A Gift From the Sea
Nalydian Empire, System Mürsk;
Rekazhgrazhni Mürskskaya, Mürsk;
Palatial Villa of the Great House of Mürsk;
Throne Room of High Hunter Batyev Kalachyt
He floats through the doors. To his left stand six statues of Rekazhnar - each flanked by floodlights positioned to illuminate the chamber with a dull blue glow - and to his right six more loom in opposition to those off his left. They are a familiar sight, truthfully, but each and every time Cholkük is met by them, he cannot help but be reminded of the Mürsk'an preference for the pelagic. Moving past them, he is soon greeted by steps, and floats over these as well, until he nears the surface of the chilly waters and is forced, by Mürsk's foul pull, to walk.
High Hunter Cholkük. I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised, Batyev Kalachyt, herself a High Hunter, waves Cholkük forward.
No, he replies. Water runs off his clothes, onto the step below, and trickles back into the pool behind him. He brushes his shoulders and pats down his thighs: the breeze is cool and he is already, mostly, dry. But I do appreciate your availability given such such short notice.
High Hunter Kalachyt stands from her throne. Some distance in front of her, equidistant from the water's edge to the far end of the chamber, a stone table rises out of the floor. She walks over to it, pulls out one of the chairs, and seats herself. Cholkük, witnessing the gesture, does the same.
Well, Kalachyt chuckles, we would have been better prepared if you gave us more time, but I digress.
Off to the side, one of the aides bows and disappears out of the room. Moments later, he returns with a datapad and a stylus to write with.
Cholkük chuckles as well; von Begin just finished a debriefing concerning the wormhole situation in Anchor with our district commanders. I think he's stumbled upon a stable and populated realm, he says.
I don't fully recall the Anchor situation. That's in the Milky Way? Ellian space?
Cholkük nods. It's not far from our holdings in that galaxy. It wasn't too long ago that the wormhole opened, and I don't think we've discussed it at length on the Council. That might be why you don't remember it. He places a small projector on the table. A hologram of the System Anchor is brought up and the wormhole can be seen clearly. This was its position before it closed.
Before it closed?
Yes, Cholkük replies.
It has been some time since the wormhole closed - the direct connection with the new realm was, summarily, severed as well when the bridge was snuffed out. The Pordish expeditionary force elected to avoid an immediate return following its closure, and continued to operate on the far side long enough to collect sufficient data concerning their entry point and the nature of the fabrics they discovered. After finally returning to Pordish fabricspace, most of their data made its way to various analysts on Yamsai, but word nevertheless spread, albeit minimally, that they'd encountered entirely new entities during their short excursion.
Tell me again, what was it you named this realm?
DA-1, Cholkük replies. It shows promise.
Kalachyt raises an eyebrow. There can be only one reason why High Hunter Cholkük chose to speak with her in private and not call a Communing of the Houses. Yes - she drums a few fingers on the table - I remember now. There was no Dominion there. That's good. Very good. So who did you find on the other side of that wormhole?
We made direct contact with at least four local polities. None of the powers there are in our records. Because of this, von Begin suggested that we should expand into this realm. It's a far cry from the various other realms we recently moved into.
Doesn't take much to pique Natynozh interest, does it?
If, Cholkük leans in, his voice now lower than before, it affords us bulwark against the encroaching power of the Dominion. You know our stance on expansion, nam-Kalachyt Reknugrazhni, it's never that simple, but it does mean that the Great House of Natynozh is more than willing to participate in such an expedition.
Kalachyt continues to drum her fingers. They do pose a rather large threat.
They do, the Natynozh head nods; the mere existence of the Dominion (for good reason) has been cause for considerable naval expansion. Following the disastrous Sol III affair, Dominion forces made landfall in Barbarossa I: they were held at bay, and continue to be held at bay, by forces of the Sacred League, but at any moment they could begin large scale operations again. And after having spoken with von Begin about his experience fighting the Dominion, the prospect of further large scale battle against them... Does not appeal to Cholkük. He scratches his head. But more importantly, I'd like for the Great House of Mürsk to officially support our expedition to DA-1.
The implications of Cholkük's suggestion immediately hit High Hunter Kalachyt. She gazes past her Natynozh counterpart to the waters distant; it is apparent that the Natynozh are serious about this expedition, and don't view it in the same light as they have many of the lesser extra-universal expansion projects that have been undertaken in the past. This very notion causes her to arrest her drumming and move her arm to fully support her torso as she, too, leans in towards the center of the table and, sensibly, towards Cholkük.
I don't see why we can't arrange something, she concludes after some thought, I will gather our Council. When do you plan on beginning?
Cholkük looks down to the table as if he doesn't already have a timetable established. Then, he nods to himself, looks up, and says, before the arrival of the next cycle - and nods again to emphasize the point, continuing - von Begin has already made preparations for a division of line to be sent with a number of skirmisher formations.
The force seems small, but Kalachyt says nothing of this. The presence of the Dominion within Pordish operational jurisdiction is damning, and far be it from her to suggest removing units from the line which otherwise would be deployed directly against them. She looks to the aide to ensure that he's made note of every detail thus far. He nods to her without so much as a word of confirmation.
Thus satisfied, Cholkük smiles and stands from his chair. Namengrazhniskaya, he says with a bow. Do convene your Council. The Natynozh will discuss this matter in depth as well, and I expect we should be fully ready to begin colonization efforts before turn of the current cycle.
High Hunter Kalachyt stands, too, and returns Cholkük's bow. With nothing more on the table for discussion (for the time being), she merely watches as the Natynozh High Hunter disappears back down the steps into the depths below.
