The Disruption (IC)

Ravage sighed and rolled her eyes, before rising from her chair and walking over to the airlock tunnel hatch. She pressed a hidden button on it and the door opened. She gestured for Hayk to enter, and without another word, and not too kindly, she sealed it shut behind him. She then waited for him to get into the airlock itself, before sealing the tunnel's hatch. Once he had his helmet on, she removed the air from the room and opened the door, allowing Hayk to drift out into the void of space. She then took this time to send a transmission to the Battle Cry while he was not present to listen. However, what she said was not in her usual tongue. She spoke in Latin, so that she would deliver her message with more effect.

"Cur honorem veterascet?" She said, in the form of a question. The true translation of these words was 'Why honor fade?' It was a bit melodramatic, but at the same time, it brought attention to a serious issue that seemed to plague Hayk and his people's government. Without anything else to say, she ended the transmission, and her Stealth Strider faded from view, the ship vanishing, as though it had never existed.

The executive leaned back in a his chair slightly, but kept his authoritive posture.

"They are our allies. They have been since the Old Confederacy." (Third Arm Confederacy)

The executive looked up at the Confederacy flag hanging on the wall. It was sectioned into five different colors, each with a symbol on them, to specify the Empires of the Confederacy. Jorro'kil Free Absolute, Ryun-Wreae Federation, Dranzoot Sovereignty, The Krathunian Covenant of Sethega, and the Lumeriana.

"I suppose we have come to an impass. I cannot suggest a course of action to hurt our allies, their are restrictions to that. I can look into the event and inform my superiors of the details which I find."

"On the other subject of an agreement between our two races, perhaps a trade route would be in your interests?"

Lirr scratched his chin (or whatever you would call it). This might represent an impasse," he said. "It certainly presents difficulty. However, I certainly would hate to see any unnecessary conflicts arise." He was silent for a moment. "We would certainly not want to lose any opportunity of an alliance with you. Tell me a little about the Dranzoot. Do you think they might be willing to open negotiations?"

_____________________________________________________________________________

The old priest new that he was not coming out of this alive. Fifteen years ago, he had been a lesser priest of Theivism, are religion that was now all but extinct. When Mondar had fallen, the priest had been one of the founding members of the Mondarian resistance, formed with the intent to somehow bring an end to Jiiran's reign. But now he was caught. After fifteen years of undercover work, he had been rooted out. Thank the fates everyone else had escaped.

The priest was roughly dragged towards the door. Two guards silently opened it, and the priest was half ushered, half thrown inside. The priest looked around. This had once been the personal chamber for the High Magistrum; now it belonged to Jiiran. The icons and religious artifacts had all been removed, and the room was all but bare, save for some tables, a chair, and an odd, tall barrel-like structure that now dominated one corner. At each side of the door stood two attendants, standing rigidly to attention, stiff as ramrods, naked terror showing in their eyes. No one wanted to be Jiiran's attendant.

"Here is the priest, Lord Jiiran."

At the voice of the one soldier who had brought him in, the priest looked up at the figure at the end of the room. At the end of the chamber, a pair of glass doors had once stood. These had been replaced with metallic ones that now stood open. Past the doors was a balcony, overlooking the city of Kamir. It was on this balcony that Jiiran stood, looking out. At the voice of the soldier, he turned and silently entered the room and moved toward the priest.

Jiiran was no Mondarian. He was utterly unique. He was fully eight feet tall, with theropod-like legs, a sinuous, medium-length tail, each ending in four digits. Like his four-fingered hands, each bore claws. His face was long-snouted, and a ridge ran fom the end of his nose to his brow, from which a mane grew and flowed down his neck and shoulders. Not an inch of his frame was wasted on fat; every last corner was lean and powerfully muscled, so much so that it almost seemed that his muscles were ready to burst from his light-green skin.

Jiiran was clad only in a kilt-like garment about his wast, as well as wearing a strange looking harness bearing a central device on his chest. This harness was in fact Jiiran's armor; given the right touches to the central device, and from out of the harness straps would fold a complete suit, covering him completely.

Jiiran grasped the priest by bottom of his head, lifting him till he dangled above the floor. The priest swallowed a little, feeling the power behind Jiiran's grip; his strength was infamous. For a moment the two simply stared at each other, the priest meeting Jiiran's eyes. Jiiran's face was expressionless, but his eyes were hard and intense, piercing as arrows. Suddenly, Jiiran dropped him. The he spoke, his voice flat and emotionless.

"Where are your other associates?"

The priest regained his feet. "I cannot tell you that, Lord Jiiran," he replied. "You know that very well."

Jiiran made no reply, bu instead went over to a table and picked up a sharpened crystal. He placed this gently against the priests neck. The priest knew what this was; one of Jiiran's infamous toxic crystal, loaded with some of the most painful poisons known in the galaxy. However, he remained firm.

"You may prick me with that if you want, but I will not tell you anything."

Slowly, Jiiran lowered the crystal. Turning, he placed the crystal on a table, and then suddenly swung around. The priest's head hit the wall with a thunk; a second later, his body hit the ground. Without a word, the attendants rushed to clean up. Jiiran washed his hand off at a sink in the one corner. A control panel in another corner began to beep. Jiiran pressed a button. "Report," he said.

"Admiral Marr has arrived, Lord Jiiran."

"Send him to me," replied Jiiran. Dismissing the soldiers with a nod, he returned to the balcony.

Small spark flashed from the cleaning robot, and a thin strip of smoke started to emerge from the over-stressed holographic interface. Absolute tried to focus the robot’s minimal cameras to recognize the expressions on the faces of the Confederacy’s leaders. “Firstly, Grand Admiral Barborin, By no means do I mean to under-estimate your and your people’s knowledge or capabilities, but I have to doubt that you would be able to stop, leave alone to reverse the effects of entropy,” Absolute said. The Hologram had started to ripple like an old analogical display, and the acrid smell of burning electronics reached the Confederacy members. Absolute had kept a short pause, and continued: “But more importantly, the freedom from entropy is actually just a side symptom of what we are really after. With the orbs we would be able to reach towards Omniscience. And about the war, it will continue as long as you are holding the Orbs. We despise war as a huge waste of resources and time. While we don’t fear it and will use it as a tool to achieve our goals, this war has been a costly one and we have no intentions to continue it if don’t have to.” The speakers were left to whistle silently as Absolute paused it’s speak. “According our knowledge you aren’t even using the Orbs. We will trade them from you, just name your prise.”

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Deep space in another galaxy:

The peace of the empty void between solar systems was suddenly and violently disturbed, as a huge wound of light was ripped across it. The light faded as the wound opened, revealing a sight to a strip of a distant, UFIAI controlled solar system. First things to come through the worm hole were large arcs that were quickly arranged around the wildly rippling wormhole. Soon they had formed a circle around the hole, and suddenly the rippling paused and the wormhole took a calm, elliptic shape.

Now a small fleet of UFIAI ships came through the worm hole. This was the part of this galaxy that from the UFIAI probes had intercepted bits of comm traffic that was very similar that UFIAI had seen picked up from the KGI at the Chrystal planet ten years ago. The probes had returned from this galaxy just recently, and UFIAI were given a reason to test their far-casting technology. The accuracy of the caster wasn’t very good at these ranges, and so the hole had been deployed in between the arms of the alien galaxy, to avoid casting it into anything, like stars. The UFIAI ships were controlled by an AI called Keeper, the same AI that had aided Absolute ten years ago. Among the first ships coming trough were thousands of probes, independent scouting craft with incredible speed. As soon as the probes crossed the wormhole, they launched their warp drives, each shooting towards their own target solar system, and with a mission to find the KGI.

"They are very....zealous. We keep them in check as our empire is larger, and try to institute more tolerance levels in their society of races which do not share their focus. The Dranzoot still remain very...lively. An immediate suggestion would be to simply avoid them, for now." Replied the Executive.

"As I mentioned just a moment ago," Said the Executive, trying to steer the conversation away from the Dranzoot. "Perhaps a trade would be appropriate, as a start to any possible lasting agreement like an alliance?"

Grand Admiral Barborin shook his head, circling the hologram of Absolute. "I agree that this war is costly. To be frank, I would be open to end it. But we cannot trust the United Fleets of Independent Artificial Intelligences. The last time we did, you betrayed us after we defeated the Dominion."We can solve this problem without these orbs. They are a threat to the galaxy more than anything else. We do not use it because we do not want to rely on a source of power than our enemies are constantly trying to get."

Sentinel Theranis grunted in agreement. "Let me tell you a story, Absolute. Many years ago, our homeworld of Sethega was nearly completely obliterated. Our heritage dissipated, our gods died many deaths. The person who did this sought the same objects as you currently do. He believed they would grant him immeasurable power, apotheosis if you will. He is known by many names. The one he most commonly used was Kradus. Ten years ago, you helped to stop his reign. You know his determination. His strength. His terror. Our goal at the Confederacy is to stop anything like the Dominion from rising again. The orbs seem to be a catalyst to the rise of galactic empires that seek nothing more than power. I am sorry, Absolute. I cannot trust you. However, I am interested to hear what you can provide for us in exchange for these orbs."

_______________________________________________________

The envoy fleet docked on the planet of Tek, while gravity beams from the larger ships and the other planets in the system helped to stabilize the sphere within the system. Elite Covenant soldiers, led by Keeper Yvenois, stepped off one of the ships on the surface of Tek and approached the group of Scave representatives. Each soldier simultaneously saluted the Keeper, and she did the same. She then performed the custom Krathunian greeting of respect - kneeling down, she touched the palm of her armored, clawed hand to the ground.

"Welcome. I am Keeper Yvenois of the planet of Luminuth. We have scanned your system for information, for security purposes. You've come a long way." She paused, observing the planet. Gesturing towards the entrance of the ship, she stated, "If you'd please, step on board and we can begin negotiations. This will take you to our planet so we may discuss in private."

Gacca returned Keeper Yvenois' gesture. This tended to be the best plan in situations like this, if it was a greeting then things would go well. If it was not, then the other party usually understood the confusion. Going to Yvenois' planet would be a risk, but it was one he would have to take. Following them would help in negotiations, and if there was some subtle plan to attack them at work, they wouldn't need the subtlety. 'Of course, lead the way'.

Xonoc stood waiting for Barborin and the Sentinel to finish speaking, then grunted after Theranis had finished.

"One question. Would this be a trade....or more of a what could be called a bribe?" He asked. "I suppose in this circumstance they're one in the same?" Emperor Xonoc's armor reflected the dim light of absolute's hologram as he slowly paced around it. His hand hovered close to a deactivated sword attached to his right leg's upper leg armor. A habit.

Absolute turned the droid on place, trying to keep all the members of the covenant within the robot's poor field of view. "Whether my offer is a bribe or trade depends on if it is accepted by the whole Confederacy or individual empires. To us only the outcome matters." Absolute had directed these words mainly towards the the Xonoc, and turned now to "face" the Sentinel Theranis. "During these past ten years you have surely witnessed the efficiency and and capacity of our industrial system. We can easily reconfigure its purpose, and with its power the rebuilding of your war-torn systems would be a swift project. That is one of our offers, the full capacity of our industrial system. We are also producing east amounts of energy, that could also be traded.

Absolute paused to adjust the robots speaker yet again, as they had started to resonate loudly. "Those are however something you already have, in some scale. From the things that you don't have on your own, first we would offer our information. We have wast archives of system data, ship blueprints, biological profiles just to name a few. You probably have also witnessed out wormhole technology. We are able to build large networks of them, and could do it for your systems." Absolute stopped for a while to let the Confederacy leaders to think about the information. "There is also ole thing that could interest you. During these ten years we have noticed that your neural systems can hold an impressive amount of information. We've been studying those mechanisms, and a three years ago we learned to read them. Today our systems are very sophisticated, and almost all the information can be retrieved, even if the subject is dead. To this day we have collected approximately 4 000 000 more or less complete neural recordings. In practical language, they are t personalities and memories collected from the war-zones. We could trade them to you, and if you wish, we could use this technology to digitalise or make a safe-copy from those who wish to live without fear of dying to physical causes. Lastly, if you have something else you wish to achieve or acquire, we can arrange that." Only the silent hissing of the holographic projector were left when Absolute ended its speak

Seeing that the Executive was unwilling to stick to the subject of the Dranzoot, Lirr let the matter go. "Yes, I suppose that would certainly be a reasonable place to start. Trade is always good for learning about another race and eventually building a mutual trust."

As he was speaking, Lirr casually glanced at the priority list he had with him, and then noticed something. "Hello," he said. "I seemed to have missed something here." He paused to scan the information more carefully. "It seems that my authorities had another question for you concerning races in this sector. Are you familiar with an empire going by the name of Imperial Despot of Jiiran?"

_________________________________________________________________________

The spyware had come to the end of its abilities. All attempts to breach the firewall had failed. Wrea were started to come near. There was only one thing left to do. "Initiating termination." A second later, there was no evidence that the spyware had even been there.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Admiral Marr entered Jiiran's chamber. "You sent for me, M'Lord?" he asked in his usual cheerful voice.

Jiiran slowly turned to face him. He hated Marr, and distrusted him. He knew full well that Marr hoped to assassinate him someday. However, he was an able commander and a valuable asset, so Jiiran tolerated him for the time being.

"What of the Scave?" he demanded in his usual emotionless tone.

"I'm afraid they have managed to evade us, M'Lord," replied Marr, "but no fear. The responsible officer will be getting my. . . treatment."

Jiiran nodded. "Our recent attempt to gain information on the orbs has failed," he said. "It is time a new strategy be found. I think it is time to be more open in our movements."

Marr rubbed his hands together eagerly. "Good! What shall be our first move? Shall we launch an offensive against the Confederacy?"

"No," replied Jiiran. "We are not quite prepared for such a large-scale operation yet. I have decided to seek alliance with the UFIAI."

"The robot empire?" said Marr. "Why them?"

"They too seek the orbs," replied Jiiran. "An alliance with them could prove to be an advantage in our search. You will conduct negotiations." It was a statement, not a question.

"Indeed, M'Lord," replied Marr. " I shall get down to business at once."

Jiiran gazed at him. "I do not need to remind you that failure is not an option."

Marr smiled even more broadly than before. "Of course not, M'Lord."

________________________________________________________________________

Aarin Tiirmot started. His ship seemed to have collided with something. His mind was a whirl of confusion. What in the galaxy could have possibly have eluded his sensors? At least he could get visual on it, since it was right nearby. He examined the strange object. Its design suggested that this was the work of intelligence, and not just a stray piece of debris. Aarin opened a channel.

"Hello, I am Aarin Tirrmot of the nation of Daro of thye Confederacy of Vathoris. Is there anyone there?"

After a moment of static, the small spaceship sent back a Com. frequency that suggested extremely old-fashioned communication, as though what device was used to send the transmission was dated, although still functional. "Ravage, pleased to meet you, Aarin Tirrmot. It is quite nice to crash into someone who does not immediately threaten violence." There was laughter, as though at an inside joke that only the captain of the strange stealth ship knew. "You are not the first, I have been hit by other ships a total of five times."

"Perhaps you might try announcing yourself," said Aarin. "It would certainly save your ship some bumps and scrapes, as well as my own. I must say I'm surprised my sensors didn't pick you up. You certainly have some good cloaking technology."

Ravage found this conversation to be quite pleasant, considering the circumstances that had started it. "Well, it's a Stealth Strider, best cloaking my people could design, although this is probably the only surviving model left in existence. Nobody has ever been able to copy it because we always prevented others from repairing or examining our ships. Secrecy gets to be an art, with all the spyware and advanced tech these days. I don't usually announce myself simply because the galaxy has been extremely hostile in the past ten years. If you're in a tiny ship with mysterious technology nobody understands, and there's only a single being in it, you don't exactly get a lot of friendly transmissions. Everyone threatens you with their hundred-or-so cannons, and they usually want to capture you and steal information on how your ship was designed. It's quite sad, how things have progressed."

The rustle of something that sounded like feathers came from the Com. "As for bumps in scrapes, I was trained in not just the area of piloting this ship, I was educated on its design, I might as well be a mechanic. Any damage it takes, I can fix it. I've seen worse damage."

Aarin listened with interest. "This is very fascinating. Your people were obviously quite good at what they did. What exactly is your race?"

There was silence on the other end of the Com. link. It was long enough to suggest that the answer was either classified, or perhaps that it had hit a nerve. Eventually, though, there came a reply, "My people are largely extinct; there is only one pure member of our species left, and I myself am a mutant, I cannot consider myself genuinely a member of my own race. My people, the Chimerosu, were once allied with the Third Arm Confederacy, engaging in trade, although refraining from actual fighting. However, our close proximity to Dominion territory, as well as the fact that we had sided with an enemy race, attracted the attention of the Karthla. They infected all of our colonized worlds, and used weapons of mass destruction to blow up Krylon, our ancestral home. My people are gone, and my ship is perhaps the last bit of technology that ever survived."

Aarin's heart was moved. He was amazed that any of the Chimerosu had survived, but the tale he had just heard filled him with pity. "I am terribly sorry," he said sympathetically. "I only wish I had something I could say to comfort you, but I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like for you."

___________________________________________________________________________

It was nighttime on Mondar. The large object that dominated the one side of Jiiran's apartment was his sleeping chamber that he had constructed to protect himself. But even inside that secure vessel that could only be opened from the inside while in use brought him no comfort.

His mind writhed in anguish as he struggled through a dream that he had had more than once. He was standing in his chamber, and the sounds of battle were coming from outside. Then through the door he came, the person Jiiran feared and hated more than any other, Prince Vey Churim of Daro. There may or may not have been others with him. Jiiran could not tell; however, Vey Churim was terribly clear.

Jiiran could do nothing as something sharp and hard, harder than his own armor, hit the main control unit, destroying the power source that held it together. His armor disintegrated, falling in fragments from his body. He felt things striking him, laser blasts, perhaps. Then worst part, something sharp, piercing his back. Pain spread from the wound, engulfing his body. His strength deserted him. He could not longer move. The anguish! The terror!

Perhaps sensing the distress of its occupant, the sleeping vessel opened. Just in time. Screaming wildly, Jiiran burst out, and charged to the door. The two attendants standing outside barely had time to jump to their feet before they died, their heads smashed against the wall.

The guards at the end of the hall stood rigidly at attention, sweat pouring from their temples inside their helmets. Jiiran stood over the two bodies like a ravenous beast, breathing heavy, foaming at the mouth, his eyes blazing. Then slowly his breathing became more controlled. He wiped the spittle away, and stood straight as he regained his composure.

"Dispose of these two and send replacements," he commanded the guards. Without another word, he returned to his chamber.

Ravage huffed a bit at this, "I don't need anyone's pity, weeping will not bring back my people, and I am no longer crippled by grief, although painful memories shall never fade. While I may be good at mending them together, words do nothing more than complicate matters. What I truly wish to do is find some sort of purpose; as a lone drifter with the instinct and skill to fight, I have grown quite jaded with simply staring at the void of space. I don't have anything to do, and have been wandering about the galaxy aimlessly for ten years. The true torture isn't being alone; it was part of my job, even before my people's destruction. The worst thing is not having any sort of reason or motivation behind your existence. I would perhaps try to work with another race, but because of my current status, I could easily wind up being dissected by scientists, or simply not permitted to do anything because people want to preserve my kind. It would have been easier had I been a pure member of our species, but because of certain genetic...irregularities, let's just say, I have genetic code that people would be eager to study, and I simply do not react well to medical examinations."

There was a sigh, "If you know of any particular race or organization that would be willing to respect personal boundaries, as well as not fret over me winding up in a dangerous situation, that would be more helpful than anything else. I have served in a military setting my entire life, and I have achieved a high rank at an early age, surpassing my elders. I would like to serve again, but some races, even such as the Jorro'kil, may not respect my privacy. I do not jest, many people have been severely injured because they decided it was safe to think I would not do them harm if they entered my ship or got too close without permission."

Aarin listened quietly. "I don't know about what other races would offer you," he said at last. "I'm sure it must be hard drifting through space, feeling so useless." He paused a moment before continuing. "You re perfectly welcome to come to my world, if you wish. I'm afraid I couldn't promise you anything concerning military service, since our military has been largely inactive of late. But I can assure you of this, your boundaries would be respected. No one would try to examine you without your permission, and we would do our very best to make you feel at home. We are an open society with a great deal of respect for diversity. We have long held the belief that diversity enriches. And if need for military action should arise," he continued, "if wanted to render assistance, we'd be more than happy to accept."

In her dark Stealth Strider, Ravage smiled slightly, "I gladly accept this offer. Diverse planets are quite unique in that they have different species living in communities. I would quite enjoy serving such people, the galaxy needs more races working together as though they were all the same; there is far too much judged based on appearance." Ravage knew she would fit in better on a planet that was inhabited by more than one kind of race. Mixed communities were less likely to judge based on differences, although Ravage herself in any community was rather intimidating in appearance. With her sleek dark feathers, sharp teeth, claws, and beak, she had the alarming look of some sort of predatory species. While her kind and Ravage herself were considered by most other races to be quite beautiful, beauty still did not mask the threatening look of a hunter. She was quite scary in appearance, and even a mixed community may not immediately warm up to the idea of being around her.

Aarin smiled. "I'm glad to hear it. Just follow me. Or would you rather I sent you the coordinates?"

"I would probably prefer to follow, strange things happen whenever people see my ship, unless someone vouches that I can be trusted. Stealth ships aren't exactly generic cruisers, they're typically used by shifty characters, I'd rather not be mistaken for some sort of criminal." While Ravage herself was peaceful, her Stealth Strider sent a very different message about its sole inhabitant. Its appearance was ethereal, comet or cephalopod-shaped, with a sleek black hull and a cockpit that resembled a luminous blue hexagon-shaped crystal. It seemed to shimmer in and out of visibility, as though it were a mirage, and not really there. Unlike a typical stealth ship, which normally was not impressive upon losing its cloaking, the Stealth Strider appeared to have been designed so that it would not only be extremely functional, but beautiful, even when not concealed. Chimerosu, in their short time among the other races in the galaxy, had been well-known for their almost artistic spaceship designs. However, Ravage could now pay a price for it, as the eldritch quality of her vessel left others unsure of how to react at times.

"All right, then," said Aarin. "Off we go." With that, he turned his ship towards Vathoris. "Home sweet home," he sighed.

Ravage proceeded to follow Aarin's ship, keeping her ship visible, so as to avoid generating any sort of suspicion from other passing travelers. She then wondered what Aarin did. Perhaps he was a civilian of sorts, although typically whenever she crashed into another ship, Ravage encountered large battle cruisers containing a vast number of soldiers. This was certainly different, but was far more welcome than the norm. She wondered inwardly what this planet was like. She doubted it was anything like Krylon. Most planets did not consist of blue foliage.

Barborin stopped pacing around the sma,, primitive cleaning machine, stopping to face Absolute. "You are very convincing. What you offer is certainly enticing, though I still do not have confidence that we can trust you not to move against us after theoretically receiving the orbs. Although we are not using them, we have precautionary steps should their security be compromised, and let me also tell you that if we give you these sources of energy and you use them against us, that is not to say that we can and will fight back. With that, I would like to ask you - What assurance do we have that you will not use the orbs against this galactic Confederacy?" He stood, awaiting Absolute's reply.

______________________________________________________

The Scave representatives were led onto a heavily guarded and shielded diplomacy ship. After passing through bio-scans aboard, they were led to a luxurious private room in the center while journeying to the shield world. Minutes later, the ship took off from Tek, travelling at immense speed towards Luminuth, escorted by a fleet of military ships. Some still remained with the planet to ensure no hostile activities were attempted. After a short wait, the ship and its envoy had traveled through one of the apertures in the shield of the planet and had docked inside. The Scave were once more led out by Covenant guards, undergoing another series of technological and biological scans. They were led to a sterile meeting room, consisting of several chairs and table.

Luminuth was a largely military border planet, though it had its fair share of metropolises. The shield of each of these worlds is suspended around the original planet with advanced gravity technology. The meeting room, inside this shield, showed a view of the activities of the snowy surface below via a window.

Keeper Yvenois followed the Scave in after they had taken their seats, and sat at the head of the table. Yvenois did not know the Scave's intentions within their territory, but they seemed rather anxious around other species. She pondered this for a second, and decided to be rather direct and confident - She did not want to give off the image of being weak.

"Welcome to the planet of Luminuth. I am sorry for the tight security - With the recent war with the United Fleets of Independent Artificial Intelligences, it has been a necessary precaution within all Confederacy worlds. I have several questions for you. Firstly, what is your business within Confederacy territory?"

"Are all systems go?" asked Marr

"Affirmative," replied the helmsmen.

"Alrighty, then," replied Marr, rubbing his hands together. "Let's go pay those robots a visit, shall we? Proceed under cloak until I say so. No need to attract the Confederacy just yet."

Silently, the cruiser cloaked. It then turned itself in the direction of the UFIAI's territory and began its journey.

________________________________________________________________

Aarin gazed fondly at his homeworld asit came into view. Opening the comm channel, he sent out a signal. "This is Aarin Tiirmot calling the palace of Daro. Do you read me Vey?"

"Loud and clear, brother," came the reply. "Did you enjoy your little joy ride?"

"Immensely," replied Aarin. "However, you'd best make yourself presentable, brother. I'm bringing a guest along."

"A guest? Who is it?"

"She says her name is Ravage. She's one of the Chimerosu."

"A Chimerosu?" came the startled reply. "I though they were extinct."

"Apparently not," replied Aarin. "But the design of her ship certainly checks out. Apparently there aren't many of her kind left."

"In that case, I'll be sure to arrange a good welcome for her. Vey out."

Aarin then opened comm to Ravage's ship. "We're coming up on Vathoris, Ravage, and I've just sent word to my brother to get a welcomiong committee together." You read me?"