Ashes of Sol

[puppyavenger]

U.N. Nautilus, Luna

Aderyn nods very well he hands over a rifle, pistol, show saber and boot-knife. the ensign and lieutenant have similar armaments, the techies have stunners, and the bodyguards have several dozen small arms, knives, grenades and so on.

I believe that's everything

[Stormthorn]

Driven Snow- Therajis Faction

The Driven Snow moves to the spot indicated in the broadcast and touches down swiftly. It beams the reply.

"Manufacturing? We have more than we can possibly need. But we happen to need water, food, and medical bays."

((The red indicates another Warlock is speaking.))

[puppyavenger]

Driven Snow- Mon Huygens space port


You're greeted by Cerjie and a few other diplomats, along with a couple of guards really? how lucky, we've got plenty of excess food and water and a small amount of surplus medicines.

[Eldan]

Driven Snow, Europa Access Shaft I

The Driven Snow was landing on Europa, right?

Just as the Driven snow lands, a small, sleek submarine with large engines surfaces, and a hatch opens. A voice from a speaker can be heard:
"I recommend changing vessels fast, most of Europa's surface is still irradiated from when a few stray nukes hit our surface.Also, it's damn cold! Welcome to our little moon! If you agree, we can shuttle you down to Sarpedon, were we can talk about trade relations!"
Inside, the visitors find a small room, large enough for a handful of people and a pilot in a padded seat, connected to the controlls by a neural interface on the back of his head and a large plastic helmet with a closed visor. The walls are bare steel and it's just a little colder than what most people might find comfortable.
A vaguely asian looking man in a white garb that looks like it had once been a lab coat before it was lined with several additional layers of cloth greets the visitors. His boots are massive, with magnetic soles to give him some grip on the ground despite the very low european gravity.

[Johel]

DURP

U.N. (Madagascar) :

"Hum...that's a strong term but... yes, that's the idea. As for an overall leader...hum...the situation is still confused. Each of the Democratic and United Republics of the People has its own leaders, both political and military. Because of the troubled times, it's the latter who hold the true power. The most influencial of them aren't exactly gentlemen but the Generalissim Trésor M'paka has recently returned from India. He's a rich and powerful man, who's got a lot of supporters among the Assembly. If I should recommand treating with somebody, it's him."

Spoiler

Show

Basically, the DURP are just a loose alliance of tribes, cities, territories, warlords and the likes. The Assembly has a lot of influence because it can gather resources and troops easily over great distance and in a short time. But for day to day affairs, that's the local warlords who hold the true power.

[Greystone]

UN, Nautilus

The Captain shrugs "Sorry"

He searches every crew member personally, not being intrusive, but he has to make sure. When he is satisfied he leads the men down several hallways. The base is clear, but that is probably just standard protocol.

He enters a largish room and salutes "Sir, a high Commander Aderyn here to see you"

The administrator looks up and smiles, gesturing that the commander should take a seat "Hello, my name is Administrator Hammond, of the UN. It is a pleasure"

He looks serious "Now, what is the exact situation?"

[Stormthorn]

Europa

A few people leave the Driven Snow. A small man with a dour face, the captain dressed in black and silver, and a tall then figure with computer parts and pieces of metal embedded in his body at odd places. This last person has his head tilted to the side often as he listens to instructions and the dealings of other Warlocks elsewhere.

The caption steps foreward. His accent is lilting despite the fact that he has dark skin.
"My name is Carl, and i am pleased to meet you. It would appear that you do not have any spaceship facilities, yes?


Luna
The crew emerge from this scout ship looking jet lagged despite the short trip. 3Gs of acceleration can do that to a person if they dont know what to expect. And this group is mostly non-"military" and thus wouldnt. One of speaks up.
"So...your people are stationed on Earths moon? What is it like in your part of the System?"

[The MunchKING]

The MunchKING: much of your crew is calling for the Columbus Space Station to send as much aid to assist with the rebuilding of Earth as possible. They will be upset if you refuse.

Captain Oragarch banged his gavel. He was in the largest free room on the station. It had been set up for these monthly status reports and "concerns" meetings. While in theory he could rule with an Iron fist, he had found it was much easier on all involved if he let them think they were helping. Besides giving him a chance to brief the people on what was happening that they needed to know about, it gave him an opprotunity to find out what they were thinking HE needed to know about. The rules allowed anyone who was willing to come to attend and have their voice heard. Anyone else could see what was going on over the ships network. Attendence, both real and virtual was high today. Obviously they had heard about the war's resolution and already had formed their own opinions.

When the noise level had died down a bit he cleared his throat. he leaned forward and started speaking. "People of Columbus, I bring you news! The war has died down, after a disasterous bombing in New York. As far as we can tell, the UN along with most of the eastern Seaboard is no more."

As he paused for effect, a voice yelled out "Serves 'em Right!!"

"Mr. Rodgers, control yourself please. You will all get your chance to speak afterwards. As I was saying, though the war appears to have died down, there is still much fighting going on out there in that great big Solar System. Likewise, as many of you know, much of the planet was hit with the plauges. Earth as the motherplanet appears to be no more, and now people are fighting not wars, but for their very survival. I open the floor to comments, questions, or concerns."

He sat back in his chair as an older man who worked in the mantinence department stood up. "Well, I think Buck's right! What'd the UN do for us? It couldn't keep the colonies in line and they're the reason for the war! I say it serves 'em all right."

He had barely sat down before Mrs. Weatherby stood up, righteous indignation thundering off of her. "How DARE you, sirrah? There are millions, possibly BILLIONS of people out there who are going to be starving, cold and quite probably dead because of this horrid war! And here we sit on one of the biggest hydroponics labs in the galaxy! We should help the poor people of Earth now that the war is over!" She looked like she was ready to thunder over there and offer him more than a peice of her mind, but then she abruptly sat back down.

A few people called "hear! Hear!" But noone immediatly got up.

One of the starbase's top pilots, Mr. Anderson was next. "So we went through all this trouble to get out here, and now you want to turn around and go back? Take the Columbus back to the very Earth we cast off? Because the runabouts don't have much room for transporting large amounts of food or resources, and are VERY short-range ships. Well in this context any way. It would take far too long for any sort of help to get to Earth anyway. "

Another man stood up. "Noone has advocated taking the Columbus back. We knew when we came out here it would probably be a lifetime for us. What about the Constructor ship? The one that brought the last Station modules here before the war? it should hold enough food to help at least. "

Mrs. Ramsey stood up. "Oh yes we KNOW why you don't want to go back Drew Gilipse. The papers had a FIELD DAY with some of the things you did on Earth, didn't they!"

Mr. Gilipse stood back up. "That was ALL perfectly legal at the time! And my personal life is NOT at stake here!!"

But Mrs. Ramsey was having none of it. "Perfectly legal? Hah! As if there's anything ethical about those... things you prance around with!"

Captain Oragarch stood up and stepped back up to the podium. "Excuse me. We're getting a bit far afield here."

Mr. rodgers jumped back up. "You aren't going to HELP them are you? They deserve what they got!"

Another person, Captain Oragarch couldn't see who, jumped up and yelled "i DEMAND that you help those people!" Meanwhile the Ramsey-Gillispe fued was turning into a full on shouting match.

Captain Oragarch sighed and rubbed his temples. This was going to be a loooooooooooooooooooooooong day.

[puppyavenger]

UN, Nautilus

Aderyn replied honestly, one of the scavenge teams saw you compound well they were searching the area, a bunch of the shuttles were on maneuvers so it was easy to verify after that the Divisional command called up the reserves to contain the place and the Congress ordered me to make contact and if possible secure it. We have a a pretty strong claim to the land, its defiantly the sovereign ground of the former Lunar Federal Republic and we've officially claimed the legal status of successor state with no arguments. adding after a moment and we've got 600 troops with armor surrounding the place.

Snow Drive, Mon huygens

Cerjie replied Quite placid actually, the most exciting thing is watching the explosions planet-side and scavenging. The Congress is in a closed extraordinary session with the Brass right now, so something probably happening. But hey, that's why I could respond os fast.

We've got a lot of hydrophonics, as most of the lunar labs were underground. same with water, and we've got blue-prints and infrastructure to pump out plenty of medicine.

[Eldan]

Europa, Surface

"Dr. Yee. Call me Emmanual, or Em for short. Now, please, step inside.
Now, you are correct, sadly. Our only surface station has been taken out early in the war with half our ships, the rest was lost somewhere between here and Earth. And quite frankly, we've had more pressing concerns than setting up a new fleet or landing base. We have had discussions about an orbital station or even space elevator to avoid the surface radiation, but so far, we've been busy building habitats for our people.
Now, I must ask, who exactly do you represent? I don't think we've had contact with your faction before the war."

[ArcaneStomper]

Haven Shipyards broadcast:

To the European Research Association,

This is Haven station requesting medical assistance. We our currently experiencing an out break of a particularly nasty disease. We have determined that your colony is the closest one capable of helping us cure this infection, but we are currently several months away from reaching Europa orbit.

We have found an alternative however. In our archives we have come across the blueprints for a high speed unmanned freighter. At maximum drive it can reach you in a mere 3 days and has over 2000 tons of cargo capacity. If you agree to find a cure for the disease infecting us we are willing to construct one, fill it with any combination of manufactured goods or raw minerals that you require and send it to you. Then you can load medical supplies, hopefully including a cure onto it and send it back to us.

Unfortunately the blueprints we found require some very exotic parts and it will take us a month to retool our shipyards to build the freighter. Please respond as quickly as possible. We will begin retooling our yards as soon as we receive your agreement.

We are also sending all medical data we have on the disease at the end of this transmission.

Haven out.

Haven Shipyards broadcast several hours later

To the European Research Association,

Further analysis of your transmissions indicates that you have no remaining surface installations. We extend our offer to include a fully automated, deployable space port in our first freighter shipment if you agree.

Haven out.

[The MunchKING]

*hours of "debate" later*

Captain Oragarch walked out of the room. It had been worse than he'd feared. 6 hours, 4 threatenings to call Security, and a whole lot of talking later and all he had to show for it was a splitting headache. He sighed as he got some asprin. He should have known that this would be a hot button issue. While riding herd on the various shouting matches, he hadn't really noticed whether there had been a clear majority. Both sides were loud and vehiment about their beliefs.

He checked the network feeds and debates. It looked like a sizable majority were looking at this as a major opprotunity to help Earth. Some wanted brownie points, and the ability to extort Earth for resources later, some wanted it for purley humaniatarian reasons, and fortunatly only a very few seemed to want to go back. The Constructer ship Omega really was thier best bet for accomplishing that. Once that little detail had slipped out, the holdouts on practical grounds seemed to have given up.

It would be impractical to totally stuff the ship full, unless they were willing to ration the food until the stores got filled back up. But a regulated flow of the less pershiable foods into the Omega might do it soon enough to still some good.

He gave the orders. The ship would be filled and sent to help out Earth. He just hoped it would all be worth it. Now would just come down to who should fly the thing. Mr. Anderson was the obvious choice, in terms of plioting ability, but after he spoke against it so vehemently, the captain knew it would be better to pick someone else. It would need to be someone in good shape too. The station's gravity was a fraction of Earth's and a suprisingly large number of people had adapted to that totally in the 3 decades they'd been here.

[Eldan]

Europa to Haven

***
Roger that.
We are always ready to help those in great need, and therefore suggest the following trade: if you send us any and all data on the disease you have via radio, with frozen blood and tissue samples, if possible, coming with the freighter, we will attempt to help you with your outbreak before the next month.
In exchange, we suggest that you give us control of said freighter permanently after the cure or other supplies have been delivered. We can, of course, talk about further trade relations later.
***

[Stormthorn]

Europa
Carl clears his throat softly.
Its not really important who we used to be. I personaly was not anything. I was too young when i wa sborn to remember when everything fell apart. Now, our faction is very short on space, life support systems, and metal. But, if you provide the metal we will gladly make any ships or objects that we are capable of. We can provide you with protection, power, and construction. We need space and water and medical supplies.

He stops as the warlock whispers into his ear.
A powerful man would like to be allowed to tour this place, and he is offering you a chance to see the inside of one of our warships as a peaceful gesture. Your moon has caught the interest of the Brogan patron. He is a decorated captian and has much influence with our ruling council.

((Our people have a council with the top members in each class and position of society. A Warlock member, a spy member, a captian (Brogan) member, and so on))

[ArcaneStomper]

Haven to Europa

Thank you for agreeing to help us. We will immediately transmit all our medical data to you and will begin retooling our shipyards to produce the freighters.

We are willing to give you control of the freighter after it has finished it's run however we believe that you should know that there is a reason these freighters were never put into mass use despite their phenomenal speed. Mainly they require very large quantities of antimatter to power for even short runs. Our antimatter production capacity makes them feasible for our use and we will gladly supply you with antimatter at cost while we are in the area, but we do eventually plan to move on at which point they would rapidly run out of fuel unless you can find an alternative supplier, which would not be cheap.

As an alternative we offer to provide you with equivalent freighters that have more conventional propulsion systems, although you can still have the high speed one if you really want it.

Haven out.

[Diagoras]

The Director of the Vulcan Research Institute was having a bad day. No response from laser-link communications with any approved contacts, the latest transport freighters hadn't arrived, and his tea had too much honey it. Again.

The panicked tones of Xi Huang, executive of Triton Dynamics, broke through the Director's depressing thoughts, "We need to get help! We've got a radio, the least we can do is-"

They were quickly interrupted by a rough voice, "We are under orders to never communicate through any unencrypted or unauthenticated means. Doing so could jeopardize security procedures."

A medley of other voices broke through, each trying to outshout the other:

"Without radiators we'll cook alive, to hell with security, Major! I don't-"

"This base was never meant to be self-sufficient-"

"We don't even know what's going on out there! The Europan broadcast mentioned a war, there could be nothing left!"

"Well, Europa's left at least."

Icily. "Thank you, Dr. Tso, for enlightening us-"

"At least I'm not trying to stir up a panic over what could be-"

"A panic! There's reason to be concer-"

The Director calmly reached into his desk, considered the pistol located there for a moment, and removed the large orange airhorn he always kept there. The blast was quite loud.

In the aftermath, the various corporate executives, station engineers, and research scientists stared at him with shocked expressions. Only Major Douglas, the station's marine detachment commander, and the perpetually silent UN spook seemed to take this interruption in stride. The Major actually wore a small, amused smile while the intelligence agent considered the Director with the same blank stare he always wore.

"Thank you all for your helpful comments, but I believe that another solution exists. XERXES, please play back the message we received."

A calm voice breaks in from nowhere in particular, "Playback: Message received from Prometheus Power Station."

A breathless, panicked voice suddenly fills the room, "This is....Prometheus...request assistance...on much..."

"Message ends."

The Director clears his throat, "We also received a message from the Firmanent, an orbital garden habitat. We can run ships out to them with the engineers and supplies to keep them going. In fact, I already have."

The room explodes as everyone starts yelling at everyone else. The Director leans forward and presses his intercom.

"Tea, Earl Grey. Go easy on the honey, will you?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You gotta be kidding me.”

“You heard me, mack. Prometheus Station. Ain't that hard, your ship is shielded.”

Johnny Coclan growled and stabbed at the chart in front of him. “Shielding ain't gonna be worth **** if I get caught in a solar flare. If I'm lucky, I'll die straightways. Else, I die longways. Fantastic, innit?”

“Look, that's your orders. What, you want to strike?”

Several off-duty pilots perk up at the forbidden word, but quickly lose interest as it becomes clear that there will be no opportunity to riot.

“Sonbitch. Fine, but if I die I'll kill you.”

“Just be ready to hop inside of the hour. Have fun.”

“Sonbitch.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two ships pull away from the rotating asteroid that houses the Institute. RCS thrusters flare as they align with their distant targets before the main drives flash, sending the craft whizzing into the void. Or not really a void, as the massive blazing sun not 0.1 AU away tinges the normal blackness of space with a burning white.

“Sonbitch.”

[Narkis]

LB-1, Asteroid Field

Christopher Liandris was in his dining room, alone. He took another spoonful of the salad.

"Almost as good as my old granny's. Remind me to compliment the farmers, AURA."
"Now, have we heard anything else from the Europeans?"
"Negative. But we have received, or intercepted, communications from other factions. It appears many survived the war"
"And they're coming out like snails after the rain. Maybe we should announce our presence as well. Who have we detected?"
"The Atzlion Confederacy of Mars. Captain Thurston made first contact..."
"Yes, the Skallagrim business. Next?"
"Three thermonuclear explosions were observed. They originated from a point near Jupiter."
"An accident? Or someone didn't realize the war ended?"
"Unknown. The lack of a visible debris indicates either a weapons test, or a signal."
"An expensive signal. Do we know who sent it?"
"We intercepted a message originating from Jupiter's vicinity. It is likely the senders were the same. It was sent by the Therajis Faction, addressed to the Greater Lunar Union. According to their message they possess vast manufacturing capabilities, and storages of light gasses."
"Greater Lunar Union?"
"Apparently they claimed the remains of the moon after the war. They replied to a Trojan Confederacy broadcast stating that they have many factories operational, but lack the necessary raw materials. They are looking for any supplier."
"Very interesting. Tell the PR department to contact them. We should be able to set up a trade. Wait, you said a Trojan Confederacy broadcast?"
"Affirmative. The Trojans announced they presence to the Solar System. They want to establish diplomatic relations and trade their minerals for biotechnology, manufacturing, and power supplies."
"So the Trojans have decided to compete with us. Let's see how well their utopia fares in the real world. Anyone else?"
"A thirty kilometer wide station is en route from Earth to Europa. Telescopic analysis indicates it consists of a number of former orbital facilities crudely welded together. They have requested medical assistance, in exchange for their manufacturing capabilities."
"We cannot spare our doctors. But contact them. Ask them if they want minerals, or a path cleared through the Belt. A thing that large might have trouble navigating through here. Is that all?"
"Affirmative. We know of no one else yet."
"Tell me if we get a reply. Mmm. This is a very good tomato."

Communication to the Greater Lunar Union

Greetings.
I represent a mining organization based in the Asteroid Belt. We have received your transmission, and are prepared to offer any minerals you might need. In exchange, we would like to ask for finished goods, of negotiable types and amounts. In addition we are open to trades of any other kind. We are awaiting your response,
with esteem,
Isabella Padovano,
Liandri Mining Corporation

Communication to the Haven Shipyards

Greetings.
I represent a mining organization based on the Asteroid Belt. We have detected your approach, and received your transmission. Unfortunately our medical facilities are not capable of researching cures for an unknown epidemic. But we can offer any minerals you might need, in exchange for finished goods of negotiable types and amounts. In addition, we offer our assistance in clearing your estimated route through the Belt from asteroids, and are open to trades of any other kind. We are awaiting your response,
with esteem,
Isabella Padovano,
Liandri Mining Corporation

Open broadcast, originating from multiple Belt asteroids

The Liandri Mining Corporation is pleased to announce it is resuming operations. Our company specializes in asteroid mineral extraction and export. In the years preceding the war we were the leading provider of iron, nickel, platinum, and other metals in the Solar System. With your help, we intend to resume that position. Your orders or comments may be directed anywhere in the Asteroid Belt, and will be picked up by our state-of-the-art computers. Secure channels may be established at your request. We look forward to a reply at your convenience. Thank you for your consideration.

[Eldan]

Europa, sinking below the Surface

"I see. Well, then. We can gladly provide you with water and medical supplies, and most people eventually get used to a healthy stew of algae, soy beans and yeast."
Yee makes a face that indicates that he is perhaps not one of them.
"Anyway, we do not have a lot of metals ourselves, but we are currently debating exact trade terms with another faction, most likely we will be able to secure a shipment of metals there. What we need... well, we are mostly in need of larger habitats which need construction, and as you have experienced yourself, we are in need of a spaceport.
Now, we are happy to give a tour of our cities and habitats to representatives of your faction, though I have to admit, we were forced to, well, rebuild much of the former structures to make them more useful. There will not be much too see except cramped living quarters, geothermal plants, laboratries and a few factories."

Europa to Haven Shipyards

"In that case, we suggest the following exchange: one conventional fusion freigher, filled with metals and minerals for constructions, against all the medical assistance we can deliver. You should be able to trade for metals in the asteroid belt, which you will pass on your way. Agreed?"

[ArcaneStomper]

Haven Shipyards to Europa

Agreed, however we will be unable to deliver the conventional freighter till we are actually in orbit as the freighters we currently posses can't move any faster than the station can. If they could we would use them instead of the high speed ones. Instead we'll provide you with two high speed automated freighters. One will have the minerals and goods on board. The other will have 10 tons of antimatter from my stockpiles. For reference that's enough antimatter for them to travel almost 300 AUs each. That should be more than enough to last until the main station can get there and replace them with conventional freighters. You are free to use both freighters as you see fit until our arrival.

A word of caution. They are automated freighters. If you put personnel on them the high accelerations will kill them and you'll be left having to clean out the gooey mess that was your former pilots. For similar reasons do not ship live cargo with them.

We look forward to concluding this trade in one month when construction has been completed on the freighters.

Haven out.

Haven Shipyards to Liandri Mining Corporation

We will consider your trade offer. However at present we are fully engaged in production to conclude our deal with Europa and as such cannot accept any more construction or manufacturing contracts. When our production schedules are free we will contact you again in regards to working out some kind of deal.

As for asteroid clearance we thank you for the offer, but do not need assistance in this matter. We are in fact planning to capture at least one of the asteroids in our current trajectory in order to meet our resource needs. We understand that you are a corporation and in order to forestall any accusations that we are "stealing" your asteroids we offer you to give you a discount on our services after we have finished getting medical assistance from Europa.

A list of services we currently provide is as follows:

• Antimatter production.
• Repair and refit of current vessels.
• Construction of new vessels of any size to owner specs.
• Production of nearly any manufactured product in bulk.
• Construction and installation of facilities such as space ports, power plants, and weapons platforms.

We hope to do business with you in the future.

Haven out.

[Stormthorn]

Carl nods his head.

Space. Its what we need up here in space. Have you recieved any contact from Ganymede?

[TerraImmorits]

Whoops, just got word that I wasn't supposed to have started yet. Apologies to Stormthorn!

[Stormthorn]

Kommandant Siegner Burken waited until he could see the glowing rings of translucent tubing around each of the communication arrays light up before speaking into the microphone, "Good day, this is the UIGS, and we have returned from what was to be an interstellar journey in order to comply with the messages recieved from Earth some years ago. We are no longer in the pristine Arks that some of you may remember. We are now a nation unto ourselves, and our ships have gone through many modifications to insure that our soveriegnty is assured. We, however, are in need at this time. In need of massive amounts of mineral, and construction wealth. For soon, our already strict regimen of life shall become greater as our Arks fill, or become any more unliveable than they currently are. For this, we are willing to come to... arrangements. This is Kommandant Siegner Burken, Messe gut." >> Message repeats >> 1556-33-4A-66 >> "Good day..."

The face of the Warlock lights up as he picks up an intereting signal. Within moments he is gritting his teeth to try and block out the static of five other Warlocks all eagerly pressing their senses into his mind. He opens a com line to the Councilman Warlock.

Who relays the message to the man who most wants to hear it. The Council member of the population regulation department.

Within hours the rumor mill is turning. New of a ship with capacity to actually support the Therajis Faction. A ship that already has passengers. But when your parents where refugees form the ravages of plague and fire you learn something: sometimes you have to break a few eggs.

((I doubt they would actually attack you, but i suggest you be careful when dealing with them.))

[Bosh]

Like I said on the OOC thread, I won't have time to get caught up on replying to people's PMs today. Will do as much as I can.

Quick note: I'll be giving ArcaneStomper a Fate point for making the map of relative planet positions (VERY useful) and the wiki will be handing out Fate points for other cool things like that enrich the game (writing up histories, art, writing up long entries in ArcaneStomper's wiki, etc.).

Second note: assume that anyone you've met face to face you can encryption protocols set up with and anyone you haven't met in person you don't unless I tell you otherwise.

Raz_Fox:

The Elysium forces that oppose you are mostly corporate security forces armed with small arms. They state a fighting retreat towards Elysium base after being pushed back from their outposts. How well they do will be determined as part of the Turn actions.

Raz_Fox and Narkis:

If you want to convince the Skallagrim refugees to do something that's a Diplomacy roll. They will turn over command to the Liandri drones unless Raz_Fox does something (with an Action) to convince them otherwise.

puppyavenger:

Logical faction breakdown. I'll try to have some events that hit your colony involve them.

Sending 500 troops sounds like a reasonable number.

Eldan:

Exactly, the last thing that you need when you're just trying to survive is distress signals...

drakeblood:

For rolling, PM me links to your rolls so that I can keep all my information about people's actions in the same place (the PM folder). Gotta keep everything organized with so many players.

Stormthorn:

OK, for the Russians I'm going to handle their reactions as part of the turn Actions. So have your interactions with the Russians be one of your orders.

"Unidentified ships, please state nature of emergency, faction, and heading. Please be aware that this is Therajis Faction territory and we have dispatched a Daphne cruiser that will assist you if possible."

"We are mining fleet ZZ9, operating out of Mimas, our supply cache seems to have been destroyed and we are lacking in the resources needed to return home. We would be grateful for any resistance and can reciprocate by providing resources in kind."

That's most of page 2 caught up on...

[Eldan]

Europa, reaching the Ocean

The shaft is pitch-black, only two dozen meters wide and held open by a network of steel and carbon beams and girders, extending downwards for several kilometers before opening into the wide ocean, just as black and empty as space.
"I'd advise sitting down now, we're reaching the ocean soon, and start up the main engines.
In any case, Sarpedon is still a little time away. Now, as for trade agreements, if you look out of the window, you see as much water as you could ever want. We can rival Earth in the water business, if necessary, and ours even is easier to purify. No complicated organics."
In that moment, the sub shudders as the main engines on it's sides, shaped vaguely like those of a jet warm up and accelerate the ship rapidly downwards, towards the sea floor.

[Ekpyrotic]

Izanagi Corporate Research Center:

The doors silently slide open as a two technicians enter.

"What? I need to be at a meeting in five minutes, so make it quick," said the CEO of the Izanagi corporation with an angry demeanor.

"Sir, we've detected activity on Europa, and we're trying to get laser-link communications. Do you want us to continue or do you want us to stop?" the engineers replied in a small voice.

"Continue, but under no circumstances should anyone give away any information about the nature of this facility and it's inhabitants," he said in a serious voice.

"Yes sir, we will inform the others," they answered and quickly strode out of the room.

Meanwhile at the Teslan corporation...

"So the Izanagi want our stealth technology?" the CEO asked. He was a balding man in his sixties and had hazel eyes.

"Yes, they say that they need it for some operation, but they won't divulge why exactly. They also said they are willing to pay in money, water, food, energy, or information," replied one of the board of directors.

"Very well, let's see what they have to offer," he said, and walked back to his office.

[Aux-Ash]

Refitted Merchantrunner "Yú the great", Approaching Nero Station

Captain Xiao looked at his communications officer, waited for her to signal that they had passed the moon and were able to signal Nero station. As she turned around and nodded he began to speak out loud with his clear voice and thick mandarin accent:

Nero station, calling Nero Station.

This is captain Xiao on the ship Yú the great, sent here from Tian Táng 4 by administrator Táng. We intercepted your distress call and are prepared to assist.

We regret to inform you that we cannot provide any fuel, but we are prepared to assist in a emergency evacuation until you can stabilise your situation.

We expect to be there within the hour. Over.


Xiao Yi lent back in his chair, the scientists there would not be too happy. Perhaps some of the planctonpopulation would be able to load onto his ship, but not all of it he was sure.

Longrange Message broadcasted from Tian Táng

This is Tian Táng 4, Tritonbased colony.

Administrator Táng speaking

We have survived both plague and war relatively intact and are not suffering any emergencies. We wish to inform that we are able to provide food, air and biomedical facilities and laboratories.

We are willing to import septic waste, replacement parts and luxury goods such as clothing, music, movies. Merchants are very welcome.

Repeat:
This is...

[Narkis]

Bosh: A diplomacy roll it is then. I'll wait for the turn resolution to write up more about it.

LB-1, Asteroid Belt

"...of course, Anton. A pay raise is entirely reasonable. You have done a wonderful job here for the company. What?! Are... How about we settle for 10%? Excellent! Speak to AURA about your new contract. No, I'm afraid a transfer would be hard to arrange. You know your expertise is needed on the field. But I'll see to it that you spend more time in a Bubble..."

Communication to Haven Shipyards

Greetings
Your offered services are of great interest to us. A drone will be dispatched as soon as you approach the Belt to facilitate secure communications. You are granted permission to capture our asteroids, due to your medical emergency. We wish you a safe, and fast, journey.
With esteem,
Isabella Padovano,
Liandri Mining Corporation

[Greystone]

Madagascar

"Then perhaps I should be talking to Generalissim Trésor M'paka, I could introduce him to the council." he looked at the other man "Are we going to have any problems with each other?"

Nautilus, UN

Spoiler

Show

I am going to need some backround here. Do you have claim for the entire moon?

[Johel]

DURP

U.N. (Madagascar)

"-You mean with M'paka ? Oh, I don't think so. He's like you : a conqueror."
The president smiled weakly.
"-But you ask a lot of questions. What's the actual status of the U.N. ? And what about the rest of the world ? What about the colonies ?"

[Ekpyrotic]

Izanagi Corporate Research Center:

The intercom on Akihito's desk rings, he stares at it as if it was a bomb. "Who is it?" he grunts in a low voice.

"It's communications. Sir, we have a 96.73 percent probability of an established laser-links route between us and Europa, do you have anything you want to say, or should we do it?" the communications officer says in a small voice, hoping he won't get fired for his lack of respect.

"Yes, patch it through to my computer, oh, and do we have any news on the Teslan Corporation?" he demands.

"Yes sir, they will be meeting with us shortly. I'm patching the laser-link through now," he replies and starts pressing several buttons.

Akihito waits, but then the green light turns on and he speaks into the intercom formally.

Communications with European Research Association:

Hello,
I am Akihito Michiko, head of the Titan research station. We do not understand what has happened. All we know is something went down which affected every region of the solar system. Do you know what has happened? We have food, water, medicine, ships, and energy and are willing to trade. Please respond.
Sincerely,
Akihito Michiko,
Titan research station