening to back the correct faction during the Second Republican Rising.

She lowered her arms as the orderly came around to fasten her collar and button the jacket, swallowing as she did so. The collar was tight- her lithe frame always trended towards having smaller uniforms made for her. It still fit well, the black double-breasted jacket sported a gold collar with a design of silver leaves, and large golden epaulettes on her shoulders with three silver stars on each side. Right below her collar hung the Great Star of the League, a platinum star with a golden sunburst, the second highest award in the League next to the Taisvanic Cross. Beyond that, a tasteful selection of medals were arranged on her chest, mostly campaign medals, close combat action medals, and her wounded-in-action medal, explicitly chosen to show the Thaldumians that they were conversing with someone who had seen combat and death close up, and feared none of it. The black and gold belt held her sword and service revolver- usually she carried a power sword, but since she presumed there would be no trouble, she had opted for a more flashy ceremonial non-powered sword instead, along with her revolver. On her right arm was an armband with the colors of her fleet, and the insignia of her particular squadron in general, with the cuffs of her jacket having five large golden cuffs with white trim, with a slightly smaller sixth cuff with a loop in the same manner denoting her rank as Fleetmaster. Her trousers were the same jet-black color of the jacket, with a broad golden stripe running down the side, terminating in well polished black leather boots.

“Your bicorne, my Lady.” the orderly said, holding a black and gold bicorne with white plumage atop it. She took it, nodding curtly at her orderly and put on the bicorne fore-to-aft, looking at herself in the large mirror. Besides the visible scarring across her face and right eye-which had scarred over, her black sclera made it look more like a featureless pit, rather than a mere lost eye. With the advent of the Welded war, cybernetics had been suspended “for the foreseeable future”, and so she had opted to bear her injury with pride, rather than hide it away with an eyepatch or glass eye.

“Thank you. You are dismissed.” Jundiri said, with her orderly giving a curt bow before making a quick exit out of her quarters. She looked over at her powered sword, briefly considering if she should take it instead, when the Shipmaster came on over comms.

“Fleetmaster! We are preparing to exit Abyssal Space into Roon Husila. Your entourage has already been prepared and is awaiting in the forward docking bay.”

“Understood. I will be there shortly.” Jundiri replied curtly, before ignoring the idea and making her way to the frontal docking bay.

Arriving in Roon Husila

The Naiyukeishan, Resplendent Triumph, was a Honmuan-class Assault Cruiser. It was one of the biggest classes of vessel in the Astrofleet before battleships proper, coming in at 2250 meters long, and designed with emphasis on knife-fights with enemy capital vessels, owing to its set of broadside mounted heavy cannons and laser and rocket pods on her port and starboard sides, alongside armament on the top and bottom of the vessel as well. She did not bear the usual grey-green and white livery of the Federal Astrofleet, but instead sported the colors of Jundiri’s flagship and particular squadron in general- bright orange with red accent, with Astrofleet insignia in white.

The Naiyukeishan would follow the directions given to it by the local Thaldumian system control, and once within range dispatched a shuttle with Jundiri, her aide-de-camp, and an attache from the Naval Intelligence Office, albeit dressed in an Astrofleet Officer’s uniform with the rank of Captain Superior of Internal Security. Besides them, a trio of guards also came along, also in parade dress similar to the officers, albeit with single-breasted uniforms and wearing shakos with white plumes instead.

Dock 22 Atrium

As the Kisian delegation boarded the station they walked in near perfect sync, the heels of their boots making distinctive sharp clicks as they followed the directions given to them by the waiting staff. They'd been informed beforehand that the Thaldumian's preferred much cooler climates comparatively speaking. As such, the delegation had opted to wear covert heater-vests under their uniforms to make their time aboard the station tolerable- however, they still accepted the jackets, opting to wear them over their shoulders in a cape-like fashion. As they approached both the Thaldumian and Arkasian delegations, they stopped, their heels clicking together in unison.

Jundiri raised her right hand and made a fist, before moving the fist over her heart in a singular swift stroke. "Well met, noble Thaldumians. I am Fleetmaster Kurisamo Jundiri Izuimyuan, Commander-in-Chief of the League Third Battlefleet. This is my aide-de-camp, Captain Ultra Nashai Tosumin Kenbariya, and Captain Major Indo Naiyuhai Eishuan, a liaison officer from the Federal Admiralty." She gestured to each in turn, each doing a curt head bow to both of the assembled Fenvarians, and then to the Arkasian in also attendance.

[Alexzonya]

“Stars above…” curses Natalee under her breath, as she steps off the shuttle and winces. I forgot how damn cold the Thalduhm like things… She hadn’t, actually, and had a warmer version of the standard dress blazer and thicker dress pants, but she was uncomfortable nonetheless. Still, the slightly shivering Captain declines the offered Fenvarian jacket; it wasn’t regulation with her uniform, and the 4 degree Celsius station wouldn’t be fatal to her… just chilly. She crosses her arms and gestures to the Marines, and they peel off before she enters the event proper; it would be very undiplomatic to bring guards with her into a formal event, after all.

Bailess returns the salute, also in the Fenvarian style. “Captain Natalee Bailess, Arkasian Starfleet Exploration and Patrol Corps. A pleasure to meet you both, Admiral Petrovich, Grand Admiral Janhunen. My apologies that Admiral Perseus couldn’t attend; he was called back to Gamma on urgent business, so I’m BetaCOM’s ranking officer until he gets back.” She bites back another shiver, and turns as she hears clicking behind her. Kisians, of course, yet another species that would be nice and warm. She returns the nod at the end of the introductions. “Captain Natalee Bailess, Starfleet Exploration and Patrol Corps. A pleasure, Fleetmaster Jundir, Captain Tosumin, Captain Naiyuhai.” She fidgets gently, her breath visible in the cold.

[Fenvaria Republic]

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Roon Husila, Arcadia Heavy Industries Orbital Shipyards
Dock 22 Atrium
Reception Ceremony

---

“Pleasure to meet you Captain Natalee Bailess” replied Admiral Agliullin Damir Petrovich with a respectful nod and a smile. He then pulled out his clipboard and started writing down the name, after writing it down he pressed enter. Instead of a seating chart appearing he was suddenly forwarding a dossier on the President of the GRA. “What the hell?” he mumbled, clearly confused as he looked up from his clipboard and began to open his mouth. That is when the Grand Admiral cleared his throat and spoke up, his icy blue eyes looking directly at the Captain.

“No need to worry, Captain, we understand that events happen and forces need to move around. Your war with the Nyteborne and the Welded have eaten vast quantities of resources, thus those battlefields need to be fed before BETACOM.” chuckled the Grand Admiral, taking out a cigar and a lighter. Placing the cigar into his mouth he then spoke as lit the lighter and then started to heat up until it was an amber red. He then extinguished his lighter and placed it away before exhaling a small cloud of white smoke. “Nevertheless, it was to be expected to see a low ranking officer.” he then waved his hand before smiling. “But I never thought that the GRA would send the President’s daughter to meet with us.”

Admiral Petrovich was about to say something when he noticed several rather tall felines wearing some old fashion double breasted jackets and even older style navy bicorne hats. While they seemed out of place he knew exactly who these representatives were, they were kisians. Several of the officers were decorated with a plethora of medals, however one of the group stood out and that was the leader. Her uniform was flashier, sporting more intricate trimming and covered in several more medals, then there was her face which was covered in scars. Which he guessed to be around a fleet commander of sorts, and quite possibly a veteran of no more than a dozen or so campaigns.

He was impressed, from what he heard about the Kisians, that officer casualties were some of the highest as they often fought until the end. Dishonor was not tolerated and many officers would commit suicide if they had dishonor themselves or their fleets. Some might call them insane, but some figured them to be sane individuals who are willing to die for their nation, true patriots they might say.

Thus to see one who has seen this much combat was impressive but yet ominous. While he held the Kisians in high regards, he like many other Thalduhmians, didn't fully trust them. When the officer walked up, he slowly squinted with suspicion and slowly moved his fingers to make it look like he was typing. After all, the two semi friendly nations did engage in a particularly bloody border skirmish some time ago. While officially called the Kisian-Thalduhm Border Crisis within the Empire, most had called it the 15 Minute War due to how long it took. Looking back to her medals, he could see that she was a veteran of that exact border war, which made the Admiral a bit uneasy.

However, it wasn't until she fully introduced herself that he realized he was dealing with a naval commander on par with his own rank. “They must be pulling out all of the stops,” he said to himself as he quickly saluted back the Kisian, repeating the Imperial salute to the Fleetmaster Izuimyuan.

“Greetings, I am Admiral Agliullin Damir Petrovich, commander of the Imperial Home Battle Fleet and the organizer of this event.”

Once the Grand Admiral was finished speaking to the GRA captain, he turned to face the newly arrived Kisians. Once more his icy blue eyes looked over the newcomers, and analyzed them. Like the good Admiral he had only heard rumors about the kisians, but he was happy to see them in the flesh. Satisfied, the Grand Admiral saluted too, before bowing slightly. “I am Grand Admiral Tauno Janhunen, commander of the Imperial Astro Navy.” He then paused and looked over the Fleetmaster. He noticed the Kisian-Thalduhm Border Crisis medal on the Fleetmaster and stared at her, his eyes burning into hers. For a few moments he said nothing and then unexpectedly spoke “Well, I didn't expect the Kisians to send us a soldier of the lastest scuffle....I am truly surprised.”

Once the Grand Admiral finished his introduction and commented on the medal. Admiral Petrovich continued, trying to hold back his rage towards the Grand Admiral, “As I told the Arkasian Captain, while the Grand Admiral is higher ranking than me, he will be helping me with the event.”

[Alexzonya]

Natalee bristles at the backhanded comment about her rank, and the other commitments of the Arkasian Starfleet, but does her best to keep her face impassive. Alas, she’s not a diplomat by trade, so a semblance of a glare escapes anyway, her dark hazel eyes meeting the Grand Admiral’s without flinching. She then coughs, doing her best to do so politely as the smoke washes over her. Bleh. What anyone got out of smoking tobacco had always been beyond her, and indeed the foul habit was almost unheard of within the GRA.

“My father’s position is unrelated,” she lies, her face only a bit flushed. Of course, the Arkasians who planned for this event had supposed she might be taken more seriously than a generic Captain whose last name wasn’t Bailess and whose father wasn’t the leader of a major interstellar power… but it seemed that wasn’t the case, at least as far as the Thalduhm were concerned. “I am here as a Starfleet officer, the representative of the Galactic Republic of Arkasia, not in a personal or political capacity.” She coughs again, and reflexively waves away the smoke.

Looking around the room, she couldn’t escape the feeling that the Thalduhm had expected a larger crowd. That the Kisians were here wasn’t a surprise… but where was the rest of TSAR? While the Fuvuni weren’t local, surely the Viprans could have afforded to send someone to their newest ally’s major event? Apparently not. Natalee notes this down internally, an interesting tidbit. Meanwhile, the absence of the Phoenix Domain wasn’t overly surprising despite their original interest; they’d have access to all of the Arkasians’ reports on the affair (and the strategic situation at Roon Husila) after Bailess and her cruiser reported back to the Anchorpoint.

[Kisia]

Jundiri felt the Grand Admiral's eyes wash over her. She matched his stare with her own, face hard and unflinching as he looked over her delegation, with particular detail to her medals. For several seconds time seemed to slow down, and as she continued to lock eyes with the Grand Admiral her ears tilted back in severe annoyance- bordering on aggression, as she repressed her immediate reflex to brandish her sword at the man. "If only this had been a few years earlier..." she mentally longed.

Tosumin discreetly looked at her superior and noticed that she seemed very ready to settle old scores and pondered if a momentary breach in protocol was worth preventing a potential international incident, when suddenly the man made a quip about not expecting veterans of the most recent crisis to be in attendance, and she mentally exhaled a sigh of relief as she noticed Jundiri's ears slowly returning to... a state of mild annoyance. "My country felt it prudent to send an officer that had shed blood with the Thaldumian people in battle, out of respect for your people's virtue and courage. While we share a... fragile peace, my country is willing to overlook past grudges. My opinions on the matter are irrelevant to the will of the country." Jundiri replied politely, yet with an air of sharpness to her words, before giving a slow nod to Admiral Petrovich. "My compatriots and I are eager to see the unveiling of your newest vessel."

She then turned to Captain Bailess, flashing a brief smile. "Ah, my apologies. For some reason I thought the last name familiar, but I was unable to place it until now. It is my honor to be in the presence of the daughter of the President of Arkasia." She replies, aware of the deliberate omission. The Arkasians were another interesting peoples, as they were very forward and ambitious. If their national title of 'Galactic Republic' was to be believed, perhaps too ambitious. Who else could claim to be the rightful inheritors of Heaven and the Galaxy besides the Kisian State? Regardless, this was still something of a diplomatic function, and decorum had to be obeyed. She was not a member of Barbarian Affairs, nor did she possess a silver tongue. A mild slight for the honor of the military, would suffice for now.

[Fenvaria Republic]

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Roon Husila, Arcadia Heavy Industries Orbital Shipyards
Dock 22 Atrium
Reception Ceremony

---

Admiral Petrovich sighed with relief as he heard the Kisian commander, Fleetmaster Izuimyuan, and her subordinates express great interest in the reveal of the Great Wolf Mother. It seemed that things were, for lack of a better term, going as planned. While it’s announcement didn't draw alot of heads, it nevertheless brought two potential naval rivals here.

The first one being, the Kisians. They were known to the Thalduhmians for their large and well armored capital warships. If the 15 Minute War was anything to go by, it was that they preferred heavier firepower on their warships and like the Empire, numerous warships. Not to mention the same warrior spirit that was in many of the Thalduhmians.

The second one being the Arkasians. While a close ally of the Empire since the days of SATMA, they have proceeded to expand their influence and military strength into the Beta Quadrant of the galaxy. Their presence here was more or less concerning because at some point the Empire’s influence and the GRA’s influence would clash which could result in rising tensions between the two nations.

However, he was sighing even more as it seemed that the Fleetmaster calmed down for the moment. ”The last thing I, no, our nation needs, is another goddamn international incident. We just got over rougher relations with the Kisians and just got into TSAR, not to mention we got the Welded breathing down our necks in Sror. Pissing off our new allies will only make things one hundred times more complicated”. thought Admiral Petrovich as he gave a slight but respectful bow to the Kisian Fleetmaster. “I am sure that you will not be disappointed in our new vessel, while she is not as grand in size as your ships, she will nevertheless be quite powerful. Boasting some of the finest weapons and crew the Empire has to offer. Please, take a seat, the proceedings will start soon.”

---

Some time would pass and the representatives of each nation would take a seat at their respective tables, as mentioned before each table had a small, mono-colored model of the new warship. While it didn't show off most of the intricate details of the warship, it focused on the major design points. It was clear that the ship followed the more traditional post 17 Year War style design that was common with the Imperial Astro Navy. The delegates would clearly see four turrets, with two turrets facing towards the bow and the stern of the ship. These turrets were arranged in a superfiring position, and each turret had three cannons on them.

On the bow of the ship, it was possible to make out a distinctive wolf-like head ornamentation that made the ship look longer than it was. It was also possible to notice four engines, two large ones and two small ones, which were mounted to the back of the ship.

”Kind of a waste given that only two nations showed up for the ceremony. thought the Admiral to himself as he looked out at the rather empty large room, and the empty tables. He could see two sets of waiters walking back and forth, each one of them bring glasses of water and local alcohol to the representatives. “Oh well, let us get this thing rolling”.

With a sigh, Admiral Petrovich got up from his seat at the stage and walked over to the podium, the Grand Admiral then also got up and followed suit. Once arriving at the podium, the Admiral tapped the microphone a few times, testing that the system worked. Light thumps resonated through the room which caused a small smile to appear on his face, but it then disappeared as he once more focused on the task. He then picked up the papers on the podium and finally spoke.

“Representatives from the Kisian League and the Galactic Republic of Arkasia, on behalf of the Thalduhm Empire and the Imperial Crown, I welcome you to our nation and to this ceremony. Today is a special occasion as the Empire will reveal a new class of warship and the new flagship of the Imperial Astro Navy.” He then turned around to face the massive blast shutters that covered the two large and thick windows that looked down into the dock. “Behind these doors, resides that vessel, a testament to Imperial Power and technology but also a symbol of hope for our Empire in these times as we fight the Welded in Sror.”

When the Admiral finished his sentence the massive shutters started to rumble open and slowly warm sunlight from Roon Husila flooded into the room. Providing some warmth to the cold room. However, this was overshadowed by what came next. Slowly the shutters revealed the hull of a massive warship, first there was a massive golden wolf head ornament then came the ugly light blue grey hull color that was common with most Thalduhmian ships. Next came the massive 55.8cm cannons of the warship and the thick gunhouses, which were then followed up with some of the secondary weapons which included two heavy cruiser grade turrets on the side.

The Admiral took the time to drink from a nearby water glass, but also started watching the representative’s faces for any sort of expression change. Internally, he was most curious about Captain Bailess’s opinion of the warship so far, considering that she is human. The Empire was known for fielding hundreds or even thousands of smaller warships during battles, with most of the human nations agreeing that the Empire’s ships were closer to that of old Earth wet navy craft. However, despite their smaller size, they still packed a punch.

Placing down his now empty cup right as the shutters stopped, he continued his little speech. Throwing his hand back and turning his body to the side, he then shouted “By order of Iron Emperor John Frederick, Iron Emperor of the Empire, protector of the Empire and her colonies, Divinely chosen by our Goddess. I present the first ship of the Holy Retribution class Super Dreadnought, the Great Wolf Mother! Named after our Goddess, for she shall show us strength and duty! She shall guide us to eternal victory and prosperity.”

With a sigh, the Admiral then turned back to the representatives, “Are there any questions?”

[Alexzonya]

Having escaped from the blown smoke and formalities, and having managed to find her seat, Captain Bailess watched attentively through the presentation of the new vessel, tapping out notes on her tablet as she did so. In such proximity, to an untrained eye, any naval vessel would appear mammoth. Bailess’ eye was not untrained, and she realizes that her first command, the Patrol Frigate Galavanting Giraffe, was actually longer (though not as thick, nor as bristling with visible weaponry) compared to the Great Wolf Mother, the results of the significant deviations in doctrine between the two militaries. Typical Fenvarian gun configuration… actually, they added a turret, to the stern… could that have gone on the underside, mounted forward? She reminds herself that Fenvarians preferred to fight broadside, and insisted that their vessels be, literally, seaworthy, for use in-atmosphere as oceangoing craft. An enormous deviation from Arkasian doctrine on the matter, certainly. She does her best to keep her face even as she takes a drink of her water, and then decides to follow up with an actual question.

“Very interesting, Admiral,” she replies, diplomatically. “I’m sure she will serve your nation well as a flotilla leader… or, pardon me, is she more like an Arkasian monitor, where they are grouped together into batteries to concentrate their firepoint and engage larger vessels on more equal terms? In short, I’m interested in how the new class will integrate with your existing doctrine.”

[Fenvaria Republic]

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Roon Husila, Arcadia Heavy Industries Orbital Shipyards
Dock 22 Atrium
Reception Ceremony

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Upon hearing the rather amusing question from Captain Bailess from the GRA, Admiral Petrovich turned to face the human captain and with a short grin replied to her question. It was a particularly good question as it was something that the Imperial Military, mostly the Imperial Navy, was still trying to figure out. There were two major factions within the Imperial Navy that wanted to use the new Super Dreadnought as the pride and joy of the nation, in short, sink as many resources into the project as possible. To many this faction would be referred to as the “Pridists”, and encompassed a small percentage of the Navy. But, somehow they managed to get a stranglehold on some influential Naval personnel. On the other hand, the faction that opposed them would be referred to as the “Conservatives”, favoring the more traditional military approach and continue to sink resources into the vast cruiser and battlecruiser fleets of the Imperial Navy. This faction served as the majority of the Imperial Navy and retained a number of influential Navy personnel; like himself, the Lord Quartermaster Admiral, Lord Commandant of the Navy Command just to name a few. However, currently in the faction struggle it seemed the Conservatives were winning.

On one hand, he could lie about the situation and affirm that they had a doctrinal plan with the super dreadnought. This would have been preferable if there were more than two nation representatives here or nations that the Empire was standoff-ish towards. However, considering that the two nation representatives were on good terms with the Empire, he figured that he could come right out and say they do not have a doctrinal plan currently. After staying quiet for a few moments he decided to mix the two options together.

“As of currently, the Holy Retribution class of Super Dreadnought is a symbol of Imperial Might, both military and technological, but also its resolve in the face of danger.” replied the Admiral with a soft nod as he looked at Captain Bailess. “For the lack of a better term, a propaganda piece to bolster the morale of the Imperial military and the nation as the Welded offensive across the galaxy has caused some concern in the Thalduhm Empire. As for the Great Wolf Mother specifically, she will remain under the protection of a Battle Fleet sized formation until we deem it necessary to deploy her into combat.”

The Admiral then paused for a few moments, letting the GRA captain and others take their notes if they so chose to. “However, planned role of the Holy Retribution class of Super Dreadnought within the current doctrine, they will be focused on command and control, bombardments, and support for other vessels. While they do have some of the thickest armor in the Astro Navy, they are still prime targets for small fast attack craft and other light vessels carrying anti ship weapons. Thus due to the percieved threat she will pose, the warship would most likely be targeted first.” he then sighed and shifted some of the papers on the podium “However, due to the ‘green’ nature of the warship and its class, further actual combat testing will need to be decided, but that is for the future. In addition to this, the ship still needs to undergo further shakedowns and calibration of its hyperdrive. I do appreciate the question, it was a thoughtful one. Is there anymore?”