[center][b]In the vicinity of [i]HMNB Sentinel of the Void[/i], Kaus Borealis System[/b][/center]

[i]Sentinel of the Void[/i] had once been a lonely, unimportant, and largely forgotten station in the middle of... well nothing. Now it was becoming one of the busiest regions of space in the Kaus Borealis system and was arguably the Kingdom's most important station. The station had already doubled in size and was maybe a week away from being able to function as an anchorage.

The amount of warships in the area had more than doubled as well. In fact the collection of ships were being called the [i]Expeditionary Fleet[/i] by some members of the Admiralty. Officially the fleet was considered part of the Home Fleet, but that was liable to change any day now. Many had wandered who would be the commanding officer of the new Expeditionary Fleet. Those questions had been answered once the [i]HMS Monarch[/i] had arrived.

"What's the status of our trade ships?" Admiral Harrington asked. The trade ships in question were two medium sized cargo vessels that were loaded with various goods and tasked with seeing what the markets of the Americana system would be interested in consuming. At least that was the cover story. The trade ship headed to the FRA had some armaments to trade. Obviously not anything in large quantities, just a few pieces that could easily be explained away as being part of the protection details armaments. The trade ship headed to Yulzan space was tasked with collecting intelligence on what the Kingdom was increasingly coming to see as a potential future enemy. Each trade ship would be escorted by a single destroyer, but would otherwise be on its own and at the mercy of the waring Americana factions.

"Both ships report that they'll be heading out within the hour." [i]Monarch[/i] answered after a moment. "Their escorts have confirmed their readiness."

"You sound a bit envious." The admiral stated after a moment.

"[i]Sabre[/i]," [i]HMS Sabre[/i] was one of the escorting destroyers, "was bragging about being the first Royal ship to leave the system." [i]Monarch[/i] didn't bother hiding how irked she was about that. "She's been very, very vocal about it." The admiral chuckled at that. After a moment [i]Monarch[/i] allowed herself to chuckle as well.

"If it makes you feel any better you'll be the first Royal battleship to leave-" Admiral Harrington never got to finish his statement.

"Something just came up on our sensors" An officer called out.

"Show me" The word's had barely left Harrington's lips before a 3D map was projected in front of him, showing the Gate, station, his ships, and three unidentified blips. They were coming in fast and from the direction of the outer rim. "Swimmers." The three blips suddenly exploded into more than Harrington could count. "Battlestations! Get those transports through the Gate. NOW!"

Admiral Harrington moved to his seat and strapped himself down. Once secure He pressed a button on the arm of his chair, causing a cable to extend from the chair and plug in to a port at the base of the Admiral's skull. With the Man-Machine Link between himself and [i]Monarch[/i] established he now had access to a greater amount of information and control over the massive battleship than he could ever have hoped to have otherwise.

He turned the front of [i]Monarch[/i] towards a Swimmer the size of [i]Monarch[/i] herself, a so-called leviathan class Swimmer. He was aware of the two transports and their escorts slipping away through the Gate, but the bulk of his attention was on the Swimmers. 

The Expeditionary Fleet got off the first volley with their spinal cannons. [i]Monarch[/i]'s spinal particle beam cannon speared through the leviathan, blasting a massive hole through its body. It thrashed for a moment before going limp, momentum causing it to continue to fly towards the fleet. Many Swimmers had been killed, but not enough. [i]Monarch[/i] shuddered as return fire, plasma that the Swimmers were literally spitting, struck her armor. [i]Monarch[/i] withstood the attacks with little trouble, but several destroyers reported taking heavy damage.

"They're aiming for the Gate." Admiral Harrington said just a moment before the Swimmer's collided with his fleet. Royal Navy ships fired their CIWS and spinal cannons as Swimmers spat at them or struck them with their tentacles. Several Swimmers even collided with their targets, wrapping their tentacles around the warships in an attempt to crush them.

"Admiral" [i]Monarch[/i] said.

"I see them." Harrington responded as a pair of cruisers were forced into the Gate by the momentum of being tackled by a Swimmer. "Did our cruisers end up in the Americana system as well?" Swimmers followed the two cruisers through the Gate. A lot of Swimmers.

"They did not." [i]Monarch[/i] answered after a moment. "One ended up in New Terra and the other in RADX." Great, so they had been thrown into two different star systems at random.

"I'll take the 1st Task Force to RADX. Admiral Howe, you will take the 2nd Task Force to New Terra. Do not let a single Swimmer slip away. Task Forces three through six will remain here to mop up the remaining Swimmers and protect the Kingdom from external threats."

[sub][@Sigma] and [@Crusader Lord] Two transports and destroyers headed to the Americana system[/sub]

[center][b]The Gate, RADX System[/b][/center]
[center][sub]Collab between [@Darkspleen] and [@Timemaster][/sub][/center]

First out of the Gate was the Royal Navy cruiser, a massive squid like creature wrapped around it. The locals in the vicinity of the gate had just a moment to recognize the presence of foreigners before over a hundred more squid-like creatures, ranging in size of a human to a battleship, disgorged from the gate. Particle beams from the cruisers speared out at the creatures, killing a few but leaving dozens more alive to swarm it. Its spinal cannon shot out, spearing through two destroyer sized creatures, before the cruiser finally succumbed to the tentacles wrapped around it and crumpled.

And then a small fleet appeared through the Gate, particle beams reached out for the creatures. Each Royal Navy ship launched a handful of fighter craft to help combat the smaller creatures, be even then they were greatly outnumbered. Still the Royal Navy fought well, using finesse and coordination to make up for its lack in numbers. Fighters would antagonize the creatures, causing upwards of ten to give chase. Then a nearby destroyer would take out the whole group with a well aimed shot of its spinal cannon. Most of the creatures seemed content to fight the Royal Navy, but about a third flew off in various directions.

As soon as the Goddess left through the Gateway to assist with Catherine's distress call, two unidentified creatures came through the Gateway followed by a small fleet of an unknown nation. The Golden Armada, while diminished as it was currently, it still counted thousands of Infiltrator-Class ships, 15 Carriers, 5 Battlecruisers and the "Angel", a ship similar to the Seraph in size with almost twice the weaponry classed as experimental to the Chosen. Other ships were getting ready to launch into space and more were being built.

"Admiral Watson, incoming communication from the unidentified ship." said one of the Templars aboard the "Angel"

"Put it through. Let's hear their explanation." answered the Admiral with a tired voice. Barely a day since the Gateway reopened and they already met with two different nations, potentially lost a Hierarch and another one in danger. This was not what he imagined his service will entail but for the Goddess, he will do what he must. 

"I am Admiral Harrington of the Royal Navy and Crown Prince of the Kaus Borealis Kingdom," The broadcast originated from one of the larger ships, "this is for all native forces in the area. I promise to explain once things calm down, but for now it is imperative that you not allow a single one of those biological entities to escape into your system. I repeat: you must not let a single one get past you."

"Send a message back to them." taking a deep breath, Watson continued, "This is Admiral Watson of the Chosen. We'll provide assistance but better have a good explanation at the end of this." 

Soon after orders were given to the Golden Armada, eliminate all the creatures but also encircle the unbelievers, they shall not escape if they intended to use the creatures as a distraction. The Battlecruisers already in position close to the Gate had a clear line of sight to the creatures and soon after the order was given, they opened fire with all they had. Countless missiles loaded with corrosive acid were thrown at the enemy, each exploding on impact then spreading the acid.

The Carriers followed soon after, spitting Infiltrator ships one by one while their medium cannons battered the creatures with everything they had. As the ships approached they started pestering the creatures with bullets and as they got very close, Chosen Templars were released in space with no suits. Unburdened by suits, they were all armed with rocket launchers, grenades and long range rifles with AP bullets.

With the Royal Navy firing at them from the rear and the Golden Armada from the front, the fleeing creatures found their numbers cut down. Even so they were certainly still a threat. They spat plasma at the Infiltrators and Chosen warriors that fired upon them. And once they got close enough they bodily slammed into warriors and wrapped their tentacles around. The smallest of the creatures were slightly larger than a normal human, but even they were incredibly dangerous in melee. Royal marines, even when outfitted in powered armor, had long ago learned to dread fighting Swimmer's in melee combat, and the Chosen were about to learn that same lesson.

At the same time the Royal Task force focused its attention on the Swimmers that had stayed back to fight. Royal fighters darted around destroyers and cruisers, exchanging shots with swimmers as the warships CIWS picked the smaller ones off. Particle beam cannons tore through swimmer bodies. Swimmers swarmed warships and worked to tear weapons off of hulls.

For the most part the Royal Navy ignored its Golden Armada counterparts, although the movements of several heavy cruisers clearly indicated that they were aware they were being encircled and positioning themselves to counter an attack from the flanks in necessary. 

A Royal Navy destroyer fired its spinal particle beam cannon at a cruiser sized Swimmer, the attack severed one tentacle but missed the creature's body. A tentacle swatted the destroyer with enough force to throw it to the side and cause it to collide with another nearby destroyer. Armor dented in two places, the destroyer continued to fire on the swimmer with its CIWS, but to little affect. Then the [i]Monarch[/i]'s massive spinal particle beam cannon punched through the Swimmer's body, leaving it to twitch and thrash in its final death throes. And with that final kill the Royal Navy had eliminated the Swimmers that had remained behind.

The Chosen that went out of the Infiltrator ships started to be targeted by the smaller Swimmers. Even if they were smaller than the Chosen they still posed a challenge and soon the first wave of Templars were being decimated. Occasionally an explosion could be seen from where one Templar would fall as they'd sacrifice their lives by detonating their grenades just before death. 

The other Templars started a slow rout, herding the Swimmers towards the better equipped battlecruisers and Carriers all while taking pot shots at any Swimmer that would try to escape the deadly trap. As they'd reach the targeted area, the Templars pulled away as fast as they could. Soon after the two battlecruisers and Carriers that didn't actively engage the other Swimmers started their onslaught, missiles after missiles were being shot at them until, eventually they stopped. 

Finally the Chosen side of the battlefield was cleared out of Swimmers, not without losses. A few of the Carriers sustained damage and one battlecruiser was floating in space, their hull pierced by a swarm of Swimmers. Admiral Watson surveid the battlefield with a critical eye learning how the Swimmers moved, their tactics and weaponry while at the same time, keeping a very close watch on the Royal Navy. In case this turns into a shooting match, they needed to know what they should expect.

"Send a message to Admiral Harrington telling him all the creatures were killed and send a team to retrieve any body parts from them, the Goddess will personally want to run checks on them. Full security detail. That admiral better have a good explanation for this or by the Goddess we'll remove all these heathens from our airspace." said Admiral Watson on board the Angel.

Royal Navy cruisers and destroyers spread out and slowly moved amongst the Swimmer bodies in what was clearly a well coordinated search pattern. Occasionally a Swimmer body would be subjected to particle beam fire. In fact the Royal Navy was firing at things that, at least initially, seemed to definitely not be Swimmer bodies, such as space rocks and smaller warship debris. What was clear was that the Royal Navy didn't seem to particularly care whether or not the Chosen got their hands on Swimmer bodies, as the bulk of said bodies was left unmolested.

"This is Admiral Harrington to Admiral Watson. You'll want to take care that none of our foes are playing dead. They have a habit of doing so or of disguising themselves as something else. I cannot stress enough how good they are at stealth and camouflaging themselves. I'd recommend blasting anything you aren't sure isn't dead." He paused for a moment before continuing. "As for an explanation- well the short version at least: these monsters are beings we call Swimmers. They are natives to the star system we colonized and have a voracious appetite. We have yet to find a living thing they won't eat." Another pause. "The Swimmers made a run for the Gate. My fleet engaged, but they were... very focused on getting to the gate and a large percentage of them chose to prioritize accessing the Gate over engaging my fleet. Two of my cruisers were struck by the Swimmers and forced through the Gate as well. Roughly half of the Swimmers ended up here and the other half in another system. We gave chase and... well you know the rest. Now I know that that explanation will surely leave you with many questions," He sounded genuinely apologetic, "and I'll do my best to answer your questions. Or if you'd prefer I and my fleet can leave your territory right now. We came only to ensure the Swimmers were not allowed to spread elsewhere."

Admiral Watson listened closely to the explanation. So, these creatures were good at hiding and intelligent. Maybe something close to sentience. A fact that would, for sure, interest the Goddess. Orders were sent to the retrieval team to triple check if the creatures were indeed dead and if possible to capture one that is injured to do so. 

A dilemma presented itself. The Admiral had no authority over diplomatic matters as those would be reserved to the Hierarchs but with the Hierarchs gone or busy, something had to be done. After a quick prayer for divine guidance he nodded and a message was sent to the Royal Navy.

"We will make sure that the creatures are indeed dead before running our own tests on them. This is the first true alien life we've met and as such, we are as curious as the Goddess made us. 

I've got a few questions and then, if you could leave, we would be happy. Once the Goddess is back and proper leadership is restored, diplomatic matters can be discussed in detail.

Who are you? Are you humans, descended from the original settlers? How many other nations have you met? Do we have any reason to consider you as potential enemies of the Chosen? These Swimmers, are they sentient?" 

The questions seemed basic enough but behind them a deeper meaning could be understood. Would the Chosen need to get ready for war against yet another nation?

"As I mentioned before," Admiral Harrington began, "we are from the Kingdom of Kaus Borealis. We are descended from some of the Humans who fled Earth. I can actually trace my family lineage back to England. Your country is the third country we have encountered since the Gate has reactivated, though I expect the detachment I sent to chase down and destroyer the other half of the Swimmers who had fled through the Gate to have encountered yet another country. And to be frankly honest I don't know enough about your people to even guess as to what would make us your enemies. We aren't going to be looking for trouble."

"As for the Swimmers..." Admiral Harrington paused to collect his thoughts. "We honestly aren't sure how intelligent they truly are. We assume they have some kind of language, or at least a means of communicating with each other, but have never actually identified anything that could be a language. All attempts at communicating with them have failed; either they have no ability to comprehend our attempts or they have no desire to communicate with us. When they initially appeared they didn't fly in any kind of formation, but other time they started mimicking the formations used by the Royal Navy, and then they started using formations of their own apparent design. We've also seen them change tactics over time, also indicating at least some degree of sapience. Still they continue to be thoroughly alien to us. What their motivations are, beyond eating, are a complete mystery to us."

"Kingdom of Kaus Borealis." said Admiral Watson as to see if the name rolls of the tongue properly and to better commit it to memory then continued talking "We once were humans as well, many years ago but our planet proved to be uninhabitable to humans and as such, in our time of greatest despair when were were close to extinction...the Goddess revealed herself to us and chose us to ascend. May She be praised until the end of time. If your people aren't looking for a fight then pray to the Goddess for your ascension if you are, I'm sure you've noticed surrounding yours but that is your own choice. 

These Swimmers of yours are indeed a threat then for everyone who encounters them. If they have the ability to learn from one nation, they can learn from others and your tactics might not work against someone else's tactics. They're dangerous. Once the Goddess is back, maybe something could be worked out between our nations. A defensive alliance or so. We help you eliminate the Swimmer threat and you'll offer us something in return but that's not my decision.

Am I correct to assume your nation is a monarchy?" a king or queen would be easy to control or please if they would have absolute power. 

"A constitutional monarchy, yes." Harrington answered. "We'll actually be holding elections for our parliament in the next few weeks, but that's not something I need to bore you with at the moment. As for any agreements between our countries, that'll have to be determined at a later date. While I do possess some say in regards to what the Crown government does, at this time I haven't been empowered to do much more than contain the Swimmer menace."

"I would like to know more about your Goddess" Harrington added after a moment. "I do hope you don't take my... um ignorance.. to be disrespect. The way you speak of her gives me the impression of a being with a... physical body. Is goddess a type of title of rank or do you mean she's a divine being that occupies a physical body of some kind?"

Constitutional monarchy, not good but not bad either. Not that much power over the nation but either way, no one ruler to decide everything at once.

"Elections you say? May the Goddess shine her light on the chosen of your people." Watson said, his voice full of devotion for the Goddess, then continued in the same manner "The Goddess was once a human like yourself from Earth until Earthfall. She ascended to godhood shortly after arriving here on RADX-001 and we, her children, were chosen to be ascended. All who meet her will understand her divinity. All who meet her will bow their heads in reverence and pray for salvation. So, to answer your question the Goddess leads the Church and occupies a physical body." his eyes shined with pride as he spoke about the Goddess. 

"Now, I am sorry for cutting this short but as I said, I have no diplomatic power nor training. If you wish to return, you will be greated properly by the Chosen."

"Very well then." Harrington said. "I wish honour and glory for both your nation and Goddess. Till we meet again." With that he cut the communication line to Admiral Watson and gave orders for this task force to return through the gate.

[center][b]The Gate, New Tera System[/b][/center]
[center][sub]Collab between [@Darkspleen] and [@Dog][/sub][/center]

First came a single cruiser, ensnarled by a tentacled monster. Then a hundred more tentacled monsters poured out. The cruiser managed to free itself from its foe, a CIWS particle beam cut a tentacle clear off and allowed the cruiser to break free. The cruiser began to limp away from the swarm of monsters, but it was clear that it wouldn't be able to outrun them.

Thankfully help arrived just in time. Reinforcements followed through the Gate, opening fire with the spinal cannons the moment they were through.

"This is Admiral Howe to all local defense forces nearby. Help us kill these damned monsters or stay out of our way."

The Terran Navy is...shocked to see such surprise come to their home-gate. Without hesitance in their plans, the enmassed Terran warships quickly lock onto their targets. A few minutes of lull as targeting-solutions are acquired before hell is let loose. The discharge of heavy-artillery is a sight to behold as rounds upon rounds of ammunition are fired relentlessly - a never-ending salvo of kinetic munitions. Before long, the space monsters are met with extreme power. 

The monsters were trapped between two powerful fleets; their numbers already reduced due to the short skirmish in Kaus Borealis. They could do just one thing: die. And they died in great numbers. Heavy artillery shells and particle beam cannons smashed into their flanks, some were even struck by both before they died. Soon the beasts had been reduced to little more than space debris.

The Royal Navy was willing to take no chances. Light cruisers and destroyers moved amongst the bodies in a search pattern, occasionally a particle beam would reach out and end the life of a creature playing dead. To the Terran Navy, it would quickly become clear that the monsters were quite adapt at camouflaged, able to make themselves looks like rock or even pieces of metal with ease. And for how good the monsters were at hiding themselves, the Royal Navy was just as good at finding them. 

"I salute your steadfastness in the face of an unknown and [i]alien[/i] foe" Admiral Howe broadcast to the Terran Navy as he recalled his ships, the fleet slowly making its way back to the Gate.

"We thank you for the comment. Sadly, we must ask you to take your leave. It is a matter of state security," an unknown Terran Admiral broadcasts. 

"Understandable." Admiral Howe responded. "We are leaving now." The Royal Navy task force slowly made its way back to the Gate, its destroyers and escorts taking care to destroy as many Swimmer bodies as they possibly could with their CIWS. Once they had all formed up near the gate, the royal ships swiftly left the system and returned home.

[hider=Current Projected Party Popularity]
Progressive Party: 38%
Royalist Party: 37%
Syndicalist Party: 16%
Radical Socialist Party: 1%
The Silver Guard: 8%
[/hider]