Tranquility
Charles raised an eyebrow over his cybernetic eye. "No, you are not a nuicience at all." He grabs the Sirian hand with his own healthy one. "Come, walk with me, I was just about to go grab something to eat."
Caroline
"Knowing the Black Phalanx and their allies, they're probably planning to smash the ships into the space station!" John exclaimed as he sat in his pilots seat doing his job.
Caroline
"If you could stick around," Cwec'hŷr said, "I might need to know where some things are, but I should look at the patient first."
With that, Cwec'hŷr moved through the area to find the patient and give a quick evaluation of them.
Tranquility
"That sounds like an avenue worth pursuing," Palgzair nodded, "Perhaps a trade league of some sorts? Or did you have something else in mind?"
edited 31st May '14 8:00:41 AM by Fauxlosophe
THE SLORG!
Hrof glanced back over his shoulder briefly at John, then looked towards the panel, needing to think for a moment exactly what to say. Were he speaking directly to other Grexians, he'd know exactly what to say, but this wasn't so simple.
Finally, he leaned forward, and spoke clearly, "this is Grexian mercenary Hrof aboard the Verandi trade vessel Caroline. There is a flotilla of civilian vessels on route towards the inner system from Titania; they are going towards either Earth's moon, or the Tranquility station itself. These ships have been taken over by the Black Phalanx terrorist group, and their intentions are hostile. Forward this message to any other Grexian mercenaries with the emergency code AJ-42, possible Hellfire Rana scenario."
You are reading this.
Caroline
The message was transmitted. It would take some time for the Hrof's message to reach Tranquility and then be broadcast to its intended recipients. In the meantime, the Black Phalanx ships continued on their course towards Tranquility. The Caroline crew had done all they could for now.
Meanwhile, the good doctor called Bobby found himself a partner when Cwec'hŷr and Erruan arrived in the medbay. The Knotarian on the operating bed was once again unconscious.
Tranquility
In the meantime, the ambassadors of the Galactic Nations, oblivious to the danger they were in, had gone about fulfilling their obligations for the day. Settling in, visiting neighbors, taking care of last minute work, attending social function, all these took up the better part of the day. In particular, the social function everyone was attending that night was the party hosted by the ambassador for the Free Minds Society. It was an event that belied the Society's small stature on the galactic stage. A lavish food spread filled with the nation's delicacies was spread out on what appeared to be floating slabs of polished glass. Not all of it proved to be edible for members of several species attending, but someone on the Society's staff had the foresight to include meals from other nations. At the very least no one would go hungry that night.
Ambassador Piper had seen fit to bring with him a team of musicians, and so the party benefited from a live performance instead of recording playing in the background. This led to an amusing confrontation midway through the party with the Verandi attendees, including Lord Tebigon, who insisted that they could sing the same songs as the Society citizens, despite not having the same vocal structure that was necessary. But the Verandi, who by and large considered themselves masters of music, were not to be dissuaded. They actually managed pretty well for the most part, inspiring plans for further cultural exchanges between the two countries.
The main attraction of the night was the display of Piper's crafting skills. Using some sort of fast hardening clay, the ambassador stood at the center of the room building up his replica of the model standing a few meters off.
"Don't you move a muscle! Almost done!"
The model was a human, holding what appeared to be an ancient human weapon called a minigun. Where Piper had obtained it from was anyone's guess but he insisted the model hold it up in a "heroic pose" (and requested he be shirtless) while he shaped his statue. Even the dour Tebigon laughed after he recognized the model as Blue.
Tebigon turned to Mnhiri, who he had escorted to the party. "And how are the food and drink here, my dear? More to your liking? Better than the miserly coffee shop we were at earlier?"
Across the room, Ambassador Zelophehad was continuing his conversation with Palgzair, minus the more sensitive aspects. "Oh, to be sure, it'll raise hell with the 'Buy Local' crowd, but they set themselves on fire every time a trade treaty is renewed. He-Tai would most assuredly sacrifice any potential agreement with Jiptohr if it meant lower tariffs on manufactured goods from the far end of the Known Galaxy."
Sweet Caroline - Medbay
"Your arrival is a welcome relief," Bobby said to Cwec'hyr. He hadn't seen him before, but if he was looking for patients, and Erruan was with him, so the most probably situation was that he was here to help.
"The First Mate has suffered serious injury. I followed standard first-aid procedure to the best of my ability, but this unit was not designed for administering medical services."
Tranquility
Rufus stood in the party, eating a celery stalk and absorbing the music and committing it to memory. Literally. The Free Mind Society in the past had proven rather difficult to obtain cultural media from, so the chance to listen to some of their musicians so that it could be analyzed was always a useful event. Rebroadcasting the recorded data to the ship, as well as to secondary systems further away, would make sure that the information would reach one of the Norb planets. Another choice piece of audio data meant she needed to make sure to discuss trade and territory agreements with the Jiptohr Empire. Likewise, observing a Free Mind Society sculptor would provide a boon in information regarding that particular field. She coud do all three tonight, it seemed.
"Ambassador Piper, Blue, good evening," she greeted the representative and the mercenary after hopping past them, heading towards the ambassador of the Jiptohr.
Attitude is prohibited
[Tranquility]
Mnhiri chuckled. "Much better, thanks."
The cappuccino, in the end, had been sorely disappointing. Though, upon reflection, Mnhiri considered that perhaps she had been expecting too much from it and the modest cafe that had produced it. Her conversation with Tebigon, however, was far from disappointing. Not only was he considerably more pleasant to spend time with than her staffers had led her to believe, but Mnhiri felt she'd gained some valuable insights into Verandi's intentions regarding S24. She still hadn't had time to fully review the transcript, but that didn't bother her; she figured she could gain more and better information from discussing the issue with others.
And indeed, although Tebigon's description of Verandi's plans had soothed most of the issues she had with the idea of First Contact with S24, she was determined to collect some more thoughts before the next council session, lest she be surprised by something.
"For such a relatively small nation, the Society certainly knows how to impress." She said, motioning to the event happening around them. "I've seen some travel brochures for Heiwa, and it seems like a lovely place to visit. Have you ever been there, Tebigon?"
Not entirely dead.
Dreams of Revenge
Caroline — Erruan
"...Right." Erruan felt as though she stuck out like a sore thumb in the environment of the med-bay. Though Sirian military personnel had basic first aid training, it was just that: first aid. It was only intended to keep the casualty stable until a properly trained medic could take over. It did not help that she was there just to point things out, something the Sirian felt Bobby would be better equipped to do.
She stood off to one side in the room, trying to get a feel for where everything was.
Uhuo MEZ — Unneioi
There was a moment of silence over the channel. Though the saying was not one she was familiar with, the Alosseil could make an educated guess as to the sentiment from the context. Quietly, she decided to research the saying. Unneioi just knew this would nag at her until she uncovered the meaning. However, there were more pressing matters to attend to.
"Agreed." Her response was to the point; why waste time talking when she could be taking action? To an outside observer, the room would have appeared eerily quiet. In reality, Unneioi was relaying her orders wirelessly to her subordinates. Sharp, short commands and responses went to and fro, taking the form of contracted phrases and abbreviations so dizzying in their variety that it was practically a language in its own right. As far as Unneioi was concerned, it was more efficient. The fact it was nigh-on impenetrable to any eavesdroppers was a nice bonus. Some might have considered such concerns paranoid, but the Alosseil did not take chances.
Their opponent was finally starting to display something approaching aggressive action. Forming up into a suitable formation of their own, the Aggressor fleet abruptly started to close with the vanguard of their Sirian-Verandi counterparts with the most speed they could muster, evidently trying to pre-empt the return of the ships picketing the asteroid field. In effect, they were trying to defeat them in detail.
Locking you up on radar since '09
THE SLORG!
Hrof let out a sigh of relief, though couldn't help but still feel some anxiety about the situation. Nevertheless, he'd done all he could for now, unless he felt like trying to do a one man hostile takeover of the whole ship to go after the terrorists, but he didn't.
Hrof headed back over towards Solaris, stopping about five feet away and snapping to attention. "Reporting back for duty, captain" Hrof said simply, to indicate he was ready to start properly taking orders again, apparently.
Blue had not taken his shirt off. He had in fact made it clear to Piper that he would never take his clothes off for the alien. He was more than willing to stand perfectly still, though he wasn't quite expecting to be suddenly handed a minigun of all things to hold while standing. It was taking all Blue had to not visibly strain with effort, though it helped that he was partially cheating and propping the minigun on his raised leg. He was hoping to use this opportunity to eavesdrop on anything any of the other party goers were saying, but between concentrating on holding the minigun and none of them being particularly close, that wasn't going to happen yet.
Hearing Tebigon laugh, Blue did glance his eyes in that direction but otherwise did not move. Oh we'll see who's laughing later Blue thought to himself, having yet to give his little 'present' to Piper.
Off to one side, Blue's two current security were having mixed responses. The large gunner had his arms folded and was mostly watching Piper, disapproving of what the alien was currently subjecting one of their diplomatic caste to. The tech standing beside the gunner was mostly watching Blue, and occasionally fidgeting; she was trying really hard not to break out into laughter at the sight.
You are reading this.
Caroline
"I'll do what I can," Cwec'hŷr replied to Bobby, "Do you have any specific information about the injury? Or potential causes?"
Tranquility
"Excellent, Zelophehad," Palgzair nodded, "Outside of our alliance, I find that the government is still quite resistant to trade. Not without reason; luxuries tend to cause unrest in times of strife. However, for the sake of alliance, we shall stake an interest in a few markets."
She paused and looked away, "I suspect our hand will remain in Human affairs for the time being; but it is out of fear. Perhaps this is an ill advised and dangerous game, but it is a necessary one; as a united front, their race would be far and away the most powerful. Yet, I will mark your words in this. Further, I wish for you to have no doubt; if any force seeks to threaten the friendship or well being of our nations, the Bureaucracy shall defend the Alliance."
Caroline - Medbay
" Preliminary Diagnosis:" Bobby replied to Cwec'hŷr in his monotone robotic voice. He pointed at the First Mate's chest. "Damage sustained by liberal application of gunshots to the chest, resulting in injury and blood loss. Total number of gunshot wounds: Three. Cause: Kinetic projectile weapon belonging to Black Phalanx member."
"Has the shrapenal been entirely removed? Do you know the type of round?" Cwec'hŷr listed quickly as he came to survey the patient himself, "Further, what is the patient's current condition? He seems to have stabilized slightly; you have done well."
Caroline - Medbay
"This unit is thankful for your flattery, but it can detect that it has performed sub-optimally compared to a specialist, given its physical limitations," Bobby replied. "The type of round was a standard Black Phalanx rifle-caliber caseless round. This unit removed several larger bullet fragments on the surface, but the smaller fragments remain. Subject managed to regain consciousness briefly, however factors including shock, pain, blood loss, and standard anti-septics and artificial coagulants contributed to his loss of consciousness and his current state."
Cwec'hŷr nodded.
"This will be worse before it is better if there are more fragments in there," He said already looking into one of the wounds with a prong, "Get the patient some morphine to ensure he remains unconcious, or at least not in pain. Knotarians are fairly resiliant, so if it's only labelled out to Human dosage, tell me; I'm pretty sure this one would need about 2.23 of an Adult male dosage. These will need stitches, but we need to get all of the metal out before it heals over; infection and serious complications can come about from having inorganic material kicking around in there; even for Knotarians."
By the time he had finished, he'd already removed a few smaller shards and was examining wound with a flashlight.
"If this was a hollowpoint, it would be harder but as it is, I don't think it went too deep and what is left, shouldn't be too dangerous. I'm still going to take out what I can, after that I'll stitch him up and hopefully a bit of rest will see him well."
edited 8th Jun '14 11:00:16 PM by Fauxlosophe
For the Horde!
Tranquility
Koruuna felt rather uncomfortable sitting there with the other ambassadors in this lavish room filled with the most... peculiar food. At least the Free Minds Society had attempted to supply Koruuna and the other Ashkathi visitors with some facsimile of Ashkathi cuisine— to the untrained eye it resembled a suspended silvery mush, but one well-versed in Ashkathi biology would know that they were nearly toothless, and either had to eat small, or swallow whole. One need not be an ambassador to realize which one of those was permissible in polite company.
Thus, Koruuna ate her zooplankton tentatively, sipping on the drink they were provided by the human delegates. What did they say this was called? Shaam-pain. It even sounded bizarre. It was giving her a curious sensation so she set it down for the moment and instead sat there a while in thought. The Ashkathi had barely been in the Galactic Nations for a year, and already they were treated like visiting councilmen, showered with praise. She was simply exhausted now, having spent the better part of the day campaigning for trade agreements between Larine and Siria. She simply wanted to unwind, but it was difficult, since the outsiders had such... unorthodox customs.
It was amusing, sure, but she couldn't help but feel like it was a bit, well, frivolous. But that could be the fun of it. She hoped someone would take notice of her, she didn't want to have to speak up again to gain attention, not after all that speaking to the Sirians. Her throat had begun to hurt already.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Caroline
But you never left. Was what the captain was thinking when Hrof 'reported back for duty'. Again she just shook her head and waved him off after slumping down in her chair. Solaris fell into silence while contemplating their next move. There was no way the Caroline could catch up with the rogue ships. Even if she could there was not anything they could do to stop them.
What would the authorities do, for that matter? Few military space craft were allowed in the Sol System. Every ship with weapons had to obtain a permit, even those that were sworn to defend the system in the first place. It was not as if the merchant vessels were armored or shielded, but there was enough of them moving fast enough - could the local forces intercept in time and hit them hard enough to destroy any chance of the vessels or their debris hitting Tranquility?
"Mister John. Take us to Luna. We are going to follow them for now." She finally said upon making a decision. Despite her firm voice, Solaris slumped back in the chair. "I hope you have some friends nearby, Mister Hrof." She said to the mercenary.
It took some time, but Hrof's message was relayed to Sol authorities, and whatever Grexians happened to be in the system at the time.
Tranquility - With Rufus
Prince Saleen Dabjavita, Ambassador of Jiptohr noticed the Norb coming in his direction. He broke off from his group of associates with bow and moved forward to meet with Rufus. Clawed feet tip tapped across the wooden floor, and the reptilian tail moved from side to side in a slight manner.
"A thousand blessings upon your excellency, Ambassador Rufus." The words were polite, but Dabjavita's voice, like all of his kind, made them come out sounding more like a growl. "Might I ask, do you use an Earth creature as a surrogate in deference to our hosts or do you have a genuine affections for the beast?"
Tranquility - With Mnhiri
"Yes and no." Tebigon said before taking a sip from his own wine glass. Once he had swallowed he elaborated, "The Society does not allow outsiders on the planet. I was with the GN delegation that stayed in orbit around Heiwa though, to start preparation for the Society's membership."
Tebigon smiled again when Blue was clearly trying not to let his arm fall down. "Before that, I had never been there." he continued, "I generally ended up travelling in every other direction except that of Heiwa, actually. I have a few Society made works of art back home, but they were purchased in the Alliance. What about you?"
Tranquility - With Palgzair
"And we shall do the same." Zelophehad's casual tone betrayed a hint of solemnity. "But mark me, I hope we will not have need of it. But something is afoot, I say."
He glanced at Tebigon before carrying on in a quieter voice. "No Verandi news sources are saying it, but there was a revolt on Jemecca a few weeks ago. The planetary lord himself ordered his men to kill the insurgents that were apparently holed up in a college after a meeting with their leader. I don't know the finer details but now there are riots on some of the farther worlds in reaction to what happened."
Charles sat down in front of Koruuna sipping his champagne and his cybernetic eye analyzing the alien infront of him. "You looked a bit lonely. I hope you do not mind me making you company."
John nodded and once again accelerated the ship, this time towards the moon following the transport ships. "Bloody Imperial scum..." He muttered under his breath.
For the Horde!
Tranquility
Koruuna turned her head to look at the human who sat down nearby her. It was the ambassador of the Solar Republic, who she had seen earlier while she was speaking. "I do not mind, Solar-kin. Though..." She cleared her throat, sipping the shaam-pain to water it down. Didn't help. She coughed. "The trade agreements have been exhausting for me. And being new to the Galactic Nations.... I cannot help but feel out of place, so to speak..." she admitted, taking a small bite of her plankton.
edited 10th Jun '14 6:33:55 PM by AllHailThrall
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
THE SLORG!
"I will return to my scheduled duties then" Hrof said with a nod when Solaris waved a dismissing hand at him. He started to leave the bridge, but stopped and glanced over his shoulder as he heard Solaris giving the order to follow them. Upon her comment about having friends nearby, he was silent for a moment, then nodded. "They'll be there, captain" he stated simply, then left the bridge to get to his scheduled patrol route around the ship.
As the message spread out, it reached in turn five separate Grexian frigates, each parked near a planet or station, conducting their mercenary services as they could. Each one that received the message waited for a minute or so, quickly cross referencing the 'code' Hrof had used with their soldier records, to confirm that the message was actually sent by him. Once they confirmed it, they quickly sent out a confirmation message along with an informatory message to the other ships about their current location and heading, and the ships sprang to life. Engines blazing brightly but silently in the vacuum of space, they would each in the order they received the message race off towards the path between Titania and Earth's moon.
The first of the frigates to get close enough to confirm that there was a fleet of civilian ships headed along that path transmitted a simple message to them: Stop and prepare to be boarded, or we will open fire. They didn't seem to care that they didn't actually have jurisdiction in the system. The Caroline was also sent this message, since the frigate either could not tell yet that they were the Caroline, or didn't feel like taking any chances.
You are reading this.
"And a thousand blessings upon you as well, Prince Saleen Dabjavita," Rufus replied. "This unit was one of the 537 most-compatible Frame types in consideration, chosen as a result of selection criteria. A few include
Core Condition 1: Frame must be capable of surviving in atmosphere designed for carbon-based lifeforms, due to atmospheric conditions of Tranquillity.
Core Condition 2: Frame must be adapted for living conditions on land, rather than sea.
Core Condition 3: Frame must be able to use self-locomotion to navigate to a significant percentage of the station, with all critical Galactic Nations locations mandatory.
Core Condition 4: Frame must be capable of using standard seating equipment in Galactic Nations Chamber with minimal modification.
Perception Condition 1: Frame should be herbivorous to minimize difficulty of using utensils during meals.
Perception Condition 2: Frame should be female or capable of wearing clothing to avoid the negative connotations many species associate with external exposure of genitals.
Additionally, randomized in-person and telephone surveying of peoples from many nations identified this species as one of the most visually acceptable to a majority of races. Should the Jiptohr Empire have an animal that it feels is better suited for this task, the Norb will happily accept it for consideration if it is provided with an adequate number of specimens to breed. On that topic, that is the nature of the discussion with which I wish to have with you. The Norb would like to strengthen trade agreements with the Jiptohr Empire, focusing on the Outpost Tritos System."
Caroline - Medbay
"Standard morphine package acquired," Bobby said, finding a morphine in the medicine supply cabinet. Reaching for the applicator, he approached Yeslah. "Applying medication now," he said.
edited 11th Jun '14 3:53:27 PM by nman
Charles chuckled and smiled, something that did seem unbefitting his weathered face. "Trust me, I know that feeling. It was very strong n me too when I first came here, I felt that I ought to be out there with my men, but I guess you canno't rebuild a country with guns alone."
For the Horde!
Tranquility
"You are most insightful, Solar-kin," Koruuna told him with a nod, turning towards him. "How long has your people been a member of the Galactic Nations?" she asked him. "I am interested to learn about your kind. I have always found humans intriguing."
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.
Attitude is prohibited
[Tranquility]
Strange. Thought Mnhiri. If outsiders aren't allowed on Heiwa, why did I get brochure advertising travel to there? I guess it must have been a scam... Good thing I didn't buy into it.
"I can't say I've ever been to Society space before, much less in orbit around Heiwa." She said. "Honestly, I haven't travelled as much as I would have liked to. I mean, I've been abroad, but that was mostly while I was still in the military." She sighed. "And even then, it was always just following trade convoys around, deterring pirates and such. We never stopped anywhere interesting." She frowned, briefly, and sipped some champagne from the glass she was holding. She hadn't liked the taste at first, but it was starting to grow on her... Though, she considered that this might only be because she was currently halfway through her second glass.
"Say, have you ever been to Izera, Tebigon?"
Not entirely dead.
Tranquility - With Mnhiri
Tebigon wondered about the credentials of a galactic ambassador who had not seen much of the galaxy, but kept his concerns to himself. "There is an old story among my people," he said instead. "A young man joins the fleet to see the galaxy, but he spends almost all his time on the ship. Eventually he goes up to the captain and says, 'Captain, I joined the Imperial Fleet to see the galaxy, but I have been cooped up on this ship for three months and all I have seen is empty space.' The captain looks at him and replies, 'Son, 99.9% of the galaxy is empty space. Welcome to the Imperial Fleet."
"As a matter of fact, I did visit Izera right after the Republic's war. I was party to a deal with the local systems to provide relief efforts for the refugees coming from Kaladia."
Tranquility - With Rufus
The Prince was sorry that he had asked. It took all his effort to keep from cutting off the Norb with a hasty, "Nevermind!" but after Core Condition 4 he lost track of what was being said. Until the ambassador mentioned the Outpost Tritos System.
"What of it?" Saleen hissed.
Space Colony Tranquility, Sol System
"Terraforming efforts are underway in the system, and with the distances and quantities involved with post-atmospherization life introduction, it would be more efficient to import flora and fauna from a nearby system than from another Norb system," Rufus replied to the Prince. "Additionally, there has been significant exchange in the past with Earth-origin nations, the Norb would like to contract with another of the galaxy's residents for this endeavor in the interest of biodiversity. As another consequence of its distance from the rest of Norb space, transportation efficiency for extracted materials is sub-optimal for national delivery. Many of its Ports now house mining, smelting, and extracting equipment that would be better served transporting metals and composites to the nearby systems of neighboring nations."
Caroline — Erruan
Erruan shifted her head slightly to regard Cwec'hŷr. Despite the fact her face was hidden by her helmet, he might have gotten the distinct impression she was staring at him blankly. "Nnnno. I'm going into this blind, just like you. Not ideal, but I'm used to it."
Silently, she hoped Cwec'hŷr would be able to handle whatever awaited them. A short while later, the armour clad Sirian came to a halt outside of the medbay. "...It's all yours. Unless you have something you want to know, that is."
Locking you up on radar since '09