| The Treecuu Way |
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One hour ago
The planet Yim III (grid 525,575), Treecuu Star Empire The last few minutes of sunlight hit her face where shed stood, overlooking the beach. The clouds of condensed gasses glimmered. It was beautiful. A dangerous feast for her eyes. With a great deal of envy she spotted silvery sea serpents play in the acidic liquid that would kill her in seconds. It looked delightful. They were soon accompanied by the "purple floaters", sucking in the plankton that splashed up into the air from the serpents' wild movements. She imagined what it must feel like. The radio attached to her atmosphere helmet beeped twice, bringing her back to the harsh reality. "Anything to report, Professor?" "All normal here." "We have started sealing the surface doors. You wanted to be notified..." "Yes. Thanks. On my way." The thick doors, one of few access points to the city bellow the surface, would take an hour to seal, so there was still plenty of time. But the Professor had been reminded of them. Those two-legged creatures with slender bodies. Her little meditation session had been ruined, but she still decided to stay until the sun had disappeared behind the horizon. Two minutes left, according to her time peace. Suddenly there was a movement in the sky. She looked up. A shiny streamlined vessel appeared. No, two. No, four. No. There were more than she could count. It was them. The Professor ran as fast as she could. It almost looked like neither of her four feet hit the ground. Approximately one month ago Government Complex, Ecteen, Treecuu Star Empire "Ah, governor Looth! Long time, no see." A holographic projection of the middle-aged governor of Bicaan appeared in front of the Committee for the Expansion of the Empire, and its chair spoke up. There was a delay before Looth answered that normally would have felt awkward, but the distance to one of the most far-away planets in the Empire meant there were technical issues that would affect the quality of the link. "You know how it is out here. Barely a solar storm to report. But now I've got news for you." "First contact I presume?" There was a moment of silence. "Naturally. Otherwise I wouldn't have requested all of you to attend the meeting. Three months ago a Lootuu-class cruiser placing border buoys nearly got hit by an alien space probe, and its trajectory suggested it came from the third planet in the Yim-Lootuu System. Further investigation revealed a class 2b civilisation." Good manners would have the governor wait for someone to respond or ask a question before he continued, but he wanted to avoid the likely awkwardness of the delays in the link would bring, so he continued. "We have a Case 1. We made first contact. They received and understood the ultimatum." "And?" "They resisted." (OOC: stay tuned, there will be a chance for other nations to respond and react to what's going on on the western-most border of the Treecuu Star Empire)
Ten minutes ago
The planet Yim III (grid 525,575), Treecuu Star Empire Looth could have used one of those robot avatars and just have stayed on Bicaan. But he was tired of being away from the action. He didn't particularly enjoy what he just had initiated. It was them or the Treecuu. Dominate or be dominated. You were either weak or strong. It was survival of the fittest, but sometimes it really only was bad luck. The six-limb creatures, apparently calling themselves the Aryyt't or something like that, were just a little too late in their technological development, and at least they had pride enough to fight. Not like the avains on Bicaan, that had accepted the terms of the Treecuu ultimatum. They had become the "flightless birds" of the Empire, without a single shot fired. The Aryyt't clearly had no idea what they were up against. Looth had requested and received two divisions from the Surface Warfare Forces from Candact, the finest in the Empire, and in addition with elements from his own 19th Regional Fleet, he expected it to be a brief campaign. He more or less possessed the fire-power to crack the planet open like a boo egg, and against his forces stood a civilisation barely capable of banal space probes. They probably had some blunt nuclear bombs too. But he hoped it wouldn't come to the use of force that crude, on neither side. The Surface Warfare Forces were equipped with surgical tools that swiftly would remove a desired amount of "bio mass", without damaging the infrastructure too much. Chemical or biological weapons had been considered, but the Aryyt't were a specious of the more exotic kind, and it was uncertain how effective any weapons in stock would be. The Treecuu would rely on high-energy radiation precicion bursts. The plan was simple enough: first "clear" the largest city on the planet, located below the surface like all the other cities, then again approach the planet-wide leadership and repeat the terms for the continuing existence of the Aryyt't. They would then join the Bicaan and the other subject species as good servants of the Treecuu. They would be allowed to keep their own culture and autonomy to a very generous degree. But they would never be allowed to own or construct space vessels or inter-planetary communication systems. From the bridge of his flagship, Looth watched the hangar doors open on one of the bigger ships under his command and release the two marine divisions. The white streamlined hulls elegantly reflected the light from the reddish sun that hid soon hid completely behind Yim III.
Currently
The planet Yim III (grid 525,575), Treecuu Star Empire "Over here Professor!" The Professor was glad her assistant couldn't hear her inside the air-tight helmet. She panted heavily from the sprint. "Let me help you take that mask off." The Professor exposed her throat, both as a response accepting the offer, and to make it easier for her assistant to access the handles that would release the helmet from the protective suit. There was an almost humorous hiss and the Professor could finally breath the pleasant and familiar air in her laboratory. "I saw them come" she said with a worried expression on her face when she had caught her breath . "I know. I saw them too on your monitor. How shall we proceed?" "I was meditating by the sea over the plan, but couldn't find any good answers. Not until I got back inside. The One Who Sees approves. And I do believe the One also forgives what we are about to do." "Thank the One!" the assistant almost shouted. "When will we do it?" "Now! We have to do it now!" "But the counter strike? Shouldn't we wait and see if that does it?" "You know it won't. You've said it yourself. Before the Council of the Elders. The Treecuu can manipulate matter on a level we've only begun to dream of. The strike will have zero effect." "But the pilots.. they..." "I know. But the One Who Sees approves." "Blessed is the One Who Sees..." Reey, Professor of Theoretical Quantum Physics, entered the 72-digit code on her computer interface panel. And she confirmed the execute command.
* * *
Just as the sun was completely blocked by the planet, there was a bright flash on the northern hemisphere, where the marine divisions had entered the atmosphere.
"Governor! We lost contact with them!" "Is that so?" Looth responded, still with his eyes fixed on the planet. "Beec confirms. Antimatter!" Looth turned away from the window and faced the fleet commander. "What?" "A directed antimatter explosion. It wiped the continent and the atmosphere directly above clean. I recommend increasing the distance between us and the planet." Looth turned back to the window. "Granted. I want three alternative attack plans on my desk in two hours."
The Professor's lab had suddenly gone dark. But it couldn't have been from the blast. It was perfect. Her calculations were precise and she had managed to direct the blast mostly outwards, into the atmosphere. Someone had turned the power off, from the outside. Then she heard metal clunking on the other side of the door to her lab. There was a sharp blast and a cacophony of voices.
"Down! Down! Get down on the floor!" The professor and her assistant complied. "Strech limbs out! Stay flat!" the voices continued. The lights were turned back on, and the professor could finally see who had blasted her door in. It was the Federal Police. And Director Syat. Again. "Ah, my good professor. Blowing stuff up today are we? Whole continents perhaps? A thousand fighter planes too?" Syat said, while kneeling down to look her in the eyes. "You can see for yourself. They are gone. Annihilated." "The worst storms ever recorded are raging all over the planet. Do you realise you probably doomed a few hundred species to extinction?" "No! This is professor Reey you are talking to! She didn't kill them. They did" her assistant yelled. "Professor, huh? More like a cuckoo. Any idea how they might retaliate?" The Director used his most condescending tone. "You have doomed us all." "But it worked! It really did! The stellar observatories can no longer detect any alien presence! We got them all!" The assistant replied. "Unlikely. But you will have to explain that before the council. Apparently your research here is too important. Otherwise I'd throw you both out on the devastated surface." The Director stood up. "Now, come with me please. We have a long journey ahead to the capital."
* * *
Yim III looked a lot smaller now that his ships had fallen back. Looth turned away from the window to face the fleet staff on the other side of his desk. "What do you mean no reserves? Did you send all the marines at once?" "It was a type 1 landing, it calls for a show of force, and..." "I am no military" Looth interrupted, "but even I know it's common sense to keep units in reserve. This is exactly what the Treecuu Academy of Culture has warned us about. Growing overconfidence and self-assurance. Never relax! Let this be a lesson for all of us." Looth took a deep breath. "Now. Let's see what you've come up with." "Plan 1. We call for reinforcements and..." a younger officer began but was interrupted by Looth's almost disgusted face. "Calling for reinforcements is out of the question. It will take weeks for them to arrive." "But it is the sensible thing to do, I..." the young officer was interrupted again. "What are the other two plans?" The young officer leant back. Someone older spoke up. "Either we take out the city. Can be done from here. No losses on our side. Or we try the chemicals." "We still know too little about them. We'd risk annihilating them all." "Yes." "Take that city out. All of it. Then send a new negotiation party." Looth turned to the window. "Dismissed." He had to confess. He was impressed by the Aryyt't. He looked forward to meeting them. He turned on his computer and a high-resolution view over the devastated continent appeared. Three symbols closing in on it were marked in blue. Had they already fired? A projection of three giant craters soon confirmed it.
Looth climbed out of the landing shuttle. He had to squint against the sunlight, even though slowly moving mist blocked most of it out. The mist contrasted nicely against the brown rocky ground. He took a deep breath. It was indeed a fine morning.
He had decided to accept their surrender in person, and had brought a minimum delegation that now was waiting inside the shuttle. He wanted to make an impression of being in total control, all by his self. Sensors aboard the shuttle had registered a group of Aryyt't leaving their entry tunnels. They wore their ridiculously colourful protective suits, but were unarmed. Indeed, the sensors could almost screen every single atom of these strange creatures, now approaching Looth's position. And there they finally were. One by one they cleared the mist and approached him. When they got close enough he could see their faces. There was nothing but hatred and sadness. The Aryyt't bowed before Looth.
* * *
"Check pressure on unit 3!" The Professor didn't look up from her notes. "Nominal" another scientist responded on the radio. "Confirm heat shield sealed!" "Confirmed!" The Professor looked up from her notes and nodded towards a technician sitting by a large computer across the room. "Uyyt, initiate pre-launch sequence!" "Acknowledged!" the man confirmed. Even though they had worked without a break the whole night, no one in the control room showed any sign of being tired. Intense tension and nervousness made the air seem like it vibrated. The Aryyt't planet-wide government had decided to finally allow the launch of their first faster-than-light capable vessel. As a matter of fact it had been almost ready for a decade. But it had been deemed too dangerous and mothballed only days before its completion. Learning of the Treecu threat, the FTL program had been hastily brought back in action. But the professor had refused to help and had made herself completely inaccessible, working on her calculations for the antimatter explosion. She had been tracked down and brought to the base to finish the rocket and the probe that would jump from star to star, sending out distress calls. This would be made possible by the Professor's own frame shift drive and artificial wormhole technology. "Countdown now! Ten. Nine. Eight" an artificial voice proclaimed, which echoed against the rock walls. Director Syat approached the professor and spoke up. "Al right Professor. We're done here. Please come with me." "To the Furnace?" She asked. "Yes. As far away from it all as possible, while staying on this planet" Syat confirmed, not surprised that she knew about its existance. The Furnace was the best preserved secret of the Aryyt't government. A bunker located deep within the planet's solid mantle.
* * *
The rocket had barely left the upper atmoshpere when the probe detached. Before the Treecuu missile launched to intercept had the chance to explode in its proximity, it was gone and well on its way to a distant star. (OOC: Who knows, maybe the probe appears close to a star near you? What would you do?  )
A few days later
Drakari Celestial Imperium Star Fortress Watchful Guardian Operations Center For Sergeant Gnaeus Domitus, the day dragged on, much as it had every day for the past month of his assignment here on the Star Fortress. Wake up, break his fast, carry out morning exercises and drills, then head straight to his monitoring console deep within the station for his shift. There hadn't been many things to see: A few merchant ships, some explorers either from the seven Imperial Core Systems, the numerous minor colonies the Drakari maintained, or ships from the Protectorate Races within the Imperium's borders just setting out from their home system, or some kind of natural phenomena that was best left to the Magos' in the laboratories elsewhere aboard the Watchful Guardian. "Oi, Gnaeus," another soldier said as they passed, their Inner Elysium accent echoing through the otherwise quiet Ops Center, "Anythin' interestin' on the scanner, lad?" "Oh, not much until your ugly mug passed by, Flavius," Gnaeus chuckled as he looked over his shoulder at the Drakari he had enlisted with some two hundred years ago. "Good to hear, Gnae. That said, Ye've been starin' at yer console nonstop for several days even though ye got the daily routine of the comin' and goin's here all figured out. Yer horns could probably have grown another ten centimeters and ye would nae even notice it," Flavius said as he sat at a station across from his fellow Legionnaire and friend. The other officers in their part of the Operations Center began laughing, including Gnaeus. "Flavius, you absolute ass! I'm surprised your glib tongue hasn't caused you to have your tail sliced off!" The laughter increased and continued for several minutes until Gnaeus' station picked up something. Gnaeus immediately got to work as the laughter was quickly silenced, his eyes widening as he narrowed down the approaching object. "Domitus to Station Commander Aurelia! Something is coming out of some sort of portal and approaching the station, bearing 142-mark-219! It appears to be some kind of probe." Aurelia frowned as she sat in her Command Throne, watching the data come in. "Origin?" "Unknown, Ma'am. The probe appears to be sending out some sort of signal. Xenolinguistics is working on translating it as quickly as they can manage, but it may be a few hours before we even get a rough translation." "See to it that it brought to me as soon as it is completed. I want this sent to Imperial High Command as soon as possible." "Aye, Commander."
Time Elapsed from Aryyt’t Probe Launch: unknown
Summary Report to 501st Venterran Strike Fleet Commander From: Federation High Command (VFHC) Fleet Commander Akira Kensei DSERF 723 briefly encountered an extraterrestrial probe while charting Sector 13 (Plot 13). DSERF 723 failed to recover the probe after probe moved faster than light. DSERF 723 intercepted an open transmission from the probe before it exited the system. Preliminary analysis by Xenolinguists and DSERF Command AI, Archer, suggest transmission is a distress call. DSERF 723 has requested VFHC to investigate the origin of the “probe” to fulfill requirement of R2E or other Sapient rights intervention laws. VFHC agrees additional analysis necessary to determine DSERF 723’s report that the unknown message is a distress call. However, both DSERF 723 and VFHC analysts predict the probe originated from “Treecu Space”. The Federation lacks diplomatic means to ensure safety of Venterran fleets. DSERF 723 does not possess necessary fire power to investigate area safely and requires escort. VFHC notes that 501st fleet is the closest fleet to DSERF 723. 501st Fleet directive to pursue and destroy xeno-pirates will be suspended temporarily. 501st Fleet will rendezvous with DSERF 723 and escort the new Combined fleet into Treecu Space. All Fleet restrictions will be lifted for duration of mission to allow independent action. Good luck… FEDERATION HIGH COMMAND End Transmission. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ The Commander had a wry grin as he read the message again. He was tired of hunting down worthless pirates, but he didn't relish the fact he was going to lead countless Venterrans to their deaths. As he continued to read the report, he recognized DSERF 723. DSERF 723, a Deep space exploration fleet commanded by his old Friend Izana Kuribayashi and a fleet notorious for encountering situations invoking the Federations many Sapient rights intervention clauses. 'At least I won't have to baby sit the DSERF if we engage in combat' he thought as contacted the other fleet captains to chart a course to rendezvous with the DSERF.
Star Fortress Watchful Guardian
Operations Center Four hours after probe arrival Commander Aurelia sipped on a cup of tea exported from the capital as xenolinguistics moved as quickly as they could to decipher the transmission from the mysterious probe. Word of it's arrival had already spread to the Legion's High Command, the Senate, and even the Emperor himself, all of whom were patched into the Guardian's holocomm. "Commander," the Speaker of the Senate said, "How much longer must we wait? The Senate expects results in matters of First Contact." The Supreme Commander of the Legions rolled her eyes. "Master Speaker, I trust that you realize that translating a recently discovered language isn't as simple as drafting a bill regulating skycar speeds." "How dare you?!" "ENOUGH!" All parties involved looked at the Emperor's image the moment he shouted. The young monarch looked suitably annoyed. "Supreme Commander, Master Speaker, you are both acting like children... allow the CO of the Star Fortress to speak, please?" The Speaker of the Senate and the Supreme Commander both looked a little sheepish as they fell silent. "Thank you, my Liege. We should be expecting a rough translation of the probe's signal in a few moments. The xenolinguists aboard this Fortress have been itching for a new language to decipher for some time." A button on her command throne interface lit up one standard minute later. "Already? Huh... remind me to put their whole department in for commendations." She pressed the button and began the audio playback that could be heard throughout the large station and within the capitol center on Pax Dracon. Despite the broken Drakari Basic, the intent of the signal made itself known. "A distress signal? What in the name of...?!" Nearly everyone in the room, either physically or through holographic telepresence, were shaking in rage. "Supreme Commander..." the Emperor said with an unnervingly steady tone, "prepare all fleets that can be spared. Master Speaker, contact the Treecu ambassador and their government. They had best have a good excuse for this unprovoked invasion of a sovereign world!" "Yes, my Emperor," they said almost in unison before leaving the interstellar conference call. "Commander Aurelia, keep your station on standby. We may have further need of the Watchful Guardian and it's crew."
Government Complex, Ecteen, Treecuu Star Empire
It had happened slowly. Few had noticed, and even fewer had protested. Since the annexation of Laar, the true power within the Empire had shifted from the Senate to the Committee for the Expansion of the Empire. The role of the Senate, and indeed the other authorities and departments, had become advisory. All the important authorities had gathered in a conference room belonging to the Committee. The discussion was lively. "How many systems did you say?" Utance, Chair of the Committee for the Expansion of the Empire asked. "Well over a hundred. But how many systems isn't the issue here, rather what systems. According to our estimations at least two significant states where visited: the entities known to us as Bacsdracuu and Venteraan" a self-assured admiral, representative from the Star Fleet, answered. "And you know this how?" Utane asked, not hiding his scepticism. "The 19th Regional Fleet was able to obtain the data stored in the probe in its entirety before it jumped", the admiral raised his index finger and smirked . "Yes, it was that crude. We know exactly all places it visited. Or was supposed to visit." The admiral paused for effect. "When it appeared again in Treecuu space, by Daaruu as we knew it would, we took it out." "Thank you Admiral. Excellent work." Utane turned to the President of the Senate. "What does the Senate suggest be our next steps?" "Action one: increase surveillance and reconnaissance efforts, both internally and externally. Two: assess the attitudes towards the annexation of the Aryyt't of said entities." "Good. Then I say it is time for the diplomats we persist to maintain to finally do some real work. Send envoys to the two states to determine what their intentions are. Obviously officially on a purely diplomatic mission." Utane stood up, immediately followed by the others. "That shall be our decision." Soon two ships left the capital and were on their way to Pax Dracon and the Venterran Federation.
Ladon System
Pax Dracon Capital World of Drakari Celestial Imperium Orbital Defense Platform Alpha Ever since the news of the Treecu occupation of Yim III reached Drakari media outlets, mass protests had broken out across Drakari space. Many citizens had demanded the Emperor take action personally. One such citizen was on a holoscreen in the Platform's control center. "The Treecu Star Empire cannot be allowed to continue these acts of wanton aggression! Why hasn't the Imperium responded to this," the elderly Drakari shouted to the journalist that was off-camera. "No species should be treated like this! If our government had done this to any of our Protectorates, you can be damned sure that there would revol--!" Captain Artori turned off the newsfeed and sighed wearily. She couldn't say that she disagreed with the old man, especially when the data from the Aryyt't probe revealed the sheer brutality of the Treecu invasion. That was before the news of a Treecu emissary came shortly after the initial coverage. In her humble opinion, this could go very wrong very quickly. And from the looks of things, everyone on the station knew that. "Captain," a synthetic voice said, "Subspace distortion detected. It appears to be a Treecu ship dropping out of FTL. The First Fleet is standing by." "Tell them to hold position, Vigilance. And ready a broadcast in both Drakari Basic and Treecu," she said as she strode towards the raised command platform in the center of Ops. "Acknowledged," the AI affirmed while the station's crew readied themselves. "Signal prepared, Captain." Artori took a deep breath as she stood resolutely, keeping her anger repressed for the time being. "Attention Treecu vessel, you are to report to the Ajakis Memorial Starport on the surface. You will be given a frigate and fighter escort there. Any deviation from the course provided to you will be interpreted as a hostile act against the Imperium and your vessel will be impounded pending further action." |
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