[center]Collab between with | [@Liotrent] |[/center]

“Alpha-Newton. Alpha-Newton? Alpha-Newton.” Hubert kept repeating the name and thought to himself, [i]‘what mother names their kid Alpha-Newton?’[/i]

He pondered this as he continued enroute towards the Zetan section of the space station. “Dick!”

“Huh? What is it Hubert?”

“That’s Director Hubert to you! What do you think the Zetans are like? I have a bet with some lousy ensign on the NHS Hopeful that they’re all androids.”

“Uh… I don’t think it’s good to go into a diplomatic situation with prejudices based on what you think they look like.”

“Come on Dick! This is why you were never popular at school!”

“Hey!” Dick pointed his finger towards Hubert and said, “I was popular at school, just not with women!”

“Probably why everyone called you ‘Dick Magnet’ right?” Hubert gave him a smug smile and wiggled his moustache. The hologram on the surrogate failed for a moment and froze at an unfortunate time making Hubert look like a weird dumbass.

“Pfft- Your hologram failed! Hahaha!”

“Damn it, robotics! You have one job! FIX THE DAMN HOLOGRAMS!” Hubert was seen looking behind him and shouting, the Hologram on the Android had trouble following his movements before being recalibrated again.

The pilot then piped up, “Director Seymour, Director Wazzinski. We’re nearing the docking location. Please prepare. We’re already receiving docking instructions.

“Damn… Well, it’s your loss Dick if you don’t bet now.”

“Fine, I’ll bet on… Cyborgs. Human cyborgs. Now could you please focus Hu- I mean, Director Seymour.”

“Yes, yes I think I can now.”

The Zetan Embassy’s airlocks hissed open, and the diplomatic mission was let aboard. It seemed that there would be significant problems when it came to who, exactly, would win the bet, because the variety of individuals in front of them seemed to indicate most of the group were right. 

On the one hand, there was Alpha-Newton, who looked almost entirely human. With a smarter suit than he usually wore and a pair of heavy sunglasses to mask his implants (just in case,) he looked every bit the dignitary. Flanking him were two next-generation warforms, sleeker, smoother and with more integrated functions than before, standing sentinel-like in a military stance. Around them, various cyborgs and androids roamed, carrying out the functions necessary.

“Greetings. Welcome to the Zetan Meeting Place. It’s very good to see you.”

Hubert of course came out dancing and Dick was very embarrassed. Hubert then spun around and extended a hand for a handshake.

“Lead Director Hubert Seymour, pleasure to meet you Mr. Alpha-Newton.”

Dick in the back mouthed the words “I’m. So. Sorry…” while he stood behind Hubert.

Alpha-Newton paused for a moment, the confusion and scepticism in his eyes hidden well behind his sunglasses. “I assume you were responsible for the… [i]Musical introduction,[/i] we received, Lead Director Hubert?” He extended a hand and shook it firmly, turning to lead the small group to his office.

“You’ve found yourself in good hands when it comes to technological nations. We’ve spent the past three hundred years expanding our understanding of the universe and finding new ways for mankind to overcome the weaknesses its cradle allowed us to keep.” He flexed his right forearm idly.

“Ah! Fellow techies and scientists! That’s good to hear, right Dick?” Hubert’s enthusiasm was intense, Dick couldn’t do much other than reply “Yes sir whatever you say…” in a tone that was near disappointment.

Hubert then turned to follow Alpha-Newton, “So what kind of tech do you all have? This is all very exciting! Actually, have you made sentient Alien contact? If so, what kind of organisms are they? Do they breathe oxygen? Are you unique among your people? What kind of-” The questions poured out of Hubert in a never-ending stream. It did not help that he was both excited and full of adrenalin.

Finally, Dick intervened to give their gracious host some respite, “Sir, maybe you might want to let Mister Alpha-Newton do the talking. I’m sure they’re very eager to answer many of those questions after they’ve had the freedom to properly introduce themselves to us.”


Alpha-Newton couldn’t help but let out a wry chuckle at the barrage of questions. “Here in the Zetan Consciousness, we consider ourselves to be pioneers in the field of robotics, cybernetics and computing. We’ve created true, genuine AI who are afforded citizen’s rights, created many augmentations and implants to help us in our day-to-day lives, and have designed countless remote and automatically controlled drones such as these warforms here.” He indicated to the android bodyguards flanking him. “These are remotely controlled by other Zetans.”

He paused for a moment to slide an office door open. “I’m afraid we’re the wrong people to discuss sentient aliens with. The United Republic of Columbia has sentient alien citizens who do indeed appear to breathe oxygen.” The warforms waited outside as Alpha-Newton sat down behind a desk.

“As for myself, yes, I would consider myself a fairly typical specimen.”

Dick and Hubert followed to sit down opposite from him. Dick redirected the conversation to exchange information fairly with the Zetan across from them. “Well, you’ve answered some of our questions, I’m sure you’re curious about us.”

Hubert followed up, “We have advanced robotics, well developed medical technology, advanced automation. Ask and we shall answer!”

Alpha-Newton paused for a moment. “It seems to me as if we share quite a few similarities. Excellent news.” He smiled pleasantly. “What are the material conditions of your planet? Have you developed ‘true’ AI? If so, how are true AI treated? What type of government do you have?” There, those should be a good place to start.

Dick and Hubert were pleasantly surprised to have other intellectuals to talk to about technology. Dick replied first, “New Haven is Earth-like being only slightly smaller. It has the same mineral composition as Earth and is biologically diverse.”

Hubert continued, “Too diverse in-fact. Our first colonists were stricken with disease and sickness. We had to battle against such things to survive. We developed quite impressive environmental suits and robotics to deal with New Haven’s biosphere while we developed vaccines.”

Dick then brought out a data pad and a hologram projector and a list of several technological achievements were displayed. The list however did not detail the specifics of each technological achievement. Dick then pointed to one of the items listed, “We’ve managed to cyberize human consciousness. This is, I believe, counted as true A.I... We treat these citizens just as well as any other. They are still first-class citizens of the New Haven Directorate.”

Hubert chimed in, “I once thought of having myself turned Cyber, so many different customization options. But while I’m Lead Director, I’m not allowed to do such a thing. All Directors are to be of [i]‘mortal flesh’[/i] as they used to say. It’s one way to make sure that a Director’s term ends when it ends.”

Dick then answered the final question, continuing from Hubert mentioning the Directors. “We are what would be classified as a Technocratic Dictatorship. Lead Director Hubert here is technically the dictator. However, Hubert and a number of Lead Directors before him have started to move away from complete control and have started to allow more freedom in the Directorate. Not that there wasn’t before, however, we’ve cut down on surveillance and security in a lot of aspects of New Haven life. Hubert is what one would call a benevolent ruler.”

Hubert puffed out his chest with pride, “That’s right! Under my directorship, I’ve ushered in a new age of exploration. That’s how we came to find all of you, here in Earth orbit.”

Alpha-Newton nodded, a proper smile spreading across his face. “I’m glad to hear you, at least, had a well-developed biosphere. The less said about Zeta-5, the better.” He sighed deeply, then instigated the A.I claim with interest. “Hm. Interesting. Not how we went about doing it. Zeta was still tetchy on releasing information about their mind uploading, but not the Directorate, it seemed… And then, the first frown crossed his face.

“We on Zeta are very proud of managing a direct democracy with half a billion citizens. We do not aim to override a nation’s own government, but… It would be admirable if you were, indeed, aiming to dissolve dictatorial power into that of the people.” He held a hand across towards whoever would shake it.

“But even with that said, make no mistake. This seems like the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.”

[hr]

[center] Collab with | [@SgtEasy] |[/center]

Since her appointment as Ambassador, which felt like months ago now, Joan had little time for rest. Her days started familiarly, with the burning of incense, prayer to the spirits on Earth to relieve guilt and a small meal for breakfast. But as soon as she got out of her quarters, it was straight into piles of work. She had been swamped with countless applications for the Extra-Solar Mercenary Group even though she shared half the load with Lukas Descartes. She was disappointed with the ECU’s refusal of the Red Cross but with how the ESMC was coming along, she was silently thankful for the reduced workload. Which only served to feed her guilt in the morning, thinking of all those dead humans.

Joan was starting to suspect that her companion was more inexperienced than even her, given his growing weariness in the mornings. She hoped he would not quit, his frivolousness and pomp made for entertainment in the drollness of paperwork.

So, it was with greater gusto that she prepared for today. The Zetans had been kind enough to accept her offer of “breaking bread” and she had surrounded herself with preparations to make sure today went right. Not only was this her first time meeting personally with a foreign diplomat but the foreign nature of the Zetans excited her. They eliminated death, for spirits sake! They had made their own Path to Reincarnation which only proved to her how amazing humanity really was. 

The Priestess had dressed in her finest robes and touched up on her face paint. She had deliberately forgone the thorn-crown with a silver one, adorned with a carved lapis lazuli from New Gift. She stood in their meeting room near the entrance to the embassy and hoped it was enough. Given their cyborg-like nature, she had figured that the Zetans would have looked down on too much pomp and excess for such a simple meeting. And she wished for this to be a sort of casual meeting instead of one too formal. This was to be a discussion after all!

Thus, she had a table with two comfortable chairs on the side of the room, facing the viewing window towards the black void of stars. On the far side was a couch with a coffee table which could be easily converted into a media screen if the diplomat [i]Sigma[/i] wished to watch old-Earth movies or ape remakes of them. The centrepiece of the room was a painting of New Gift and Earth orbiting each other, in resplendent blue and green colour contrasting the darkness of space. Joan did like painting after all and felt it fit for a diplomatic room.

She heard a rapping on the door and made towards it. The guard must have escorted the diplomat to the room. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Joan opened the door. “Diplomat Sigma, this one greets you as a fellow inheritor of humanity’s legacy.”

Sigma-Devi entered the room, her now omnipresent guards hanging outside. Perhaps the priestess had misjudged the attitude of the Zetans, because as she had been numerous times before, Devi was dressed in her diplomatic wear, with its gilded faux-silk and bright colours. 

“Greetings. Ambassador Joan, was it?” Sigma-Devi inquired, nodding once it was answered to her satisfaction. 
“I must say, of all the nations that have arrived here so far, yours has been the most unique. I would love to discuss more about your people, just as you wish to ask about my people.”

Joan nodded politely, standing as upright as she could. Still, the human was standing taller than her. Despite gene enhancements, height could only be stretched so much. She led the both of them to the modest table, opening the chair for her guest as per etiquette.

They exchanged pleasantries and continued on to the root of why they were there. Joan didn’t want to waste too much time. “While this one is young, this one has travelled much and played the part of a diplomat among the city states in the Khanate. War is not declared without slight so this one wonders how such peaceful peoples fought in a conflict that comes to a standstill like yours and the ECU did? This one could not find much information on the matter and did not want to pry the ECU because of their current… civil situations.”

Sigma-Devi frowned. “Ah. Of course. Well, allow me to explain.” She took a seat, considering her words carefully.

“The ECU are ideological puritans. They believe any modification to the human form is an abomination. Widespread, heavy augmentations such as those the Collective routinely goes through is, therefore, an atrocity that should be removed.” Her frown deepened.

“All they needed was a casus belli. One we foolishly gave them when we took in a refugee scientist who had received a heart replacement named Doctor Bodhi. They drummed up war support through lies, claiming we had kidnapped their citizen, rallying the Undefeated to their cause, and going on the warpath. Those are the broad-brush strokes; you will have to apologise if I seem curt, this is hardly my favoured topic of conversation.”

The priestess nodded and hummed, chewing on her words. “This one apologises for her abruptness, this one wanted to get to the truth of the matter. This one’s church, along with several states within the Khanate, have voiced concerns over the Khanate’s standing in this new galactic community. We are afraid that this one’s Khan has chosen to bear their support for… extremist and warlike factions.” The hints towards the ECU, the Matuvistans and the Undefeated went unsaid. 

“In the end, we would like to make it very clear that our only issues are with the current government of the Earth Cultural Union. As far as we are concerned, the Undefeated were not the primary aggressors, and Matuvista’s entanglement with the current civil unrest on New Hollywood is entirely unrelated to us. Matuvista is free to interact with the ECU as they desire.”

Joan nodded, inwardly relieved that she was not overstepping her powers. Secession was a serious matter and while opinions upon the Khan’s decisions were not suppressed, one’s standing could fall with the wrong words. “These more peace-focused states have expressed interest towards providing aid for the Zetans if they would like it. While our brothers and sisters march to war, this one and supporters would like to show that us apes are not as savage as we seem.”

The ambassador procured two files from underneath the table, one included a list of immigrants and willing aid workers. Herald Temujin II was receptive to this idea and provided the go ahead for this first deal to go ahead with no strings attached but the second file would need a fair trade. She handed over the first immigrant aid file towards Sigma-Devi.

“This includes a list of willing aid workers and immigrants keen to help the Zetans in rebuilding the planet. This one understands that differences between our planets could be severe so free genetic modifications will be provided to all Khanate citizens willing to migrate or work on Zeta-5. This one assures that this comes with no political strings attached, as long as our citizens are safe, we have no problem sending these volunteers.”

Sigma-Devi shook her head. “I’m afraid that at the moment, Zetan rebuilding efforts has led to a dramatic increase in highly classified projects. I’m sure you’ll understand, but it will not do to have foreign citizens working on sensitive city defences and military constructions.” So far, so unfortunate for the apes. Perhaps the next file would be better.

Joan moved to the second pile, a thicker brown manila folder, placing a furry hand on top. “These include a list of unmarked military vehicles of varying specifications, the details of which this one can run through later, to be traded as a deterrent against future threats. Alongside this is an official non-aggression pact which ensures that the Khanate nor the Zetans will not raise arms against the other, unless the pact is broken.” She sighed. There were ways to avoid war that she wanted to avoid but sometimes, needs must. 

“This one has brokered many peace agreements over the years. If your people had a boost towards its military infrastructure, it would serve as a future war to come. Though the Khan aligns itself to the group opposite you, we do not need to follow their foreign policy to the letter. The Khanate does not bow to anyone but the Khan.” She said this firmly, trying to be as open as possible. She believed the best way to earn an ape’s trust, as well as a human’s, was to be as truthful as she could.

Sigma-Devi considered this next folder for a long while. Internally she was debating the matter with other members of the Collective, so that when she responded it was with the confidence of knowing that Zeta backed her. “As for military assistance, we will have to decline. Zeta is [i]more[/i] than happy to agree upon a nonaggression pact with the Khanate, but we will have to respectfully decline military vehicles.” She paused for a moment. “With the note that we would be interested in small quantities for research purposes.”

There was a note of disappointment on Joan’s face but it would have been largely unrecognisable to one not versed in ape expressions. Much of the deals were not made but small steps were okay, at least the non-aggression pact had come through. “This one would be happy to provide quantities for research purposes traded for a similar quantity of your own military technology?”

[hr]

[center] Addressing | [@Sigma] | and | [@Tort] | [/center]

Commandanta Isabella stood at the head of her vessel and [i]fumed.[/i] Nothing, [b]nothing[/b] was going well for her, and it had all started in the middle of the night.

She had stood, holographically projected, in a meeting with Condel Julianus and various other high-ranking members of the Matuvistan military to report on her progress. She had spoken at great length about the successes they had made, the rebel leaders seized, the number of rebel casualties that had been tallied up, the containment of the struggle in Neo London, and how their new ape allies had succeeded in pushing the New Beijing situation away from the edge. Neo Paris had fallen of course, but they had no military presence there and the government at home had widely agreed that it simply wasn't practical to try to exert equal force across two disparate cities. 

Then, she had moved on to the necessity of further forces. She was still operating effectively, but reserves were starting to run low, and she was increasingly having to rely on the void borne marines to maintain order and discipline. She needed more of everything- ISOCs, more jetrikes, any jetknights that could be spared, and certainly another transport load of men. What she had instead gotten was an apology, and her government telling her that was out of the question.

The Colombians, the same forces she had been lending military support, had formally backed the White Flowers. That meant that not only did she now have a third angle to take care of, but the Matuvistan government had declared at the Meeting Place that they would not be sending more troops to New Hollywood. They had privately ended discussions with the government-in-exile in Neo Istanbul to evacuate them and any loyalist citizens to Matuvista (although there were a lot of asterixis that came with that offer,) but the formal support was winding down as the winds of fortune changed. 

'Winding down' did not mean that the troops were leaving though. They still had their objectives to complete, and the objectives had to be completed regardless of their dwindling manpower. A flurry of orders had left her command center shortly after the meeting, most of which had not been well received by her troops, but at least they understood she was not their foe. This was on the Senate back home, the Senate that had left their own men and women on the ground out to be bled dry. 

At least initial reports from the ground had been... [i]Acceptable.[/i] An enforced radio silence had allowed them to sweep up approximately 40% of the Colombian ground forces without any difficulty and two of the commanders in charge had accepted her impromptu invitation aboard her command vessel. She had hoped for all of them, but she couldn't delay to try to snag more. This was as good as she was going to get. A Colombian command vessel had come aboard her own ship just moments ago, and within a few minutes the officers were in her central room.

"Thank you for coming aboard," she said, grimly. "It pains me to do this, but I must inform you that the Colombian government has thrown their formal support behind the White Flower Rebellion. Although my Senate has not given me liberty to deploy additional soldiers to this front, this does now make us formal enemies."

Bridge staff and marines levelled their guns at the commanders.

"Please. I assure you that I will treat you with all the respect and dignity that soldiers of your office deserve, but it would be best for you and your guards to lay down your arms now, without my bridge staff having to mop up blood."

[hr]

[center] Collab with | [@Sigma] | [/center]

"Emperatriz, spotting Colombian glider approaching New Westminster. Available units move to intercept, over."

"Cóndor-6, copy. Moving to intercept."

The atmospheric craft deployed rapidly, engines spooling up and blasting off. Although not true jetfighters, they did the job they needed to. Within a few minutes, they had shot their way across to the approaching glider and hailed it.

"Colombian glider. This is Cóndor-6, interceptor of the Matuvistan Expeditionary Force. You are currently in restricted airspace and, let's be honest, you're a grape in this matchup. Land now, or we will engage. Repeat. [i]Land now[/i] or we will be authorised to use live weapons."

There was a pause, and Cóndor repeated the message.

"Glider, this is Cóndor-6, you're tagged and locked on, last chance. Land now."

“Restricted airspace?” Cain said in bewilderment. “Last time I saw, we were [i]invited[/i]. You mind explaining what the hell’s going on?”

"Blame your Senate. You're supporting the rebels now, and that means we have orders to shut you out and take you down. Either you can have a nice holiday in a PoW camp, or I can open fire."

A droning beeping sounded, proving the Matuvistans were clearly serious with their threat, their fighters already locking on to the Glider. “Fuck…like we have a choice.” Cain muttered to himself, before turning to the pilot. “Take us down.” 
 
“Y-Yes, sir...” 

“Fine, we surrender. Just know... this act of war won’t go unnoticed, and this won’t end well for anyone one of us.” 

"Trust us glider. We know. We have our orders though, and you have yours." The beeping would end, showing the radar lock had been broken. "May the saints have mercy on our nations."

It was a scene that was replayed all over Neo London. Isolated firefights between the once-allies, Colombians either slipping into the city or being taken captive and held in New Westminster. Those that were captured were led away to New Westminster PoW camps, with commissioned officers being separated from the rest of the men. It was an efficient operation, but even so, it was another drain on a force that was spread increasingly thin. 

Isabella knew that they couldn't hold. The latest assault had proved that. New Westminster was cracking apart, and with nobody else coming, it didn't take a genius to see who was going to break first.