RCNS Anna Karenina
Valiant class cruiser
The Starchild's system
The returning signal confirmed that the foreign intelligence was both receiving and understanding the Anna Karenina’s messages. Captain Vissla then dispatched a phase 2 contact package, a barrage of information designed to aid computer algorithms in learning Commonwealth Basic. Among other things, it contained a complete periodic table with the elements named, the numeral system, the Basic alphabet, a binary alphabet, a number of pictograms, and a slew of friendly sounding sample phrases.
The psintegrat bay had something more interesting to report. The sur’unem were detecting a scattering of living minds on one continent of the planet, but a quick trawl of their surface thoughts showed they were too primitive to be broadcasting into space. There was, however, another signature deep underground. It was not a living mind, but rather a technic signature. Anyone building underground psytech arrays would have no difficulties transmitting conventional signals into deep space.
With the data from the psintegrat bay being routed to the bridge’s main holotank, Vissla watched as the techno-psionic signature rose to the surface, shining bright in the minds eye to the sur’unem. It was practicall-no it was a beacon.
Now there was just the problem of the Eternal Union. Four of their ships had dropped back, while the other two continued forward. From the energy of their warp flares and their gravitic signatures, the rear four were likely frigate-sized warships. The front two had high energy output, but small gravitic signatures. They were something of a mystery until tactical reported the blaze of active scans coming from them, meaning they were likely survey ships of some kind.
Vissla considered her options, conscious of the EU message she had yet to respond to. She had plenty of room to manoeuvre; her ship and the Iscandrians had arrived at practically opposite ends of the star system, leaving lighthours of empty space between them. The Anna Karenina and the Iscandrian survey ships were both moving in system at comparable speeds, though due to the current alignment of the planets, the Iscandrians were closer to the foreign intelligence’s world. Tactically, Vissla knew she could likely blow the survey ships out of the sky without breaking a sweat. Going by the energy and mass signatures, she was also more than a match for any one of the withdrawn frigates. The problem was that there were four of them. A surprise attack could probably take down one, maybe two, but that would necessitate a tactical surge, which would weaken her defences and leave her an easy target for the remaining Iscandrian vessels. Not to mention any such attack would constitute an act of war.
Vissla called down the ballistic glass partitions to isolate the command platform and activated privacy fields so she could have a quick conference with her senior officers. They debated and deliberated for a few minutes, then came together with a not-half-bad plan of action. Vissla raised the partitions and issued orders. The sur’unem put together a psionic message for the foreign intelligence, a series of impressions that the psytech arrays should have no difficulty interpreting: Arriving; landing; peace; no harm. Down in so called ‘marine country’ of the ship, a squad of marines and a diplomatic attache prepared for deployment.
Vissla issued one final order; “All hands, brace for FTL surge in 3...2...1...mark!”
The Commonwealth cruiser disappeared in a massive flash of gravitons, then abruptly appeared again in geosynchronous orbit over the psionic beacon on the strange world. Within seconds, the cruiser disgorged two drop pods containing twelve marines and their diplomatic attache, on a direct course for the psionic beacon.
Then Captain Vissla finally responded to the Eternal Union.
“Greetings, Dux Astrum. I am Captain senior grade Alana Vissla of the RCNS Anna Karenina. The Commonwealth is responding to signals of unknown origin coming from this system. Be advised that we have confirmed that the source of these signals is an intelligent entity, and is therefore entitled to all the rights of a sovereign state. Bearing in mind the Eternal Union’s attitudes on foreign policy, I am also informing you that the Commonwealth intends to defend the sovereignty of this newfound intelligence, with lethal force if necessary.”
Valiant class cruiser
The Starchild's system
The returning signal confirmed that the foreign intelligence was both receiving and understanding the Anna Karenina’s messages. Captain Vissla then dispatched a phase 2 contact package, a barrage of information designed to aid computer algorithms in learning Commonwealth Basic. Among other things, it contained a complete periodic table with the elements named, the numeral system, the Basic alphabet, a binary alphabet, a number of pictograms, and a slew of friendly sounding sample phrases.
The psintegrat bay had something more interesting to report. The sur’unem were detecting a scattering of living minds on one continent of the planet, but a quick trawl of their surface thoughts showed they were too primitive to be broadcasting into space. There was, however, another signature deep underground. It was not a living mind, but rather a technic signature. Anyone building underground psytech arrays would have no difficulties transmitting conventional signals into deep space.
With the data from the psintegrat bay being routed to the bridge’s main holotank, Vissla watched as the techno-psionic signature rose to the surface, shining bright in the minds eye to the sur’unem. It was practicall-no it was a beacon.
Now there was just the problem of the Eternal Union. Four of their ships had dropped back, while the other two continued forward. From the energy of their warp flares and their gravitic signatures, the rear four were likely frigate-sized warships. The front two had high energy output, but small gravitic signatures. They were something of a mystery until tactical reported the blaze of active scans coming from them, meaning they were likely survey ships of some kind.
Vissla considered her options, conscious of the EU message she had yet to respond to. She had plenty of room to manoeuvre; her ship and the Iscandrians had arrived at practically opposite ends of the star system, leaving lighthours of empty space between them. The Anna Karenina and the Iscandrian survey ships were both moving in system at comparable speeds, though due to the current alignment of the planets, the Iscandrians were closer to the foreign intelligence’s world. Tactically, Vissla knew she could likely blow the survey ships out of the sky without breaking a sweat. Going by the energy and mass signatures, she was also more than a match for any one of the withdrawn frigates. The problem was that there were four of them. A surprise attack could probably take down one, maybe two, but that would necessitate a tactical surge, which would weaken her defences and leave her an easy target for the remaining Iscandrian vessels. Not to mention any such attack would constitute an act of war.
Vissla called down the ballistic glass partitions to isolate the command platform and activated privacy fields so she could have a quick conference with her senior officers. They debated and deliberated for a few minutes, then came together with a not-half-bad plan of action. Vissla raised the partitions and issued orders. The sur’unem put together a psionic message for the foreign intelligence, a series of impressions that the psytech arrays should have no difficulty interpreting: Arriving; landing; peace; no harm. Down in so called ‘marine country’ of the ship, a squad of marines and a diplomatic attache prepared for deployment.
Vissla issued one final order; “All hands, brace for FTL surge in 3...2...1...mark!”
The Commonwealth cruiser disappeared in a massive flash of gravitons, then abruptly appeared again in geosynchronous orbit over the psionic beacon on the strange world. Within seconds, the cruiser disgorged two drop pods containing twelve marines and their diplomatic attache, on a direct course for the psionic beacon.
Then Captain Vissla finally responded to the Eternal Union.
“Greetings, Dux Astrum. I am Captain senior grade Alana Vissla of the RCNS Anna Karenina. The Commonwealth is responding to signals of unknown origin coming from this system. Be advised that we have confirmed that the source of these signals is an intelligent entity, and is therefore entitled to all the rights of a sovereign state. Bearing in mind the Eternal Union’s attitudes on foreign policy, I am also informing you that the Commonwealth intends to defend the sovereignty of this newfound intelligence, with lethal force if necessary.”