The Galactics UnionBoard

9: Caquoetia

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My son will be my heir, and I expect great things of him. I expect for him to have a fine wife, and children to continue the life of the throne. His future is our country's future.
-Translated section from the personal journal of Emperor Atraei

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A long carpet of golden shade would be spread along a great path from the pad before where they stood. The great figure of the Guild heighliner above meant the arrival had happened. The small silhouette of a shuttle meant she was on her way.

The prince stood beside his smiling father. By contrast, Yano was depressed, but he tried not to let it show. The shuttle grew larger and larger in the sky until, finally, it touched down upon the pad and let its door down. The assembly before the Emperor and the prince were Shaddam Corrino, one of the highest-ranking nobles in the country; his wife; his daughters, including the one the prince was meant to marry, and a singular son. Along with them were members of the Corrinoan Security Force, the personal army of the Corrino family.

Shaddam would step forward toward the Emperor, going to his knees in respect for the man. The Emperor would nod, and signal for Shaddam to rise again. Behind him, his entourage would do the same motions, in respect to the Emperor.

Yano was immediately uneasy. All he could think of was the hell he was soon to endure, with even more restriction and expectation. Unless...

The woman he was to marry would step over to him, and begin to speak to him as the Emperor and her father would begin to talk about the current harvests and politics. Yano would try to feign disinterest, but this only left his betrothed with more interest.

Her name was Caquoetia Corrino. She was the same age as the prince. Her favorite activity was stargazing. She listened to modern music and found interest in foreign goods. She would be an interesting partner. For the prince. But not for Yano.

He had now believed that he was two: he was both the idea of the heir, the prince, and the man hiding a gay relationship with a working-class citizen.

He was both himself and what people thought he was. Right now, he could not decide if he was Yano or Yano.

The wedding ceremony was to take place in several days.

Yano planned for two.

Mirdann wrote:

Into the Dark Forest

The message bordered on sheepish in tone and was a stark contrast to the blustering the Saharians had heard just minutes prior. Already the Mirdanni were trying to back up out of weapons range and deliberately turning their mounts away from the Saharians, though a few ships remained in pursuit of the Light Cruiser which had begun to double back towards its point of origin. The captured frigate was being brought in by tractor beams as well. They seemed poised to withdraw, and would surely follow through if the Saharians allowed it.

Into the Dark Forest || Mirdann

While Admiral Reyes’ fleet was content to stare daggers at the invaders until they withdrew, holding their silence - the same couldn’t be said for Captain Keiler. Ship damaged but still afloat, bridge still awash with dimmed alarms and red lighting, he orchestrated a brief response to be sent out…

“Should we pursue the hostile vessel, Sir?” Keiler didn’t even dignify the question with a vocal reply, just shaking his head as his eyes remained glued to the viewscreen.

---

“--Attention Mirdanni vessels. Your offer of a ceasefire is accepted. You are permitted to exit Saharian space at your earliest convenience.--”

An unnaturally cordial reply. Many people were dead, multiple ships badly damaged… but the desire to avoid further conflict was barely strong enough on the Saharian side to keep brinkmanship at bay. Reyes’ flagship contacted the Glorious, demanding a situation report…

Valkenia wrote:

Making Preparations

While the Wolfinites were some ways away, tracking of their fleet took priority over most. The message was ran through the decoder once again and in response the Valken sent a response back, a simple message verifying their presence. On world however, the government knew that it wouldn't take centuries for them to arrive, and began assembling teams of cultural analysists and diplomats that would be most qualified for the first contact procedure. Princess Elik, of the royal family volunteered herself to be an envoy for the aliens as a measure of peace.. Skilled in diplomat ordeals with the Valken alike, she wasn't a bad choice for this kind of formal meet.

Rallying to the Homeworld, 4th Fleet "Starcom" was retrieved from exterior service to act as a middle ground between the homeworld and the Wolfinites. The Valken made the decision to wait longer for the Wolfinites to move much closer before launching the fleet to greet

Arrival Pt. 1

The Wolfinite Fleet begins its final approach, the 7 ships in a triangular formation with each of them shaped like delta wings in a way with the largest and leading flagship, WSF Lycan, being more delta shaped then the others and nearly 450 meters long and 50 meters thick at the thickest point with 10 engines on the back, 4 on each side evenly spaced, and 2 in the middle. If there is windows, they either are blocked or heavily tinted possibly to shield from debris or filter out radiation. Maybe both. Whatever it is, the fleet begins to meet up with the Valkenians, from their world, the 7 ships would begin to grow brighter as naked eye objects, 7 stars in formation growing brighter and brighter.

In the coming hours, the fleet begins positioning in very high orbit of the Valkenia homeworld, they have arrived.

The Aurelian Empire wrote:

0.18 FURTHER XENOCONTACT

Monitoring stations had picked up on the Wolfinite vessels as soon as they'd entered the system. An alert was soon sent to the local Exploratores station - which dispatched the diplomatic frigate within minutes; it glided towards the foreign vessel with its internal Void Engines.

The Aurelian craft looked far removed from any of the galaxy's vessels. Instead of having an external sublight drive or any sort of hyperspace core, they had a single Void Engine which doubled as both. The ship itself gleamed a strange bronze, starlight glinting off the Imperial Bronze hull. It was ridged too - cleverly concealed weapons ports were tucked away inside special openings. The frigate's vessel didn't have a visible bridge either - it was installed in the centre of the ship, where everything important lay. As a repurposed Cog-class frigate, it sat at around 270m long and 50m wide; longer than the Wolfinite vessel, but slimmer than theirs.

Sailing past a few unimportant planets, the Aurelian vessel depowered its shields and concealed its weapons; preparing for first contact mandated that they make a decently peaceful impression. Forwarding a codex of their language to the Wolfinites, it is hoped that this forwards message can assist in communications between the two species. Once it is confirmed that they've received the package, a short message in the Elteni language is sent.

"Hail, Wolfinites! What brings you to our corner of the galaxy?"

Arrival Pt.2

The light of the local alien star lights up the ship. The vessel slows to a stop relative to the alien craft in front of them. The codex is quite helpful and implanting it into the ship's system, a message is sent back.

"We are here for diplomatic purposes and first contact. We come from across the other side of the galaxy and saw this system mysteriously go supernova, we were intrigued and deduced it to be an artificial explosion, for on purpose or on accident we aren't sure. Though we figured we would try to make contact to increase our knowledge of the galactic community and build relations."

Fox Millworks wrote:

Take Two \\\ The Algeron Treaty Organization \\\ ID:238380

A few weeks after that moment in the Gym, the Klingon representatives sat in a meeting. Directly across from them, the towering bastion of armor named Admiral. To their left, Grayning, an older man with his sleeves rolled up. He was idly rubbing his chin, after hearing them speak.

"I mean, I get it. You guys have this warrior culture, and you want to be your own guards...but we have limitations on that. We only allow natives to be on widespread patrol. You're welcome to guard the diplomats themselves, and the inside of their quarters, but you can't interfere with patrols. And for your area of the CEP, we can be willing to allow at least some of you to do it."

He said, letting his hand fall into his lap, both his hands disappearing under the table as he adjusted his posture to be straighter. Valentine spoke after, on the Klingon side of the table.

"I think it's important to allow them this. It's part of their culture, and this is a cultural exchange program. The Eye Ess Eff is supposed to be this bastion of diplomacy and peace. To allow nations to meet, discuss, and exist alongside each other. A big part of that is cultural cohesion, and if we deny them part of their beliefs, thats sh*tty on our part."

Admiral's head turned to stare directly at Valentine, before the modulated voice came through those speakers around their neck.

"Don't swear. And you know why we can't allow it. Non-natives are not allowed past the entrance of security. There's too much information there that could endanger us. That's why is has to be locked away from outsiders. And I hope the Klingon can understand this."

They said, moving head to look at the Klingon representatives. Ceding the floor to them, in a way.

Take Two \\\ Fox Millworks \\\ ID:238380

"Excuse me as I express my point adequately," *The bolted-on-eyepatch wearing Klingon growls in their typical gruff voice. The Vulcan next to them looks on with mild interest, surprised the Klingon indeed listened to their recommendation of giving the ISF reps warning.* "POST HUMAN? That makes you stronger and tougher than an ordinary human? What a USELESS distinction! Any one of our warriors would match yours. I could drag a slacking worm to this office right now and they would put any of your oversized mammal guards onto the floor! If you're worried we'll be walking out of here with any of your pittances of secret keeping, there's nothing a Romulan does not know about you. We would only need to ask."

The Vulcan has more insightful things to add, "Despite his directness, the ATO is concerned with how station security is operated. There is, besides security shortcomings, a general lack of trust of outsiders. It's come to our attention that while the ISF has its reasons to keep the surface secure, it certainly does not consider our presence safe enough to move without oversight."

A State in Shadow
"Appear weak where you are strong..."

New Saharia

And so they left. As the ships in hot pursuit of the pirate cruiser entered hyperspace just behind it, the rest of the foreign fleet turned about to leave Saharian space. A diplomatic disaster had been averted and the situation had ended in what seemed to be the best way possible. That didn't mean it didn't immediately cause a panic in both the fleet and the office of Rector.

---

Ilman put his head in his hands as he looked at the holopad that his secretary had brought in. It was as if the spirits themselves were punishing him. His attempt to push much needed administrative reforms through the Khorhurd had failed spectacularly. The Blues thought they would cause too much overreach and it seemed the Left thought they wouldn't cause enough overreach. At every turn he was stifled by a government that didn't seem like it wanted to govern. And though he had been able to stop much of the Republic's bleeding, problems were shooting up everywhere. The forge worlds were restless; initiatives to relieve civilian suffering following the Revolution had dried out and billions were still destitute and jobless. The frontier was still chafing under a corporate playground that resisted all of his attempts to implement proper oversight. And yet all of his attempts to whip the halls of power into action had been stalled. He received all of this news on top of a near-disaster on the periphery. More foreigners on the fringe. At every turn he seemed stifled...

Perhaps it was too early to despair. From the looks of this report, the incident had happened outside of Mirdanni borders and only involved an obstinate pirate and a single taskforce rather than an entire mining system, which allowed for the government to control the flow of information far better than their first encounter with an unknown civilization. From the records of the captured ships, it also seemed like these foreigners were far less... strange than the Aurelians. Conventional plasma weaponry combined with similar (if more advanced) drive technology, along with the profiles of many of their vessels signalled a distant relation to Mirdann's own ships. That, and the language translation packets received by Kleio's fleet, signalled that these foreigners were also human. Ilman took a deep breath and got up to pace his room. the Republic needed information. It needed knowledge of the greater galaxy if it was to survive. Many greater forces were at work on the periphery. Ilamn just knew it. He stopped himself in front of the large portrait of Selay he had hung up in the office.

He doubted she would approve of this plan of deception he had concocted and aimed at both the foreigners and his own people. He pinched the bridge of his nose and turned away. It was necessary, he thought. She would understand. And the people would too, in time.

---

A mere day after the discovery of the Mirdanni, the Saharians would receive an encrypted message sent to the signalling station that had been used to attempt negotiations with the late Lhokgar, its origin point similar to where the alien taskforce had fled to. The encryption was likely intended to ward off any other actors who attempted to intercept it, as it was too complex for civilians to decrpyt but certainly trivial for the Saharian government to parse. The message consisted of a formal diplomatic greeting by the 'humble Selayyan Republic of Mirdann', an apparently minor state consisting of just three hundred star systems that stretched across the Saharian border. The Mirdanni elaborated upon their origins, explaining that the Republic had 'united against great adversity' in the East, leaving out what exactly that 'adversity' was and if it still persisted. There was another profuse (and wordy) apology for 'the violation of Saharian spatial soveriegnty' and a brief explanation regarding certain parts of Mirdanni culture, such as the societal construct known as the Clans.

The brief communique was continued with a map of Mirdanni space and a request. As the little republic had little to no knowledge of the greater galaxy prior to their first contact with the Saharians, they were deeply interested in an accurate political map of the Galaxy and contextual 'historical and societal data' of its current inhabitants and polities. The message ended with astronomical coordinates for the Mirdanni 'Capital' of Ai Karanis, where a response could be sent and received.

---

Part [1/?]

Mirdann wrote:

A State in Shadow
"Appear weak where you are strong..."
Part [1/?]

A State in Shadow || Mirdann

The Saharian Republic’s actions following the nearly disastrous “Eastern Invasion” were predictably thorough. The 434th taskforce under Rear Admiral Reyes was to hold position in the East and standby for further orders. Naval Command sought fit to deploy additional ships to the region, and place the sector on yellow-alert indefinitely. A new military outpost was slated to be established in the very near future, Farpoint Tau - which would, at least in planning, serve as the anchor for an entire Saharian armada.

The Republic’s eastern border was weak. That much was proven. And, unfortunately, that was the only element of the equation the government seemed to care about. There was an entire nation-state to the East, one of considerable size - and one with a human population. The Saharian Diplomatic Corps, bold as ever, wanted to send an envoy to Mirdann post-haste to cool tensions and temper any chance of further brinkmanship at the border. And, as usual, their goals in this regard conflicted with that of their government. The proposal was quickly shot down.

Public knowledge of the event came later, which only exacerbated the issue. Although, the more decadent core-worlders were less concerned, with the event getting secondary coverage at best on planets like Matrenar or Avalon, let alone Viskova. Truth be told, Saharia’s people were getting rather sick of war - and the fatigued breath of the wider nation overshadowed the outcry of the families who lost sons and daughters in the attack. For better or worse.

Of course, this event would only make Executor Ellecon’s day more frustrating and complicated than it needed to be. He intended, this time, to inform everyone that war was neither necessary nor the solution to the issue. It was leverage he used that would further drain support from the more conservative factions of the nation. Thank God he had little to do this week beyond attend the occasional press-conference. Televised appearances of damned reporters asking the same bloody questions. Every. Single. Time.

But the honorable Diplomatic Corps was stubborn if nothing else. They would be the ones to respond to the Mirdanni broadcast which had struck ISA-receivers across the eastern border mere hours ago. With the Executor’s personal blessing to do so, they amended their reply-transmission to include an invitation for a Mirdanni diplomat to arrive at the nation’s capital city. If sending a diplomat was out of the question, surely asking for the other side to send one was within reason. It would be far from the first time the Corps had used rules-lawyering to get their job done…

---

The transmission was sent out, the ISA’s powerful broadcast satellites sending a reply back to the sender with breathtaking precision and quality. A transmission of this power would certainly be startling - far from damaging, of course. More like a firm tap-on-the-shoulder for the Mirdanni.

The first string of data included exactly what the Mirdanni had asked for. A map of the Saharian Republic, from East to West, North to South. As well as the location of the capital-system. But not just Saharia, but every nation she was in contact with. Within just a few minutes, the canvas of the galaxy seemed a lot more full. From the Dominion of Mirpak to the Orellian Coalition, Breen Confederacy, Temeran Commonwealth… and not just their locations and borders, but a relatively extensive packet of information on each. The species which lived there, their leadership, government, culture… as well as how “approachable” each nation was diplomatically.

Predictably, the section on Saharia herself was the most barren. Only the most basic information.

And lastly, the invitation - the Mirdanni Republic was offered to send a diplomat to meet Saharian officials on Viskova. It was something of a longshot - but if the Mirdanni were truly as apologetic as their transmission eluded to, they would certainly accept such an offer…

Thief's Honor || New Saharia

"We've been skeptical of them from the start, glad this whole thing confirmed those suspicions."

Once the handshake was ended, he quickly gestured Ellecon to follow him inside, where it was much less likely for their conversation to be eavesdropped. once inside, the door was then closed and locked behind them, after which Jack spoke again as he lead Ellecon to a proper room.

"I don't want to mince words or beat around the bush, I called you here to establish proper relations other than simply knowing of each other in essence."

The Algeron Treaty Organization wrote:

A Handy Man \\\ FreeAmericanStates \\\ Fox Millworks ID: 700209

Such was the likely reality that Lt. Amber knew could happen. The adaptions, while advantageous, were not necessarily acceptable by an alien race. In his own mind, the Engineer likened it to being asked to use his own feet to push buttons much like a Terran monkey would. That simply would not do.

Amber looked at the Security Officer with an expression that said "they're right you know". He knew too that his time was up, both the Pony and their babysitter had somewhere to go and so did he. Before returning to his station at the embassy, Amber asked the Security Officer where they could go to further consult the Ponies and the ISF's station management. As soon as they got their answer, they hurried off back to the embassy for renovations.

While Amber signed off the ISF's requirements for station modification permits and applied the well known use of stem bolts (self sealing) to their intended purpose, they kept thinking about what to do about it. Starfleet Engineers have an annoying propensity to dislike design problems, and this was exactly what they signed up to do.

A new idea comes up: use ATO's voice recognition and biometric scan technology to make a touchless console and interface for the embassy's basic functions. A very common solution to Starfleet's own xeno-adaption problems, this could serve as a serviceable middle ground for general use and interfaces. They get permission to provide the following details to the Pony and ISF reps on the station by their "electronic mail" system:

INTERFACE, VOICE ACTIVATED AND CONTROLLED

OS: TELLARTRON 1.25.257

DESC: BIOMETRIC AND VOICE OPERATED COMPUTER SYSTEM. STANDARD PHYSIO SECURITY AND IDENTIFICATION. TOUCHLESS INTERFACE.

I am Lt. Amber, one of the ATO engineers assigned to our embassy on the ISF. I've talked to some people about your cultural issues with the Thestral Union, and have come to the same understanding that prosthetics, peripherals, and touch screens do not work. This could be a viable work around, and I can answer further inquiries about security and design of this system. I'm told that you don't trust voice operation. Let me assure you at least that Starfleet has been using it for the better part of 50 years, and we've rounded up almost all the problems and concerns you may have.

A Handy Man \\\ Fox Millworks \\\ The Algeron Treaty Organization \\\ ID: 700209

Nova had recognized the look the Lieutenant was giving the Security officer; she had seen it a few times when meeting with Thestral officers duing her service. After all, she figured this would be a nice notch on her political-belt. Besides, her own passion for diplomacy - which is why she agreed to this post in the first place, along with two previous, before finding herself here - figured it would help her career, and show her merits to the state. She is, eventually, to become an effective officer of the diplomatic corps. It is her duty to be a good model citizen, doing what they can for the good of the Union while making other Union diplomats look better, something the Union sorely needed. Her respectfulness and dignity would surely help with that in time. Much better than her mother, nothing more than a drunk low-life who does nothing for herself nor the greater good of the Union. Nothing better then a lethargic conservative, implicitly loyal to the old Order. Back during the Union's existence as nothing more than interstellar nomads without a planet to call their own...

'...after I finished this conversation, I got something to eat, and sat down at a table. Opening my laptop, I looked over the message from the Lieutenant, reading it a couple times over. I eventually sent a short reply, stating that I agreed with her idea and that her proposal was acceptable. It was a start, certainly not as much as we wanted to gain out of the exchange. Fortunately, and furthermore, this should be easy enough to integrate across the ISF - the station already supports the systems needed to work with voice-commands. Installation should be a cinch.'

Fox Millworks wrote:

A Handy Man \\\ FreeAmericanStates \\\ The Algeron Treaty Organization \\\ ID: 700209

Sarah wasn't in charge of the ISF, she was just a guard. Ah well.

And it was not even a day later, that Amber got his meeting. Sat in the cafeteria next to Valentine, who was carefully eating a leg of mutton, and Admiral, who...how would someone eat in that armor?

Chewing into it, Admiral took over the conversation.

"So, vocal recognition. Hm...I'd have to speak to our engineers, but our main reason we don't like the idea is voice cloning. Cloning the keycards we give out is impossible without having access inside the security room. But anyone can clone a voice with just a handful of audio clips. So it would still need some sort of security check."

Swallowing the piece of food, Valentine wiped her mouth with a cloth.

"We already have wristbands with trackers. We can associate a voice with the tracker, so it has to be within so many Eff-y for it to be considered valid. And we already have plenty of cameras."

Setting the food down, her tail coiled up tight against itself.

"Or, we could always just renovate. Redesign, like I have been asking. We have the Thestrals now, but I've learned of many more different aliens. Graven, off near the Thestrals, would not be able to function in the station as it is. The Avasar are the same, I don't know a lot, but they are plant based life forms. The introduction of the OEC was just the beginning of us welcoming more and more alien life."

She monologued, letting Admiral get an earful, before the snake returned to chowing down on the sheep leg.

Now, it was Amber's turn to speak. Add his two or ten cents to the conversation and show off his technology some more.

New Saharia wrote:

A Neighborly Invasion || FreeAmericanStates

Following the directions posted on the advertisement, and with the help of frequent maps along the way, the Ensign found her way to the Emporium. The entrance was extravagant; a set of large, heavy double-doors which looked like they ought to lead to the center of a vault. Two heavily-armed soldiers stood at the flanks, each holding a very impressive-looking machine gun. They were clad head-to-toe in armor, of a style very similar to the Saharian soldiers which were frequently spotted along the greater station promenade. A massive sign above the entrance read as much: “DELLANA’S WEAPON EMPORIUM”

The guards didn’t seem to move an inch upon spotting such an… unusual xeno approaching the premises. Strangely, a place to buy lethal weapons couldn’t seem any less exclusive if it tried. As she crossed the threshold, she was greeted to what was, effectively, another mall within the greater one outside. Except this one was a cross between a showroom, central mall-court, and a heavy dose of rampant Saharian patriotism. Before her was a massive turntable, with an equally impressive armored-vehicle of some kind sat atop it. It was being advertised as if it was a luxury car, an eye-watering pricetag slapped right on the podium at the foot of the display.

Along every balcony hung banners of the Saharian flag, only broken by the banners of the Republic’s armed forces. As well as a few flags which Shadow certainly did not recognize. This area was a busy spot, with plenty of people milling about - but it was far less congested than the sea of people outside the emporium’s door. The people in this wing were here for one reason only. Nobody ever went broke selling weapons.

Before she could get a chance to get a glance at the three large paths in front of her, a short man had noticed her, and tried to get her attention. “Excuse me, you there! Four-legs!”

He made his way over to Shadow, no sign of hesitancy on his face. He was dressed in a fine uniform, evidently an employee uniform which got as close as it could to looking like an army officer’s dress without drawing the ire of the Army itself. “Welcome to Dellana’s..! I know all of this must seem a bit overwhelming, but if you’ve come to provide for your defense - or the defense of others - we have exactly what you’ve been looking for. Anything from knives, survival gear, handheld weapons, all the way up to the more… premium scales. I don’t want to bore you with any chit-chat, so let’s get right into it! What kind of job are you looking to get done? Just something to protect yourself and your family? Or perhaps something fun to take out to the range?”

A Neighborly Invasion

Ensign was quite shocked at the entrance and how they looked. It was shocking, to say the least, too, how much currency it must have been to just make it detective rather than a seemingly more practical purpose. She was shocked to see the two heavily armored soldiers until she realized they were not soldiers and might be mercs or security guards armed to the teeth. But she did enter the store regardless, as there might be many possible things to discover at "DELLANA'S WEAPON EMPORIUM."

She was somewhat dumbfounded that the guards didn't so much gawk an eye at her entering such a shop. The fact she did not even have her ID checked or anything was shocking due to the multiple types of weapons able to be purchased. Frankly, she thought it would have been illegal if she was not a part of the joint program, but it seems like it's not even that. She was somewhat fascinated by the luxury car but needed to be more focused on it, more looking at the flags, specifically the ones she did not recognize. The short man appeared before her, somewhat startled at being called four-legs. While she has four legs, it makes her think of the four-eyes term she was subjected to before she switched to contacts when she was a filly.

She looked him over as he made his way over to her. "Well, sir, I am just browsing for now as I doubt any of my kind can use at least nonunicorn ones like myself. But figured it would help if I am more familiar with weapons those around me might have as I am part of an officer exchange program."