Questionable Fortune (FT, Closed: ATTN Xis)

[Greywatch]

[Reconnaissance Drone approaching new system]
[Beginning Initial Scans]
[…]
[Scans successful]
[Indications of large debris field]
[Beginning detailed scans]
[…]
[Scan successful]
[Field shows signs of notable resources]
[Marking debris field]
[Recon Drone moving deeper into system]
[Conducting long-range scans]
[…]
[System shows signs of inhabitance]
[Transmitting Data]
[…]
[Data Transmission successful]
[Activating watchdog protocol]
[…]

Two Days Later:

<Foreman, we are currently stationed on the edge of marked system; target is only a few klicks ahead of us. I recommend we proceed now.>

The deep monotone of the droid resonated through the empty bridge of the Xarnii Recycler; the machine hovered a few feet off the ground, its anti-gravity generators putting out almost no effort in the low-gravity environment of the ship. The droids three violet eyes gave off a faint glow as it slowly strafed back and forth in what one could call an absentminded manner, waiting for the foreman’s response.

The foreman herself was a middle-aged Xarnii wearing a somewhat modified silver and yellow suit, the kind that all Foremen wore. Various wiring, cables, and tubing sprang out from her elbow-plates, back, neck, and head to effectively bind her to her ship. To anyone that understood the Xarnii it was clear that she and her ship were operating as one entity. Like many Foremen, she had given up her freedom to leave her vessel and had instead become a part of it, at least while it was in operation. She was silent for a few moments, busy running diagnostics of her ship and priming its systems; once she was ready she glanced to her droid companion and nodded. With a single mental command the group moved forward, the two dreadnaughts taking point and the other four Recyclers marking the chucks of scrap they were going to salvage first.

<Group moving forward; designating targets. All Recycler systems are primed and ready. Commencing salvaging process in 2… 1… Salvaging has begun.>

As all the Recyclers began their work, several drones would be released to search the larger chunks of debris more thoroughly. Scans had shown that this had once been a fleet of ships; there was no telling what could be left behind, the Foreman wasn’t going to pass up a perfect chance to salvage data files, computer equipment, reactor components, or anything else that might still be intact enough to not melt down.

The salvage process itself was the standard affair; each Recycler was over a kilometer in length, the Foreman’s own ship being nearly two kilometers in length. They all have modular storage attachments for the salvaged resources which would be removed and emptied when the ship arrived back at their processing station. The ships, both warship and Recycler alike, were solid black in color, possessing no windows or view ports of any kind; large spikes protruding from their hulls. Each salvage vessel had five arms which extended in front of them, latching onto and pulling in large chunks of metal so that powerful lasers could effortlessly cut up those chunks into smaller more manageable pieces. These smaller pieces were ferried into the mouths of the Recyclers with the assistance of both gravity generators and a few tendrils mounted on the insides of the main arms. At the mouth of each ship were ‘teeth’ that would further help to grab and guide the debris into the furnaces where the metal would be melted down and placed in a storage container.

<Guard ships maintaining maximum sensor strength; no response from further within system. Salvaging process is six standard minutes in and running smoothly.>

The Foreman knew the risks of operating in this area; the scans had revealed it was already inhabited by a space-faring race. That always made things complicated, far more complicated than she liked them to be. She knew the rules and how to go about doing things if she was confronted by the inhabitants of the system; she certainly wasn’t going to let herself be bullied out of free resources. Necessity governed her actions; these resources were greatly needed by her people and the coalition as a whole. If there was a confrontation, she hoped the inhabitants of this system would see that. In the back of her mind she knew it was more than likely that there would be some kind of confrontation; even with her ships being knee-deep in debris, all the vessels in her humble group were over a kilometer in length. Taking this into account she sent an order to her warship attendants to activate defenses if the group was approached; Xarnii defenses had a habit of being flashier than those on other ships and she knew well the power of intimidation.

[Xiscapia]

SURCOM HQ, Chalybs System...

"Contacts proceeding to wreckage field designation Gamma-4."

Scowling at the sensor readout over the shoulder of one of her officers, Commander Niwa considered the situation so far. Six contacts had appeared on the edge of the system, all a kilometer or more in length; if it was the Zillars again it was probably a carrier strike group of some sort. Standard protocol dictated that the Naval garrison pounce on any unauthorized contacts the moment they appeared, but Commander Niwa had managed to persuade her comrade and de facto superior, Vice Admiral Lydak, to wait five minutes while SURCOM attempted to gather more information on the distant ships in hopes of identifying them. Unfortunately they were having no luck, the configurations didn't match anything in the database and the craft hadn't provided them with any useful signals to work with, so Niwa knew it would be a matter of minutes before the Defense Fleet put its foot down and engaged the contacts directly. Their methods were annoying to her -so far unknown contacts that had appeared in the Chalybs System had proved to turn into friends and allies, with the Morningstar Coalition and the Telrosians- but the Kitsune Imperial Navy was inclined to regard everything as a threat until proven allied, and there were no neutrals.

"What's the status on the fleet?"

"The Navy garrison has dropped into full alert status, Commander."

"Well, there goes the neighborhood," Niwa sighed in resignation. One of these days the Navy was actually going to meet hostile contacts out there on the rim, but until that time she had a feeling they'd continue to annoy and generally piss off everyone who dared venture into the Chalybs System without authorization.

XIS Tears of the Sun, Bridge...

"Jaunt on my mark. Three...two...one...mark!"

Watching as the rest Task Force One synchronized itself with its flagship, Captain Shinya clasped her hands behind her back just above her tail as the various ships vanished into Jaunt FTL space. Her ship, the Tears of the Sun, was a Tanaran Converted Battle Cruiser, or T-CBC, a five kilometer supercapital and one of ten in the force. Gleaming white with weapons that she'd seen punch holes in Zillar formations of capital ships, the vessel would have been the centerpiece in any other Defense Fleet, but that honor belonged to the massive XIS Dominique, a Gun Orb sixty four kilometers in diameter that rested like a small alabaster moon above the primary planet in the system, Glacies. They had been fighting off Zillar fleet attacks and attempts to reinforce and resupply their ground units for months, and Shinya knew that so far the enemy hadn't come up with anything capable of threatening the Gun Orb or her attendant ships, not that they usually got close enough to try, so she was confident in the firepower arrayed around her. There was, however, more to the task force than the Battlecruiser.

Also accompanying her in Task Force One was two hundred Shuriken class starfighters, uplinked to their parent carrier Tempest back in orbit over Glacies via Procul, enabling the pilots to remotely control their ships through V.R. and FTL communications. Slightly below and behind her in spatial terms was the XIS Warspite, a tiny 95 meter Veil class frigate whose sole purpose in combat was to spread a FTLi field over the area to prevent the enemy from either calling in reinforcements or escaping, and as such was a cornerstone of Xiscapian strategy thus far. Much less visible but equally important were the thousands of defensive platforms scattered around the system, currently slumbering offline but those in range would activate on her command, targeting unidentified and hostile contacts. Also arranged throughout were missile-shaped laser mines; upon receiving arming orders they would turn to target a unit and detonate their nuclear payload, spreading out a half dozen optical focus lenses which would harness the blast and convert it into energy, turning it into a powerful laser that could crack even multi-kilometer warships open. With such tools on her side Shinya had no doubt she could engage and destroy the contacts should they prove hostile.

"Surfacing from Jaunt...three...two...one."

Without warning the two warships and two hundred fighters emerged from their swirling portals just a few dozen kilometers "beneath" the fleet of contacts. The next few events occurred in a matter of seconds; the Warspite brought its FTLi generator online to close over the area, the Tears of the Sun achieved target lock-ons on the closest multi-kilometer craft, the Shuriken flitted out between the six contacts, scanning for weak points, hundreds of platforms came to life from where they had been silent and dark before, weapons swiveling to target the craft from their positions above, below, behind and before, and dozens of laser mines quietly shifted their thrusters, aligning with the contacts. Her orders were to not engage immediately, but instead try to ascertain who these people were and what they were doing here. Magnifying the false-colored images from the external sensors, Shinya could see they were doing something to the wreckage of a destroyed Zillar fleet; it didn't take a genius to guess what they were after. Staring at the offenders, the kitsune issued a clipped message to her Communications Officer for route out to the unknowns.

Attention unidentified contacts, this is Captain Shinya of the Xiscapian Imperial Starship Tears of the Sun, representing the Ninth Fleet of the Kitsune Imperial Navy of the Kitsune Empire of Xiscapia. You have breached Xiscapian Imperial territory without authorization. Confirm your identity and intentions immediately, and cease and desist from all salvage and mining operations, you have not been cleared to undertake independent operations. Failure to comply will result in your destruction.

[Greywatch]

As the Xiscapian ships emerged in took the Xarnii all of about 0.3 seconds to engage their arc-defenses. While it wasn’t likely said defenses would do anything against such odds, it was only logical they be erected anyway. As soon as the arc-defenses were online, there would be a blinding flash and a sharp, sudden high output of energy, enough to blind sensors and anyone unfortunate enough to be looking at the ship with their bare eyes, if only temporarily. When the ships came back into view a short moment later, they were all covered in a bright blue aura, their hulls glimmering. From each of the spires that covered the Xarnii vessels, bright violet arcs of energy would lash out, violently striking anything else that got too close. To a casual observer, the Xarnii vessels looked almost like they were attacking each other. The fighters that weren’t careful and flew in between the ships as this happened would find themselves very quickly disabled as they passed through the arc-field. From there, the same drones deployed to search the broken Zillar vessels would move, expertly weaving in and out of the arc-field unscathed and begin gently pushing the fighters out away so as to prevent them from taking further damage.

<Arc-Defense system is holding, several fighters have been disabled. We are moving disabled fighters out of the defense grid. There also seem to be another type of deployable defense, our drones are analyzing them now.> Said the Foreman’s assistant in its casual, matter-of-fact manner.

The same Drones took no time in then traveling to the laser mines and using their systems to alter the mines’ alignments. Again, nothing that could change the outcome of a battle but a good thing to try nonetheless. As all of this happened the Foreman called her group to a halt and the Xiscapians would find that none of the Xarnii warships had so much as activated any weapons, instead just sitting in a passive manner waiting for their leader to order a command. While scanning would reveal that the weakest points on the Xarnii Recyclers were in fact the locks that held the modular storage containers in place as well as the gathering arms; the warships, with their dense hulls, seemed to give nothing away about their design or any flaws.

<Two lead vessels and two hundred fighters, as well as several system defense platforms; it seems we are not welcomed. FTL Comms and travel seem to have been disabled. I calculate we have 30 standard minutes before the Fleet sends an investigation party to find out why the Real-Time Link was severed. Due to the Real-Time Link severance, I am unable to connect our fleet-based archives for more data on these Xiscapians. However, onboard data-files suggest they knew the Greywatchers, this may work to our advantage.>

With the nod the Foreman opened communications, allowing a brief message to be sent to the Xiscapian ships while she gathered some more data and planned what she intended to say. A cheery mechanical voice delivering each line of the automated message while soft orchestral music was played in the background:

[On behalf of the Xarnii Mining Division, greetings!]
[…]
[You have reach Xarnii Mining Detachment: 2-385. We serve Nomad Fleet Beta. For details of how to contact Nomad Fleet Beta, please speak to the head Foreman.]
[…]
[The Xarnii Mining Division hopes you are having a wonderful day.]
[…]
[Feeling anxious, confused, impatient, stressed? Please say on hold while we connect you to your party.]
[…]
[…]
[Party: Foreman 339: Reached. Connecting…]
[…]

Suddenly the music stopped and the voice of the Foreman could be heard. It was a low feminine voice with a gravel undertone to it which was enhanced by a slight amount of static. It was a visual communication, even though there was no face other than the black visor of the Foreman’s helmet and what appeared in the background was little more than the empty, purple interior of the ship’s bridge.

“This is Foreman 339, commanding officer of the 2-385 Xarnii Mining Detachment. Your system possesses resources on its rim that are required by the Nomad Fleet Beta and the whole Cryptic Coalition. Our intentions are simple; we wish to mine these resources and leave once we have finished with our assignment. We would be appreciative if you would forward communications to those that must be contacted in order to obtain clearance.”

[Xiscapia]

XIS Tears of the Sun, Bridge...

Squinting as the contacts powered up, Shinya stared into the light, herself and the other kitsune of the Task Force protected by dimming shades which fell over their viewscreens to shield their eyes from the intensity, a necessity for combat. What looked to be jagged, electrical bolts were shooting out from the ships, not at any of the ships of the Task Force, but towards each other, flickering violently -some sort of all-encompassing shield or other defensive measure, she figured. Passive observation turned to irritation a moment later, however, as pilots reported loss of control as their fighters encountered the field, those that had been making passes spiraling out of it into space, those who had been making slower scans caught inside and tended to by their frustrated, cursing pilots as they tried to jump-start their ships again. Individual fighters were using their thrusters and tractor beams to push or pull their comrades into clear space, keeping a wary eye on the drones as they seized the crippled ships and towed them out. The Xiscapians quickly learned not to fly into the shimmering azure bubble.

Even more annoying were the drones that were trying to run out and shift the laser mines, which stubbornly swung right back into position -they weren't activated, but too many more attempts to dislocate them would automatically arm the weapons to destroy the threat. Those drones which flew out to the mines were warned off by escorting Shuriken however they could, be it by communications, passes in front of them or warning shots across their bows. Shinya scowled -as if they were really just going to sit by while the contacts messed with the defenses? Between the crippled fighters and the interference with the mines they were setting themselves up for an attack, however inadvertent, and Shinya didn't intend to be responsible for their attitude towards the property of others, particularly that which exploded. She turned to her Communications Officer again when he patched a message through:

[On behalf of the Xarnii Mining Division, greetings!]
[…]
[You have reach Xarnii Mining Detachment: 2-385. We serve Nomad Fleet Beta. For details of how to contact Nomad Fleet Beta, please speak to the head Foreman.]
[…]
[The Xarnii Mining Division hopes you are having a wonderful day.]
[…]
[Feeling anxious, confused, impatient, stressed? Please say on hold while we connect you to your party.]
[…]
[…]
[Party: Foreman 339: Reached. Connecting…]
[…]

The kitsune rolled her eyes, tail lashing. A mining business. Just what we need, she thought sarcastically. Anxious, confused, impatient or stressed? You have no idea.

She glared at her Communications Officer. He shied away a little, but shrugged defensively. It wasn't his fault that the first thing to come back was an automated loop. A moment later his muzzle cleared, and he indicated with sweeps of his tail that another message was incoming, this time with visual accompaniment. It was passed through the security systems before appearing on-screen, ancillary to the magnification of the small fleet. Shinya gazed at the Foreman for a moment; all the Xarnii would see of her would be her head and upper torso and a white background.

“This is Foreman 339, commanding officer of the 2-385 Xarnii Mining Detachment. Your system possesses resources on its rim that are required by the Nomad Fleet Beta and the whole Cryptic Coalition. Our intentions are simple; we wish to mine these resources and leave once we have finished with our assignment. We would be appreciative if you would forward communications to those that must be contacted in order to obtain clearance.”

Tail curling up on itself, Shinya kept her hands behind her back, standing with back rigid, and spoke imperiously:

"This is Captain Shinya, leader of the First Task Force, and I can already tell you that your clearance is denied. These resources were created by Kitsune Imperial forces in Kitsune Imperial territory, they are Xiscapian property and we cannot authorize them for consumption by a foreign force. Withdraw your drones immediately, any further interference with this system's defenses will be regarded as a hostile act and force us to open fire. Your presence is neither requested nor desired."

Glacies, City of Newport, Kitsune Imperial Embassy...

"Contact has been made but hostilities have not commenced."

"Yet."

Imperial Ambassadress Tiri steepled her fingers, folded them down and rested her chin on them, facing the KIN liaison on the other side of the desk. They were in her office in the Newport Embassy, half a kilometer below ground, where she'd been busy coordinating information on the Telrosians and Pokosians for the consumption of her peers elsewhere in the Kitsune Empire and for the Coalition as a whole. Because she'd specifically requested it once she returned to her post, the Imperial Army and Navy had liaisons in her offices so they could inform her of major happenings in the system -like the confrontation with the contacts outside. The liaison, an orange-furred Homo Vulpes of medium build with the rank of Lieutenant, was named Batanan, and had implants that fed him data directly from Survey Command Headquarters, which in turn received information from the long-range sensors, drones and defensive platforms in the system. He was steadily reporting on the happenings in space, as Tiri herself had no way of knowing, not having the authority to access the streams with her own augmentations.

"The Task Force will only open fire if the contacts refuse to cooperate," Batanan assured her.

"Be that as it may, the Kitsune Imperial Navy gets some strange ideas about what 'cooperation' means." Frowning, she opened her internal search parameters afforded by her nanite computers through her cybernetics and input 'Xarnii' into the trace field. To her surprise the first result was a field report from Ambassador Vulpe, dated seven years old now, concerning the Greywatchers. The Xarnii had been a part of the confederation of Greywatch, coming from a stormy, hostile planet which necessitated a number of implants and augmentations geared towards surviving the harsh environment, to the point that they could be considered cyborgs of a sort. According to the Ambassador, they were expert engineers and shipbuilders, and possessed some unusual and advanced technology as a result. There was a great deal more -Vulpe's field report alone was over one hundred pages long- so she was only able to skim it, but there was one glaring fact that disturbed her:
Greywatch had ceased to exist.

After Vulpe had left the Kitsune Empire had lost all contact with the Greywatchers; tentative probings just before the start of the war revealed that they had mysteriously vanished. No one knew quite what had happened, though Vulpe mentioned in the file that Greywatch had several enemies, so it was speculated that a war or conflict of some sort had displaced them, if not destroyed them entirely. Any further expeditions had been restricted by the outbreak of war, and anything concerning Greywatch had taken a backseat to securing allies which could assist the Kitsune Empire against the Ternion. Ambassador Vulpe had campaigned -unusually strongly, in Tiri's opinion- to be allowed to continue searching, alone with only a small scout if it came to that, but the Xiscapian Diplomatic Corps had flatly refused, all the diplomats were needed for contact with the other nations of the Coalition and friendly states in the Milky Way. No doubt he would be very interested to know that the Xarnii, at least, still lived...a revelation which Tiri knew would cause a stir in the diplomatic world of the Kitsune Empire.

Looking up sharply, she stood, tail flicking, waving a hand at the liaison. "I need a shuttle. Now."

Batanan rose also, staring at her. "We can't send you into a potentially dangerous situation, Ambassadress-"

"These people might be our only link with a lost nation," Tiri said fiercely. "I need to talk to them, whether the Kitsune Imperial Navy authorizes it or not."

The liaison knew better than to argue. "I'll call ahead. The ship would be ready by the time you reach the starport."

[Greywatch]

As the drones pushed the last of the fighters out of the group’s immediate area the faceless Foreman sighed to herself and nodded, with a single mental command the drones were all pulled back to her ship without further incident. The Recyclers began retracted their equipment fully and adjusted their headings to proceed out of system. As the ships did so they all began to pull themselves towards the Foreman’s lead ship to the point that they their arc spires were nearly touching, each of them parallel to one another. The arc-defense was still engaged while all of this happened but began to concentrate around the sterns of each vessel as the ships prepared to perform a simultaneous FTL jump. The Foreman knew when to negotiate and when to leave, sadly this fell into the latter category. She was slightly surprised by the Xiscapians paranoia; they had countless defenses established and were still worried, and even downright hostile towards her humble group. Foreman 339 chalked this up to just being the standard military attitude towards manners and dismissed it quickly. She wondered if it would be a good time to mention Greywatch and see if that raised her standing a little but in the end decided not to bother. Not feeling a need to state the obvious the Foreman put through a very curt message with a straightforward and neutral tone:

“We are prepared to leave, please drop your disruption field and allow us to do so.”

[Xiscapia]

XIS Tears of the Sun, Bridge...

And good riddance, Captain Shinya thought as the mining ships and their escorts formed up. She was not a fan of scavengers, corporations or intrusive foreigners, and these Xarnii managed to combine all three aspects. Keeping a lock on them, she knew the Tears of the Sun would have to spend several minutes floating around and picking up or restarting the disabled fighters, tying the valuable, powerful battlecruiser down in a minor task that could have been avoided if the interlopers had taken the time and manners to ask before taking. Facing her Communications Officer once more, she instructed him to order the Warspite to drop its interdiction field, returning to the Foreman at the same time. "Field dropped," she confirmed. "You are free to-"

A moment later a small, white, tri-winged shuttle burst out of a Jaunt Portal nearby, almost between Task Force One and the Xarnii fleet. In seconds a connection had been pushed through, the surprised Communications Officer having no choice but to accept the XDC codes and reroute the feed to the Xarnii Foreman. On the opposite end of it was Ambassadress Tiri, clad in full black and purple regalia, brown fur matching the black hair that fell down her dark robes, marking her as a dignitary of the Kitsune Empire. She took a split-second to glare at Shinya, who scowled back, before turning her attention to the Xarnii. Bowing, she wasted no time but launched into a short speech.

"Greetings from the Xiscapian Diplomatic Corps," she said breathlessly. "Apologies for the rudeness of our KIN comrades. I am Ambassadress Tiri. You are of Greywatch, are you not?"

[Greywatch]

<FTL inhibitor dropped, connection to Fleet regained, relaying information about territory.> The assistance’s voice would easily carry over the communications channel, not that the Foreman cared. <Arc-charge conversion at 83%, FTL generators running at maximum capacity, D-field 97% synchronized, static at 6% - acceptable ranges… we are ready to access D-space in 14 standard seconds, now.>

The space around the Xarnii vessels began to warp as the energy discharges increased in frequency and intensity. By the time there were 7 seconds left before jump the sterns of each ship were being bathed in the violet energy. The Foreman paid little attention to the new ship as it appeared on the scene; she was far too busy managing the group’s pre-FTL systems. However, the sudden mention of Greywatch in the message that was relayed to her woke her from her systems check and caused her to suddenly shift her focus. Her group at a full 100%, she waited before initiating the jump command, thinking about the message and what had been asked. There was at least half a minute of silence as the ships slowly powered down their FTL systems and Foreman 339 accessed the databases of her home fleet. Finally, when she felt she had composed herself enough, she responded to the communication, keeping the message open for both the Ambassador and Task Force to hear:

“Incorrect, we are not of Greywatch. We are Xarnii. Greywatch was destroyed approximately 30 standard months ago by an alien race not of this galaxy, annihilating nearly their entire population. My race with the help of another, the Asureans, rescued all we could and have been assisting them in their quest to rebuild. We hope this is enough information to respond to your inquiry in a satisfactory manner.”

[Xiscapia]

XIS Tears of the Sun, Bridge...

Looking in irritation from the Foreman to the Ambassadress, Shinya's scowl deepened. She had been seconds -seconds!- away from seeing the intruders out of Kitsune Imperial territory and away from the resources, and the Diplomatic Corps had to come to intervene. She silently cursed the meddlesome dignitaries, she respected them and what they did but they were at war and this was a war zone, not an embassy, the military should have full authorization to do whatever it pleased here, including kicking out undesirables. She didn't dare try to oppose the Ambassadress though, Tiri was in no shape, way or form her subordinate or at all obliged to take orders from her, the Kitsune Imperial Military and the Xiscapian Diplomatic Corps were two completely separate entities, neither of which could truly exert power over the other. So the Captain stayed silent as the Foreman chewed over Ambassadress's words, the Xarnii ships powering down their drives, Tiri waiting expectantly for an answer.

"I understand," she said quietly. "Thank you. Is there any way we could contact those remnants of Greywatch, or at least request that you give them a message from us? Also," her gaze unfocused slightly as she accessed multiple internal data streams, "I've been informed that there may be a way to reach a deal concerning the salvageable resources in this system, should you be so inclined to hear it."

Shinya's scowl turned into a grimace. So much for never allowing the resources to be accessed for foreign consumption. Governor's orders, if not the Vanadict's. I wonder what the Ambassadress is playing at?

[Greywatch]

Chalybs System Rim:

The Foreman thought for a moment about Tiri’s question, her masked face betraying none of her thoughts. After discreetly communicating with her CO and carefully thinking over Tiri’s proposal, the Foreman finally replied.

“We apologize, but you must understand we are only in charge of mining and salvage. Our superiors would be the ones to talk to about contacting the Greywatchers. If you would like, we can provide you with both the contact information for and the coordinates to the Diplomatic Detachment in the Nomad Fleet Beta where you would be able to obtain such details. As for the offer, we will hear it on behalf of our superiors but it will be their choice as to whether we pursue operations in this system.” Foreman 339 gave a momentary glance to Shinya before continuing, “They are concerned about further… hostilities. We do not wish to risk damage to Nomad Fleet Beta’s equipment.”

Nomad Fleet Beta, Primus Class Habitat Vessel 3, Local Diplomatic Division:

“What am I supposed to be looking at here?”

“These are the files regarding the first contact between the old Greywatch Empire and Xiscapia, as well as files regarding a Mr. Pegasus Silverkin; all complete with pictures and highlighted text.” Lucien leaned back in his seat, glancing ever so slightly to the Xarnii sitting on his desk, the human’s eyes were hidden behind the light of the multiple display-panels reflecting off his glasses. Lucien was the standard human, a medium build with tan skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. To most aliens he was indistinguishable from most other humans. “It’s a funny thing, really. See, seven years ago a man named Pegasus met with a Xiscapian name Vulpe in a diplomatic first-contact. This is somewhat of a big deal considering the current stream of information being forwarded to me by the Xarnii Mining Division that just happened to have come across said Xiscapians. Now, I like to imagine that after these long seven years, our two peoples could reestablish contact, something that would be beneficial to the Cryptic Coalition as a whole. And who better to send for this than Pegasus himself?”

The Xarnii used the mechanical arms sprouting from its armor to lift and reposition itself, facing the human. “According to this report Pegasus went MIA during the Shattering and hasn’t been seen since, along with millions of others. He’s presumably dead… I fail to see how this concerns me.”

“The last person to update his file was one of the FM Archivists, but the changes are hidden because I don’t have the right clearance. I know this is one of those things that most likely falls under national security or whatever, but I’d like to know if the FM is covering something up that might help this little situation along.” Lucien leaned forward and removed his glasses, “I’d appreciate it if you were able to do some research into the matter.”

“I sincerely hope you’re not abusing our relationship to further your own private goals, Lucien. You should know how I feel about people bending and breaking the rules.” The Xarnii was very stern in saying this, sliding off the desk but keeping itself off the ground with use of its extra arms.

“I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to. I’m just asking you to see if the FM is hiding anything that may help the Diplomatic Division with the current situation. If there’s nothing out of the ordinary, I won’t push the issue any further. Plus I’ll owe you one.”

“I will take a look into the restricted information and let you know if I find anything that may be of interest to you, only because I know if I do find something it will help you function more efficiently. But you will be in my debt, and I will collect.” With that the Xarnii left the room, leaving Lucien to think about his next move.

[Xiscapia]

XIS Tears of the Sun...

"Naturally," Tiri nodded eagerly. "We would be very grateful if you would provide us with contact information and coordinates for the Diplomatic Detachment in your home fleet, we have not had any contact with Greywatch in years and we would like to reopen relations with whatever is left.

"As for damage to your ships and equipment, I can promise your superiors on my honor that no more harm will come to them from us unless you or others of your kind either attempt an unauthorized operation or open fire.

"Now, the proposal is simple. This battle site is neither the only nor the largest of its kind in the system, there are a number of other wreckage orbits along the rim and closer to the interior, particularly close to the planets. I daresay that they could be beneficial to your fleet if you were to mine them, and we would be willing to give your miners our blessing to extract any resources you want from them, for a price.

"Firstly, your superiors must agree to release any information your miners find from intact computers and databanks to us, most of the debris are from our enemies but we do not have the time or ships to spend on trawling them for data. The intelligence they might provide could be vital to our war effort; you see why this is a requirement. Any weapons or pieces of technology you recover are yours to keep, and of course we will permit them to keep copies of any information you extract.

"The second requirement is somewhat more esoteric. When our Ambassador originally contacted Greywatch, he was fortunate to observe and directly experience some Xarnii technology. He recommended a number of items that would be considered high value acquisitions, but before any deal could be facilitated we lost contact with Greywatch. Now that we have achieved contact with the engineers themselves, however, I believe the timing is prudent to attempt a deal; the list will be transmitted to you shortly, for the perusal of your superiors. I will admit that the list is extensive, and we are more than happy to negotiate on any points which your superiors feel may pose a threat to them.

"In return for listed technology -and promises that any information recovered from wreckage sites will be shared with us- we will allow your scavengers to mine any and all debris fields for resources. The total mass of the wreckage fields in this system are not known, but they are tens if not hundreds of millions of tons in size, any operation to mine all of it would take some time. I also must confess that this system frequently comes under attack by the Zillars, the former owners of the destroyed warships in the system, and if they make a foray while Xarnii miners are in the system we will not be able to divert a significant portion of the defenses to protect them. Should your superiors decide that they do not approve of this deal, or wish to negotiate further, there is no harm done, though if it is entirely rejected I would warn them that any further attempts to make unauthorized salvage operations would be met with weapons instead of words. Irregardless of the fate of the proposal, we do still wish to establish contact with the Greywatchers, so they may expect a Kitsune Imperial diplomat to arrive to your provided coordinates within the next several days."

[Greywatch]

“We believe you are still mistaken as to who we are. The Xiscapians and the Xarnii have never had contact before this day as the Xarnii were never apart of the Greywatch Empire. We have gone through the liberty of accessing what was salvaged from the Greywatch Archives and we believe we have found the source of your confusion. You are referring to a race known as the Xarniosi; a technologically advanced race that had been absorbed into the old Greywatch Empire. While our names are in fact similar, we feel it should be made clear we are not the same race. For additional information regarding the Xarniosi, please feel free to contact the Nomad Fleet Beta’s History Division or the Nomad Fleet Beta’s Technology Division as further information is restricted to us. We believe you will have to contact the Nomad Fleet Beta’s Technology Division either way as we do have the required clearance to approve or disapprove of the list of items you wish to obtain. We will, however, forward the list to them. The appropriate addresses will be sent to you now.”

With a mental command the Foreman sent forth several coordinates, many of them being very close together, complete with FTL contact addresses, names, titles, and whatever else was needed. Once that had been taken care of it addressed the other issues.

“We can say with certainty that the first requirement you have specified can be done without question. Though, we must require the locations of all Xiscapian systems within this galaxy, as without them there is a high chance that further Mining Detachments will arrive in your systems, some far larger and more heavily guarded than others. Further information regarding mining operations in this system will come from our superiors if an arrangement is made. If that is all, we must excuse ourselves and return to our fleet.”

[Xiscapia]

XIS Tears of the Sun...

Feeling the hot blush of embarrassment rising up beneath her skin, Tiri knew full well that the Foreman wouldn't be able to tell but she could see Shinya looking sidelong at her out of the corner of her eye, a smug look on her face. That damn Vulpe, the Ambassadress thought furiously. Filing "Xarnii" as a contraction for "Xarniosi"! I'm going to have a word with him...once I get finished correcting all the archives. It was an honest mistake, of course, and she could see how he could have made it -the words were identical but for a few letters on the end- but the slip had made her look like a fool in front of an alien contact, one she was trying to make a deal with, no less! Quelling her indignation and humiliation, and stilling her tail, she bowed.

"My most sincere apologies. It seems our files are...mislabeled. As for the locations of other Kitsune Imperial systems in this galaxy, this star system, Chalybs, is the only sovereign holding." Technically true; the Kitsune Imperial Navy held martial control over several star systems in the Beta Quadrant, but they were not official colonies or bases and were considered contested, as the Kitsune Empire was not the only one that wanted those pieces of territory. "We will be certain to contact the appropriate divisions and departments within your home fleet for our own information. That is all; many thanks for your assistance." A second bow.

[Greywatch]

“Others have made this mistake, no harm has been received,” the Foreman said, simply. Though Tiri wouldn’t know it, it was not in the Foreman’s nature to judge and the mistake was so insignificant it was barely worth remembering. “We appreciate the information regarding your systems and shall be taking our leave now.” With that the communications line was severed and the ships powered up their engines and FTL drives once more. Once again the ships disappeared into the bright violet of the pre-FTL arc-field. Within a few minutes, they were gone with only a bright flash to signal their departure.

Nomad Fleet Beta:

As the Foreman and her group arrived back at their home fleet, the small party would quickly break apart; the warships would quickly take their positions within the fleet, adding to its general defensive parameter while the smaller mining ships would prepare to dock with the behemoth mobile processing facilities that roamed with the rest of the fleet. Foreman 339, however, had another destination and only lingered for a few moments before disappearing back into D-space.

Meanwhile, certain areas of the fleet were making preparations for the guests which would be arriving soon. The Local Diplomatic Division was preparing to entertain any diplomat or diplomats the Xiscapians sent their way while the Technology and History Divisions made the necessary preparations in the scenario that they were contacted. But it wasn’t just the Beta Fleet that was aware of the situation, messages and reports had been sent out to much of the Coalition’s officials and leaders. There was Alpha Fleet, which held the headquarters of the Xarnii Technology Division; Delta Fleet, which possessed the largest number of mining, salvage, and productions vessels; and the Asurean Homeworld, the headquarters of the entire Cryptic Coalition’s Diplomatic Division as well as one of the key planets within the Coalition.

Nomad Fleet Alpha, Technology Division Office Prime:

“Technology? They wish to obtain technology for some free floating debris they were lazy to collect themselves?” Flis said with an annoyed tone, “They seem to possess a sorely inflated concept of what those resources are worth to us.” The Xarnii turned to face the several display panels on the wall behind it which displayed the planet below the fleet, a large terrestrial world of expansive red deserts, white caps, and outlines of green around the world’s two small and isolated scattered oceans. Even from orbit large craters and gaping holes could be seen where the Xarnii fleet had been mining for valuable resources. Behind Flis was his personal assistant, a tall, humanoid construct dressed in a bland gray and brown uniform. The assistant was in fact nothing more than a shell, a mechanical body controlled by an advanced AI meant specifically to make its interactions with other seem more personal. Its face remained expressionless as its bright violet eyes looked down at the Xarnii.

<The Xiscapians have not had proper contact with the Greywatchers in the past seven years; I doubt they truly understand the current situation. It’s really quite a shame the Foreman didn’t have more data available to her; she could have explained that all contact with the Xarniosi was lost during the Shattering. Still, we may as well humor them with the list. The Xarniosi were our creations, any technology they possessed we most likely possess as well, assuming they did not evolve too far outside our intended parameters.>

“Our technology is reserved only for other Cryptic species or the closest of allies. These… Xiscapians are neither,” Flis said with a sneer, “I see no reason to compromise a system that has worked so well for us for so long.”

The shell shook its head, <I believe we can afford to make a small compromise this once, depending on the list send to us and their promise not to retro-engineer anything we provide until we determine how responsible they are. Either way, Nomad Fleet Beta is already aware that it shall be the Technocratic Order as a whole that makes the decision, not them alone.>

“Hrmph,” grunted the Xarnii on word of this, “We will see. I will let the Order handle this all the same; they will no doubt understand that this is a matter not to be taken lightly. Still, I would feel more comfortable with another’s opinion,” the Xarnii turned to the construct, “Contact the Forbidden Ministry, I want one of the Celestials to join this debate.” The construct nodded once, the AI controlling it sending out the appropriate message.

[Xiscapia]

XIS Comet, Imperial Shuttle...

Sitting down in the cabin of the white diplomatic transport she'd used to get out to the system edge, Tiri watched as the Tears of the Sun, collecting the disabled fighters in docking ports, resumed patrol, ever vigilant for Zillar attack. The Chalybs System had been receiving a surprising amount of attention and activity recently, after months of isolation -contact with the Morningstar Coalition and the Telrosians, the arrival and departure of the requisitioned fleet from the home galaxy to secure holdings in the Beta Quadrant, the harried movements of Sen traders and communications between the Vice Admiral and the Pokosian Commonwealth, just to name a few. The Xarnii were just another in a long list of contacts, people from the Milky Way approaching the Kitsune Imperial System for one reason or another, but they came with some interesting strings attached. Tiri didn't doubt she'd be sent out to them, as the resident Chalybs diplomat and the representative for the wider Kitsune Empire, but her own headquarters would want a word with her. Leaning her head back, she jacked into the shuttle's signal network, interfaced with her implants, and sank into artificial dreams.

They met in the Imperial Palace on Xiscapia, as though it were just another meeting between the diplomats on some mundane problem, though the conference took place only in their minds, and the actual Imperial Palace chambers were empty. Tiri faced her superior, the Vanadict, Chief Ambassadress and an advisor to the Emperor, a Homo Vulpes kitsune with soft white skin, flowing red hair, maroon fur and a youthful body that hid her real extended years of experience. Unlike Tiri, she was dressed in the crimson robes that the Imperial Staff wore during wartime, a longstanding tradition so they would never forget that while they fought wars of words and treaties, soldiers were fighting and dying on real battlefields. As true to the seasons the sky outside was an iron lid, and the light that flowed through the high windows was dim and lethargic, as though the very coolness of the air was slowing it down. They took their places around the virtual table, though in this realm action was controlled by the mind and had no meaning to the body.

"Ambassadress Tiri," the Vanadict bowed. "I understand that you made contact with the Xarnosi of Greywatch?"

"No, Chief Ambassadress," Tiri shook her head, a slight smile playing over her snout. "I met the Xarnii. Believe you me, I was equally surprised, but it appears the names were misfiled by Ambassador Vulpe, he believe one to be a contraction of the other. However, they do know of Greywatch, and apparently, how to reach the remnants."

"That aside, there were some...problems?"

"They had a small fleet of the rim of the system, trying to salvage one of the debris fields. The Navy put a stop to that, and almost forced them out of the system before I got a chance to contact them. Fortunately, I was able to, and I took the initiative to both supply them with our list of technology acquisition priorities in return for the debris and get the coordinates to their home fleet for pursue the matter further."

"Interesting. What did they say about the proposition?"

"The fleet leader I spoke to -called itself the Foreman- didn't have the authority to make any decisions of course, but it promised to bring the list back to the appropriate superiors."

"And of Greywatch?'

"Destroyed, as we suspected. Most of their population wiped out by some alien race from another galaxy about thirty months ago, and the Xarnii have been helping them rebuild. So some still remain, although exactly who and how many, and how much coherency the state has maintained, is a mystery."

"Something tells me the Forbidden Ministry did not suffer the same fate," the Vanadict said dryly.

"I doubt it," Tiri agreed. "But what relevance...?"

"Do they have? Well, you have read Ambassador Vulpe's report, correct?"

"I have."

"He wrote that the Forbidden Ministry was waiting for him when he landed, and he believed they were watching him. He didn't know exactly who or what they were at the time, but their arrival after the start of the Danaversian War shed some light on that subject. The one time we had contact with Greywatch they showed an inordinate amount of interest in us, and even went so far as to make contact of their own accord. I think it's safe to say you'll be seeing them again."

"I don't trust them."

"Nor should you. What we saw was, well, cryptic, but it was more annoying than alarming. But if they survived this conflict, and I think that they have, it means they aren't simply a bunch of borderline schizophrenics with unusual technology like they appeared to be. You should tread carefully."

"That aside, what about the proposal, and the Greywatchers?"

"Your primary objective is to contact the Greywatchers, we'd like to know what happened. We're not in a terribly strong position to help them at the moment, but we'll do what we can if they'd receive it, relations were going well before their disappearance. However, I don't think you should rely on any of Vulpe's old contacts or impressions, chances are few if any records of his visit remain; you'll be effectively starting Contact over again."

"I wish Vulpe was here. Not that I don't want to do this," Tiri added hastily, "but I know he would want to be. He made a strong connection while he was there."

"Unfortunately Ambassador Vulpe is tied down with General Wu's coup in the Phenian System and the fallout after the Battle of Phenia. It's up to you. Now, as for the proposal, the list is what it says, low priority items can be disregarded if the Xarnii resist too much to selling them, moderate priority items should be negotiated but not fought for, and high priority should take up most of your attention. Make it clear to them that if we don't get at least some of what we want, they don't get any salvage from those debris fields. An exchange of technology is possible, but you'll need to route it through us and the Science Advisory Board first. In the end, though, remember that your primary objective is contact with the Greywatchers. Don't waste too much time with the Xarnii if you can avoid it."

"Yes Chief Ambassadress. Was there anything else?"

"No, only that you should proceed as quickly as possible. The longer we wait, the more likely it is that the Nomad Fleet will move, and the more likely it is Wuin will come under attack again."

"Understood. Thank you."

Tiri was descending into reality when the shuttle exited from Jaunt at the designated coordinates.

[Greywatch]

As Tiri came back into real space, she’d be immediately greeted by the sight of the massive Xarnii Nomad Fleet Beta; a group of thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of ships of various sizes and classes from the 500 meter long frigates to the kilometer long mining vessels to the five kilometer dreadnought-carriers to the seven kilometer mobile factories to the thirty kilometer mobile habitats stations… just to name a few. Perhaps the one thing that stood out the most of all these ships was the incomplete, nearly forty kilometer Cronos that sat near one of the habitat staions, surrounded by construction vessels.

All of these ships sat spread out in a half-ring deep within the star system; the Xarnii vessels’ hulls being nothing more than ebony silhouettes against the bright blue of the binary stars of a system which both sensors and visual confirmation would show had been nearly stripped of resources. Of the five planets, three of them were husks of their former selves, empty shells which the Xarnii had happily scooped any meat out of and then discarded like trash. Large chucks of these worlds sat around cold or dying cores, if indeed there were still cores left. The remaining two planets were gas giants and though Tiri’s sensors wouldn’t be able to pick them up, large facilities were slowly stripping away any desirable gases the Xarnii wanted, though it was anyone’s guess as to what they would be using theose gases for. Despite all of this, if Tiri were to check her sensors, she’d find even the largest of the vessels did not appear – not as ships anyway. Due to what could only be described as stealth technology, the ship cluster appeared to be a very large collection of asteroids rather than a fleet. There being no real way to become completely invisible in space, the entire fleet simply used a combination of trickery, jammers, emission-hiding, and closeness to the two stars to disguise itself in the infinite void.

As Tiri’s vessel approached the fleet, she’d receive a text-only message with a set of coordinates to one of the large habitat stations, Habitat Vessel 3 to be exact, a structure that looked somewhat like a pinecone with a spherical structure and several large cylindrical engines at its rear. All around the habitat, several dreadnoughts and carriers floundered about lazily, the large Cronos defense platform sitting right behind the group. As she got within range of the coordinates, a number of the station’s systems would activate to guide her into the upper docking bay where she would be parked next to three other vessels, all of which were clearly not of Xarnii design. Two of them were crafted with sleek and elegant designs and had glossy silver-blue hulls which contradicted the Xarnii’s less aesthetically pleasing, function-over-form designs with matte black finish. The third ship was an old Greywatcher vessel, specifically a dropship which had seemingly been modified for civilian purposes though it still bore a black Hellhound Skull emblem on it.

As she exited her vessel, Tiri would no doubt notice that everything was clean, almost unnaturally so. Several floating droids attended to everything within the hanger, a few of them approaching and scanning Tiri briefly, but even then there were very few of them around. Her greeter was a Synthetic, though that would be hard to tell at first glance or the second or the third… being a Synthetic meant being such a perfect balance of mechanical and biological that it was undetectable to even the highest level scans. For all intents and purposes the Synthetic was a Leanorian, a well-groomed female Leanorian with golden fur and long brown hair. Dressed in diplomatic garb of white and blue, she stood at around seven feet in height thanks to her digitigrade feet.

“Ambassadress… Tiri, I presume?” The Leanorian said in a gentle voice, “Welcome to Habitat Vessel 3. My name is Kai, I am to escort you to Mr. Glass and answer any questions you may have. If you’ll follow me,” Kai turned to lead Tiri from the docking bay and onto and elevator. “Upper Gardens,” she said aloud and a chiming sound was heard as the order of registered. As the elevator moved upwards tidbits of news could be heard through the intercom:

“Recent attempts to improve the relationship between Avonarii and Dredge have had an astonishing breakthrough recently when a single Dredge ‘Bonesinger’ exited its home within the caves of the Abyss and met with several Avonarii politicians in an attempt to broker a truce between the two races. The Avonarii remain cautiously optimistic claiming that while this particular Dredge is very polite and patient, that they doubt the Dredge race as a whole will ever part from its violent ways.”

[Xiscapia]

XIS Comet...

Observing via her neural link to the shuttle's sensor array, Tiri was impressed by the sheer size and scope of what she saw. The actual size of any given vessel wasn't all that amazing, but it did hint at their containing many beings or large amounts of equipment, which she suspected they all did. She assumed the largest among them, stationary and under construction, was some sort of fleet leader, though whether it was a warship, a colony vessel, a mobile factory or some other more esoteric type was not evident. She was given to knowing that the KIN was working on its own factory vessel, for support during the invasions that were sure to come during the war, and wondered how the final version would compare to what the Xarnii had here. Looking away from the surround fleet, she concentrated on the planets.

Somehow she wasn't surprised that they showed no signs of habitation; instead they appear to have been strip-mined. Three rocky worlds had been virtually ripped apart, little more than particularly large asteroid fields, no doubt mined of all resources and metals before being allowed to drift. The system's two gas giants appeared to be intact, but she was willing to bet they were siphoning off the gas and maybe even the metals in the core, the Xarnii seemed like the sort of people who would never let anything go to waste, no matter how small or difficult to reach. Interestingly, they didn't appear on her sensors as starships, although their gravity fields were still quite evident, they appeared to have very wide ranging and sophisticated cloaking, masking and stealth technologies; the scanners were telling her she was looking at an asteroid field. While it was a clever ruse, even the Ambassadress knew it would never fool a determined observer; from without billions if not trillions of tons of mass suddenly appearing in a star system would look suspicious, not to mention those extra-system probes that used reflected light to tell what was happening around a sun, and from within it was plainly clear that the masses were starships, not asteroids.

As the shuttle settled in the indicated bay under the careful guidance of the lone pilot Tiri withdrew from her connection with the sensors, somewhat reluctantly. Losing that second sight was not unlike suddenly going blind and deaf, it was disorienting, and while her natural senses were sharp even for a kitsune there was no doubt that her perception was expanded with the addition of those artificial systems. The Ambassadress took nothing with her as she exited the cabin, Xiscapian diplomats traveled light by necessity. The pilot stayed aboard his ship, once in a blue moon someone on the other side of the delegation would take pity on one of the shuttle flyers and offer them accommodations and the like as well, but usually the airmen just amused themselves in their own ships until it was time to leave. Stepping down the ramp, Tiri looked around the bay as she walked out, purple and sable robes sweeping the deck behind her.

Seeing the drones come up, she bemusedly allowed herself to be scanned. They could be linked up to some alien intelligence somewhere watching her, or they could be nothing more than simple cleaning droids, but either way she couldn't hide from them. When the Leanorian approached Tiri was not aware that she was a Synthetic, indeed having no way of knowing, but she wouldn't have cared even if she knew. Bowing to the alien, she confirmed her identity and fell into step beside Kai, remembering the description of the furred creatures from Vulpe's report. The sight of the being reminded her of an Alumina, and she thought distantly that the drones in the hanger had reminded her of their Xiscapian counterparts; in fact a lot of things the Xarnii did, strip-mining, employing widespread anti-surveillance technology, empathizing function over form, reminded her of the Kitsune Empire. It was always nice to establish similarities.

What question to ask first? She started with the most obvious.

"Thank you. Who is Mister Glass?"

[Greywatch]

“Mr. Lucien Glass, he is the Diplomatic Division Controller for this vessel and one of the first Descendents to obtain a Head Diplomat rank in Beta Fleet.”

After a couple of minutes, the elevator would come to a stop and the doors would open to a large, white-stone plaza decorated with several flower gardens and even a few trees. A cloudless blue sky was displayed overhead by several display panels and the area was lit and warmed realistically to replicate sunlight. The plants in the gardens were vibrant shades of greens, blues, reds, and yellows; holographic signs could be seen over some of the shops in the area, their bright orange, magenta, and cyan lights further the vibrant array of color in this section. It was obvious at this point that while Xarnii ships were made in a function over form fashion; the Habitats at least were built to be comfortable as well as efficient. Several people could be seen talking in groups and sitting on benches as the two exited and immediately moved to the left and up a flight of stairs to get to an elevated walkway.

Among the people below the pair were races Tiri might recognize from Vulpe’s report: the obvious one being the Descendents, though Tiri may know them better as ‘humans;’ many of them possessing various skin tones and styles of dress. A trained eye would be able to pick up on the subtle differences between them though; the unmodified New Heaveners were often somewhat larger than Greywatchers, not to mention far more muscular due to the higher gravity of their world while unmodified New Heaveners were shorter, being about the 5’ 7” range, though just as heavy built. Greywatchers, on the other hand, had more slender builds and a natural height that came with their planet’s lesser gravity.

Then of course there were of course the Leanorians, their golden-furred, muscular, feline figures being easily picked out from a crowd thanks to their height. Many Leanorians either wore modified tribal-style clothing or shorts, the aforementioned clothing typically consisting of white, reds, or browns and possessing simple designs and patterns. Many males went topless altogether while females typically wore simple but stylish dresses and several pieces of traditional jewelry; many Leanorians also carried ceremonial weapons on their person though such things typically consisted of little more than an ivory knife, staff, or spear. Then there were the Dragonni, a reptilian race Vulpe would not have seen too many of during his time in Greywatch but could be recognized by their slender forms, horns, occasional frills, typically colorful scaly bodies (especially among females), and tendency to wear form-fitting clothing. The Dragonii seemed to prefer simplicity, their clothing being solid colors, typically black. Some of the more liberal Dragonii wore short pants, those who did almost always being topless regardless of gender since being reptilian meant tops didn’t have to be worn out of modesty.

Then there were a couple races that were new, the first being the Avonarii. As the name may suggest they were an avian species, the ones below Tiri and Kai being of the Avonarii Primus variety; they were easily recognizable by the bright and vivid plumages on the males while the females usually possessed blander colors. The Avonarii seemed to mainly wear loose-fitted or freedom-providing clothing like robes, vests, and short skirts, much unlike the Dragonni. The Avonarii style of clothing also included various colors and designs; one notable male displaying his tastes with a deep blue robe with a tree design on the sleeves and back consisting of brown, green, and white matching his bright blue and white feathers and orange beak. Then were also the Xarnii, an odd group who despite mingling with the other races all seemed to be wearing nearly identical purple and blue environmental suits; they were all very short in stature, the typical Xarnii only being around 4 feet in height. There was very little that could be determined about the Xarnii other than their height, their suits covered the entirety of their bodies, even their visors were a solid black in color and displayed no faces. Many of the Xarnii seemed to have glowing blue holographic displays which enclosed their forearms; many Xarnii would look down to these displays every so often before deactivating them, as if the race as a whole was keeping track of something.

[Xiscapia]

Witnessing the convincing illusion in the park-like area of the vessel, Tiri was impressed, she could almost believe she was on a world instead of on a starship. She'd never seen such painstaking work and detail put into making a replica of a planetside environment, it was clearly an important aspect to have received such attention -a far cry from most Xiscapian vessels with their dark, low, narrow corridors. Natural to the Xarnii, she thought it was all probably done to the maximum efficiency possible, from the illumination to the flora and probably even the layout of the plaza itself. After taking a few moments to process the scene she turned to people watching. Vulpe's report would be helpful here, at least assuming he didn't get any more names wrong.

Humans were prevalent, as with many nations and organizations across the universe, although she was aware they were not called such. The tall, heavily muscled New Heaveners reminded her of Setulanites, who were of a similar stature, and she guessed correctly that they came from a high gravity world that necessitated such adaptations. Standard Greywatchers would be closer to normal, though they seemed undersized by Tiri's standard of human, when one had been dealing with the six, seven and even eight foot tall Alversians and Setulanites other humans appeared rather diminutive, whatever the universal standard for size was. The Greywatchers, at least, had survived the cataclysm, though she wasn't particularly surprised. The human race in general seemed to be very resilient, and these were no exception.

With regards to the Leanorians Tiri knew Vulpe had had good relations with several of them, although his report also mentioned that at one point his diplomatic party was attacked by a hostile tribe. However much they reminded her of Alumina, Tiri still respected and even admired the physical forms of the aliens but she wasn't in a position to comment on them otherwise given her lack of experience, though Vulpe seemed to regard them with approval. Vulpe made no mention of meeting a Dragonni representative or engaging in significant discourse with any member of the race, though he had indicated their existence in a secondary way. They had not really come up in conversation, so little was known about them as Vulpe's report seemed to indicate that they had been rare. The aliens -reptiles?- seemed much more common on this ship, though, she supposed that the conflict must have either boosted their numbers or freed a large portion of them up from a different area.

Again, the Xiscapian Diplomatic Corp's experience in the wider universe had Tiri drawing parallels, this time between the Avonarii and a couple of similar races the Kitsune Empire had encountered, specifically the Pokosians, of the Pokosian Commonwealth, and the Tengu, of the Sen System Alliance. Neither of the aforementioned sported the multi-colored, startling plumages that the male Avonarii did. Tiri found herself examining their wings, wondering if they could sustain natural atmospheric flight -all Tengu had lost that particular ability at some point in their evolution, and most Pokosians were born with the opportunity though many voluntarily chose to have their wings clipped for ease of use on the ground. The Xarnii Tiri had already encountered, though Vulpe had not had that benefit; looking at them, she was inwardly surprised at how small they were, and noticed that there didn't seem to be any real individuality among them, as far as she could tell any of the passing sapients could have been the very same Foreman she had spoken to in the Chalybs System. Of course, just because she couldn't see it didn't mean it didn't exist -she could think of a few examples with her own people that outsiders often missed- but at this early stage she saw no sign.

"Impressive," she commented on the general area. "A lot of work and craftsmanship went into constructing this. How many people live aboard?"

[Greywatch]

“This Habitat was only brought into service a month ago so the current population should be around fifty thousand permanent residents. I would expect to see more people move in as they are approved by the officials that control the fleet.”

As the pair walked upon the elevated walkway a large black-scaled tan-bellied Draaikt would pass them by, the naked nine-foot-tall reptilian walked slowly with its thick tail dragging behind it; related to the Dragonni but far more primeval in appearance, the Draaikt looked almost like a bipedal crocodile or dragon, possessing a muscular and naturally armored body that had evolved to protect it against the powerful Cryptic arts of the what Tiri would know as the 'Elden.' The Draaikt’s jaws made it look like more of a hunter than even most Leanorians; its muscular body, sharp teeth, claws, and jaws indicating it had evolved to bring down very large prey. At first glance, it would be hard to believe that these creatures evolved on the same world as the 'Elden' and the Greywatchers but had turned out so radically different in body structure. Being reptilian, its gender was completely ambiguous to both Tiri and Kai, there being no external indicators presented help in distinguishing such a thing. The Draaikt race would have been unseen by Vulpe during his visit, not known for being the most sociable of creatures in the old Greywatch Empire. As it passed the pair, it would them offer them nothing more than a momentary glance and a low growl as its form of a hello.

After passing several small shops and offices they came upon a holographic sign that pointed out the entrance of the local Diplomatic Detatchment Offices. It was a building indistinguishable from the others in the plaza, possessing the same glossy white walls as all the others. In fact, looking back it was obvious that there were technically no 'buildings,' just one single structure with several shops and offices housed inside it. An Asurean exited the building as they approached; standing at near eight feet in height, its slender and pale-blue body was covered in bright and regal robes of gold, purple, white, and pink that many would consider only fitting of royalty. Its movements were slow, intentional, and graceful in nature. The alien’s smooth and face was near unexpressive as most of the features one might expect were hard to see. Two small holes on the each side of the alien’s head served as its ears, a thin set of light-grayish-violet and unexpressive lips were easy to miss without some effort in trying to locate them or unless it chose to open its mouth, and the nostrils of the Asurean were invisible until the alien chose to breathe through them. In fact, the only thing that would be immediately noticeable were the Asureans four large eyes which were solid black like a Drone’s with the exception of the irises which were a light blue in color. There were no eyebrows to help with determining the Asurean’s expression, in fact the entire body of the alien would hairless with the exception of a line of short white hair about an inch wide that went from the top of its head back to the middle of the back of its slender neck.

As they approached the Asurean both would feel lighter, as if gravity had suddenly become weak. Lifting two of its four arms, the alien placed a four-fingered hand on each of their foreheads, causing a sudden wave of inexplicable happiness to wash over them, similar to the feeling one might have when seeing an old friend for the first time in years; both their visions would begin to go blurry and eventually disappear into white light. For Tiri there would be undertones of curiosity and joy as the Asurean touched her, followed by a desire to speak to the Asurean when her primary task was finished; images would flicker from the Asurean's mind to her own, giving Tiri a place to meet it if and when she decided to talk to it. Before the alien pulled its hand back, Tiri would inexplicably be left with the name H’sar Tsuir in the back of her mind. A brief smile was given to both diplomats as the Asurean retracted its hands from their foreheads, giving them back their sight as well as control over their emotions. Without any words it walked away from them in its same graceful and slow manner.

Kai placed her hand on her chest as she breathed deeply to regain herself before offering an explanation, “An Asurean," she began as she rubbed her eye briefly, "They were the ones who designed the gardens on the Habitat Vessels.” Her tail flicked as she turned to face the doors of the local Diplomatic Offices, “Physical contact is very important to the Asureans, I believe it is how they initiate communication with any species that is not their own.” She blinked a few times as if trying to clear her vision, “How unusual for one of them to be here.” Kai shrugged and without further words led Tiri into the offices.

[Xiscapia]

Fifty thousand. A vast number, only the very largest of modern Xiscapian supercapital or colony ships held that many people, and that was still considering their relatively conservative ship designs, not a miniature faux world like this. It seemed like the further they went the more impressive the vessel, and its creators, became. Politely tucking away her plume out of its passage, Tiri nodded politely to the Draaikt as it slouched by, recognizing the rumble as a greeting but still treating the alien with the respect it deserved. Clearly, she mentally noted, the racial diversity went far deeper than they previously knew.

The Asurean seemed strangely familiar. She didn't think she'd ever met its kind before, she'd certainly never been acquainted with this individual, but she was aware of at least one other, strikingly similar race -though she hoped for its sake that it was socially as different from them as the two were alike in appearance. The feeling of lightness, though unexpected, did at least give her some warning as to what was about to happen, time to prepare her mental defenses. Still, she allowed that one hand to touch her head, and closed her eyes, receptive to whatever was coming. The effects were immediate.

Inhalation, and suddenly, inexplicably, she thought of her bonded mate back in the Chalybs System. She identified the emotion as happiness, at a base level despite the association, but was soon distracted as her eyesight slipped away to be replaced, not by darkness, but by light. Distantly, in the objective part of her mind, she couldn't help but feel a little violated, it was generally considered rude to apply psychic or otherwise supernatural or arcane measures to another being without their explicit consent, excluding matters of life and limb. That part of her, however, also amended that there were several species in existence that used telepathy and other, less conventional means for communication, and that she should not judge an individual for acting as they naturally would. So she took the sensations, desires and information as it came, freely and willingly, recognizing it as foreign but welcoming it nonetheless.

Retracting its hand, the alien smiled at them, and Tiri smiled back, or at least did the best approximation she could with her muzzle, tail curling happily. There was some residual left over, good feeling that stayed with her, and she resolved to meet with the Asurean -H'sar Tsuir- before she left the ship, if only because she was fascinated by the brief encounter. Nodding again when Kai spoke, Tiri was somehow not surprised that they had been responsible for the floral decorations, with clothes like that. She felt vindicated when the Leanorian told her how the race communicated, her assumption had been correct. Smiling, and curious, both from within herself and without, Tiri asked another question.

"If that is how they communicate with species not their own, how do they communicate with their own kind?"

[Greywatch]

“I cannot answer that, not without some uncertainty. The Asureans, as the Xarnii have described them, are an extremely… shy race. They are almost never seen outside their own space and others have never been permitted to enter it. To add to this, there is surprisingly little information about them in even the Xarnii Grand Library and what few entries there are have given no coordinates to or names of any Asurean planet or facility.”

As the two entered through the sliding doors they were greeted briefly by the Virtual Intelligence which manned what could be best called the front desk. The cube-shaped hologram gave off a faint orange glow and spoke with a deep masculine tone, “Diplomat Kai, Head Diplomat Lucien requests your presence in his office. He wishes for you to bring the foreign Ambassadress with you.”

Kai nodded as she walked past, “Tell him I’m on my way.”

Another pair of sliding of sliding doors and the pair were the main diplomatic offices, a rectangular room with six public computer terminals on one side and four desks on the other. Two of the aforementioned desks were occupied, one by a Caucasian Descendant and the other by an Avonarii. The former of the two wore a pair of white pants, blue collared shirt, and black shoes; he kept his feet on his desk as he reclined in his seat with his eyes half-closed, his medium-length blonde hair hanging freely. His desk was very clean; other than his own personal data-terminal, a couple of datapads, a glass of water, and a pen were all that decorated it. He opened a single eye to glance at Kai and Tiri, studying them briefly before let his eye slip back to being only half open.

The Avonarii was of the Primus variety, like the others Tiri had seen earlier. The Avonarii possessed almost an owl pattern of coloration; a large white patch of feathers going down her chest, stomach, and insides of her arms while those on her back were copper brown and gray in color. She was dressed in a blue skirt, a sleeveless yellow top, and khaki vest. A pair of blue framed glasses sat perfectly balanced upon her beak, her two yellow eyes focused on her computer screen, her fingers moving across the keyboard at rapid speeds. The only things on her desk were a single datapad and a picture of a male Avonarii, presumably a boyfriend or mate. She gave a brief chirp to Kai as the Synthetic entered the room but otherwise remained completely focused on what it was doing.

Kai led Tiri to the left, past the other two in the room and to a door with a holo-panel displaying the name Lucien Glass on it. She pressed a small button on the intercom system and announced herself, shortly afterwards the door pulled open allowing the two to step in. The office wasn’t terribly large but allowed at least three others to seat themselves comfortably in the chairs provided. The display panels on the other side of the room displayed various kinds of information about the fleet, certain ships, current events, provided pictures of planets, etc though much of it was in the Xarnii language; the silhouette of a man stood in front of the display, with a wave of the man’s hand the display panels changed to show a beautiful bluish green nebula and the lights in the room intensified a small amount to make the room more welcoming. Lucien, who had up to this point been facing away from the pair spun around in his seat to face Tiri for the first time, his brown eyes looking from Tiri to Kai. He gave a nod, “Thank you Kai.”

Kai nodded without word, exiting the room and leaving the two alone. “Ambassadress Tiri. I believe the old records stated it is customary in your culture to bow.” He offered a bow to Tiri before offering her a seat, giving a polite smile. “I do apologize; I wish we could have reestablished contact under better circumstances.” He paused as he took his seat, “But where are my manners? I am Lucien Glass, the Head Diplomat of this Habitat. I believe you requested a means to contact Greywatch. I have been assigned to serve as your representative.” He took a breath as he contemplated his next words, “First off, I feel I should state that several things have changed since Ambassador Vulpe visited us, as you are no doubt aware. Much of our government was killed during the attack on Greywatch Prime, leaving us effectively leaderless. An entire race, you might know of them as the Kiixori, were sent into extinction. Those of us that survived… We were not simply taken in by the Xarnii and Asureans; we were absorbed into them. As of right now, Greywatch does not officially exist; we are refugees, living in their fleets and on the Habitat Worlds they so kindly established for us. As such, the Xarnii Technocracy has taken the place of our Council, essentially becoming our new leaders. Anything that you ask of us that would require a government official will have to go through the Cryptic Coalition’s officials and leaders.”

[Xiscapia]

Standing in the office of Lucien Glass, Tiri waited patiently, looking over the monitors on the far wall with interest. When he turned to dismiss Kai she studied him, though did nothing more than clasp her hands together inside her robes, tail curling slightly. She bowed with a slight smile as he did, not needing an introduction as he clearly knew who she was, and gratefully sat on invitation. What he told her, however, was less pleasant, and more disturbing. The news that the Kiixori had been wiped out, while not particularly surprising given the nature of their race as reported by Ambassador Vulpe, was unfortunate, and she was surprised to learn that Greywatch no longer truly existed as an independent state. A regretful setback indeed.

"I am very sorry to learn of these things," Tiri murmured, drawing her robes a little tighter around herself. "I too wish we could have reestablished relations in a different way. Maybe one day in the future there will be another Greywatch again. If you don't mind my asking, however, what is the Cryptic Coalition? The Xarnii mining unit Xiscapian forces originally encountered mentioned it as well."

[Greywatch]

“Put simply, the Cryptic Coalition is an alliance consisting of Cryptic races and nations who exist within this galaxy. It was established by the Xarnii and the Asureans, I assume shortly after the two races met. Its purpose is to locate, contact, absorb, unite, and protect all Cryptic individuals in this galaxy. As of right now, its primary concern is fighting the ACC or ‘anti-Cryptic Coalition’ as they have been unofficially labeled. Alongside the Kiixori, the Cryptic Coalition is the only reason anyone survived the Shattering.” Lucien cleared his throat, “The other, probably less well known purpose of the Cryptic Coalition is to locate alien ruins belonging to an ancient and enigmatic alien race we have dubbed the ‘Ancestors.’ We have records that state the Ancestors fought the ACC nearly one hundred thousand years ago and, despite the war wiping out nearly their entire race, won that fight. The Cryptic Coalition, specifically the Cryptic Studies Division, has been looking over the galaxy for any still-remaining structures of the Ancestors in the hopes of finding something that could help us with this current threat but it’s a difficult task to perform with the galaxy being as vast as it is.”

[Xiscapia]

Just nodding, Tiri absorbed the information. The "Anti-Cryptic Coalition" was new, or at least it was to her records, if there had been people fighting it for hundreds of thousands of years then it had clearly been around for a while. The Ancestors...more new data. She knew the Kitsune Empire could sympathize with having to comb over an entire galaxy to find ruins, it was much the same with the lost Xiscapian colony ships from thousands of years ago, and having to do it while fighting a war was difficult -they would know. One final piece of information she hadn't been aware of particularly interested her, though by this point she had a legion of questions.

"What happened to the Kiixori?"

[Greywatch]

Lucien leaned back in his seat, “Short answer: the ACC thoroughly wiped out their race. Long answer: When the ACC first attacked Greywatch, the Kiixori were the first fleet other than the one in Greywatch Prime’s orbit to respond; they swarmed the enemy, laying down heavy fire on everything that looked hostile, eventually drawing a substantial amount of enemy attention. For their efforts, the ACC proceeded to turn much of its attention away from the Greywatch home fleet and instead focused on the Kiixori. The result was the destruction of the entire Kiixori fleet, which refused to back down even with the odds stacked so highly against. After the fleet had been annihilated, the ACC then destroyed the defensive platforms and shot down any ships that tried to escape the planet’s surface. As the coup de grâce, the entire planet was destroyed with what was believed to be a singularity weapon. If there are any Kiixori who managed to survive the destruction, which I’m not certain there are, they live with the knowledge that with no confirmed surviving queens they have no ability to reproduce; well, not unless they wish to invest in the Xarnii method. But, again, I’ve not heard of any Kiixori survivors whatsoever.” Lucien sighed, “Still, their valiant and aggressive efforts are what allowed those few Greywatch vessels to flee the destruction.”