[center][h2] - The Rock, Arcadian Orbit - [/h2][/center]
[center][@WrongEndoftheRainbow][/center]

Sensors were still reeling from the unexpected dimensional fissure. A large portion of the Rock's sensor system had been dedicated to detecting the strange energies that were now associated with the Pop-In Effect, a temporary nickname for the mysterious phenomenon that brought beings of power to Arcadia. While usually occupied with detecting the small blips representing individual appearances and the larger blips marking the appearance of small groups the entire 3D representation of Arcadia seemed to explode in bright technicolour as the nearest techmarine frantically tapped away at the many nearby consoles. It took five minutes to ascertain that the system was not in fact overloading and another ten to discover that all of Arcadia hadn't spontaneously been covered in extra-dimensional algae. In fact the effects that had been picked up from Arcadia were the shockwave, so to speak, of what was undoubtedly the most large-scale transportation yet. It seemed that thousands of space vessels had spontaneously appeared all over the solar system, pulled in from another universe. This of course simply caused even more uproar and the disruption of the norm had the usually stunningly efficient and quiet workplace of the Rock filled with shouts of dismay and bustling Servitors.

The Rock, of course, was the name for the Dark Angels space-bound Fortress Monastery. It's name was derived from it's abnormal method of construction, in fact the entire base had been built into a giant meteor. The meteor had previously served as the mobile HQ of the Dark Angels chapter as they sailed across the galaxy, and now served as the primary home of the New Imperium's space-bound forces. It was also responsible for monitoring both the surface of Arcadia and the rest of the solar system, which was achieved with a rather impressive array of sensor equipment. Overseeing these dual duties was Supreme Grand Master Azrael, leader of the Dark Angels Chapter and the Fleet Admiral of the New Imperium, the third most powerful individual within the Imperium. The man who at this moment found his patience being tested as he quieted the room down, and with a few orders prepared the station to engage these strangers. Should they prove, as he suspected, to be merely confused strangers, they would be diplomatically engaged with. Should this, however, be some sort of mass attack from one of the other factions the station and local fleet would be fully prepared to counter, even against the truly overwhelming number of ships this new force appeared to be composed of.

It was soon discovered that, while large, this fleet was clearly in disarray. Nearby ships moved closer together while ships further away aimlessly circled around. To add to this they were all sending out signals like crazy in all directions, seemingly attempting to communicate with random patches of dirt on a variety of planets. A surprisingly small number of said ships actually sent signals towards Arcadia, which was odd considering Arcadia was clearly the only habitable place in the solar system. The Rock was able to intercept a number of such signals, but they lacked the knowledge to translate the concentrated bundles of light into data. In order to do this they would have needed to know the specific 'cipher' used for translation, although a rigorous decoding effort by the adeptus mechanicus might have been able to discover the cipher in time. Even then the actual messages were probably also encrypted, standard military protocol. And whatever race or time these ships were from, they were certainly military, many of them bearing flags and guns on their design. Azrael decided the best way to gain information about these figures was the old-fashioned way, and he designated the recently returned crew of the Devastation, an Imperial Battle Cruiser, to go say hi to the largest cluster of ships, currently orbiting Jupiter.

[hr]

Once more Captain Dromari set off on his vessel, the Devastation. It was a fairly standard vessel by Imperial measure, a Mars-class Battle Cruiser, and billions of it's like had been deployed across the galaxy. Even the relatively understocked New Imperium still had a couple more of these flexible standard ships, hence why it was these that were sent out on important missions. However, to the USN Fleet Jovian the ship would be an astounding sight indeed. Measuring at over 5km in length the ship mounted a large variety of weapons, ranging from the immense 100m Nova Canon on it's front to the Macro Canon batteries that formed it's main offensive arsenal. The ship's design was also completely alien to them. Instead of the practical smooth metal hulls of conventional spacecraft this lumbering vessel sported cathedral-like towers and external metal decoration in some strange sci-fi gothic style. Like a flying cathedral fused with battleship and a small city, and this abomination now sailed across the gulf of space towards them. Perhaps the most surprising of all was the heavily armoured prow which seemed completely unnecessary, until one realised it was designed for ramming enemy ships. Certainly this ship would look like a thing of fantasy and myth to the estranged and confused astronauts, although it's immense size and equally immense weapons granted it a certain aura of intimidation that simply cannot be achieved without overwhelming firepower.

Doing nothing to dispel this initial aura of mystification was the fact that the first communication from the alien vessel was via psychic powers. Several of the ship's technicians and officers would have a mild headache as a voice identifying itself only as One Among Many intruded upon their minds, demanding all knowledge pertaining to the USN's communications system. While lacking the power to forcibly extract such information over such a distance the telepaths responsible were soon rewarded for their efforts, as the simple officers lacked the training to shield their thoughts and many actively thought of such things even as they were being probed. Soon the nearest USN ships would receive radio signals dictating that they were to identify themselves, and demanding contact with their leaders. Through this simple method of communication the immense ship identified itself only as being a vessel of the Imperium of Man. Further information would require active communication from the Fleet Admiral. And should the Fleet Admiral not spread order quickly, it was quite possible that a frightened ship captain would do something unfortunate.