| [IC] The Joint Inspection |
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Drakari Celestial Imperium,
Star Fortress Watchful Guardian Three months had passed since the Treecuu had visited Stoinia. The Joint Stoinian-Treecuu Exploratory Fleets had just been organized and they already had a mission for the Second Fleet Division (around 150 joint ships) from the First Joint Exploratory Fleet. The CO of the FJEF was Admiral Garibaldi, the same Admiral that discovered and initiated contact with the Treecuu, sadly couldn't proceed with the mission to the Drakari himself. Executing this mission fell to Vice Admiral Ratko Vujić, one of the appointed Vice Admirals to Admiral Garibaldi. Because of the nature of the Joint Exploratory Fleets, the composition of ships as well as command was strived to be equally proportionate between the Treecuu and Stoinians. However this mission was best left in the hands of Terrans, or so Vujić thought. The purpose for this mission was to determine if the Terrans within the Drakari Celestial Imperium were treated well and ensured rights. For if not, possible retaliations would come and this mission would serve as an intel mission. Vujić himself would travel with his flagship HMS Vindicator, a Bellator-Class battleship, and visit the capital of the Drakari and begin diplomatic talks with the ambassadorial entourage from both the Stoinians and Treecuu. Meanwhile the rest of the ships would go and visit hundreds of planets where most of the Terran population was located within the Imperium. An exploratory mission this size had never been done before, especially for the Treecuu who had been isolationist for most of their history in space. On board the bridge of the Vindicator was Vujić and the assigned diplomats. Legate Umberto Berrocal had grown a taste of diplomacy after his initial visit with the Ryccians and had received the affirm to become a Legate. His Treecuu counterpart was Emissary Teemas, a female Treecuu mammalian, who had previously worked with the Drakari and had been sent to have further diplomatic talks alongside the Stoinians. Soon the Fleet Division came out of warp and sat at about 200.000 km away from the station. Vujić began to open the comm channels to the station. The monstrous station sure was a sight to behold. ![[Image: inkXmUk.png]](https://i.imgur.com/inkXmUk.png) "Star Fortress Watchful Guardian, this is Vice Admiral Ratko Vujić of the First Joint Exploratory Fleet. We request permission for our ships to head out to their individual objectives as per agreed beforehand. We ourselves will set course for Pax Dracon your capital to begin diplomatic talks." It sure was tedious, but necessary. The Stoinians at least had warned they would show up and luckily High Admiral Chekov was nowhere near here. Pacifica: Myria, Sallodesia, Stoinia • A1-0: Stoinian Star Kingdom • Aurora: Kingdom of Threnebor
A brief, yet piercing silence would hang over the comms frequencies for a handful of seconds until a transmission was sent from the vast outpost. Whether the crew and the fleet surrounding the station were confident enough that they had nothing to fear or were merely trying to make the newcomers feel welcome was yet to be made clear, even as a rough yet oddly feminine voice soon came through.
"Vice Admiral Vujić, this fortress commander Aurelia Praetexus. We read you and your fleet. Per the orders of the Emperor and the Lord of Admirals, your request shall be granted alongside naval escort upon reaching their respective destinations. Providing coordinates to the capital and the Terra Nova Enclave now. Please stand by." Aurelia stepped back from her console slightly and nodded to the communications officers to prepare the data stream from transmission. While she still held a great deal of mistrust towards the Treecuu government ever since Yim Incident, the one known as Teemas had conducted herself with honor and dignity during her time as the Emperor's guest. These strange Humans, though, were an unknown, even with the Lord of Admiral's report describing them as a wary though honorable folk. If they are anything like the humans within our space, she mused, I'm sure we will get along well enough. It would no doubt help that the Emperor had an almost magnetic, youthful sense of charisma to him. "Commander, data package prepared. Ready for tightbeam transmission at your order," one of the comm officers piped up. "Proceed."
"Star Fortress Watchful Guardian, we have received the data packages, Awaiting your ships for escort."
The following minutes the Joint Fleet ships coordinated with the Drakari vessels and one by one groups of them set out towards the Terran Enclave. The Vindicator would do several days to get to Pax Dracon, but in the mean time Vujić followed the initial reports from the ships that arrived to their destinations. The initial reports were positive, but they would have to wait a bit more before a final decision was made. Finally they had arrived to Pax Dracon, the capital of Pax Dracon. However Vujić wasn't quite as impressed from orbit. Having traversed nearly the whole sector for this visit, he expected something special. Perhaps planetside he would see more exotic views, but he didn't got his hopes up. Vujić and the entourage would take a Pelican to land at the ground-based spaceport. Damn these people could use a bit more sense of architecture he thought. The nature as well didn't look as striking. Hell if all planets in the Drakari Imperium were like this, than Stoinia really should push for tourism. They won't believe places such as Charia exist. The Pelican landed smoothly, unlike what some Treecuu might have wanted. An extended burn to char the landing pad wasn't deemed respectable by the Stoinians, so instead they implemented the Stoinian show of force. As the Pelican landed, the two escorting Star Furies did their twirling manoeuvre, breaking off and heading back to the Vindicator. The air hissed as the door lowered and Stoinian Marines formed a line on both sides presenting their swords in an elegant fashion. Treecuu soldiers were also present to guard their Emissary. Vice Admiral Vujić, Legate Berrocal and Emissary Teemas began to march towards the Drakari delegation with the young Emperor. Nonetheless a show of force was needed and playing each anthem would take too long. As they approached the Emperor the Stoinian Marines lowered their swords and when Vice Admiral Vujić stopped with a noticeable kick to the ground the Marines cheered on. "Hail to the Stoinian Star Kingdom! Hail to the Treecuu Star Empire! Uraaaaaaa!" Then they sheathed their swords and stood ever so present. "Greetings your Majesty. I am Vice Admiral Ratko Vujić and I am in charge of supervising this mission and the diplomatic talks. I present you Legate Umberto Berrocal of the Stoinian Star Kingdom and Emissary Teemas of the Treecuu Star Empire." Teemas stood confidently with two of her guards besides her while Berrocal took the initiative. He unsheathed his sword and some of the Drakari guards flinched, but it quickly became clear he wasn't going to attack. He put the blade on his left hand and presented the sword to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, I present you a gift from His Highness King Andrei III. A Stoinian honorary duel sword. A true testament to Stoinian craftmanship. Perhaps one day you may spar with our King." Berrocal waited for the Emperor's response and then the Treecuu Emissary would present herself. Pacifica: Myria, Sallodesia, Stoinia • A1-0: Stoinian Star Kingdom • Aurora: Kingdom of Threnebor
The towering, crimson-scaled creature approached the entourage with an easy smile and a soft flutter of black and silver robes before gently accepting the sword from Ratko. Even if it was a bit on the small side by the standards of his species, Julianus couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship and effort put into it.
"It is a wonderful gift, Vice Admiral. A peaceful man, I may be, but I would be honored to share the hospitality of your king and join him in an honorable duel." One of the young Drakari's attendants stepped forward, bowing deeply even as the Emperor placed the blade in their hands. No matter where one went in the galaxy, it seemed, ritualistic adherence to protocol was almost as universally constant as mathematics. "On behalf my people, and all the races of the Imperium, I, Julianus VII of the House of Io, bid you and the Stoinian people welcome to our capital. I hope that the first meeting between our nations did not sour your opinion of us prematurely." Julianus smiled as he extended a hand towards Ratko, offering his forearm to the man and holding his claws as far away from clothing and skin as possible. Afterwards, he would turn his gaze towards Teemas and felt his smile soften. "Ah, Emissary... it is good to see you again. We have much to catch up on, I reckon."
This slimy lizard was monstrous for sure. Now he understood Chekov's descriptions. The old man had his uses after all, but there was no need to jump to hasty conclusions. If they were friendly, they should return the favour. No need to instigate a potential rival a whole sector apart.
That's what Vujić thought. He then gave his hand to the Drakari Emperor and tried to give him a firm handshake if that even was possible against a Drakari. He couldn't help himself when he saw the claws. Perhaps a new contender for the Mardakii claws. Damn it. We're here to be friendly. The two Stoinian officials then stood as the Treecuu Emissary spoke with the Emperor. Pacifica: Myria, Sallodesia, Stoinia • A1-0: Stoinian Star Kingdom • Aurora: Kingdom of Threnebor
Teemas was genuinely happy to meet the Emperor again, a man she had come to admire more and more.
"Emperor, it is a great pleasure indeed! I hope we can find the time to... share a bottle of water and some more stories" joked Teemas.
"I'll make sure to fetch you a glass from the palace garden's spring as soon as we arrive. I see you have become acquainted with the Vice Admiral well enough."
The Drakari's smile became all the more youthful and exuberant as he motioned for his guests to follow him, his guards lightly tapping their energy pole-arms against the deck plating before stepping off to the side.
The Stoinians remained stern as the Drakari Emperor smiled. Their species have yet to show their worth. He shouldn't assume anything just yet. Perhaps the working with the Treecuu was interpreted as a close collaboration, but they clearly didn't see the whole picture. Vujić still was sceptical about this whole operation with the Treecuu. The Treecuu had yet to show their worth according to Vujić.
"Your Majesty, our ships are in the process of evaluating the Terrans in your empire, but please can you tell us how they got here and the history of their treatment?" Pacifica: Myria, Sallodesia, Stoinia • A1-0: Stoinian Star Kingdom • Aurora: Kingdom of Threnebor
The Emperor took a moment to smooth out his robe as he straightened his posture. It seems that his youthful enthusiasm managed to break through, even in times when protocol was of utmost importance. "I'll tell you as much as I can as to how your species ended up in our space. Roughly three-thousand Standard Years ago, during a survey of an uninhabited system by the Corps of Exploration, a spatial anomaly opened, and through it came a fleet of ten massive sleeper ships."
"What the anomaly was remains unknown, but our historians and physicists have hypothesized that it was most likely either a wormhole, or rift into Warp Space that the fleet had unintentionally fallen into during its journey. If it was the latter, their lack of shielding would certainly explain the severe damage to their navigational records. After picking up biosignatures in suspended animation, the survey ship quickly sent a message calling for a relief effort to rouse and evacuate the crew and passengers." Julianus shrugged slightly as he recounted the tale, seeing no reason to lie to the Stoinians. "While some historians have criticized the admittedly hasty call to action through dubious benefits of hindsight bias, most have agreed that the survey crew was acting in accordance to the Great Stewardship. For all they knew, the people aboard those ships were the last remnants of an entire species, and thus had a moral and spiritual obligation to render aid as necessary. Thankfully, the fears of a potential extinction proved to be unfounded in the centuries that followed. Humans have shown themselves to be quite an ingenious and adaptable people." The Emperor would promptly raise a hand to preemptively placate any questions. "As for the history of their treatment in Imperial Space, rest assured that they have been treated with the kindness, protection, and gentle hospitality all within our borders are afforded. Like all the Protectorate Races, they are allowed a significant degree of autonomy, hosting their own courts, trade, and legislatures in addition to representation on the Imperial Senate. As with all citizens, humans and the other protectorates are entitled to full legal protections, economic and educational opportunity including the Citizen's Stipend, and careers in the Navy and the Legions. To provide anything less than that would be stain on the honor my people and our beliefs."
This Emperor is quite easy going like the Stoinian King. Although Chekov mentioned them having exceedingly long lifespans, the King seems quite youthful. It seems at first glance the Terrans in the Imperium were granted equal citizenship. Although his use of Protectorate Race wasn't quite enjoyable to hear. If at all Terrans should be equal, if not above them. These Protectorate Races should be more investigated.
The Admiral gave Legate Berrocal a nod at his younger brother in arms as he asked further. "Your Majesty, you mentioned the Great Stewardship. What exactly is that? And what exactly do you mean by Protectorate Races? Are these species equal to yours in every capacity?" The Stoinians still were sceptical, it would only be a few hours before the first initial reports would come in. King Andrei had instructed them to be friendly as there was no need for enemies half the sector away. He had also mentioned something of dominating xenos through other means than just military. Something made clear to the new Legate by the King, but Vujić still was a battle hardened Admiral from the Velutarian War where he served as a Captain. And all he cared for was safety for his family and Stoinia. Pacifica: Myria, Sallodesia, Stoinia • A1-0: Stoinian Star Kingdom • Aurora: Kingdom of Threnebor
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