Aboard the IJN Disir Dressed In Black
System scans revealed a spike of electrical activity from Planet II. The probe had clearly missed something important; it seemed that the world was inhabited by a species advanced enough to create technology capable of emitting detectable energy signatures into space. From the black-and-white hull of the frigate, an automated probe launched itself into the darkness between worlds, streaking towards Planet II. Meanwhile, the Disir Dressed In Black continued its mission....
Planet IV, System TA-1536X
On the surface
Planet IV, System TA-1536X
The Ziggurat
Haywood gripped his M4 Arisaka Blaster tightly and glanced back at the fourteen marines behind him. They had elected to walk the two kilometres to the ziggurat, in full view of the marines behind them busy setting up a perimeter and erecting the prefab buildings and landing pads that would serve, however briefly, as the headquarters of their surveying and security mission on this planet.
All of the marines were in standard MACS armour, slate grey with gold visors. Unlike some of the more flamboyant regiments, the Einherjar had parade ground colours subdued enough to serve as combat dress, so they rarely traded out for camouflage unless absolutely necessary. They had runes carved into their armour plating, and tufts of fur topping their boots, betraying them to be a Neusattran regiment. Haywood shrugged, shook off his fear and, for the benefit of his troopers, strode confidently forward.
"Come on marines. I haven't got all day." he said, adding a pinch of pepper into his tone. There was a brief moment of darkness before his HUD adjusted to the low light levels and activated its visual enhancers, giving him a clear picture in various shades of green. The moment they stepped into the building, one of his marines grunted. "Huh. There's an impulse signal deeper in the structure. Wasn't registering outside."
Haywood turned to glance at her. "What the fuck does that mean, corporal?" he said, employing the standard 'I-don't-have-time-for-your-shit' tone beloved of sergeants everywhere. Corporal Mendenhall was unperturbed by this, having served with Haywood for nearly two years now, and simply re-examined her PID. "Yeah, some kind of signal deeper down."
The pronouncement made Haywood uneasy. This building seemed like some kind of pre-industrial temple, and was dank with the smell of wet stone and fresh water running down rills cut either side of the corridor, leading occasionally to small pools or disappearing into holes in the wall. It certainly did not seem like it housed advanced communications technology, and something just felt off about the place.
Turning a corner, he froze, sighting down his rifle. Ahead was a glowing light, blinking in the darkness, bright against his suit's low-light vision. He waited for a long few seconds, and then slowly motioned his squad to advance. Treading carefully, weapons sweeping the dark corners of the room, they approached the source of the light. Sunlight was filtering down from a hole in the roof above it, and Haywood stopped a few metres from it, incredulous. Against the archaic backdrop of the temple, it seemed out of place. A sleek metal construct with poles sticking out of the top, it was clearly a communications antennae, and stamped with the legend 'Federation of Corundum'. It seemed to react as they approached, with a series of beeps, a flash of light and the scrape of metal against metal as a panel moved, although Haywood couldn't tell if it had opened up or closed something down.
There was silence, and then one of his marines spoke up. "Who the fuck are the Federation of Corundum?"