Infinite Multiverse

The Saturnian System wrote:

Padraig noted The Wanderer's interest and turned up the radio slightly. Sean began his drive down the city.
"...A strict denouncement by the Yulvano Dynasty's Department of Civil Affairs. The Imperial Province of Vortigan, led by the self-proclaimed Krothar Rokkun Skarrg, has stated that all ships exiting their systems must first have their ships searched to verify no escaped slaves are attempting to escape their province. The Office of the Imperium, though they have expressly condemned the attack on Kirilan II by the Radi Mesti as a terrorist attack against the Yulvano Dynasty's citizens, has refused to comment on any attempts to track down the escaped slaves, and has called the rise of security within the Kirilan system a complete overreaction, and a misdirection of resources. The Imperial Parliament has not issued any search orders nor provided any warrants for searches for any escaped slaves, and has instead urged security forces to increase their presence and focus their resources on the elimination of the Radi Mesti presence in the region.

The official statement from the Radi Mesti's 3018 manifesto regarding the Yulvano Dynasty declares that the slavers of the Yulvano Dynasty will be broken. They are cited as saying that they 'will never stop, will never relent until the tyranny, and treason of the Imperial Authority is at an end. Our people were denied their freedom once, and we shall never let it be denied again.'

Hoo. What a helluva set of events that have been popping off in the Galactic Orient lately! Radi Mesti is in place, the Warstate of Turweg has been kicking the hive with the Tybereans, and it really feels like the Yulvano Dynasty could crack at any minute! There's a lot more news for us to cover tonight, folks, and in the next transmission, I'll be giving us news that's a lot more at home. Until then, enjoy this song. A time to live, a time to die, but all in all, we never forget our boys who wore the green. This one goes out to you, friends."

After a brief pause, a tune started playing. Sean chuckled and shook his head. "They're always sayin' that. Oh the Yulvano Dynasty is going to collapse into a Civil War! It never bloody happens!"
Padraig smirked and nodded briefly, glancing towards the radio and the wanderer a moment before looking back to Sean, "You keep sayin' that lad, but ya never know. Them Snoutties aren't the most welcomin' to bein' ruled by anyone that ain't them, much less a youngin' like Nordan. Don't think they're gonna keep the country together forever."
Sean shrugged. "I'm just sayin'. They always say this s***e and it never happens."
Padraig glanced back towards the Wanderer and asked him, "What do you think, lad? Know a whole lot about the Yulvano situation?"

The Disputed Territories of Mortasheen

Mortasheen
Galactic West, Unclaimed Territories, Unclaimed System, Planet II

Amidst the vast expanse of space, a solitary solar system loomed, its star casting a warm, golden glow upon the celestial bodies that orbited it. Within this unclaimed system, nestled a small, rocky planet, its surface emerald-green with many layers upon layers of thick, untamed jungles, complex river systems and a few Oceans dotted across the planet. Above this lush World, a fleet of Xiegnath Raiders materialized, their ships emerging from the void as they neared the Planet's orbit. At the helm of the flagship, the Raider Warchief, known as Kadul Unkarth, surveyed the scene with keen interest. His ship, a massive battlecruiser, served as the vanguard of the raiding party. Around it, smaller vessels flanked, forming a protective cordon around the flagship. They were certainly expecting company should they not complete their mission fast enough.

On the command deck of the flagship, stood tall and imposing, his massive form casting a shadow over his subordinates. With a grunt of satisfaction, he nodded to his second-in-command, relaying an order to him. "Rally our landing parties. We search the given coordinates. Get in, get out. I would like to leave before our enemies suspect our presence."
The second-in-command, and incidentally the commander of the ground party, Grolan Tark, nods his head. "It will be done, Krotharnok." He replies. He makes a sharp turn towards the exit. The Xiegnath warriors were to deploy down onto the planet, investigate alien ruins, find out whats in there, and be in and out as quick as possible. He was to address his men, see to that their equipment for the expedition was prepared, and that they deploy.

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In the cold tomb below the Planet's surface, there sat an ancient artifact; undiscovered, inactive for what must have been more than a millennia, with its founders and inhabitants long gone. What sat below the surface was a massive, empty chamber, with many-a abandoned walkways, halls and catwalks that have been left vacant; its walls adorned with intricate carvings and glyphs with symbols with meanings long lost to time. All that remains is one set of two arches in the center of the large chamber. The machinery surrounding the arches does what it had not done in a long time. Sporadically, it whirs to life with a monolith of shimmering energy running through its wiring and machinery connected with the object. It comes to life and emits a strong sound of pulsation, followed by a visible, soft, otherworldly glow.
The portal was activated by means presently unknown, leading from one dimension to the next in a two-way teleport.

The Commonwealth of The Saturnian System

Sol Nations wrote:

Mortasheen

Something emerges from the portal during its short period of activity.

First, a skeletal hand the size of a human head reaches through, feeling the ground with its massive claws. Marks in the floor were scratched with ease, the shrill noise echoing throughout. The sound almost seems to make the hand itself— or whatever it belongs to, rather— noticeably flinch.

After a few more seconds, the rest of the being emerges: it has the appearance of a hunched, emaciated humanoid corpse, easily over fourteen feet tall… At least, if it were to stand up straight. The monster seems perpetually weighed down by its massive, ungainly horns, forced to drag them along as it awkwardly shuffles about.

The Doomboros, absolutely petrified of its surroundings, has absolutely no idea what is going on. It had been in the process of fleeing from a very bad thing that wished to hurt it (one of an endless amount of such things) and had sought refuge through one of the glowing discs that had appeared recently— which did indeed scare it as well, but not nearly as much as this particular very bad thing.

The only problem was that it currently didn’t have any idea where it was right now. However, there also didn’t seem to be anything here. That was good.

Looking around, it failed to notice the portal beginning to fizzle behind it.

Edited

Sol Nations wrote:

He thought that he could use the information from the radio, and make up a story about him being an escaped slave from the Yulvano Dynasty. He hoped that this would explain his lack of papers and documents, and his ignorance about this world. He also hoped that the two men would sympathize with him.

He looked at Padraig, and said softly, “Actually, I have a confession to make. I’m not a migrant... I’m a runaway, an escaped slave from the Yulvano Dynasty. I was captured by slavers when I was a child, and sold to a Yulvano lord. I spent most of my life as a slave-”

He paused for a moment, and looked down. He tried to act sad and ashamed, and to show some emotion. He continued, “-A few weeks ago, I managed to escape, along with some other slaves. We stole a ship, and fled from the Yulvano space. We heard about the Radi Mesti, and their fight for freedom. We wanted to join them, and help them overthrow the Yulvano tyranny. But we were attacked by the Yulvano fleet, and our ship was damaged. It crashed on a planet and I managed to pay a trafficker to get me out before the authorities arrived... I don’t know what happened to the others, or if they are still alive. I was the only one who made it as far as I know. I don’t have any papers or documents, or any money, I don’t know anyone here, or anything about this place. I’m alone, scared, and lost.”

Mortasheen wrote:

The portal fizzled behind the Doomboros. Whatever had given it brief life, has seemingly given out.

It was now left alone, in a dark, massive chamber, with numerous catwalks from the above, wiring and metallic structures all interconnecting to the now defunct portal. Wherever it was now, it was stuck there. Aside from that, there was nothing of interest to the creature, unless it wished to admire some of the glyphs and symbols, though it was written in a language long extinct.
As far as places to go, there were a grand total of one way to exit the room. One leading straight forwards, another leading to the right. The doorway leading forwards from the portal appeared to be much wider and it led up to a slight incline leading to a larger chamber with multiple rooms and ramps. Each doorframe appeared to be lit by a low, warm green light, pulsating from one end to the other as if it were trying to power something, or activate, but couldn't.
There were small hatchways in the ground, indicating that all or, most doors in the facility, from being defunct for so long, were left unlocked. Most of the facility would be traversal going forwards.

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Deep into the Facility

The Xiegnath ground team had already secured the entrance to the facility, and a party of a dozen soldiers began sweeping through the facility. It was a massive, labyrinthine complex, and they had much ground to cover.
They had been there for hours already, searching and digging through the facility for any sign of...Anything.
Each Xiegnath soldier was a tall, powerful being, standing at a height of 8 feet tall and donning a powered metallic suit over their elephantine bodies. Their armor ignored traditional camouflage conventions in favor of being an elegant, yet intimidating dark red primary and golden secondary color. Their four eye-sockets in their masks glowed a bright blue with the activation of their night-vision, allowing them to see through the dark, metallic caverns. It was a massive facility, and tensions were already high. They were itching for something- anything- to shoot at. Their heavy footsteps echoed throughout the halls near and around them as they searched the facility.
Then it happened. They saw as a bolt of energy shot through the facility around the time of the portal's activation. They tightly gripped their weapons and fanned out, weapons aimed in all directions. The team leader let out a low, guttural, reverberation, akin to a chuckle from his snout. "Lorek, gleken tharan'ag morvok!" (I believed today would be boring!) it resounded to its squadmates.
The team spread out to cover more ground, each group consisting of three, for four different teams that would be searching the facility.

For now, the creature and these search parties were quite the distance, though it may not be long before one or the other intercepted.

The Disputed Territories of Mortasheen

Edited

The Saturnian System wrote:

Sean kept his eyes on the road, and Padraig nodded to The Wanderer and listened close. He seemed...Especially quiet after he made mention of wanting to join Radi Mesti, but kept quiet until he was finished. He gave Sean a glance, before looking back to The Wanderer, "Well, its for the best that ya ended up here and not in Radi Mesti's ranks, lad." He replied solemnly. "Radi Mesti did a good thing there, but Radi Mesti does a lot more unfortunate things than good. Other than the few good things they do, fightin' to free the slaves and all? They fight to kill anyone who is not a human being." He said, clarifying the kind of people they are. "Radi Mesti claims they're fightin' for us, when really, they're just terrorists. Maybe not officially, but their kind isn't welcome around here. Careful who ya decide to tell that you wanted to join 'em. Some wouldn't appreciate it so kindly, not especially them long-eared folks." He warned politely.

"The fortunate thing is, the Confederacy accepts refugees from the Imperium. All ye need to do is tell 'em that you're from Yulvano Dynasty and they'll try to integrate ya in the colony ya wound up. Provide ya directions, money for housin', fling employers your way." Sean piped up as he continued to drive, after Padraig was done giving his explanation.
"You'll be safer here, I can tell ya that much. Padraig here and I are part of the system's militia ground force. We rarely get called up for anythin' beyond taking inventory and trainin'. Them imperial slave-hunters wouldn't tread on our system, not while we're part of the Confederacy. Last thing them cowards want is a war."
Padraig chuckled, "Ya can take that from Sean. He fought in the Av'ii Wars. He fought them imperials personally." He smirked.
Sean quietly checked his mirrors as he continued driving, continuing his way for the office He was relatively quiet after that statement.

The Commonwealth of The Saturnian System

Sol Nations wrote:

The Doomboros turned around to see the portal behind it fizzling. Now, as far as it was aware, it had absolutely no way to get home.

…That’d sure be a load off.

For a moment, with nothing around it but dust and objects of ages past, it felt content. Perhaps even something approaching comfortable— at least enough so that it exited the room.

And then, as it did so, it heard the faint sounds of something approaching. Of stomping, of buzzing weaponry, whirring servos. And it once again felt nothing but utter terror.

The skeletal behemoth backed itself against the nearest wall, and covered its head with its hands as it produced a sound that, to a human, might’ve been mistaken for the whining of a scared dog— particularly a smaller dog, like a chihuahua.

As it was once again consumed with fear untold, its empathetic field got to work.