[b][u]Enolopi System, HSC Date 1323 @ HMT 13:27[/u][/b]
Stubby fingers clad in crystal manipulated the golden light of the holographic interface, hovering a steady meter above the ground, projected from the helmet protecting the fingers' owner. Commander Stehlruh'Coluk das Cyrus- the Shipmaster of the HHWS [i]Cyrus[/i], a Stern-class Destroyer- was a reputable Shipmaster under the command of one of the better-armed exploration fleets. Technically, there are multiple strike groups accompanying a primary fleet that's escorting several science ships, which are taking samples and scanning every planet, planetoid, asteroid, or moon they come across. So far, two more systems out of four had been marked for future colonization and militarization, due to the richness of iridium, platinum, and titanium, among other precious metals. 

This was the sixth system to be explored, and the forward scout- the [i]Cyrus[/i]- had stumbled upon the readings of a foreign FTL drive- because an FTL drive seemed to take anywhere between a second and fifteen minutes to 'port anywhere- just before a very foreign ship launched itself out of its FTL bubble. The [i]Cyrus[/i]'s scanners swept the ship, before sending an immediate message that was- for them- universal, saying "Stand down, as we are." The [i]Cyrus[/i] propelled itself faster, darting under the ship and continuing on and away, obviously aiming to get away from what was designated as the 'instant death' zone. This was primarily due to close range- faster missiles, railguns, beams, any weapon would strike instantly, rather than the minute or two it'd take to cross vast distances to hit another ship at Hocklyn optimal firing range. 

Thirty-eight hundred thousand kilometers away, the ships of the fleet received a ping from their forward scout- alien contact was just made, and no reply to their message had been sent. Scientists aboard the science ships gathered into groups and talked excitedly, completely leaving out the aggravated xenogeologists and xenobiologists. Work was left hanging in the light of first contact, and the entire fleet changed course, moving towards the foreign ship at speeds that one person could not possibly understand the scope of. Four strike fleets- all of them acting as scouts- were spaced about the fleet, another thirteen thousand kilometers away from the flagship. 

The fleet of nearly three hundred ships moved toward the solitary foreign one, a terrifying force, and horrible odds.

[b][u]Huenster System, Hocklyn Home System, HSC Date 1323 @ HMT 13:31[/u][/b]
Footsteps would've echoed in the Capital Hall's main Central Corridor, had it not been one of the most consistently and constantly used corridors in the building, always filled with a variety of species- the Hocklyns and their underlings, the Lixo, Starr ayaa Wiilashii, and the Lovci, three of seven races that had been found and enslaved to the Hocklyn Empire. The Lixo, Wiilashii, and Lovci were all races that had long since accepted their place- being the first three to be conquered- and were now obedient citizens, considered full-fledged members of society- even though the poorest Hocklyn had a higher social standing.

Nonetheless, the spiky lanky Lovci hurried down the hall, pushing past other aliens inside the administrative building. Important news had come from one of the exploration fleets; it had to be delivered and distributed as soon as possible, and it was his job, as one of the Hierach's personal staff. 

He burst through a set of doors directly off the Corridor, four Hocklyn bristling from the opposite side of the room, raising offline hilts of their energy swords, before relaxing as they recognized the Lovci. The messenger quickly flashed his identification at the two guards, who nodded and let him through without a word. 

The Hocklyn behind the door, more machine than he was Hocklyn, looked up, impassive, mechanical eyes staring out from the four cameras implanted in the creature's head. The gaze burned into the Lovci's head, glaring at the servant as he approached and deposited a datapad on the thick nanotech metal desk. Almost as if by mind, the pad slid across the desk to just in front of the Hocklyn, where the Hierarchy member picked it up and read the information on it. 

Artificial eyebrows went up- a dozen small metal plates on the lower section of the Hocklyn's face started vibrating against each other, and out came an advanced, very fancy speech of synthesized words, made using the [i]click[/i]ing, [i]clack[/i]ing, and the rattling of the voiceplates. 

[i]"My... thanks, Lovci. You have been cleared for promotion. As you are my new assistant, and you... shall be my Second. Congratulations on your promotion. Report to the Armorer and get your new outfit, now!"[/i]

Then the Hocklyn was 'shouting' for his guards, who rushed in, alert. They relaxed slightly, before the Hocklyn shouted at them in a different language, and then rushed out of the room, clearly responding to the message in a most dramatic manner.

Perturbed and relieved at how well the encounter with the Hocklyn went, the Lovci went to get his new uniform, as per instructions.