Post by EmperorMyric on Dec 16, 2017 19:28:05 GMT
Our incursion into the galaxy Ancerious is running smoothly. The accelerated harvesting of the system Fallous has been surprisingly effective, and I can recommend applying the method for future situations. General A'eloya Zeltey Marnov only needed to think this for his addressee to hear him - as the guiding intelligence of his people, mere thoughts were all that the Combine needed to "hear," and the only thing he bothered communicating to it.
And the Combine replied almost instantly, as it always did. Ancerious is proving a useful testing ground. We may well employ it to test new weapons and technologies. The voice of the Combine can not be effectively described. The Combine has no voice, not even to the Ostech that have continuously "heard" it all their lives. The words weren't spoken, nor seemingly communicated at all - they were simply there in the Ostech minds, flowing in so smoothly to seem like natural thoughts to an Ostech. This is the way that the voice of the Combine was communicated to throughout the Ostech Combine, as it was communicated to A'eloya now.
A'eloya, who now glanced at a pad and tapped only once. The pad was tied to his ship's database, though A'eloya was most interested in the status updates he received from the Ostech in Ancerious; whether these updates came from the mining operations in the Fallous system, exploration vessels deployed beyond Ostech territory, or the ship itself. Most of the other factions in galaxy Ancerious have already replied to our hail. Some have asked about our technologies, a few have requested more open talks, and one delivered a rather violent statement. Another tap on the pad. Several communications Drones detected an anomaly I want to report. It seems as though several other communications relays picked up our hail, but all attempts to triangulate their positions have failed.
An interesting observation, the Combine mused. It could be a simple relay echo. Or do you suspect the Ostech are being observed by a hidden people?
I think it likely we're being watched by a faction, one careful enough to keep its entire existence hidden from all else, yes.
The same ones who sent that harshly-worded reply to us?
No, that declaration came from the faction called the Capitol. We think it was sent almost immediately after we sent the hail, given its timing and origin.
And if our hidden observers aren't from the Capitol, I believe their intentions are relatively benign. I'll relay an order to all Ostech in galaxy Ancerious not to actively investigate the anomalous readings. Gathering any information we can on our free time, however, would be prudent. While I have no reason to believe them hostile, I have no reason to trust them, either.
What of the new Origin-class facility we intend to build? This new thought did register as a voice - young, male, flat, and belonging to the Ostech King.
We will have to clear the system of planetary bodies, which normally would take a few months to complete. A'eloya swiveled in his chair and tapped his pad once again. We could, however, accelerate this phase. The Drake Empire has a device capable of reducing planets of any size to salvageable rubble in short order. If supervised and restricted, we could negotiate for the few we need for each planet in the system Fallous, five devices in total. A'eloya tapped twice, waited two seconds for the data to be updated, and tapped once again. My chief engineer assures me that if their specs are accurate, we could complete this procedure inside of a week, after which we can begin construction of installation Fallous immediately. Under the Combine's standing orders regarding the matter, the facility will become operational in two years, and construction should be completed no sooner than four years.
Very well. I will authorize the negotiation for the required number of planet crackers. In the meantime, you can construct the inner sphere of Installation Fallous; we won't need to worry about any of the planets doing that, at least.
One more matter. A'eloya breathed deeply and tapped his pad one more time. An Admiral Hargun of the Union of Worlds. Specifically, it's about his response to our hail. I'm sending it now as a data package.
Interesting. I, too, note the seeming similarities between his Union and our Combine.
His worry of our wanting to integrate the Union is understandable, but unfounded. We integrate species and not civilizations, of course.
As we are similar, I imagine you will authorize talks with the Union of Worlds, then?
That will not be necessary. I will contact the admiral and speak with him personally. Having the Union as an ally can only strengthen our position here. We will have to monitor our activities in Ancerious to see that we don't incur their ire, but I believe this an easy enough of a task.
They can certainly help us look for -
Absolutely not. We have been clear on this - if they find evidence to confirm our suspicions and aid our investigation, then we will accept their aid. Otherwise, we are not to discuss our true purpose here with anyone, nor our suspicions regarding the galaxy Ancerious. Not even with Emperor Myric and his Union.
Of course, my King. That is all to report.
General A'eloya set his pad down. He glanced at a cup of vetar, the Rhotta beverage humans would compare to tea. He knew this because he heard one from the Tenebrean Empire give the remark - both were bitter, made from plant leaves (or the artificial equivalent, in the case of vetar) and best served hot or warm. When A'eloya touched the cup, the Combine noted its exact temperature of 30 relt (about 90º C) was his favored temperature to enjoy vetar. It wasn't so strange that the Combine should take note of such - it was always in A'eloya's mind, as it was with every Ostech, and that was no less unusual. The Combine was, after all, programmed to monitor the entire Ostech Combine in such a manner.
A'eloya sipped his vetar, through a straw as the mouth of an Ostech - a true Ostech - was ill-suited for drinking from a Rhotta vessel. The General wondered how his vetar would compare to the human equivalent. He then mused that there were a lot of human-led factions in the galaxy Ancerious. If this were their galaxy Origin - or the humans' galaxy Milky Way, for that matter - the Combine would have assumed most of them were fraudulent entities, but here in galaxy Ancerious the Combine fully expected it. A'eloya shook his head - the galaxy Ancerious was strange to him already. This galaxy was very unusual as a matter of fact, as noted by none other than Emperor Myric himself. Probably a topic of discussion between the admiral and the Combine intelligence, no doubt.
The door to his quarters opened, and in scuttled Rel-lai, his Mez XO. "If I might intrude today, sir - "
"At ease, Major," A'eloya said. "Protocol has been little more than a formality to me anyway. You received the latest order from the Combine?"
"We all did," Rel-lai said with a nod. He took a few steps toward the General and bent himself lower, so that his eyes (though covered by the light-filtering device all Mez wore to protect their eyesight) met A'eloya's two forward-facing eyes. "I'd have thought the Combine would be interested in such an odd phenomenon. Doesn't the Combine think it's tied to…you know, why we're here?"
"The Combine didn't seem to think so," A'eloya said. He sipped some more vetar and added, "It didn't think the faction that sent it meant harm, either."
"I see. What was its response to the Union Admiral's reply to our hail?"
"It piqued the Combine's interests. Enough to make it contact Admiral Hargun personally."
Rel-lai sputtered, causing his whiskers to quiver. "Now that's something. Speaking of significant finds, I believe I promised I'd only intrude upon finding anything…well, unusual, that is to say - "
"Unnecessary. You may come to me whenever you like, Rel-lai."
Rel-lai coughed. "Noted, but the fact remains I have something to show you." He took a step back and handed A'eloya his own pad. "The captain of the expedition vessel Lenzerai reported that they have made direct contact with a Spartan ship, and they've been in communication for awhile. We've traded our star charts, a mere curiosity seeing as we come from different galaxies. So we thought."
A'eloya, pad in hand, tilted his head. "Did you misspeak, Major?"
"I spoke without error, General. The crew of the Lenzerai has compared our star charts to theirs. One sector in our western quadrant was an exact match to a sector in their northernmost quadrant. Spartan territory in the galaxy Milky Way overlaps our territory in the galaxy Origin."
A'eloya tapped on Rel-lai's pad, and saw the comparison for himself. "Did they fabricate these star charts?"
"That, too, the researchers aboard the Lenzerai have seen to finding out." Rel-lai coughed again. "They went so far as to lift the star charts from the Spartan vessel's databanks. The star charts were genuine. A'eloya, we have yet to encounter the Spartan Empire, let alone any human being, in our galaxy Origin. What do you make of it?"
The General of the Ostech 1st Ancerious Fleet handed the pad back to his Executive Officer. "Check with some of the other factions and see if you can get other star charts. But the data suggests that their galaxy Milky Way and our galaxy Origin are one and the same." Rel-lai sputtered, and A'eloya nodded. "And no, Major, I did not make a contradiction. It is a fact."
The Mez XO let loose a hoarse whinny, coughed, and then breathed deeply so he could support his next interrogative: "I take it that the Combine isn't at all surprised?"
"In fact it is, but it believes this makes perfect sense, all things considered."
And that finally helped Rel-lai recollect his composure. "Yes, I suppose that it does."
"It wants us to gather star charts from the other factions for comparison. But discretely," A'eloya said with a flick of his taloned hand. "It doesn't want us to put the whole galaxy on edge with another galaxy-wide hail."
"I see. I shall take my leave, then, General."
As Rel-lai turned about and made for the door, A'eloya said "Goodbye, Rel-lai. Do drop by when you have anything to talk about - duty-related or otherwise. But drop the formalities with me when you do."
The Mez XO had reached the door, and as it opened he bent his neck around as far as it would comfortably reach to see his superior officer. "I may just take you up on that offer, but I don't expect that I'll be used to being informal for awhile yet, sir." Then he gave a slight nod and exited.
A'eloya peered into his cup as though he wanted to take a divination from it. He wondered how the other factions would respond to another galaxy-wide hail, discounting its topic and purpose. Replies from them would be telling, but military movements would tell him a great deal about the attitudes and motivations of their commanders.
The Ostech's pad hummed softly, indicating it had received an urgent update. Tapping on the screen once, he decided it best to hold off the social experiment for a few months at least.
After all, the Capitol was still at war with the Immortal Empire. A'eloya sent a message back to his head of intelligence, reminding her to keep a close on eye on them. If the war was about to escalate, the Combine could not afford to be a part of it. Especially not now. Preferably, not ever; the Combine had invested too much into their incursion to waste it on open war.
///***\\\......///***\\\
*(OOC Note: The events in this Episode have no bearing on alliances, conflicts, or political powers present in Ancerious; as a temporary neutral, the Combine has yet to make its own affiliations official.
The "communications anomaly" mentioned at the beginning is in fact the Flux Ascendency receiving the Combine's initial hail. The Combine is unaware of their existence, even if it was hinted at. The Flux Ascendency, by the way, belongs to CommodoreHorton
As to the Capitol [EmperorMyric], I figured that their response is natural for an antagonistic, fascist state. I'd implied that they sent their reply with no thought as to who actually sent it or what their intentions were. Still, this is not an open declaration of hostilities between the Ostech and the Capitol; and if this is out of line even after I specified this, I can easily write it out of this Episode and remove it from canon. It's really just a bit of light humor.
The Drake Empire's "Planet Cracker" [referenced from here and belonging to Sorteagan] really is meant for the swift clearing and development of the Fallous System. If this is alright, the use of this will proceed, possibly under a fair trade if that is also allowed. If neither, then the negotiation for these devices has simply ended in failure. Either option will become canon once it has come to pass.
The Combine really has received a reply to their hail from the Union of Worlds [EmperorMyric] having the nature depicted in this episode. The Combine Intelligence is personally replying to the sender, Admiral Hargun, and their meeting will be the subject of the next Episode. Barring unforeseen reactions or events, I expect this meeting to go well.
I've made a brief reference to the Tenebrean Empire [Athalai-Haust], as that faction had humans in it and that was a necessary element to include. It does imply the Combine making contact with the Tenebrean Empire, but I don't know how exactly that would have gone down. They did exchange beverages, so I am certain, canonically, that no punches were thrown.
Lastly, a bit of a mystery is developing. I have established that, in terms of galactic star positions, the Spartan Empire [Soundwave3591] and the Ostech Combine hail from the same galaxy - and neither faction has met before, even though their territories overlap. Whether or not the Spartan Empire recognizes this or is up to the creator, but this is part of my own story arc.
As to that story arc, I have plans. I've thought through the basic story structure, and it might just be something more of the factions can participate in. In any case, it has a resolution that won't adversely upset the balance of power in the Ancerious Galaxy too much. I'll need to put more thought into it before I consider putting the actual plot into motion, but I do have plans.
All in all, I site that none of this is canon unless we all agree it is. I hope that it's so, though I am open to changing parts of this or scrapping it altogether. That being said, I'll need a reason to change it, and a good reason to scrap it. I'm open to comments and feedback, and I hope you enjoyed it.)*
And the Combine replied almost instantly, as it always did. Ancerious is proving a useful testing ground. We may well employ it to test new weapons and technologies. The voice of the Combine can not be effectively described. The Combine has no voice, not even to the Ostech that have continuously "heard" it all their lives. The words weren't spoken, nor seemingly communicated at all - they were simply there in the Ostech minds, flowing in so smoothly to seem like natural thoughts to an Ostech. This is the way that the voice of the Combine was communicated to throughout the Ostech Combine, as it was communicated to A'eloya now.
A'eloya, who now glanced at a pad and tapped only once. The pad was tied to his ship's database, though A'eloya was most interested in the status updates he received from the Ostech in Ancerious; whether these updates came from the mining operations in the Fallous system, exploration vessels deployed beyond Ostech territory, or the ship itself. Most of the other factions in galaxy Ancerious have already replied to our hail. Some have asked about our technologies, a few have requested more open talks, and one delivered a rather violent statement. Another tap on the pad. Several communications Drones detected an anomaly I want to report. It seems as though several other communications relays picked up our hail, but all attempts to triangulate their positions have failed.
An interesting observation, the Combine mused. It could be a simple relay echo. Or do you suspect the Ostech are being observed by a hidden people?
I think it likely we're being watched by a faction, one careful enough to keep its entire existence hidden from all else, yes.
The same ones who sent that harshly-worded reply to us?
No, that declaration came from the faction called the Capitol. We think it was sent almost immediately after we sent the hail, given its timing and origin.
And if our hidden observers aren't from the Capitol, I believe their intentions are relatively benign. I'll relay an order to all Ostech in galaxy Ancerious not to actively investigate the anomalous readings. Gathering any information we can on our free time, however, would be prudent. While I have no reason to believe them hostile, I have no reason to trust them, either.
What of the new Origin-class facility we intend to build? This new thought did register as a voice - young, male, flat, and belonging to the Ostech King.
We will have to clear the system of planetary bodies, which normally would take a few months to complete. A'eloya swiveled in his chair and tapped his pad once again. We could, however, accelerate this phase. The Drake Empire has a device capable of reducing planets of any size to salvageable rubble in short order. If supervised and restricted, we could negotiate for the few we need for each planet in the system Fallous, five devices in total. A'eloya tapped twice, waited two seconds for the data to be updated, and tapped once again. My chief engineer assures me that if their specs are accurate, we could complete this procedure inside of a week, after which we can begin construction of installation Fallous immediately. Under the Combine's standing orders regarding the matter, the facility will become operational in two years, and construction should be completed no sooner than four years.
Very well. I will authorize the negotiation for the required number of planet crackers. In the meantime, you can construct the inner sphere of Installation Fallous; we won't need to worry about any of the planets doing that, at least.
One more matter. A'eloya breathed deeply and tapped his pad one more time. An Admiral Hargun of the Union of Worlds. Specifically, it's about his response to our hail. I'm sending it now as a data package.
Interesting. I, too, note the seeming similarities between his Union and our Combine.
His worry of our wanting to integrate the Union is understandable, but unfounded. We integrate species and not civilizations, of course.
As we are similar, I imagine you will authorize talks with the Union of Worlds, then?
That will not be necessary. I will contact the admiral and speak with him personally. Having the Union as an ally can only strengthen our position here. We will have to monitor our activities in Ancerious to see that we don't incur their ire, but I believe this an easy enough of a task.
They can certainly help us look for -
Absolutely not. We have been clear on this - if they find evidence to confirm our suspicions and aid our investigation, then we will accept their aid. Otherwise, we are not to discuss our true purpose here with anyone, nor our suspicions regarding the galaxy Ancerious. Not even with Emperor Myric and his Union.
Of course, my King. That is all to report.
General A'eloya set his pad down. He glanced at a cup of vetar, the Rhotta beverage humans would compare to tea. He knew this because he heard one from the Tenebrean Empire give the remark - both were bitter, made from plant leaves (or the artificial equivalent, in the case of vetar) and best served hot or warm. When A'eloya touched the cup, the Combine noted its exact temperature of 30 relt (about 90º C) was his favored temperature to enjoy vetar. It wasn't so strange that the Combine should take note of such - it was always in A'eloya's mind, as it was with every Ostech, and that was no less unusual. The Combine was, after all, programmed to monitor the entire Ostech Combine in such a manner.
A'eloya sipped his vetar, through a straw as the mouth of an Ostech - a true Ostech - was ill-suited for drinking from a Rhotta vessel. The General wondered how his vetar would compare to the human equivalent. He then mused that there were a lot of human-led factions in the galaxy Ancerious. If this were their galaxy Origin - or the humans' galaxy Milky Way, for that matter - the Combine would have assumed most of them were fraudulent entities, but here in galaxy Ancerious the Combine fully expected it. A'eloya shook his head - the galaxy Ancerious was strange to him already. This galaxy was very unusual as a matter of fact, as noted by none other than Emperor Myric himself. Probably a topic of discussion between the admiral and the Combine intelligence, no doubt.
The door to his quarters opened, and in scuttled Rel-lai, his Mez XO. "If I might intrude today, sir - "
"At ease, Major," A'eloya said. "Protocol has been little more than a formality to me anyway. You received the latest order from the Combine?"
"We all did," Rel-lai said with a nod. He took a few steps toward the General and bent himself lower, so that his eyes (though covered by the light-filtering device all Mez wore to protect their eyesight) met A'eloya's two forward-facing eyes. "I'd have thought the Combine would be interested in such an odd phenomenon. Doesn't the Combine think it's tied to…you know, why we're here?"
"The Combine didn't seem to think so," A'eloya said. He sipped some more vetar and added, "It didn't think the faction that sent it meant harm, either."
"I see. What was its response to the Union Admiral's reply to our hail?"
"It piqued the Combine's interests. Enough to make it contact Admiral Hargun personally."
Rel-lai sputtered, causing his whiskers to quiver. "Now that's something. Speaking of significant finds, I believe I promised I'd only intrude upon finding anything…well, unusual, that is to say - "
"Unnecessary. You may come to me whenever you like, Rel-lai."
Rel-lai coughed. "Noted, but the fact remains I have something to show you." He took a step back and handed A'eloya his own pad. "The captain of the expedition vessel Lenzerai reported that they have made direct contact with a Spartan ship, and they've been in communication for awhile. We've traded our star charts, a mere curiosity seeing as we come from different galaxies. So we thought."
A'eloya, pad in hand, tilted his head. "Did you misspeak, Major?"
"I spoke without error, General. The crew of the Lenzerai has compared our star charts to theirs. One sector in our western quadrant was an exact match to a sector in their northernmost quadrant. Spartan territory in the galaxy Milky Way overlaps our territory in the galaxy Origin."
A'eloya tapped on Rel-lai's pad, and saw the comparison for himself. "Did they fabricate these star charts?"
"That, too, the researchers aboard the Lenzerai have seen to finding out." Rel-lai coughed again. "They went so far as to lift the star charts from the Spartan vessel's databanks. The star charts were genuine. A'eloya, we have yet to encounter the Spartan Empire, let alone any human being, in our galaxy Origin. What do you make of it?"
The General of the Ostech 1st Ancerious Fleet handed the pad back to his Executive Officer. "Check with some of the other factions and see if you can get other star charts. But the data suggests that their galaxy Milky Way and our galaxy Origin are one and the same." Rel-lai sputtered, and A'eloya nodded. "And no, Major, I did not make a contradiction. It is a fact."
The Mez XO let loose a hoarse whinny, coughed, and then breathed deeply so he could support his next interrogative: "I take it that the Combine isn't at all surprised?"
"In fact it is, but it believes this makes perfect sense, all things considered."
And that finally helped Rel-lai recollect his composure. "Yes, I suppose that it does."
"It wants us to gather star charts from the other factions for comparison. But discretely," A'eloya said with a flick of his taloned hand. "It doesn't want us to put the whole galaxy on edge with another galaxy-wide hail."
"I see. I shall take my leave, then, General."
As Rel-lai turned about and made for the door, A'eloya said "Goodbye, Rel-lai. Do drop by when you have anything to talk about - duty-related or otherwise. But drop the formalities with me when you do."
The Mez XO had reached the door, and as it opened he bent his neck around as far as it would comfortably reach to see his superior officer. "I may just take you up on that offer, but I don't expect that I'll be used to being informal for awhile yet, sir." Then he gave a slight nod and exited.
A'eloya peered into his cup as though he wanted to take a divination from it. He wondered how the other factions would respond to another galaxy-wide hail, discounting its topic and purpose. Replies from them would be telling, but military movements would tell him a great deal about the attitudes and motivations of their commanders.
The Ostech's pad hummed softly, indicating it had received an urgent update. Tapping on the screen once, he decided it best to hold off the social experiment for a few months at least.
After all, the Capitol was still at war with the Immortal Empire. A'eloya sent a message back to his head of intelligence, reminding her to keep a close on eye on them. If the war was about to escalate, the Combine could not afford to be a part of it. Especially not now. Preferably, not ever; the Combine had invested too much into their incursion to waste it on open war.
///***\\\......///***\\\
*(OOC Note: The events in this Episode have no bearing on alliances, conflicts, or political powers present in Ancerious; as a temporary neutral, the Combine has yet to make its own affiliations official.
The "communications anomaly" mentioned at the beginning is in fact the Flux Ascendency receiving the Combine's initial hail. The Combine is unaware of their existence, even if it was hinted at. The Flux Ascendency, by the way, belongs to CommodoreHorton
As to the Capitol [EmperorMyric], I figured that their response is natural for an antagonistic, fascist state. I'd implied that they sent their reply with no thought as to who actually sent it or what their intentions were. Still, this is not an open declaration of hostilities between the Ostech and the Capitol; and if this is out of line even after I specified this, I can easily write it out of this Episode and remove it from canon. It's really just a bit of light humor.
The Drake Empire's "Planet Cracker" [referenced from here and belonging to Sorteagan] really is meant for the swift clearing and development of the Fallous System. If this is alright, the use of this will proceed, possibly under a fair trade if that is also allowed. If neither, then the negotiation for these devices has simply ended in failure. Either option will become canon once it has come to pass.
The Combine really has received a reply to their hail from the Union of Worlds [EmperorMyric] having the nature depicted in this episode. The Combine Intelligence is personally replying to the sender, Admiral Hargun, and their meeting will be the subject of the next Episode. Barring unforeseen reactions or events, I expect this meeting to go well.
I've made a brief reference to the Tenebrean Empire [Athalai-Haust], as that faction had humans in it and that was a necessary element to include. It does imply the Combine making contact with the Tenebrean Empire, but I don't know how exactly that would have gone down. They did exchange beverages, so I am certain, canonically, that no punches were thrown.
Lastly, a bit of a mystery is developing. I have established that, in terms of galactic star positions, the Spartan Empire [Soundwave3591] and the Ostech Combine hail from the same galaxy - and neither faction has met before, even though their territories overlap. Whether or not the Spartan Empire recognizes this or is up to the creator, but this is part of my own story arc.
As to that story arc, I have plans. I've thought through the basic story structure, and it might just be something more of the factions can participate in. In any case, it has a resolution that won't adversely upset the balance of power in the Ancerious Galaxy too much. I'll need to put more thought into it before I consider putting the actual plot into motion, but I do have plans.
All in all, I site that none of this is canon unless we all agree it is. I hope that it's so, though I am open to changing parts of this or scrapping it altogether. That being said, I'll need a reason to change it, and a good reason to scrap it. I'm open to comments and feedback, and I hope you enjoyed it.)*