[center][b][h1]Six Months Ago[/h1][/b] A collab with | [@Sigma] | [/center] [b][u] Earth The Meeting Place International sector [/u][/b] A sleek, elegantly designed transport departed from the massive templeship, making way for the designated coordinates provided by air traffic control, escorted by several Undefeated fighters. The transport drawing closer to the international sector of the Meeting Place, it’s escort break off as they came with landing distance. Crowds of passing by tourists, other visitors, station, and various embassy personnel all drew their attention to the newest addition in a long line of long-lost colonies of Earth. Clouds of steam and exhaust filled the hanger as the ship made landing, the last-minute crowd waiting with anticipation on the new visitors, the boarding ramp lowering, three robbed figured stepped out in unison, almost mirroring each other as they took each step, followed by s company’s worth of skeletal drone soldiers, marching as a single unit as they trailed behind the emissaries. The lead figure, Darius, removed his veil, revealing a singular glowing eye and nothing else, much to the shock of the crowd, his two other companions sharing similar features. Darius eyed the room, giving quick glanced towards the crowd… the fear in their eyes. [i]Good… good[/i] He thought to himself. Deep down, this pleased Darius, the fear in their… disgusting fleshy eyes, their very sight sickened him on a spiritual level. Darius was fortunate he lacked a true face; his sheer contempt would’ve been…difficult to disguise. Regardless, Darius pressed on, raising his metallic arms up high, as if to break out in a sermon, and in a way, he was. “Fear not! Children of Earth!” He declared. “We bring you both peace and her most holy word, our divine Gaia!” The fear…was somewhat eased with Darius’ proclamation. “Long have we wondered if Mankind had survived the Great Calamity! Our fears and curiosity have now been answered!” [hr] [b][u] The Meeting Place Zetan Sector [/u][/b] Some hours had passed since the Gaians first arrived on the Meeting Place…and it seems a whirlwind of events had transpired during both their absence and since their arrival. More importantly however, Darius and his companions had been recently sent an invitation from a peculiar group within the station…one that they hoped to find a common ground with. Darius was very pleasantly surprised to discover that they weren’t the only ones to ascend to a more blessed form of existence. These Zetans could prove a potential ally in this new Galactic landscape, one where they are outnumbered ten to one, surrounded by… flesh. Sigma-Devi stood in front of one of her aides, nerves tingling through her as her companion gently applied makeup to her face. Normally, they did this to highlight the human parts of her and downplay the cyborg, but this time, it was the other way around. The black metal of her throat and lower jaw was expanded outwards, her eyes were ringed slightly to make them appear more sunken and replaced, and she wore a skintight synthetic set of arm-length gloves to cover up her largely unmodified arms. Straightening her back out, she gave herself one last check in the mirror, thanked her aide, and then moved to the front of the Zetan embassy, watching as the Gaians entered in through the doorway. What they had heard of these new arrivals was... Interesting. They apppeared to be extremley religious, something which was unusual, but which Zeta was not opposed to. Most of the front of the embassy had been cleared to make way for this new group, which left Sigma-Devi as the most human of the bunch, flanked by several transcended and with multiple warforms standing as honour guards along the halls of the structure. "Greetings," Sigma-Devi declared, a warm and genuine smile splitting her face. She held her hand up to salute Darius and his fellow androids, then bowed deeply, one hand kept demurely across her clothes to keep them tidy. "It is... Very good to meet another nation who has fully accepted the advantages of mechanical augmentation. My name is Sigma-Devi, and I am the First Speaker of the Zetan Consciousness, a nation dedicated to uncovering the truth of this universe through observation." She felt a few twinges of nervousness leave her, covering the jitters up by flicking her hair back. "Please... Do any of you still require nutrition? We have some food avaliable, but if you've managed to eliminate the necessity for such things, we can move straight to business." The three emissaries bowed in kind to Sigma-Devi. “It pleases us to find others just like ourselves.” Darius spoke, his singular eye scanning his surroundings. “I am Darius. “He announced himself, before turning to his two fellows. “And these two are Ezekiel and Zakaria. We three come here as Emissaries on behalf of his holiness, the Primarch Vamarus and on behalf of our most divine lady, Gaia.” “A pleasure.” Ezekiel spoke in a soft spoken tone. “A blessing be upon you.” Zakaria said, the seemingly “younger” sounding member among their troop. Darius turned his attention back too Sigma-Devi. “I must apologize my dear… but we have long since outgrown our need for nourishment of that sort.” Darius said as sympathetically as he could. ‘The blessings of our divine lady are all we require, and the paradise she provides for us.” Darius soon took notice of Sigma-Devi’s nervous stance, if he had a face, he’d form a playful smirk. “Relax my dear.” He spoke. “You are among friends, among mutuals.” "My sincerest thanks for your blessings." Sigma-Devi bowed again. "Daris. Ezekial. Zakaria." She addressed each one individually, then let out a slow breath. "Of course. It is merely... We have been realtively alone in this galaxy for some time. The only other nation that widely accepts our transhumanist beliefs is the New Haven Directorate, and as pleasant as they are to interact with, we find them a little... [i]Peculiar[/i] in their habits and attitudes. Others have gone so far as to try to erase us from the galaxy for our ways." She smoothed her dress out again, then turned to walk through the halls of the Zetan Embassy. "I hope you can tell me more about this 'Divine Lady' of yours, she must be a fascinating figure. Is she your leader? Your figurehead? Your goddess? Please, excuse me for any offences I may inadvertently commit, but my curiosity compels me to ask many questions." Not just her curiosity- the curiosity of almost the whole Zetan population too. The group arrived at a meeting room with a perfectly circular table. Sigma-Devi took her customary seat as far away from the door as possible, then indicated for the Gaians to sit wherever they would like. "You must excuse me, incidentally, for I am not what my people refer to as 'Transcended.' I am a 'First Form' Zetan, in that this body is the same one I was born in to. Depending on how long my service as First-Speaker continues for, and how long it remains beneficial to Zeta for my augmentations to remain acceptable to those who fail to understand our ideals, it seems likely I will Transcend fully in between..." She paused for a moment. "Fifty to seventy years. Of course," she allowed a laugh to sneak out. "At the current rate of mind transferral, I'll be mentally Transcended in less than a decade. We usually have the process progress slowly, to make sure there are no issues." The Gaians stook their seats, the three emissaries sitting next to each other on the opposite side of the table. [i]So much questions… good[/i] Darius thought to himself. “I simply can’t imagine such… loneliness among these [i]people[/i].” Darius said, the last word said with such venom, even a blind man could tell there was anger in those words, such fire fueled by the fact the Zetans were close to genocide. “Don’t let such blasphemous fools bother you, my dear.” Darius says with such unsettlingly comforting words. Something about Darius' tone of voice began to cause Sigma-Devi to sit up. The small quirks at the edges of her lips eased themsleves down again, and she managed to re-compose herself into a more serious state. Soon though, Darius turned to explanations, and she paid close attention. “Know that you are no longer alone in the galaxy and soon… perhaps your enemies will see the light, that there is nothing to fear.” Darius paused as he continued. “As for what we can share about Gaia? Our Divine lady is all these things. She is our leader, our goddess, our protector, our mother.” He said. “She was the first among many to fully ascend to a greater existence and was merciful enough to share this blessing to our people. Many at first resisted this gift, but…. They eventually saw the light, one way or another…” Darius paused, looking to his two companions, then turning his attention back to Sigma-Devi. He would find her face now set in its neutral turn at his words. She was doing an excellent job of keeping it off her face, but one simple paragraph had driven out all the hope and idealism she had had from these newcomers, and replaced it with a grim anger. "She sounds fascinating. Was she a researcher, some kind of leader? Both?" “Indeed! We sadly do not know her true identity… all that we know was that she was a brilliant scientist on our homeworld of Kronos, who brought the gift of true immortality to humanity.” Darius said, this being all he wished to share at the moment. Darius, however, was curious for about another matter entirely. “I must also find it fascinating that you would forego Transcendence, why deny yourself greatness by decades?” Darius may have slipped there...such a sudden, unsettling turn of character.. Sigma-Devi hid her anger with a small laugh. "We have eternity to forge ourselves from steel. My flesh is temporary, but it is because it is temporary that I find myself keeping so much of it. It will wither and fail, but by then I will have moved on." "That is..certainly an interesting thought." Darius said, who seemed frankly puzzled by Sigma-Devi's words. [i]Willingly live in the sinful flesh? Even when Transcendence is within her grasp![/i], he shook himself silghtly. "I must apologize but.... I still do not understand." Darius said. "Surely this must be an agonizing experince? To willingly suffer from the sins of the flesh?" "We have a... Different view of the nature of flesh. As Zetans, we will shed and inhabit form after form once Transcended. We can change, adapt, modify these forms however we wish, in whatever way we please. It if malfunctions, it is trivial to fix. If it ages, we merely replace it with fresh steel. Our bodies are a unique experience- they change without our will, they adapt and shift, ache and adjust themselves. Some find this to be a frustration, or an irritation to be immediately exorcised. Most of us, myself included, find it to be a... Learning experience. We are all human, no? The human experience is one of growth and deterioration. Then, after we have learned from that, Transcendence can begin." Darius fet complicated emotions, emotions he hadn’t felt in a long time, but he must remain vigilant, the Zetans themselves have proven that they need as much help as the rest of humanity, their vision is a flawed one, one that can easily be remined, and they can at last, attain true greatness among the stars. “Ahh, but Sigma-Devi, my dear.” Darius said with a sense of escalation in his tone. “Both of our peoples are so much more. You and I, we have elevated ourselves to something greater. Why wait? Leave your flesh behind and let us show you something beautiful on the other side that awaits you and your people.” "I will achieve my beauty when I am ready for it. Would you force my Transcendence upon me?" Darius was silent for a brief moment, compilating his words. “If it was absolutely necessary, yes, I would, without hestiation." Sigma-Devi leaned foward, across the table. "I will allow you to retract that. Not out of any insult it has caused to me personally, but because if that belief gets out, both of our nations will be scrutinised like never before. They attempted to erase us for the [i]belief[/i] that we [i]might[/i] unwillingly roboticise a single individual. If you intend on mentioning that belief publically, it [b]will[/b] inspire hatred like never before. Now, are you positive that you would force Transcendence upon people?" Darius shook his “head”. “I deeply apologize Sigma-Devi.” He said, with a hint of regret in his tone, followed by a faint red glow in his eye, it was a shame, he truly did like her for the brief time they shared together, but if the Zetans and Gaians are to be on opposing sides in the coming conflict, then so be it. “But I’m afraid I can’t do that. Let them believe so, their fear is a natural reaction to change, a change that cannot, will not be stopped. We have forced Transcendence before, it has partially worked…. although many still resist on Kronos, but their futile fight WILL come to an end, they will embrace our Divine Lady, we will all be made whole.” Sigma-Devi stiffened her back a little. "Very well then." There was a long pause as the Collective convened and decided. "You claim this change cannot be stopped. Zeta will stop it. We will oppose you at every turn. If you invade others, we will stand against you. The Aegis will delay you, the Oistos will harry you, and if you make the mistake of assuming us to be weak, we [b]will[/b] show you otherwise... And if you assume our struggle to be 'futile,' we will demonstrate to you exactly why we have survived against three nations already. " She paused for a long time. "Now, please, would you like me to escort you out?" “Thank you, that will be appreciated.” Darius said as he, Ezekiel, and Zakaria all stood up in a uniform fashion. “In time, we shall meet once more in the field of battle. I hope you can prove your worth to Gaia.” Sigma-Devi lead what had been potential allies out through the embassy, grim expressions on the faces of every single Zetan they passed. Several warforms looked down at Darius, their mechanical heads tracking him as he left their field of view. Then, once the three Gaians had left, Sigma-Devi prepared herself to make an announcement. It went out the next day. "The Zetan Conciousness would like to reaffirm their dedication to the cause of all humanity, and our commitment to the betterment of that same humanity through research, understanding, and the creation of stronger bonds between the common individual. We would like to make it absolutely and inequivocably clear we never have and never [i]will[/i] augment someone without their explicit permission and consent. Thank you." Two nations however received a much more explicit message. In the isolated world of Ishtar, the crew of the waylaid gunboat informed the Commonality that a new threat, far greater than that of the One, was rising. Back on the Meeting Place, one of the Zetan diplomatic aides would leave a simple message with the Xandilian Republic. [i]The Gaians revealed their true selves to us. They are a threat that cannot be overestimated. Prepare for war, but hope it does not arrive. We will do the same.[/i] [b][center] | [@Lady Lascivious] | and | [@Crusader Lord] | have been warned.[/center][/b]