[b]Sol[/b]
Fergus simply stared for what seemed like an eternity, and tears began to fall from his eyes. He took a few moment to regain his composure, then spoke in a monotone voice.

"The Council trusts me. Bring me to Earth, if I tell them that I'm one of you, then they'll stand down their forces. There is, however, the problem of your appearance. You take the form of mythical creatures from a religion with thousands of violent fanatics. We have been trying to deal with them for some time, but victory can only come from their complete extermination. As long as one exists, they will indoctrinate more. Once the treaty is signed, will you help us take them down?"

[b]Saturn Orbit, Sol[/b]
Detecting the vessel entering the system, the 5th Sol Defense Fleet made a burn for the intruder. A few hours later, the fleet emerged right behind the vessel. A warning shot was fired from the command vessel, a stream of molten metal traveling at 90% of light speed. A message was sent as well, coming directly from the fleet's Admiral.

"This is Admiral Seòras of the United Terran Federation Fifth Fleet. You will pull into orbit of the ringed gas giant and submit to inspection. Failure to comply will be considered a declaration of allegiance to the invaders, and your vessel will be destroyed."

[b]Paris, France. UTF Capital City[/b]
"So that's what you were doing with all those resources!"

The Councilman in charge of the Wings of Gliese stood on a catwalk, staring out at a vast underground hangar occupied by a three-hundred meter spacecraft. It was bristling with odd weapons, and lacked any sort of launch system. On each side of the bow the words "[i]Försvarere av Humanity[/i]" could be seen. The ten weapons turrets protruded from all sides of the stark-white hull, each one had the appearance of a normal Naval cannon. Countless windows covered the hull, sparks visible through them as workers completed welding the internal fixtures in place. Two heavily armed guards accompanied him, holding prototype laser rifles.

"That name is in Gliesean, sir." Said a man in a lab coat bearing the seal of the Wings of Gliese. "It means 'Defender of Humanity'. It seemed appropriate."

"What are those weapons? I've never seen them."

"She is, Sir. The weapons are Near-Lightspeed Argon Plasma Enhanced Kinetic Impact Accelerators. We like to call them Shock Cannons. They fire bursts of argon plasma at speeds up to twice that of a standard railgun using highly advanced mass accelerator technology."

"And this ship has ten of them?"

"Yes, but that isn't the strongest weapon on the vessel. It is equipped with a Tachyon Bombardment Lance. I won't go into details, but it fires a beam of FTL tachyon particles siphoned from the ship's drive core. In the simulations, this thing destroyed Australia with a single shot from orbit."

"The Drive Core? Then wouldn't it fire argon plasma? Wait... you didn't..."

"Yes we did. The [i]Försvarere av Humanity[/i] is capable of faster than light travel. The Drive Core produces tachyon particles as a by-product of negative mass/energy creation. It's cruising speed is 1000c."

"Negative energy? I thought that was limited at 10c, you know, like the messages."

"Not if you have this much of the stuff. Sir, she's not fully furnished, but we've set up temporary bunks. We're asking permission to launch her, Earth needs this ship or else we're all dead... or worse. The aliens seem to be using non-lethal weapons. Either they are having mercy, or they want test subjects and slaves. As is our policy here, we must assume the worst."

"Do you know if these weapons will work against their shields?"

"Our fighters opened a hole in their shields using a coordinated assault with all ammunition used. This ship should be able to take them straight down. Unfortunately, we have no idea how to create anything but a plasma window shield, and that would be completely useless against directed energy weapons, as well as other plasma devices. We feel like simple armor is the only choice. Please, this ship is our only chance."

"If you believe it, then the launch is authorized. Your actions will have to be publicized though, are you sure humanity is ready?"

"You'll have to be."