You'd think that when the planet was in the middle of a nuclear standoff, things couldn't get any worse short of mutually assured destruction. Going out in a fireball would probably be better than what happened to most of Central Asia and the Middle East.
The Canadians were lucky then. When the BETA landed at Kashgar back in '73, the Chinese gave the rest of the world the finger, and said they had the situation 'under control'. Of course, nineteen days later they managed to lose air superiority and had their ground forces completely overwhelmed. So what did they do? They turned the Tarim Basin into a nuclear wasteland and forced the BETA west into Central Asia.
Now at this point, the US of A sure as hell wasn't taking any chances. When the BETA landed in Saskatoon the next year, Uncle Sam decided to skip the 'get our army overwhelmed' bit and go straight to launching half their nuclear arsenal at the BETA LZ. Sure, we may have scorched half of Canada, but we saved hundreds of millions of lives in the process!
Back in Eurasia, things weren't looking too good. By 1975, the BETA have overwhelmed most of the Middle East and Central Asia, and at the rate of things were pushing across the Volga right into Eastern Europe. The US and most of Europe twiddled its thumbs whilst the Ruskies bled for every inch of land. It took three years before we finally got our shit together and began our first real counterattack.
Now, a lot of rumours get spread around about what happened during Operation Palaiologos, that it was a slaughter, that we lost half a million men contesting the Ukraine and the Volga, that we had infantrymen try to infiltrate the underground chambers of the Dnipro Hive, only for them to get ripped apart and their remains uncovered weeks later. I'm not going to confirm or deny any of them but I'll tell you this:
If Operation Palaiologos had gone south, all of Europe would be gone. The BETA would have pushed west into Poland, Hungary and Germany and by then, it would've been far too late to stop them. Luckily for us, we won, by the skin of our teeth, and pushed those alien bastards back across the Volga. That was all we could do, though. The costs were just too damned high, too many men were dead fighting over ground in Eastern Europe, and we were spent. No morale, no political will to push forward and most deadly of all, no unity.
The alliance between East and West broke down months after the end of the operation. The West said that it was a 'resounding victory that broke the enemy advance'. The Russians retorted that 'the West didn't have the nerve to push forward’. Now, it's trench warfare all over again, with us sitting in our trenches and mountain holdouts whilst these aliens throw wave after wave against our defenses, and everyone else back at each other's throats, playing the same political game they've always had.
Not much has really changed, other than that we all might end up getting wiped out by alien invaders if we play our cards wrong.
Hello all and welcome to my first attempt at running an NRP. If you're still reading after that opening blurb, congratulations, because whilst this setting may seem a bit complicated if you aren't familiar with the Muv Luv setting, I assure you, it's not, and I'll be doing my best to give you the rundown on the 'history' of this alternate Earth, as well as an explanation of the key concepts and plot elements that are gonna be in play.
First of all, to rehash the history as succinctly as possible:
In 1973, an alien race known as the BETA (Beings of Extra-Terrestrial Origin which are Adversarial to the Human Race) landed in Kashgar. The existence of the BETA was not unknown to humanity. A probe sent to Mars transmitted pictures of strange lifeforms to NASA, and a few years before the first landings, the BETA attacked a US moon base and kicked off the Lunar War which ended with a US withdrawal just before the Kashgar Landings. Once they landed, it was hard to stop them short of launching nukes, which ended up just forcing the BETA west into Central Asia and the Middle East which they overran within a few years.
NATO and the Warsaw Pact basically got together for the first and only time in the largest military operation in human history in early 1978, successfully infiltrating a BETA Hive under construction in Dnipro, Ukraine, and then destroying it, as well as pushing the BETA out of European Russia. From there, they lost momentum and pretty much stopped after setting up a new defense line in the Caucasus and northern Kazakhstan where the BETA have been bashing their heads against a brick wall for the past decade.
The year is now 1988, and with the alien threat mostly contained to these regions, the Cold War which was on pause for a few years is now back in full swing.
Now you might be shouting: "Hold on a sec, Predawnia, Lunar War in the early 70s? Probe to Mars before that? Did you fail middle school history or is there an alternate history timeline you forgot to tell us about?"
To that question, it's none of the former and a bit of the latter, with a lot of ambiguity and 'undefined' events to allow for sufficient freedom to design your own nation, so you can play your alternate history communist Nepal or whatever tickles your fancy. The only really concrete and 'happened without a shadow of a doubt events' are as follows:
19th century: The Shogunate wins the Boshin War and as a result, the Emperor remains a figurehead. Rest of history proceeds as normal up until World War 1
1919-1944: World War 2 ends in 1944 with the United States nuking Rostock and Wurzburg in Germany instead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Shogunate issues a surrender and signs a peace treaty with the United States, with the Shogun becoming a figurehead much like the Emperor did OTL.
1950s: United States, Western Europe and the Soviets set up their own space agencies, using Orion Drives, and the United States sends a probe to Mars which transmits back pictures of the first BETA.
1960+: Refer to the previous section where I summarized the history.
The BETA: The secondary, or primary antagonist of the RP (depending if your nation happens to be on the frontlines or not) and possibly the greatest threat to the human race aside from the threat of mutually assured destruction. The BETA harvest humans and most other resources on land, lack air or naval assets, and their strength in combat lies in their use of numbers to overwhelm any opposition The conflict with the BETA is an ongoing event in the background regardless of the politicking in the rest of the world, and the frontlines with the BETA are pretty much facing combat 24/7 somewhere. Lots of room for plot to happen here. BETA actions will be controlled by the GMs and they’ll move at the speed of plot. More info on BETA as a species can be found in the picture below.
Operation Palaiologos: In the original Muv Luv series, Operation Palaiologos was an attempt by NATO and the Warsaw Pact to capture the under-construction Minsk Hive in Belarus and repulse the BETA advance into Europe. The failure of the Operation in the original timeline leads to the withdrawal from the Soviet Union from European Russia and the separation of the Warsaw Pact from their sponsor nation, and eventually, the fall of continental Europe.
In the Legacy of Palaiologos timeline, the Operation was a pyrrhic victory for the combined NATO-Pact forces in capturing the Dnipro Hive, allowing them to establish a new defense line in Kazakhstan and the Caucasus and thus averting the fall of Europe.
Alternative Projects: A series of projects beginning from the Lunar War and extending to the present day. Alternative I attempted to contact the BETA, and failed. Alternative II attempted to dissect and study the BETA as well as a Hive, which was accomplished in Operation Palaiologos. Alternative III is an ongoing attempt to develop individuals with extrasensory perception (Espers) to communicate telepathically with the BETA.
The United Nations: Unlike OTL, the United Nations has a much larger military contributed mostly by governments-in-exile of nations overran by the BETA, as well as other forces from around the globe. In the context of this RP, the United Nations can be considered an 'NPC' faction that more or less has its hands full dealing with the BETA, though the Security Council may influence their actions and direct Anti-BETA operations.
UN Resolution 404: A resolution adopted by the UN Security Council in 1978 during the events of Operation Palaiologos. It's basically an agreement between the two major blocs to remove their nuclear weapons from missile locations that are either in Turkey or nowhere near the frontlines with the BETA. Staves off the threat of MAD to an extent.
Tactical Surface Fighters: Mechas that are the primary combat system used to fight the BETA. The reason for their usage is that the BETA employ an extremely powerful anti-air system through the use of the Laser-class that can shoot down conventional aircraft with pinpoint accuracy from 30 kilometres away. TSFs were thus developed as all-purpose assault units, able to fight in urban regions, uneven terrain, and most importantly of all, fly low enough that they would not be targeted by BETA anti-air. Of course, that doesn't mean the jet fighter has gone extinct. Their role in war may have been diminished and they're slowly getting phased out over time, but most nations still field conventional jet aircraft, with TSFs only taking over in recent years.
Do we get Spaceships?: Sort of, but they suck. Spaceships in this alternate world are glorified cargo freighters running off electric propulsion only marginally more advanced than what modern satellites and rockets use. Whilst humanity has the technology to get things flying into space, they haven't really developed laser weaponry or railguns or much of the other stuff that are the staple of sci-fi. TSFs don't really work in space either, and most space-related R&D is devoted to figuring out how to drop TSFs from orbital dive pods to the surface without killing the pilot from G forces, heat or equipment failure. Most other technology, TSFs aside and aforementioned spaceships are more or less identical to what we had in the 80s OTL.
The Cold War: The Cold War is still ongoing, with the communist and capitalist blocs still yet to put aside their differences entirely. Suspicion between the east and west remains high despite the success of Operation Palaiologos. Media remains highly controlled and non-military personnel do not even know what the BETA look like. The KGB, Stasi, CIA, insert other national intelligence agency are still very much active and with real presence.
The Passage of Time : The RP will run at a speed of 1 page per month. This may be extended in future as more people join in.
Tl;dr rules and guidelines for the lazy among us
1. There are alien invaders on Earth known as the BETA, and they've took out most of the Middle East and Central Asia.
2. There's also a cold war going on in an alternate history Earth.
3. Mutually assured destruction through nukes is a big no no, and if nukes are going to fly, it's going to be flying towards the BETA instead of towards another nation.
4. Everyone has troops in some form or another on the frontlines against the BETA. It might be an entire army if your nation is on the frontlines, or it could just be a few TSFs if you're some Himalayan country with a population lower than the state of Wyoming. You don't always have to use them as in write a battle post or whatnot every time you make an IC, but you should have guys there. The idea here is that we have a persistent conflict going on regardless of the politics and diplomacy going on in the rest of the world. Lots of room for plot developments.
5. Everyone has TSFs. TSFs are more or less set to completely overtaken conventional jet fighters yet and form a large portion of a nation's air force. TSFs follow 1st/2nd/3rd gen configurations similar to OTL jet aircraft development. TSFs are currently in the 2nd generation phase, with 3rd generation TSFs currently in R&D and not slated for deployment for a few more years.
6. Play nice and sort out any disputes/differences politely among yourselves. I'll only intervene if its really necessary and probably deliver some objective judgement. Be reasonable with each other and have respect towards them and the premise of the RP. If anyone tries anything crazy, I'll come down on them.
7. This is a writing-focused NRP, not a stats one, so no dice. Don't pull shit out of your ass, thanks.
8. More rules and will be added as GMs see fit, I'll make sure to both inform everyone involved and update this list accordingly.
Is there a discord?: Yes, here: discord.gg/JNPJAXs . Feel free to hop in and get to know everyone else participating.
Template Nation Sheet below, I'm more focused on the quality of IC posts rather than the number of words in your nation sheet so I've left it relatively sparse.
Nation Name
Put a flag above or below the name I guess
Overview
A general summary of your nation. A paragraph or two with the important details
History
Mostly optional, but at a minimum should include your nation's modern history from at least the 1970s Notably, this should include their response to the Lunar War, the BETA landings and their participation or lack thereof in Operation Palaiologos, as well as what they did in the 10 years since the operation.
Government and Alignment
You'll be RPing a nation so this is pretty crucial. How does your government work, who runs the show, who they support in the Cold War if any.
Military Overview
Describe general doctrine, history, army reforms after you got hammered by the BETA, whatever. Would recommend some research into military tactics used in the Muv Luv world before writing this part.
Tactical Surface Fighters
Describe what TSFs are currently in use by your armed forces, whether they be domestic models/variants or bought from American or Soviet surplus. Descriptive paragraph optional, since we'll all just be trying to find different ways to say 'the sky is blue' when five nations all use the same TSF model though if your model has modifications made to it to suit the local battlefield, it is worth mentioning those.
This is the OOC post for an NRP I've been working on for a fair while now that I've thrown up as an interest check. What do you all think? Any interest? I've tried to make this as accessible as possible to those not familiar with the Muv-Luv franchise.
Feel free to ask if anything needs clarification, since this is pretty much my first attempt at running an NRP.
You'd think that when the planet was in the middle of a nuclear standoff, things couldn't get any worse short of mutually assured destruction. Going out in a fireball would probably be better than what happened to most of Central Asia and the Middle East.
The Canadians were lucky then. When the BETA landed at Kashgar back in '73, the Chinese gave the rest of the world the finger, and said they had the situation 'under control'. Of course, nineteen days later they managed to lose air superiority and had their ground forces completely overwhelmed. So what did they do? They turned the Tarim Basin into a nuclear wasteland and forced the BETA west into Central Asia.
Now at this point, the US of A sure as hell wasn't taking any chances. When the BETA landed in Saskatoon the next year, Uncle Sam decided to skip the 'get our army overwhelmed' bit and go straight to launching half their nuclear arsenal at the BETA LZ. Sure, we may have scorched half of Canada, but we saved hundreds of millions of lives in the process!
Back in Eurasia, things weren't looking too good. By 1975, the BETA have overwhelmed most of the Middle East and Central Asia, and at the rate of things were pushing across the Volga right into Eastern Europe. The US and most of Europe twiddled its thumbs whilst the Ruskies bled for every inch of land. It took three years before we finally got our shit together and began our first real counterattack.
Now, a lot of rumours get spread around about what happened during Operation Palaiologos, that it was a slaughter, that we lost half a million men contesting the Ukraine and the Volga, that we had infantrymen try to infiltrate the underground chambers of the Dnipro Hive, only for them to get ripped apart and their remains uncovered weeks later. I'm not going to confirm or deny any of them but I'll tell you this:
If Operation Palaiologos had gone south, all of Europe would be gone. The BETA would have pushed west into Poland, Hungary and Germany and by then, it would've been far too late to stop them. Luckily for us, we won, by the skin of our teeth, and pushed those alien bastards back across the Volga. That was all we could do, though. The costs were just too damned high, too many men were dead fighting over ground in Eastern Europe, and we were spent. No morale, no political will to push forward and most deadly of all, no unity.
The alliance between East and West broke down months after the end of the operation. The West said that it was a 'resounding victory that broke the enemy advance'. The Russians retorted that 'the West didn't have the nerve to push forward’. Now, it's trench warfare all over again, with us sitting in our trenches and mountain holdouts whilst these aliens throw wave after wave against our defenses, and everyone else back at each other's throats, playing the same political game they've always had.
Not much has really changed, other than that we all might end up getting wiped out by alien invaders if we play our cards wrong.
Hello all and welcome to my first attempt at running an NRP. If you're still reading after that opening blurb, congratulations, because whilst this setting may seem a bit complicated if you aren't familiar with the Muv Luv setting, I assure you, it's not, and I'll be doing my best to give you the rundown on the 'history' of this alternate Earth, as well as an explanation of the key concepts and plot elements that are gonna be in play.
First of all, to rehash the history as succinctly as possible:
In 1973, an alien race known as the BETA (Beings of Extra-Terrestrial Origin which are Adversarial to the Human Race) landed in Kashgar. The existence of the BETA was not unknown to humanity. A probe sent to Mars transmitted pictures of strange lifeforms to NASA, and a few years before the first landings, the BETA attacked a US moon base and kicked off the Lunar War which ended with a US withdrawal just before the Kashgar Landings. Once they landed, it was hard to stop them short of launching nukes, which ended up just forcing the BETA west into Central Asia and the Middle East which they overran within a few years.
NATO and the Warsaw Pact basically got together for the first and only time in the largest military operation in human history in early 1978, successfully infiltrating a BETA Hive under construction in Dnipro, Ukraine, and then destroying it, as well as pushing the BETA out of European Russia. From there, they lost momentum and pretty much stopped after setting up a new defense line in the Caucasus and northern Kazakhstan where the BETA have been bashing their heads against a brick wall for the past decade.
The year is now 1988, and with the alien threat mostly contained to these regions, the Cold War which was on pause for a few years is now back in full swing.
Now you might be shouting: "Hold on a sec, Predawnia, Lunar War in the early 70s? Probe to Mars before that? Did you fail middle school history or is there an alternate history timeline you forgot to tell us about?"
To that question, it's none of the former and a bit of the latter, with a lot of ambiguity and 'undefined' events to allow for sufficient freedom to design your own nation, so you can play your alternate history communist Nepal or whatever tickles your fancy. The only really concrete and 'happened without a shadow of a doubt events' are as follows:
19th century: The Shogunate wins the Boshin War and as a result, the Emperor remains a figurehead. Rest of history proceeds as normal up until World War 1
1919-1944: World War 2 ends in 1944 with the United States nuking Rostock and Wurzburg in Germany instead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Shogunate issues a surrender and signs a peace treaty with the United States, with the Shogun becoming a figurehead much like the Emperor did OTL.
1950s: United States, Western Europe and the Soviets set up their own space agencies, using Orion Drives, and the United States sends a probe to Mars which transmits back pictures of the first BETA.
1960+: Refer to the previous section where I summarized the history.
The BETA: The secondary, or primary antagonist of the RP (depending if your nation happens to be on the frontlines or not) and possibly the greatest threat to the human race aside from the threat of mutually assured destruction. The BETA harvest humans and most other resources on land, lack air or naval assets, and their strength in combat lies in their use of numbers to overwhelm any opposition The conflict with the BETA is an ongoing event in the background regardless of the politicking in the rest of the world, and the frontlines with the BETA are pretty much facing combat 24/7 somewhere. Lots of room for plot to happen here. BETA actions will be controlled by the GMs and they’ll move at the speed of plot. More info on BETA as a species can be found in the picture below.
Operation Palaiologos: In the original Muv Luv series, Operation Palaiologos was an attempt by NATO and the Warsaw Pact to capture the under-construction Minsk Hive in Belarus and repulse the BETA advance into Europe. The failure of the Operation in the original timeline leads to the withdrawal from the Soviet Union from European Russia and the separation of the Warsaw Pact from their sponsor nation, and eventually, the fall of continental Europe.
In the Legacy of Palaiologos timeline, the Operation was a pyrrhic victory for the combined NATO-Pact forces in capturing the Dnipro Hive, allowing them to establish a new defense line in Kazakhstan and the Caucasus and thus averting the fall of Europe.
Alternative Projects: A series of projects beginning from the Lunar War and extending to the present day. Alternative I attempted to contact the BETA, and failed. Alternative II attempted to dissect and study the BETA as well as a Hive, which was accomplished in Operation Palaiologos. Alternative III is an ongoing attempt to develop individuals with extrasensory perception (Espers) to communicate telepathically with the BETA.
The United Nations: Unlike OTL, the United Nations has a much larger military contributed mostly by governments-in-exile of nations overran by the BETA, as well as other forces from around the globe. In the context of this RP, the United Nations can be considered an 'NPC' faction that more or less has its hands full dealing with the BETA, though the Security Council may influence their actions and direct Anti-BETA operations.
UN Resolution 404: A resolution adopted by the UN Security Council in 1978 during the events of Operation Palaiologos. It's basically an agreement between the two major blocs to remove their nuclear weapons from missile locations that are either in Turkey or nowhere near the frontlines with the BETA. Staves off the threat of MAD to an extent.
Tactical Surface Fighters: Mechas that are the primary combat system used to fight the BETA. The reason for their usage is that the BETA employ an extremely powerful anti-air system through the use of the Laser-class that can shoot down conventional aircraft with pinpoint accuracy from 30 kilometres away. TSFs were thus developed as all-purpose assault units, able to fight in urban regions, uneven terrain, and most importantly of all, fly low enough that they would not be targeted by BETA anti-air. Of course, that doesn't mean the jet fighter has gone extinct. Their role in war may have been diminished and they're slowly getting phased out over time, but most nations still field conventional jet aircraft, with TSFs only taking over in recent years.
Do we get Spaceships?: Sort of, but they suck. Spaceships in this alternate world are glorified cargo freighters running off electric propulsion only marginally more advanced than what modern satellites and rockets use. Whilst humanity has the technology to get things flying into space, they haven't really developed laser weaponry or railguns or much of the other stuff that are the staple of sci-fi. TSFs don't really work in space either, and most space-related R&D is devoted to figuring out how to drop TSFs from orbital dive pods to the surface without killing the pilot from G forces, heat or equipment failure. Most other technology, TSFs aside and aforementioned spaceships are more or less identical to what we had in the 80s OTL.
The Cold War: The Cold War is still ongoing, with the communist and capitalist blocs still yet to put aside their differences entirely. Suspicion between the east and west remains high despite the success of Operation Palaiologos. Media remains highly controlled and non-military personnel do not even know what the BETA look like. The KGB, Stasi, CIA, insert other national intelligence agency are still very much active and with real presence.
The Passage of Time : The RP will run at a speed of 1 page per month. This may be extended in future as more people join in.
Tl;dr rules and guidelines for the lazy among us
1. There are alien invaders on Earth known as the BETA, and they've took out most of the Middle East and Central Asia.
2. There's also a cold war going on in an alternate history Earth.
3. Mutually assured destruction through nukes is a big no no, and if nukes are going to fly, it's going to be flying towards the BETA instead of towards another nation.
4. Everyone has troops in some form or another on the frontlines against the BETA. It might be an entire army if your nation is on the frontlines, or it could just be a few TSFs if you're some Himalayan country with a population lower than the state of Wyoming. You don't always have to use them as in write a battle post or whatnot every time you make an IC, but you should have guys there. The idea here is that we have a persistent conflict going on regardless of the politics and diplomacy going on in the rest of the world. Lots of room for plot developments.
5. Everyone has TSFs. TSFs are more or less set to completely overtaken conventional jet fighters yet and form a large portion of a nation's air force. TSFs follow 1st/2nd/3rd gen configurations similar to OTL jet aircraft development. TSFs are currently in the 2nd generation phase, with 3rd generation TSFs currently in R&D and not slated for deployment for a few more years.
6. Play nice and sort out any disputes/differences politely among yourselves. I'll only intervene if its really necessary and probably deliver some objective judgement. Be reasonable with each other and have respect towards them and the premise of the RP. If anyone tries anything crazy, I'll come down on them.
7. This is a writing-focused NRP, not a stats one, so no dice. Don't pull shit out of your ass, thanks.
8. More rules and will be added as GMs see fit, I'll make sure to both inform everyone involved and update this list accordingly.
Template Nation Sheet below, I'm more focused on the quality of IC posts rather than the number of words in your nation sheet so I've left it relatively sparse.
Nation Name
Put a flag above or below the name I guess
Overview
A general summary of your nation. A paragraph or two with the important details
History
Mostly optional, but at a minimum should include your nation's modern history from at least the 1970s Notably, this should include their response to the Lunar War, the BETA landings and their participation or lack thereof in Operation Palaiologos, as well as what they did in the 10 years since the operation.
Government and Alignment
You'll be RPing a nation so this is pretty crucial. How does your government work, who runs the show, who they support in the Cold War if any.
Military Overview
Describe general doctrine, history, army reforms after you got hammered by the BETA, whatever. Would recommend some research into military tactics used in the Muv Luv world before writing this part.
Tactical Surface Fighters
Describe what TSFs are currently in use by your armed forces, whether they be domestic models/variants or bought from American or Soviet surplus. Descriptive paragraph optional, since we'll all just be trying to find different ways to say 'the sky is blue' when five nations all use the same TSF model though if your model has modifications made to it to suit the local battlefield, it is worth mentioning those.
The Imperial Palace Imperial Council Chambers Rijkstad, Kadath
Emperor Kerxec was ill. At his age, it was not a rare occurrence. His health was failing, and repeated attempts at genetic therapy had only managed to stave off the inevitable results of aging for three decades. At 8am local time, the Imperial Household publicly issued an official announcement stating that the Emperor had been admitted to the Medical Ward of the Imperial Palace, and the best doctors within the system summoned to attend to His Imperial Majesty.
This left the Imperial Government with a problem, given that the Emperor had summoned the the First Minister and select members of the cabinet to the Palace on that very same day to coordinate the actions of the Union in the increasingly unstable galactic climate. In the Emperor's stead, it was left to the Regent Theodrik Vengabirg to act as the bridge between Crown and Cabinet.
"Well then, let's skip the pleasantries and get down to business, refreshments are available near the door. Lady Arta, we will save the report from the Office of the First Minister for last. For now, let us begin with the most important portfolio for this meeting."
The assembled ministers quickly turned their heads to look at one another in response to Theodrik's vague declaration, unsure as who should start first. Among those present, Arta excluded, were Amalrik Vesla, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Henrik Aksmun, the Director of State Security, Etou Kurolea, Minister of Defense and the Minister of Finance, John Sinclair, a Human most noted for his competency at his post, as well as being one of the few non-Saralai politicians in Kadath.
A few seconds of awkwardness passed before Kurolea cleared his throat, and reached for the holopad laid out in front of him. With a few brief flicks of the screen, a display of the ISD Triumphant, Kadath's hyperdreadnought, came up onto the screen.
"Sir, the Triumphant has just finished the last of its trials within the Gwyn Nebula, alongside with the handful of dreadnoughts we began constructing in secrecy within the past decade. High Admiral Cresten informs me that once the remaining equipment and personnel have been delivered, that they'll be ready for deployment to the First Fleet." Etou turned briefly to look at Henrik, receiving only a nod in response. "In addition, he continued, the Directorate of State Security has been assigned additional assault carriers that have rolled off the drydocks for their operations within Agdemnar."
A hard expression appeared momentarily on the Regent's face, before simply nodding. "Very good, Kurolea. With these vessels I have no doubt that the security of the Union is in good hands."
That was of course, a lie. Out of anyone within Kadath, Theodrik was the most distrustful of the growing power of the Directorate of State Security. Granting them additional ground-based assets was fair enough, they needed them to do their job, but the increasing amounts of naval assets diverted to the Directorate meant that they posed a security risk, even if that threat was relatively minor. Nevertheless, as His Imperial Majesty's most trusted servant, and head of His Knights, he knew that the Directorate had to be kept in checked.
"Next on the agenda, may I have the news from Agdemnar?" He asked, gaze directed at Henrik. It was rather obvious that the man was weak-willed, spineless and far, far too accommodating. Theodrik had accompanied His Imperial Majesty that on many cabinet meetings, some of which included Henrik. The man was a puppet of the Vice-Director, Erijk Mielke, plain and simple.
"To be honest sir, not much has happened." Henrik said with a sigh. "Lieutenant-Colonel Nyklaus Sazan has established a resupply point for S.A.D vessels on Agdemnar VIa, as well as a listening post on the surface of the planet not too far from the planet's shield generator. In his report, he has noted that for the operation to be successful, he will need a larger fleet. Frigates and Cruisers aren't cutting the mustard when most of the opposition is fielding Great-War surplus or modern battleships."
"Are the Assault Carriers dispatched to Agdemnar not sufficient?" came an inquiry from Kurolea. "If that is the case, I can put in a request to the Admiralty to loan a few Valusias and Unitys to the task force in the system. Do keep in mind that they are to be returned as soon as the operation is concluded." He stated, to nods from the rest of the room.
"Thank you, Aksmun. Continue to ensure that operations in Agdemnar proceed as intended. The fate of this nation depends on it." Theodrik said. "Now, to Mr Sinclair. What's the report from the treasury?"
"Unsurprisingly enough sir, the Imperial Budget is running on a deficit, the new wave of re-militarization hasn't exactly helped the state of the Union's bottom line." John spoke with a hint of pessimism, drawing glares from Kurolea, as well as a sigh from Arta, who had until this point remained silent.
"Don't give me that, Sinclair." Arta declared suddenly. "I gave you this portfolio because you have a reputation for keeping even the most financially ruined corporation on Far Port afloat for long enough to recover. This should be child's play."
"Lady Arta, if you could let me finish. I am currently making contact with several banking firms within the Union to extend a line of credit at interest below standard rates, and in addition, am drafting a proposal to issue additional government bonds, which will finance the trade deals that we have concluded with both FedNat and the Hierarchy."
"His Imperial Majesty will be delighted to hear the news." Theodrik nodded. "Everything on the financial department seems to be going according to plan. Next, what's the diplomatic report, Vesla?"
"A mixed bag, if I may be honest. Our missive to the Commonwealth has gone ignored, and their response has been, if you'll excuse my language, a polite request for us to sod off. Of course, there's also reports that the Federation and Commonwealth are conducting war games close to the Rolvian border. Add that to the current squabble over Manir and we have a recipe for another Great War on our hands." Vesla sighed heavily, as the rest of the assembled ministers threw in their thoughts.
Kurolea began first. "Should I inform the General Staff to raise the defense condition of the Armed Forces? I have a mobilization order drafted in advance during the Detente that can get our forces ready for war within a month."
"No, no. Are you mad? Raising the defense condition of the Armed Forces is asking for everyone in this region of space to do the same. It's blatant suicide." Arta protested.
"I must concur with the First Minister on this one, Kurolea." Theodrik interjected. Adopt a passive approach, and head to Khulda Point to directly liaise with the General Staff. Vesla, continue the report."
"Right. The Utopians are still silent, probably because they haven't got our missive yet. A note came in recently that the Asrian Crown Prince perished recently in a military action of the Ascendancy on Agdemnar. We've also received a missive from the..."
"The...?"
"Taulron. It was addressed to His Imperial Majesty but had to go through my Ministry. Whilst the Emperor is incapacitated, it more or less falls to you to reply, sir. I'd recommend we reply favourably. We will need powerful allies for the road ahead."
The Taulron... they were technically allies of Kadath during the Great War yes, but that fact does not obfuscate the reality that the Empire was imperialist in nature, cut from the same cloth as the Commonwealth. It was true however, that life under Taulron overlordship was better than life as a colonial territory of the Commonwealth, but even so, it would be better to rule freely for a decade than a millennium as a stooge to a foreign power. Theodrik knew the price of freedom well. He had fought for it and paid for it, freedom not solely for Kadath, but for others as well. During the Great War, he bled on the surface of countless alien worlds, fighting for the right of the Kadathi, and so many other smaller states that had fallen beneath the Commonwealth's boot to decide their own destiny. To put it concisely, cooperation with the Taulron may be a necessary evil, but Teodrik can never delude himself into thinking that today's allies will not become tomorrow's enemy.
"Understood, Vesla. I'll pen a reply to the Taulron after this meeting is adjourned, in the case of the Asran Crown Prince, the usual condolences for a decased foreign royal will do. For the moment, let us finish with the report from the First Minister. Lady Arta?"
"Yes, yes of course. Lord Regent. On the overall direction of the Union-National Government, everything is proceeding roughly according to plan. As mentioned by Kurolea, naval deployments are proceeding as scheduled. If current estimates are any indication, we should be able to get several modernised fleets into service by the end of the year. On the foreign policy department, attempts to secure resources for rearmament have succeeded, though attempts to forge diplomatic ties are slow for the time being. Agdemnar will require additional backup if the Directorate intends to make any significant breakthroughs. With these in mind, the next priority would be to prevent the outbreak of war in the most likely flashpoint; Manir. Unfortunately, there is really nothing we can do without revealing our hand, after getting rebuked by the Commonwealth. That is all."
Theodrik nodded once again, before rising to speak.
"As the representative of the Imperial Household and His Imperial Majesty himself, the Emperor will no doubt be pleased with the results produced by the efforts of his government. Please work to ensure that such results are maintained, for all our sakes. If no one else has anything to add, this meeting is adj-."
The doors to the cabinet chamber were unceremoniously opened with a resounding creak that echoed throughout the room, causing the assembled politicians to momentarily cover their ears. In the hallway, stood the Crown Princess, Cerula of Dzijmeter, flanked by a handmaiden and an Imperial Knight.
"Y-your Highness, what is the matter?" asked Sinclair as the room rose to bow.
"The dominoes are starting to fall." She muttered.
"I told you we should have raised the defense condition..." Kurolea replied, a smug smile appearing on his face, much to the annoyance of both Theodrik and Arta.
To His Imperial Majesty, Salos VI of the House of Taulros, 99th Emperor of the Taulron,
I must first apologize to His Imperial Majesty, Salos VI for the inability of my father, His Imperial Majesty, Kerxec XV, to respond to your missive.
It is indeed, a sad truth that the galactic order that billions have worked for, fought for, suffered for and died for is on its deathbed. The contributions of the Taulron, and the bonds forged between our respective peoples can never be forgotten.
If it is the goal of His Imperial Majesty to bring about a new order, to ensure peace and prosperity for a thousand years, then how could the House of Dzijmeter refuse?
Writing in the name of His Imperial Majesty Kerxec XV of the House of Dzijmeter, 13th Emperor of Kadath Her Highness, Crown Princess Cerula of the House of Dzijmeter
Adding my (extremely) late voice to the discussion about numbers of hyperdreads, I'm personally in favour of having one hyperdread, and also scaled down versions that people can use as dreadnoughts.
Surface of Agdemnar VII Agdemnar VII, a world devoid of all life, no animals, no trees, no grass, no greenery to be seen whatsoever, and not a living being in sight. The planet was nothing but a barren wasteland, an ideal location for a secret meeting far from prying eyes. A Salvation Dropship came souring through the darkened skies, its screeching engines echoing through the empty valleys below. The ship continued its journey for a short while longer before it had arrived at the designated meeting point for both parties, the dropship made its slow descent towards the flattened ground, causing a small dust storm as dirt whirled around it. The troop bay hatch lowered, revealing Admiral Garza and Captain Hanu encased in protective environmental suits, flanked by three armored marines as they stepped out into the the rather bleak and unwelcoming sight that was Agdemnar VII.
A gale of wind brought dust billowing in front of them, obscuring their view of the desolate surface for a few moments. As the gust subsided, they could see strange, red-black shapes approaching in the distance, their movements fluid, but at the same time calculated and methodical. Garza couldn't exactly make out what they were from so far away, but something in his gut made it clear enough; they were walkers.
When the distance finally closed between them, it became obvious enough what they were. His gut was right beyond a doubt. A pair of mechanized walkers, assembled somewhere within Kadathi space. In their left arm was some sort of lance-like implement, on their right, a long tube that could only be described as the barrel for a beam weapon. Most unusually however, was the absence of the White Sun, a Kadathi symbol emblazoned in some form on all military assets. What replaced it instead was the image of an eagle, wings outstretched, and an all-seeing eye carved into its chest.
After a brief moment, the sound of a gas discharge filled the air as the walkers' cockpit blocks separated from the main chassis, small lifts slowly ferrying down two power armoured individuals to the surface.
Although machines of such scale and firepower were not alien to the Admiral or to the Ascendancy as a whole, he and his entourage still couldn't help but stare in awe of what giants stood before them, the Kadathi were quite the masters of this new form of war machine, an art that the Ascendancy and quite a few other powers have begun to practice in as well, fielding their own, if somewhat imperfect designs. However, upon closer inspection, he took notice of the Ministry's emblem printed upon the machines, a red flag if he's ever seen one, Garza has known all too well of the Ministry's...actions against those of the Ashtari Faith, untold numbers of brothers and sisters slain by their hand.
Now the Ministry had seemingly been given access to higher grade military hardware, a worrying revelation indeed. Garza cautiously stepped forward to meet the Ministry's faceless emissaries, his guards and second quickly following behind, Hanu clearly sensing the tension in the air as the two parties soon met face to face. Garza inspected one of the individuals closer, his blood starting to boil. "Nyklaus Sazan.." Garza spoke with a venomous tone. He could recognize that face from anywhere, this man was after all, his son's killer. Gilliam Garza was among the many "Advisors" sent by the Ascendancy in their covert efforts to support the Ashtari Sects that choose to remain, and spread the faith.
In the Ministry's many raids against these sects, Gilliam's team failed to flee in time before a raid led by Nyklaus Sazan, stormed the compound and killed all within, the Advisors included. The non-Saralai bodies discovered sparked an incident between the Imperial Union and the Ascendancy, the Council swiftly disavowing the Advisors as "rogue" elements. The fallen had gone unnamed publicly, quietly forgotten, but privately, they were given proper burials and their families were compensated for their collective loss. With Wallace's connections in the military, he was the first to discover his son's death at the hands of Sazan, his world shattering in that instant.
He stood before the man that took his son. His hands trembling as the urge to grab his pistol was all consuming. He could make one clean shot and avenge his son. "You killed my boy.." He mumbled.
Sazan's face, visible only through the dusty translucent visor was struck with a moment of confusion, and then clarity. Garza, a family he had dealt with once before, on that winter night in northern Tynaria over six years ago.
"I had to do what was necessary, Admiral Garza." He began, choosing his words carefully, his pace slow and methodical. "I do not know what you may have heard in the Ascendancy, but it was the warriors of the Penitent Blade that fired the first shot. I gave them a chance to surrender, to stand down and end it without shedding any blood. They would have faced a fair trial had they done so. Instead, they opened fire when I gave them that chance. Tell me, what other choice did I have?"
"..You had your duty, Sazan.." Wallace replied. "And I have mine." He pulled out his pistol without hesitation, aiming right for Sazan's frontal visor. ready to make the shot, ready to finally put his son's soul to rest, let his killer bleed to death or suffocate in Agdemnar VII's toxic atmosphere, eve if he were to die where he stood, he knew would have done some good in the galaxy. Before he could even pull the trigger, Captain Hanu quickly pushed his arms downward. "Admiral!???!" She cried out in confusion. "Sir! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
"This man...no this heathen murdered my son!" Six years of grief soon overcame the Admiral, any rationality that was, was no more in that moment. "He must answer for this!"
Another voice, one laced with a feminine, synthetic tone rang out as Sazan's companion moved forward to block Garza's line of fire.
"I would recommend you not open fire." Nightingale declared with a degree of assertion as her right hand reached for her sidearm without unholstering it. "Such an action would jeopardize any chance of forging a mutual cooperation." Her left hand pointed in the direction of Captain Hanu. "You there, officer, I detect that the Admiral is, in the most polite way of phrasing it, emotionally compromised. I suggest that if negotiations are to continue, that he be returned to his vessel."
Before long two of the marine guards were quick to restrain the Admiral, clearly understanding the severity of the situation at hand. "This is insubordination!" Wallace shouted out. I order you to release me!"
"Take him back to the ship." Hanu ordered. Both marines nodded and returned to the dropship, the third remaining to guard the captain. She turned back to face Nightingale and Sazan. "I must apologize for the Admiral's outburst. "She said sheepishly. "I will gladly take his place to negotiate on behalf of the Crusaders." In the brief moment of ordeal, the Captain had failed to notice something rather...odd about Sazan's attendant, the synthesized voice was certainly an indicator.
"My apologies for being the cause of that ordeal. I knew that my reputation preceded me but I was entirely unaware the Admiral himself would be one to have been affected by my...actions. If I had known, I would've dispatched someone else in my stead. Nevertheless, let us begin the negotiations." Sazan declared.
Sazan stepped forward from behind his adjutant, his visor turning to address Captain Hanu. His gaze flitted momentarily between her and the marines, as if evaluating them.
"Under orders of His Imperial Majesty's Government, the Ministry of State Security has been dispatched to this system in an effort to prevent the Commonwealth from uncovering the secrets of Point Jakurna. The Special Action Division, led by myself, has flown here to achieve that goal. From what I know of the Crusaders, you are here to secure the Holy Land, thus I believe that our objectives intertwine."
"That is correct." Hanu replied. "We've all volunteered for this, and...it hasn't been easy." She paused, breathing in and out, her nerves were getting the better of her, Hanu has never been in such a position before, she was prepared to follow whatever the Admiral had to say to secure this temporary alliance, not to carry on with the negotiations by herself, pushed down any fears and processed. "As the third highest authority in the Crusade, we are willing to work alongside the S.A.D. to both achieve a common goal, and to combat a common enemy."
"On that front, we are in agreement then." Sazan nodded, narrowing his eyes. "Of course in the end, once your Holy Land is secured, are the secrets of the Ashtar not your goal? I am willing to lend you aid, but at the same time I cannot return to Matros empty-handed."
Nightingale nodded in agreement, and stepped forward to speak. "Simply put, in exchange for the S.A.D's support, we request access to a small portion of whatever that is eventually found under Point Jakurna, and if we make it that far, what lies on the Ashtar homeworld of Ayrie as well."
"..."She was silent, the end goal for both parties would of course be divergent, possibly contrary to one another, but this was out of the question in her mind, even if they were allies for now, it would be outright blasphemous to give nonbelievers acess to Paradise, the Realm of the Gods. "I...it isn't my place to make such a decision...not now, all I can guarantee is joint efforts against the Commonwealth, what happens after...I cannot say for sure. Unforeseen Circumstances may grant us what we all wish for."
Within his mind, Sazan sighed. Of course that wouldn't work. In hindsight, he probably should have tried demanding a larger chunk, and then haggling towards something in favour of the Crusaders. Nevertheless, it was too late to backtrack now. He'd have to take what he can get. If S.A.D couldn't get their hands on whatever was under that shield, then he'd have to content himself with the fact he could ensure that the Commonwealth's "rogue fleet" wouldn't be able to either.
"Very well then. I pledge my support to the Crusaders in opposing the forces of the Commonwealth. My ships will fight alongside you. Though in future, correspondence between our two fleets will have to be conducted through my adjutant. I am sure neither of us want a repeat of that ordeal." He stretched out a hand to shake, encased in the plating of his powered suit.
Hanu reached out in kind as both shook hands. "Then we are in agreement. I'll see to it that the Admiral remains more...level-headed, we've have bigger concerns at the moment."
Five Years Before the Present Day Perimeter of an Ashtar Sect Compound, Rural Tynaria Kadathi Core World of Tynaria, 1:02am Local Time
The wind was frigidly cold. Despite not truly being alive, Nightingale could feel it. As an Engine Doll, she had no life processes, no complex series of chemical reactions fueled her form, thus she did not feel the cold the same way a Saralai would. Her teeth did not chatter. Her limbs did not shiver. The only thing the cold did to her was bring about a sense of sluggishness, the components within her body slowing by a minuscule fraction. In the end, it was hardly of any consequence to her performance, and thus, was nothing she needed to worry about.
Her boots made light crunches as they strided through the snow. In this regard, she was not alone. Both ahead and behind her, the sounds of tens of boots were the only thing that resounded through the silent night. Including her, these eighty odd men and women constituted the Werewolf Company of the Ministry's Special Action Division, assigned to Tynaria to hunt down the remnants of a militant Ashtar sect that had for some reason, chosen not to escape towards the young Jalaryian Ascendancy. Werewolf Company had been trying to pinpoint the location of the sect for the better part of a year, infiltrating local cells, tapping communication lines and spying on suspected cultists.
It was after eight months of work before they could finally track down the location of the sect's headquarters, a sort of commune built in the virgin forest of Tynaria's northern continent. Of course, by then, winter had already arrived, a snowstorm descending upon the forests and leading to the current state of affairs. If anything, Nightingale thought, the storm would at least help mask their approach. Another five minutes passed before the column came to a halt, and a voice rang through the communicators embedded in each agent's ear.
"All units at attention. Recon Teams have located the target. Split the formation into your respective fire teams, form an encirclement of the facility at a distance of 100 metres."
The voice belonged to the commander of Werewolf, Lieutenant Nyklaus Sazan. Nightingale's assignment. Her Engine Doll model was not a combat form, but that of a fully sapient military adjutant. Ordinary dolls were shackled AIs, their processors strictly limited to ensure absolute obedience to their programming, and thus nullify any chance of rebellion. The fact that she had free will was the result of pragmatic utilitarianism, rather than idealistic generosity. The processing powers of an unshackled AI were vast, and as a result, real-time creation and adaptation of battlefield strategems, calculation of effective combat potential, analysis of past conflicts and much more were all within the scope of her abilities.
Nightingale's "existence" began nearly a year ago when she was assembled in an automated plant somewhere in the core worlds as one of the first in a new line of androids. The memories stored within her analytical engines however, could only be traced back 9 months, when they began uploading a personality file, as well as entire archives of military data into her storage. Scarcely a month after that, she was placed on a shuttle headed to Tynaria, and assigned to her current post.
She served with Lieutenant Sazan for the entirety of her time here. Whilst initially skeptical at first, the man soon had to admit that Nightingale had her uses. The coordination of the entire Sect Hunt was her handiwork. Nyklaus however, was something even her analytical abilities could not quite pierce. The man himself was part enigma if nothing else. Ruthless ambition bounded by an exterior of self confidence and with a flair for verbose dramaticism. That was the least she could pin down.
It took eleven minutes for all elements of Werewolf to take up position, using the cover of the snowstorm to mask their presence from the cultists standing guard from the compound's watchtowers. Nightingale linked up with Sazan's team, which had just finished setting up a heavy kinetic autocannon within the thicket.
"Nightingale. Enhance the volume of your synthesizers and announce the presence of our encirclement around the sect's compound. Issue a demand for the immediate surrender of the entirety of the compound and all personnel within, with a time limit of ten minutes. " Nyklaus ordered. She could only recoil in utter shock as her "mind" repeatedly parsed the command again and again, as if denying what she just heard. Nevertheless, she heard correctly, and after a brief moment of silence, her processors came to terms with the irrationality of that order.
"Lieutenant, permission to speak freely?" She inquired as she looked directly into his eyes. "Granted." came the reply.
"Lieutenant, what are you doing? Analysis of the current formation concludes that in addition to the element of surprise from our infiltration of the perimeter, our chances of victory, human element notwithstanding, is close to 97.1%. Furthermore, empirical evidence from previous skirmishes between Werewolf and Sect forces allows me to determine that the probability of militant surrender is 1.2763%, rounded up. That is to say, for all intents and purposes, the chances of surrender are practically zero."
Nyklaus did nothing but smile in response.
"I appreciate your counsel, Nightingale, I really do. But there are times when the threat of force must be tempered with the fleeting, but ever-attainable prospect of mercy. Observe."
With a posture of bravado, Nyklaus began marching, alone, towards the compound's main gate. Once he emerged from the woodwork, Nightingale could see clearly the sentries hone their rifles at the lieutenant.
Arms outstretched in the most dramatic of poses, he amplified the speakers on his combat suit and began reciting his ultimatum.
"Armed militants of the Penitent Blade of Asha'Loqei; I speak with the authority vested in me as a defender of the Realm of His Imperial Majesty, Kerxec XV of the House of Dzijmeter, 67th Emperor of Valusia, 13th Emperor of Kadath, its constituent member states and oth-"
His rather excessive declaration was cut short by the whine of a magnetic rifle, the afterimage of a kinetically accelerated slug momentarily flitting in the space between Nyklaus and the sentry towers. The shot, however, found itself impacting an invisible barrier of compressed gas about thirty centimetres from Nyklaus' face, deflecting the projectile harmlessly into the snowy ground.
"Tsch, ingrates." He mumbled, before raising his voice. "All units, open fire, gun these terrorists down, all of them!"
On cue, the treeline surrounding the compound burst to life. From carefully established firing positions, the whirrs of kinetic slugs and the popping of grenade launchers broke the silence of the night sky. The autocannon's barrel spooled, revolving once, then twice, then thrice, faster and faster until a burst of tungsten darts erupted from the barrel, tearing through the reinforced plating of the main gate.
The high pitched shrill of an alarm pierced the night for a brief few seconds, before the wind picked up, drowning it. Nightingale pressed forth with the rest of her team, pistol in hand as snowflakes danced with greater fervour through the air. The snow would provide the perfect cover for the one-sided massacre that was about to occur, burying the fallen in its frigid grasp and locking away the secrets of tonight. Until spring came to Tynaria, and everything began anew.
================================
19th Victor's Street, Office of the First Minister Unity City, Matros
In the aftermath of the vote to withdraw from the Treaty of Madrigasa, the media, both domestic and foreign, erupted as yet another state abrogated the Treaty that had kept peace within the galaxy for two decades. On the homefront, most of the blame was being directed towards the Commonwealth as the first domino to fall, triggering a chain reaction. Whilst partly true, Arta couldn't see it as anything more than rabble rousing and nationalistic flag-waving, blaming the despised "other" for the actions the government was forced to take. Of course, Arta didn't hold any love for the Commonwealth either. Sure, they provided freedom, peace and security to their citizens, but their social order was built on the backs of hundreds, if not thousands of what amounted to exploited slave worlds.
Fear of being the Commonwealth's next target was the driving force behind three decades of pre-Ashtar foreign policy. When their ships disappeared, fear of the Commonwealth was what drove the Union into the Great War and fear pushed Kadath into taking steps to ensure their sovereignty, even if it technically meant violating the Detente.
Her eyes glanced over the screen on her desk. The video she was about to play had been hand-delivered by courier first from a nebula on the edge of Kadathi core space to Khulda Point, before being loaded on a shuttle and delivered as a chip to her residence at Victor Street this morning. Courtesy of the Supreme General Staff, of course.
Within the cloudy expanse of the Gwyn Nebula, a massive capital ship, dwarfing any vessel currently in service to the Federal Navy, and perhaps the galaxy itself. The Imperial Superdreadnought Triumphant, constructed for half a decade whilst shrouded from outside view by the radiant colours of Gwyn. It's silver hull seemed to glisten, contrasting with the reddish hue of the nebula, as blue exhaust filtered out from the rear. As the angle of the recording shifted, she found herself staring down the barrel of a five and a half kilometre long magnetohydrodynamic cannon. Red filled the screen temporarily as the scene shifted to a side view, the barrel's light growing further in intensity.
An antiquated Valiant-class Battleship of Commonwealth manufacture came into view. During the Great War, Kadathi military planners experimented with the idea of boarding teams to assault and disable capital ships, enabling the Federal Navy to supplement its faltering fleets with captured enemy vessels. It was a flawed strategy. Whilst the plan proved to be successful in capturing ships, repairing them without actual expertise on the vastly different technological systems employed by their opponents meant that in combat, the ships were ineffective at best and a liability at worst. Most captured during the war were lost in subsequent engagements, but a few did survive.
One of them was the RCNS Brandenburg, captured in the closing days of the war, around the time calls for peace were being sent out. Brandenburg was sent off to the Navy's R&D Department in an attempt to reverse-engineer Commonwealth tech, and when that failed, used as a training ship. Over the decades, the tech started to deteriorate, and with no ability to properly service her, Brandenburg was finally dispatched to the hidden drydocks of the Gwyn Nebula for one final mission.
A few more seconds passed before a crimson beam erupted from the Triumphant. Half cutting though, and half blending with the nebula's gas, the beam impacted the first layer of Brandenburg's defenses. The graviton shield buckled for a split second before the onslaught, before fizzling and cracking like the shell of an egg. Undeterred, the beam continued its path of destruction, smashing a gaping hole through the armor and hull and emerging from the other side, chunks of internal components slowly spilling out into vacuum.
Brandenburg's hull shuddered, groaned, the ship's superstructure warping and melting as the reactor went into critical meltdown. It only took a moment for it to reach the breaking point, engulfing the remains of the ship in an incandescent fireball.
Arta repeated the video, again and again, etching every detail of the display of force into her mind. It provided a sense of assurance to her, that Kadath finally had something to even the power gap with the military and economic behemoth on its borders.
After ten or so replays, she took a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. Time to get to work. With a flick of the screen she pulled up a dictation application, and got started. Arta had a lot to respond to. News took a while to get to Kadath, after all. Thanks to a certain group of humans attempting to blow up every PsiNet Beacon in the region, PsiNet communications had to be re-routed through Commonwealth or FedNat beacons space, significantly increasing the time it took for news to reach Matros.
"To the esteemed Chancellor Alanna Decroix..." she started, the software converting her words to text. She intended to send a missive to the Federation and what amounted to a diplomatic protest to the Commonwealth, which could be dispatched through the PsiNet. Next were the Lokoids and Utopians. Those would have to go by courier, by nature of the politically sensitive content they held.
@Taeryn To the esteemed Chancellor Alanna Decroix,
First, allow me to offer my congratulations for the outstanding ovation you last received at the podium. It is good to hear that at least some nations in this galaxy still stand up for the cause of freedom, peace and stability. I likewise echo your statement that the Treaty has come to lose meaning. If anything, the Treaty's limitations only ended up giving the galaxy the motivation it needed to refine the doctrines of modern warfare, evolving along paths that initially diverged, but ultimately converged to enhance the destructive capabilities of contemporary warships. Vessels which have had their restrictive chains hacked off by a simple speech and parliamentary vote on Corinthene.
You may be aware that the foreign policy of every successive Union government for the past century and a half has been based on a combination of fear and skepticism for the Imperial Systems Commonwealth. Under my tenure, that simple fact has not changed. Thus I write this letter, with the intent of securing closer ties with the Federation in economic matters. Simply put, rearmament is a resource-intensive endeavour, and Kadath would very much like to sign a bilateral trade agreement to secure the purchase of large sums of raw materials for ship construction.
I've already informed both my ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Economy, and they have given Ambassador Jeralt at the Kadathi Embassy on Horizon the authority to hammer out the terms of such an agreement on behalf of my government, if the Federation is interested in reaching such an agreement.
In good faith, Arta Smiljer, First Minister of the Government of His Imperial Majesty, Kerxec XV.
@Ozerath Honoured Representatives of the Imperial Systems Commonwealth,
This message has been composed by the Office of the First Minister on behalf of the Government of His Imperial Majesty, Kerxec XV of the House of Dzijmeter, 13th Emperor of Kadath. Please relay the following with all due haste to the Lord Sir Clement Herzog von Metternich, Lord Chancellor of Her Imperial Majesty’s Government.
Your Excellency, Lord Chancellor Metternich,
I write this letter to you as both warning and plea, for with the vote conducted by the Commonwealth to withdraw from the Treaty of Detente, you have set in motion events with consequences both far reaching and wholly unpredictable. By the decision of the Low House, the delicate peace which has endured for two decades after the Great War is on a knife's edge, with the possibility of the galaxy descending once more into another era of barbarism and senseless destruction.
Agdemnar notwithstanding, the most likely spark to light the next galactic conflagration lies on the Rolvian world of Manir. I trust that you, as head of Her Imperial Majesty's Government, will take the right steps to ensure the continued provision of peace throughout the galaxy.
Respectfully, Arta Smiljer, First Minister of the Government of His Imperial Majesty, Kerxec XV.
I extend my greetings to the Council of the Lokoid Hierarchy, and its many castes as a whole. I will admit, that this is the first time in my Premiership that I have written to the Hierarchy, and I apologize for not taking the time to properly acquaint myself in the past three years since my conformation to office.
Formalities aside, Kadath greatly appreciates the services the Hierarchy has provided the Union since the start of the Great War, a relation that has only since evolved in the conflict's aftermath to one of mutual economic and technological cooperation. Our engineers are still grateful for the programming support provided by members of the Academic Caste during the development of the Adjutant model Engine Doll.
As the relevance of the Treaty of Detente fades, the galaxy is finding itself closer and closer to the precipice of war. Rearmament becomes more of a necessity rather than a luxury with each passing day, as armies bleed on Agdemnar and fleets posture in and around Rolvian space.
As you know of course, rearmament is both expensive and time-consuming. Building ships from scratch even more so. Thus my request to the Hierarchy is as follows. Kadath needs to secure the purchase of a large sum of raw materials for ship construction, and will pay a considerable sum for any the Lokoid Trade Group can provide; up to 10-20% above the current galactic rate.
I've dispatched the Minister of Trade, Baronetess Lady Elia of Alphen to the Kadathi Embassy on Takar. She should arrive on the planet around the same time as this missive reaches you. Please speak with her if the Hierarchy is interested in discussing terms in greater detail.
Kind regards, Arta Smiljer, First Minister of the Government of His Imperial Majesty, Kerxec XV.
[@CrispyOctopus] To the honourable Chosen,
I must first apologize for the contents of this missive, if they are outdated by the time they arrive at Utopia. The sensitive nature of the words contained within makes me loathe to deliver them through standard FTL communication channels.
As I am sure you are aware, the Commonwealth is on the move. They've seen fit to tear up the Treaty of Detente, relegating the peace of the past two decades into naught but an armistice for twenty years.
Our states have had decent relations in the past, and we both fought against Commonwealth expansionism during the Great War. I write this now to ask if the Utopians would be interested in reviving that wartime alliance as a proper pact of defense against the renewed ambitions of the Commonwealth. Should Utopia find such a pact agreeable, Kadath would be willing to devote some of its resources to assisting rearmament and modernization of the Project's warships, that we may both put up a valiant defense if the Commonwealth once more places expansion as its primary goal.
The question of whether Utopia will continue to adhere to the Treaty of Detente is also a matter for discussion if military cooperation is on the cards, though I suppose by the time this message reaches you, Utopia will have already joined the rest of the galaxy in casting off its limitations.
Respectfully, Arta Smiljer, First Minister of the Government of His Imperial Majesty, Kerxec XV.
================================
Agdemnar System, Orbiting the Moon of Agdemnar VI Aboard the Imperial Assault Carrier, Moran
Sleep was usually something unnecessary for synthetic constructs. They did not tire, nor did their mind begin to falter after long periods of activity. Nightingale however, did sleep, though it was not in the conventional sense of the word. Her mind operated in a manner similar to a storage drive. Through the course of a day, memories would be written into storage. The nature of the writing was however, inefficient. Memories tended to be stored as incoherent fragments, necessitating that she 'shut down' for two hour intervals roughly every week to organize them. She'd done this process about four times now, making this the first full standard month she'd spent here in Agdemnar.
The buzz of her room's intercom roused her from the end of her torpor.
"Auxiliary Officer Nightingale, the Lieutenant-Colonel requests your presence in his office." came the voice of a communications officer.
"Yes, noted. I will be there at once." She replied, tersely.
Taking only a few seconds to get out the door, Nightingale proceeded at a rather brisk pace towards the main elevators. Moran's interior hull was divided into six decks, all accessible by maglifts placed at hundred metre intervals along the deck of the nine hundred metre vessel. Decks 1 and 6 were dedicated to the operation of the ship's maglev turrets, whilst Deck 2 housed the reactor, hangar bays and firing system for the Moran's main gun. Deck 3 was dedicated to quarters and recreational facilities for the crew, 4 to Medical, Research, Engineering and officer/VIP quarters. Lastly, Deck 5 housed both the Captain's quarters and the bridge.
It took a few minutes for her to reach Nyklaus's office, the maglifts were awfully crowded, though it was to be expected, given that she had been summoned around the start of the crew's shift change. She briefly considered taking the slower, but less popular route through the emergency staircase, but ultimately committed herself to the lifts.
The doors to Captain's quarters swung open when she approached them. She peered quickly into the office, only to see Nyklaus at his desk, gesturing for her to enter. As protocol demanded, Nightingale went in and stood at attention, raising her right hand to a salute.
"My Lord, you summoned me?" She inquired.
Nyklaus was all smiles as he pointed at the seat opposite him. She sat down, leaning in closer to the table as the Lieutenant-Colonel brought out a datapad from one of the drawers on his desk, passing it to her.
'Report from ISF Blackjack'. The title stood out immediately. The long awaited scouting report from the stealth frigate dispatched three weeks ago. She began looking through the contents after a nod of affirmation from Nyklaus.
For the eyes of the Lieutenant-Coloniel Nyklaus Sazan only,
Sir, as ordered, my crew and I have finished our survey of the current state of affairs within the Agdemnar system, in addition to scouting out suitable sites for an FOB on the surface.
To put it lightly, and if you will excuse the breach of formal protocol, the situation is [redacted by profanity sensors]. We have ships from every corner of the galaxy duking it out in skirmishes orbiting both the planet and its nearby moons. The surface isn't much better off either, rogue Jalayrian "knights" are launching suicidal mass charges against fortified Commonwealth lines, while the Taulron have camped near the shield at Point Jakurna, daring the galaxy to come evict them. To make matters worse, my men saw an Asrian capital ship off the port windows glass part of the planet, whilst their men engaged maggots on mobility scooters on the surface below.
To put it in as few words as possible, Agdemnar has become a battle royale for most of the galaxy, with the grand prize being whatever's under that shield.
You will find the full report in audio and holovid format, as well as a map of possible surface FOBs attached to this transmission, though granted that its an hour long and a terabyte in size, the written contents may act as an acceptable summary.
Respectfully, Captain Jacob of the ISF Blackjack
"Well, Gale, what do you make of all this?" Nyklaus asked as she passed the datapad back across the table. "I was thinking that an alliance of convenience may be in order here, though the identity of this ally is up for debate."
"One moment, my lord, initiating remote access of the ship's databanks. Analyzing holovid footage..."
Nightingale's mind sped through the sea of information at the speed of light, her analytical engines rising in temperature by a few degrees as her body stood motionless, frozen as power was diverted to analysing the footage.
"Equation calculated, providing conclusion." She declared, her voice half-monotone and half-expressive.
"In accordance to standard Ministry operating protocol in the event of a conflict involving multiple parties obstructing a primary objective, I make the conclusion that your initial assessment was indeed accurate. An alliance of convenience between the Ministry's operating forces and one of the conflicting powers would be the most optimal solution, compensating for our numerical inferiority. In the skirmishes between the various powers, the tactical acumen of both the Jalayrian and Commonwealth Fleets stood out, indicating the presence of extremely competent leadership aboard the flagships of both fleets.
My final recommendation is approaching either fleet under flag of truce to discuss a temporary alliance." She concluded at the end of her long analysis.
"Very well then. The Director will not look kindly to me making deals with the nation that has threatened Kadath's independence for nearly two centuries, thus the Jalayrians, as much as it pains me, are the only option. Gale, issue an order to the Blackjack to have them track down the Ascendancy fleet and relay a request for parley. If they wish to open negotiations, we will meet in orbit of Agdemnar VII."
"Yes, my lord. I will proceed at once. Let us hope that they are unaware of the fate of the sect of Asha'Loqei." Nightingale said, saluting as she turned to leave. "If you'll excuse me..."
"One last thing. Please stop referring to me as 'my lord', military protocol be damned. I'm a common man by birth, and this pretense of nobility does not sit well with me. 'Sir' will do just fine, just like the old days."
"Yes, my lor-... Sir." She cast her head downward, legs making long strides as they carried her away, to the nearest maglift.
