[center][h1][b][color=green]The Xandalian Republic[/color][/b][/h1] [i][h3]Commander's Office, Xandalian Gateway Station[/h3][/i] [h2]"The Descent"[/h2][/center] [hr] Commander Varitian sighed as he sat in his new office, one set up on the large military station that had been assembled and attached to the ancient Gateway in the last six months. Albeit 'attached' was rather literal in this sense, simply using tethers and hard point attachments to the exterior of the Gateway rather than being attached to any systems of it. No, the ancient tech was as enigmatic was it had ever been in the last 300 years, but at least now the Republic was able to defend it well. A proper part of the military power of the Xandalian Space Fleet had been attached to this place as a permanent border-control and security force, and a defensive array of guns and weapons were deployed about this area as well to provide a secure corridor for those entering and exiting Xandalian space through the Gateways. Did it seem like overkill? Probably. But all the same it ensured security from this rather exposed entrance into Xandalian space, and that had become more and more relevant these days. The door to Walton's office would soon whoosh open, however, as a member of his staff in full uniform stepped in and saluted him. He saluted in return. [color=orange]"I take it the weekly report is done?"[/color] "Yes sir!" the human man said, "I came to report the numbers to you as well. An estimated 15 wandering Migrant vessels were turned back this week from the Gateway...which is less than the daily average a few months ago." Walton sighed. Rights to mine and operate in Xandalian space had been denied alongside open migration, all frankly due to security and sovereignty-related reasons primarily, but trade of resources and goods for resources and goods on a general level was seen as acceptable until the Republic could get a better idea of the other nations and peoples out there. Six months was only so much time, as compared to the 300 years everyone has spent in self-isolation. It was like a massive, messy social experiment gone haywire in his mind...even so it was the new reality they all were being faced with. At the very least their own translation technology had been upgraded leagues from its initial form in the last six months of language and information gathering. At this point the Senate had also made Walton himself permanent in this position at the Gateway as well, which was more cushy but also not as active as his anti-piracy post had been. Military was also deployed to a passive 35% now, which was fully sustainable at least, but had been necessary to maintain proper security of the Gateway and so forth. However, pre-deployment preparations remained in effect in case war raised its ugly head. Still, once the staff member before him finish prattling off a further list of numbers and statistics the Commander simply gave a nod. [color=orange]"Anything else?"[/color] "No si-" The door to Walton's office whooshed open again suddenly, drawing the two men's attention as a female officer stepped in suddenly. Not a usual member of staff indeed. Walton raised an eyebrow, but didn't get a chance to open his mouth before the new arrival hurriedly saluted and began to speak. Beads of sweat hung on the woman's forehead, and it was obvious that her rank was relatively higher than one being sent as a messenger would usually have. [color=yellow]"Commander Walton, urgent news from the Xandalian Import Committee and the Senate proper."[/color] Ah. Yes, the Senate had set up a simple committee to oversee the analysis and judgement of foreign imports. A way to determine product safety for the public primarily, it mostly dealt in consumer goods such as entertainment and the import of foreign foods to ensure Xandalian standards were kept for such things. Localization teams would assist in translating some things if needed, or otherwise adapting things to the Xandalian audience where or if needed. ECU films had become a trendy thing thus far, the stories and so forth alien and foreign and yet also bearing as sense of 'new-ness' the general public seemed to enjoy. Walton couldn't blame them, he'd seen a few films himself and quite enjoyed the different perspective. [color=yellow]"Most recent media have been showing an interesting...and stronger...trend in messages in the last several months. At first the committee simply thought it to be a new theme, evil robots kidnapping people and pretending to be human to infiltrate societies and so forth about 'defining what is humans or not' and beyond, but recent news has brought things into a new context entirely before the Committee. As you have been made aware, the ECU have made the claims the Zetans kidnapped one of their scientists, and have declared war on the Zetans. The Undefeated have joined them. We have been keeping an eye on things, but...a major development has since occurred. As of what our intel can gather thus far, by this point the Zetan fleet and space station have been eradicated. Orbital bombardment and invasion measures have begun, but it doesn't look like it will be a quick process. No formal word about other nations' potential involvement or lack thereof as of yet."[/color] Walton froze in place, the blood in his veins feeling like ice. War, already? He had expected such just about, but had hoped cooler heads would prevail in the end. An...'overly optimistic' thought in hindsight now. [color=yellow]"In this vein, ECU imports and craft will be highly scrutinized and more stringently localized where deemed necessary from now on. it will take time to pin down the propaganda, but we are continuing trade as if nothing is wrong to avoid creating an incident at this time. In-depth scans of all arriving vessels are mandatory from this station from now on, and I have been instructed to state to you that the public will learn about this large development on the major news networks tonight. Public opinions seems to be somewhat split, and in at least some part the Committee and Senate think this is likely due to the propaganda that has apparently been streaming in for months now underneath our noses. Also be prepared for departures later this evening. We are also sending a neutral envoy to the Zetans, and another envoy to the URC, both intending to ascertain these groups' positions in regards to what is going on."[/color] [color=orange]"So it's war between them then? Two versus one seems like a rather staunch odds, though the ECU's seeming lack of military power is something. Likewise the Zetans themselves are rather advanced and efficient in their own manner,"[/color] the Commander mulled to himself, before lightly shaking his head back and forth. He leaned forward in his chair, with his elbows on his desk and his hands now crossed over each other as a dark look came over his eyes, [color=orange]"Either way, we don't know how things will turn out. Let the Senate and Committee know I read them loud and clear. Likewise I want you to get with the Head Comms Officer on the station, and work out a formal memo to be sent to the rest of the station. Informative in nature, to the point, and none of the extraneous details. Do you understand me?"[/color] He then looked to the soldier who had arrived in his office first. [color=orange]"And you, soldier, you heard nothing from this room...understood?"[/color] [color=yellow]"Yes sir!"[/color] "Yes sir!" Commander Varitian leaned back in his chair once more as the two saluted him and then left the room in a hurry. However, the lingering dread in the office air didn't seem to fully leave with them. No surprise there. The formal memo would at least bring the station onto the same page, and his people would be ready...or as ready as one could be for whatever came next. However, a few things were certain at this point in time: 1) The ECU had brought anti-Zeta propaganda into their civilian population by subterfuge. That was intolerable for trade, as whilst foreign ideas and thoughts did exist in imported movies the line was drawn at trying to manipulate the Republic's own people to garner support for aggressive foreign actions. The Senate was likely livid about it, to say the [b]very[/b] least. 2) They had to ascertain the situation to get a clear idea. The envoy to the URC would be interrupting the training exercises going on for sure...but they had to see where the Columbians, who they saw as the best choice for potential allies for the Rrepublic at the moment, lied on the spectrum of things. Likewise the envoy to the Zetans would investigate the matter and speak with them openly, and being a neutral diplomatic ship they would hopefully be granted passage since the Xandalians hadn't taken any side in this war...if blocked or turned back at gunpoint or worse that would not paint a good picture. The Commander just prayed that in the end things wouldn't get even worse, like attempted genocide, but given the aggressors' stance that dark subject lurked in the dark corners of the man's mind. For now the only actions he could take, though, was what little ones he had room to. That would have to do for now. (([@Irredeemable][@Tortoise][@Raylah])) ((***IMPORTANT NOTE: The Xandalians are going to try to send a fully unarmed diplomatic ship through to talk to the Zetans and get a read on the situation. It is a very much neutral diplomatic vessel as well, which the Xandalians hope the ECU and Undefeated will let it through, so feel free to address that however ya like. Doesn't have to be a collab, and whatever happens I say this just mainly so we can get the gist if it is allowed through or not.)) [hr] [center][i][h3]Space Military Training Grounds, URC Space[/h3][/i] [h2]"The Practice"[/h2][/center] [hr] Commander Xara sat in her chair on the bridge of the XSS Cyclostro, her eyes flitting over the projected console before her that displayed the movement of the Military-Frames and ships out in the vacuum of space. The Cyclostro was one of the shining examples of Xandalian Destroyers that had been built in the last 100 years. Since contact and trade with the URC began, though, the Xandalian Space Fleet had been expanding and diversifying their ship types even more so. Primarily the addition of cruisers, heavy cruisers, lighter and faster frigates that were larger than any corvette but smaller than a Destroyer, improvements to existing Carrier designs as well as for the new Heavy Carriers, and finally the further up-arming and reinforcement and partial revamping of the already titanic Xandalian battleships to increase effectiveness and potency to fit with the new model of the Space Fleet. Some of their scientists were tossing around ideas of resizing some of the Military Frame equipment for use in the new ships as well, which has begun to catch on among some in the R&D Department as they went into a nigh frenzy. However, today had been discussed diplomatically and planned in advance. As a part of ongoing diplomatic efforts with the URC, pilots using older Gen 1 Military-Frames taken out of storage were going to basically practice tactics and piloting skills with the newer URC space mech pilots. Or rather, Xara could say that these URC pilots were entirely green to be frank. It was a new leap in technology, and the URC had survived quite the beating from an alien threat themselves according to historical information the Republic had learned of, so giving them new tools and tactics to work with would be frankly useful in the grand scheme of things. Albeit it had taken these past few months to get the training exercise pilots prepared and accustomed to the Gen 1 tech, as even if kept in pristine condition it was far older than what the pilots of the Republic were used to piloting proper these days. Xara herself would know, she'd been a Military-Frame pilot herself back in the day and been on anti-pirate duty for years before getting up higher in the ranks. Even now the Xandalian pilots were putting the URC pilots through a regiment of training as well as giving them units to spar with using mock weapons and 'blank' rounds. A small, amused smirk appeared on the woman's face as memories of the 'good old days' went through her head. What she'd give to be out there right now. It was getting a tad boring from just sitting and watching things go on out there in the field. [color=violet]"Hail the URC command ship, Comms Officer. I want to see how the URC leader here feels about the joint military training exercises thus far."[/color] "Yes mam!" Xara sighed. Maybe her foreign compatriot in this endeavor was feeling similar? [@Sigma] ((A Xandalian diplomatic envoy vessel might come to interrupt next post, or honestly the one after if you wanna do some more training exercise stuff first. Either way is chill with me, don't want to seem like I am jumping the gun. I am posting all of this before work though, so yee that's a thing. XD)