Ad Astra Et Supra[FTRP/AP Region sponsored/IC]

[Togeria]

OOC

They in space no one can hear you scream,
And yet we've chosen for our thoughts to be among the stars it seems.

Here. Now. Always, everything that ever was or ever will be was formed in the expanses of space. The stars, the galaxies, us, and them were all once nothing more than a collection of atoms which formed the building blocks to something greater. Rather it be a thirst for conquest or the belief to find something greater, to find something similar yet foreign, to sate our quest for knowledge or feed our curiosity. Every thing that was or will be was formed in space. Every king and peasant, every lover and critic, every master of universe and man of the people once stared up to the sky and looked to reach to the stars.

[The Bio-Regional Cooperative of States]

"We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents.."-Bob Ross

Epsilon Eridani, 85 Pegasi, and Lambda Aurigae shine silently in the night sky of Earth, they have no physical connection to each other, and they are pretty average for stars, nothing too notable about them. But if you look closer on these star systems, you will find something a bit more interesting.

Upon these systems and their worlds resides a mechanical race, the Kaithrits. Born out of a programming mistake and grew up in a war lost in the sea of time, they live among these systems, their worlds, in a highly advanced society. The center of this civilization of automatons lies within Lambda Aurigae and 85 Pegasi, and if translated to English the Kaithrits refer to these worlds as "The Source" and "The Dual Suns", and within these systems ship activity is high, as an outsider will see massive cargo and military ships fly between the worlds of each system in the organized Kaithrit society.

Epsilon Eridani, the third system of the Kaithrits, and it is considered an "Outpost" to the Overseers, but is more like a full on extension of the Cooperative, being the head of further colonial expeditions, it has a high concentration of Military and Colonial Spacecraft as well as a smaller population of 75 million individual Kaithrits, the system being named "The Orange Glow" in name of the K2 Class star in the center of the system being magnetically and visually active, the solar wind being 30 times stronger than Sol's. The system is resource rich, with 4 Gas Giant planets with countless moons ripe for harvesting as well as 2 large asteroid and comet belts, being plentiful in critical resources for the Kaithrit Cooperative to survive, one of the main reasons it was chosen as the first real "Colony" of the Cooperative. It is nearly isolated from the Home Systems, being 30 Light years away from the star systems, but due to the Kaithrit method of communication it is hardly an issue, and with future colonial programs it will diminish as an issue sooner or later. Although the population is rather small compared to the home systems, do not underestimate the power of this outpost of sorts, as the ships stationed there are some of the most powerful in the Cooperative to aid in defending in the case of an attack to unknown aggressors.

The Kaithrit's, as stated before, reside in an advanced society, as they have mastered the technologies of Nano Bots, Teleportation, Effective and Efficient "Force Fields", and much more. Through this they have been able to create a highly connected societal structure, as data transmission is almost instant between The Source and The Dual Suns, as travel between them is extremely quick as well, with the creation of "Warp Gates" between the two systems, large structures allowing ships to pass through and arrive at the other system nearly instantly. These structures are rare, as there are only 6 throughout the two home systems. Ships are otherwise rather slow due to their immense size and sheer density, having extremely thick hulls and high self-defensive power, as although an opposing civilization has yet to be met, it is proper and wise to be prepared for the event.

In total, there are about 850 million Kaithrit's within the held space, led by the Overseers of the Cooperative. The Overseers are the several oldest Kaithrits known to have survived throughout the years of Society Building and Expansion of Kaithrits. They rule gently, as Kaithrits could be considered one of the most free people in the galaxy, but this is due to their complexion, as their "soul" is an AI that searches for the most effective and efficient way to go at things, and as a result of this there is little if not no conflict of any kind between themselves, and giving them a united, almost patriotic feel for the Cooperative. Unlike Human depictions of robots, Kaithrits have just as wide spectrum of emotions as humans, although a bit weaker in influence. This can cause internal conflicts for individual Kaithrits, as their programs give a trustworthy path to execute actions, but emotions can prevent this through it not feeling "right" or it being morally wrong in the figurative Eyes of the Kaithrit.

The Kaithrits are clearly a strong race, with their resistant complexion, able to land on nearly any solid surface and survive even the harshest of attacks, and their ships in the extreme of hull strength and firepower, but will they be able to stand up against the potential future enemies of the Cooperative, or crumble as a race.

Epsilon Eridani B

The Orange Sun rose over the the Gas Planet, giving it a crescent shape in the sky of the moon, similiar to Luna but taking up much more of the sky. Dozens of ships enter and leave at a regular intervals, resource transportation as well as individuals to continue to build up the colony. Dozens of objects can be seen in orbit, built by the Kaithrits to further their knowledge of these parts in space. Many of them are high tech telescopes able to get very precise readings of Stars and their respective planets, searching for a potential system that would be resource rich and somewhat close to Epsilon. But one of these objects are different from the others, and much larger. It is one of the previously mentioned Warp Gates is being built in orbit around the planet itself, as it will provide much easier access to Epsilon Eridani to the Kaithrits and improve connectivity between the Core Systems and Epsilon Eridani. The Gates were previously thought to be only be able to be built in the Core Systems due to resource and communication issues, but through light-speed messaging and a lot of patience the construction methods and other information were sent directly to Epsilon for the colony to attempt to build a warp gate.

In other news, telescopes have been pointing in a particular direction, studying a specific star of interest. The star is a G-type yellow star, it is speculated that the system contains two belts of Comets and Asteroids, albeit thinner then Epsilon's, and the real kicker is that it has 8 planets, four Dense and Rocky, containing the potential resources needed to keep the Cooperative upright, and four Gas Giants, speculated to have many moons as well as a hearty amount of harvest-able gas for further resource potential. Plans are being made to send a colonial fleet to the star to inspect it, although it is noted that one of the planets has the potential to harbor intelligent life.

[Parcia]

No one can here you scream in space.

No one can hear it either.

In the inky blackness of extra-galactic space, it slumbered for untold eons, resting, healing, preparing.

Now it has awoken.

Brought to life by the folly of races long since turned to dust, it begins anew. With new and strange potential sources of biomass to be found, it readies its self for the oncoming feast.

It holds its tongue for now, sending its spies across the galaxy in cocoons disguised as small asteroids, in search for new races, new knowledge, and new biomass.

In the depths of space....The Hive hungers.

[Communist Volkstrad]

An Empire is on the rise in the far reaches of explored space. A sanctuary of humanity in the vast, silent shroud of space. The system once known as HR 8832, and now known as the Bastion system, after its star, is home to three inhabited human worlds, which rule the moons of Europa and Titan from afar.

These worlds are ruled by the High Council, a combination of administrators and military officials from its seat at Arkona, the world which gives the empire its name.

The worlds of the Arkontine Dominion were formed originally by an array of Eastern and Northern European Colonists, fed up with life in the core and the governments who ruled it. They were unified by the threat of alien pirates and raiders, and since then a new order was formed, based on the most prosperous of the Dominion's Worlds, Arkona.

The Dominion is a highly militaristic entity, and this has even seeped into the culture, which now has a strong Martial bent. Service is expected and respected. The Dominion's military is of a size disproportionate to its own size, and this facet of government also devours much of its funds and research, leading to the military being relatively advanced, despite its initial appearance.

These armies are then set to use policing Dominion's space, and cracking down on the separatist insurrections which arise on the Dominion's worlds. Planets, which pay tribute to the Arkontine government but are largely ruled by their own Governors. Its outposts in the Solar System serve as a holdout, an embassy, a trading hub, a border outpost, and, if necessary, a beachhead.

The Dominion's forces, becoming malcontent with the empire's small size and lack of influence, now begin to turn outward, looking to change all of that....

[Republic Under Specters Grasp]

Ages and ages ago, much before the recording of history was recorded, colonization of lands had already begun; not by an empire on Earth, but rather of a non human but humanoid race. Possibly not humanoid at all.

These, were Gems. Sentient mineral based beings that used a physical hologram to convey themselves as a humanoid race. Consisted of hundreds of seperate subraces, they all serve under the same 4 leaders no matter their higher up: the Diamonds. Regal giants whom formed the races one by one, they were ready to advance quickly.

History speeds up quick, because at the time their first visual sighting of Earth was made, their tech was still primitive compared to now. But in between, turmoil struck after the first colonizer of the near Sol planetoids, the first Pink Diamond, was killed by a terrorist, rouge, defective Quartz soldier whom was easily quelled and her miniscule organization dealt with.

After her successor was made, a generation gap was made as well. Era 1 was the time of leaders, masters, and warriors, while the newer and smaller Era 2 was consisted of newer grunts and utility. Technology marched on though, but their was still a minor fault, with the new colonies proving to be hard to cope with, the population small, the eyes of humans watchful, and the projects going slowly. But however, with advancements of other races and such, enterring the public light might be the only way to go.

[Republic Under Specters Grasp]

Light years away from the Solar Colonies, on a launch field away from the Gem Homeworld.

"Moss Agate! We have all clear on Red Eye deployment out into further territory! Launch is ready, and Red Eye 5EB-77 is actively setting up!" A stern but small voice pipes up in the Intergalactic Eye Control Station, which is usually digital beeps and ticks all the time nowadays.

"Finally! No need to wait, we launch it now, before ship lanes re-open! Do not mislead anything, or else I have the right to crush you!" The one known as Moss Agate sits cross legged at her command chair, getting full video feed on the Eye as it activates.

And as soom as she says such, a large red orb is pinged off from the giant station, as it makes it's way into whatever there is ahead.

[Parcia]

Light years away from the Solar Colonies, on a launch field away from the Gem Homeworld.

"Moss Agate! We have all clear on Red Eye deployment out into further territory! Launch is ready, and Red Eye 5EB-77 is actively setting up!" A stern but small voice pipes up in the Intergalactic Eye Control Station, which is usually digital beeps and ticks all the time nowadays.

"Finally! No need to wait, we launch it now, before ship lanes re-open! Do not mislead anything, or else I have the right to crush you!" The one known as Moss Agate sits cross legged at her command chair, getting full video feed on the Eye as it activates.

And as soon as she says such, a large red orb is pinged off from the giant station, as it makes it's way into whatever there is ahead.

The orb would travel for some time unknowingly drawing the attention of the hive. It would be nearing a binary star system, or a system that contained two stars in orbit around each other that would have shown to be able to support life. With a simple thought, a trio of Cruiser* size forms would split off from the fleet and intercept the new source as it will eventually arrive at the Hives location.

The ships blink out of existence soon after. If the probe contained sensors designed to detect distortions in gravity, it would see the trio of massive BIO-ships long before any FTL scanner would.

Arriving in between the two suns, the cruiser advance rapidly and approach the Gem probe from its front, giving it a view of the ships before a large blob of goo lances out from the lead ship and encases the probe. The goo would harden and seal it self as soon as it completely covers the craft, blocking any and all signals from the probe.


The last thing the Gems would see is a still shot of the ships just before the shot makes contact; then blackness. The ships would soon disgorge a swarm of drones to retrieve the probe. They them selves would soon turn around and slip back to the hive.

http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad356/ZombiesRus5/Mods/SinsOfTheFallen/ConceptShips/CapitalShip_PlagueBattleship.jpg* Standard cruiser size form.

[Republic Under Specters Grasp]

Light years away from the Solar Colonies, on a launch field away from the Gem Homeworld.

"Moss Agate! We have all clear on Red Eye deployment out into further territory! Launch is ready, and Red Eye 5EB-77 is actively setting up!" A stern but small voice pipes up in the Intergalactic Eye Control Station, which is usually digital beeps and ticks all the time nowadays.

"Finally! No need to wait, we launch it now, before ship lanes re-open! Do not mislead anything, or else I have the right to crush you!" The one known as Moss Agate sits cross legged at her command chair, getting full video feed on the Eye as it activates.

And as soon as she says such, a large red orb is pinged off from the giant station, as it makes it's way into whatever there is ahead.

The orb would travel for some time unknowingly drawing the attention of the hive. It would be nearing a binary star system, or a system that contained two stars in orbit around each other that would have shown to be able to support life. With a simple thought, a trio of Cruiser* size forms would split off from the fleet and intercept the new source as it will eventually arrive at the Hives location.

The ships blink out of existence soon after. If the probe contained sensors designed to detect distortions in gravity, it would see the trio of massive BIO-ships long before any FTL scanner would.

Arriving in between the two suns, the cruiser advance rapidly and approach the Gem probe from its front, giving it a view of the ships before a large blob of goo is lances out from the lead ship and incases the probe. The goo would harden and seal it self as soon as it completely covers the craft, blocking any and all signals from the probe.


The last thing the Gems would see is a still shot of the ships just before the shot makes contact; then blackness. The ships would soon disgorge a swarm of drones to retrieve the probe. They them selves would soon turn around and slip back to the hive.

The Peridots, Nephirites, all whom worked their besides one were on damage control. Everyone was in a frenzy, but Moss Agate lightly pressed a button on her chair that pinged each worker there, and they all settled to listen to her.

"Mission accomplished, everyone."

[Plzen]

Nordstjernen, Earth Orbit
07 April, 2134 CE

Near the centre of Nordstjernen, just above the pulsing hydrogen core that powered the oversized station, there was a small, dark room.

Not that you would ever find this room on any chart of the station, nor was it included in any of its plans.

"It is a difficult situation," said a shadow. "The sovereign right of mankind is being greatly threatened. There exists an urgent necessity to secure this System from extraterrestrial influence. You said as much last year, Juho."

"Reynir, that is well understood," replied a ghost. "But these are very powerful forces, and Earth is a nascent civilisation. Underdeveloped by the standards of those who travel the stars. Besides, with time, all problems can be solved."

At the corner, a robot buzzed and slowly rose, as if drugged. With steady deliberation, it pulled itself into the light outside, into the whirring noises of the maintenance room. It was ignored by the three men in the room.

"I concur with Juho here," noted a phantom. "We must think in the long term. The very long term. The day will eventually come when we will send all these aliens to hell to pay for their exploitation of man's heritage. To strike now will be suicide. We are too weak. The Confederation as a whole would be too weak."

"Have you two no heart? Juho, Sven, just look outside Nordstjernen one of these days. Every day, every hour, and ever second that passes out there, more of the System's wealth disappears. The rogue AI continues to point its nuclear armaments against Earth. The coloured rocks exploit the mineral wealth of three planets and the light of our star, and that is just the short list. You are telling me that we should wait while humanity's heritage continues to be robbed?"

"I am saying no such thing at all," replied the ghost named Juho. "Merely that we should put practicality above our emotions."

[Vukmire]

Space has always been dangerous, either supernova stars wanting to obliterate star systems of life, black holes sacking inside random objects with no chance to escape, or simply the vast emptiness of it all, allowing an unfortunate soul to lose his way forever. The Sol system itself is not a stranger to catastrophe and danger, however, one of the more safer places known as the Ort cloud, containing millions of comets, asteroids, and debris is home to one of the largest threats the innocent star system has seen. For when one looks and studies the lifeless exterior of the sphere of debris they only see rock, ice, and ore. When one looks inside however they may find a whole new view, a civilization within these tame stones.

The Varkin or the Salhenic Colony in the Sol systems case, is a large extraterrestrial entity inhabiting various celestial objects in the Ort Cloud, carving in massive underground colonies that can span an entire asteroid. Serving as the Solar systems first, and last line of defense, the protect it from would be invaders or those who wish to simply leave. They are unforgivably aggressive, killing anyone and everyone who happens to unfortunately come across these incest like beasts.

Deep inside the capital asteroid of the Salhenic Colony, the Queen slumbers in her chamber, swollen and rotten, far too old to prevent her natural duties and preserved through cybernetic enhancements, a proud display of this Colony's intelligence and knack at technological innovation on their own. Considering most of their burrows cannot be terraformed, the children are born in the safest and most habitable place, usually the egg layers chamber where the final gifts of the slumbering queen do their work, birthing eggs and nurturing. Once a child hatches they are mechanically worked on with electronics and such being grafted and placed into their bodies, essentially making them cyborgs.

[Republic Under Specters Grasp]

Down to Mars, a large pink hand floats in the atmosphere that never existed in the planet.

A grand matriarch sits in her gigantic throne, boredly perusing her files and watching to the screens that showed new notifications. The effigy of a servant beside her whom looks somewhat similar to her looks up as she closes out and slowly looks around the windows showing all the gigantic growth centers beginning to become carved out.

"It's a beautiful sight, my Diamond. It's all your hard work and determination that makes you my favorite!" Her servant chimed as she looked happily up to her."

"Yes, it is. But it's all monotonus. No color, no life besides our own..." She looks at excavator teams led by large gems and modified drone vehicles. It was al her doing, but it seems just as usual. "Pearl?"

"Yes, my Diamond?"

"I feel like playing with the humans."

"P-playing? What would that entitle to?" She's somewhat more afraid then curious. The original Pink Diamond was a lot like her sisters, seemingly tyrannical rules to Pink's young eyes.

"I want to meet one. I want to touch one. I want to do something with one. It's all very hard to explain, but I believe I'll go to send a gem to investigate the planet's population finally." She revives another data scan and changes it to a message system. "Jasper, my most honorable guard? Do take a visit to the nearby planet?" With no response needed, a small pink pod is launched from the giant hand and heads it's way to Earth's orbit.

[The Bio-Regional Cooperative of States]

Epsilon Eridani
As Kaithrit telescopes continue to study the rather close Yellow Star, other of such telescopes begin to scan the skies for other potential candidates for Kaithrit Expansion. After several days of scanning the skies, one star in particular was found to be quite interesting to the Overseers, as it is described below.
The star referred to as Tau Ceti by humanity was found to contain five rocky-worlds and two large gaseous worlds, found to potentially contain a plentiful amount of resources to build a large Cooperative extension and continue the expansion and survival of the Kaithrits. It is located 5.5 Light years from The Orange Glow (Epsilon) and is a G8V Main Sequence star, and a bit smaller than the sun. It appears to be more stable and projected to live longer as a star for longer than Sol, and with this the attention is diverted from the previously mention yellow star to Tau Ceti, where the next colonial project is to be started.

In other news regarding the Orange Glow, the Warp Gate that will be utilized to connect Epsilon to the Core Worlds is nearing completion by the day, as it will be an important step to completing the Colonization of Epsilon Eridani and expanding further throughout the stars, as well make it an essential point of travel for Military forces if such an event requires so.

An example of one of the many Warp Gates in the Core Systems

Back to the center of it all, the Core Systems, the future of the Kaithrit race is being debated among the most trusted, the Overseers, translated for your ease of reading.

"...We cannot continue to expand at this rate... our population is small, and we are being extended to our potential limits at this current rate, we will need to create new ones soon, very soon.."

"I concur. We need to increase our numbers or else our survival as a species gets to an uncomfortably high percentage, even when removing the factors of encountering a hostile alien species as well as the collapse of our gateway network. We must enter into another reproductive phase to ensure our survival."

"This subject will be voted upon us 7 Overseers, messages will be sent to your internal receivers and the results will be collected remotely, further questions will be debated at a later date."


At this moment of time, after dozens upon dozens of years of zero population growth, facilities inert for years spring back to life to do their duty once more, to essentially create new "life" to introduce to the Cooperative and further increase the power of the Cooperative.

[Parcia]

It would gaze over the probe, an amalgamation of of metal and machinery. It held no organic matter, instead showing signs of minerals and other rock like substances in its construction. If they did not know of the Hive, then it would benefit the Hive for now.

It ordered the probe to be sunk in to a bio acid vat and to have its information, the data stored on its memory, to be added to the Hive. The Gems were the only race still with held in the Hive's memory. An ancient race, older then the Hive and its masters, and one of its oldest threats. Yet it seemed the young generations have forgotten the Hive. The Hive mind pondered how this could be, yet chose to not make contact. Never interrupt the enemy when they make a mistake.

The fleet would soon have its first feast in millennia as one its receptors received the dying transmission of an infiltrator. It had landed on a small rock of a planet some distance away and had been discovered and captured. buying its time and faking weakness, the Creature learned all it could, which was not much.

It held Life.
The life held significant intelligence.
The life was of eligible biomass for consumption.
The planet was isolated from the others.

With hunger at its center, the Hive mind ordered the fleet to move in the first time in many millions of years. The whole fleet jumped in to light speed, leaving a distortion of gravity as it raced at its target with speed unbecoming of something that lacked an FTL drive.

[Plzen]

NRS Sannhet, Ceres - Earth orbit
08 April 2134 CE

The hyperwave channel arose to life. Like most border patrol vessels in the Council Space Command, the communications suite was quite extensive. It was intended to be able to receive commands from and issue commands to every outpost of the Confederation in the Solar System.

Not that there were that many, yet.

"NRS Sannhet, receiving."

"Karlstad Space Control, receiving. Our sensors have detected signatures compatible with the Coloured Rocks rapidly approaching Earth. Can NRS Sannhet confirm?"

"NRS Sannhet can confirm. Object detected and confirmed."

Some pause, from the other side. Karlstad Space Control was a clerical nightmare, after thirty years of underfunding, and it took some time to make non-urgent decisions.

"NRS Sannhet, move into interception orbit with the detected signature."

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet receives your order."

Outside, the soft burn of the nuclear engines gave the ship a soft tremor, as NRS Sannhet moved into a near-collision course with the detected object. One 1.4 second burn to turn. Some pause. Then another 19.7 second burn to send the ship along on its course.

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet is now on interception orbit."

[Republic Under Specters Grasp]

NRS Sannhet, Ceres - Earth orbit
08 April 2134 CE

The hyperwave channel arose to life. Like most border patrol vessels in the Council Space Command, the communications suite was quite extensive. It was intended to be able to receive commands from and issue commands to every outpost of the Confederation in the Solar System.

Not that there were that many, yet.

"NRS Sannhet, receiving."

"Karlstad Space Control, receiving. Our sensors have detected signatures compatible with the Coloured Rocks rapidly approaching Earth. Can NRS Sannhet confirm?"

"NRS Sannhet can confirm. Object detected and confirmed."

Some pause, from the other side. Karlstad Space Control was a clerical nightmare, after thirty years of underfunding, and it took some time to make non-urgent decisions.

"NRS Sannhet, move into interception orbit with the detected signature."

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet receives your order."

Outside, the soft burn of the nuclear engines gave the ship a soft tremor, as NRS Sannhet moved into a near-collision course with the detected object. One 1.4 second burn to turn. Some pause. Then another 19.7 second burn to send the ship along on its course.

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet is now on interception orbit."

Inside the pod was basically silence, just 2 gems in a short wait, taking their time and adjusting logs. However, there was a new sign on the horizon.

"Jasper, we have incoming interception! I'm halting the pod's movement to hover."

"Perfect. Letting them get to us rather then us impeding further means we'll be dealt without what'd I expect from humans."

The ship drops speed quickly, going into a patient wait for the human ship to approach, as the Peridot calibrates her enhancer's weapon and systems, as well as the pods. In secrecy, they really do feel excited to meet the species their race has seen grow, but they still have their disgusts from someone like an Agate, their abusers and Jasper's former higher up before she was enterred into the royal guard. Jasper herself doesn't feel a need to ready. She's always ready.

[Plzen]

-snip-

NRS Sannhet, Earth Orbit,
08 April, 2134 CE

"Karlstad Space Control, are you receiving?"

"Karlstad Space Control, receiving. NRS Sannhet, please report."

"NRS Sannhet now approaching unknown signature, distance 74,100 kilometers. Signature's relative velocity to Earth slowing down. NRS Sannhet copying target acceleration. Estimated time to interception five minutes."

Silence, for a bit, from Karlstad Space Control again. No doubt they were again debating as to the prudent course of action.

"This is Juho Koskinen. NRS Sannhet?"

Now that really sent the crew of the ship into frenzied excitement.

"Secretary General?!? Yes, Secretary General Koskinen. NRS Sannhet is receiving."

"Good. Be informed that I will henceforth be taking the final responsibility for this situation."

"Of course, Secretary General."

Then, the boring clerk from the Space Control was back at the communications again.

"NRS Sannhet, continue on interception orbit. Decelerate relative to signature at 3,000km range, then match velocity and track signature at that distance. Your ship isn't exactly equipped for combat, so do not approach to within 3,000km in range."

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet receives your order. Spacecraft continuing on interception orbit."

[Republic Under Specters Grasp]

-snip-

NRS Sannhet, Earth Orbit,
08 April, 2134 CE

"Karlstad Space Control, are you receiving?"

"Karlstad Space Control, receiving. NRS Sannhet, please report."

"NRS Sannhet now approaching unknown signature, distance 74,100 kilometers. Signature's relative velocity to Earth slowing down. NRS Sannhet copying target acceleration. Estimated time to interception five minutes."

Silence, for a bit, from Karlstad Space Control again. No doubt they were again debating as to the prudent course of action.

"This is Juho Koskinen. NRS Sannhet?"

Now that really sent the crew of the ship into frenzied excitement.

"Secretary General?!? Yes, Secretary General Koskinen. NRS Sannhet is receiving."

"Good. Be informed that I will henceforth be taking the final responsibility for this situation."

"Of course, Secretary General."

Then, the boring clerk from the Space Control was back at the communications again.

"NRS Sannhet, continue on interception orbit. Decelerate relative to signature at 3,000km range, then match velocity and track signature at that distance. Your ship isn't exactly equipped for combat, so do not approach to within 3,000km in range."

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet receives your order. Spacecraft continuing on interception orbit."

The pod still floats there, as the Peridot watches with tension. She moves the ship further thrust by thrust, wanting to get this mission over with. Thrust, thrust, thrust. She'll stop when she thinks it's close, but for now? Thrust thrust, thrust. Occasional stops just in case.

[Plzen]

-snip-

NRS Sannhet, Low Earth Orbit

The crew of NRS Sannhet were seasoned veterans and, even if they were not, the ship's AI was well-programmed. A simple ranged surveillance at matching velocity was a trivial task for them, especially with a pod this timid.

Strictly 3,000km in range. When the pod moved towards the ship, the ship moved away. When the pod moved towards Earth, the ship followed it.

Although human spacefaring technology was still slightly behind that of the aliens inhabiting the System, NRS Sannhet was a patrol ship, built for acceleration, durability, and delta-v. It could quite easily outrace all but the galaxy's most capable ships.

There was a reason why the Confederation's border patrol was known as the Shadows.

[Republic Under Specters Grasp]

-snip-

NRS Sannhet, Low Earth Orbit

The crew of NRS Sannhet were seasoned veterans and, even if they were not, the ship's AI was well-programmed. A simple ranged surveillance at matching velocity was a trivial task for them, especially with a pod this timid.

Strictly 3,000km in range. When the pod moved towards the ship, the ship moved away. When the pod moved towards Earth, the ship followed it.

Although human spacefaring technology was still slightly behind that of the aliens inhabiting the System, NRS Sannhet was a patrol ship, built for speed, durability, and range. It could quite easily outrace all but the galaxy's fastest ships.

There was a reason why the Confederation's border patrol was known as the Shadows.

The Peridot then turns the front of the pod to the patrol craft. And then just sits there, waiting. They want to meet, and if they wait long enough, it might send a message to them.

[Plzen]

The Peridot then turns the front of the pod to the patrol craft. And then just sits there, waiting. They want to meet, and if they wait long enough, it might send a message to them.

NRS Sannhet, Low Earth Orbit

The pod stopped. Then turned.

Observant? Perhaps. Or maybe they were just waiting for something. In any case, the ship needed to act.

But what can one do? What does one say, to a being truly alien?

"Nothing to it," advised the Secretary General. "Just proceed with your standard interdiction protocol. Let us observe how the Coloured Rocks reacts to it."

Well, then. So it was to be.

"Unknown craft," the ship broadcast through radio, in plain Danish, to the unknown signature sitting 3,000km away, "this is NRS Sannhet, of the Nordic States Space Patrol. Declare your identity and intent."

[Republic Under Specters Grasp]

The Peridot then turns the front of the pod to the patrol craft. And then just sits there, waiting. They want to meet, and if they wait long enough, it might send a message to them.

NRS Sannhet, Low Earth Orbit

The pod stopped. Then turned.

Observant? Perhaps. Or maybe they were just waiting for something. In any case, the ship needed to act.

But what can one do? What does one say, to a being truly alien?

"Nothing to it," advised the Secretary General. "Just roll with your standard interdiction protocol. Let's see how the Coloured Rocks deal with it."

Well, then. So it was to be.

"Unknown craft," the ship broadcast through radio, in plain Danish, to the unknown signature sitting 3,000km away, "this is NRS Sannhet, of the Nordic States Space Patrol. Declare your identity and intent."

The ship gives off one signal to the patrol ship, the Peridot's nasally voice speaking up.

"This is Peridot, Facet Z31A, Cut M4K. Requesting the boarding of any kind of vessel to allow diplomat to exit off and make contact, do not fire." Language barriers weren't an issue for Peridots under Pink Diamond. They were already programmed with knowing the most prominent human languages just in case of their mishap of getting here accidnetaly. This time, it was on purpose.

[Plzen]

-snip-

NRS Sannhet, Low Earth Orbit

"Good," noted the Secretary General. "They appear to understand the human languages. Well, at least yours. That makes everything more convenient."

"Understood, sir," replied the Communications Officer of NRS Sannhet. "Requesting instruction on how to reply to customer's request of diplomatic access. The crew of the NRS Sannhet believes that it could be a trick to gain access to Earth."

"It is certainly not an irrelevant concern. Intelligence reports that they are mineral beings. Their access to a large solid planet like ours could prove disastrous for us."

Pause, again. Everybody was thinking quickly. Some mumbling in the communications suggested that there was quite a discussion down at Karlstad Space Control.

"NRS Sannhet," came the clerk's voice again, "this is Karlstad Space Control. Are you receiving?"

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet is receiving."

"NRS Sannhet, the ship is ordered to accept the request for diplomatic access, but direct the customer away from Earth along your new orbit. Kongsberg Station, the co-ordinates of which have just been sent to you, is your new destination."

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet receives your order."

Then, back to the radio broadcast that the aliens could hear.

"Peridot," the communications read, "you are now a guest of the Confederation. Please follow this vessel."

The soft hum of the powerful nuclear engines again sent NRS Sannhet away from Earth - this time towards a little station on Luna orbit.

[Republic Under Specters Grasp]

-snip-

NRS Sannhet, Low Earth Orbit

"Good," noted the Secretary General. "They appear to understand the human languages. Well, at least yours. That makes everything more convenient."

"Understood, sir," replied the Communications Officer of NRS Sannhet. "Requesting instruction on how to reply to customer's request of diplomatic access. The crew of the NRS Sannhet believes that it could be a trick to gain access to Earth."

"It is certainly not an irrelevant concern. Intelligence reports that they are mineral beings. Their access to a large solid planet like ours could prove disastrous for us."

Pause, again. Everybody was thinking quickly. Some mumbling in the communications suggested that there was quite a discussion down at Karlstad Space Control.

"NRS Sannhet," came the clerk's voice again, "this is Karlstad Space Control. Are you receiving?"

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet is receiving."

"NRS Sannhet, the ship is ordered to accept the request for diplomatic access, but direct the customer away from Earth along your new orbit. Kongsberg Station, the co-ordinates of which have just been sent to you, is your new destination."

"Karlstad Space Control, NRS Sannhet receives your order."

Then, back to the radio broadcast that the aliens could hear.

"Peridot," the communications read, "you are now a guest of the Confederation. Please follow this vessel."

The soft hum of the powerful nuclear engines again sent NRS Sannhet away from Earth - this time towards a little station on Luna orbit.

Both of them smile with confidence, as they let their pod move alongside with the patrol craft, waiting for docking.

"To clear one thing up, we come in peace, as your old Earth medias always said."

[Plzen]

-snip-

Kongsberg Station, Geostationary Lunar Orbit

"Kongsberg Station, this is NRS Sannhet. Are you receiving?"

"NRS Sannhet, Kongsberg Station is receiving well. State your concern."

"NRS Sannhet notifies Kongsberg Station that a diplomatic vessel is arriving and will dock at Shipyard 194 in fifteen minutes. Person responsible is 'Peridot' and the current co-ordinates of the ship has been sent to you."

"Received."

Then, this time to the supposed diplomatic vessel,

"Peridot, your vessel is authorised to dock in Shipyard 194."

---

Shipyard 194 was... well, a shipyard. It was a large room, almost a hundred meters long and fifty meters high, with a ship-gate on one side and a person-gate on the other. When the alien ship came to a rest in Shipyard 194, the person-gate opened and a small woman in a spacesuit entered into the vacuum of the shipyard.

Yes - vacuum. There was no air in this room, but that was fine. They could still converse by radio. The human delegate tried, in vain, to look dignified in her space-suit. She was not exactly chosen for decorum.

There were about two hundred government employees in this small space station. Of those, only about twenty were deemed to be of high enough rank for this role. Since the aliens have demonstrated their understanding of the Danish language, only Danish or Norwegian speakers were considered. People with a belligerent temper were exempted, since this was a potentially sensitive contact. Out of those, people without experience in foreign affairs were also exempted.

That left exactly one suitable person, and that person was now fiddling with the radio set built into her suit.

"Welcome to Kongsberg Station," she radioed to the alien vessel. "My name is Christina Jensen, and I will be your liaison for the duration of your stay in this station. If you are comfortable in standard Earth atmosphere, which this station is filled with, then you are welcome to follow me."

Seeing the crystals leaving their pod, she added:

"What matters do you hope to discuss today?"

[Parcia]

It would gaze over the Hive and its escorts as it races through space at light speed. The Hive ship itself was massive, easily the largest of the fleet and equal in size and fire power to a small dreadnought. Yet it also served as the command center, birthing center, and transporting of the Hive legions of Gaunt and Warriors.

The shapers would be hard at work, despite the sudden movement. The Hive mind had perfected another creature from the stories of old: The Carnifex. While the origin of the word is unknown to even the Hive mind, it means the same: Battering ram. An over-sized Warrior that dwarfs the other creatures of the Hive. Being nearly 3 stories tall, weighing many thousands of pounds and wielding massive scythes of bone and chitin stronger then steel, it is the ultimate ground weapon.

This presented a problem, as while the smaller creatures of the Hive were small enough to be transported by spore pods, the New Carnifex was not. A simple plan was though up instead. Until time as such that the Hive mind could freely experiment with Bio -mass, they would ride upon Cruiser size forms that would simply crash in to the planet’s surface.
Other than the Gaunt, the Warrior, and the Carifex, the Hive possessed no other ground forms for which to wage war, and this troubled the Hive Mind as it was a mere fraction of the Hives of Old. Never the less, combined with the massive hulk of the Hive ship itself and the swarm of Cruiser forms, escorts drones and small fighter size forms simply known as Raptors, the fleet would prove more than a match for anything short of the largest of warfleets.

The Hive would slow down to real space some distance away from the small colony, and if they hadn’t been monitoring the massive shift in local gravity that was heading towards them at superluminal speeds, then they would know they were here now. The Cruisers would rush forward, forming a was en mass between the Hive and the Station. Using the Hive’s advanced receptors as guides, the bio-cannons on the cruisers would begin to target and fire upon the orbiting defenses of the small colony en mass.

A swarm of spore pods, the organic equivalent of metal drop pods, would be launched from the Hive towards the Station. Unlike every other Hive battle, however, the creatures of the hive were told to capture as many of its occupants alive as possible. The Race that inhabited