Civil War on Contrai [FT, OPEN]

[Contrai]

Civil War on Contrai!

Incoming Transmission -
Sender: Federal Republic of Contrai
Subject: Civil Takeover
Emergency Transmission Proceeds:
Greetings Foreign Leaders, As I am sure you are already aware the civil war has worsened. In the last three months alone the Contraian Rebellion Movement has taken control of most of our icy world. Our population is starving and contact with nearby systems has been lost. Without support this could be our final transmission. If you can, please help. It's only a matter of time before the maj{} [ERROR] - Transmission Ended

Signal lost [0.13-423.2 /// 23]
Location [System 132- Planet 4 "Contrai"]

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

Tag.

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

Drifting rather aimlessly across the void of space was the Shadowship Jaxis-Fel massive flagship ketch of Kell Drexis the Revanant, leader of the House of Shadow. Surrounding the vessel were 440 other ketches of the House of Shadow, in addition to the fleet was around 85 ketches of the subservient House of Talons, which had (begrudgingly) accepted vassalage under Drexis following the recent campaigns in an icy asteroid belt between the two houses. After all, when the other option was imminent annihilation, there was not much choice. Following his triumph over the Talons, Drexis now sought more conquest, and was now with his newly bolstered forces searching for such a target. Drexis sat upon his throne aboard his ketch when one of his barons, approached him with news. The lordly creature informed him of a transmission that had been intercepted by one of the forward scouts of the Talons fleet. The transmission seemed to be issued in desperation, and was in another tongue that required some decoding and translation, and had detailed a very interesting fact: wherever this had come from was almost completely isolated, starving, and festering from internal conflict. The planet was as a sickly member of a herd, ripe for being taken down by opportunist predators. And opportunist Drexis certainly was. The House of Shadow was known for it's subterfuge and conniving schemes, and true to such a reputation, Drexis formulated a perfect scheme...

Drexis ordered the signal to be traced to it's point of origin, an icy, frigid planet in a system only a few minuets jump-time away from their current location. Drexis ordered 10 ships from the House of Talons, and one of his own House to make the jump led by the Kell (now known as Elder Baron) of the House of Talons, Naksis the Skulking (after all, if the plan did not work, there was no sense in risking too many his own people) to the planet, while the rest of his forces remained where they were, far away from any risk of detection, but only minuets away if necessary.

The ten silver ketches of the House of Talons, and the one of ebony from the House of Shadows appeared in the system in great ruptures of violet. A brief, rudimentary transmission was issued towards the planet as the ships held their position. Hopefully, these creatures could translate it.

Code: Select all

Those of the Fallen contact you. Answering distress call. If thee want aid, must meet Kell Naksis on board ship. Await response.

[Contrai]

The tiny Contrarian vessel docked with the what seemed like the flagship of the fleet. A massive, dark and towering battlecruiser casting a shadow over Contrai itself. The poor world, destroyed by months of relentless civil war, sending its envoy to greet its savior. Jordan Mark, the emergency leader of Contrai was almost shocked. Preliminary scans of the fleet's hulls showed traces of damage, the interior was shielded. This was a risky move, flying straight into an unknown battlefleet, unarmed and with little hope of escape if things turned ugly. But it was the only hope ...

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

Here is an image of what Fallen look like, in case you are unfamiliar for a visual. Except, the vandals you encounter will be adorned with silver cloaks and armor of the House of Talons rather than the red shown. For future reference, Fallen of the House of Shadow wear dark grey cloaks with the black emblem of my flag, and have black colored armor.

In the bridge of the Feraxis-Dryn, Naxsis crossed his four arms and uttered a guttural laugh. Too simple he thought, they had not even sent a reply in words, but immediately sent this tiny vessel to meet him. If these aliens had been Fallen, sending such a miniscule vessel to greet him would have been an insult, but of course, these were not fallen. A distant metallic clang issued from the lower decks as the vessel docked with his ship. Naxsis ordered a squad of his vandals and a captain towards the docking bay to greet the presumed leader of the aliens, and bring him to the throne room. At the same time, a captain and five vandals took positions on a balcony overlooking the vast throne room above the throne itself, all cloaked with active camouflage and hidden from view, essentially invisible.

The four vandals and captain arrived at the docking bay, as the doors light flashed blue before sliding open at the middle. They halted just inside the door a few meters from the alien ship, waiting for them to present themselves, the Fallen clicking and hissing in their own language expressing interest in what they would look like.

[Contraian Rebellion Movement]

-"The Fortress", Rebel Strong-Point and Orbital Communications Base [Location: Contrai]-
The Vice General put The Fortress on full alert. How did the Federals ever come up with these ships! They're broke and the Federal Navy was defeated back at the start of the war. A Rebel Lieutenant spoke up, "Sir, they don't seem to bear any federal markings, It wouldn't be crazy to suggest that these aren't from the Feds, or even Contrai Itself. We're detecting heavy shielding on those cruisers, I doubt we'd stand a chance in a fight. They have energy weapons that far surpass even the greatest of Federal weaponry. They're not human sir, I can tell you that". It truly puzzled the Vice General; his cigar almost falling out of his mouth.

But the Vice General had a war to win "Ready the Fleet!, we're gonna find out who these aliens are."

[Contrai]

Jordan Mark, and with a personal escort of Federal Guards crawled through the tiny docking port, which in turn led into a giant room. Alien faces in brilliant silver robes were there to greet him, but Jordan was going to "skip" the formalities. He knew who these aliens were, The Fallen. The stuff of nightmares, responsible for major conflicts in nearby space. The Aliens, presumably Vandals, guided him along a long hall into a grand throne room.

The Prime Minister of Contrai was not that gullible though, and activated the latest of Contraian Technology: A Personalized Shield Inducer (PSI), undetectable and capable of working inside other electromagnetic fields, a shield inside a shield, how poetic. The leader of the Vandals pointed to the guards in an alien, distorted language. But he understood full well, it was common diplomatic practice among meeting empires to rid of guards and talk 1-1.

Even so, Jordan had an leery feeling they weren't alone.

The Inhabitants of Contrai are human (or at least once were). But after being isolated form Sol from many years. There technology has differed, and in some ways have become more advanced. So the transport shuttle will look like nothing else normaly recognized as "Human".

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

The throne room door opened as Naxsis sat upon his throne on a slightly elevated platform. The vandals and captain escorting the dignitary removed themselves from the throne room with the human guards, leaving only Naxsis and two flanking captains with shock pikes on either side of the throne. He looked upon the dignitary and his helmet hid the sneer that crept across his face. He had never seen the likes of it, but he knew very well what it was. A human. The creatures that the Kings, Devils, and Winter were wasting their time against. They were even uglier in person. Naxsis stoof from the throne and made a slight bend at the waist, his four arms opening palms out at his sides in a gesture reminiscent of a human bow. He spoke gutturaly, probing to see if the monkey could understand his words in the Fallen tongue.

"Do you understand the words being spoken now?"

---

On the sole Shadowship of the small fleet, Praksis-Fel, the ship's Baron, Gravis, was notified by a dreg that multiple ship signatures were detected near the planet. A cursory glance revealed that the ships were equipped with weapons, though of a design not nearly on par with their own. His Kell had informed him before he left that the planet in question was embroiled in a civil war, and it was possible that these ships were of the other faction, as a result, he ordered the pilot servitor to take a position facing starboard broadside to the advancing ships, as the Shadowship had heavier weaponry and shielding than its Talon counterparts. He did not charge weapons so as not to provoke a confrontation, but he did order shields on the starboard side to be reinforced by 150%.

[Contrai]

Jordan Mark had studied the Fallen before the war, powerful and advanced. This House (The House of Shadow) in particular was exceptionally deceptive. It was well known that they were celebrating their recent victory over the rival house of Talon. The Fallen looked down on mankind, but things were not always this way, before the Fall of Sol. Putting on a formal voice he addressed the leader of the Fallen, "Naxsis".

After clearing his throat he stood to meet him. Switching to a formal dialect of Fallen, "On behalf of Contrai I welcome you to our planet".

OOC:Thanks, If can you delete the post now? that'd be great. P.S you are awesome PP.s how do I tag, like you want me to?

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

No problem and tagging is just a way to make a post on a thread to keep track of it before making an actual post.

Naxsis and his two captains were slightly taken back that the human could mimic their tongue, let alone speak in a form of High speech. His slight surprise however, was kept inward and not shown on his mostly covered face.

"You address Elder Baron Naxsis of House of Talons, vassal to the great Drexis the Revanant, of the House of Shadow. On his behalf, I welcome you on board the great Talonship Feraxis-Dryn. You are, leader of your planet, yes?"

[Contrai]

"Whatever remains of it. I am the emergency leader of the Federal Republic of Contrai. We are the original government before the Civil War, and I represent roughly over one quarter. The Rebellion Movement on the other hand, they have no structured government and are more a mish-mash of factional and religious corporations forced into cooperating with each other. As you see, formally we still owe our allegiance to Sol, and the Rebels fought for freedom from it. If only that was the case now."

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

Naxsis narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened.

"Then, the one before me is the one who commands? He is Kell of this 'Fed-er-al Repub-lick'?"

A dreg entered from one of the side rooms to give the report of the incoming ships to one of the Honor Guard Captains, who hissed in the Elder Baron's ear. Naxis turned to face the human.

"There are ships of war moving to us now, yes? These are of this Rebellion, yes?"

[Contraian Rebellion Movement]

The Vice-General addressed the Rebel Fleet from the helm of its' flagship The Fitzroy, a mighty beast of a ship which could take down even the largest of Sol Cruisers. "Prepare for Warp on my mark, ... mark", the ships engines engaged and what seemed like only a second later the view screen was filled with the alien fleet. They must have been at least 3 times the size of a standard Rebel Cruiser ... each. It was only now that the Vice-General knew what he was dealing with. He was outgunned, and he was outnumbered (10-5). "Hail, them lieutenant, I'm going to say hello".

[Contrai]

The Prime Minister of Contrai's eyes opened. "Ships? what are these ships you speak of?". Before the "Naxsis" could had a chance to speak, he moved to a what looked like a window and had a look for himself. Sure enough a small patch of Rebel Frigates were stalking the Fallen, weapons charged.

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

Before Naxsis could speak the human was looking at a view screen (there are no windows ) at the small ships approaching his fleet. He chuckled.

"Those ships, yes? I presume that your surprise gives myself the answer to the question."

---

On board the Praksis-Fel, Gravis the Shadow Baron was notified of the hail incoming from one of the minuscule vessels these aliens called "war ships". With a gutural bark, the Baron took his seat on the commander's chair on the bridge, a much more simple and drab version of the great throne rooms on Kell ketches, ordering the hail to be broadcast on the command screen before him.

[Contraian Rebellion Movement]

The Vice-General lowered himself down in his chair and addressed the alien fleet. "I am Redford, Vice General of the Rebel Fleet, to whom am I speaking to?". He sat back down on his chair only to stand back up again, "If you do not comply, you will be fired apon".

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

Gravis laughed heartily, and made a gesture with one of his arms to the shield specialist to his right off screen, buffing the facing shield to 175%. His laugh was not only at the useless threat, but also at the reveal as to the aliens; humans. Of all things, humans. He also found amusement in this ones twitchy actions of sitting and standing.

"You speak to Gravis, Shadow Baron of the great Kell Drexis of the House of Shadow, commander of the Praxis-Fell." He added, in a mocking tone, "I have complied, however I still fully invite you to fire."

As he spoke, two of the silver Talon ketches broke formation, with one taking position in front of the black Praksis-Fell, and the other behind, the three ships now forming a semi circle in front of the small ships.

[Contraian Rebellion Movement]

The ships were encircling the Rebel Fleet. The Rebel Lieutenant yelled "They've got Jordan Mark! See, down there!".
This opportunity was too good to waste, "Captain, how close are the enemy ships?".
"About 400 meters sir, very close".
That was good enough.
"Launch an EMP"
"But sir! we don't know If it will disable their ships, It will disable us anyhow"
"We don't have to, you said their shields were up didn't you?"
"Yes Sir"
"And they have energy weapons, you said?"
"Yes Sir"
"Then fire the EMP!"
"Yes Sir"
All electronics suddenly failed, and the view screen closoed down.
"Did it work?" shouted the Vice-General.
"I don't know sir! Changing to Auxillary Power".

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

A great flash went off and the shield station made a whirring report. Gravis was not as disappointed as he thought he would be in these apes. The use of an EMP was a good plan-if his ships were of lesser human make and unshielded. The EMP did a hefty toll on his ship's shields, bringing them down from 175%, to 85%. On the Talon ships, who had not buffed their starboard shields, the shield integrity was down to 10 or 15%. The shield protected the inner systems of the vessel. Very low, but enough to withstand the majority of whatever else they had to throw. But now, their efforts would be for not, as it was Gravis' turn to respond. His disappointment returned, when scans indicated that the humans had thrown in all bets on the EMP disabling his vessel, as they had seemingly crippled themselves in the effort.

"Charge the lateral cannons, prepare the broadside, order the Talons to do the same. We focus fire on the lead ship, the Talons have free will to pick their own. Bring the pulse turrets online as well, hold them for now and use them to wipe out whatever the broadside does not."

As his command was issued, the 25 lateral cannons on each of the vessels flared up with a charge, and moments later, three high velocity bolts from each cannon issued forth and lanced towards the diminutive human vessels. At the same time, the heavy pulse turrets came online and swiveled to their respective targets, holding fire.

[Contrai]

The Alien Vessel Shook, and all the lights went off. Only to quickly come back up again. Curious, Jordan Mark watched the view-screen eagerly almost exited to see what would happen next. But what happened next didn't excite him at all, the alien fleet fired large glowing green bolts onto the disabled Rebel Frigates. And they exploded, with just one shot. It is unlikely that there were any survivors. If he were down on Contrai he would be smiling, but at the hands of an unknown civilization, he felt as if the destruction of those vessels represented the planet.

"Naxsis, Answer Me ... What is the meaning of this?" Jordan shouted, with a touch of anger.

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

He chuckled.

"That, is what happens when one tries and, what is that human expression? 'bite off more than they can chew?'" he chuckled again. "That flicker was your rebels firing on my ships without warning and....that is the result."

[Contraian Rebellion Movement]

-"The Fortress" Rebel Strong-Point and Orbital Command Base [Contrai]-
The Acting Commander prepped all the full force of 500 Shrike Fighters and 50 Frigates. If that fleet was to reach the surface, it could end The Rebellion itself.

-Transmission [To: Unknown Fleet (Contrai Orbit)]
Transmission Reads:
You have just declared war on the Rebellion. You have three days to declare your neutrality, if you fail comply you will face the full power of the Rebel Fleet.
-Transmission Ends [Sender:Rebel Outpost]

[Contrai]

"Do you still need me for anything? will you aid us? what was the point of coming here for you?" Jordan Shouted, "I don't believe you have any interest at all", with that he turns around and heads for the door.

[The Fallen House of Shadow]

Another dreg entered from the adjacent control center to hiss to one of the Honor Guard Captains, who promptly informed Naxsis. Naxsis rumbled deeply with a laugh.

"It seems your rebellion did not take kindly to our little response. No matter."

He gestured, and the five marksman vandals in the balcony above materialized and sighted in the human. At the same time, the doors to the throne room opened and 25 Fallen entered the room armed with shock rifles. Behind them, the doors shut and sealed themselves off.

"And now, you and your pathetic race will see the full might of the House of Shadow!" He stood and signaled Drexsis light years away. Within minutes, hundreds upon hundreds of purple ruptures dotted the space around the fleet, and on the other side of the planet, as 525 Ketches appeared, surrounding the human planet.

[Contrai]

"Nice Try",
Jordan activated the shield and continued walking, the energy burning through the door and Fallen Soldiers as he spoke.
"You truly underestimated Contraian technology". His only problem now was, how would he ever get off the ship.