Intergalactic Warfare 2.0 IC

[pingcode20]

Steamers
The ship rocked as the shells impacted against it, reeling as the skipper desperately tried to right it. Steam vents and wood had splintered everywhere, and the crew were working hard to patch the holes while the machinery reloaded the eight-score broadside of the Indomitable.

All up, they had weathered the barrage surprisingly

Captain Whiting braced himself against the railing as his ship groaned under the volley. "Double the powder charge! Increase gating threshold to 10%!" he shouted on the loudspeaker amidst the chaos, his First Mate echoing it down below and the officers whipping those not preoccupied with repairs into action adjusting the cannons' settings. It would result in less damage on impact, and slow down the reload time, but it ought to punch through the defences more effectively.

"Stagger fire, and ignore the fighters!" he followed up - the steamer shells were closer in kind to cannonballs than the armour piercing cartridges ammunition fired by the AA guns, and had a diameter over half the size of the fighters. Not even shielding would stop that.

At least, they hoped that was the case.

While the second volley of cannonballs erupted from their barrels, the partial gating charge made apparent through the bluish wisps they trailed as they sliced through the void, the Gyrocopter force met the fighters, and it is here the hero of our little tale changes, for the good captain could not easily see the exploits of his intrepid pilots.

Enter Phineas Kidham, Gyrocopter Pilot extraordinaire.

The whir of the propellers were a muffled roar against the leather helmet pulled over his head, his squadron descending towards the alien spacefighters with AA cannons at the ready.

He took a moment to fit the oxygen mask over his mouth, spitting the oxy-rock into space. In the heat of battle, it was too much trouble to take fresh oxy-rocks; instead, the compartment on the front of his suit contained ground oxy-rocks and a canister of water, doling out the vital gas into the face mask. It was inefficient, but necessary.

Kidham gripped the trigger slightly tighter, the control for the AA gun feeling like an old friend in his hand. Slightly adjusting the aim, he dived with the rest of the squadron and pressed down the switch with a soft click.

Seconds later, the deafening sound of a snare drum filled the surrounds as twin streams of exploding shells detonated against steel and plastic, repeated hundreds of times within the cloud of fighters and gyrocopters.

[WhiteKnight777]

The Emperor looked gravely around at the assembled council. He paused, for a moment, giving the silence time to draw out before he spoke again. He considered His words carefully, for, as these various peoples had pointed out, foundations were a vital determinant of any endeavor.

I understand, now better your purpose among the stars. And so I will further enlighten you as to My own. For thousands of years I have shepherded my people along the path to greatness. Through innumberable trials and tribulations has my species persevered. And now is the hour when we reach out to hold the innumerable stars of the galaxy within our grasp. It is here that humanity carves its name among the stars. I understand your desire to bring together many peoples under one banner, for my mission is indeed similar. But I will make myself plain here. Humanity will stand alone. The Imperium is an entity unto itself, and we will not be sublimated into an alien culture. I have foreseen the greatness of my kind, and our path must ultimately be trod alone if we are to achieve our potential.

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Dorn nodded briskly as he spoke in communication with the other Primarchs, responding to the Higaaran message with due haste. He decided it wise, since they were in Imperium space, to give a show of strength and confidence. To put the meeting on their ship would, perhaps, put them more at ease. Particularly given the intimidating nature of the Astartes.

We are honored to accept your invitation, commander. Myself and my fellow Primarchs will come aboard your ship to meet you personally at your earliest convenience.

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Sanguinius took a data-slate, pressing several of the tabs with his gargantuan yet delicate fingers. A three-dimensional hologram of one of the four Primarch class flagships appeared, rotating in midair.

Our ship-based weapons are quite diverse. each vessel carries a complement of weapon batteries which include solid-state projectiles, plasma weaponry, and focused beam weaponry. The effective range of those, however, limits their usefulness in this sort of engagement. They're mostly for overwhelming amounts of fire at medium-to-short range, as well as picking off incoming fighters, being far more manuverable than the bigger weapons.

Our ships are also equipped with a variety of Lance-class weapons, which fire continous beams of coherent energy. The two main types are standard energy lances and melta lances. The former are designed for maximum damage against unarmored targets, whereas the latter cleave holes through even the thickest armor, but aren't as effective at dealing massive swathes of damage.

Torpedoes come in a variety of types as well. We carry melta, plasma, and, the specialty rounds, virus and vortex. The latter two are extremely dangerous, and we normally use them only under Exterminatus protocol - that is when a world has become infested with life-forms so ravenous and maelific that the only way to stop them is to annihilate all life on a planet. Vortex torpedoes can also be used in space, but it's best not to get them too close to anything you'd like to keep intact. They function by, essentially, generating a short-lived microsingularity.

The prow-mounted weapons are called Nova Cannons. They are, essentially, massive railguns. the reason they're prow-mounted is so that the engines can compensate for the recoil they generate when fired. they are the longest range of all our weaponry.

The most effective tactic would probably be to begin firing the Nova Cannons at maximum distance, then swing about to bring the broadside batteries to bear once ready. Then, once their shields are down, move into teleport range under covering fire and capture as many of the installations as possible simultaneously, then turn them on their owners.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

The shuttles all landed and disgorged their crew. The Fire warriors piled out and formed neat lines, guns readied. The Kroot stalked out, senses extended, wary in the jungle environment. The Vespid hummed out, neutron blasters readied. Finally Grallk and the Great High walked out, and they were off, as they pushed through the jungle they found the area specified and moved into it, they caught sight of the troops and the other captains, the robed figures on the right stood out to the Grallk, though he didn't know why, and he kept himself wary. They all lined up and the Great High, Grallk, and the Vespid leader stepped forward, and the Great High spoke Greetings fellow captains, I am the Great High and commander of the defense fleet over this world.

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The council members nodded gravely. We under stand your choice, and accept it, however we would still wish to remain in contact, however we understand it is your choice to accept or not, we believe all races will be united one day, but we have patience and we will wait until you and yours feel the same, but in this we must accept that our dreams of the future will be different. All the heads nodded, and the Kroot leader spoke We will respect your choice, but my people have learned that change is inevitable, we accept and embrace change, hoping to improve ourselves and every race under the stars that will accept our help, we hope some day you too will come to accept change as readily as we do.

[Talkkno]

Out from the far reaches of space, Executor Shen'el Khal commanded a expeditionary fleet, in a mission of relative peace and exploration, which composed of a half dozen Carriers, a bakers dozen worth of Tempest-class Battleships, and accompanied by a few Arbiter frigates, Warp Ray Cruisers and a several squadron of Phoenix fighters with the majority the fleet under cloak. The largest of these ships was the Command Carrier Akon, which had a few more point defense batteries then your average Command Carrier and somewhat larger, but otherwise indistinguishable from the other Carriers that accompanied his fleet. Shen'el observed the various reports that was were being transmitted by a group of Observer scouts.
He was a high templar of considerable psionic strength, at 450 years of age, he was of average age for a Protoss, his eyes glowed a soft azure, as a officer reported, analyzing a battle that was being transmitted by the cloaked Observers.
"Sir, there seems to a battle occurring between 3 groups of humans, 2 groups of warships are preparing an assault on the 3rd group's fleet, the allied fleet is larger then the 3rd group, orders Executor."
"Bring the battle on the holoprojector, what kinds of weapons systems are the ships bringing to bear?" Shen'el Khal said with a hint of caution, as his order was immediately put into effect, as cascading patterns of weapons fire exchanged between the fleets.
He focused on the allied warships, whose designs were totally unlike each other, with massive blocks of what appeared to cathedrals fighting alongside with equally massive ships that were obviously designed more for fighting then show.
"Sir, the first group of warships are equipped with diverse types of weaponary, there are equipped with the railguns on the prow, large holes that seem for the express purpose of launching large missiles, and plasma and beam weaponry. While the 2nd and 3rd group are equipped primarily with burst type energy weapons and massive magnetically accelerated projectiles." The crewman noted.
Shen'el Khal pondered the information for a moment, as he replied "Attach a Arbiter, 3 Warp Rays, 30 Phoenix fighters, and 5 Tempest battleships to the Akon, the rest of the fleet continues its mission. Skirt the group near the edge of the system where they are currently engaging. Send a hail that we come in peace and curious of their peoples as soon the battle is over."
And with that, the battlegroup detached itself from the rest of the fleet and their warp drives propelling them to there destination.

[Callos_DeTerran]

The 'ship' drifted as the two scout ships approached it. It was an unwholesome white color with the larger chitin plates a deep shade of purple. When they passed by the fleshy heat spots that had been detected, they found fleshy puckers that were sealed tightly by massive muscles. There were no...clear entrances to the ship, but if it was truly a ship, then it must have been concealed...or closed.

But whenever the scout ship got too close the smaller organisms swarming around the ship would begin to congregate towards the metallic ships. Up closer they could be made out to look like spiky little creatures with no eyes or ears, but covered in chitinous armored plates with little bone hooks covering it. From the perspective of the mothership and cruisers it was obvious that they would form an effective shield if the ship was attacked.

Then there was a change in the interior from the scans. At first it was just one of the small life-form signals moving but then more and more of them did and with that came an alarming discovery. There was far more then the scan had first indicated as all of the dots proved to have been concentrations of even smaller lifeforms. On the screen displaying the readout it was if the ship had suddenly become a veritable beehive of activity, swarming all over the empty spaces. Heat grew more prominent in the nodes that had been detected...especially by the one closest to the current location of the scout.

Alarms rang as the node puckered wetly and a single point of light started to grow in it's center as a red eye opened above it. Glaring malevolently towards on the scouts, the node belched forth a ball of bright green flame that sped across the vacuum to engulf the slower of the two scouts to react. By the time the blaze faded only charred metal drifted from where the scout had once been. Soon two more of the nodes puckered, letting loose thick balls of purple liquid that drifted lazily towards the cruisers and the scans of them revealed frighteningly high heat ratings...biologically produced plasma and highly concentrated too.

[PlasticSoldier]

Algophans

"Alright then, first we'll do introductions & history, followed by cartography.
Being the host I think I should start. The Algophans evolved on this planet about 2 million years ago, about 1.5 million years ago we discovered cybernetics & spent about 10,000 years mastering it, eventually we decided to just get rid of all the biological stuff & become computers, since then we've spent the last million years researching technology & turning the 5 closest solar systems into supercomputers."He then addresses the human diplomat specifically "Speaking of cybernetics if we have access to your anatomical research we could probably jury rig some of it for your use. Now, who would like to introduce themselves next?"

[Executor]

"I think I have a plan for your ships then. Your battleships will be placed in the center of the wall, bringing your weapons batteries and lances to bear. Hidden behind these ships we will place the smaller and faster of your Nova Cannon bearing ships,"

William paused for a moment as he moved the 3D models into place on the hologram. It showed two walls of wall, one moving around the other to fire down its longer axis. Suddenly the clusters of ships behind the wall dashed out in front and let loose with a volley of Nova cannonfire

"Before we let loose with broadsides, the Nova Cannon ships will dash forward from behind the wall of battle and unleash their prow-mounted weapons. Then, as we cross the T, the enemy fleet will be completely devastated. We must then move on the orbital installations,"

The models of the Urheiman vessels were slowly consumed in explosions or else dragged down towards the Jutland moon by it's gravitic field. The Allied fleet then moved towards the large models of the orbital fortresses.

"At this point, you will teleport into the fortresses and seize their gun installations in boarding actions. When all the orbital positions have been captured or neutralized, we can proceed with the planetary assault. Is this plan acceptable to you Lord Sanguinus?

Before the Primarch could answer, a lower ranking officer entered the room with the news that the Bruschanian reinforcement squadron had arrived. A view screen lowered from the ceiling and the Imperium and Bruschanian officers turned to watch as a fleet dropped out of warp. An unprecedented ten dreadnoughts were the core of this squadron, two Royal Sovereign class, four Nelson class and four Agincourt class. Supporting them were fifteen Temeraire cruisers and a trio of Ark Royal carriers. The squadron of Lord Horatio Cochrane had arrived, and the doom of Urheimund was nigh.

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

"Manuevre the wall around to their rear quarters. Get into the blindspot of their broadside, they've got no turrets for all-around fire.

Jellicoe ordered. His fleet increased in speed and began to turn to circle around the Steamer line of fire. The smaller turbolasers mounted in barbettes and casemates spat great red-coloured flurries of fire, some at the gyrocopters, some at the ships of the line, but all at something. In between the sound of turbolasers was the intermittent roars of the great guns spitting their massive shells towards the Steamers. These mostly went spinning off into space or smashed hard against the armour of the Steamer vessels, but still made no real breaches. Meanwhile, the Aether cannonballs made great showers of sparks erupt from the Bruschanian shields, sparks which glimmered in the darkness of the void as they flew in all directions with each impact. The shield was weakening but holding steady for the moment.

"All Spitfires, this is Royal 1, accelerate to combat speeds and take those gyros hard and fast!

Said Lt. Commander William 'Billy' Bishop, leader of the carrier Protector's air wing. His great mass of Spitfires followed him in a flying wall of fighters which collided with the enemy gyros and a fierce melee ensued. Billy spun his agile fighter this way and that, the eight heavy blasters blazing a path through the enemy gyros, explosions buffeting his fighter as he tore through all in his path. Tracers from the gyros guns richoted off his cockpit shielding, momentarily blinding him with their brightness. When he regained his sight, he spotted the meddlesome Gyro flying away beneath him, and flipped his Spitfire over to destroy it with a stream of blaster bolts.

"Alpha Flight, follow me, the rest of you, finish up here,"

As he said this, Billy broke off from the dogfight and accelerated towards the Steamer capital ships, a hundred spitfires following. They closed the gap rapidly and listened for the Lt. Commander's next orders.

"Focus on their broadsides, let's take some steam out their boilers!"

As he said this, the hundred fighters began a long strafing run down the sides of the vessels, firing at gunports and hatches. A series of small explosions from the fighter's blasters, coupled with a few larger explosions from the great guns, erupted all over the Steamer vessels.

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

"Well, Great High, that may be a problem. This world, though uninhabited, falls within the legislature of the Bruschian Royal Dominion, and the rule of His Majesty, King William V,"

Jackie explained, sweeping his arms around to accentuate the point that ALL of this was the rule of King William.

"For how long have you made the claim that this world is yours, Great High?

Leaving that question to hang in the air, Captain Fisher turned to his Imperial counterpart, Captain Fourre. He eyed the Imperial for a moment, as if measuring. Comparing. The red ornate tunic to the utilitarian grey one, the peaked cap with its hard brim as compared to the simpler fabric service cap.

"My question to you is: Where do you come from? Where do your allegiances lie. I've never seen a uniform like that in the Isieles system, or anywhere, for that matter. What is your nation?

[The_Snark]

"We will be ready by the time you arrive, Primarch."

Even as she delivered her final message, her voice appears in locations throughout the ship. On the secondary command deck, in several rooms in the officers' quarters, and on the Fleet Intelligence deck, she gives orders to report to the second shuttle bay to greet dignitaries of the newly encountered culture. The cryo-tray maintenance personnel received orders to begin revification for several historians and cultural anthropologists, who had up until now been kept in stasis. Lastly, she warned the neural link monitors that the link might have to be disconnected for a short time soon; while anybody aboard the ship was face-to-face with her so long as she was concerned, most people were not as comfortable conducting conversations with a disembodied voice as they were when talking to something they recognized as a person. And with the Primarch's apparent mistrust of nonhuman races, she wasn't going to risk appearing as something inhuman.

The low-grade alert is spread across the ship, in fact, notifying much of hte crew that Fleet Command will be offline for a short period of time in the near future. That would be unimaginably disruptive during a battle, or even while attempting to conduct normal operations. The mothership was complex enough, with so many different purposes, that the projected command crew even for the original, nonmilitary mothership had been far too high to function in anything approaching in a crisis situation, which was why the neural link had originally been developed.

At the docking bay, the officers and civilian personnel began to congregate. Of the ship's numerous secondary control officers, only two were present—after all, with Marai offline, they would be needed to manage the ship's construction facilities, life support systems, and keep the ship's myriad of other sections working. Captain Ameil Soban was the ship's military advisor, a greying woman with years of experience captaining first a destroyer and then a carrier who struck a remarkable balance between advising Marai on conventional military tactics and knowing when to let the Unbound's superior reaction time and planning ability come into play. Captain Ronel Manaan of Fleet Intelligence was a middle-aged, blank-faced man, always difficult to read and reliable in a crisis. The others were, for the most part, of lesser rank or civilian status—representatives of each of the major kiith were present, along with a scattering of scientists from a variety of disciplines and the ship's kiith Manaan record-keeper.

Within half an hour, they were all gathered. Only the huge window out into space was black; the rest of the chamber was an almost painfully bright blue-white sheen from the magnetic containment fields that kept the bay from losing air and heat to the void of space. The few maintenance personnel in the bay wore dark glasses so that they could see well enough to work in the glare; there had been no time to procure any such things for the officers or the visitors, and so they kept their gaze fixed on the wall that led out into space, waiting.

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

"Heat readings increasing exponentially. Get out of there," Commander Gabel ordered the remaining scout flight. Unnecessarily, as it happened. The remaining flight of scouts had already turned, and was employing its impressive speed to return to the main body of the fleet.

"Report," he ordered on the Fleet Intelligence deck. He had the data, but they were trained analysts.

"Heat readings increasing exponentially in the nodes. From the composition of the blast, the weapons appear to be plasma-based. The spherical form corresponds to no known plasma weapons."

"We have increased heat readings in the interior of the ship. They may have been keeping some type of organism in stasis aboard the ship. Whatever it is, it's awake."

"Acknowledged. Thank you, Intel." Brand transmitted orders to the fleet's two defense field frigates. Magnetic defense fields were an iffy technology at best, able to provide a potent but short-term defense against some weapons. Normally, a fast-moving plasma bomb would not be affected—but these biological plasma weapons moved considerably more slowly, and might be diffused by the fields.

"Can you give me any information on the projectile's motive force?"

"We will be able to do so shortly, Commander. We need more time to calculate whether the projectiles are moving of their own accord and accelerating or simply using inertia."

"Continue."

"Revelation, Behemoth: the projectiles appear to be targeted at you. Stand by for impact. We are sending exterior repair crews."

"All ships: advance in formation, break when attacked. Target ion beams to the projectiles." The ion beams had the best chance of diffusing some of the energy of the plasma spheroids. Any reduction would be minimal at best, but the enemy ship was still out of their range.

As the defense field frigates moved into position above the Revelation, a destroyer, and the Behemoth, a battlecruiser, turrets aboard the cruisers swivel to target the incoming projectiles, discharging powerful particle beams into them for seconds on end. The ion beam frigates followed suit, taking slightly longer to maneuver into position to fire before unleashing a volley of the distinctive blue-white beams. Meanwhile, the commander monitored the heat readings in the nodes. Once they knew how much damage the projectiles could inflict and how often they could be used, they would have a good idea of the enemy warship's strength, although its attendant... organisms remained a mystery.

One that wouldn't remain so for long. The commander transmitted orders to the Spectre cloaking fighters, and with a flicker, fifteen squadrons of those vanished from all visual sensors.

Moving as fast as, if not faster than, the projectiles, the cloaked fighters closed the distance between the Hiigaran fleet and the unknown ship rapidly, dropping back into visibility and announcing themselves with a volley of autogun fire that cut into the swarm of organisms around the larger ship. With a speed born of experience, the squadrons split up to avoid being caught in a single retaliatory burst, attempting to lead at least some of the smaller organisms into a dogfight.

[Talkkno]

As the Protoss fleet grew ever closer to their destination, Executor Shen'el Khal found his sleep interrupted,as he felt a strong disturbance, waking from his sleep, whose patterns are similar to that of humans.
"I feel...a great psionic disturbance." Shen'el Khal thought, not taking care to hide it, broadcasting threw out the entire bridge for the naturally telepathic psionic gestalt that all Protoss possessed.
"Is there something wrong, Executor? You seem distressed." Commander Helth, a robust zealot who was the leader of the land forces that composed the battlegroup inquired, as he awakened with his blue eyes fully open, replied
"Though light years separate the distances between us and the system we are approaching, the mind comprehends all of it in a moment and threw this, I have gained the some small insight, there is a human among their ranks that possess psionic powers beyond those i observed of Terrans that we have encountered before. Change our coordinates." Executor Shen'el repilded, as inputed new directions for his fleet to unknowest to him, to a inhabited star system in the Damocles Gulf where the God Emperor of Mankind was intervening with the Tau on T'au.
"Does the human even surpass your skills?" Helth asked precariously, as Shen'el stood and near instantly, a holo-projector projected the ongoing results of the battle once again.
"That, I am unsure, in any case it is best that we approach carefully, hopefully we can establish peaceful contact with the groups and learn more."Shen'el Khal muttered, as he observed the vastness of the space that warped around for a moment, before turning his attention to preparations for battle that was feed by Observer probes.
And with that, the fleet jumped back into real space for the breifest of moments, before jumping back to warp drive, to accommodate the new directions that were set.

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Kior'la and Grallk looked at Jackie quizzically and Kior'la spoke Uninhabited?and then he chuckles as he answers the captains question We have been here long enough to create a colony on the other side of this world. When we arrived on this world there was no fleet over it and no inhabitants on the surface, we assumed that no one owned it, and we settled here, we've been here ever since. Grallk spoke just then How can you lay claim to this world when your people do not even live here, and your ships run by so rarely another race can walk in and colonize it without you even noticing? he said in almost perfect imitation of the common language.

[nothingclever]

(Plainids)

I'll go next. We are the Plainids. We do not know when or why we first came into existence. We are beings of pure energy held together by the power of our minds. We may have developed this way because our planets were uninhabitable for regular humanoid life. An interesting fact about our origin is that the first Plainid still lives today and is our leader. He said at first he was the only Plainid to exist and lived alone for many years honing his mind until he learned how to reproduce by harnessing excess energy through strict meditation. Slowly our population grew undisturbed and became great because we did not age. We also harbored no jealousy towards one another since we did not need food, shelter or any possessions to live. In addition we are entirely identical in appearance so we do not have social issues such as racism or discrimination in general. We accept and welcome all races to trade with us so long as they do not ask for military secrets. We wish to spread the peace we have on our worlds throughout the universe.

[WhiteKnight777]

The Emperor looked around at the council of assembled Xenos species. Their ideas for unity bore some similarities to his own, he supposed... but still, they were an alien people. They were, by definition, seperate from humanity. No matter how much they might strive for unity, he knew that they simply did not have the same potential for unity as his own species. Still, there was no point in starting hostilities, at least, not yet. Peace would at least give his fledgling Imperium time to grow, to prosper, to find its strength and reunite as much of his species as he could without more outside pressure than was necessary. As for later... well, that was an eventuality to be planned for.

We shall see. Perhaps you are right. But the time for humanity to join you is not yet nigh. Now I must go. My children need my guidance, and I still have so much work yet to do.

With another nod of acknowledgement, the Emperor turned and left the audience chamber, a long cloak of crimson streaming out behind him, the Adeptus Custodes once more forming up. He and his retinue once more returned to their shuttles and thence to the fleet, ready to continue his work out among the stars.

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Sanguinius smiled grimly and nodded, reaching out one massive armored gauntlet, passing it through the hologram, distorting the image of the planet and its defenders.

Your plan is excellent, Lord William. They shall be as dust driven before the wind against our power. He turned and nodded to Alpharius. Brother, I leave it to you to choose the targets for our teleport assaults. Multi-pronged attacks are, after all, your specialty.

The two shared a chuckle at this. Of all the Primarchs, Alpharius was the best when it came to planning precision strikes and clever tactics. Indeed, such was his love of such strategies that he had adopted the hydra as his Legion's symbol. He began to discourse with his brothers, pointing out the optimal targets, choosing stations that would allow them to cause the most disruption and achieve maximum value for their forces used. As he spoke, Sanguinus turned back to the Bruschanian King.

We are ready, Lord William. We shall return to our ship. The doom of your enemies is now.

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Rogal Dorn and the other primarchs approached the Hiigaran fleet in a wing of Thunderhaws, the shuttle-fighters soaring through the aether, blocky, bulky and formidable, though mere specks compared to the larger battleships. as they passed into the Hiigaran docking bay, they landed with heavy thuds on the deck plating. Out of the lead vessel descended five magnificent figures, massive even compared to their bodyguards who poured out of the other vessels to accompany them. Rogal Dorn, the towering, precise figure all in yellow-gold. Grim Angron, in the white-and-blue of the world eaters. Stoic Mortarion of the death guard stood to his right, and on the left Robute Guilliman and Jaghati Khan of the Ultramarines and White Scars, respectively. Each figure's armor was incredibly ornate, engraved with gorgeous patterns and bas-relief carvings, burnished to a near-mirror finish. Each bore long cloaks that trailed down their backs, and looked the part of warlords, knights of the stars, warriors supreme. Each introduced themselves to the Hiigaran high command. The Adeptus Mechanicus representatives present spoke to each other in short bursts of machine-code, their delight over the ship's technology almost painfully obvious.

Commander said Dorn, at last. It is an honor. Thank you for trusting us enough to permit us entry onto your ship. It does myself and my brothers good to see that humanity has not lost itself during its long exile among the stars.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Tu'an

Fourre looks dispassionately at the minor territory dispute beginning in front of him. The young black-robed woman behind and to his left smiles a bit, though.

"To answer your question, Captain Fisher, I am a representative of the Galactic Empire, whose name might take a little bit of explaining, if you'll indulge a history lesson. You see, our people were once part of a glorious, galaxy-spanning civilization in a galaxy far, far away. After a quantum wormhole effect we call the Space-Time Event brought us to this time and place, our leader Emperor Carsus founded a new nation as a continuation of our beloved Empire of old. Myself and my squadron are part of an effort to reconnoiter new worlds for our expanding population, though it seems this world already has a rather complicated history."

The strange young woman behind him simply looks at captain Fisher, while the burly man glowers bad-temperedly at pretty much everyone.

(Yiru, a Sith apprentice specializing in telepathy and mind-reading, is attempting to read Captain Fisher's surface thoughts. Since she's not probing very deep, I think she'd stand a good chance of succeeding. So...what's Fisher thinking about during this meeting?)

***

Above Aestafar

"I see," Issen responds. "Well, I think we can come to an agreement. I shall petition the Imperial high command to allow your people to settle on Aestafar; it's not fully developed yet and should have plenty of room. It shouldn't take long, although there would be a fair amount more work before you could gain Imperial citizenship; just some extra bureaucratic hoops, you understand. Now, before I send in my report and get you on your way, tell me more about this scourge you were running from. Would it threaten an interstellar civilization like the Empire?"

Issen, knowing he's dealing with a telepath, does his best to keep a mental poker face and not let any of the potential plans he has for the Zoat cross his mind. At best, anyone looking at his surface thoughts would get the impression that the Imperial citizenship process might take a very, very long time.


Aboard the Zoat ship, the stormtroopers are busy packing some of the more interesting-looking weapons onto their shuttles for further study in a Navy research facility, especially the organic weaponry. The ship itself will be towed somewhere, but the assessment of the field commanders is that the weapons technology would prove far more interesting.

[ArlEammon]

Algophans

"Alright then, first we'll do introductions & history, followed by cartography.
Being the host I think I should start. The Algophans evolved on this planet about 2 million years ago, about 1.5 million years ago we discovered cybernetics & spent about 10,000 years mastering it, eventually we decided to just get rid of all the biological stuff & become computers, since then we've spent the last million years researching technology & turning the 5 closest solar systems into supercomputers."He then addresses the human diplomat specifically "Speaking of cybernetics if we have access to your anatomical research we could probably jury rig some of it for your use. Now, who would like to introduce themselves next?"

"We are the S.U.N. Suns Under Naga Rom. We are the Shama Li, the Eagra, the Obblinox, the Tharoon andthe humans. Some of us are even newly evolved apes. We have spent over one hundred years fighting eachother in battles constantly. Recently we have just discovered you, the first alien race we have seen since the humans came to us over a century ago. SUN was created to combine all the races of Yavaun and to make them one in peace. We have since succeeded."

[Jael_Darkwood]

"We are the S.U.N. Suns Under Naga Rom. We are the Shama Li, the Eagra, the Obblinox, the Tharoon andthe humans. Some of us are even newly evolved apes. We have spent over one hundred years fighting eachother in battles constantly. Recently we have just discovered you, the first alien race we have seen since the humans came to us over a century ago. SUN was created to combine all the races of Yavaun and to make them one in peace. We have since succeeded."

"We are definitely not from this dimension. While similar, some of the physics of this galaxy... took some getting used to. Over 5 centuries ago, in our original galaxy, we were engaged in a 3-way war for survival. With two implacable foes and internal disputes, we lost. Our final battle managed to hold off their forces for long enough for our seedship to make it here, to your galaxy. Since then, we have been rebuilding our entire technological base to incorporate the differences in base physical laws upon which this universe operates. Only recently have we ventured out of our new 'home' system."

Samantha pauses for a moment, then continues.

"Our 'race' is composed of composite nanite hives. One fleet, one mind. Our technological focii are gravity and warp field manipulation. Additionally, we would like a look at the Algophan computer technology. Our approaches to the same problems are likely different enough to complement each other nicely. In simpler terms, a trade of technology should benefit us all."

[PlasticSoldier]

Algophans


"Technology trade would surely benefit us all. But, alas politics is such that some secrecy is required. Fortunately I have a deal which would benefit both of us. You give me enough resources to build another 'Dwarf Star'. I start construction & send over our supercomputing technology. When it's finished construction I'll start having it build you a fleet. On average a 'Dwarf Star' can produce a few hundred yoctawatts, turn it into any matter you choose, & then manufacture a wide variety of equipment. In exchange you'll give me your gravity manipulation technology. We will then hand over the fleet & you can then do whatever you want with it. The New Dwarf Star will then start pumping out trade goods. Our Energy & Energy->Matter technology & your warp field technology will presumably be licensed & eventually traded as we become more acquainted. How does that sound for a trade?"



@V: Talkkno if you click the edit button there's an option to delete the message.

[Talkkno]

Ignore this

[nothingclever]

Whoops messed up this post by editing it instead of posting a new one.
Summary was I asked 4 questions for alliance on whether we would all agree to trade, offer military protection, tell each other about contact with other races and give our alliance a name.

[PlasticSoldier]

"I agree with the first 3, but a formal name is not necessary."

[ArlEammon]

"I agree with the first 3, but a formal name is not necessary."

"Sure, the first three options would be wonderful. I think it would be best if we do so. I, for one, am scared to death of those, replicating things that I met not to far away from here."

[PlasticSoldier]

"You know the replicants are here as well or are you referring to someone else?"




OOC: Does anyone else find group conversations in play-by-post to be confusing?

[Jael_Darkwood]

"I believe the specifics of your technology would be most useful. We are already adept at converting gravitational energy and stellar energy to useable forms, and have excellent fabrication facilities in our current 'home' system.

However, a developed technology allowing us to convert energy directly to matter would allow us to bring our stellar conversion efficiency up quite significantly.

I propose that we merely exchange the base technologies, and the most efficient designs we have for use with those technologies. The actual composition of the base nanite that makes up all our devices is a closely guarded secret, but the relevant technologies will be shared... as well as some advanced designs for atomic fabrication plants, gravitational warp shunts, black hole cannons... et cetera."

"As to the Planid questions : my answers are as follows : Yes on all counts... but if we decide on an alliance name, I will still be greeting other races as 'Replicants' not as 'A member of the xx alliance'."

[ArlEammon]

"You know the replicants are here as well or are you referring to someone else?"

"Oh never fear. We do not mean to be hostile towards the replicants. I merely state my own fears, not those of my colleagues. For all I know the replicants could make the best allies there are, or not."

[Jael_Darkwood]

For a moment Samantha looks at the S.U.N. captain mildly.

"We will honor our agreements.""

[The_Snark]

"We are happy too welcome you aboard, Primarchs," Marai's voice replied—out of thin air, it seemed, for none of the Hiigaran officers spoke.

The greying woman at the front stepped forward first, offering a hand to Dorn in greeting. The Primarch towered over her, his armor far more ornate than the simple grey Hiigaran military uniform with the red kiith Soban emblem and his frame far more intimidating than her—though the military advisor was hardly short or unfit by Hiigaran standards. In her chamber, Marai wondered whether these folk had lived on a high-gravity planet for some time.

If she felt any trepidation at the larger size of the Primarchs, though, she hid it well. "I'm Captain Ameil Soban, military advisor." She introduced the others quickly; Captain Manaan of Fleet Intelligence, the representatives of kiithid Nabaal, LiirHra, S'Jet, Soban, Somtaaw, and Paktu, and the head of the research and analysis corps on board. The rest—notable scientists, more junior officers, and the representatives of the vassal kiithid—were left unintroduced for now, to save time.

"I'm afraid the commander is not here at the moment, Primarch," the captain concluded. "She is being taken offline as we speak, but she is located some distance away, and it would not have been practical to bring her here. If you'll follow me, we'll take you to her, while your men."

"It should also serve as an unplanned introductory tour of the ship," the quieter Captain Manaan added, a slight smile appearing on his face for a moment. Kiith Manaan was renowned for producing artists, entertainers, explorers, and other daring, flamboyant individuals, and while he rarely displayed such attributes, the captain was not without a hint of whimsy.

"In any case. This way. Your men can come along, or they may go with the others." The two captains led the Primarchs and those designated to accompany them out of the room; the rest followed at a distance, and headed in the opposite direction once out of the painfully bright docking bay.

A minute's walking through nondescript corridors took them to a great chamber that looked to be a transportation device of sorts. As the door closed behind them, Captain Manaan keyed in a location on a pad that didn't look much used.

As the room gave off the sensation of gentle upward movement, Captain Soban resumed her speech. "We'll be moving past the cryo-trays shortly. The chambers take up a good deal of the ship's interior, almost as much as the construction facilities. The motherships are built as colony ships, not warships—although the shipbuilding facilities are capable of producing warships if need be." She fell silent as the transparent back wall of the room changes from showing featureless grey wall slide by to displaying a vast space—kilometers wide and stretching further up and down than the eye could see. Huge rectangular blocks hang in railings, each containing thousands of smaller rectangular storage units, which in turn contain civilians. Occasionally, a device was glimpsed removing one of the small rectangular units and moving down or off to the side with it as personnel were retreived for the revivification process.

The room accelerated, rendering the huge inner chamber a blue-grey blur after a minute or so, and goes to greater and greater speeds before slowing. The lack of the commander's voice announcing which deck they were on was slightly disconcerting to both Hiigarans, although neither showed it. It took another several minutes of walking in silence through the corridors before they stopped at a doorway, and entered.

The woman inside rose with the aid of a crutch to greet them. "Primarch Dorn," she said in greeting, bowing her head briefly. The contrast between the two, physically, is obvious. Dorn was dressed in ornate, colorful power armor, where she was clad in a simple grey jumpsuit that lacked so much as a military insignia. The Primarchs were tall, more physically powerful than any human had a right to be, whereas Marai was a slight woman, not tall even by Hiigaran standards. And while all the Primarchs exuded an air of power, the Hiigaran commander looked almost frail, relying on a crutch to stand without effort.

"I apologize for not meeting you at the docking bay, but as you can see, it would have been difficult for me to get there. It has been some time since I used my body, and while it has been kept relatively fit, that does not mean I am used to walking about in it."

[Callos_DeTerran]

Above Aestafar

The massive Zoat's shoulders slump as the topic once again veers to that of the scourge that they had been fleeing from. It paused only long enough to watch dispassionately as things were un-loaded from the Zoat vessel, and then it's voice sounded once more in the Imperial officer's mind.

Commander...the scourge I speak of is a plague upon every creature and planet in it's path. They consume and devour worlds until nothing is left, not even the bodies of the fallen. Whatever resistance is found is crushed mercilessly through heedless slaughter and brutal stratagems. Take my word Commander..the Tyranid are many, and they are coming...

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

Bio-plasma soared across the void between the Leviathan and the cluster of ships that opposed it. Bright particle beams cut swathes through the hurtling ball, reducing them in size but not destroying them entirely. The analysts were quick to discover they were propelled by their initial momentum, not by any mysterious will of their own, but much more became readily apparent as the twin blasts plowed through the magnetic defensive screens as if they hadn't even been present. Bursting as they impacted the hulls of the Behemoth and Revelation, scoring deep smoldering breaches in their hulls from the heat.

But then the stealth fighters reached the curtain surrounding the larger vessel, sending a stream of fire into it. To the amazement of those monitering the battle for data, the smaller armored organisms actually threw themselves into the path of the shots that would have missed. Each hit resulting in a small noiseless burst as the creature hit would die from the fire, still hovering protectively around the Leviathan. As the Hiigrans watched, the immense ship ponderously turned toward the larger vessels close to it and began to accelerate towards them, ignoring the fighters entirely. Another mystery that the vessel answered with brutal force as another blast of bio-plasma was launched from the prow towards the Behemoth.

Small chunks began to fall away from the ship, larger then the 'shield' organisms that protected the Leviathan from assault. Quick scans revealed them to infact be coming from inside of the Leviathan in much the same manner that short-range fighters would be discharged from a carrier. Each of these smaller 'ships' looked like a large torpedo with a massive claw on each side of it, a nest of furious wriggling tentacles for a 'mouth' and a puckered node on it's thorax. They spiraled away from the hive ship and hungrily took up pursuit of the fighters that had harassed the main vessel. The Spectre's were indeed faster then these living torpedoes, but the surprise of having them suddenly appear enabled the Razorfiends to catch some of the Spectres that were to slow to relax. Those large claws grabbed hold of the fighters, tearing off chunks of metal and bringing the trapped fighters closer to the feeding tentacles. Tentacles that pierced into the metal, burrowing for anything that caught the thing's interest and often times plucking out a flailing pilot to be hastily devoured.

When they could no longer rely on catching the Spectres, the Razorfiends released gouts of pyro-acid at them. Hoping to wing or damage them enough to close in but the dog-fight had begun and the Spectres had the advantage of far more experienced pilots even if it took a bit more fire to bring a Razorfiend down.

However, while the space dog-fight had only just begun, the Leviathan was closing the distance with the damaged Behemoth at slowly accelerating speeds. Instead of crashing into it as one could assume it instead turned at the last moment to bear the broadside to it that had previously been unseen. At that range there was no time to try and escape as there had been with the first two volleys. No...the Leviathan let loose with an unfettered assault of bio-plasma and pyro-acid. Melting away the hull of the Behemoth and eating past the magnetic shields in a terrifyingly fast time under the sustained assault.

And those weren't the only things launched at the besieged battlecruiser. No...little spiral-shaped projectiles were launched as well. Burrowing into the hull to unleash their payloads of shrieking and chittering gaunts upon the desperate crew within. Any communication with the Behemoth had that undertone of screams and gunfire in the backgrounds. In the worst views, it showed the aftermath of the termagaunts and hormagaunts, the blood spattered walls and corpses of shipmen and Tyranid fodder strewn about the hallways like so much debris.

All too soon those reports stopped completely...

[PlasticSoldier]

"What exactly do you mean by stellar conversion?"

[Jael_Darkwood]

"The complete conversion of a stellar system to useable resources. For maximum efficiency, stellar systems close to our home system are simply accelerated to near-C speeds and processed at our stationary manufacturies."

[PlasticSoldier]

"That's a neat trick. Can I have your data on how to do it?"

[nothingclever]

(Plainids)

Although it may seem unnecessary I would like to propose that we name our alliance the United Federation of Planets. It could simply be called the Federation for abbreviation most of the time.

(lol Star Trek reference)