The Ascension of the Imperium IC (All Tech, TG for interest)

by **Irenton** » Sat Jan 01, 2022 4:09 pm

Resource consolidation system #5142
The Imperial Fleet
OOC: Minor retcon, Imperial forces arrived in Octavian space post-timeskip

The arrival of the Imperial Fleet into Octavian space had been strategically calculated - with old intelligence. Rather than arriving in the thick of the action, they had arrived on a century-old battlefield, a system used for little more than mining to fuel their new ally's - though Arthus himself was hesitant to use the term just yet - expansionist war-machine. The singular space station was clearly not a target of interest, for the Empire or for anyone else, but the Octavians aboard seemed polite enough - perhaps they could even be considered friendly. The dual Imperiums, they had said, that had a nice ring to it.

Much as Arthus wished to dispatch his available forces here there and everywhere, there remained the problem of strategic intelligence. The Imperial intelligence surrounding these Octavians was third-hand (fourth? Fifth?) at best, and Arthus would never go into battle without at least first knowing who his enemy was and where they were located, to do otherwise would be suicidal madness. So that was why Arthus was gathering a detachment of Fusiliers and officers aboard one of his corvettes, which would dock to the Octavian station and deliver them to their newest alliance - if anything went wrong, the corvette and its crew would provide fire support for the evacuation, but there was no need for the Octavians to know that.

The IESS Triumph of Jubilation was a fairly old ship, laid down just before the beginning of the Retribution War and serving in the Retribution Fleet the whole way through the near 20-year conflict. All-in-all, it was probably one of the oldest in the fleet, aside from Arthus' flagship, and therefore the one he trusted the most. The newer vessels had fancier technology - not too different but with enough extra streamlining and smooth white interiors and consoles that Arthus reacted with a completely unnecessary and unjustified hostility - but the older ships were dependable, they had carried the soldiers of Retribution Command into battle in the Empire's darkest, but also finest, hours, and Arthus wouldn't trade one of the black-painted, skull-emblazoned, vessels for a hundred of the newest supercarriers.

"What should we expect from these Octavians in terms of attitudes?" Captain Renter - commander of the battleship Wind of Ice - asked, as he straightened up his peaked cap.

Lieutenant Kirin - Arthus' intelligence officer - pulled up an information panel on her visor and responded. "The Octavians are a synthetic species, who have uploaded their consciousnesses into artificial bodies. We do not yet know how they will respond to us, though from intercepted transmissions they seem to hold hostile attitudes to organic species."

The next to speak was Ranger-Commander Eule - who had just been unlucky enough to be aboard the Triumph of Jubilation when Arthus called up his officers, preventing them from making up an excuse as to why they couldn't transfer - "ah, well, that's marvellous. I can't wait to be shot at by our supposed allies for having skin."

"I doubt that they would resort to such measures in their time of crisis."

"I've seen more foolish things. Besides, Kirin, you'll be fine, you're half-droid anyway. Maybe you can trick them and enable us to escape and bring the real big guns to bear - show them what for."

Kirin's visible cybernetic eye flashed red, before flipping back to its usual turquoise within a moment. The clenching of her cybernetic jaw was partially masked by the layer of plastic faux-skin over the top of it, but Eule's eyes were sharp enough that they detected it and gave her a smirk that signalled their victory. They've gotten to me, Kirin thought, but if they're right then they'll get killed and I won't, so who's the real winner.

The hangar Arthus had designated for docking had been one filled with various ground vehicles and hardware. The reasoning for his choice was two fold; firstly, the aircraft hangars were far too full for any meaningful gathering of officers to take place, not to mention that they were an organised mess of pipes, fuel canisters, and other such ordnance, the unknown variable of the Octavians entering them might lead to a disaster; second, if anything went wrong, the fully-crewed and ready - albeit silent and unknown to any but the Irentons in the hangar - tanks and walkers present would jump in and allow the Imperial officers to escape.

As Arthus thought about disaster - as he was wont to do when waiting for basically anything - he found himself glancing up at the hangar's ceiling. There, on the gantries and various support manifolds, were dozens of soldiers, hidden by the intentionally darkened room, in ambush positions. Commander Eule had also insisted their XO4 operatives run guard duty with the already positioned Fusiliers, and that was why there were a hundred Rangers on the ceiling, ready to swoop in at a moment's notice and protect their commanding officers.

The corvette entered its final docking stages with an audible thud, as the hangar's docking arms extended from their armoured holds. As it did so, the Imperial delegation entered their assigned positions. Consul Arthus had explicitly stated that he lead the group - despite Lieutenant Kirin's protestations that she be the one to do so - with Kirin on his left and Eule on his right; Captains Renter and Popov - of the cruiser Wreathed in Storm - were behind them, followed by Vice-Admiral Amadeus - of the carrier Eschaton - and Commodore Juleka - of the dreadnought Spirit of Valour; they were flanked by a dozen Fusiliers on either side, forming a wide-arrow shape, standing with their weapons at attention.

The voice of Captain Williams - the Triumph of Jubilation's captain - came through Arthus' headset, "docking complete sir, we'll open the hangar shield on your order."

As a last-minute precaution, Arthus switched his heavy power armour's shielding frequency in order to repel any incoming objects - it probably wouldn't do much, but it was nice to have just a little bit more protection - then gave the order. "Open it."

by **The Dark Domain** » Wed Jan 05, 2022 5:19 am

THE PLANET NEXUS
THE MAGEOPOLIS
TOWER OF THE DARK FIGURE
COUNCIL CHAMBER

The Council chamber was, as always, filled with argument as each order pressed for more prestigious appointments and more resources
"SHADOWFIRE ACADEMY HAS ALWAYS HAD A DEAN FROM THE EVOCATION SCHOOL!" bellowed Stoldor, a tall red robed man waving a staff that crackled with lightning
Ojamar, a corpulent man surrounded by a cloud of imps that constantly flew around him, picking specks off his orange robe, massaging his muscles and popping sweetmeats into his mouth, leaned forward and spat "Perhaps once the Conjuration school takes over the level of education will will improve"
"YOU BLOATED SACK OF OFFAL!" screamed the red robed mage "I WOULD RENDER THE SCHOOL TO RUBBLE BEFORE I ALLOWED YOUR MISBEGOTTEN ORDER TO TAKE IT OVER!"
"Now gentlemen" said Ohavia, a perfectly formed woman wearing a purple robe that, while fully covering, was tailored to hug every curve, her voice whispering hidden delights and her eyes twinkling, the other heads knew better to meet her gaze "Surely there is no need for shouting threats?"
"SILENCE WHORE" shouted the two arguing Magi
Ohavia frowned "Now look he-"
the sound of a clearing throat cut through the chamber and every head turned, Istrum, the head of the Divination school rarely spoke but when he did it was worth listening to
"My Lords and Ladies" said the tall willowy, blue robed mage "A report has come to my attention that requires the council's immediate attention"
"Then speak" said Iffea, who's white robe was surrounded by an ever shifting field of scintillating colours and who's face constantly shifted and changed
"Our Bastion in the Panorox system has reported that a fleet has entered the system, They believe it to be from The Octavian Imperium" replied Istrum "my Diviners indicate they are a race of robots that are currently waging a campaign of expansion"
There was a loud creaking noise as the massive gold doors at the back of the chamber creaked open, every eye in the chamber fixed itself fearfully on the darkness within
"I recommend that we dispatch a Monolith immediately" said Emorith the stocky green robed Adjurer quickly
"The Necromancy school agrees" Rasped Xodalf, the black robed mage who was the council member remaining from the original council, due to being a lich "But the Eternity should not be considered, our spells of death would be worthless against such an enemy"
"I propose the the Annihilation be sent" said the androgynous Transmuter in yellow, Iharith "my Magi will render them to dust"
Iffea shook their head "not until we know more about their ships, the possibility that they may have shields that block your spells is to great"
"I propose the Oblivion, a tide of howling beasts at long range will likely either destroy them or drive them off, all other Monoliths should be placed on standby" replied said Emorith, gesturing at the Conjurer
The other Magi glanced at each other then one by one agreed

PANROX SYSTEM BASTION
TWENTY SEVEN MINUTES LATER
The Octavian fleet had not yet moved past the edge of the system but the Master Mage who ran the Dominion Bastion (a five kilometre square black of black stone) was still nervous "Still no reply from the council?" he muttered to the diviner beside him as he stood staring at the 3d map of the system
"No Master" replied the blue robed mage "but that is not unexpected, the council rarely replies"
"Keep the Evokers at their posts, the wards up and the Conjurers prepared to open the Hellgate" The Master Mage ordered, sighing "We will likely not know anything until a Mon-"
his comment cut off as space ripped open and From the howling darkness came a massive rectangular block of black stone a kilometre long and five hundred meters wide, massive Sigils marking each face, lumbered forth to the sound of cheering from every mage in the Sanctum (control room)
immediately a message was sent an all channels by the small Cadre of Machine Mages on the Oblivion (their equipment primitive but serviceable)

Octavian fleet, this is Mage-Captain Deranis Vil of The Domain of The Dark Figure, turn you ships and leave NOW or be torn apart, this is your only warning

by **Horacellum Testing Grounds** » Thu Jan 06, 2022 6:45 am

Northern Eight Stars Fortress
Aliyor Mountains' Outer Borders
The Most Serene Utopian Republic of Horacellum

The sunlight above were blocked by the Azure Dragon's fleets. Several magicians below it, the bests of the St.Delia Magical Institute, as well as some regular workers, worked on a certain enormous structure. The week before, both the Seat of the Sovereign and the Six Divine Saints agreed to send the Serene Republic's finest soldiers and Battlemages, all carried on the backs of two main fleets of the Azure Dragon, the Delia Fleet and the Yahkayef Fleet. All of these soldiers were tasked with one thing, simply reach out to Terra, prove the existence of magic and their mastery of it, in favor of their Terran ally, the Soviet Union.

And as it turned out, the "enormous structure" built by the finest mages and laborers in this country was the gate by which the fleets may pass. Interdimensional travels had always been done in a small scale, at most for only a group of people. But then, they had to transfer not only a small group of people, but two whole fleets, complete with the crews, the aircrafts they carried, and the soldiers of other branches on it. It was days and days of extensive labor and experimenting, with countless amount of energy, raw materials, and Ensof thrown into this megaproject.

After 6 days of pure, unadulterated hard work, at last, the project was completed. The newest Magic Device, simply named 'Dimensional Door', is a large structure with a shape of half a circle, supported by a floating platform to enable the aerial units to pass through. The Dimensional Door is meant to further enhance the size and durability of a teleportation gate, be it an interdimensional one or not.

"The Door is ready! Draw the circle now!" Shouted one of the operator of the Dimensional Door that was currently floating above the skies. The shout signalled the Archmages on the ground to draw the interdimensional gate into the door.

The ten Archmages, who wore the uniform of the St.Delia Magical Institute's Archmage, a plain white robe covered in a black lab coat with the Institute's emblem etched on its chest, quickly flew their way into the Dimensional Door through Wind magic.

After their arrival to the location, each one of them raised their right hand, a blue light glowed from them, and quickly a metal rod with white crystal on the tip appeared in each of the hands raised, soon held tightly by the Archmages. Then, the rods' tip were pointed at the Dimensional Door, and the Archmages began to focus their mind on weaving commands using OTCOS Method, in order to create the magic circle.

The white crystal then glowed brightly white, signaling the strong presence of Force Ensof. Soon a beam of white light spewed forth from the rods into the Dimensional Door, and a giant light circle began to appear. First, a simple circle, then another smaller circle inside it, then small symbols appeared between two circles, and finally, a large eight-pointed star formed itself inside the circle, and spun itself wildly. Soon, a burst. The magic circle turned into a swirl of light, akin to a portal. This formation of dimensional gate could be seen from the other side as well.

The 10 Archmages then put down their rods. One of them soon spoke to the rest of his colleagues in a voice of celebration, "It works! It finally works! Our days of labor, finally paid in this masterpiece!".

The rest then clapped, some whistled in celebration as well. Few seconds passed, and after the celebration calmed down, the same Archmage who spoke, then raised his rod at the direction of the two Azure Dragon's fleets, and shot a signal flare to them, confirming the Dimensional Door's readiness for interdimensional travel.

Both admirals of the Delia Fleet and the Yahkayef Fleet spotted and signals, and issued an order for the entire fleet to start their journey, starting from the Delia Fleet at the front, and then the Yahkayef Fleet would follow behind them.

Each fleet comprises of an Edenor under the same name as the respective fleet, carrying various aircrafts to its maximum capacity as well as other Sword Order units, 5 Middar airships for escort, and 10 Gehnem with each one Gehnem carrying a division of 40 Battlemages, led by a High Battlemage, and with each 5 divisions under the supervision of a Mentor.

The plan was then executed, the Delia Fleet drove their way carefully into the Dimensional Door, with the Yahkayef Fleet soon doing the same minutes after.

Above Red Square
Moscow
Russian Federation

The skies above the Red Square suddenly turned weird, as strange symbols, made by the Archmages for interdimensional travel, suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Soon, it swirled, forming a some sort of a portal. Not enough that the skies turned weird, strange ships that float on air with a rather unfamiliar model popped out of the portal, which were the Delia Fleet and the Yahkayef Fleet.

Then, the fleets began to form ranks, with two Edenors standing side by side, surrounded by the smaller Middar and Gehnem ships in a diamond-shaped formation. After all the ships formed ranks, a loud voice came from Edenor Delia, made by its captain, Zenef Iliniad.

"Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, the great Magic and Sword Order of the Most Serene Utopian Republic of Horacellum have made a successful journey through dimensions, as promised by our figurehead."

Hope swelled within the mind of all Seersfolks' soldiers, a brave new world, full of mysteries to be discovered and knowlegde to be hoarded and shared, for the betterment of the future.

by **Sky Reavers** » Thu Jan 06, 2022 3:33 pm

Four Seasons of Hell, or what happened initially and over the year

Autumn, it came
During the initial invasion, Sky Reavers have sustained losses and yet fought bravely, beliving this is the Epic Battle from prophecies. A battle agaisnt a powerful entity, that will try to take away their lives and freedom. All factions have foguht in unison, each using it's own unique tactical approach, and it worked. And yet, they realized, they couldn't fight on their own, so they created Global Defense Council and decided to rally, whoever is left alive and resisting under their black and sky blue banner. With limited success, they spreaded beyond the territories they controlled in the past. Even with the help of Mandate, who came just like the winged hussars, Earth was and is still a warzone.

Winter, the decline
After the year of uphill battle with a foe, who is much more technologically superior even to Neoners, the most advanced faction, that provides Sky Reavers with technologies, Sky Reavers are probably the last remaining country, that is not Octavian puppet. The rest are either occupied or their governments are no more. And even they have great trouble holding out. African territories are lost despite all the resistance from the communes and factions, Pyongyang is also lost, with Sky Reavers evacuating it. Fort Liberty has been evacuated and blown up (but Manadate still built their in it's place), cities, villages and towns in China, Russia, Europe, wherever Sky Reavers moved were contested and changed their controllers frequently due to inability to hold large territories at once given the situation. Food production and acquisition became harder with every passing day, and this is the only thing, where declining numbers helped.

Many warbands had to go nomadic and act mostly on their initiative. There, unit independence in doctrine was helpful, but still, without coordination, efficinecy decreased.

From original terriotires, only Enthorean insalnd, the main island of Sky Reavers, and Mexican, South American and Korean holdouts are permament-ish. And the numbers of Reavers were dwindling. The only hope was, that Octavian numbers are falling too.

Spring, the hope
And yet, there was hope. Thanks to guerrilla legacy, ingenuity, cunning and ability to reverse engineer things, all of which were learend during the revolution in 1982, Sky Reavers not only held the line, but also salvaged lots of robots for their armor, weapons and ammunition, turning Octavian tech against it's own master. Tachankas, armed pickups with Octavian armor and weapons were far more effective than before they were upgraded. Energy cores of these robots have proved to be an invaluable asset, as they could not only power up things if made into generators, but also could be extremely powerful improvised explosive devices. And after the long year, other systems were also adapted by crafty Reavers. Friend/foe identification systems were useful to scan for enemies, salvaged proccessors contained intel. What Reavers lacked in technology, they made up with ferocity, cunning and creativity.

Over the year, in place of lost holdouts in North Korea and Africa, many more have appeared on the East Coast of USA, some in Spain, China and Russia. Even if they couldn't always hold out for extended periods of time, those, which were overwhelm would evacuate and attempt to reappear elsewhere, attempting to play "Whack a mole" game with Octavia. Allies also deserve a credit, Mandate's aid had been invaluable. Their high-tech equipment was far more reliable than weapoms salvaged from Octavian robots and refitted for human use. And not only that.

Maybe, it's possible to win this war after all?

Summer, the action

But to win it, gotta fight at peak capabilities. Over the year, Sky Reavers have managed to reestablish the contact with all remaining foreign cells or whatever was left from them, which was lost during the initial chaos. Before the war, they were intended for making a spy network, that would help Sky Reavers to achieve their goals through more shadowy means and according to World Revolution plan concept, which was quickly created in case something goes so wrong, that international community decides to attack them, rally and steer up riots and uprisings there. It wasn't very detailed, since it was one of "Unthinkable" war plans, far fetched and highly hypothetical ones, created during the breaks by drunken warlords and councillors just for fun and the sake of "What if", rather than some realistic and rational reason. But now, this "Unthinkable" plan with a wine stain on it ascended from beign a joke to something more realistic. To an ace in the sleeve.

Now, it was time to enact it. The remaining agents have recieved orders from Spymaster Blackbird to rally the people are "rebel" against Octavian forces in different countries at the same time. At least half of the cells was destroyed. The other was weakened, and yet tried to carry out the plan "The Greatest Epic War" and would rally the people they find and give them stored and scavended equipment. "Rebellions" would be ignited in Spain, Argentina, France, Western Russia, Serbia, Australia, California and Sweden. The less powerful uprisings would occur in many other places, but they wouldn't be significant.

In the meantime, John Walker AI would start another plan. The salvaged and studied Octavian proccessors would be tied up to Sky Reaver trashbots to confuse the Octavian forces. Sure, Tactical Codex AI could figure out this trick. But that was actually needed. With lots of trashbots, Sky Reavers hoped to spam Tactical Codex AI and force him to use up some of his resource on this. Maybe even screw up some tactical layouts too. Sometimes, Sky Reavers would rebuild Octavian attack drones with their identificators, but put their own CPUs with their programms, and send them not only to attack enemy ranks, but also to randomly wander, or flee. This would hopefully send at least some of Octavian forces on a wild goose chase.

And not only that... these replicas of various Octavian attack drones, which look like Octavian ones would be sent to conduct false-flag operations agaisnt collaborators, such as Passione. Why Reavers didn't come up with this trick earlier? Well, only recently, they have learned to make fake Octavian drones to look and sound convincing.

Casey James, leader of Chillax Dudes faction, and Stan Dixon, leader of Cowboy Republic faction, had yet to come up and enact their own plans.

OOC: Seasons are for symbolism, not chronology.

by **Gonswanza** » Mon Jan 10, 2022 10:37 am

Horacellum Testing Grounds wrote:
Northern Eight Stars Fortress
Aliyor Mountains' Outer Borders
The Most Serene Utopian Republic of Horacellum

The sunlight above were blocked by the Azure Dragon's fleets. Several magicians below it, the bests of the St.Delia Magical Institute, as well as some regular workers, worked on a certain enormous structure. The week before, both the Seat of the Sovereign and the Six Divine Saints agreed to send the Serene Republic's finest soldiers and Battlemages, all carried on the backs of two main fleets of the Azure Dragon, the Delia Fleet and the Yahkayef Fleet. All of these soldiers were tasked with one thing, simply reach out to Terra, prove the existence of magic and their mastery of it, in favor of their Terran ally, the Soviet Union.

And as it turned out, the "enormous structure" built by the finest mages and laborers in this country was the gate by which the fleets may pass. Interdimensional travels had always been done in a small scale, at most for only a group of people. But then, they had to transfer not only a small group of people, but two whole fleets, complete with the crews, the aircrafts they carried, and the soldiers of other branches on it. It was days and days of extensive labor and experimenting, with countless amount of energy, raw materials, and Ensof thrown into this megaproject.

After 6 days of pure, unadulterated hard work, at last, the project was completed. The newest Magic Device, simply named 'Dimensional Door', is a large structure with a shape of half a circle, supported by a floating platform to enable the aerial units to pass through. The Dimensional Door is meant to further enhance the size and durability of a teleportation gate, be it an interdimensional one or not.

"The Door is ready! Draw the circle now!" Shouted one of the operator of the Dimensional Door that was currently floating above the skies. The shout signalled the Archmages on the ground to draw the interdimensional gate into the door.

The ten Archmages, who wore the uniform of the St.Delia Magical Institute's Archmage, a plain white robe covered in a black lab coat with the Institute's emblem etched on its chest, quickly flew their way into the Dimensional Door through Wind magic.

After their arrival to the location, each one of them raised their right hand, a blue light glowed from them, and quickly a metal rod with white crystal on the tip appeared in each of the hands raised, soon held tightly by the Archmages. Then, the rods' tip were pointed at the Dimensional Door, and the Archmages began to focus their mind on weaving commands using OTCOS Method, in order to create the magic circle.

The white crystal then glowed brightly white, signaling the strong presence of Force Ensof. Soon a beam of white light spewed forth from the rods into the Dimensional Door, and a giant light circle began to appear. First, a simple circle, then another smaller circle inside it, then small symbols appeared between two circles, and finally, a large eight-pointed star formed itself inside the circle, and spun itself wildly. Soon, a burst. The magic circle turned into a swirl of light, akin to a portal. This formation of dimensional gate could be seen from the other side as well.

The 10 Archmages then put down their rods. One of them soon spoke to the rest of his colleagues in a voice of celebration, "It works! It finally works! Our days of labor, finally paid in this masterpiece!".

The rest then clapped, some whistled in celebration as well. Few seconds passed, and after the celebration calmed down, the same Archmage who spoke, then raised his rod at the direction of the two Azure Dragon's fleets, and shot a signal flare to them, confirming the Dimensional Door's readiness for interdimensional travel.

Both admirals of the Delia Fleet and the Yahkayef Fleet spotted and signals, and issued an order for the entire fleet to start their journey, starting from the Delia Fleet at the front, and then the Yahkayef Fleet would follow behind them.

Each fleet comprises of an Edenor under the same name as the respective fleet, carrying various aircrafts to its maximum capacity as well as other Sword Order units, 5 Middar airships for escort, and 10 Gehnem with each one Gehnem carrying a division of 40 Battlemages, led by a High Battlemage, and with each 5 divisions under the supervision of a Mentor.

The plan was then executed, the Delia Fleet drove their way carefully into the Dimensional Door, with the Yahkayef Fleet soon doing the same minutes after.

Above Red Square
Moscow
Russian Federation

The skies above the Red Square suddenly turned weird, as strange symbols, made by the Archmages for interdimensional travel, suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Soon, it swirled, forming a some sort of a portal. Not enough that the skies turned weird, strange ships that float on air with a rather unfamiliar model popped out of the portal, which were the Delia Fleet and the Yahkayef Fleet.

Then, the fleets began to form ranks, with two Edenors standing side by side, surrounded by the smaller Middar and Gehnem ships in a diamond-shaped formation. After all the ships formed ranks, a loud voice came from Edenor Delia, made by its captain, Zenef Iliniad.

"Comrade Leonid Brezhnev, the great Magic and Sword Order of the Most Serene Utopian Republic of Horacellum have made a successful journey through dimensions, as promised by our figurehead."

Hope swelled within the mind of all Seersfolks' soldiers, a brave new world, full of mysteries to be discovered and knowlegde to be hoarded and shared, for the betterment of the future.

Of course, the Russians were... Well... Driven to madness. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Fighters were rushed, infantry deployed, all the bells and whistles... Before the sharp military response was reigned in. Given how isolated this incident was, it was rather localized, even if the government now had to fight to censor everything, going as far as locking down the internet temporarily.

Yet, it was not an unwelcome greeting, as the Russians soon fall quiet, thinking of their next move. The sharp reaction of the military was dialed back, as it was noted that this was not an invasion, plus it didn't seem like there was hostile intent... Yet, the infantry would stay, with a few fighters scrambled to circle around, a containment zone being established.

And yet, this uneasy peace would be held for a long while... As the Russians refuse to move first, likely out of fear. At least they weren't openly hostile!

by **Horacellum Testing Grounds** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 3:32 am

Gonswanza wrote:Of course, the Russians were... Well... Driven to madness. Metaphorically speaking, of course. Fighters were rushed, infantry deployed, all the bells and whistles... Before the sharp military response was reigned in. Given how isolated this incident was, it was rather localized, even if the government now had to fight to censor everything, going as far as locking down the internet temporarily.

Yet, it was not an unwelcome greeting, as the Russians soon fall quiet, thinking of their next move. The sharp reaction of the military was dialed back, as it was noted that this was not an invasion, plus it didn't seem like there was hostile intent... Yet, the infantry would stay, with a few fighters scrambled to circle around, a containment zone being established.

And yet, this uneasy peace would be held for a long while... As the Russians refuse to move first, likely out of fear. At least they weren't openly hostile!

Above Red Square
Moscow
Russian Federation

To the shock of the Horacellumian soldiers, the Russians, who was thought to be the promised ally, as said by the Six Divine Saints, were in shock, and deployed troops quickly against the Serene Republic's forces. Confusion began to spread among the lower ranking soldiers, thinking that it was a trap set by them.

Yet the higher commands back in the Edenor Delia and Edenor Yahkayef, as well as the Mentors, retained their composure, and began to set up a communication link between each other, with two captains of both Edenor using their Ensof-fueled Communication Device, and the Mentors using their Voicelink Crystal Orbs that had been linked to the communication Devices.

The Captain of Edenor Yahkayef and the Yahkayef Fleet, Inuart Hirnitia, had the first words among the group, "The troops and ship crews are in confusion. Was this a plot all along by the Soviets? I thought they promised to the Six Divine Saints? We know nobody can lie to them and not get caught. There must be something wrong".

One of the Mentor deployed into the two fleets, Ahiah Mutatuin, responded to Inuart, "Hey, it might be better to talk to those people, maybe some would respond in kind".

Hearing Ahiah's words, Zenef simply replied in an annoyed tone, "Are you joking? I specifically spoke with them before through the Communication Device, and I set them on audible level that everyone there could hear us. Yet instead of simply replying to my message, they straight up send their military forces against us!".

Another Mentor, Erneya Yahmukaf, joined in the conversation as soon as Zenef completed his pieces, "Of course they couldn't reply to our messages. Do you actually think they have the magic to send their voices hither? Besides, do they even know what we said?". Tired of further debate, Ahiah simply responded, "You know what? It's no use bickering in here. It won't get the job done. We'll be going down to the Red Square. Erneya. If you may". He signaled Erneya to join him in the landing to the Red Square.

Soon Ahiah cut off his Voicelink Crystal Orb from the comms, and drew a small magic circle under his feet using magic, teleporting him right in the middle of the Red Square. Erneya did the same, and she teleported herself right beside Ahiah.

Among the Russian soldiers, stood two Mentors, in their official uniform, a white colored Battlemage attire. Both of them quickly covered themselves in Ensof Shell, and Erneya opened her right palm right in front of her, conjuring forth her weapon, a rod with the same look as the one used by the Archmages at the Dimensional Door. She then raised her rod and channeled Voice Ensof to it. The rod's tip suddenly glowed grey. It was a Vocal Translation magic that allowed all around the caster including the caster itself to understand whatever language is heard by them, as long as the language bears any semblance of definition in it.

Ahiah lightly laughed and simply said to Erneya, "Now I know why they send a Voice Magician in this mission. Good job".

He soon turned to the Russian soldiers around the Red Square and announced to them, "We mean no harm to anyone, please stand down the hostility, and be not afraid. We come at the order of our leaders, to fulfill our part of the deal made with this nation long ago. I repeat, we mean no harm to anyone, please stand down the hostility, and be not afraid".

And now, both Mentors waited for further responses from the soldiers, while the rest of the higher commands back at the fleets dismissed themselves, putting their faith to both Ahiah and Erneya to clear the problems without violence.

by **Gonswanza** » Tue Jan 11, 2022 5:13 am

The infantry were, well... A little shocked. It wasnt the first time they had been caught up in such a horrid scenario, given past drills for a nuclear war, but this certainly was different. Eventually a radioman steps out of line, speaking up in the mother tongue of Russia, which should be translated perfectly for them into a language the odd duo can understand.

We do not know of this deal, for we were simply deployed as a snap response to defend our nation. The world is on edge, as far as I'm aware. But we can talk! Even as my superiors consider their next move.

That seems to sum up the situation, though noting the flag in the background, they may find that perhaps the times have changed. Regardless, flags seem to change on a whim in some places, so it could still be the soviet union for all they cared.

In Gonswanza, satellites pick up on the anomaly, before a Russian anti satellite missile from a remote location flies up to engage the spy satellite, probably out of spite. The space force seems interested, but the only proper response then is a false flag cyber attack, meant to attack hospitals in turn.

This, of course, will take a while...

by **Horacellum Testing Grounds** » Wed Jan 12, 2022 6:39 am

Gonswanza wrote:We do not know of this deal, for we were simply deployed as a snap response to defend our nation. The world is on edge, as far as I'm aware. But we can talk! Even as my superiors consider their next move.

Red Square
Moscow
Russian Federation

Satisfied by the answer given by the radioman, Ahiah replied to him, "Very well, we hope that we would be able to meet the current leader as soon as possible. Time is of the essence, the Soviet Union must assert its dominance over the enemies, for the sake of her allies and herself, of course. This has been the promise given to you by the Serene Republic, as an ally".

Then, Erneya pointed her rod which was still glowing due to the Vocal Translation enchantment to the radioman and said, "You may cease all hostility and issue an order of retreat to your soldiers, lest our fleet decided that your nation just set up a trap against us. Trust me, it will end up badly if this keeps on happening".

Meanwhile, in the Edenor Delia, its captain, Zenef Iliniad held his communication device on his hand, ready to contact the Commander-in-chief to issue a war declaration against the Russians whom he thought to be setting up a trap against the Serene Republic. However, he had his faith towards the Mentor duo down on the Red Square to settle things up. Doubts clouded his own mind, for the truth remained blurry at the moment.

In the Edenor Yahkayef, however, Captain Inuart Hirnitia busied himself with bringing back order and discipline into the lower ranks, ordering the crews and other soldiers within the Yahkayef Fleet to not do anything reckless.

"Ahiah and Erneya will settle down both parties", he kept on muttering to himself as he went around Edenor Yahkayef issuing orders directly for 'better effects'. Or at least that was what he thought.

by **Gonswanza** » Wed Jan 12, 2022 8:17 am

In turn, the radioman who made first contact whistles to his superior, an officer in the ranks. Being pulled aside, the two talk, then a few loose transmissions fly around about possible negotiations. The officer clearly wanted to keep things peaceful, yet the superiors were too busy bickering over the possibility that this was an attack, taking Russia hostage. After a few long hours, with some infantry hidden in the ranks playing games like rock-paper-scissors, there's an agreement made, with the infantry leaving, save for a few, just to escort the two Mentors to where the rest of the government was hiding in the snap meeting... Though they arranged for Vladmir Putin to be present, along with his successor as two rational minds.

Though, in all reality, Putin was still in power, having taken on a successor in case of some unfortunate circumstances given such high global tensions.

And hence, after another long while, plus some odd movements and a whole circus of security, the two Mentors are brought before Putin himself, with him and his office having seen better days, due to a few minor complications that were beyond their control, along with the obvious conflicts that Russia had been drawn into pulling funds away from keeping the office prim and proper in these trying times. At least he still had an office...

"Ah, you two are here to see me, yes?"

The unnamed successor simply watches from the sidelines, seeming younger, though he was probably using a heavy amount of cosmetics to hide his true age, which showed in his glum eyes and poor stature, indicating that perhaps he had a heavy limp or some back problems. The flag of the Russian Federation was hung up on a pole behind Putin, though there were two to complete the look, even if it was a little excessive. Alas, this clearly was not the Soviet Union... A long-gone relic of the cold war.

by **Ella2 6** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 3:23 am

57/05/8465 Katuchu, Stormlander Calendar
19 October 2420, Imperial Octavian Calendar

Imperial Octavian Space
Imperial Frontier System T-633
SS M-9992062
The Command Centre

The M-9992062 slipped silently through the subspace depths, its tapered bow cutting effortlessly through the aethereal vortexes that manifested within the realm. At these depths, the swirling subspace storms posed a sizeable threat to most subspacecraft. However, the Stormlanders had been taming these wild oceans for generations and the storm-class maskers were among the finest vessels ever put to the bottomless seas. But even so, it paid to be cautious out here.

The commander of the M-9992062, a middle-aged woman by the name of Kami studied the star charts carefully. The navigator stood beside her, gesturing towards various points on the map as he outlined a list of targets for her consideration. "We should be approaching the entrance of a major Octavian transportation artery," he concluded after some time, "Now would be a good time to surface if want want to take a closer look at traffic. The alternative would be to move deeper into the system to take a look at their shipyards, but that might be more dangerous for us."

Kami grunted. "Climb to periscope depth."

The order was quickly echoed down the chain: "Climb to periscope depth!"

"Isan," the conning officer noted, "Climbing to periscope depth, Neyichisuya!" He pressed the alarm button on his station twice to sound off two rings before speaking into the vessel public address system. "Vertical climb! Vertical climb! Periscope depth nine hundred!" The bow pitched backwards as the vessel ascended above the aethereal storms and into the gentle currents of the upper subspace layers. Behind them, the M-8276324 waited in reserve at travel depth, ready to lend assistance if needed but staying out of sight for now.

"Periscope depth attained. Deploying periscopes," the observer duly noted. He quickly cast the sensors to feed data to the main screen, allowing the commanding officers to see the vessel's surroundings. "Periscopes deployed."

"Contact! Civilian traffic identified!" The tacticians looked closely at the images they received. "Mostly civilian traffic," they told Kami, "A lot of transports. They're likely shipping material to the shipyards- Wait, something is coming out of FTL!"

As they spoke, a large fleet of several hundred craft, including many battleships and carriers, suddenly emerged into realspace. Their glistening bows cast huge shadows into the subspace below, looming over the M-8276324 like giant monsters.

"Contact! Octavian warships identified!"

"It seems that the Kakesuya was right to be worried," Kami concluded, "There seems to be significant naval build-up in this region. We should find a place to surface so we can report back to command." Her musings were interrupted by an alarmed cry from the back of the command centre.

"Contact! One of the Octavian destroyers is heading towards us!"

Kami turned to her chief tactician. "Have we been detected?"

"Unsure, Neyichisuya."

"Then let's play it safe. Get us back down to travel depth."

"Isan, Neyichisuya." The alarms rang twice. "Vertical dive! Vertical dive! Travel depth forty-five thousand!"

And with that, the bow pitched forward, taking the M-9992062 back into the realm of swirling storms and aethereal whirlpools.

by **Horacellum Testing Grounds** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:23 am

Gonswanza wrote:And hence, after another long while, plus some odd movements and a whole circus of security, the two Mentors are brought before Putin himself, with him and his office having seen better days, due to a few minor complications that were beyond their control, along with the obvious conflicts that Russia had been drawn into pulling funds away from keeping the office prim and proper in these trying times. At least he still had an office...

"Ah, you two are here to see me, yes?"

The unnamed successor simply watches from the sidelines, seeming younger, though he was probably using a heavy amount of cosmetics to hide his true age, which showed in his glum eyes and poor stature, indicating that perhaps he had a heavy limp or some back problems. The flag of the Russian Federation was hung up on a pole behind Putin, though there were two to complete the look, even if it was a little excessive. Alas, this clearly was not the Soviet Union... A long-gone relic of the cold war.

Ahiah simply did a small bow to the unnamed successor and said, "Indeed. We are the current representative of the The Most Serene Utopian Republic of Horacellum. Ahiah Mutatuin, a Mentor in the Magic Order".

While Ahiah was busy introducing himself, Erneya looked around the office, and saw something suspicious. A tricolor hung on a pole, the current Russian flag. As an Archmage herself, she had seen the Soviet Union with her own eyes, and had seen the flag too. But this one seemed to be far different than what she had seen. She soon remembered about a vaguely similiar tricolor being explained to her by an Archmage friend long ago. She was told that it was used as a flag for the country that preceded the Soviet Union, the Russian Empire.

"Do I have the pleasure of speaking with Leo--", Ahiah's words were suddenly cut down by a light knock at the back by Erneya's rod. She then moved forward, and pointed her rod towards the unnamed successor. Another grey-colored magic circle appeared at the rod's tip, and Erneya suddenly said in an angry tone, "Are you the new Emperor?! Did you oust our ally, the Soviet Union?! Both of your lives depend on your answer. Speak up. Immidiately".

Ahiah, quite confused and shocked, asked Erneya what happened. And she simply answered, "Look at the flag, it belongs to the Empire that was once brought to ruin by our ally. And now they're returned to power, and this man is without the doubt the new Emperor".

Further shocked by her answers, Ahiah soon opened his right palm, conjuring what seems to be a wand similiar in shape to a tree branch with white colored crystals covering its tip. He then pointed the wand up in the air, and cold winds began to gather and form into a large ice spike.

"You are not our ally, you are their usurper! Answer my partner's question, now!", shouted Ahiah. Things would definitely go downhill from here. And the soldiers back above the Red Square anxiously waited for what to come, still not knowing about the commotion that was currently undergoing.

by **Gonswanza** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 9:45 am

Vladmir Putin was almost used to this, or perhaps he was unnaturally talented at keeping a calm facade about himself. In either case, he simply arose from his seat, hands behind his back, as his successor scrambled for an exit, unable to bear the heat. The Russian federation's future, if it had one, was doomed from this small incident, though Putin himself would speak up calmly, keeping a straight face in the face of possible destruction.

"The Union dissolved after a series of tragic events, mostly due to conflicting ideals, unrest within the party, economic stagnation and public outrage, along with diplomatic strife as well as sunk costs and horrific corruption. After the 1991 coup attempt, the government collapsed and was reborn into the Russian federation. The Czar still is dead, the Russian socialist party is no more and nationalist movements have helped the new Federation prosper during these troubling times, even as the world stands on the brink, staring into the abyss. And while it would sound nice to restore a former socialist state, it's currently impossible, unless China were to take over and attempt to kill off one of the two oldest global powers left on the world stage. But you are certainly welcome to try, not that it would reflect well in the eyes of the public, much less the world, once news reaches them. So I would advise against any irrational actions, please. This is, after all, a place of peace, not war. The real warzones are far from here, like in Ukraine."

So this revealed a few things... One being that you can't trust humans with socialism, as their very nature would end up destroying it, another being that Russia was quietly fighting a proxy war... One that may soon turn into a real war, the moment Russian troops make their presence known against NATO-backed forces with suspicious infantry units from France, Germany, and the US already pitching in as "private military contractors"... Supposedly. But they are far and few in between. Yet, the escalation potency was there, it just needed a spark... And some public outcry.

by **The-International Space Organization** » Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:11 am

Grumman Corporations Owned Mobile Foundry Ship 'Imperial Ambition'

The dull roar of heavy industrial equipment hadn't stopped aboard the Imperial Ambition for centuries. And its master, Vernas, felt like he hadn't slept in that long either as he ran a talon over the PDA - Verifying production reports as he leaned back in his chair. Weapons, body armor, vehicles - Everything flowed out of the cargo bays of the Imperial Ambition by the Elephant, and he knew that he was reaching the edge of his wits. The last production run to arrive had thankfully been far less than urgent, but it had still been massive - Retooling machines, altering production lines, changing up styles of welding and soldering...

Shaking his head as he put the PDA down, Vernas stood and looked out of the window onto the factory floor below - Where seventy kilometers of industrial production sprawled out before him. The most recent production run had been replicas, not originals, and the demands had been damning - Low quality alloys to an exacting molecular composition, and the mining bays had been working overtime to meet the demands for untold billions of tons of ore each and every day. But now the effort was paying off - After a years worth of effort.

His eyes followed one production line as far as it could - Refined metals dropping through onto conveyors and molders, being split into separate chunks. Heated and then formed, wrapped around a metal skeleton that had come from another part of the factory - Wiring being laid into place, soldered on, and tested. Next to that like weapons were being produced and tested at a rate of a gun every five seconds - The robots next to them being pumped out at the same rate. In the distance a heavy crane lifted another standard crate, shifting towards a tram that would take it to the loading bay, and then onto a waiting Elephant.

Stuhr had been very exacting in his demands for this production run - Cheap, low quality, and perfectly Octavian. Tanks, drones, and he knew that some of the shipyards attached to his vessel were replicating the starships the Octavians had used before - Destroyers, frigates, cruisers, transport ships...Vernaz knew it wasn't his job to reason why, but he had a feeling these weren't exactly contract orders for the Octavian Government, as he looked at another load of drones being shifted away to another waiting ship.

But, in the end, it wasn't his job to do anything about that. Stuhr paid him to build weapons of war, not to question why they were being built. That was a job for politicians - His job was just to make sure the weapons were finished in time.

Grumman Corporation Mercantile Protection Battleship 'Guns of Kandar'
Octavia Galaxy, Neutral Space

The Guns of Kandar, better simply known as the Kandar, was a ship built for a different era. A starkly curving ramming prow arced up and forward, splitting into two to better shield the heavy forward facing shock guns - Built to survive a head on collision and unleash their planet shattering fury point blank into the shield less broadside of some unlucky pirate, with their ship already being cut in half by the ram.

The turret-based firepower of the vessel was focused across all four sides to bring as much firepower to bear on a forward arc as physically possible - A chaser, intended to run down and destroy ships as they turned to flee. Fast and nimble despite its raw size, easily out massing the Elephants that were settled into an escort cordon. In truth the vessel reflected its captain in that way.

Nobody quite knew how General Winters had come to be second in command, but then again, nobody quite knew how she'd met Stuhr in the first place...

"Captain on deck!" The VI announced as the door slid open - The crew barely reacting beyond a short salute as the Graefon strode onto the deck, talons clacking.

"What is our status?" She turned, her eyeless face shifting to look at the helmswoman - Who returned a short salute before clearing her throat to speak.

"Holding steady at the desginated coordinate point, Ma'am." She said. "We've confirmed our arrival with Stuhr - Escorts holding range. We've got a complete sensor grid, we'll know if anything comes into gun range." General Winters nodded as she turned, 'looking' out of the command center - In truth using all her senses to peer beyond the confined walls of the vessel and into the Void beyond - And merely confirming it for herself as she turned.

The cordon was well set at a proper range - Their picket ships disguising themselves in nearby asteroids, hull signatures being disguised as tens of thousands of orbital tons of rock and ore, power visuals being shunted as the Kandar increased her hull signature to hide them from prying sensors and prying eyes. The Kandar itself certainly was not trying to hide, the ship was too large for anything but the heaviest of Brisan stealth generators to obscure it entirely, so what better way than to use that than to hide capable ships in its shadow?

Settling its IFF into the proper stance with a mental command, Winters turned to exit the bridge...

The Queen was in place now - And it was time for the pawns to step onto the board...

Grumman Corporation MDV 109, 'Scarlet Dawn'

The Scarlet Dawn peered 'down' his sensor suite at the ships clustered in real space - He'd been shadowing refugee fleets fleeing earth for the last few months on orders from the Galactic Commander. His orders had been simple - Determine the extent of the Mandate, and its shipping traffic. Thankfully information from the Flight of the Bumblebee had been useful, and he'd spent most of his time trawling their edges - Comparing gateway locations to Octavian advances, and Octavian warp patterns, and identifying the usual response pattern of the Mandate.

And now Scarlet Dawn was confident he'd found a gateway worthy of the 'Wolfpack', as internal memos had taken to calling them, as he settled into a relative holding pattern. Busy, but not busy enough to cause an issue with the response force being crowded out of the gateway before it could arrive. It was still settled in the fringe, but riding the edge of the core - And... Well.

Scarlet Dawn could recognize a system that wasn't supposed to be accessible when he saw one - And, well... His orders had been explicit. Find a way to cause the most chaos feasibly possible in one, concentrated, strike. Copying the galactic and universal coordinates, Scarlet Dawn turned and 'rose' upwards into higher dimensions - His sub-space trawling probes returning to him, as he settled in for a short cruise to a real-space comm buoy...

Internal Memo, from Scarlet Dawn to Wolfpack

PRIORITY TRAFFIC, STANDBY
PROCEED TO ATTACK SITE AS DESIGNATED IN THIS MESSAGE
MAKE ALL HASTE, AND PROCEED WITH STANDARD ATTACK PATTERN
I SHALL BE ON STANDBY, AS ORDERED

Wolfpack Class AI, Outside Octavian Space

Wolfpack almost jerked in surprise as the message arrived - Quickly downloading the coordinates and reading it over.

He was still getting used to this new 'body' - These 'Octavian' ships were tiny, and he'd had to shunt most of his processing power into an available data-cloud so that he actually fit into the available data-drives and data-systems onboard the ship. It made sense as to why some cheap drone that classified as a 'Battleship' was this small but... Eugh. Wolfpack was used to strike fighters that had more data space than this.

Thankfully he'd already downloaded the modified battle codex he'd need to look like an Octavian battlefleet, as he shuffled his ships about into formations as their warp drives began to spool up. Doing his final checks, Wolfpack shunted the bulk of his awareness off the command ship - Digging electronic tendrils into the remaining ports before sealing them shut, and verifying he still had control while he had nearby ships to physically over-ride them, before running down the list. A good mixture of capitals, drone swarms at the ready, destroyers and frigates on standby...

The final set of checks was verified, completed, and double checked as he sent one message back to Scarlet Dawn - Verifying that he was moving, and that he was engaging his warp drives now, and shunting his full command ability to the Scarlet Dawn as a datalink opened, and the system spiraled opened intron of him - Both on the sensors of the Scarlet Dawn, and of his 'own' vessels...

Wolfpack Class AI, Mandate Blacksite

450 Capital ships. 2700 Light ships. Untold numbers of drone fighters.

All arriving at a the push of a digital button on the doorstep of a Mandate jumpgate - As Wolfpack issued one simple command. 'All vessels, engage' - The battle line quickly falling into place, the light ships screening the capitals as every ship began to open up with every weapon system on targets in range...

by **Imperial-Octavia** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 6:12 pm

Gonswanzan Earth

Mechanator #3232999 (or Nine for short) found his assignment to be quite interesting. He was assigned the task of overseeing the Octavian-Gonswanzan collaboration, making sure that the Imperium got the minerals that it wanted from the system and that the organics in Gonswanza got their share of Octavian tech. The AI found this interesting as the role could easily have been delegated to an unintelligent AI who would have done the job just as well. Also interesting was the underground base that the Imperial government had installed underneath their capital of Kotun mostly comprised of consoles monitoring the current status of the planet and making sure that there weren't any organics trying to interfere with the deal that the Imperium had here. So far nothing had interfered with said deal, which was much to Nine's delight, the lack of trouble would reflect well on his record once this war was over and he would probably get a promotion. Of course, just as he began pondering the nature of his future endeavors an alert panged his mind about some goings-on in Russia. As Nine read over the report he could tell that his job just became that much harder.

"How very improbable..." Nine thought as he read the report. It seemed that magic had made its way to this planet in the form of these new Soviet allies (even though the Soviet Union had been long defunct on this iteration of Earth). Perhaps they were somehow displaced through time and space in an effort aid the Soviet Union but regardless of how they got here and when they came from, this was a situation to be monitored and hopefully maneuvered around. He'd ask the organics to investigate the situation and hopefully they would be able to parse how potentially harmful these newcomers could be in regard to Octavian mining efforts.

Resource Consolidation System #5412

Before the Irenton delegation were allowed entrance into the station they were outfitted with an extensive suite of protective gear and oxygen canisters. As soon as they walked into the station itself, they would understand why. The station was alive with the sound of machinery as the shells of citizens bustled about to various foundries and mineral purification plants to do the work that kept the engine known as Octavia running. A closer look at those aforementioned citizens would reveal a level of mechanical movement that was uncharacteristic of even the assimilated population of Octavia, this was due to most of the citizens minds being inside the Aether as of the time of their work with their shells running off automated programs to keep the factories running.

There were lights shining down through clouds of industrial gasses illuminating the metal floors and walls along with various screens showing advertisements for various goods in the Aether and the occasional burst of propaganda. Smog and chemical smoke filled the air; those aerial pollutants that were visible being sucked out and vented into the void of space. Regardless of the purification efforts the air was still unfit for organic consumption, being exposed to it for even a few moments would lead to extreme discomfort for the delegation and eventually death.

The first non-worker Octavian they saw would be a tall machine, around 7 feet tall and very lean as it stood over the assorted Irentons with long mechanical tentacles flowing down from its head down to its legs. Blue and black lines were painted on its torso and there were a series of lights blinking in between the creases located in between the shoulder plates of the Octavian stood in front of them. The tentacles would begin stretch out reaching their way out to the hands of each of the Iretons present and-if so allowed-wraped around their arms in a move that could be assumed to be the Octavian equivalent to a handshake. If any were paying particular attention, they would notice the tentacle stretching further up Kirin's arm than the others, a seeming acknowledgement of her cyborg status.

"Welcome guests!" said an unmistakably female voice coming from the Octavian in front of them as she walked closer to them, “I am Isk’Valten, though you can call me Val for short, and I am also governor of this fine station.” she said while scanning each of the representatives, "Please forgive the looks of our humble station, I know your...sort probably don't find it very aesthetically appealing but since you came in on such short notice we couldn't clean the air." Val's pause was quick yet noticiable though it seemed that aside from that quick bump that she was fairly genuine.

"If you could follow me to the governor's quarters, I'll be able to link you to someone with the authority to discuss your alliance." Round drones scurried upon the ground, cleaning the path for the diplomats and their Governor host.

Panrox System

It was to be a normal system acquisition. The Panrox system was noted as an uninhabited system close enough to the now expanded fringes of the Imperium with asteroids galore and planets ripe with minerals, perfect for the Octavian war machine. A small fleet had been sent in to secure the system before mining vessels and foundry ships warped in to begin taking in minerals and sending out ships and drones to the rest of the Imperium and for once it seemed that it would be uninterrupted for once. That was until the Monolith came in and the fleet AIs went into overdrive as they prepared for combat. It was well known that the Imperium already had enough enemies as it was, and this was a well-known fact, so well-known in fact that the Imperium had implemented diplomatic protocols in their naval AI specifically for situations such as this and tried to initiate first contact in a way that would not result in another front in the Ascension War.

With that message sent to the Monolith it was hoped that the fleet would be able to proceed unmolested under the guise of diplomacy. Of course, there may be a snag when it was revealed that there was no ambassador for such as bellicose people but as long as the resources within the system were obtained then all would be fine in the end.

Earth

The insurgency on Earth was ever raging as always. In the Winter it was believed that the last serious signs of resistance were being washed away and Octavian control firmly established over the planet. Some Mechanators were shuffled away in the midst of the still raging orbital battle and in their place bio-battalions were sent to garrison instead, mostly plasma-men, and Octavian planetary transformation protocols went into full swing in the areas which they held control over. The former United Kingdom, now the capital of the new Octavian dominion over the planet Earth had cities transformed into massive industrial megaplexes, London for instance was entirely remade into a den of factories and security checkpoints. While the organic population was still present industrialization could not be ramped up to the levels that they would be on a standard Octavian planet, but worker drones could still toil in the factories they set up. The countryside was still natural and so many urbanites fled into the rural lands surrounding their cities and it would be here resistance would be conducted. The same was planned for other Octavian areas until the Spring came.

At the start of Spring more Mechanators were shifted to Asia where they would be fighting The Mandate in battle as the Earth Reconstruction Government was founded and its first military units were raised up. The ERG was the Octavian effort to humanize the occupation, it was still headed by Hu'Tae the governor of Earth, but it would utilize the organics until such time that the majority of the planet could be assimilated which unfortunately had not happened yet. Since the Pillar Men were considered out of commission, it was decided that mainland Europe would be retaken from the Vampire warlords that currently fought over it. Preparations were drawn up and bio-battalions were being assigned to beachheads for the invasions that would happen in the Summer. In other places the ERG would begin setting up "housing camps" to contain criminals and dissidents where they would be worked in underground factories to supplement military needs when it came to fighting The Mandate ranging from guns to drones and occasionally some equipment for the ERG armed forces. It was around this same time that the Sky Reavers would undergo a resurgence in strength and audacity returning to the guerilla style attacks that Mechanators had consistently been pestered with in the first half of the year. This time they would face higher numbers of bio-battalions and human collaborators fighting under the flag of the ERG and would fare much better than they had in the prior half of the year. Then Summer came.

When the remaining people of Portugal rose up with Reaver technology and tactics it was considered an annoyance but a single one at that, it could be handled. When the same happened in Australia this type of thing started to become a concern. When revolutions inspired by the Reavers happened across Europe and in California, Imperial command in the United Kingdom went into a full-blown panic. The vampire warlords in Europe were too busy fighting amongst themselves to be able to resist the wave of revolution and the Octavian garrisons had grown complacent and weak as many of their number had been sent over to Asia to fight The Mandate leading to all of them, sans the one in Serbia, found themselves destroyed. The Serbian garrison was able to hold out only because the Octavians had already encountered so much resistance in the Balkans that they were somewhat prepared when compared to the rest of Europe but even they were spread thin by the sudden wave of rebels looking to bring them down.

The Australian and Western Russian uprisings were disastrous for the war effort in the east. The island of Australia had been used to hold the long-range artillery and missiles that had been used to barrage the organic enemy on mainland Asia but with the Revolution these implements of war had to be turned inward as Mechanators met the rebels and the faux drones that the Reaver rebels had deployed. Western Russia was also an area of concern as it was a major supply route for incoming reinforcements, if it were to fall to revolutionaries who would almost certainly work with The Mandate it would be calamitous for continued operations on Earth. It would grant The Mandate a significant front in the war and give them what would be far too much territory in the fight for Earth.

To further complicate manners bootlegged drones of various designs could be found staging attacks against occupation forces or their allies while the regular Reaver forces became increasingly armed with looted and reverse engineered Octavian technology which was extremely problematic for the assorted ERG forces across the globe with their bio-battalion cohorts. The rebels continued to wreak havoc and it seemed that they were barely losing any momentum as the Reaver Revolution waged on, it seemed that the Earth had once again proved itself to be the problem planet of the Imperium.

System T-663

Destroyer #A2344B had been created not too long ago, it was one of the newly forged ships created to serve on behalf of the Imperium's interests, in this case the invasion of the Stormlands. The intel that the Imperium had managed to parse on these Stormlands had indicated that they would be fairly easy pickings for the Imperium with their small amount of territory and a navy to match, indeed they would be crushed under the weight a fraction of Imperial force brought towards them. At least, that was what was hoped, this war had shown Octavia nothing but unwanted and painful surprises. Destroyer #A2344B however did not think of such things, it was assigned to the duty of pondering military strategy, instead it was assigned to oversee the transfer of Pandorian bioweapons and ensuring that there were no interruptions in the planned transfer. The spatial anomaly that had registered on its sensors for a few seconds could potentially be one such threat and it immediately pivoted towards the anomalous portion of space while notifying the rest of its formation of its goals.

Code: Select all: #A2344B: Spatial Anomaly detected, moving to investigate. Codex: Understood, once you've finished report your results to me and return to formation. #A3344B: Affirmative.

The destroyer ran its sensors over the area that the anomaly was once found and yet nothing came up, perhaps its sensor suite had undergone a malfunction? Another few cursory scans revealed that there was still nothing that would indicate the anomaly it had picked up was still there or had existed at all. #A2344B activated its retrograde thrusters as it returned to formation, leaving the still unseen sub-space craft free to continue its surveillance of the system as a slow trickle of ships and troop transports warped into the system.

Code: Select all: #A2344B: Spatial anomaly is missing. 52% chance of sensor malfunction, will move to receive maintenace Codex: Excellent. Do stay on alert for anything else suspicious just in case there is something going on. We wouldn't want there to be any surprises. #A2344B: Affirmitive

by **Gonswanza** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 7:11 pm

Finally, a reason to strike out! Or rather, probe into the business of other countries, for a collective and common cause! Sure, there were agents floating around the world at any one time, but most of their communications have been cut short due to the sheer lack of satellites and "safe" methods of communication left. Yet, information is gathered from the now stricken satellite that had passed over the Russian Federation, coming to an odd conclusion. While the event was recorded as a massive "electromagnetic disturbance akin to a particle beam being fired in all directions" per Gonswanza's own AI, a resultant origin could not be found. While yes, it was a portal, it seems that the door was opened away from any eyes in the sky, needing eyes on the ground.

Gonwanzan spies were seldom used in Russia, but now they were being kicked back into action, forced to try to conduct their own investigation into the mess, while also happily confirming (for the sake of it) the launch of a Russian anti-sat missile from a MIG-31, done so given Russian intelligence had managed to find the Gonswanzan spy satellite and were simply looking for a reason to knock it down in short order.

Not that literally blinding the world was enough of a reason already.

Regardless, this would limit the investigation, slowing things down, but at least it would not mean that trade would be halted. Hell, even if the world were to catch fire, trade would continue so long as Gonswanza exists, unless a freakish event manages to wipe them from existence entirely.

by **Horacellum Testing Grounds** » Fri Jan 14, 2022 8:24 pm

Gonswanza wrote:Vladmir Putin was almost used to this, or perhaps he was unnaturally talented at keeping a calm facade about himself. In either case, he simply arose from his seat, hands behind his back, as his successor scrambled for an exit, unable to bear the heat. The Russian federation's future, if it had one, was doomed from this small incident, though Putin himself would speak up calmly, keeping a straight face in the face of possible destruction.

"The Union dissolved after a series of tragic events, mostly due to conflicting ideals, unrest within the party, economic stagnation and public outrage, along with diplomatic strife as well as sunk costs and horrific corruption. After the 1991 coup attempt, the government collapsed and was reborn into the Russian federation. The Czar still is dead, the Russian socialist party is no more and nationalist movements have helped the new Federation prosper during these troubling times, even as the world stands on the brink, staring into the abyss. And while it would sound nice to restore a former socialist state, it's currently impossible, unless China were to take over and attempt to kill off one of the two oldest global powers left on the world stage. But you are certainly welcome to try, not that it would reflect well in the eyes of the public, much less the world, once news reaches them. So I would advise against any irrational actions, please. This is, after all, a place of peace, not war. The real warzones are far from here, like in Ukraine."

"Utterly preposterous!", shouted Erneya. "Every word you said, it's improbable, impossible, unreasonable! You said that the Soviet Union fell in the year of 1991 while this is 1965?! To think that someone would non-chalantly lie in front of a us, a lie so blatant and obvious. Regardless, the presence of our ally has gone, and as a faithful ally who stay true to our words, we shall see it returned. And for that, we need your cooperation".

Erneya then used her Voicelink Crystal Orb to send a message to the two captains of Edenor fleets and the other Mentors in there. "This is Mentor Erneya Yahmukaf. The Union has fallen and has been replaced by a Federation on a brink of another destruction. Requesting all remaining Edenor fleets, and change of mission from diplomatic mission to a restoration of a fallen ally by means of armed conflicts. We will assist the Russian Federation'.".

Of course, all of them were shocked. Not only did the Soviet Union fell in a matter of a year, at least in their perspective, but the Mentor duo had decided to escalate the situation into facing a direct conflict against a whole Terra. Zenef Iliniad soon reopened communication with the higher commands in both fleets and sent an information, "We remembered the order from the Commander-in-chief and the Grandmaster, did we not? 'Under certain conditions, all officers in the rank equal or above of Mentor in the Magic Order, or Front Overseer in the Sword Order, must put the decision of armed conflict to a vote with the minimum of 50%+1 vote and 90% vote turnout. So, I put Erneya's decision to a vote. Assuming that Erneya and Ahiah both came to the same conclusion, we'll count them as two ayes. And I voted aye in this as well, now please cast your votes as well".

One by one, both the Mentors who stayed in the fleet and Captain Inuart Hirnitia himself voted aye altogether. The decision was set, they would assist the Russians in their fight in exchange of the restoration of the Serene Republic's ally, the Soviet Union.

St.Delia Magical Institute's Sky Arboretum
The Most Serene Utopian Republic of Horacellum

Floating above the skies, the artifical plot of land, made into an arboretum of Terran and Horacellumian plants, built and funded by the St.Delia Magical Institute. Inside, the current Lord Sovereign and Commander-in-chief, Delmunt Aliah, simply walked around enjoying the view, that was until someone contacted him from his communication device.

He accepted the call and informations was thrown to him, "Sovereign Aliah, this is the First Commander of the Azure Dragon, Sainan Peynerin Mairabiya. My fellow First Commanders and I have received information from the soldiers sent to the Soviet Union. Apparently they requested all six Edenor fleets to be deployed, with exact or more soldiers composition riding on it to support the two fleets already there. The Soviet Union has fallen, and Terra is now under the brink of destruction. They have decided to restore the Union and peace back to Terra. Requesting your approval, sir.".

Delmunt's heart couldn't bear it, yet he always expected the worst of the worst situations. He and the Grandmaster of Magic Order knew of this too well. Yet despite all this, he broke in tears, fearing the next horror of war that he and his people would suffer. However, he insisted that he must be strong-hearted. He stopped his tears, and replied to the First Commander.

"Master Delia and I have thought of this scenario. We approve your terms unconditionally. Begin the preparations immidiately", he said. "Aye, Your Excellency. May the Great Seer ever bless us all".

The terms were accepted, and preparations were made. The fleet of Fruma, Hevne, Hevya, and Aveyan would soon be ready to make their way to the Dimensional Door.

Moscow
Russian Federation

Back to the two Mentors, Ahiah and Erneya, whom the latter was busy with her rants. At last, Erneya closed her speech before she and Ahiah returned to the fleet., "The Serene Republic's forces will assist the Federation against her enemies, in the exchange that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics will be restored immidiately after the dust of war settles and we come out of it victorious. We do not give you the chance to deny our assistance, for your nation, to us, is an illegitimate, yet an important stairway to our ally's resurrection. We bid our leave, may the Great Seer ever bless us all.".

Erneya then tapped her rod into the ground, and teleported both her and Ahiah back to one of the Gehnem within the Delia Fleet.

by **Gonswanza** » Sat Jan 15, 2022 11:09 am

Once again, the current leader keeps his composure, stiff and silent, before taking his seat once again. This may result in a snap meeting, with concerns over Ukraine, the possible NATO presence there and maybe even nukes being "on the table" yet again, but the true details are a mystery. It is sad to say, however, that a mere day later, a series of hospitals report a cyberattack from the US, demanding "Ten Million Roubles And Plenty Of Gold For The Boys In Red White And Blue" though the US refuses to confirm or deny such an attack.

As this goes on, China is decidedly pushing more pawns into place, aiming to overwhelm Taiwan. Gonswanzan satellites fail to spot the changes, given they now have to flat out avoid Russian soil by a wide margin or risk getting shot down. So much for having eyes in the sky.

Back in Russia however, the investigation continues at a horribly slow pace. One fresh spy was almost caught in the airport, though they managed to bribe their way out of jail for "being a suspicious individual with a low gait"... As if that made any sense. There are bits and pieces of a greater puzzle being gathered, but a sudden blockade around Red Square only further hinders the investigation on the ground, while Gonswanza considers possibly deploying humanoid drones in place of seasoned agents to push further, possibly even attempt to board the "strange physics-defying craft" just to see what happens.

Of course, like all other bad ideas, that one is completely shot down.

Though, the "drone army" is given some simulations to run, possibly to train their AI, preparing for something after it all ends. Gonswanzan infantry seems to be called into doing drills yet again, possibly preparing for war. The public grows a little suspect of this, but Laura Ortiz delivers an address claiming that it is merely a preventative measure given "rising tensions" between "the trio of powers".

Alas, the pieces are falling into place, slowly... But it's not quite set for the greatest show.

by **The-International Space Organization** » Sat Jan 15, 2022 11:51 am

Grumman Corporations Stealth Liner RX-LIN-3445
Octavian Galaxy, Gonswanzan Earth

Uttith shifted in his seat as the LIN finished it's final burn - Engines shunting power back into stealth systems as the orbital gravity of this earth gently pulled them into the geo orbit that Uttith had selected, a scant thousand meters away from another geo-synch satellite put up by the natives of the planet. A dual purpose orbit in truth - Both to hide from the natives, and from the other powers poking around this earth.

His orders had been simple, but endlessly complex at the same time - Cause as much trouble for the war machines of every nation involved in this scuffle as physically and mentally possible. Whether that was in disrupting a supply line by sabatoging a trade port, laying a minefield through a populated tradelane, or even going to ground and disrupting the industry of an entire planet. But now, he was staring at something else entirely - Something that his business sense was telling him was a golden chance to cause both chaos for the Octavians, and to line his own pockets.

Even the basic data collection they'd done on the planet below them had revealed thousands of possible conflict points for a cold war going hot - China. Russia. NATO. Gonswanza. Russia wanted Ukraine, China wanted Taiwan, NATO wanted neither of those, and Gonswanza... Well. He'd deal with them in the future if (when, he mentally adjusted) they became an issue. Of course the Octavians were also hanging around in sector - And unusual energy readings were making him give a side-long glare at Russia, but... Well.

It would not be the first time he's had to deal with Magic and it would not be the last, atleast if all of the red flags and warning signs were correct. However, for now, Uttith didn't have to worry about his fellow extra-terrestrials - He just had to worry about the planet now unfolded before him, and the goals it represented for him. And, maybe even more importantly to his wallet beyond a few terrestrial super-powers, the possible resource sink it represented for the Octavians...

Pausing as he tapped the terminal screen to unfold a map of the world below, the LIN's systems automatically added data points - Military asset locations, feasible hot spots, possible targets for assassinations, and dozens of other theoretical 'heating' points to take this cold war into a hot war, and leaving the survivors scrambling for any outside aid as nukes went flying. Reaching up to his helmet he depressed a button - "All ground crews, report to main hangar for a briefing in five minutes. Briefing in five minutes."

Standing up himself Uttith cut out his comm system as a general quarters sequence began to shake the ships - Sirens blaring into life, alarms flashing, before the VI caught itself and adjusted everything to a more appropriate level for silent running, as he exited his office and descended towards the hangar...

"... And that's all." Uttith switched his attention from the briefing screen to the gathered soldiers. "Platoons one and two, you'll be assigned to Black Eye - Choose your targets carefully. Three and four, you'll be on Uppercut - Once Black Eye goes off, you will 'respond' in twenty four hours." He paused, looking around to make sure everybody was comprehending. "Five, you'll be organizing Buzzcut, at any speech made after the twenty four hour mark. Six, QRF to any of the above - Alongside running interference if any outside players decide to act up. Questions?"

Dozens of hands shot up. "Light ROE - Engage to kill, but keep it snappy. You'll be running with standard body armor that's been visually morphed to look like local equipment." Most of them lowered. "You, Platoon four - Private, third row."

"Civilians?" Was her simple question.

"If you see them, shoot to kill." Uttith barely even hesitated. "This is a terror war - If it goes conventionally hot and not nuclear hot, we'll want everybody riled up and angry at everybody else." Most of the other hands in the room went down. "Sixth platoon, platoon sergeant, back row."

"What's our mechanized support?" He asked, as vague mutters of agreement went around the Sixth.

"All operations will have optional support from our main guns if everything goes wrong - In your department, you'll be rolling out with the stealth assets. Support from the strike fighter elements will also be available for intercepting enemy orbital vessels - You'll just need to get creative with heavier enemy assets if they exist." Uttith finished, glancing around. Almost every hand had been lowered now. "Organize yourselves into platoons, and get ready to start. We'll be inserting in four standard hours. Start picking targets, and sync time to ship time before departing."

"Dismissed." Uttith turned as the platoons began to organize themselves for war on an unsuspecting planet focused below them.

Beijing, Gonswanzan Earth
Operation 'Black Eye'

Verix shifted in his post as he brought the heavy anti-material rifle to bear - Cycling the bolt once, and verifying everything was in working order. A quick breakdown of habits and patrols had given him a golden shot - Some Chinese general who liked to visit a small Café, alongside a few minor politicians. They hadn't originally been in his gameplan, but Sarge had been brutally honest - If you saw a target of opportunity, you took it.

His comm-line crackled, and he shifted to tap the receiver with a talon - Adjusting the channels to account for local frequencies. "5-4, Status?"

"5-4, In position." He whispered from his hiding spot - Adjusting the scope one last time, as he glanced at the clock in the corner of it... Wind speed, distance to target, coordinates, rotation of the earth, local weather patterns - Everything he needed to make this shot, and more. "Shot is aligned."

"Affirmative, 5-4." The comm-line crackled again. "All units are in position - Countdown begins now, thirty seconds on the clock."

A hundred and fifty soldiers had spread themselves across China with one simple goal - Chaos. Anybody who was an officer of any capacity in any military formation had been chosen for the ease of access to their daily routes, and to sow as much chaos in the Chinese Army as physically possible. A mixture of local equipment had been scanned and replicated back onboard the Liner, and now settled into his claws was some heavy anti-material rifle with an explosive fuse round. Or, by his book, something designed to cause chaos.

The edge of his vision had a timer appear - Fifteen seconds remained. Settling the stock of the rifle into his shoulder he winced at the oddly designed stock, and shifted his talon into the trigger grip as the safety came off. The general was just now sitting down at the Café, and ordering his meal - As the clock passed five seconds.

Four, three, two... He squeezed the trigger, hovering just above firing.... One.

The rifle roared in his talons as he took a moment to ensure the shot connected before he dumped the anti-material rifle - Chucking it over the side of the building and activating the stealth suite onboard his armor, as across China, a hundred and forty nine other shots rang out at the exact same time.

That was the hard part down - Verix mused to himself as he heard the distant wail of sirens begin. Now he just had to get to the rally point, and his part would be over - For now.

by **Horacellum Testing Grounds** » Sat Jan 15, 2022 12:13 pm

Northern Eight Stars Fortress
Aliyor Mountains
The Most Serene Utopian Republic of Horacellum

The Dimensional Door were still open, with yet another moment where the sunlight was blocked by the sheer number and size of the Azure Dragon's airships. But this time, they were double the size. Four Edenor airship, each named after the remaining four of the Six Divine Saints, and accompanied by the same amount of Middar and Gehnem airships, as well as soldiers and Battlemages across all branches of the military, aside from the Black Tortoise.

To much of everyone's surprise, three of the Six Divine Saints, the Delia, Hevne, and Hevya, decided to join in the mission, with the Delia's propose of utilizing her powers in assisting the troops, and the other two reasoned that they were simply doing their duty as both Delegate of peace and war. They joined the ride within Edenor Aveyan. They also brought many installations of high potency Barrier Crystal Core, expecting the worst in this conflict.

Each fleets had been aligned to ensure safe passage, and one by one, the airships passed through the Dimensional Door, and few moments later, all four fleets finally made it to the skies above Red Square.

Above Red Square
Moscow
Russian Federation

Disturbances happened in both Delia and Yahkayef Fleet, as some Vermillion Bird's pilots reported a several accidents happening across all Terra altogether. They did not know who were behind this, but to them, this would make things very difficult. But at least they would breath a sigh of relief, as all six Edenor and their fleets had been gathered and ready for the upcoming conflict. And much to their shock, half of the Six Divine Saints joined in as well. Knowing their magical prowess, this would be a huge boost to their power, so the people thought.

And then, White Tiger's Combatants and Magic Order's Battlemages teleported away from Edenor Aveyan, and split themselves around Moscow, bringing with them 10 Barrier Crystal Cores, also split across the same location. The Battlemages then linked all 10 crystals together by weaving their Ensof into each other. And after all 10 were linked up, they turned on all of them by the switch on the mechanism that supported it. Soon, a beam of light came out of each crystals, targeting each other as well. The beam of light soon formed met each other, and a tall Force-aspected barrier was erected, encompassing all around Moscow, and above it.

The stage was set for the Serene Republic. The barriers, their guards, all six Edenors, three of Six Divine Saints, all of them were the true signals of their war readiness. Come what may, they would have their ally back into power, or so they believed.

by **Imperial-Octavia** » Sat Jan 15, 2022 11:58 pm

Co-write with Polish Prussian Commonwealth

The lie of Octavian supremacy did not ‘break’, but was instead slowly ground away as what was meant to be a week-long siege turned into two weeks, then four, then a month, then a year.

Above Grozny a mutual stalemate kept the Octavians from blasting the city to ash, but also kept the Battlegroup from relieving the besieged 10th Mechanized. Within Grozny, the brigade remained heavily entrenched, though with its fighting strength dwindling rapidly as the weeks and months wore on. The Octavians, however, would have found themselves unable to really settle in for a proper siege – while no troops could get in, small shuttles containing small squads of commandos and equipment slipped through, and those commandos would later appear to wreak havoc deep within the Octavian rear.

The year was one full of embarrassment for the Grozny garrison. At first it was thought that after the initial ambush the mercenaries would be quickly killed off and the city back in Octavian hands. As the first few weeks passed, most were content to believe that the operation would last longer than expected on account of the artillery support the mercenaries had but would still come to an end fairly quickly, as the next few months came and went concerns started to be raised as to the efficiency of Mechanator operations in the area as the Battlegroup’s forces still held. 6 months in and the entire Earth operation was called into question as they still were not dislodged.

There were attempts to march additional drones and Mechanators to Grozny to maybe shift the balance of the battle enough to keep the gaze of the Mechanator command off of the Earth but between the constant partisan attacks and the occasional bombing from other invaders on the Earth meant that what came to Grozny was often beaten and worn well before they actually arrived and this was before they had to go through the Battlegroup’s own commandos. The garrison turned to drastic measures, going so far as to conscript the native organics in the hopes that the additional numbers would provide some kind of assistance but after one too many incidents of defectors, the idea was scrapped and the garrison returned to the same grind that was the Battle of Grozny. By the year’s end the prevailing feeling among Octavians in Grozny was annoyance as the mercenaries still held onto parts of the city.

At the end of the year, however, the commandos…stopped coming. The missiles and railgun fire that had claimed scores of Octavians, the sniper-fire and raids … just stopped.

A faded white rag appeared at the top of one of the buildings near the edge of the Battlegroup’s area of the city.

There was a general sense of relief as the Octavian forces saw the white “flag” of the Battlegroup raised. After a year they were finally done with the constant guerilla fighting and violent shelling.

The first Octavians to enter the building would be ‘greeted’ by…all of twenty-nine people, with one fresh corpse riddled with bullets.

‘People’ was stretching it, really. 30 soldiers, some of whom seemed like teenagers at most, seemed diseased and worn thin by hunger and exhaustion and were barely able to lift their rifles. But they still found the strength to stare at the Octavians in undisguised hate.

As the Mechanators entered, laser rifles raised for the distinct possibility that they were walking into a trap, they noticed how few of the organics remained, surely their comrades were waiting in the wings to launch an ambush. Even if they couldn’t be detected by any of the Mechanator’s sensors the squad would find it hard to believe that the group that had given them such grief would surrender without some manner of trickery. One of the machines in the lead pointed his weapon at one of the organics which looked like the highest rank of those there, “You!” He barked, “Where are the rest of you?!”

This would be difficult. They all wore the same uniform. One of the older ones, though, with grey stubble, began to laugh.
“Hell if I know –” he managed to get out, before breaking down into a fit of coughing.

The Octavians took a moment to converse with each other through the Aether to verify if anything seemed off about this, the man’s response was either a genuine statement or another part of a rouse, it wasn’t too long before it was decided that the lack of sensor activity on anyone’s end was sign enough that it was safe enough to take these soldiers captive. The same Mechanator spoke once the squad was finished with their discussion, “Very funny, now drop your weapons and comms, you’ll all be coming with us.”

“Oh, no. We didn’t surrender. He did.” The graying man inclined his head to the bullet-ridden corpse.

“Oh please, look at yourselves, at this point you’re fighting your metabolism harder than you are us. Put the guns down before we have to start shooting.” There were some short laughs from some members of the Mechanator squads before they once again fell deathly silent.

A burst of static could be heard, before a radio spoke.
“ << Courland Group, be advised that the requested package is currently loitering over your position and will be dispersed shortly. May Monarch and the Twins receive you. >>”.

Silence reigned for a few long moments, before great explosions rocked the city block. Bomblets dispersed by railgun shells fell like hailstones over the Octavian camp and over the city as well.

The last thing the Mechanator saw was that graying old man’sexhausted, but utterly deranged grin as the explosions began.

As the smoke rose from the ashes of the Octavian camp and the rest of the city it appeared that very few Octavians had survived the blast and indeed the only survivors of the air strike were those who were patrolling the sewers and a few lucky Mechanators and drones who had managed to escape the worst of the blast. In the time that followed there would be an intensive sweep of the city with air support granted by drone fighters and gunships siphoned away from other areas to ensure that they wouldn’t be bombed once more. After some hours it was concluded that Grozny was clear, at least for the time being, and the battle was declared an Octavian “victory”. It didn’t feel like anything resembling that to the Mechanators that had survived the year long siege but that was how it would be reported back home, as another glorious Imperial victory over the forces of interstellar degeneracy and the kleptocratic elite of the organics.

Even as they swept the city, however, a light bombardment continued, simply to remind them that the Battlegroup was there – and that there would be more Groznies to come.

by **Sky Reavers** » Sun Jan 16, 2022 4:17 am

Mother Anarchy Loves Her Sons. So it starts adopting

With Sky Reaver world revolution becoming more and more widespread, Octavian forces seem to have hard times on multiple fronts, and their allies are turn out to be not as reliable as they thought. Perhaps, with the help of Mandate, Sky Reavers could kick out the occupation forces out of Earth after all.

Now, it's time to consolidate the successes, since it's not wise to stop if one is going through the hell. Now if the hell was mentioned, "Baphometh", one of the leaders of New Sodom came up with a plan, that would include leveraging vampire deadly sins, especially greed and pride: Vampires are fighting eachother, and gradually succumb to united revolutionary forces in Europe, but what if they can also make themselves useful? After all, it seems, they might be fallen out of Octavian favor. The attempts have been made to contact the remaining vampire warlords and impress them with vague promises, while trying to explain, that under Octavian Imperium rule they will be nothing more than mere puppets at best or disposable tools at worst, and it's better to join the revolution. This diplomacy would include logical arguments, mixed with small bits of fallacies, and lots of flattery and vague promises. Sometimes, vampries would be shown fragments of stolen enemy intel.

If this plan works, Sky Reaver revolutionaries will bolster their ranks with vampiric forces and have more forces in Europe. If not... well, not much will be lost. If partially... still better than nothing.

In the meantime, Isabella Gonzalez, the leader of CRT/FAE major faction thought, that ERG's "housing camps" are not only it's GULAG, which could be used in anti-Octavian propaganda. Ironically, they could be more useful for the revolution, than enemy occupation forces. Not only they would have necessary hi-tech equipment to produce weapons for rebels, should they take it over, but it would also have ready manpower, that would work for their liberation with much more enthusiasm. Plan "Syndicalist GULAG" would involve starting minor uprisings in the places, where work camps are located in attempts to take them over. Hopefully, enemy forces are spread thin enough for this to work reliably. Wherever direct takeover is not possible, plan involves use of infiltration with help of bootleg Octavian drones, that would result in either stealing of equipment or various sabotages. Thankfully, ERG made a grave mistake by making criminals and dissenters to produce rather critical equipment. Plan was set in motion, now only time will show if it succeeded.

As for Casey James, he would come up with the idea, that some of ERG collaborators are too ambitious to be pawns. He thanked John Walker AI and thought, that fake Octavian drones, not involved in Isabella's project could be used to terminate loyal ERG officials, while announcing, that they "Outlived their usefulness" or they are "Cryptodissenters". This would be conducted in an attempt to not only damage chaim of command, but also spread discontent and turn away less loyal collaborators from Octavia. Sadly, there are not too many bootleg pseudo-Octavian robots, that could impersonate Octavian real ones. More will come, but they are a bit hard to make. Still, might create some splinter factions.

And as for Stan Dixon, he would order a part of European revolutionaries to advance eastwards to unite with Western Russia. There are not too many problems in Europe, except the Serbian enemy holdout, which can still prove some problems if unattended, but still weak enough to not be a threat, that requires presence of all forces. Gradually wearing it out is enough for now, just cut it's supply lines and harrass until it's weak enough to be destroyed without much casualties. After all, having stronger grip on Western Russia could cut off important supply line for the enemy and cripple them. And even gain the revolution some of the enemy supplies.

Sky Reavers have the momentum and now must do everything to keep it. Gotta keep pushing both forward and luck, otherwise, it's far harder to regain it.

by **Ignis States** » Sun Jan 16, 2022 12:27 pm

Orion Republic

The passing year has proved to be a blessing for the Ignasae; Though the shadow of war looms overhead, the lack of fighting as of yet has allowed for preparation. Worlds known for industry are now almost entirely devoted to fueling the efforts of the Republic’s war machine.
Volunteers begin to flood into the ranks of the Legion…though curiously enough, many are not Ignisian.
Many are Tzakyuza of all castes, even veterans of the Tzakyuzan War.
And as the citizenry and soldiers alike prepare for the worst, so too do those who command them.

On the edge of Ignisian space, ships begin to gather as border worlds flood with troops. Though once unprecedented, two major wars have rocked this region. And the Ignasae refuse to let it be ravaged once more.

Perseus Theme Headquarters.

The space around the world known as Sevrikr has long stopped resembling normal reality; Purple and black energy permeates every microinch of the endless vacuum like an extra dimension, stretching onwards for astronomical units.
Only at the edge of the solar system does the distortion fade.

Though a multitude of inhabited planets float around the system’s yellow-orange star, Sevrikr stands out the most; Its patchwork surface of blue oceans and vast continents of rainy green forests are visibly dotted with the gargantuan black expanses of Ignisian cities and military bases.

The largest of these complexes sits in the northwestern hemisphere on the eastern coast of the largest continent. At the top of a floating compound, miles above the cityscape, two figures stand atop the roof.

”So it took that long for us to have an excuse to fight? Sheesh.”
One of the figures is a crimson-furred Ignisian wearing a black jacket, scarlet trim around the sleeves and purple for the cape mounted on his shoulders.
Orange-yellow eyes, calm and serene, gaze at the pale indigo sky above. Soft wind blows through his unkempt, shoulder length hair.

”It doesn’t surprise me, to be honest. The Octavians have been trying to find an excuse for war since the Anti-Seraph sat on the throne.”
The second figure stands far taller, nearly 7 feet. A robe of white silk with gold trim and a purple, shoulder mounted cape adorns his body. His right hand, the back of which is emblazoned with the symbol of a golden sword, holds a wineglass. Silvery-white fur reflects the light of the noonday sun as he takes a sip.

”But now? It’s a perfect chance. A devastating war has just finished, civil strife runs the risk of destroying us. Brilliant of them…”
Another sip. The Admiral of Starlight Judgement sneers, the look in his blood red eyes showing little except for utter arrogance.

”But they failed to account for us.”

”It’s not like they would’ve. Clankers can’t compare to the children of stars. Ain’t that just common sense?”
The General of the Ruinous Soul grins. It would seem almost friendly if not for the utter, vicious glee shining in his eyes, the anticipation of thorough and complete violence.
“Pieces of rusted trash designed by a weak, unremarkable people, too. Really. This is going to be like a fucking party. I haven’t been able to cut loose in…how long?”

”Two years. And unlike then…I doubt anyone will care about the casualties being unarmed.”

This time, it’s the General’s turn to sneer. Red embers flicker around his hands as clawed fingers clench together.
“Even then, I don’t have a Princeps to stop me!” A chuckle escapes the Ignisian’s lips. After a few seconds, it evolves into full blown laughter.

“I don’t know about you, but I’ll make sure they regret ever trying to act better than us. As much as they can feel regret when they’re embedded in the fucking dirt.”

The Admiral sighs, his expression turning stoic and devoid of emotion. The sunlight around him begins to shine brighter.
“Just don’t get distracted or overindulgent. Crude as you are, effective as it may be…we have a mission. Don’t forget it.”
A pillar of golden light explodes from the ground alongside a gale force wind. The General briefly raises a hand in front of his face to block it, complete with an annoyed grunt.

”Fiiiine! As long as you don’t keep showing off. God, just because you have a cool sword, you think you can just flaunt your light shows everywhere.”
A circle of blood red flame cuts itself into the ground surrounding the General. Amused, he huffs.
”At least when I show off, it’s cool as fuck.”
A column of pure, malevolent heat erupts like a volcano, his body merging with the inferno completely. As quickly as it formed, it vanishes.

Vonia-III
The two captured Tzakyuza are no longer two. As the year has passed, their bodies have been combined into a single humanoid.
Bionics augment their form, as do the combined genetics of the strongest species in the galaxy. Tzakyuzan, Ignisian, Octavian, Zravvisk, and even human form the genetic makeup of what can only be described as a cybernetic chimera.
Though the body is primarily canine with dark grey fur, black scales like armor plating decorate the forearms and draconic legs. On its back are wings with dark, greyish teal membranes.
Its legs and hands both have claws like onyx scimitars, razor sharp and pristine.

When it opens its eyes, they’re the only part even remotely human; Dark teal irises and slit pupils are counterbalanced by white sclera.
Slowly, the chimera sits up. It looks around with a purely neutral expression.
”So this is what existing feels like…”

by **Gonswanza** » Sun Jan 16, 2022 12:44 pm

The first strike of many soon ripped into China, yet, the state covered up the incident. Or tried to, blaming it on an ethnic minority. How typical of them to shove aside the blame, as the plans for Taiwan are pushed into high gear. With most of their competent leaders dead or dying (though likely dead within the hour), new ones are pulled from the seemingly endless numbers of reserve troops available, the mass mobilization being easily seen by the average spy. Not that there were many left, as the attacks failed to account for foreign intelligence agents, hence, they were added to the body count as "loyal soldiers slain in the massacre"... They died in vain, their true mission unknown and now impossible to complete.

Not that it mattered in the end.

In Russia, there's a mild stir caused by the shield, with Gonswanzan spies reporting it openly, almost sounding confused. So there was a dimensional door, one that had opened to a land of magic... But again, the sheer lack of useful information was what hindered them, as the findings are reported to the Octavians. The Russians are stirred up, put on a higher alert, as security is increased in turn. Things may get a little messy in Russia because of this and some scant reports of fallen agents in China. Alas, the latter has zero influence on national security.

Gonswanza continues to lie in wait, checking the skies, with a resupply mission being planned for the lunar colony. While it was self-sufficient, it was nice to have some luxuries from home get sent over, along with new experiments and fresh bodies. But this is intended for a future date, pushing the worries of a world on the brink of war aside.

by **Ella2 6** » Sun Jan 16, 2022 11:35 pm

62/05/8465 Katuchu, Stormlander Calendar
24 October 2420, Imperial Octavian Calendar

The Interstellar Void, Neutral Space
SS M-9992062
The Command Centre

The alarm sounded twice. "Vertical surface. Vertical surface. Vertical surface."

The pointed bow of the SS M-9992062 broke through the ethereal waves and emerged into realspace, the rest of the vessel soon following behind. A few minutes later, the M-8276324 also surfaced some distance behind them.

"Torpedo depth obtained, Neyichisuya."

Kami grunted in acknowledgement. "Comms, I want a secure line with HQ."

"Isan, Neyichisuya."

62/05/8465 Katuchu, Stormlander Calendar
24 October 2420, Imperial Octavian Calendar

The Duchy of Stormhold, The Storm Arc
Orbit of Kakashe, Stormhold
Lord Marshal Kakomike's Office, Strom Fleet Military Headquarters

Lord Admiral Rino quickly skimmed through the reports with a critical eye. At last, he sat back in his chair and placed the papers on the table. "The build-up along the Octavian border is very concerning," he noted, "Hundreds of capital ships are mustering in every system."

His counterpart, Lord Admiral Mara, a tall and barrel-chested woman, shrugged her broad shoulders nonchalantly. "Perhaps it is necessary for us to mobilise."

"We have already partially mobilised some of the Storm Fleets in our sector."

"No. I mean everything."

"Everything?" Mara nodded. Rino crossed his arms. "Hum... I don't know about that. That might escalate things further."

Suddenly, the door of the room opened to admit a tall but rather plump figure. The two lord admirals quickly rose to their feet. "Lord Marshal Kakomike," they saluted.

"As you were," Kakomike said, taking a seat behind his desk. His two subordinates resumed their seats. "I spoke with His Majesty. While His Majesty wishes to avoid bloodshed and is trying to negotiate peace with the Octavians, we cannot rule out the possibility of a preemptive Octavian strike into our territory. A general mobilisation of the Storm Fleets is in order."

Mara grunted. She had expected as much. "Very well," she said, standing up and collecting her belongings, "I'll relay the orders to the Storm Fleets."

"While you're doing that, Mara, we also need more maskers patrolling the Octavian border."

"I'll have that arranged, Sir." They exchanged salutes and the tall woman left the room.

65/05/8465 Katuchu, Stormlander Calendar
27 October 2420, Imperial Octavian Calendar

The Duchy of Sunfall, The Storm Arc
Orbit of Mawi, Sunfall
Lord Brigadier Sami's Quarters, Storm Fleet Military Headquarters

Sami look out the window in silent contemplation. War with Octavia could prove disastrous for the Stormlands. While there was little doubt in her mind that the Storm Fleets would ultimately repel any invasion, the economic devastation brought on by the conflict would take many generations to repair. She allowed her eyes to focus on her faint reflection in the window glass and studied herself. Her dark eyes had darkened. Her dark hair had sparsened. Small wrinkles were beginning to form in her features. The onset of middle age.

She sighed. The last battle she fought was a hundred years ago and she had not gotten any younger since then. She wondered if the old ways of war - ways that she knew like the back of the hand - would still work on the battlefield of today.

She turned to the pile of reports on her table. The mobilisation of the Storm Fleets was proceeding smoothly. Almost the entirety of the Sunfall Battle Force had mustered themselves - all nine hundred banners stood ready and waiting for her command. They were merely waiting on their fleets worth of escorts now. At least three masker battle forces have also been put to the subspace sea, infiltrating deep into Octavian territory to monitor their military and civilian traffic. Fighting had yet to take place, thankfully, but once hostilities began, the wolfpacks will begin preying on enemy shipping.

Fleets of pelters, hunters and archers had been dispatched to the systems of local Barons to reinforce the garrisons there. Just as Sunfall guarded the approach to the capital, these systems guarded the approach to Sunfall. The first shots of the war would take place there, and with them, the first casualties would emerge.

70/05/8465 Katuchu, Stormlander Calendar
1 November 2420, Imperial Octavian Calendar

The Barony of Huwadoberino, The Duchy of Sunfall, The Storm Arc
SS Huwadoberino's Pride
The War Room

Lord Major Hikecha quickly inspected his flagship, the Huwadoberino's Pride. For a century, she and her sister ship, the SS Huwadoberino's Honour, had sat idle in the shipyards of Huwadoberino, consuming untold amounts of manpower and material to maintain its spaceworthy condition. All in service to this day when their unparalleled might was called upon to defend the Storm Worlds once again.

The new crew saluted him and his cadre of officers as they entered the war room, the central command hub for the entirety of the system's defence. A monumental task that demanded excellence - and he was ready to provide.

"How goes the evacuation of the civilian population?" He asked.

One of the officers stepped forward to reply. "Sir, the evacuation seems to be almost complete, but the last few transports appear to be taking a long time to get going."

Hikecha frowned. "They better hurry it up. The Octavians could be arriving any time now."

by **The-International Space Organization** » Mon Jan 17, 2022 7:28 pm

United States of American, Port of Los Angeles
Gonswanzan Earth, Operation 'Uppercut'

Ulrix was a well practiced infiltrator, so silently joining the ranks of a bustling port had been no issue at all even on such a short notice. He could feel the 'phone' sitting heavily in his pocket, quietly humming away as he glanced at the corner of his eyes. They were getting closer to zero hour now, across the entire Pacific, as Ulrix ducked out of sight for a few moments to dig the 'phone' out of his pocket. The RNV-3 was a miracle device that Ulrix scarcely understood beyond it made an explosion that would shake this entire port to its core.

Of course he knew that just randomly placing it wouldn't cause enough damage - No, he mused to himself, as he tapped his watch and shifted a few settings on it... His skin folding out as heavy armored plate emerged instead from hiding places beneath and inside it, which clicked into place and he soon vanished him from view - And any sensor equipment that might've been keeping an eye on him, as he leapt up onto the top of the building. The armor was thriving around him, as his target came into view - The US Navy Base...

He knew that hundreds of other infiltrators from every other division were participating in this massed strike - Everywhere from Taiwan, to Japan, to Australia, to the United States and to Europe - Railroad junctions, ports, airports, everything of even a remote strategic value was being targeted in this assault. His specific target in this case was an ammunition dump - As he took the RNV-3 charge out of its storage pocket to input his activation code, and used the elevated position he was now standing at to easily clear the fence - Landing on the far side with ease.

Infiltration was a specialized technique, and Ulrix had been practicing it for decades. Some back water low-tech planet was barely an issue, as he slid between buildings and towards where the ammo-dump was highlighted on his HUD. Barely a minute later he was already outside the building, as he set the RNV-3 charge on the building, magnetizing it in place with a quiet 'thunk' as he interfaced with it for a few seconds.

Syncing it into the on-going detonation net he adjusted one final parameter - Altering the shape of the charge so that most of it would blow directly into the warehouse, and ensuring that the resulting explosion would set off all the stored ammo, as he dug a second one out of the storage pocket. He'd seen a few fuel tanks, and if nothing else, more explosions would make the chaos even worse...

"Yeah. Everything is in the apartment, thanks for the help moving. Seeya." Ulrix ended the 'call' on his 'phone', as he settled into the seat - The light rail vehicle pulling away from the station as he glanced at the time. It was maybe half a minute now, as he shifted slightly to look out the window at the bay beyond - His eyes roving and locking onto the distant shape of military ship sitting in the harbor, bobbing up and down...

There was no indication that today would be anything different for the city, even as Ulrix counted down the final few seconds in his head. People were talking around him - Unaware that after today, their lives would be changing for the worse with very few things left to stop the endless downward spiral they were about to be shoved down.

The waiting was the hardest part, even as he closed his eyes as his mental countdown reached zero - Instinct forcing him to dive down to avoid the spray of glass shards that tore through the area behind the shockwave as the light rail train was rocked.

The Guns of Kandar
Octavian Galaxy, Neutral Space

General Winter paused as she finished 'reading' through the final dossier - Her claws tapping the reinforced desk as she thought over the implications. Stuhr had left her with a perfectly organized intelligence agency that was currently darting about every system in the galaxy that showed any sign of possibly dragging the Octavians deeper into this conflict and well...

General Winter had to agree with some of Stuhr's conclusions. There were certainly chances, if General Winter could just allocate the forces to make them - Which, thanks to the large amount of forces she both had controlling contracts over and that she had temporarily brought in for this operation... Well. At this point she had a bevy of ships and mercenary groups to select for the job - Fleets hiding in the shadow and waiting for her call to action, for their marching orders.

That was one reason why Stuhr trusted her with this conflict - Beyond the fact she had proven herself before in galaxies and wars far more brutal than this had the chance to be. If anything it was a bit of a vacation - She'd have to thank Stuhr for that, Winter mused, as she finally began to interact with the terminal again.

A particular target had highlighted itself as it was arrayed infront of her by datafiles and reports and speculations. A large fuel refinery in a cluster that every anaylst had given a high degree of interacting with the Octavians... And, more interestingly to her, a variety of internal groups - Multiple of which, if provoked, would easily be swayed to an anti-octavian narrative...

Of course the prefer method of transit in the region sparked some issues - And those groups she intended to support lacked the numbers she would've preferred to make this a safe bet, but considering the minor size of the vessels in question they would be easy enough to replicate en-mass. That certainly made it easier, but... Her biggest issue would be figuring out how to keep everything on an even footing. Throwing the Octavians into the mix meant throwing jump technology into the mix.

Musing as she began to type up the orders, General Winter was portioning most of her mind to that latter problem - Even as with a mental command, the orders were soon flying off to the vessel in question...

MDV-IX I33 'Blood Brothers'
Relative Dimensional Space 'Up'

"Captain!" Ova turned as the communications officer slid down the ladder into the main bridge - Landing on the deck with a clack of a metallic-stud lined boot against a metallic floor. "Direct orders from General Winter - We're to move into firing positions against real space point OG-UNA-LT-744. That refinery system that got highlighted to us a few months back."

Ova paused - Taking the information in as he nodded. "Helm, up planes thirty - Relative bearing 38, ahead full."

"Up planes, thirty - Relative bearing, 38 - Ahead, full!" The helmswoman echoed back as the MDV shuddered - Aligning itself into the called for directions, as Ova nodded.

"Rig for silent running, and prepare torpedo tubes one through eight for anti-infrastructure work, and prepare tubes nine through sixteen for anti-shipping work incase they spot us." With an echo of his orders the MDV came alive - As it advanced through Dimensional Space, towards a target that had no idea it was in periscope of a deadly foe...

The Ascension of the Imperium IC (All Tech, TG for interest)

Invasion

The Ascension of the Imperium IC (All Tech, TG for interest)

And So There Was Peace...

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