Corporate Security (FT, open)

by **Hyperspatial Travel** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 9:42 am

(OOC: Obviously open in a reasonable sense. The appropriate response to some minor powers being suborned by a major corporation isn't a doomfleet.)

- - - - - - - - -

"...synergy, ladies and gentlemen. That's what we're about. Why should the fine people of the Harris Kingdom have to dedicate almost ten percent of their GDP to defense when the Magnar Corporation can do it for one-third the cost? Outsourcing defense isn't something we're interested in forcing anyone to do, it's a simple matter of pure economic self-interest."

Lehran stood up, activating a holographic display with a wave of his hand. It showed ship deployments in pink being replaced by those in blue, much more sparsely in some cases, though for the most part of similar concentration.

"The same power when it comes to defense, much less spent, and, best of all, the Magnar contract guarantees a response in sufficient force to repel any incoming force from states mentioned in subsection 117c of the security contract - whether the Vetrix, the New Knightly Order, or some coalition of Vale Alliance states happens to attack you or waylay your convoys, you're entitled to full retaliation under the contract, as well as compensation if that retaliation fails."

A man on the other side of the table stood.

"Mr. Attilus, I thank for for the effort you've put into preparing this presentation. However, I find it unlikely that my government will agree to signing a contract that outsources, of all things, national defense. The Kingdom of Harris has preserved its independence not by making deals with outside powers but rather by maintaining a strong national fleet and deterring the other powers in the region. Is there any reason you think we would genuinely do otherwise?"

Lehran smiled, though it failed to reach his eyes.

"Ambassador Benjamin, I'm glad you asked. If you turn to section 5, subsection 115 titled 'Offensive Wars and Commerce Raiding", you'll see that we have considerable discounts for any nation in the sector seeking to hire us against an unaligned party. Not to mention that signatories will get preferential treatment when it comes to manufacturing services from the Magnar Corporation, being able to request priority services in wartime."

Benjamin looked down at the contract, flipping through it.

"That would only matter if the other powers signed a copy of this.. thing."

Lehran's smile faded, and he pressed a button, bringing up another view.

"Well, yes. However, the New Knightly Order has been maximising its military expenditure in preparation for an invasion of another power for almost three years now, and only loans from the Magnar Corporation have kept the Harris Kingdom and Vale Alliance competitive. If the New Knightly Order signs this contract, we will no longer be able to provide manufacturing and security assistance if you go to war. We also only offer priority faster-than-light travel through controlled lanes to signatories of our security contracts. In such a case the Order would overwhelm the Vale Alliance fairly quickly, after which they would be able to invade the Kingdom of Harris."

"Which means they'd destroy your little corporation as well."

"Doubtful. While the Order loathe us, they're well aware that their militant government is no way to run an economy. Without our manufacturing and research expertise they'd still be the weakest power in the sector. Of course, if they were the only government in the sector, it would make the tender process for our security services less... competitive. Of course, we want to maximise competition."

Benjamin scowled, before returning his face to a dispassionate mask.

"If we fail to sign this thing, you'll turn the Order on us, is that it? Is that the threat the Magnar Corporation is making?"

"Please, Ambassador. We're not making a threat. We're merely noting that those who choose to purchase Magnar services can be prioritised for manufacturing and security services over those who are less loyal customers. Rewarding our better customers is hardly a threat. It's simply our way of ensuring we deal fairly with our best customers."

"If we don't sign this, the Vetrix and Order will. And they'll be at our doorstep in a matter of weeks."

"I sympathise with your concern, but unfortunately the problems of the Harris Kingdom are not the concerns of the Magnar Corporation while we're not providing security services."

"This is blackmail. Sheer blackmail."

Lehran sighed.

"Can I take this to mean you won't be signing, Ambassador? I apologise, but I'm on a tight schedule of meetings today."

Benjamin grimaced.

"Give it here. I'll sign it."

Lehran smiled. This time, it did reach his eyes.

"Wonderful."

He raised his sleeve to his face and spoke quietly.

"We're done here. Send in the Order ambassador."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Two Weeks Later

"...and that concludes the Vetrix, Harris, and the Order. Three of the five Vale Alliance states have signed as well, and Nichus is only haggling over a few insignificant details. They'll come around before too long."

Lehran looked up at the screen in front of him. The older man he was talking to was Goras Delmen, one of the twelve members of the Board. The Board had been mostly his supporters when it had come time to take the CEO position, but Delmen had slowly been moving away from him after he proposed the plan to dominate the Havmar Sector. Said it was too risky.

"And Rokus?"

"Rokus remains... intransigent. It might be wise to show the other Vale states precisely why they're paying us."

"How so?"

"I've taken the liberty of offering fast transport to a fleet of Order raiders - technically they're still at war with Rokus and have been ever since the fiasco with the interplanetary ball. Drop a fleet there, the Order gets to apply some pressure to their interplanetary trade, maybe take out their shipyards. With no capital ship manufacturing, they'll roll over."

"Did the Board authorise this?"

"Fast transport is within contract obligations, Mr. Delmen. I don't need board permission to fulfill contractual obligations."

"I... see. Well, if it works, I'll have to congratulate you. If it doesn't..."

Lehran nodded.

"Of course. A CEO who fails is no CEO at all, I'm well aware. That's why I don't intend to fail."

- - - - - -

One Week Later, Rokus System:

The fleet was small. Four battlecruisers, six cruisers. Fast enough to run though the system, blow the hell out of the shipyards in orbit of the Rokian gas giant Arramis, and take out a passing convoy on their way out. Not enough to overwhelm the Rokian system defense forces in a stand-up fight, but the Order wasn't aiming for a stand-up fight.

The ships came in fast, and alarms went off across the Rokus system. Carriers and battleships were scrambled, screens brought up to support them. The cruisers and battlecruisers were well away from the Rokian fleet, and went directly for the shipyards. Normally well-defended, with other powers signing on to the Longsword Security Contract, they'd pulled their forces back to defend against any decapitation strikes.

Not that the Magnar Corporation was interested in a decapitation strike. Strengthening one power against another was exactly the situation they sought to avoid. Rather, showing powers that refused to sign what happened to them was a vastly better method of operating. Cheaper, as well.

A volley of missiles struck the shipyards, obliterating the massive construction arms. From his desk back at Longsword Station, Lehran noted that the death toll would probably be in the thousands. War, though, and shipyards were legitimate military targets. A number of lasers fired, twisting and destroying any useful infrastructure left. As quickly as they had come, the cruisers left, running outsystem to where they could jump.

They found a convoy there, one that Lehman had ensured that they had found. Technically the convoy was operating with Vianna Shipping, one of their subsidiaries, but Rokus hadn't paid the additional insurance to ensure they were compensated for any losses in transit. More importantly, the convoy was entirely Rokian in ship makeup, and In fact, the entire convoy was carrying mining tools for Rokian heavy industry - mining tools that had already been paid for. With the failure of Rokus to pay insurance, they'd have to buy an entire new set of tools from Magnar - tools they'd be more than happy to give them as a signing bonus for their security contract.

Lehran smiled. Probably less than five thousand deaths overall. Very cheap, very efficient. The Board would be pleased.

- - - - - -

Two Weeks Later, Longsword Station:

"...I trust that concludes our business?"

"Of course, Your Excellency. I'm so glad Rokus has chosen to do business with Longsword Security and its parent company, the Magnar Corporation. Thank you again."

The man simply turned and walked out without reply.

Lehran shook his head. Some people were simply unmannered.

The entire sector put under their thumb, revenues projected to increase by six hundred percent over the next decade, and no real opposition left to speak of. Very little was left to threaten him, or Magnar Corp for the foreseeable future. He pressed a button on his desk.

"Sylvia, please send up a bottle of the good Vipran red. I think a celebration is in order. We have a little time before the responses roll in."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

OOC: So, the Magnar Corporation has more-or-less taken over the defense forces for a bunch of local worlds, forcing those who didn't sign the contract to do so regardless of their desires. At this point it'd be fairly common knowledge, so feel free to send a representative to say hello, a freedom fighter to go stop corporate takeovers, or something else. Please don't send an instadoomfleet.

by **Hyperspatial Travel** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 9:52 am

Notes:

A map of the Havmar Sector

The four sovereign powers in the Havmar Sector are as follows:

Pink - Kingdom of Harris. Led by the Harris Dynasty for the last hundred and twenty-six years. Fairly weak monarchy that took De Blakwell and New Tulsa from the New Knightly Order fifty years ago.

Green - Vetrix. Humans who modified themselves to live on massively hot and acidic worlds. Have a culture under which they prefer to raid others as a rite of adulthood, though not actually expansionist.

Yellow - New Knightly Order. Formerly the Foreas Empire, which collapsed due to a religious uprising from one of the Neo-Syncretist sects there. Their military branch was named the New Knightly Order, and took over half of the old Empire. Their economy is centralised and sluggish, and they are fairly authoritarian.

Red - Vale Alliance. The other half of the old Foreas Empire, the Vale Alliance are independent worlds who banded together to provide protection against Order expansionism and Vetrix raiding. Largely on the defensive versus the Order until they allied with the Kingdom of Harris, helping the Kingdom take De Blakwell and New Tulsa from the Order fifty years ago.

The worlds in blue are under the jurisdiction of the Magnar Corporation, though technically New Tulsa is under the sovereign rule of the Tulsa Colonial Authority, which is not affiliated with the Magnar Corporation. In reality New Tulsa is run entirely by the Magnar Corporation, and is used as an industrial and military base for the corporation to dominate other powers in the sector. New Tulsa was formerly a world of the Harris Alliance, but the Magnar Corporation offered considerable military aid in return for a plebiscite in New Tulsa, after which New Tulsa voted for independence (which in turn rapidly became complete dependence on the Corporation).

by **Nocoma** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:13 pm

Outer limits of the New Tulsa System
Nocoma Courts Exploratory Vessel EX-1327
Control Cluster

Within the confines of the sleek Nocoma vessel amidst rooms and corridors which would be more at home on a vessel belonging to an organic race rests a specific armoured server hub, within said hub currently reside hundreds of artificially intelligent beings known as the Nocoma. In typical Nocoma fashion the crew of the vessel are collectively debating how to best interact with the locals once they de-cloak their vessel. "Individual 13314773, I thank you for disseminating the knowledge from the local public data network" said Individual 13314762 "this local group of humans seems interesting, much like those who created us they are fractured and driven by greed".

"Indeed" said Individual 13314758 "their greed would appear to outstrip that of the creators however as no creator corporation besides our namesake exerted such a level of control over governments".

"These humans would appear to be greedy to the point of self destruction" said Individual 13314773 "as you now know I found data indicating that this Magnar corporation has been using underhanded tactics to force governments to surrender their defence responsibilities. Though said theory is comes largely from fringe groups it corroborates with the sudden subsumption of nation defence force responsibilities by corporate security forces".

"I move that we establish contact to shed light on this situation and gain additional experience as to how organics function together" said Individual 13314762 "please vote now". The server counted the votes of the Nocoma aboard the vessel totalling them to be 583 votes for contact and 117 votes against contact. "Very well" said 13314762 "now we require a volunteer to make contact".

"I shall do it" said 13314773 "since I took the information from their public servers I feel that I would be best dealing with them. I would don the designation 'David' for ease of organic communication".

"Very well then, Individual 13314773 temporarily designated 'David' shall contact the humans. If there are any objections make them known" said 13314762 pausing to wait for objections, none came "good, decloak and send the message then". With that the 800m long vessel decloaked on the outer edges of the system before sending a transmission along with a translation matrix to New Tulsa.

Code: Select all: Greetings Humans of New Tulsa. I am Individual 13314773 designation 'David' of the Nocoma courts, I mean you no harm or ill will and request to meet with your leadership at a location of your choosing. As a gesture of goodwill I shall arrive alone via shuttle-craft, you may make any checks you wish within reason to prove the sincerity of my request. The Nocoma wish only to learn all that we can in the universe and hope that you share the same drive yourselves. I eagerly await your response.

by **Hyperspatial Travel** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:19 pm

For alien life to contact New Tulsa was not particularly rare. Traders from outside the sector occasionally stopped by, carrying rare materials and data products. Mostly the Magnar Corporation preferred to bring all important purchases in with an in-house ship, for the same reason they preferred to carry the sensitive and interesting cargo of the nations they dominated. The old Talythian prejudice against aliens had mostly faded before the Vipran conquest, and the Talythians who had left the conquered world of Arion to found the Magnar Corporation had spent their entire lives under Vipran rule. That was not to say, however, that they were without caution.

"Sir. Inbound unknown contact, 0.8 klicks in size. At the point of contact it follows the trajectory of a minor gravitational disturbance that was picked up and discarded as sensor noise earlier, probably some form of cloaking system."

Commodore Virtus Marius scowled. His watery blue eyes pierced the ensign speaking and held her transfixed.

"Ensign Carruther. Give me what you have."

"Generating an interesting level of energy, not exotic or unknown, not congruent with a warship hitting high accel or arming weapons. Message inbound sir, fitting known linguistic patterns though no known language. Another data packet has been picked up and isolated, it appears to be a translation package. Installing to an isolated system, and we'll play the message back."

"Put it on my screen."

Marius looked down, reading rapidly.

Greetings Humans of New Tulsa. I am Individual 13314773 designation 'David' of the Nocoma courts, I mean you no harm or ill will and request to meet with your leadership at a location of your choosing. As a gesture of goodwill I shall arrive alone via shuttle-craft, you may make any checks you wish within reason to prove the sincerity of my request. The Nocoma wish only to learn all that we can in the universe and hope that you share the same drive yourselves. I eagerly await your response.

"Carruther, put the message on-screen for the bridge crew. There's nothing especially sensitive here."

As the rest of the bridge crew read, Marius spoke.

"Xenopsychologist Artamon, please give me your thoughts."

Artamon nodded. A short Talythian man, while he was not technically in the chain of command for the ship, having specialists and experts accessible at the higher levels of command meant superior understanding of what an enemy might do.

"Probably artificial, sir. Individuals with a numerical ident tend to be, though I'd give a ten percent probability they're cybernetic or possibly some sort of metahuman psychic operants. Probably not a threat, though I'd advise standard security procedures, and bring up an AI psych from Longsword Station for first contact. Don't run data analysis on it anywhere we keep important data, giving it any sort of access to our systems is a bad idea."

"I see. You believe we should meet with it?"

"Send in a diplomat and an AI psych somewhere secure. I'd say bring him down to New Tulsa. It's not like there's all that much important infrastructure there anyway."

Greetings, David of the Nooma Courts. It would be my pleasure to meet with you. I am Ambassador Qneg of the New Tulsa Colonial Authority, and will be glad to meet you at the New Tulsa Spaceport. Geographic data is being transmitted now along with a landing path to suit your present trajectory. Keep in mind New Tulsa is a terraformed environment with a nitrogen-oxygen mix atmosphere, if you require a more congenial environment I request that you wait so we can arrange something.

Otherwise, let me be the first to welcome you to New Tulsa.

On the surface, a Longsword Security detachment stood, waiting around the reptilian Qneg and his human AI psych, Benjamin Carruthers. Qneg was technically under the employ of the New Tulsa Colonial Authority, though he was more aptly described as a solid employee of the Magnar Corporation. The marines had their guns holstered - if a threat was to come from a spacecraft, they would likely do little, and intimidating their guest was pointless at the moment.

by **Nocoma** » Thu Oct 08, 2015 8:14 pm

Approaching New Tulsa
Nocoma Courts Exploratory Vessel EX-1327
Control Cluster

Greetings, David of the Nooma Courts. It would be my pleasure to meet with you. I am Ambassador Qneg of the New Tulsa Colonial Authority, and will be glad to meet you at the New Tulsa Spaceport. Geographic data is being transmitted now along with a landing path to suit your present trajectory. Keep in mind New Tulsa is a terraformed environment with a nitrogen-oxygen mix atmosphere, if you require a more congenial environment I request that you wait so we can arrange something.

Otherwise, let me be the first to welcome you to New Tulsa.

"Response received" said 13314773 showing the message to the others "polite, considerate and logical. They have at least mildly entertained the thought of us requiring an atmosphere, implies possible prior contact with augmented organics utilising a numerical identification system yet reveals nothing about themselves. I shall respond and deploy via shuttle at once".

Ambassador Qneg, I thank you for your words of welcome and your consideration of potential respiratory difficulties in your atmosphere, no environmental changes are required. I shall meet you in person shortly.

As the message was sent a narrow door opened in the vessels side revealing an tiny craft which would barely fit more than one organic within its sleek white frame as it rocketed along the landing trajectory given previously. As the craft approached the landing area it rapidly brought its speed to a halt and unfolded four legs upon which to land whilst a small hoe on the underside opened up, the moment the legs toughed the ground a 5' 11" robot was lowered from within. The robot began walking towards the ambassador its discreetly armoured form and deactivated shield generator merely a precaution, stopping in front of the ambassador it held out a hand in greeting. "Greetings ambassador Qneg, I am Individual 13314773 designated 'David' of the Nocoma Courts" said 13314773 "it is pleasing to meet you, the courts hope for peace between our civilisations".

by **Hyperspatial Travel** » Sat Oct 10, 2015 7:09 am

"A pleasure, David. As representative of the New Tulsa Colonial Authority, we of course always hope for peace. New Tulsa maintains a strict policy of neutrality - if others do not seek to attack us, we of course do not desire to attack them."

Qneg shook the robot's hand, and gestured towards the shorter human next to him.

"This is my advisor, Benjamin Carruthers. He's an AI psychologist and linguist. I assure you we are not trying to be intrusive, but sometimes it can be difficult for sophonts with drastically different frames of reference to understand one another, so I have asked him to advise me during our conversation. If you find this threatening or uncomfortable, Benjamin would be more than happy to leave."

by **Nocoma** » Sun Oct 11, 2015 5:32 am

"I understand your reasoning for the presence of psychologist Benjamin, his presence causes no offence" said 13314773 "on the contrary, his presence is a prudent measure to prevent misunderstandings. Having such an individual would have been useful for the courts when we first informed our creators of our sentience" he finished, his synthesised voice holding a faint inflection of sadness within.

1331473 paused for several moments to open a direct link with the courts via the ship in orbit.

"I hope that you do not mind but I have just established a direct link to the courts themselves" said 13314773 "if you feel uncomfortable or disturbed by this at any time then please inform me and I shall cut the link. Might I suggest proceeding to another location, perhaps one more comfortable for you as I doubt standing for extended time periods is comfortable for organics".

by **The Fedral Union** » Sun Oct 11, 2015 5:36 am

(place holder for edited post here; Imma try to get something unique done for this thread

Good to see ya back HT)

by **Hyperspatial Travel** » Sun Oct 11, 2015 10:00 pm

"That's quite acceptable. Most secure locations may make it difficult to maintain a link with your courts, however, as they tend to be built with as both Faraday cages and with some rather sophisticated equipment to ensure that faster-than-light transmissions to facilitate espionage are difficult at best and impossible for the most part. Of course, such places were not built with group sentiences in mind, unfortunately. Since I hope we are not talking about anything that requires high security, would you care to relocate to one of New Tulsa's more pleasant hotels? We can show you to the Voerker, a fine establishment that offers access to the planetary datanets as well as some of the finest comforts known to New Tulsa."

Qneg gestured towards a nearby aircar that had pulled up.

"If you have no objections?"

by **YellowApple** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 8:05 pm

Havmar Sector, Outskirts

The objective was routine: explore stellar systems and evaluate their strategic worth in commercial and military contexts. 'Twas the same objective of every YellowApple, Inc. Expeditionary Fleet as it slipped from star to star, seeking to kickstart economic cooperation with inhabited worlds and kickstart colonies on the uninhabited ones.

Admiral Jesi Agata glanced through the various status reports of the 5-piece Expeditionary Fleet ⢻⢺⣸⢸ (Three Two Eight Zero) as her ships settled into the result of yet another superluminal jump, then turned her attention to a rudimentary map of the sector her fleet had arrived upon. Said map had been assembled through a combination of astronomical data and interactions with other spacefarers, and suggested to her a very close proximity to a map entry named "Rokesby".

Admiral Agata stretched out a bit in the microgrativational environment on the bridge of her flagship, the YAAV Midnight Sun; her dark-grey uniform and dark-brown hair starkly contrasted with her petite and pale self as she "sat" fastened to her console. The Midnight Sun was an old Imperator-class YellowApple, Inc. Aerospace Carrier - predating modern YellowApplan advancements in graviton emitter technology now standard aboard more modern YellowApplan vessels - but had been a reliable workhorse to her nonetheless. The ship's age was clearly visible, however; even the interior demonstrated a bulkiness in stark contrast to the sleekness of the flagships of some other Expeditionary Fleets. She didn't mind this, of course; her ship was a fraction of the cost of a more modern Imperator-II aerospace carrier, while at the same time being far more battle-tested than the newer contemporary, all leaving her fleet with far more capital to spend on other, more important things.

"Set course for tag 'Rokesby'," the Admiral muttered out to the half-dozen crewpersons accompanying her on the bridge. Her navigator - a middle-aged and grey-furred felinid male, strapped into an elaborate console immediately in front of the Admiral's, gave a low-pitched "Aye aye, Admiral" as his furry fingers danced across the Hall-effect-switched keyboard before him, entering commands in rapid succession.

$> (send (to (fleet ⢻⢺⣸⢸)) '(set destination (tag "Rokesby")))
(ok)
$> (poll (from (fleet ⢻⢺⣸⢸)) "destination")
(fleet ⢻⢺⣸⢸
       (vessel ⢸⢸⢸⢸ (tag "Rokesby"))
       (vessel ⢸⢸⢸⢹ (tag "Rokesby"))
       (vessel ⢸⢸⢸⢺ (tag "Rokesby"))
       (vessel ⢸⢸⢸⢻ (tag "Rokesby"))
       (vessel ⢸⢸⢸⢼ (tag "Rokesby")))
(ok)
$> (go)
Calculating delta-velocity...done
Delta-velocity exceeds parameters for subluminal transit; assuming
superluminal transit.
Assuming default of circular equatorial orbit at 1 gigameter.
Matching destination orbital velocity...

The Admiral's carrier, in lockstep with the three transports and one support frigate that comprised Expeditionary Fleet Three-Two-Eight-Zero, pointed their noses in a direction parallel to their intended orbit and engaged their rear thrusters, the sudden acceleration pinning the Admiral and her bridge crew to the backs of their console chairs, at least for a moment.

Matching destination orbital velocity...done
Performing superluminal jump...

As the ships stopped their acceleration, the space in view of the bridge's forward viewscreen began to distort around a rectangle in front of the ship, as it did in front of the other four ships in the fleet. Soon, the stars behind that rectangle were suddenly offset, at which point - from the view of the bridge at least - the whole rectangle passed around the carrier. The Admiral watched the rear viewscreen on her console as the rectangle settled again to the rear of the ship and finally dissipated.

Performing superluminal jump...done
(ok)
$>

"Start scanning for signs of civilization," the Admiral called out to her crew after a brief silence. "I want to know whether there are locals and, if so, whether or not they're looking at us through crosshairs."

Her order was met by a mellow "Aye aye, Admiral" from a heavyset equine female at the starboardmost console on the bridge; the technician's pastel-blue fur - like the Admiral's own pale-white skin - stood out against her grey uniform and light-pink mane, which further stood out against the bleak carbon interior of the ship. The technician's "limb enhancers" - floating peg-like fingers controlled by "gloves" upon the mare's front hooves - typed furiously into a variety of form fields on a single wide holodisplay as the carrier's universal translation system kicked the communications array into full gear.

----- BEGIN TRANSMISSION -----

To Whom It May Concern:

This is YellowApple, Inc. Expeditionary Fleet ⢻⢺⣸⢸ / 3280 /
Three-Two-Eight-Zero.  This message originates from a trade fleet; we
come in peace.  Please respond upon receipt of this message.

We look forward to doing business with you.

Sincerely,

Admiral Jesi Agata
YellowApple, Inc. Expeditionary Fleet ⢻⢺⣸⢸

----- END TRANSMISSION -----

by **The Atahez** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 9:36 pm

Outskirts of the System, near planet Rokesby

5 Atahez Frigates flew through the warp of space. Inside these ships, the Overseers silently clicked their mandibles as they felt around them for the warp to come to an end. At first it had been a painful sensations, the feeling of trillions life forms passing you by as you warped past them could give you quite a headache. However, many of the veterans of exploratory missions learned to deal and even block out the pain.

Ever since joining the GESO, the Atahez had become more curious about the galaxy around them and thus had decided to send out several small fleets to explore areas of interests picked up by their probes. This system was one of them. As the warp ended, many of the Atahez looked out at the planet of Rokesby.

Unfortunately the probes had not picked up any significant amount of chatter and thus the big race had no idea who was residing on the planet or what their culture was like. Many at times the Atahez had found dead worlds, destroyed by their own people or one of the other space faring people. Sometimes they found underdeveloped worlds and watched from a far. Sometimes they had found systems controlled by a space faring race but did have access to the wider galaxy. The Atahez would either assist or watch. Many times these systems chased out the Atahez, believing them to be monsters.

They would have to be careful here. So the Overseers just sat and watched the planet, feeling out the life forms with their minds and getting a general sense of what he planet was like. They attempted to intercept non encrypted and generally mundane messages to get a feel for the tech level and attitude of the culture below.

However, they had picked up another message. Another fleet had just arrived, something called YellowApple. It seemed like they where making first contact. The Atahez pulled back their mental abilities, lessening their strain and decided to watch the interaction between this planet and the new arrivals.

by **Tinfect** » Mon Oct 12, 2015 11:12 pm

TEV - Envy of Starlight

The Envy of Starlight, an exploratory vessel. A designation that hadn't been used since the initial construction of the Barrier, 70 Years ago. Revived now, in the form of several of the newly revived Arcadia Battleship class, the Envy of Starlight, being but one of dozens.
The ship had now spend 58 Minutes in Subspace. Crossing the Exterior Territories of the Imperium, at their widest point, took about a minute, maybe two if distortion was bad at launch. But spending nearly an hour in Subspace? Inconceivable. They were, in the most literal of terms, going where no human had gone before.

"30 Seconds 'till drop. Derian, set up for a Hyperpulse shot back to the Imperium, whatever we come across, Intelligence will have a field day."

The sudden speech snapped Centurion Alen Vallarev out of her reverie, bringing her attention back to the Bridge.
Not as though there was much to do, Imperial Ships don't have Windows, and external sensors are nearly worthless when in Subspace, but just knowing that they were about to come across something entirely new, was quite possibly the most exciting thing since getting assigned to this project.

"Drop out on my command."

Her voice betrayed her. Not like it mattered, the crew, especially those on the bridge, were likely feeling exactly the same thing.

"Now."

So it was said, and so it was done.

OOC:
They're in Rokesby, for the record. Not that they know that yet, anyway.
Here's the specifications for the ship, in case that helps.

by **House Dace** » Tue Oct 13, 2015 9:37 pm

Hidden Base, New Tulsa

"Impressive, don't you think Operative Luther?" Commander Mikas asked calmly with an smirk on his blue lips, the Chiss commanding officer was indeed impressed by Magnar Corporation's successful take-over of the Vale Alliance's member states' militaries. When the Infinite Sith Empire located this region of space and it interstellar powers years ago, they decided to wait and watch, and sent in a Imperial Intelligence's cell to observe the actions of those nations.

If there is one thing that the Infinite Empire respect, it is power and Magnar Corporation have shown to have power. From controlling the economies of some of the nations to now successfully out-sourcing these nations' defense to them would have even a Sith Lord's acknowledging their cunning. Due to the corporation's actions, Imperial Intelligence had poured more resources into Commander Mikas' cell which allowed them to create an wide-spread information network that spread across the Vale Alliance. So, the meeting with Ambassador Benjamin wasn't so secret and the Imperial cell is well aware of what happen. Unfortunately, Imperial Intelligence have yet to infiltrate the upper levels of Magnar Corporation and it would take some time for the Empire to moved their assets in a position that a simple assassination would give them entry onto the corporate board. So, what Lehran's, the CEO, final plans is, is currently unknown.

"Yes, he have turn Magnar Corporation into a regional power in it own right, but the question is can Magnar remains on top?" Operative Luther questioned, the human second-in-command had always be cautious, more so than the average Imperial operative, but it tend to save his life and the lives of his comrades, so he had never changed.

"No doubt, other interstellar powers would find Magnar Corporations' actions deplorable and strive to stop it, through political and economic pressure. After all, what nation would send in a military fleet because a company decided to make good economic decisions and to protect nations that are to weak to say no?" Commander Mikas chuckled. After all, this would have never happen in the Infinite Empire, mostly because everything is state-owned and the Empire will never be in a position of such weakness to allow them to be taken advantage of by an corporation.

A beep came on the screen and Mikas opened the message that was sent to him. "It seems we have guests, the Nocoma Courts and YellowApple." He said with a curiosity in his tone; after years of his intelligence cell being in the Havmar Sector, it wasn't difficult for their assets to intercept the new contacts' messages.

"Then we will see, what Mr. Lehran will do when new variables is added." Luther replied, simply.

by **Hyperspatial Travel** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 2:05 am

OOC: Going to do an individual post per reply, making it easier to quote and read and whatnot.

Rokesby at this point had signed a somewhat punitive security contract with the Magnar Corporation - well, with Longsword Security, one that saw a significantly larger amount of orbital assets placed around Rokesby than were placed around other worlds. This was ostensibly to ensure Rokesby's safety as one of the worlds at the edge of the sector, of course in reality it was merely a reminder that if Rokesby chose to strike out on their own again, the punishment would come swiftly and sharply.

In orbit were a few destroyers, at this point being serviced while they waited for new convoys to assemble, and six large, stationary defensive orbitals that had been brought there at no small expense in recent weeks.

Aboard one of them was Station Commander James Harlow, one of the few Rokians to rise up fairly high in the Longsword hierarchy. He was short and squat, somewhat fat though with significant muscle under his padding. He was, like most Rokians, dark-skinned, though he had a cybernetic eye and a significant part of his face had been replaced with cybernetics, a reminder of one of the many small ways in Rokesby before the planet had been (mostly) unified.

However, he had gotten his position the way many Longsword personnel had gotten theirs - through sheer loyalty (and connections) rather than sheer competence. Especially when it came to the subcontracted planetary militia, and orbital platforms that Longsword largely saw as useless in a stand-up fight - these were places that Longsword tended to fill with people who were useful because they were slavishly loyal to a superior, or, in Harlow's case, the nephew of Argent Holdings' largest shareholder, Bartemius Ragnow. Giving Ragnow his nephew in charge of Rokesby's orbitals had in turn seen Ragnow begin the negotiations to merge Argent Holdings with two of the the Magnar Corporation's shipping subsidiaries, a position that would further their stranglehold over the sector in years to come.

At the moment, however, it meant that Harlow didn't really have the training for this. He was a talented small-arms commander, but his experience in space was lacking. Realistically, in a combat situation he'd pass authority off onto his best-qualified underling on some pretense and hope for the best.

So as a fleet began to emerge in massively high orbit above him, he froze.

His Executive Office, Jane Marius, spoke.

"Sir, we've got a firing solution. If they're an enemy, better to fire on them now. They're probably most vulnerable during the hyperspace jump. If they're not, though..."

"I... can we win?"

"Probably now, I don't know once they have an orbital advantage over us. We'd likely need to intercept projectiles hitting the planet and even with a firepower advantage the tactical disparity would be tremendous."

"I.... I... don't fire. No, maybe-"

"Sir, they've finished transiting. Firing solution being recalculated, painting them with lidar. Wait a second, message incoming. Running it through the translation software, we have a readable translation. They're a trade fleet of some kind, sir."

"I see. XO, get someone from Magnar who has the authority to let them trade, or not. And tell them what a fucking stupid thing they just did."

Admiral Agata of the Expeditionary Fleet, welcome to Rokesby.

May we suggest in future you exit transit a significantly larger distance than three lightseconds from a planet, or alternatively transit a small vessel first in order to broadcast your message - we were very close to shooting you down as you entered the system. While your intent is peaceful, a hostile force gaining such an orbital position could spell a significant amount of destruction for all the people of Rokesby.

At present Rokesby due to treaty obligations has trade restrictions such that off-planet trade must be funneled through one of three megacorporations - Argent Holdings, Vianna Shipping, or Masuv Convoys. You are more than welcome to transact with any one of these corporations, or move to New Tulsa, where the majority of the sector's intersector trade takes place.

Yours cordially,
Executive Officer Jane Marius

by **Hyperspatial Travel** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 4:32 am

OOC: I'm assuming your ship drops in a little after YellowApples stuff, just to make it flow a little better.

IC: "Statcom, we have an unknown contact, about 0.3 AU from one of our monitoring probes. We don't have the resolution right now to get a clearer picture, but I'm turning all the closest probes to assemble the best image we can get.

Harlow shook his head.

"Why today? What in the living fuck made everyone and his dog decide to turn up today? Was it the Donkey Festival down in Alexa? Because I've been there, Jane, and let me assure you, it's terrible."

Jane looked at the Commander with a long-suffering smile on her face.

"Statcom, we're seeing a ship, about a klick in length, probably a capital judging from the waste heat output. We haven't got a high enough resolution image yet, but it looks like it has a few full arrays of turrets. If it's hostile, we can pound it with missiles from outsystem till Rokesby, we have plenty of time to make a decision."

"I see. Take a message, XO."

Attention, unknown vessel. This is Station Commander James Harlow, of Longsword Security's Rokesby System Defense Force. I am informing you you are in sovereign Rokian territory, and would like to know your intentions.

by **YellowApple** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:35 pm

"Admiral, we've received a response."

The voice was that of the equine communications officer. Lieutenant Cobalt Rose was her name, and the voice matched the name well. Gentle, but cold.

"¿And?" Admiral Agata replied, diverting only minimal attention away from status reports from the rest of the fleet.

"Just ran it through the translator; sending it to your terminal right now. Looks like they thought we were hostile."

The Admiral glanced through the Rokian response as it popped up on one of the holodisplays to her left, her eyes scanning the words and sentences for a moment before she let off an exasperated sigh.

"You've got to be kidding me. They're kidding me, ¿right? ¿They really think that one rinky-dick ancient carrier, one frigate, and three freighters that are pretty much held together with duct-tape and luck is an attack force?"

"'Tis possible that they have a weak military presence," spoke a low and somewhat scratchy voice coming from the carrier's weaponry management console to the Admiral's right. The voice belonged to one Lieutenant-Commander Josef Prokupac, a rather short and stout tan-skinned human male whose total baldness would be rather apparent were it not for the blocky service cap he wore upon his hairless head. "I am by no means convinced that we would hold up in an extended firefight, but if a fleet as small as our own was perceived to be a legitimate threat against whatever planetary defenses are in place, 'tis a possibility that this 'Rokesby' is either exceedingly paranoid about visitors or very new to the concept of orbital combat."

"Whatever the case," the Admiral thought out-loud, acknowledging the remarks of her chief weapons officer, "at least we have some confirmation that the rather spotty navigational data we've accumulated on this sector is somewhat accurate. Perhaps these people - ¿'Rokesbians'? ¿'Rokians'? I don't know what to call them - perhaps they can fill us in on the rest of this sector. ¿Do we have an entry for this 'New Tulsa' the response refers to?"

"No, ma'am, I'm not seeing one," replied her navigator - Lieutenant-Commander Jack Stowell, his name was - as he peered over the rather-incompletely-labelled map. "There are lots of points on the map, but the only labels are 'Rokesby', 'Vasquez', and 'Sauveur'. 'Vasquez' seems to be close to our current position, and is in a cluster of three very close map markers; 'New Tulsa' might be one of those two, or it might be somewhere else in the sector."

"Well, perhaps the locals here will be able to fill in our navigational data. Lieutenant Cobalt Rose, prepare to send out a reply on my mark."



YellowApple, Inc. Expeditionary Fleet ⢻⢺⣸⢸
Official Diplomatic Transmission


Executive Officer Marius,

Thank you for the warm welcome to Rokesby.  I apologize for the
confusion regarding our arrival; we were actually targetting a much
higher orbit, but it seems our superluminal transit system put us
closer than expected.  My fleet's stationkeeping orbit is being
corrected as I compose this message.

We would be happy to transact with the stated corporate entities.  Our
current cargo consists mostly of the following:

    » Telecommunications and computing equipment
    » Carbon allotrope materials (graphene, nanotubes, diamond)
    » Aerospace vehicles (fighters, corvettes, personal craft)
    » Static superluminal transit nodes
    » Gravito-Electrodynamic Manifold (GEM) intelligent systems
    » Thermonuclear fusion and matter-antimater reactors
    » Assorted artifacts acquired from other encountered worlds
    » Assorted food products
    » Water
    » Fertilizer
    » Hydroponic agriculture equipment
    » Enceladean xenofish

Feel free to forward this message to any of the stated corporate
entities that are interested in such products.  We're open to barter
or - provided sufficient data regarding local monetary systems can be
acquired - traditional monetary transactions.

Also, our navigational data for this sector is very much incomplete;
for example, we have no record of a 'New Tulsa' in our navigational
charts.  Any more-complete astronomical data regarding the other
systems in this sector would be very much appreciated, as would
details regarding political and socioeconomic conditions so that we
may better understand market conditions in this sector.

We look forward to doing business with you.

Sincerely,

Admiral Jesi Agata
YellowApple, Inc. Expeditionary Fleet ⢻⢺⣸⢸

by **The Atahez** » Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:17 pm

Outskirts of the System, near planet Rokesby

The area was getting crowded. Too crowded for the Atahez. They listened to the transmissions and could hear the strain in the voice of those replying from the planet. The Atahez where aware of how intimidating their ships looked to outsiders. Them showing up now could complicate matters. However, a near by planet seemed unmolested by other curious members and the Atahez began to to move.

Sauveur was the new goal now. However, the Overseers aboard debated if they should wait and scan the planet or make first contact straight away. Speed was chosen in this case as no doubt someone or something would have sensed the ships moving now. A small jump later and the small mission was overlooking the planet. They did not wish to repeat the same mistakes as the Yellowlab fleet. They stayed a distance enough away but close enough to still engage in communications.

They angled their ships to expose their broadsides, effectively making them exemplary targets to attack but also to show they meant no harm to the planet. Unsure if the race spoke the same language as those on Rokesby, the Scholar's aboard the ship began to send out an easily decipherable numerical code. " Not Hostile. Stop. We are Atahez. Stop. Wish for Diplomacy and cultural exchange. Stop" the message went. The broadcasted it a few more times to be sure the message was clear enough.

Corporate Security (FT, open)

Corporate Security (FT, open)

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