Apologies for my procrastination, but now a post shall be prepared before the day is out!
Also, why is nobody talking in the ooc? DX I know I suck at small talk but dang XD
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not MIA, just procrastinatingly taking advantage of the excuse to be waiting for someone... I'll go see what i can do next XD
and given that Twilight hasn't encountered races that can't speak equestrian yet, as useful as the spell is and you can bet she'd be working on one!, There wouldn't be a complete version yet... maybe this'll lead to it getting done and she'll use it later XD
and given that Twilight hasn't encountered races that can't speak equestrian yet, as useful as the spell is and you can bet she'd be working on one!, There wouldn't be a complete version yet... maybe this'll lead to it getting done and she'll use it later XD
[sorry once more for my now very extended absence DX Hopefully I can make up for it =D]
The heat didn't really hit Solas as hard as one might expect, given that a lot of engineering jobs go on inside of heavy machinery that puts out a shit-ton of heat it might as well be just another day on the job... granted, the transition between climates was pretty extreme. He was quick to climb up and hold onto Jean's SHELL, though it seemed to have considerably less space for 'gabbing on' it wasn't too difficult to afix his grappling hook on the back-side while it was still and use this to hold himself safely ontop of it.
He'd been quiet for most of the preparation, though as conversation turned to this 'critter' that was observing them from a distance, he finally threw in his 2 cents "Did'n tha intel also say theh could be Domesticated? Maybeh it's hungry an weh could ge'it tah be friendleh...-ish, bah feed'n it. Ah can't say ah know much aboot 'the animal kingdom', but If nothin else it maht react ta a more dangerous creature comin up, use that whole creepeh 'nature critters can sense things we can't' think that animals do, ya know? who knows, if it's followin us, maybe 'hungry' is all it is, try'n feed'n it could be the diff'nce tween it ambushin one of us later, and... somethin better... like bein our mascot or sumthin! always wanted some kinda weird alien critter as a pet, hahah."
The heat didn't really hit Solas as hard as one might expect, given that a lot of engineering jobs go on inside of heavy machinery that puts out a shit-ton of heat it might as well be just another day on the job... granted, the transition between climates was pretty extreme. He was quick to climb up and hold onto Jean's SHELL, though it seemed to have considerably less space for 'gabbing on' it wasn't too difficult to afix his grappling hook on the back-side while it was still and use this to hold himself safely ontop of it.
He'd been quiet for most of the preparation, though as conversation turned to this 'critter' that was observing them from a distance, he finally threw in his 2 cents "Did'n tha intel also say theh could be Domesticated? Maybeh it's hungry an weh could ge'it tah be friendleh...-ish, bah feed'n it. Ah can't say ah know much aboot 'the animal kingdom', but If nothin else it maht react ta a more dangerous creature comin up, use that whole creepeh 'nature critters can sense things we can't' think that animals do, ya know? who knows, if it's followin us, maybe 'hungry' is all it is, try'n feed'n it could be the diff'nce tween it ambushin one of us later, and... somethin better... like bein our mascot or sumthin! always wanted some kinda weird alien critter as a pet, hahah."
Frettzo said
I'm starting work on my post shortly, been very busy with projects for College. Also, yeah, the cars have some weaponry. Just a couple guns attached to the front. But what you gotta do? xD
I wonder if the 'flying coffin' will be intimidated by the personal mech artillery weapons XD
Being quadrupedal they have a lot more stability for heavier weapons than the normal ME mechs =D MUWAHAHAHHAHAAH!!!!... good thing the one we'll have with us is gonna be disarmed for diplomatic reasons XD I'm really tempted to orchestrate a scenario where he can use that gun before having to give it away XD
yes, yes we are XD I was just experiencing some obligatory fateful delays XD i'll likely have something up tommorrow... maybe the next day if tommorrow goes to complete shit.
Frettzo said
I believe that the diplomat would land in a small shuttle accompanied by a small elite squad. The main ship is too big and menacing to aid the first contact's peaceful intentions, and keeping it out of sight is probably best.
heh, 'i' know that, but they don't =D of course's that's how things'll go, naturally they'd still just pick the biggest area 'just incase'. but yes, the 'flying coffin' makes sense =D I feel like i recall it having guns on it or something, but i can't remember it being used as more than a battering ram that one time.
As for the SEECs, CRIPE! I knew i was forgetting something when i posted that earlier. heh, both those 'A and B' would be useful =D I have an idea to help the translation along, at least on the galactic civilization's side of the encounter =D it oughta be kinda funny in the end.
It wasn't long before other's joined in following Twilight on her way out of the castle, afterall, Celestia had left out the useful little detail of exactly 'where' they should all meet up, perhaps on purpose, naturally instigating a group of mixed individuals stalking Twilight to 'her' destination.
It wasn't until they actually left the Castle that Vastu finished his 'reviewing', as far as he was concerned at least, and returned to his observations of their surroundings.
Now, while the inside of the castle had maintained the look of 'the old times', everything about Canterlot beyond was the exact opposite, aside from still looking glued to side of a mountain, something that many would consider an overwhelming structural vulnerability, but the glimmer in the air hinted at an incredible powerful defensive shield that would keep such a weakness from being exploited.
It still bore a similar layout to old canterlot, but nearly everything had been rebuilt or reinforced in some way or another, and while nearly everything bore some form of metallic structuring to it now, Canterlot's 'high class' expectations had pushed many to ensure that even with the metallic focus is stayed 'appealing'. Someponies had made their living off of devising imaginative ways to shape and style the metal to look fancy without weakening it's integrity, resulting in everything from standard buildings with polished colorful appearances, to other structures that appeared as complex objects turned into structures that gleamed in the sun-light, even one that looked to be made entirely out of 'nets' of shiny materials.
This was inner canterlot of course, grand advancements in mana-science have lead to some incredible feats.
Outer Canterlot could be described as a collection of technological construction, from the actual 'wall' that is clearly just for show, to the 'floaters' that gravitate around it, small city-like structures on tremendous circular hovering foundation, roughly half a dozen connected by teleporters and air transit.
<<Hmph, It's too bright for my tastes...>
<Yes, Too bright><Hive structures are much more efficient><Easily repaired or replaced too><More appealing><Why use metal when Structurally advanced Chitin is even more durable?><There's a reason they wanted so much of 'our' methods used on their fancy long range ship.><Our own are way more efficient!><But we are allies, must share><Yes, Improve eachother><We've advanced thanks to their help just as much.>>
It suddenly Occurred to Vastu... Once he was in space, he wouldn't be able to listen to a legion of responses like this anymore... compared to Hundreds of thousands in communication, half a dozen was going to feel lonely, even as the center of those minds, even with ponies along to talk to 'Man... that's a depressing thought... Why did this come up so suddenly?' He found himself actually more 'annoyed' than sad, annoyed that he was so suddenly distracted by something he thought he'd gotten over already, it took no small amount of training to prepare a changeling for anytime they wouldn't be able to connect the main hive-mind.
His internal complaints were cut off suddenly as Twilight's path lead the group 'in' to a building, passing through a large Iris like door to the interior of a domed structure, several miniature towers with mana crystals floating atop them, all linked together by a complex magical array on the ground... He grumbled internally 'Damn... Mass teleport...' he didn't particularly like it, he'd gotten past vomiting everytime he was zipped from point A to Point B, but it still sent a wave of nausea into the link.
Of course, Twilight led the group quietly into the center of the array, then waited a moment... and quite suddenly in the next moment with barely noticeable magic distortions they found themselves in a different dome, denoted mainly through a variation of colors and the shape of the array... all very complicated stuff that most wouldn't even bother trying to learn about, much less 'understand'.
Beyond the receiving dome was a small city-like zone that would better be labeled as a populated Launch pad, Consisting of a massive reinforced flat area surrounded by smaller buildings that houses materials and staff to deal with everything from simple repairs and refueling to out-right construction of new ships. The main expanse was a tremendous flat surface with patterned lights that could easily park one of the small floating cities, they had to work on em 'somewhere' right?, surrounded by a ring of buildings ranging from simple housing or storage space to Teleporter domes and Warehouses that held larger materials and vehicles.
There were a number of things immediately obvious as the group was lead out of the receiving dome. [feel free to add in your own pertaining to your characters =3]
'someone' clearly had advance notice that the group would be arriving at this particular place, as a number of things were prepared and waiting for them, not the least of which included at least one of every species present as a representative, several constructs of various types, and a veritable sea of on-lookers that were keeping a grand distance from the first contact party... some might have wanted to run them off, but ultimately it was felt they would give a greater example of good intentions if what appeared to be unarmed civilians were present to observe... and if they were en-dangered, all the more reason to not hold back in defense.
For Vastu, the first to notice was a very familiar golem-esque Mana-tech Construct, differentiating from the standard model By having a darker blue coating, along with seemingly more threatening red 'eye-lights' allover it's face plate. It still had the Lunar Emblem on it's chest, though it's flanks were adorned with a stylized Red eye bearing a green lightning bolt for it's pupil. On it's back sat a Custom and Deliciously high powered 'M.A.C.'[Mana-powered Auto Cannon], The stock model used an Artillery level of weapon but he felt that was a bit excessive for everything 'he' might need it for.
Within moments he'd buzzed right over to it and gotten right into a typical once over to ensure nothing had been messed up while it was moved, clearly losing focus on the rest of the situation... He also found his 'personal equipment' in a sack hanging from the base of the gun, not the healthiest thing to a long weapon like that, but whatever, and was soon busying himself stuffing into his Disruption suit.
Elsewhere Princess Twilight was joined by what was clearly some type of 'personal assistance construct', an impressively high quality Pegasus model whose wings were formed of solidified mana emissions, essentially letting them be use for both defense and melee, in addition to other unknown features that can only be imagined of a Princesses assistant.
More importantly, perhaps, was the large purple dragon with which she exchanged greetings, hardly 'full sized' yet, but easily several times 'her' size regardless, yes he was anything but the stereotypical aggressive... Just about everyone has heard of spike of course.
They carried on a fairly private conversation for a while, giving the others present time to go through whatever had been brought for them and to settle for a moment... After a couple of minutes though she'd seem to just suddenly 'be' ontop of spike's muzzle, putting her at a considerably raised vantage point to from which to address everyone present.
[warning, I SUCK AT SPEECHES TnT if you can come up with a more 'twilight' speech, by all means, feel free to share it XD]
She gave a sharp whistle suddenly to make sure she got everyone's attention "Alright Everypony, and every'one'... This is a once in a life time occasion, to be the first to greet visitors from beyond our system! We're all here to make history today, for better or worse... It's very likely that our communication methods will be considerably different, so I'll need our translators to be especially active and everyone else 'patient' while we try to carry out the miracle of translating a whole language in 'minutes'." There was a group of changelings who suddenly looked especially attentive, no small feat considering they lookd mostly like normal drones save for being different colors, and spread out around the group of individuals.
"I realize that some of us are quite imposing, but we want to make this as peaceful a contact as possible... That said, the potential for the opposite cannot be ignore, so stay on your hooves and keep a sharp eye on them... We are also aware of the potential for unrelated threats to have followed them here, so just about everywhere in equestria and beyond is going to be on high alert just in-case, so we are free to focus fully on this encounter... I'll do most of the talking while the translators are at work, or who knows, maybe they'll already have a faster method of translation!... Now, everyone get ready, if everything has been calculated correctly, they should be arriving soon!"
It wasn't until they actually left the Castle that Vastu finished his 'reviewing', as far as he was concerned at least, and returned to his observations of their surroundings.
Now, while the inside of the castle had maintained the look of 'the old times', everything about Canterlot beyond was the exact opposite, aside from still looking glued to side of a mountain, something that many would consider an overwhelming structural vulnerability, but the glimmer in the air hinted at an incredible powerful defensive shield that would keep such a weakness from being exploited.
It still bore a similar layout to old canterlot, but nearly everything had been rebuilt or reinforced in some way or another, and while nearly everything bore some form of metallic structuring to it now, Canterlot's 'high class' expectations had pushed many to ensure that even with the metallic focus is stayed 'appealing'. Someponies had made their living off of devising imaginative ways to shape and style the metal to look fancy without weakening it's integrity, resulting in everything from standard buildings with polished colorful appearances, to other structures that appeared as complex objects turned into structures that gleamed in the sun-light, even one that looked to be made entirely out of 'nets' of shiny materials.
This was inner canterlot of course, grand advancements in mana-science have lead to some incredible feats.
Outer Canterlot could be described as a collection of technological construction, from the actual 'wall' that is clearly just for show, to the 'floaters' that gravitate around it, small city-like structures on tremendous circular hovering foundation, roughly half a dozen connected by teleporters and air transit.
<<Hmph, It's too bright for my tastes...>
<Yes, Too bright><Hive structures are much more efficient><Easily repaired or replaced too><More appealing><Why use metal when Structurally advanced Chitin is even more durable?><There's a reason they wanted so much of 'our' methods used on their fancy long range ship.><Our own are way more efficient!><But we are allies, must share><Yes, Improve eachother><We've advanced thanks to their help just as much.>>
It suddenly Occurred to Vastu... Once he was in space, he wouldn't be able to listen to a legion of responses like this anymore... compared to Hundreds of thousands in communication, half a dozen was going to feel lonely, even as the center of those minds, even with ponies along to talk to 'Man... that's a depressing thought... Why did this come up so suddenly?' He found himself actually more 'annoyed' than sad, annoyed that he was so suddenly distracted by something he thought he'd gotten over already, it took no small amount of training to prepare a changeling for anytime they wouldn't be able to connect the main hive-mind.
His internal complaints were cut off suddenly as Twilight's path lead the group 'in' to a building, passing through a large Iris like door to the interior of a domed structure, several miniature towers with mana crystals floating atop them, all linked together by a complex magical array on the ground... He grumbled internally 'Damn... Mass teleport...' he didn't particularly like it, he'd gotten past vomiting everytime he was zipped from point A to Point B, but it still sent a wave of nausea into the link.
Of course, Twilight led the group quietly into the center of the array, then waited a moment... and quite suddenly in the next moment with barely noticeable magic distortions they found themselves in a different dome, denoted mainly through a variation of colors and the shape of the array... all very complicated stuff that most wouldn't even bother trying to learn about, much less 'understand'.
Beyond the receiving dome was a small city-like zone that would better be labeled as a populated Launch pad, Consisting of a massive reinforced flat area surrounded by smaller buildings that houses materials and staff to deal with everything from simple repairs and refueling to out-right construction of new ships. The main expanse was a tremendous flat surface with patterned lights that could easily park one of the small floating cities, they had to work on em 'somewhere' right?, surrounded by a ring of buildings ranging from simple housing or storage space to Teleporter domes and Warehouses that held larger materials and vehicles.
There were a number of things immediately obvious as the group was lead out of the receiving dome. [feel free to add in your own pertaining to your characters =3]
'someone' clearly had advance notice that the group would be arriving at this particular place, as a number of things were prepared and waiting for them, not the least of which included at least one of every species present as a representative, several constructs of various types, and a veritable sea of on-lookers that were keeping a grand distance from the first contact party... some might have wanted to run them off, but ultimately it was felt they would give a greater example of good intentions if what appeared to be unarmed civilians were present to observe... and if they were en-dangered, all the more reason to not hold back in defense.
For Vastu, the first to notice was a very familiar golem-esque Mana-tech Construct, differentiating from the standard model By having a darker blue coating, along with seemingly more threatening red 'eye-lights' allover it's face plate. It still had the Lunar Emblem on it's chest, though it's flanks were adorned with a stylized Red eye bearing a green lightning bolt for it's pupil. On it's back sat a Custom and Deliciously high powered 'M.A.C.'[Mana-powered Auto Cannon], The stock model used an Artillery level of weapon but he felt that was a bit excessive for everything 'he' might need it for.
Within moments he'd buzzed right over to it and gotten right into a typical once over to ensure nothing had been messed up while it was moved, clearly losing focus on the rest of the situation... He also found his 'personal equipment' in a sack hanging from the base of the gun, not the healthiest thing to a long weapon like that, but whatever, and was soon busying himself stuffing into his Disruption suit.
Elsewhere Princess Twilight was joined by what was clearly some type of 'personal assistance construct', an impressively high quality Pegasus model whose wings were formed of solidified mana emissions, essentially letting them be use for both defense and melee, in addition to other unknown features that can only be imagined of a Princesses assistant.
More importantly, perhaps, was the large purple dragon with which she exchanged greetings, hardly 'full sized' yet, but easily several times 'her' size regardless, yes he was anything but the stereotypical aggressive... Just about everyone has heard of spike of course.
They carried on a fairly private conversation for a while, giving the others present time to go through whatever had been brought for them and to settle for a moment... After a couple of minutes though she'd seem to just suddenly 'be' ontop of spike's muzzle, putting her at a considerably raised vantage point to from which to address everyone present.
[warning, I SUCK AT SPEECHES TnT if you can come up with a more 'twilight' speech, by all means, feel free to share it XD]
She gave a sharp whistle suddenly to make sure she got everyone's attention "Alright Everypony, and every'one'... This is a once in a life time occasion, to be the first to greet visitors from beyond our system! We're all here to make history today, for better or worse... It's very likely that our communication methods will be considerably different, so I'll need our translators to be especially active and everyone else 'patient' while we try to carry out the miracle of translating a whole language in 'minutes'." There was a group of changelings who suddenly looked especially attentive, no small feat considering they lookd mostly like normal drones save for being different colors, and spread out around the group of individuals.
"I realize that some of us are quite imposing, but we want to make this as peaceful a contact as possible... That said, the potential for the opposite cannot be ignore, so stay on your hooves and keep a sharp eye on them... We are also aware of the potential for unrelated threats to have followed them here, so just about everywhere in equestria and beyond is going to be on high alert just in-case, so we are free to focus fully on this encounter... I'll do most of the talking while the translators are at work, or who knows, maybe they'll already have a faster method of translation!... Now, everyone get ready, if everything has been calculated correctly, they should be arriving soon!"
Okay, first half of the IC beginning is up =D I stopped at that point since it was a bit of a funny moment, and it'd be as good a point as any to give a chance for replies if anyone wants to while I finish the second half =D
It oughta take me a couple of hours at least, perhaps till tommorrow again [i really hope not] but i'm going to be trying to be really thorough with it.
It oughta take me a couple of hours at least, perhaps till tommorrow again [i really hope not] but i'm going to be trying to be really thorough with it.
It was so sudden... The Equestrian's had been examining from afar this enormous metal device that had appeared in the system, no-one felt safe getting especially close to it yet... then it just suddenly came to life and half a dozen unknown ships suddenly 'appeared' near it in a burst of energy as if teleported over a great distance. Most of them remained near the device, while only 2 began to approach Equuis, all manner of scanning attempts beyond obvious and undoubtedly picking up incredible concentrations of this 'new energy source' that saturated it's very atmosphere.
There was no small ammount of panic as word spread quickly upon their arrival in the system, yet it seemed, as often was the case, Celestia was ready for this event, almost as if she'd expected it. Naturally, every free moment went into preparing to encounter the approaching aliens... that they were making their way to the largest planet instead of turning on one of the smaller settles closer to the relay spoke volumes for potential lack of hostilities... Still, Defenses were ready, it was impossible to miss the ammoutn of energy being charged in the planet-side cannons, without shooting, the universally known signal for 'behave yourselves'.
Once the ship reached a feasible range of the planet a message would be recieved... granted, nobody knows if mana-tech communications are even compatible with raw technology, though if it was recieved properly they'd get only audio. It was in a language likely foreign to any species there, but the general tone seemed a mix of both Cautious Warning and Amicable Invitation, soon joined by detection of the planetary guns, not powering down, but shifting their aim away from a specific zone of approach, a perhaps less universally known 'invitation to land something'.
__________________
As soon as the ships approaching the planet had been detected, royal summons were sent to a large number of individuals, Mainly high ranking personell, other leaders who were more likely to communicate from afar than to come in person, and those who had been slated to crew The Equestrian's own deep space vessel... If 'The Galaxy' was going to come to them first, then this would be their best chance to get a taste of those who populated it 'before' the lack of knowledge could put their lives at risk.
There was a small speech given by Celestia about this turning point in space exploration, before details were shared about her intention to have Princess Twilight be their primary diplomatic envoy, something that apparently had been discussed amongst the various leaders in the past. This was followed by expectable warnings of patience since their languages may not be immediately compatible, typical motherly speaking out against jumping to conclusions of judging their customs too harshly, and of course mention that once communication was established they'd certainly be negotiating methods of cooperation in exploration of the galaxy... not to mention potential colonization rights beyond the current system, but anything 'businessy' could be saved for when peaceful relations were established.
Overall, to anyone who'd thought about 'first contact' before hand, it was a speech that was totally expectable, some even tuned most of it out in favor of 'conversing' in their own form of Privacy, Vastu among them. Since there was a 'representative' of his hive present already he could easily review everything being said through the hive link later, it wasn't like she'd address him personally afterall, so he stuck to the hive-mind while 'looking' attentive and simply reviewed the gathered information for himself.
[Warning =D Interpretation of how a hive mind works may not translate gramatically clean to text]
<<So, instead of going out there ourselves, it seems the 'aliens' came to us first?>
<It appears that way><Yes><Strange ones too><They are all metal and no mana><Detectors sense many life-forms inside them too><They do not seem to possess any 'active' mana><I wonder how they 'taste'><testing that would be counter-productive to our goals!><But i like exotic!><Well we're not allowed to->
<SILENCE! If one of them attacks you then you can find out, otherwise, we will not be the ones jeapoardizing out alliances by starting a war! Regardless whether or not we could win.>
<Apologies my king...>
<Well, It's bound to be interesting either way, yes? I'm more interested in examining their technology... It appears purely mechanical in nature from afar, perhaps it can be used to expand our own development>
<That is a possibility!><A Liekly-hood even><Provided it turns out to be compatible><Even if not we could still learn something from it><Very true><Even failures can be used for future success afterall.>
<*Various ramblings persisted for what may seem to some like ages, then suddenly*>
<Vastu, It's time to 'wake up', Her speech is closing>
<Really? That was shorter than I'd expected! Usually it drones on for ages, she must be taking it serious enough to ignore the nobles wanting 'flair'... oh well, I'm off!>>
Quite suddenly the unusually developed changeling perked up physically, realizing with a mild self disdain that he'd started to slump and mayhave hinted that he wasn't listening, and quickly found that the rest of those summoned were starting to fire out, or march in some cases. After only a moment of looking he spotted Princess Twilight, not hard now that she'd grown into her rank, Separating from the other Princesses and following the group, deciding the simplest way to ensure he 'arrived on time' was to follow 'her' through the halls... It was comically easy to do so as well, even after all the time she'd tried getting everyone comfortable with her beyond just being 'princess' Most ponies still tried to give her a respectfully wide berth in crowded hallways, though there were a couple of stares as some ponies noticed a changeling following closely behind her.
Vastu found his eyes wandering the halls of canterlot as he followed her through them, The inside had barely changed from centuries ago, beautiful marble construction of various types, trimmed with gold and remarkably 'few' but still present jewels of different types. Guards decked out in ceremonial golden decorated armor still wandered about or waited by restricted areas, though now it was almost certainly armor augmented with high quality defensive magic. and of course the stained glass displays that spanned the walls of the greatest halls, telling stories of achievements long past, the most recent depicting the greatest mile-stones in mana-technological advancement lately.
He was distracted enough that it surprised him when Twilight suddenly slowed her pace and looked back to him with that mysterious knowing smile that every princess knew how to make and spoke a simple line to Vastu "Make sure you thoroughly review everything you missed while we're on the way." His mind suddenly 'blanked' for a moment as he stared at her dumbly in response, his hooves still carrying him along near her, and a moment later she giggled softly "Trust me, I know the 'This is boring i'll get the cliff-notes from somepony else later' look... I've seen it on a hundred different ponies, and even a normal 'drone' gives subtle visual ques to differentiate between paying attention and 'tuning out', you were certainly more noticeable."
Vastu chuckled a bit to this "Heh, one more reminder not to underestimate you in 'anything' princess."
She made another sudden shift to a serious expression as she added on "That's right! And I'm going to quiz you on it later. so make sure you take it seriously!" The 'quizzing' idea got his attention a lot less than the tone she used to mention it, one can practically 'feel' when a princess is being 'deadly serious' and how seriously she spoke of a 'quiz' sent a shiver down his spine!
'Geez, Note to self, make sure you never tune out one of 'twilight's' speeches...'
<<heheh, I could have told you 'that' Vastu... She once threw a book at me for doing that, 'me'.>
<Oh shut up your majesty, you could be hit by a Hover Cart and stop it in place! that hardly counts!>>
Vastu huffed a little as he mumbled out a quiet "Yes ma'am." and jumped right into reviewing the information gathered in the hive mind while still following subconciously, earning a mirthful little giggle from her.
[This is where i'm cutting off to avoid making everyone wait longer, but i'll go ahead and get to preparing the next half, I'll just edit if nobody posts by the time i finish it, but don't let that hold you back from posting if something comes to mind ^.^]
There was no small ammount of panic as word spread quickly upon their arrival in the system, yet it seemed, as often was the case, Celestia was ready for this event, almost as if she'd expected it. Naturally, every free moment went into preparing to encounter the approaching aliens... that they were making their way to the largest planet instead of turning on one of the smaller settles closer to the relay spoke volumes for potential lack of hostilities... Still, Defenses were ready, it was impossible to miss the ammoutn of energy being charged in the planet-side cannons, without shooting, the universally known signal for 'behave yourselves'.
Once the ship reached a feasible range of the planet a message would be recieved... granted, nobody knows if mana-tech communications are even compatible with raw technology, though if it was recieved properly they'd get only audio. It was in a language likely foreign to any species there, but the general tone seemed a mix of both Cautious Warning and Amicable Invitation, soon joined by detection of the planetary guns, not powering down, but shifting their aim away from a specific zone of approach, a perhaps less universally known 'invitation to land something'.
__________________
As soon as the ships approaching the planet had been detected, royal summons were sent to a large number of individuals, Mainly high ranking personell, other leaders who were more likely to communicate from afar than to come in person, and those who had been slated to crew The Equestrian's own deep space vessel... If 'The Galaxy' was going to come to them first, then this would be their best chance to get a taste of those who populated it 'before' the lack of knowledge could put their lives at risk.
There was a small speech given by Celestia about this turning point in space exploration, before details were shared about her intention to have Princess Twilight be their primary diplomatic envoy, something that apparently had been discussed amongst the various leaders in the past. This was followed by expectable warnings of patience since their languages may not be immediately compatible, typical motherly speaking out against jumping to conclusions of judging their customs too harshly, and of course mention that once communication was established they'd certainly be negotiating methods of cooperation in exploration of the galaxy... not to mention potential colonization rights beyond the current system, but anything 'businessy' could be saved for when peaceful relations were established.
Overall, to anyone who'd thought about 'first contact' before hand, it was a speech that was totally expectable, some even tuned most of it out in favor of 'conversing' in their own form of Privacy, Vastu among them. Since there was a 'representative' of his hive present already he could easily review everything being said through the hive link later, it wasn't like she'd address him personally afterall, so he stuck to the hive-mind while 'looking' attentive and simply reviewed the gathered information for himself.
[Warning =D Interpretation of how a hive mind works may not translate gramatically clean to text]
<<So, instead of going out there ourselves, it seems the 'aliens' came to us first?>
<It appears that way><Yes><Strange ones too><They are all metal and no mana><Detectors sense many life-forms inside them too><They do not seem to possess any 'active' mana><I wonder how they 'taste'><testing that would be counter-productive to our goals!><But i like exotic!><Well we're not allowed to->
<SILENCE! If one of them attacks you then you can find out, otherwise, we will not be the ones jeapoardizing out alliances by starting a war! Regardless whether or not we could win.>
<Apologies my king...>
<Well, It's bound to be interesting either way, yes? I'm more interested in examining their technology... It appears purely mechanical in nature from afar, perhaps it can be used to expand our own development>
<That is a possibility!><A Liekly-hood even><Provided it turns out to be compatible><Even if not we could still learn something from it><Very true><Even failures can be used for future success afterall.>
<*Various ramblings persisted for what may seem to some like ages, then suddenly*>
<Vastu, It's time to 'wake up', Her speech is closing>
<Really? That was shorter than I'd expected! Usually it drones on for ages, she must be taking it serious enough to ignore the nobles wanting 'flair'... oh well, I'm off!>>
Quite suddenly the unusually developed changeling perked up physically, realizing with a mild self disdain that he'd started to slump and mayhave hinted that he wasn't listening, and quickly found that the rest of those summoned were starting to fire out, or march in some cases. After only a moment of looking he spotted Princess Twilight, not hard now that she'd grown into her rank, Separating from the other Princesses and following the group, deciding the simplest way to ensure he 'arrived on time' was to follow 'her' through the halls... It was comically easy to do so as well, even after all the time she'd tried getting everyone comfortable with her beyond just being 'princess' Most ponies still tried to give her a respectfully wide berth in crowded hallways, though there were a couple of stares as some ponies noticed a changeling following closely behind her.
Vastu found his eyes wandering the halls of canterlot as he followed her through them, The inside had barely changed from centuries ago, beautiful marble construction of various types, trimmed with gold and remarkably 'few' but still present jewels of different types. Guards decked out in ceremonial golden decorated armor still wandered about or waited by restricted areas, though now it was almost certainly armor augmented with high quality defensive magic. and of course the stained glass displays that spanned the walls of the greatest halls, telling stories of achievements long past, the most recent depicting the greatest mile-stones in mana-technological advancement lately.
He was distracted enough that it surprised him when Twilight suddenly slowed her pace and looked back to him with that mysterious knowing smile that every princess knew how to make and spoke a simple line to Vastu "Make sure you thoroughly review everything you missed while we're on the way." His mind suddenly 'blanked' for a moment as he stared at her dumbly in response, his hooves still carrying him along near her, and a moment later she giggled softly "Trust me, I know the 'This is boring i'll get the cliff-notes from somepony else later' look... I've seen it on a hundred different ponies, and even a normal 'drone' gives subtle visual ques to differentiate between paying attention and 'tuning out', you were certainly more noticeable."
Vastu chuckled a bit to this "Heh, one more reminder not to underestimate you in 'anything' princess."
She made another sudden shift to a serious expression as she added on "That's right! And I'm going to quiz you on it later. so make sure you take it seriously!" The 'quizzing' idea got his attention a lot less than the tone she used to mention it, one can practically 'feel' when a princess is being 'deadly serious' and how seriously she spoke of a 'quiz' sent a shiver down his spine!
'Geez, Note to self, make sure you never tune out one of 'twilight's' speeches...'
<<heheh, I could have told you 'that' Vastu... She once threw a book at me for doing that, 'me'.>
<Oh shut up your majesty, you could be hit by a Hover Cart and stop it in place! that hardly counts!>>
Vastu huffed a little as he mumbled out a quiet "Yes ma'am." and jumped right into reviewing the information gathered in the hive mind while still following subconciously, earning a mirthful little giggle from her.
[This is where i'm cutting off to avoid making everyone wait longer, but i'll go ahead and get to preparing the next half, I'll just edit if nobody posts by the time i finish it, but don't let that hold you back from posting if something comes to mind ^.^]
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