[hr] [center][h1][color=007236]The Conference[/color][/h1][/center] [center][h3][color=00a651]The Zandor Citadel[/color][/h3][/center] [center][h3][color=00a651]Location Classified[/color][/h3][/center] [hr] [indent]On the top floor of the Citadel was a circular room, the walls of which recently replaced with three foot thick Ocularium, allowing those within to see out, yet seeming like no more than a metallic surface from an outside perspective. From inside the room was a spectacular view of jungle canopy and mountain ranges in all direction, as the pastel hues of dawn made its spread across the sky. Chief General of Commands, Bundaris Stras, sat at the round Darkwood table in his polished shoes, pressed grey suit, white shirt and a black tie that matched his perfectly combed hair. His green eyes held a naturally intense stare, totters upon by a single thick line of brow hair. He held firm to his ideal posture, back straight, Jawline horizontal, both hands rested in loose fists on the table while inspecting the faces of other subordinate officers in his company, all of whom were dressed in their military uniforms and staring back with eyes of speculative anticipation. “First order of business!” Bundaris’s voice belted out with its usual commanding roar. “Situation of nations! First nation of interest: [b]Auclairé![/b]” Never quite getting used to the intimidating presence of Bundaris, Leading Commander of International Surveillance, Eris Falt, recovered the best he could from the Chief’s sudden outburst, readjusting to find comfort in his seat, before replying; “Nothing of direct influence to us, but the latest images provided from Orbiter 5. suggest the pending deployment of a warship from their Southern Port. Reasons for the deployment are unknown, Sir. However, ZIM (Zandor Intelligence Ministry) speculates that it may have something to do with the Auclairé vessel we spoke of in our last meeting -” Bundaris holds up one hand to interject. “Is it just me, or does thinking about Auclairé make others hungry as well?” “It’s probably due to the name sounding vaguely familiar to a Chocolate Éclair, Sir,” Darmin Wyn, the head advisor to the Morale Division suggested; “Those pastry creams are very tasty.” “Indeed!” Bundaris agreed sternly. “I like the custard center ones.” One of the female officers added. “I’d just die for one of those right now.” “Enough!” Bundaris said, and slammed his hand back down on the table. Getting back to business, he takes his intense glare to the 2nd minister of defence, Pomella Hik, a pretty blond young woman, saying; “Have two of our vessels at the ready. If the Auclairé vessel happens to breach our waters for whatever reason, I don’t want to be sitting around with our thumbs up our ass.” “Military assault vessels, Sir?” Pomella asked, fluttering her eyelashes at the Chief. “What are you, stupid, woman?” Bundaris asked her with a derisive scowl. “We aren’t at war with Auclairé. Why the hell would we use Assault vessels to greet a nation that’s never shown hostility toward us?” “I’m very sorry.” Pomella replied in a dying voice as she shrunk in her seat. “A couple of standard Coast Guard Ships will do just fine.” Bundaris added. “And be sure you make no contact unless they actually breach our waters or otherwise make contact with us. Is that clear? We have our own business to attend to.” She gives a timid nod to confirm.[/indent] [hr] [indent]“Next Order of business!” Bundaris thundered. “The [b]federation[/b]!” “Nothing to report, sir.” Eris speaks up again, referring to the information on his little electronic notepad device. “Latest reports indicate the entire Federation has mysteriously become inactive over the last few days.” “Very well.” The Chief turned his head thoughtfully for a moment. “Keep orbiter 2. Surveillance ongoing. Nothing more.” “Understood.”[/indent] [hr] [indent]“Now for [b]The Lanist Khaganate[/b]!” Bundaris lowered his voice an octave with speculation. “I received reports of turmoil near their Eastern borders. Can anyone confirm?” “Can confirm!” The first minister of Defence, Dug Stine, spoke up, his brown googly eyes almost popping from his head as he lurched forward in his seat with excitement. “Orbiter 4. Confirmed nuclear detonation East of their border.” “Are you being serious with me right now?” Chief Bundaris glared at Dug with a slightly perturbed glower. “They set off a nuclear warhead? I thought only Listirine occupied that area of land. Are they using that area as a nuclear testing ground or something? Someone should inform them to conduct that sort of activity farther from their home, or preferably not at all.” “No-no-no!” Dug said, shaking his head dramatically, “From what we can tell they were actually at war with the Listirine. We have reason to believe The Khaganate are looking to expand into that area of land.” “Well then,” Bundaris remarked with a solid chuckle, “Someone should instead inform the Khaganate that it probably isn’t worth their trouble. That land would be riddles vast miles of Listirine holes. Very unstable for building on.” “And one even bigger hole now,” Dug confirmed with a smile, “a nuclear blast tends to have that effect unstable ground.” “Then be sure to keep tabs on their progress.” Bundaris continued to chuckle while several others in the room laughed along. “And be sure to send me personalized images of their efforts in filling that hole!” The room broke out into laughter. “But seriously!” Bundaris thundered once again. The room suddenly fell silent. “I don’t like the idea of nuclear weapons being used on this planet unless deemed absolutely necessary.” He smooths his hand over his perfectly groomed hair, and adds; “We have enough problems without having to worry about radiation floating around in the atmosphere.” “Absolutely!” Desli Bash, secretary of Defense spoke up with a sharp nod of her head and slapped her hand on the table. “I’ll be sure to send them a transmission stating our concerns on the matter.” “You’ll do nothing of the sort!” The Chief barked at her, then turned his attention back to Dug; “Just continue surveillance at this point. Keep me apprised of their efforts. If they continue to use nuclear power beyond that of reasonable assessment, we can think about offering them a more suitable compromise to assist their goals.” “Understood!” Both Dug and Desli confirmed at once. “But there’s just one other thing.” Dug added, waving his hand about fiercely; “The Khaganate have constructed some variety of massive land vessel. Just thought it might be best that we're all aware of that.” Bundaris looked at the man suspiciously, and asked in a flattening tone; “…What sort of massive variety of Land Vessel?” “The big kind, sir.” Dug replied with a smirk. “Our reconnaissance department informs us that they refer to the vessel as a Landship. It is literally the size of a decent city. Heavily armed. Well armored.” “What in all of creation do they need something like that for, Officer Dug?” Bundaris was raising his voice again. “We aren’t entirely sure.” Dug answered, then bit his lip with disappointed for his lack of knowledge. Bundaris glared at the officer for a moment, and said. “Then be sure to find out.” “Absolutely.” Dug said, edging back in his seat. “Understood.”[/indent] [hr] [indent]“Next order of Business!” Bundaris thundered again. “[b]Unidentified Flying Objects[/b]! Now what the hell is going on with this situation?” The Minister of Space Exploration and Alternative Science - a young man by the name of Wol Monti, with an greatly exaggerated overbite and glasses - stood up to formally address the Chief, saying; “Chief Bundaris, Sir. As you know, the unidentified objects entered our atmosphere some days ago. We now have reason to believe they are of extra-terrestrial origin and have established a colony of sorts many miles South East of Khaganate territory. Our most recent records also indicate that one of their vessels are on rout to the Federation, another is headed toward that strange organization known as [b]Alfieque’s Army[/b]. We however have no idea of their intentions, Sir.” “Sit down, Wol.” The Chief advised sternly. “This isn’t a classroom.” “Understood, sir.” Wol complied and retook his seat. Chief Bundaris looked out at the view of the jungle covered mountains as he considered the information for a while. Taking his attention back to Wol he shook his head firmly, and told him: “Do nothing. Continue Surveillance for now. Under no circumstances will you attempt initiate contact with them. Keep me informed of any and all changes. That’s all.” “But… little green men, Sir!” Wol objected, removing his glasses with the glimmer of hope being dashed from his eyes. “How can we not do som–“ “Enough!” Bundaris hammered his fist on the table in all seriousness. “We don’t know if they’re little green men! They may be pink for all we know!” “I’m terribly sorry, sir!” Wol recoiled in his seat. “I’ll never presume such a thing again.” “Besides…” Bundaris added, adjusting his tie to regain composure. “We have enough unknown concerns to deal with in our own backyard. We’ll deal with anything else when it becomes necessary. Not before.” “Understood….” Wol replied timidly, returning his glasses to his face.[/indent] [hr] [indent]“Now, for the business we’ve all been waiting for!” Bundaris said, clapping his hands together. Everyone in the room shot forward in their seats, eyes gaping in suspense as he continued his final announcement – “Detec 1. Successfully entered orbit overnight. It is as we speak processing a vast range of dimensional images of the Badlands! Within hours from now, and for the first time in the history of our Empire, we will have a clear and present idea of just what we are dealing with!” Applause took the room in a roar, and Bundaris rested smugly back in his seat, allowing his officers to settle down again before completing his report. “Now, don’t get too excited just yet.” He told them as they lowered into their seats again. “We still have a lot of work to do. But there’s no doubt in my mind that our next meeting will consist of strategies to retrieve our missing people from Vos and bring them back home safe again. Failing that….” He concluded, taking note of each face as he looked around the room, “…in the possibility that we find there’s no one left to save, I suppose our next meeting will be comprised of a more… aggressive plan of action.”[/indent] [hr] [center][h1][color=007236]Hiatus[/color][/h1][/center] [center]One and a half years ago, Her Eminence Goaldinhoe’s sanctioning of the movement to find her missing people by any means possible gave birth to a great number of revolutionary developments. The following is an example of one such technology.[/center] [center][h3][color=00a651]Second Instalment of Visual and Sensory[/color][/h3][/center] [hr] [indent][indent][b][color=00a651]Perceptic Telefusion:[/color][/b] Primarily used for military and government projects, Perceptic Telefusion is the name given to Zandor’s Cloaking Technology. It was developed, as fate would have it, by an elderly Zandorian commoner by the name of Percep Covort. Perceptic Telefusion is basically a type of electronic interface which is conducted via plasma relay systems, designed to read and extrapolate data from a specified radius around its host, while simultaneously using light refraction, sonic interference and reflective heat intervention to recreate the visual and sensory display of said radius, thus causing its host to appear invisible by visual, sonic and heat sensory means. [color=00a651]On a side note:[/color] After living a long life as a simple commoner, Percept Covort was lifted in ranks to Senior Science Official of the Zandor Empire on account of his invention. He passed away two weeks later. May he rest in peace.[/indent][/indent]