[b]Nouvelle[/b]
"Our communications technology is extremely slow compared to theirs. We don't even know the outcome of that first battle yet. As for the Embassy offer, we accept it. The moment I can, I'll get a message to High Command."

She turned to the Valkians, smiling despite what they had said about genocide.

"Nobody can avoid wrongdoing, no matter how heinous the crime, there is always a way to balance out your actions. That, if you ask me, is what the life of a Terran is: A quest for redemption. It doesn't matter if you aren't actively searching it either, because eventually, you'll find it. That's what I believe, anyway."

Turning back to Queen Sabine, she continued to smile, but it was clear that she was trying to decide on something.

"We too, pledge to protect your people, though we are simply incapable of assisting to the extent the Valkians are offering. We're a backwater nation in this galaxy, caught up in problems meant for a civilization far more powerful than us. Still, as I said earlier, we exist to seek redemption. Our offer of protection still stands, and while we may not be anywhere near the power of the other civilizations, we have a habit of pulling off impossible feats. As for questions... what do your people do for entertainment?"

[b]TSS [i]Alcubierre[/i][/b]
"XO, two probe-sized signatures have been detected leaving at escape velocity. Both were launched from the Valkian fleet, given the info we're being fed, they're probably not weapons."

"If they're not weapons, then what the hell are they?"

"Ladar isn't that great since we're in-atmo, but scans suggest that they're simple comm drones."

"Interesting, the Valkians don't use quantum transmitters. Perhaps they don't have FTL data transmission?"

"Their ship drives could just be faster. Still, it's good to know. It seems nobody else has done much research into quantum physics, we should have the data on quantum physics transferred to physical documents. When you combine our knowledge of reality with the magic of an entire species..."

Shuddering at the thought, the Captain finished for him.

"Such a civilization would be omnipotent."

Another crew member joined in, a look of shock on her face.

"We were never meant to have such knowledge."

[b]Oort Cloud, Sol[/b]
"No sign of of alien vessels, Captain."

It was a sentence spoken every day for the past few months, and every day it was harder to speak. Oxygen was running out, and everyone knew it. Half of the lights on the bridge were shut off in a vain attempt to spare enough power for electrolysis. All the CO2 scrubbers had been replaced with makeshift contraptions, the originals floating around the zero-g environment of the ship. The controls were covered in ice, and everyone wore a spacesuit (without the helmet) simply to keep warm. The ship was the a destroyer, sent to find the origin of the portal that had appeared on Pluto so long ago. It was pathetic, that such a ship would lose to the foe of nature. 

"Dammit... deactivate ladar, too much power."

"Ladar deactivated, switching to radar viewing."

Suddenly, the lights came back on, as did the heat. Water started to drip from the controls as the ice melted, most were too happy about the return of moisture to realize what had just happened. On the main screen, the engineering officer appeared.

"We've managed to convert Reactors 26 through 51 to uranium generation, that should give us enough power to bring life support back online. We're working on the rest, we might just be able to get WarpComm and full combat capability back online."

"I heard about the net connection." Said the Captain "That entangled particle transmitter cost a billion credits to install, it's a shame the compartment was depressurized."

"We couldn't have manipulated the damn things anyways, the magnets were fried. Right now, I'd just be happy to get a cup of wh-"

"Bogey off the port bow! Course suggests recent heavy burn or an origin point of Alpha Centauri, it has a radar signature suggest dreadnought size!"

"Can we open a short range channel with our radio?"

"Yes Sir, but we don't have any guarantee that-"

"Open a channel, now!"

"Channel open!"

The Captain picked up the bridge microphone, speaking into it as he looked at the main screen, which now displayed an image of empty space.

"This is Commander Quidel of the spacecraft [i]Antiman[/i], United Terran Federation. If you have come to do anything but fight, help us! We've been here for so long, and all because those damn bureaucrats on Charon won't tell anyone about the attack! Our ship is falling apart, and our comms are down, please, we'll do anything!"

[b]Utopia Planitia Shipyards[/b]
Holographic displays filled the room, with dozens of people speaking into microphones as they directed departing and arriving spacecraft. Engineers sat in front of dormant displays, wearing neural link helmets as they operated worker drones. Through the windows, a gigantic vessel could be seen in construction. It was a new dreadnought, Norway-Class just like the other two recently built ones. Other drydocks could be seen off in the distance, building mostly Russia-Class battlecruisers, Poland-Class escorts, and Britan-Class carriers. All of them were part of the new FTL-Capable military doctrine, the point being to reduce maintenance costs by making it possible to station one fleet per system instead of one fleet per colony. The new classes were modular, but not with the intent of quick adaptation. Instead, they were designed to provide for easy upgrades in the event of a military technology breakthrough. 

The current defense fleet was being phased out by the new vessels, with most new ships being constructed out of salvaged materials. In fact, swarms of nanobots controlled by hundreds of specially trained personnel broke down the old vessels and assembled new ones in a matter of weeks, the operators having been born to parents genetically modified to be capable of controlling nanobot swarms without losing the ability to control a human body. They were the result of a major genetic modification program started by The District with the purpose of creating soldiers capable of controlling military nanobot swarms. Since the war ended before these individuals were reading novels, they never had the chance to be enslaved, instead earning the right to choose their profession. Since automated swarms were a safety risk, many decided to enter construction careers so they could prevent a "grey goo" situation.

They were considered wonders of genetic modification, with their brains being incredibly dense to allow them to control two vastly different "bodies". Due to their increased brain density, internal organs were optimized, the heart and lungs were vastly more powerful than those of a normal human. Muscle density was also increased, due to fears of the head being too heavy for the neck to support. Even with their original purpose, great care had been taken to ensure that their drastic genetic differences could still mesh with those of a normal human, allowing reproduction. Every hybrid child's DNA was analyzed the moment fertilization was confirmed, with any complications being immediately taken out of the child's DNA.

Despite the differences, every one of them looked somewhat normal. The only noticeable difference was a slightly larger head, resulting in rare birth complications where the brain was not as dense as originally planned. Surgery had to be performed at the moment of birth to fix such problems, but there were no recorded deaths from the complication, and every patient went on to live a normal life. This physical difference was hardly ever noticed, and the only thing rarer was a reaction to noticing it. The latter was the result of a more tolerant society being combined with a complete ban on "geneism", a crime which usually resulted in a hefty fine.

Among all of this, two people stood in a sealed-off room, observing the construction of the new dreadnought. One of them was a middle-aged man, one of the genetically-modified. He popped a pill into his mouth, swallowing a gulp of pristine water with it. A badge on his white suit showed that he was a high-ranking member of the Diplomatic Corps, though it was partially obscured by his long, blonde hair. Looking over to the other person in the room, an old woman wearing a military uniform with no lack of medals, he broke the silence.

"So, why did you bring me here, Admiral?" He said in an official tone. "You know I take rerouting meds, so I assume you didn't just need someone to fill in for a sick nanobot operator."

"Of course not, nanobot operator can't get sick. The modified antibodies and white blood cells take care of all known diseases." She replied, teasing him. Sighing-but smiling-at her joke, he continued.

"You know what I mean, so seriously, why am I here?"

"I'm giving you the [i]Iceland[/i] the moment she's finished." She said, gesturing to the ship in construction. "We're giving it negative mass tanks instead of a cargo bay."

"Excuse me, but I'm in the Diplomatic Corps, we don't command dreadnoughts."

She laughed at his comment, an action to which he responded with a quizzical stare. After composing herself, she stopped toying with him and gave him a straight answer.

"Not in battle, you don't. It'll be a temporary assignment, and an exploratory one as well. The purpose of your mission will be to make first contact with other civilizations and hopefully make some friends. What better way to earn someone's trust than having a Diplomat commanding the mission?"

"In a multi-kilometer dreadnought with a four-pronged railgun running down it's spine?"

"It's an exploration mission, we [i]want[/i] you to look like you're ready for war. It could pacify a hostile species, and earn us the favor of one that honors strength. If the new contact is closer to our own culture, you simply explain that the galaxy is unknown to us and we're being cautious."

"Then why are you sending a Diplomatic Corps officer as the captain?"

"Oh, you'll be supported by military and scientific personnel as well. Besides, you're one of the few people who chose to take these meds." She said, picking up the pill bottle. "They take all of that brain power meant for nanobot control and put it wherever you want, and these are critical thinking meds. You're basically a top-level tactician, even though you have no experience. If you don't feel confident, then your XO can always take control during a battle."

"Well, it's not like I can disobey this order." He responded, taking the pill bottle out of her hands and putting it back into his suitcase. "I'll get ready."

"On the contrary, you can refuse the assignment it you want."

After a short silence, he smiled confidently and began walking towards the door.

"Like I would do that!"

"I had a feeling you would say that." She said as he walked out of the door into the control room, dropping off a paper packet at one of the engineer's stations before her entered the elevator and descended towards the zero-g core of the station. 

[b]Epsilon Indi Colony, Report[/b]
=Decoding Data Bursts=
=Trial-and-Error Piecing Initiated=
=Piecing Complete, Displaying Message=
"The fifth shipment arrived safely, we're a full-blown city now. Orbital defenses are online, and we've fielded twenty interplanetary patrol vessels. All the clones are healthy and happy, a few were sent back with the transport this time, but most chose to stay. Farming of Terran crops is underway in the agricultural biosphere, but the plants and animals outside are actually edible. However, we have come across trouble while hunting. The prey will often get away and be found hours later, dead, and the only body parts missing are usually the head, horns, tusks... things you'd put above a mantle. I'm not ruling out odd feeding habits or instinctual stockpiling, but to me, it looks like sport hunting. If that's what it is, then we're dealing with a civilization, and one that has gunpowder already. The planet is mostly light forests, especially on our continent. However, on the nearest one to ours, there's a lot of dense rainforest, lots of things that could conceal a settlement. Judging by the fact that we didn't see any lights from orbit, they're probably native, if they exist of course. We won't need any soldiers sent here though, the clones are enough, and our weapons technology is vastly superior. I suggest continued expansion in this system, more transports should be sent to this planet to build new cities, and the outposts we currently have on the two moons of this planet and the nearest other would should be expanded into cities as soon as possible. We could use some nanobot operators too, it would greatly speed up development. Epsilon Indi out."
=End of Message=

[b][REDACTED], Sol System[/b]
Two men wearing hazmat suits stood in a dark room, the only light being the faint glow of the salvaged Iscandarian device in front of them.

"I'm picking up expected radiation, can you confirm?"

"Affirmative, K-Rays are being emitted. Begin molecular scan."

A ray of blue light protruded from two tablets they were holding, and data appeared on their dim displays.

"My god... the speed of light withing the bubble..."

"It's 1.59c! There's something else too... these readings are impossible! It's defying the law of conservation of mass!"

An object began to appear in front of them, glowing with a red haze. It shifted form constantly, eventually settling on a form reminiscent of the paintings of M.C. Escher.

"Odd, it ended up as an optical illusion."

One of the two men walked to one side, and immediately froze.

"No it didn't."

"Can't you see it? It's a classic staircase illusion." 

"I can see it, it just isn't an illusion."

The other man rushed over to inspect it, and found that he was right. He began to feel an intense pain in his head as he attempted to processes the image. Both of them looked away from the object, their hearts beating faster and faster. Outside of the room, medical personnel reached for the button that would knock them both out. Luckily, once they looked away, their vitals returned to normal as they began to calm down. Amazingly, the object disappeared the moment the looked away.

"That's not possible..." Said one of them, panting.

"What's happening now?' Said the other, who had turned around. Turning around with him, the man found that objects now appeared as a hazy circle, which constantly changed color in an oddly terrifying fashion. Lines protruded from the circles, almost looking like blurred strings. They had fixed colors, until one bumped into them, at which point they suddenly changed. The pulses of the two men jumped again, far higher than before. Their minds refused to comprehend the sight, even though it seemed so simple. They began to sweat profusely, all the while their heads felt as though they were splitting open.

"HELP US!" Cried out both of them at the same time, their voices distorted into gibberish by the time they were transmitted to the medical personnel. They began to band on the strings and circles, only to be met with a horrible, unnatural noise. It wasn't like anything else, and it only added to the terrible sensation in their heads. The moment the noise began, both of them suddenly felt extreme pain across their entire body, as if they had just died a trillion times in every imaginable way. They tried to clutch their heads, but found that they were no longer heads. Instead, they had taken on the same form as every other object, a circle with blurred strings stretching out horizontally. Both of them processed the information as their heads being spaghettified in a black hole, and the pain became beyond description.

Outside of the room, the medical personnel immediately slammed the button, but nothing changed. The distorted, unnatural voices from the two men began to affect them as well, and they too began to feel intense pain in their heads as their brains tried and failed to process the noise. Immediately, they cut power to the device and brought the lights back on. Rushing into the room, they found the two men lying in the fetal position, their helmets having been wrestled off. But there was a horrifying sight as well, dozens of identical men were in the room as well, but they were fused together so closely that they formed a skin-colored floor, which pulled with the gravity of an entire planet. Nobody knew it, but none of those duplicates was ever alive, they were simply duplicates without any neural activity. The original two were perfectly fine, and laid atop the disgusting floor of clean flesh.

It didn't stay clean for long.

Upon the sight, everyone vomited. Calls for help were sent out, and eventually dozens of civilian and government ships had arrived at the isolated asteroid facility. The non-profit hospital ship [i]Nightingale[/i] volunteered to care for the personnel. Drones were sent out to collect them, as the messages had all told them to not even think about entering the facility. Once they had been brought aboard, the crew of the [i]Nightingale[/i] rushed to carry them to the beds, carrying some in stretchers and others by the shoulders. All but one of the two men was a gibbering mess, incapable of formulating any kind of logical thought.

"H-higher... we were never meant to see that... everything... we transcended... we did what was forbidden by the universe itself. Destroy... destroy the asteroid, no, no.. anhilliate the asteroid... leave only gamma radiation behind. We broke the law... we were punished... the bodies... fused... duplicates... future, past... humanity was never meant to know those sights, those sounds, those feelings. Annihilate it... now... no more, no, no, no, no!"

The crew desperately tried to calm them down, putting some into stasis just to stop them from literally dying of stress. Nobody knew exactly what happened, but after seeing their bodies disobeying hardwired reflexes to the point that they would die from the anxiety, nobody wanted to. The [i]Nightingale[/i] activated it's antimatter drive for a comfortable cruise back to Earth under the order of the only survivor who hadn't seen the room: the project manager. He demanded that they be taken to Alas Prime, refusing to give any explanation. 

[b]Sol[/b]
"I suppose we don't have a choice. Very well, we accept your terms fully."

Before she left, a loud ping from her tablet told her she had gotten orders from the Council itself. Her face changed from a defeated look to a horrified one, and she quickly turned to the Iscandarians.

"We have personnel that desperately require medical aid from your people, according to this message, they've been kept in stasis to prevent death from anxiety. Only one is reported to still be capable of logical thought, and all he said to them was that they did something he called 'forbidden by the universe itself'..."

As the continued to read, she dropped the tablet and put her hand to her mouth, making an unsettling noise with her throat. Given the physical similarities between humans and Iscandarians, she was holding back vomit.

"I... I can't understand how he's even possible of any thought at all after reading that. Please, you have to help these people. What they've seen... I think he was right when he said it was forbidden."