Disruption (IC)

51,764

Space Station at Estrompir

Docking Port

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the Glorious Dawn docked at the station, Yura gave permission for Resara to use a shuttle. Within a few minutes, Yura, two guards, and a diplomat was standing in a large hallway, leading towards a meeting room. She greeted Resara, "Welcome, Jorro'kil, to Estrompir. Well, since you haven't tried anything, I'm assuming that you're trustworthy." She smiled. She might have been trying to be polite, but it looked a little bit like a smirk.

Yura continud, "Well, you're here now. Follow me, so that we can discuss our ideas." She turned and led the rest of her group, and Resara's group, to the meeting room.

Kerr paled at the mention of Greta, "Goodness gracious, you're right, I completely forgot, I told her I would visit her! I'd better go do that!" He turned and charged through the crowd and down the hallways, and it seemed that he had not been simply ignoring his grandmother, but had truly and genuinely forgotten that she was on the Majesty. Travis, oblivious to the conversation that had just occurred, aside from the mention of Greta, walked up with a chuckle, looking after the Stagnumian as he rushed away, an uncharacteristic thing, most would agree, for Kerr to do in almost any situation.

"That Kerr, he can stay calm in almost any situation, unless it involves neglecting a family member, in which case he flies into the most outrageous panic anyone's ever seen." He said, before laughing again, before returning to a more serious expression. "Alright, got news from the control room, we're picking up faint signals from deeper in the fifth arm, we've found another outpost. We're headed that way, and this time, we're bringing masks for everyone to wear, in case its as dusty as the first. Just wanted y'all to know."

_________________________________

Greta nodded at Svar, "I can do many things, and a story behind it is all the better. I will make you something good, but it will take time. I will send someone to tell you when it is ready." She said. She then went over to a large array of threads, and looked at the different colors of silk, carefully selecting all the colors. She picked out the colors of brilliant explosions, deep reds to bright whites and yellows. There was the colors of metal and of cliff sides, of Karthla, as well. "I have never done a tapestry or rug with another race's history on it before, but that does not make it any less a Chimerosu rug, it merely shows that we value others' history, as much as our own." She said, partly to herself as much as to Svar.

"What?" said Aarin distractedly. "Oh, yes, thank you." He was silent a moment. "Er, Travis, Kerr was just telling us. . ." Tevri raised a hand. He looked very sad and ashamed. "I'll tell him, Aarin."

Turning to face Travis, he placed his right fist to the left side of his chest. "Travis, Sir, I am ashamed to say this, but as the commander, you need to know. Kerr has reported to us that he saw Jessic sneaking into Mott Gatiir's quarters."

"What's this?" said Mott, coming up. "Who's been sneaking in my quarters?"

"Kerr claims he saw General Jessic enter your quarters," said Aarin.

"What?" shrieked Mott. "Why that little. . ." He passed into a long angry tirade that involved quite a lot of questionable language.

"Good grief," said Allé, coming up. "What's set him off this time?" Mott's comotion was attracting quite a bit of attention.

Svar knelt and bowed his head in the customary gesture of goodbye. "Thank you, Greta. It means much to me." With this, the Krathunian stood and exited the room, starting to walk down the hallway. Here, he encountered Kerr rushing to his grandmother's room in a panic. The Krathunian squinted his eyes, as if he couldn't belief what he was seeing. "She's been expecting you, Kerr," He said, in a voice between a hushed whisper and a firm statement. Svar then came upon Mott and the others, experiencing the commotion. "What just happened?" He questioned inquisitively.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Praedromus." The Deciever's voice carryed this word traveled through the darkness of the void, undetectable to all except its recipients.

"What is it, Destroyer?" A new voice worded. It resonated and reverberated deeply, and was much more refined than it had been before, though one could tell it was still young.

"We have reached an agreement with the UFIAI, the legions of machines and AI. They seek the orbs under the Confederacy's protection."

"I'm aware," Praedromus responded, its voice still changing. "Remember, Destroyer, they are only machines. Machines can be used as tools, as weapons, can be broken down and rebuilt. The UFIAI may be our allies at the moment, but do not think they are any more than our instruments of war."

"I understand, my liege." The Deceiver's voice faded away and was replaced by a new one, that of the Protector.

"My Supreme, in regards to what you just stated, I am curious to know what you think of the other civilizations." Its thousands of voices, speaking in completely unity, reached Praedromus. The Supreme paused a bit before responding.

"I think down upon those who have not aligned themselves with the Vrentus Collective, Protector. The Krathunian Covenant of Sethega will not fall to its knees. Its bones will be shattered, its breath choked out, and its blood spilled until every world is free from their grasp. The same fate awaits the other races of the Confederacy. The Jorro'kil, creations of our nemesis, will be stomped down and crushed under my foot. The Dranzoot, in this time of weakness, will be obliterated mercilessly. The Forlarm will return from their conquest against the Kar'Geualiea to death and deceit. The Ryun-Wreae Federation will fear the stars after being pounded down to nothing."

"And what of those not in the Confederacy?"

"The civilizations that do not share our relations with the Confederacy and work with them will feel the wrath of the Collective as well. The Markovan Empire will beg for mercy in its final days. The Xikarians will be unable to escape my cold, deathly grasp. The Confederacy of Vathoris is a single planet - Planets have been conquered in minutes and hours. History repeats itself. The Tsardom of Gyelidor will attempt to resist, but will not be able to break free of the bonds of inevitability." Praedromus let these words sink in before continuing. "Then there are echoes of civilizations either lesser known or just now resurfacing as we have. The Karthla. The Imperial Despot of Jiiran. The Lumiens. Even the old Chimerosu. Rumors have it that these races exist or are just now returning to the light, rumors that I have intercepted from Confederacy channels. When they find us, we will decide whether to ally and use them, or to crush them."

"Thank you, my liege." The Protector's voice too faded away. Praedromus was silent for a time. The Vrentus Supreme was slightly doubtful of its next move. The Supreme thought more like organics and other life than the Primes, and thus felt differently about their Collective. It did not fear and doubt that the Vrentus would be unable to bring down the greedy, the unjust, and those of great evil. It only feared what the Collective could do to the galaxy.



((I have the day off today, so I'll be able to post the Continuum Corrupter post and Unsilenced Retribution later today.))

51,764

Space Station at Estrompir

Inside the Space Station

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Resara followed the reptillian Vol-Nolwikkan, accompanied by her escort, three Jorro'kil UCU soldiers, dressed in their standard Power Armor. Resara herself wore a suit with a half-skirt, the suit was a dull grey-blue, with golden highlights in the form of patches on the sleeve wrists, the shoulders and the sides of the upper thighs.

She continued and her escort continued onward until reaching their prescribed destination, during which time she studied her surroundings, the Vil-Nolwikkans they passed by and even the attitude of her host, Yura.

Yura was obviously somewhat impatient, but still capable of semi-respect. Resara gathered that these aliens must be as reclusive as she had read about them, of what little information was given her, this showing in their lack of indifference during the inital greeting in space. None of these thoughts or resulting expressions could be read on the Jorro'kil's practiced solemn face, though some might say it looked annoyed...

There was a whistle-like sound, and Captain Silver appeared out of the crowd, charging over, having heard Mott ranting. "What's all this fuss about? Don't you know better than to rile up a flock of Chimerosu? Quit shouting, or we might have a riot on our hands, such language would have my mother turning in her grave!" He hissed at Mott, furious, looking twice as large as normal, the way his feathers ruffled. "Now, can you please calm down, and tell me, in a reasonable, inside voice, what's wrong?" He said, flicking his tail. When his feathers caught the light, it was clear they were stiff, and with their coloration and dull shine, they almost looked like armor formed by extremely thin scales made of rock. His muscular, Cavernian hands clenched into fists, and it was clear this disturbance, after all the commotion about a real-live Silexian being on the ship, was not what he thought was appropriate for the situation. It was clear he wasn't cut from the same cloth as Snow and Grove had been, he was serious about what was happening on the ship. It was no game to him.

Blair slowly came over, having heard the news with his powerful ears, "Now, now, Silver, relax, after the news Mott has just gotten, It'd be wrong of us to think his reaction be anything less than reasonable." He turned to the Humdar scientist, "I would, however, advise ye not to make a scene of this, it will cause problems, I know all too well. We will find out what the general has been doing soon enough, with the ears of Cavernians and the eyes of one Stagnumian, we can easily catch anyone doing something suspicious. Chimerosu never have been easy to cross, our features meant to assist us on hostile worlds makes us excellent at many other things."

Travis frowned, and then sighed, "Well, I can't take rash action on this, as y'all know. So, Tevri, as the only other Markovan on this vessel, what happens with Jessic ultimately is your decision, what would be the responsible thing to do with him, what standards of punishment are fitting for a Mondarin soldier who does not respect the rules and norms of a different culture? The best way to punish him would ultimately be by the standards of his own people, and with your support. We don't want to cause any sort of unease between the UCN and the Markovans."

Tevri was silent a moment. What Travis said made sense. In addition to being the only Markovan on board, he was also a very important figure of authority as well.

"Is there a room somewhere where we could hold a private meeting on the matter? I'd like to have you, Mott, and Kerr there. Would you mind coming as well?" he asked Aarin.

"Of course, Tevri," said Aarin, "but why me?"

"Well," began Tevri slowly, then paused casting a rather embarrassed look around everyone else. "I guess I just would like to have someone who would, well, back me up. Jessic might very well put up a fuss, and, well, I'm not entirely sure I could handle it."

Tevri felt like a weakling. Here he was, destined to be one of the most important political figures in the Markovan Empire, yet he was floundering, begging for help from someone who wasn't even a Markovan. However, Tevri felt if anyone could deal with Jessic, it was Aarin. He had come to admire the Vatarri greatly over the short time he had known him. Aarin seemed to have taken a special interest in him, and had always been there with kind advice and encouragement. And he struck Tevri as being strong; no matter what happened, Aarin almost never seemed to lose his calm, but was patient and unwavering.

Aarin smiled at him, perhaps sensing what evri was thinking. "I think you could handle him just fine. Still, if you really want me there, I can do that. Just give me a call when you are ready." He headed for his quarters; he had some prayers he wanted to make.

"You know," said Tevri to Blair after Aarin had left, "I don't think I've ever known anyone quite like Aarin."

51,764

Space Station at Estrompir

Inside the Space Station

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yura led Resara and her guards towards a meeting room, where there were several more guards waiting. They seemed relaxed; One could tell that they weren't planning to do anything malicious. There was a large table at the center of the room; it was used for large meetings. However, the seats were not going to be as filled up. The room would be mostly empty. Yura and the diplomat took a seat. The seats were designed for Nolwikkans, so a Jorro'kil might have been mildly uncomfortable on one.

Yura and the diplomat put their claws on the table, but curved towards them. After a second of letting Resara and her diplomats settle in, Yura spoke, "So, what are your ideas?"

Blair flicked his tail, and slowly nodded, "Aye, he be a trustworthy man, and one who can keep a clear mind, even in a bad situation. Such things be rare, and a valuable asset in any soldier or leader. If ye told him a secret, he would not speak a word of it unless ye asked him to. It seems he has taken ye under his wing, Tevri, and ye are lucky, to have someone like that to teach ye. Few people be fortunate enough to have a teacher they can confide a secret in, without them speaking a word of it to someone else." He said. His more serious face lightened into a smile, "Now, as for what Aarin said, I agree, ye will handle the situation well, however it goes. Though, this news alarms me, still. What else is this Jessic fellow planning, if he has his own ideas?" He mused mostly to himself, his face becoming perplexed. He turned and walked away.

Trevitun was a shield world on the outskirts of Krathunian New World territory. Despite bearing the name of an ancient warlord and being in close proximity to the edge of Covenant territory, the planet was relatively peaceful. It seldom felt the effects of the war, save for the occasional scout fleet and report from the front lines. The planet's infrastructure was unorthodox - Rather than using dropships to reach the surface of the planet from the shell of the shield world, there were several large tower-like structures that acted as space elevators and governmental centers. This allowed for the shell to be focused more on defense, having more energy shielding and defensive weaponry than usual.

In the largest of these towers, stretching from the shield to the center of Trevitun's capital city, Jvun Ilterus sat at his desk, entering commands on a large hologram. Jvun was the head of security for the planet, controlling the installation's functions as well as the policing force of the planet. On this particular day, he felt jaded and weary. His job demanded his attention constantly, and on days like this he could think of nothing more than to go home to his mate and daughter. However, he was an experienced soldier and securities officer. As long as he did his work, Trevitun was safe. For the moment.

Jvun felt a sharp headache coming on at approximately noon and sat back in his large chair, rubbing his head. His many memories mixed in his mind. Memories of sabotage missions against the Dominion and of his family molded together into horrifying thoughts. Jvun suffered from trauma induced stress, and this was often the result of that. He was rather angry at himself for this - Allowing his feeling to get the better of him and take control of his mind, bringing forth terrifying images. As he contemplated this, three Krathunian soldiers rushed into his office, all in full, metallic armor. A fourth, in a heavy, dark kevlar-like garment was at the center, his hands bound behind his back. Upon entering the office, the two in front next to their captive forced him to a knee and pointed their weaponry at him.

"Sir," The one in back, making sure the handcuff device the Krathunian had on worked, started. "We caught him at the shield, doing... something to the shield generators." The soldier was hesitant, eyeing his prisoner with caution. "What are you orders?"

Jvun stared at the prisoner for a couple minutes. The other Krathunian stared defiantly back, his unnaturally green eyes glinting in the harsh light of the hologram. The securities officer simply couldn't lose the feeling that something was wrong. He rose up from his seat, drawing a shaky breath slowly before speaking. "Who... are you?" He almost whispered, leaning forward.

The prisoner smiled mischievously and shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "Oh, Krathunian..." He slowly sounded out, the handcuff device breaking. "How easily are you deceived?" The two troopers to his side raised their weapons, their arms trembling with fear as their prisoner rose to his feet, and his very form shifted. In a matter of seconds a drastically different figure stood in his place. It was slightly shorter than the fully armored Krathunians, bipedal, with one pair of arms. The figure had silvery-gray armoring, with a tinge of dark gold, and thin, linear green lights lined the plates. Its head was shaped like a long hexagonal prism with the center pair of lines extended, and the edges smoothed. A green light down the center of its head glowed, and a couple more extended diagonally from the sides to this center line. Its figure was one typical of bipeds, but very imposing.

Green energy surrounded its hands and body, as if luminescent water flowed from its body. Before the soldiers could react they were sent flying as their prisoner splayed its lanky arms to the side. The forcefully hit the walls of the office, instantly dead. It quickly turned to the one in back and smashed it with rapid melee blows, bypassing the energy shielding and denting the armor. He too fell to the ground, slain by an unknown enemy.

The seemingly robotic being rotated and encountered Jvun, steadily holding an energy pistol. Though his grip on the weapon was sturdy, his haunted, ragged breath was not. His foe did not say anything as the Krathunian fired repeatedly, anger growing on his face. However, each shot seemed to be absorbed into shields. The being jumped over the desk and onto Jvun, slamming him into the cold ground. The innocent Krathunian who wished for his wife and daughter now lay on the floor of his office, dead.

Praedromus stood there for a second, staring at the dead body. However, his feelings of regret were short lived, and he turned to the holographic security console. The plan went into action. Jvun's office was sealed off to prevent the Vrentus Supreme from being seen and combated before preparations were made. The communications network of the planet was shut down save for the office's link to Sethega, and the sphere's weaponry and energy shielding were deactivated. All apertures on the surface of the shield opened up simultaneously, to the confusion of the military officials. They tried to contact Jvun, to no avail, due to the state of the planet's communications.

Praedromus used the communication system of the office to hack into several networks, and after several minutes had gained access to the Krathunian HUD network. Had the Supreme been able to, he would have smiled. Things were about to get interesting.

((Vipera, this is your cue to post as (kind of) planned.))

Dinner had been arranged before the meeting, so as they had done before, all the inhabitants in the ship filed into the mess hall to eat dinner, which had two options, either fish stew, or a plate of a wide variety of roasted vegetables. With the cargo hold almost completely full, the meals were not limited to one option only, anymore. Ravage, having become a squadron commander, no longer sat at the table of the representatives, though she was still allowed to, but at the close-by table for Third Squadron, where the cadets sitting close to her were none other than her clear favorites, Lloyd, Lucas, and Watson. Mira sat to the other side of her, close by; wary of anyone trying to ask her questions, which they had been pestering her for. "This meal stinks." The Silexian girl said sharply, taking another bite of her stew, which she had immediately chosen over the strange foods from alien worlds. There was no telling what would happen if she ate them. Technically, she was eating alien food, still, but the fish happened to look like something familiar.

Ravage looked at her, "Your attitude is worse than the stench of the meal." she replied, calmly, yet in an extremely abrasive manner. The meal did not in fact stink badly, it actually smelled delicious, but Mira seemed determined to say something negative about everything, still angry about her grandfather, and the fact that he was forcing her to stay with these strange people. Mira clenched her beak tightly and glared up at Ravage, and the Lieutenant Colonel stared back, with a strange, unreadable expression that unnerved her. The three other cadets closest glanced back and forth between them, watching the obvious tension to see who won this conflict. Everyone else in the squadron strained to look over and see, including Snow and Grove, who had opted to sit as far away from their commander as possible, as they no longer refused to obey her commands, but greatly feared her, in the case that she decided to punish them.

Once again, Mira felt uneasy, so much that she found herself turning red with embarrassment and looking down at her soup, and taking another bite of it, silently. The silence stretched on, until she finally clenched her hands into fists on the side of her bowl, "Okay, okay, you're my Squadron Commander, I get it, you're in charge! But why did I have to come here? It's not like there's anything I can do! Why should I be here and have people boss me around one day when there's no point?" She said with frustration. Mira was an independent-minded person in a world where authority was meant to be followed, and she didn't even know this strange alien woman with teeth and spines that was asking her to devote to her training regimen. In truth, while she covered much of it with unruly defiance, Mira was actually a bit afraid of Ravage. While there wasn't as much that made her nervous about the other aliens aside from obvious differences, there was something eerily alarming about her Commander that scared her. It was like beneath that cool, calm, pretense, there was something feral and vicious, reptilian, even. There was something distinctly wrong about her, her spines and teeth, why were her pupils slitted, when all the other Chimerosu Mira had seen had round pupils? Ravage's gaze scared her, because despite all the similarities, there was that startling, animal quality that she could feel beneath the surface.

Ravage merely flicked her tail, "There's always a point to things, you just need to learn how to see the bigger picture." She said, in an enigmatic way. She calmly took a bite of her own soup, categorically preferring meat over vegetables, and having chosen fish stew, also. After she had swallowed the bite, she looked back at Mira, "You should also think carefully about the people you speak to. Yes, we are aware that this is a stressful situation for you, but things can be much, much worse, and being optimistic is the best way to cope." She had already gotten that focusing on the negatives attracted more disappointment in life, as though setting oneself up for failure. Being optimistic seemed to have a power of its own, attracting more positive experiences. Ravage, however, often struggled being optimistic at times, because so many things still weighed heavy on her conscience and on her spirit. Yes, Mira was a lot like a younger version of her, she felt, but she had none of the terrible experiences that Ravage had seen.

Mira scowled, "How can things possibly be worse?" She said, angry.

Ravage squinted one eye, "You're talking to someone whose entire race is practically extinct, save for the new variants created by natural selection. Do you really want to ask what else I've dealt with? You may not want to know, because if you have any idea what pain and horrible situations are, you don't know the half of how horrible something can be. Perhaps I don't know you, not personally, I don't, but I know you've never been in space before, much less the outer limits of your village, your grandfather said as much. I've spent my life roaming the galaxy, seeing countless alien worlds, creatures, and races. How do you think I got Xenos? he's not from the planet I was born on, I can tell you that much." She took another bite of her soup and swallowed it. "To think being away from home is a disaster is a luxury, by my standards. As I said, think carefully about who you're speaking to, because while some might sympathize with you, you're in my Squadron being trained as an officer-cadet. That means I'm not going to go easy on you, it's my job to toughen you up and teach you discipline, along with various other skills. If you want me to be friendly towards you, then don't expect kindness when you don't feel like showing it to anyone else." She said.

Overall, Ravage was very, very rough with how she spoke to the girl, something few people would have been bold enough to say. Regardless, it had a strange effect on Mira, and she clamped her beak tightly, refusing to say anything else, as she focused on her soup.


The Third Squadron table was close enough to the table filled with representatives for a few catches of conversation on it to be heard. Corey looked over, perplexed, "My, she's not going easy on Mira at all, is she?" He said, looking over at Travis, frowning, and wondering if it was a good idea for him to have put the two together. "Are you sure she's the right mentor for someone like her, I mean, she's not being very nice about it." He said, pointing out the harsh way that Ravage was dealing with the Silexian girl, who most would have been expecting would get treated more gently. It seemed that the Lieutenant Colonel was being even more ruthless in her methods than usual, and it made people a bit confused, and a bit unnerved, as well.

Travis looked over at Corey, "I had a very good reason for putting those two together, Corey. You and I well know that stubborn people won't listen to others unless they have a spine to speak of. Being nice would just have her angry about people pitying her, and she's not going to be satisfied with any treatment y'all gave her. The quickest way to get Mira to listen to authority is to give her someone who is by nature even tougher and more stubborn than her. I think Ravage fits the bill quite nicely, except that despite being stubborn, she'll still listen to orders without question. There's a time for compassion, and a time for being stern. Since most of us don't feel right being tough on the girl, we need someone who doesn't mind that."

Haku looked up from his plate of vegetables, "Travis is right, Corey, and Ravage, despite how harsh she's being, is making sure that Mira isn't losing any sort of quality in her training because of pity. She'll lighten up a bit later, she's been a bit nicer to Snow and Grove, lately, since they've started listening to her, though they're still scared stiff every time she walks by. I'm sure it'll be the same sort of scenario with this one."

Tevri ate his first Chimerosu meal in silence. He would have enjoyed it if he wasn't feeling so distracted. His mind turned ever and anon to the matter of Jessic. Jessic had not showed up for the meal, saying he preferred to eat some Markovan fare he had brought with him.

Tevri sighed a little, his appetite at a low ebb. When his father had chosen Jessic, he had done so do to the fact that his record indicated a high degree of boldness in battle, something highly prized in their culture. I guess we should have looked into his records better, thought Tevri. He made a mental note to so as soon as possible. In the meantime, he thought carefully about how he would deal with the General's actions. He had asked Travis and Kerr to be present at a small hearing on the matter, where Jessic would be summoned and called to answer for the accusation made against him.

"Going easy on the girl might also encourage disrespectful behavior, too," Aarin was saying, backing up Travis. "I sympathize with Mira, but it would certainly be a bad thing to let her develop a victim mentality. I'm sure Ravage will see to it that she becomes a responsible member of the crew." He turned to Tevri. "Goodness, you'll make it rain in here," he said with a smile. "Something troubling you?" In fact he already guessed. One glance, and Tevri knew he had. "You'll be fine, Tevri," he assured the young Markovan. "I can be there if you want."

Tevri took a deep breath. "No, I thank I can handle it. Thank you, though."

Aarin smiled. "Good."

Tevri looked over at Isbar. Like Aarin and Allé, Isbar always opted solely for the vegetable portion of the meal, being a obligate herbivore like them. However, it seemed that he didn't enjoy his food very much.

"Is he all right?" Tevri whispered to Aarin.

Isbar's quills twitched, and he fixed his gaze on Tevri. "I simply find it difficult to find food I find pleasing<" he said, before returning to his meal.

"Careful what you say around him," said Aarin. "He has very good hearing."

Xerin rushed to the dinner after being called, he was still focusing on his armor and weaponry. The Jorro'kil had based their armor around metal for so long it seemed quite a challenge to successfully cover the presence of it, or use something else.

He naturally sat at the table with the other representatives, and listened in to their conversations, trying to avoid thinking about the food, which he disliked.

After a bit, the discussion turned to Ravage and Mira, which he himself overheard the basis for.

"Hm. I for one think it is good that Mira gets to realize she is not the center of the universe. Indeed, our age-old enemies would be most displeased." He said, referencing the aggressive beings the Jorro'kil encountered during a visit to the near middle of the universe, roughly twenty years ago.

"So...who here has made progress with the camouflage for our armor? I have been recently experimenting...but I wanted to know what you all may have achieved so far."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

51,764

Inside Vil-Nolwikkan Space

Inside the Space Station at Estrompir

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Resara managed to sit in a decent position in the strange chairs, as did the others.

"As you may know, my empire, and our allies, are engaged in a war with a hivemind, of sorts, the United Fleets of Independent Artificial Intelligences. In essence, they are self-aware machines."

"We have come here to discuss an agreement between our alliance, and your empire. We can provide supplies and protection, if you would be a willing force on our side of the conflict. We outnumber the UFIAI in empires, and it would be very good if we were to gain you as an ally." She finished, and awaited Yura's response.

Svar sat silently, slowly enjoying his fish stew. He too listened to the conversations, a bit intrigued with Mira, as he had not been on the mission. Regardless, his silence was only broken when Xerin asked his question. "I've had a couple ideas, but nothing has quite materialized," He started, stirring the meal with the utensil in one hand , the other resting on the table. "For example..."

Svar's voice trailed off as he noticed something odd. His helmet had activated, the armoring around his neck unfolding and starting to extend up his neck to form the helmet component. Svar attempted to neurologically deactivate the mechanisms behind the helmet, but it kept forming around his head. As soon as it reached over his ears and eyes, the Krathunian stopped struggling, and instead gripped his head in pain. His HUD had turned on, emitting a sound that would incapacitate him, though it showed nothing but static. Svar's armored claws scraped against the table, causing many to fall silent and observe him out of curiosity and concern.

((Maybe have someone ask him what's happening))

Ravage was a lightning-fast alien, and more likely to be concerned about people working on the mission with her. It wasn't too surprising when she dashed over to Svar, "What's wrong with you?" She asked urgently. Of course, she wasn't going to ask if he was fine, because obviously, he was anything but alright. He was clearly in a lot of pain, and Ravage didn't like asking obvious questions that didn't have any value. She didn't know if he could even respond, though, he looked like he might not be able to say anything at all. She looked over at everyone else, "Does anyone know what's wrong with him? We need to get that helmet off!" She said, her voice creeping into something bordering on harsh. She was nice most of the time, but in intense situations, she could be extremely rough and unfriendly towards people. Ravage didn't think about being sweet and kind when someone's life was in danger. She didn't know if this crazy armor malfunction was fatal, but she didn't like the idea of seeing the least-severe scenario only.

Mott jumped up, along with Aarin and everyone else, and whipped a scanner from his belt.

"His armor seems to be malfunctioning somehow. The one unit seems to be emitting some sort of incapacitating sound beam. Hold on."

Grabbing some more tools (he never went anywhere without a few basic devices on his person), he clamped device to the helmet that quickly began working to sever the power connections in Svar's HUD device. Meanwhile, Mott got a laser cutter, and began carefully working around Svar's helmet, trying to get it off.

Svar started to realize what was going on, becoming more accustomed to the sound frequency, which eventually allowed him to think coherently. Slowly he began to speak, his voice audible to those in the immediate vicinity. "That's partially correct, Mott," He said with pain in his voice, placing both hands on the table. "The helmet and HUD activated because I received a message from the Krathunian military network. Normally these messages wouldn't automatically turn on my helmet, but this one was marked with an urgent tagging. Even then, I should be able to manually override the request, but it isn't allowing me to." Svar paused. "What I'm hearing is composed of thousands of messages with that sound frequency as the content. It's overloading the helmet and HUD systems and preventing me from closing it after I heard the initial message. This leads me to believe that someone or something gained access into the military communications network and is doing this on a large scale." This was true - Millions of soldiers had the same experience, including Admiral Rakluth in the tunnel.

Suddenly, Svar slumped, breathing heavily. The sound had ended at last, and he signaled for Mott and the others to stop working on the helmet. "It's stopped, but my helmet isn't deactivating. Something else is being transmitted through the network, however - a video." He hesitated for a couple seconds, blinking in disbelief under the helmet. "I think you all better see this." He activated the hologram projector in his armor, connecting it to the HUD feed. Though blinded by the device, he still worked as if the armor were a part of him. He transmitted the hologram to the center of the room, the display being four sided to allow anyone present to  comfortably see from their position.

The first minutes of the video showed a multitude of small clips and pictures. These ranged in content from battles between the Confederacy and UFIAI to the Karthla overrunning civilizations.  Intimidating pictures of Kradus  mixed with wars of many nations. Eventually, it ended, and the video was black. It then faded into a peculiar scene. A strange figure in golden armor stood in the foreground, an office on a Krathunian shield world. There was a large tear in the wall in front, showing cities below and, faintly, the planet's metal shell. The figure began to speak in a deep, imposing voice that echoed slightly.

"Life." It began. "It takes on many forms, but shared throughout those forms are the stages of life. Birth. Growth. Evolution. Maturity. Developmental stagnation. Decline. Destruction. Decay." The figure paused, the green lights on its armoring glowing harshly. "As such, there are many catalysts for the stages to be brought about, whether it be time, natural disaster, an individual, a machine, or an entire species." The figure turned around, and Praedromus stared into the the camera intently. "It is arguable that civilization is a form of life, beings bound together in a group..." Praedromus stepped forward carefully. "Confederacy. You are nearing the end of your life. I am the catalyst, the harbinger, of your destruction." The planets shell behind the Supreme could be seen cracking with fiery energy before shattering. Parts of the shield descended like meteors, burning up the atmosphere. However, they remained intact enough to rain down upon the cities of the planet. Several shock waves distorted the video feed as the debris collided with the surface and wrecked all in their path.

"I am Praedromus, the Supreme of the Vrentus Collective. Let this be a message to all those under the flag of the Confederacy - Your destruction is upon you. Your final stages of life near. Let this also be a message to those who have associated themselves with the Confederate empires - You are not safe. I am coming." The video faded back to static, and Svar's helmet came down, the Krathunian breathing heavily.

Ravage stared at where the hologram had been for a moment, before she reacted oddly to the message that had been sent. Her feathers ruffled, standing on end, making her look twice her size and very, very intimidating. Her pupils contracted to thin slits, and her third set of clear eyelids, milky in appearance, closed, like a visor on a set of armor. Her hands clenched into fists, and her beak wrinkled in a snarl, baring all her teeth. "If they think they can wage war on so many races, they'll soon find out how much torment they can suffer in the process." She said, her voice a deep, ominous growl in her throat. It wasn't war that had angered her, though, but the fact that their leader had essentially said the Vrentus Collective planned to bring a whole slew of races to extinction. Ravage, being the only remaining female of the Krylonian race, did not take this well at all, and she saw anyone who thought it was a good idea to do as much as a pathetic being that didn't deserve to exist. She had taken it upon herself to do anything in her power to ensure that such people died a horrible death. She hadn't killed Kradus, like she had planned, but tyrants like Jiiran, and now this Praedromus, were still very much alive, and the nature of their actions had her thirsting for their blood. A savage part of her wanted it, and though it horrified her, there was nothing she could do to completely eliminate it, though she could keep it suppressed.

It was when she nearly unsheathed her claws that she finally got a grasp of herself. Shaking her head, she forced herself to take deep, even breaths. Her third eyelids opened, and her pupils dilated a bit more, returning to a calmer state as the third eyelids came open again. Her feathers smoothed down, and she pinched the bridge of her beak, as though suppressing a headache. She looked up, a look of worry and guilt crossing her face, "Just...give me a moment, here. I just...hate people like that. I can't stand people who think they can make an entire race go extinct. It's...evil..." She shook her head again, and let her hand fall back to rest by her side.

Xenos, concerned for his master, made a strange rumble in his throat that might have been a Spiromander's version of a purr, and got up from where he had been eating his dinner of meat. He lumbered over, and nudged Ravage's face with his snout. Ravage, still deep in thought, reached up and began petting him, such an action having evolved into an automatic reflex, as she no longer felt threatened by her companion's presence. After a moment, she spoke again, "We need to figure out who those guys are, what they plan on doing, and why." She said. Her clarity was completely back, now, and she was fine, though she had seemed temporarily shaken.

Travis got up from his seat, and walked over to Svar, "We'll be discussing this very seriously, though I ain't so sure we should have too much to fear from invaders. Our planets are difficult to approach and attack by any means, though that doesn't mean we should dismiss this. Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yes.. Are you alright?" Xerin asked. He was standing up at this point, many possibilities and pressing matters going through his mind in light of this new threat.

"Du'rakk...." He muttered silently.

"The Vrentus....these are... from your people's past?" He said, suspicious of why the Vrentus would choose a Krathunian world when others would be much more accessible.

"In any case.... we have another war on our hands... Du'rakk." He let his fist fall to the table.

Now, with this new threat, Xerin began to realize his responsibilities, and how he must get to Confederacy space, to help in any way he could.

"Svar, will you be able to trace the message back to its origin? That planet needs to be isolated as soon as possible.... provided the Vrentus will not have left it to decay..." He said.

51,764

Inside Vil-Nolwikkan Space

Inside the Space Station at Estrompir

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Intriguing," Yura said. The Vil-Nolwikkans could definitely handle a large empire. The Nolwikkans also had an exponentially large military. This would also be an excellent chance to demonstrate to the galaxy the might of the Nolwikkans. Archlord Reskullus would surely approve.

Yura looked at the diplomat to her right, who nodded approvingly. She then answered Resara, "I think that the Vil-Nolwikkans and the Jorro'kil would benefit from an alliance of sorts, as you said." She paused before continuing, "It certainly won't be the closest relationship, but I'm sure that our Archlord would approve of my descision." Yura stopped talking and awaited Resara's response.

Aarin was silent as he watched the hologram.

"Well that's lovely, isn't it?" said Mott in a surly tone. "As if Jiiran and his robot friends weren't bad enough, now we've got these Vrentus guys to deal with, whoever they are."

Tevri looked concerned. "I just hope the Empire knows of this. And what about your people, Aarin? You only have one planet, and that message said that they intend to come after anyone associated with the Confederacy. Do you think Vathoris is safe?"

Aarin was silent for a moment. "I would hope so, but I fear it is unlikely."

Svar stood up slowly, picking up the clamp Mott used earlier, having rendered useless when the helmet deactivated. "I'll be fine, thank you." He placed his palms on the table, looking around. "Yes, Xerin..." He began, glancing over at the Jorro'kil. "The Vrentus Collective is from the Covenant's past. Around five centuries ago, the Krathunians were engaged with a brutal war against a species known as the R'lek Union. Many were opposed to this. The Covenant, you see, was divided into two factions based off region, the New Worlds, where my family is from, and the Old Worlds, where Sethega is. The Old Worlds government made some questionable moral decisions war, which included starting the conflict." Svar sat back down, pausing. "One day, the military found a part of the Vrentus, albeit only a couple worlds. There were several debates resulting from this, and the Old World governing body ruled that the Vrentus were AI, and began to utilize them in combat." Svar shook his head. "This was a mistake."

"We won the war against the R'lek, but the Vrentus were preparing for an uprising, the majority of their forces not under our command. The resulting warfare was a surprise to us, and over the next several years we suffered heavy losses. The Vrentus are brutal, ruthless, and manipulative foes that will stop at nothing to achieve a goal. However, we were able to defeat the previous Supreme, Abarron, and the Vrentus retreated, going into hibernation. We did the same and entered a period of isolation for several months. However, the war against the Vrentus caused enough damage to allow Kradus and the Dominion to sweep through the Old Worlds."

"The Vrentus hold a grudge against the Covenant, and likely wish to finish what they had started. The Confederacy is preparing for their attack, thanks to the Markovans," Svar, with these words, looked to Tevri, before continuing. "Make no mistake, the Vrentus are capable of mass destruction on a large scale. The fact that they now have a Supreme does not bode well - It allows them to better coordinate their efforts and is a powerful foe." Svar hesitated, thinking over his next words. "At the moment, I don't think the UCN has much to worry about. You are not a main component of the Confederacy, nor have you publicly aligned yourself with any of us. For now, Praedromus does not perceive you as an enemy, though that can change in an instant. Knowing the Collective, you should be ready to fight at any moment. Same with you, representatives of Vathoris. We have aided your planet along with the Markovans, and I wouldn't be surprised if Praedromus went after it, too. We will send all we can to defend Vathoris."

Svar slumped in his seat, his claw tapping the table as he sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I recognized that planet, Trevitun. I've been there before - It's pleasant, peaceful. A shame that it is too late for Trevitun."

Ravage slowly closed her eyes, and shook her head, "I have never been to that planet, but the destruction of any world is a great loss, I do know that much. I am not a representative of the UCN, so I can't speak for them, but I don't think it would be well-advised for them to face this Vrentus Collective, not if we find more surviving Chimerosu other than those on Silex. We'll be too occupied trying to bring all of them back into space again. Please don't be offended if I say that, you are all very good people, from good, respectable empires. I don't want to make myself sound selfish, I just don't think it's a good idea to draw negative attention to worlds that wouldn't be able to defend themselves." She rubbed the bridge of her beak, thinking, hard, about the situation. By this time, people were finishing their meals, and dropping off their dishes to be washed. They all began to slowly file out of the mess hall, but notably, Ravage's highly-devoted squadron remained, watching the group. There was a clear unity, and the longer one looked, they realized that even people like Snow and Grove seemed to be slowly gaining the same sort of mentality.

Blair got up, and walked over, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'd have to agree, we can't afford to be involved in a war." He then put a hand on Ravage's armored shoulder, and looked at her, "Now, with that being said, Ravage, ye need to dismiss yer squadron, they won't be leaving without yer say-so, it seems, and we have to get this meeting underway." Ravage, seeming a bit uneasy, moved away from him a bit, the faintest hint of red creeping into her beak, as though taking his mention of her squadron awaiting her orders as a bit of a compliment that embarrassed her. Although Blair's beak, being a darker cocoa brown in color, wouldn't show much of a blush, Ravage's was a slightly different, almost grey-tan color. Despite not being too different in color, her break readily showed the blood rushing into it.

She quickly moved to cover up the fact that she was blushing, "Alright, then," She replied, before turning to her Squadron, which, despite sensing that Ravage might like Blair as more than just a friend, somehow managed to keep straight faces, and not smirk. "Squadron, attention!" She barked, her voice easily projecting across the room. In unison, the moment the order was given, every cadet rose to their feet to stand at attention, the movements precise and coordinated. They had the kind of military bearing that one wouldn't expect in those with such low ranks. "You are all dismissed." Ravage gave the order, and they all fell out of position, turning to grab their dishes and walking over to where they dropped them off to be cleaned. They all slowly began to file out of the cafeteria.

Lucas, Watson, and Lloyd, however, along with Mira, whom they dragged along with them, it seemed, came over to stop in front of their commander, "Colonel Ravage, can you please teach us how to perform the tail whipping technique you mentioned earlier?" Lucas asked. "We've been watching our diet, and practicing picking stuff up with our tails all during our free time, we think we can handle it." He said.

Ravage squinted one eye, "Well, certainly, I will do that, but not now. I have some important matters to discuss with the others, go head off and keep training, don't let your tail muscles get stiff, you need to concentrate on building strength in them, now that you can use them in a prehensile manner. I'll show you how when I find time." With this assurance, the cadets all ran out of the cafeteria, still dragging the confused Silexian girl with them, who looked back at Ravage with a kind of look that was pleading for some sort of rescue. As the mess hall doors closed behind them, leaving the representatives the only ones present, Ravage laughed a little, "Those three are a wellspring of energy, aren't they? They're probably the main reason my squadron is so incredible, they push everyone to do their best, out of sheer competitiveness, and still, they do it because they want to. Next thing I know, they're all enthusiastic about their work, I couldn't have asked for better cadets to work with, I'm very proud of them. Don't worry about Mira, she'll be fine with those three around to show her the ropes."

She turned to the others, "Alright, now that that's out of the way, the meeting?

It didn't take long for Jessic to be called in; however, he obviously took his time getting there.

Strolling casually into the room, he took a seat. "I understand that I am wanted," he said. "What pray tell is the occasion?"

Tevri stood slowly and carefully. "Kerr," he said. "Could you please tell everyone here what you saw?"

51,764

Inside Vil-Nolwikkan Space

Inside the Space Station at Estrompir

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You agree, I take it?" Resara asked. "Given what I do know about your people, I thought you would find the proposition.... much to your liking."

"I will gladly return your acceptance of the invitation to my empire; though if we are to be allies, then, if it is allowed, I may inspect the space station? I mean, to see some of your culture, if indeed it is here to see. If not, I will be going."

Y'traale rarely did these things. She wasn't a purist, simply unnoticeably annoyed some of the time, and her temper could be a nasty thing.