Post by maggy on Mar 22, 2023 17:01:44 GMT
“Does the archon know of this?”
“Nyet… She’s busy with other matters, not like she’ll care anyways.”
“It’s not her problem anyways, these folks have always been a thorn on our side even before the Elvorians arrived.”
“Well, if it’s your problem, it’s ours. The enemy of my friend is my enemy of course.”
The normally prismatic skies of Suryanta were muted by the dark gray clouds of rain. An almost record breaking tempest shrouded the capital city of Rasmonda, the tall skyrises and holographic advertisements muddled by a torrential downpour. Though, located safe and sound on one of the tallest buildings in the area was a meeting. Between Astella, the CEO of Abyssal Shipyards, Talas, the Overseer of Suryanta, Merana, the Queen of the Meranans, and Malari, one of the head foremen of the Esterion Union.
Dressed in her usual outfit consisting of a white coat over the standard uniform of the Abyssal PMC fleets, compared to the rest of the leaders in the room, Astella looked quite normal compared to the others in the room.
Overseer Talas was filled with mechanical parts and cybernetic enhancements. Compared to the Ascendancy's replacements and upgrades, Suryantan cybernetics were a generation behind. He was going to get the sleeker, more refined Elvorian versions later, but for now, his more exposed mechanical replacements would have to do for the meeting.
Foreman Malari instinctively reached for a cigarette from his pocket, but no pack was found. He was called here on short notice, his uparmored work uniform was befit for a worker, not a leader. Yet he still radiated the authority that Esterion Foremen were renowned for.
The Queen, sharing the same name as her nation that she leads, commanded the room. Seemingly inheriting her father's aura of ruthlessness, her red dress and ruby-adorned crown only helped to sell her position as a former pirate queen.
The star studded cast of leaders had met on Rasmonda in order to discuss the problems that the archon seems to be ignorant about. From financial problems within the Esterion Union, to the rising of the Meria Raiders, to Suryanta wanting to sell some more of their terraforming tech.Though at the moment, the talk within this roundtable of leaders was of the recent advances in the system of Rio. The projection on the wall was of a map of their local sector, their nation practically surrounded by all sides by the Meria Raiders.
“Ruined space elevator huh? I didn’t even know the pirates got that type of technology.” Malari swirled his mug of coffee around as he took a sip from it, his eyes still wandering about the room.
“They’re getting more advanced, organized. I’m honestly quite scared if Rai trained some of these officers himself. That’d open up a whole can of worms I’m just not ready to face.” Despite the words of concern the Queen was spouting, she seemed awfully relaxed. Her feet on the table and her eyes watching the city below.
“I’ve been noticing a pattern lately, more and more pirates seem to be reorganizing under the banner of a certain Meria Raiders. Doesn’t that ring a bell?” Talas looked over to Merana. His eyes clouded with cybernetic enhancements and readings from his advisors. He shut his eyes, closing down many of his system monitoring programs, before opening them again, his iris now clear.
“Twenty three systems in total.” Astellas' wheelchair whirred as she went to the head of the table. “Twenty Eight permanent systems under Raider control, and countless more mobile bases and fleets prowling about.” Crossing her hands, she went to the next slide on the board, a more detailed view of the raiders' currently known occupied territories. “We’re gonna need to act now rather than later. Rio was just one victory of many that we needed. Taking care of the Meria Raiders means we get territory, and we get to loosen the pressure on our supply lines.”
The Overseer shuffled in his seat. His shipments of vital technology had always been intercepted by highwaymen preying on his supply lines. His eyes lit up with information gathered by Suryantan scouts about the systems closest to his system. Talas’ brow furrowed as he tapped a pen against the desk rapidly, deep in thought.
The Queen nodded slowly. This wasn’t just a matter of economics and border control, it was also a matter of revenge. Her father had caused this mess in the first place, Merana felt like she was responsible for his legacy. Her open palm slowly crunched into a hardened fist, just the thought of him made her blood boil.
The Foreman sighed. He’s heard of many attacks and incidents in miners operating outside of the Elvorian Unions designated safe areas. Clearing out the raiders would mean safe passage, both for the independent miner operating separately from the Union, and for the supply convoys that export transplutonics and Solarium.
“So what’s your plan, rich kid?” Merana spoke up, her mouth creeping into a harsh scowl.
“Project Constellations.” Astellas' previously soft, motherlike smile quickly changed with the reveal of what she had been working on these past few months behind the prying eyes of the Elvorian Ascendancy. She knew the Archon would never sign off on this deal, but her allies? They just might.
"We've all seen the state of the Coronan theatre and our efforts working to supply the Burgerzone. Merana, I've known your men have been doing raids up and down the place to resupply our efforts. Good work." The queen gives a cheeky smile before allowing Astella to continue. "But our ships simply aren't armed enough to combat the threats this galaxy has in store. No fighting local pirates or independent navies, we're gonna be fighting big fish now. Case in point." The next slide appears, revealing an image of a LINEBACKER, captured by a passing convoy.
"The Linebacker. 300 Kilometers of The Great Wall, strapped on it, mountains of weapons and engine systems to propell what amounts to a dwarf planet across space. We aren't sure what types of enemies we will be fighting, but the Linebacker is a good basis for what we might face out there."
Malaris curiosity was piqued at the LINEBACKER. The massive flying piece of darkstone would be a daunting opponent for an Elvorian Strike fleet. But considering that there's hundreds of LINEBACKERS in possession by fleets in Corona, they'd need something stronger.
"Malari, I can see you thinking over there. Our current fleets can take on a Linebacker with some difficulty due to the nature of our weapons. But that's just not good enough." Astella closed her eyes and shook her head. She flips to the next slide, a collection of blueprints of several ships, both old and new.
She had the room's curiosity, but now she had their attention. Meranas eyes widened at the ships she saw the woman reveal. Ones that would be shunned by the Elvorian Navy, yet… perhaps they would be more well received by the other navies of the Union. The ships were bigger than most of the Elvorian designs, prioritizing sheer damage and active protection systems over the acceleration of the modern designs. Using a hybrid of Fusion Torches and Penrose Drives, they’d have the best of both worlds in terms of mobility. And with the advent of miniaturized ‘cells’ of particle accelerators, the larger ships in the class have full blown cosmic ray launcher turrets instead of the secondary cosmic ray launchers, more akin to a long range hyperfrequency laser or particle beam than an actual cosmic ray.
"I would like to present the Overseer-Class Dreadnaught. The Radiance-Class Battlecarrier. The Nocturne-Class Cruiser. And the Melody-Class Destroyer. Amongst other ship designs like the Brevia or the Pulsian… That’s not all too.”
Astella paused, looking behind her for a moment at the slides. She reached into one of her pockets in the wheelchair, pulling out blueprints for what looks to be a new model of a cosmic ray launcher. The feature list was expansive and looked almost like a wishlist, if the blueprints weren’t there on the table in front of them. A new version of particle accelerators means the size of the gun has been reduced while still keeping lethality. A modular focus/wide nozzle meant for easy interchangeability between a shotgun-esque blast of particles to wipe smaller ships, fighters, and missiles, and the classic solid beam Cosmic Rays Launchers are so well known for. A more miniaturized profile also means that maintenance is simplified, despite the CRLs mammoth sized maintenance requirements to not immediately irradiate the crew.
The cost wouldn’t be too expensive for its usefulness. Then again, nothing was too expensive for the Elvorian Navy. With how it was built, it would be easy enough to refit the modern Elvorian ships with these new guns whilst Project Constellations is ongoing. The Old Guard will be satisfied with the newer weapons while Abyssal Shipyards will be busy designing and constructing new ships.
“So, what about it? We’ll be able to hit larger ships in the galaxy with more force than before, and swat aside smaller ships like flies if they get too close.” Astella clasped her hands together. “I’ll need the economic and material support that the Abyssal shipyards simply don't have. That is why I came to you to collaborate with me.” Hopefully she had convinced the others to follow through with her plans.
The queen stared out of the window, she had remembered his legacy so clearly. The Elvorians were always a step behind them in terms of strategy. Although they were outgunned, the Elvorians were normally outnumbered. Perhaps this was the perfect time for her to enact her revenge…
“I’m in.”
“Sure, why not?”
“Let’s do this.”
The room was in agreement with Astellas plans. Shaking each other's hands, the four leaders sealed the deal.
Project Constellations was now underway. In due time, the Elvorian Navy will find a few pleasant surprises laying at their doorstep…
“Nyet… She’s busy with other matters, not like she’ll care anyways.”
“It’s not her problem anyways, these folks have always been a thorn on our side even before the Elvorians arrived.”
“Well, if it’s your problem, it’s ours. The enemy of my friend is my enemy of course.”
The normally prismatic skies of Suryanta were muted by the dark gray clouds of rain. An almost record breaking tempest shrouded the capital city of Rasmonda, the tall skyrises and holographic advertisements muddled by a torrential downpour. Though, located safe and sound on one of the tallest buildings in the area was a meeting. Between Astella, the CEO of Abyssal Shipyards, Talas, the Overseer of Suryanta, Merana, the Queen of the Meranans, and Malari, one of the head foremen of the Esterion Union.
Dressed in her usual outfit consisting of a white coat over the standard uniform of the Abyssal PMC fleets, compared to the rest of the leaders in the room, Astella looked quite normal compared to the others in the room.
Overseer Talas was filled with mechanical parts and cybernetic enhancements. Compared to the Ascendancy's replacements and upgrades, Suryantan cybernetics were a generation behind. He was going to get the sleeker, more refined Elvorian versions later, but for now, his more exposed mechanical replacements would have to do for the meeting.
Foreman Malari instinctively reached for a cigarette from his pocket, but no pack was found. He was called here on short notice, his uparmored work uniform was befit for a worker, not a leader. Yet he still radiated the authority that Esterion Foremen were renowned for.
The Queen, sharing the same name as her nation that she leads, commanded the room. Seemingly inheriting her father's aura of ruthlessness, her red dress and ruby-adorned crown only helped to sell her position as a former pirate queen.
The star studded cast of leaders had met on Rasmonda in order to discuss the problems that the archon seems to be ignorant about. From financial problems within the Esterion Union, to the rising of the Meria Raiders, to Suryanta wanting to sell some more of their terraforming tech.Though at the moment, the talk within this roundtable of leaders was of the recent advances in the system of Rio. The projection on the wall was of a map of their local sector, their nation practically surrounded by all sides by the Meria Raiders.
“Ruined space elevator huh? I didn’t even know the pirates got that type of technology.” Malari swirled his mug of coffee around as he took a sip from it, his eyes still wandering about the room.
“They’re getting more advanced, organized. I’m honestly quite scared if Rai trained some of these officers himself. That’d open up a whole can of worms I’m just not ready to face.” Despite the words of concern the Queen was spouting, she seemed awfully relaxed. Her feet on the table and her eyes watching the city below.
“I’ve been noticing a pattern lately, more and more pirates seem to be reorganizing under the banner of a certain Meria Raiders. Doesn’t that ring a bell?” Talas looked over to Merana. His eyes clouded with cybernetic enhancements and readings from his advisors. He shut his eyes, closing down many of his system monitoring programs, before opening them again, his iris now clear.
“Twenty three systems in total.” Astellas' wheelchair whirred as she went to the head of the table. “Twenty Eight permanent systems under Raider control, and countless more mobile bases and fleets prowling about.” Crossing her hands, she went to the next slide on the board, a more detailed view of the raiders' currently known occupied territories. “We’re gonna need to act now rather than later. Rio was just one victory of many that we needed. Taking care of the Meria Raiders means we get territory, and we get to loosen the pressure on our supply lines.”
The Overseer shuffled in his seat. His shipments of vital technology had always been intercepted by highwaymen preying on his supply lines. His eyes lit up with information gathered by Suryantan scouts about the systems closest to his system. Talas’ brow furrowed as he tapped a pen against the desk rapidly, deep in thought.
The Queen nodded slowly. This wasn’t just a matter of economics and border control, it was also a matter of revenge. Her father had caused this mess in the first place, Merana felt like she was responsible for his legacy. Her open palm slowly crunched into a hardened fist, just the thought of him made her blood boil.
The Foreman sighed. He’s heard of many attacks and incidents in miners operating outside of the Elvorian Unions designated safe areas. Clearing out the raiders would mean safe passage, both for the independent miner operating separately from the Union, and for the supply convoys that export transplutonics and Solarium.
“So what’s your plan, rich kid?” Merana spoke up, her mouth creeping into a harsh scowl.
“Project Constellations.” Astellas' previously soft, motherlike smile quickly changed with the reveal of what she had been working on these past few months behind the prying eyes of the Elvorian Ascendancy. She knew the Archon would never sign off on this deal, but her allies? They just might.
"We've all seen the state of the Coronan theatre and our efforts working to supply the Burgerzone. Merana, I've known your men have been doing raids up and down the place to resupply our efforts. Good work." The queen gives a cheeky smile before allowing Astella to continue. "But our ships simply aren't armed enough to combat the threats this galaxy has in store. No fighting local pirates or independent navies, we're gonna be fighting big fish now. Case in point." The next slide appears, revealing an image of a LINEBACKER, captured by a passing convoy.
"The Linebacker. 300 Kilometers of The Great Wall, strapped on it, mountains of weapons and engine systems to propell what amounts to a dwarf planet across space. We aren't sure what types of enemies we will be fighting, but the Linebacker is a good basis for what we might face out there."
Malaris curiosity was piqued at the LINEBACKER. The massive flying piece of darkstone would be a daunting opponent for an Elvorian Strike fleet. But considering that there's hundreds of LINEBACKERS in possession by fleets in Corona, they'd need something stronger.
"Malari, I can see you thinking over there. Our current fleets can take on a Linebacker with some difficulty due to the nature of our weapons. But that's just not good enough." Astella closed her eyes and shook her head. She flips to the next slide, a collection of blueprints of several ships, both old and new.
She had the room's curiosity, but now she had their attention. Meranas eyes widened at the ships she saw the woman reveal. Ones that would be shunned by the Elvorian Navy, yet… perhaps they would be more well received by the other navies of the Union. The ships were bigger than most of the Elvorian designs, prioritizing sheer damage and active protection systems over the acceleration of the modern designs. Using a hybrid of Fusion Torches and Penrose Drives, they’d have the best of both worlds in terms of mobility. And with the advent of miniaturized ‘cells’ of particle accelerators, the larger ships in the class have full blown cosmic ray launcher turrets instead of the secondary cosmic ray launchers, more akin to a long range hyperfrequency laser or particle beam than an actual cosmic ray.
"I would like to present the Overseer-Class Dreadnaught. The Radiance-Class Battlecarrier. The Nocturne-Class Cruiser. And the Melody-Class Destroyer. Amongst other ship designs like the Brevia or the Pulsian… That’s not all too.”
Astella paused, looking behind her for a moment at the slides. She reached into one of her pockets in the wheelchair, pulling out blueprints for what looks to be a new model of a cosmic ray launcher. The feature list was expansive and looked almost like a wishlist, if the blueprints weren’t there on the table in front of them. A new version of particle accelerators means the size of the gun has been reduced while still keeping lethality. A modular focus/wide nozzle meant for easy interchangeability between a shotgun-esque blast of particles to wipe smaller ships, fighters, and missiles, and the classic solid beam Cosmic Rays Launchers are so well known for. A more miniaturized profile also means that maintenance is simplified, despite the CRLs mammoth sized maintenance requirements to not immediately irradiate the crew.
The cost wouldn’t be too expensive for its usefulness. Then again, nothing was too expensive for the Elvorian Navy. With how it was built, it would be easy enough to refit the modern Elvorian ships with these new guns whilst Project Constellations is ongoing. The Old Guard will be satisfied with the newer weapons while Abyssal Shipyards will be busy designing and constructing new ships.
“So, what about it? We’ll be able to hit larger ships in the galaxy with more force than before, and swat aside smaller ships like flies if they get too close.” Astella clasped her hands together. “I’ll need the economic and material support that the Abyssal shipyards simply don't have. That is why I came to you to collaborate with me.” Hopefully she had convinced the others to follow through with her plans.
The queen stared out of the window, she had remembered his legacy so clearly. The Elvorians were always a step behind them in terms of strategy. Although they were outgunned, the Elvorians were normally outnumbered. Perhaps this was the perfect time for her to enact her revenge…
“I’m in.”
“Sure, why not?”
“Let’s do this.”
The room was in agreement with Astellas plans. Shaking each other's hands, the four leaders sealed the deal.
Project Constellations was now underway. In due time, the Elvorian Navy will find a few pleasant surprises laying at their doorstep…