OOC Note:
Reposting of the original thread from the past forums.
Characters of the Ryccian Empire have respectively been RP’ed by @Ryccia
Gesitis System
Hyperion Sector, Stoinian Star Kingdom
HMS Little Rascal was on standard survey mission in the northern region of the Stoinian Star Kingdom. The newly claimed star systems still needed to be more intensively surveyed. Although the Little Rascal, under command of Captain Ovidiu Popa, had served well during the Mardakii campaign for such a small Falcon-class, he and his crew weren’t quite accustomed with these survey missions. He was a short man from Muntenia, though that fact could easily be heard by a thick Muntenian accent. He also lacked any sort of interstellar curiosity, which the other officers from the Exploratory Fleets had an abundance of.
- “Jeff, anything out there?” Captain Popa said out of boredom while standing behind the man.
- “Nothing out of the ordinary, Sir. So how you holding up?”
- “Hell, I think I might just shoot myself in the head. This is quite the death penalty for me, Jeff. There’s barely any action, except for the sparring rooms. I always was a man of action you know. Back on Muntenia, when I was just a little troublemaker, my grandmother always used to …”
A beep could be heard from Jeff’s console. Attracting both men.
- “What is it, Lieutenant?”
- “I’m picking something up.” He paused for a few moments, rechecking the readings “Sir, it’s an energy surge unlike anything we have ever seen. The databanks don’t show any match of any kind.”
A different beep started.
- “Detecting a power signature … Bearings, one-six-three bearing seven-two-niner.”
- “Helm lay in a course for bearings, one-six-three bearing seven-two-niner. Punch it.”
Helm plotted the course and immediately punched the impulse drive. HMS Little Rascal was rapidly making course for the unknown signature.
- “Well, Ovi. I think your grandmother would still call you a troublemaker after she hears about this.” Jeff said with a smug tone.
He gave a small punch to Jeff’s shoulder and smiled. “Oh I just hope I won’t get beaten for this.” He then took a seat on his Command chair. It was now a potential First Contact situation and the Cole Protocol had to be followed.
- “Com, go to yellow alert. Let’s see what just came in our backyard.”
Unidentified Planet, Unknown
Definitely not the Ryccian Empire
- “Why in the stars did it take so long?”
Admiral Kavle Sanross was confused. His fleet was supposed to jump to the Murtel system before going on a border patrol. However, the hyperspace journey had taken a considerable amount of time. He was not even certain if the Ryccian Empire knew they were alive.
An officer began to speak, bringing light as to why this trip was so odd.
- “Sir, our scanners indicate that we are on the Murtel system. Our engineers have indicated that we were travelling in circles this entire time due to a malfunction”
- “So that was it…Prepare to send a message to Daonlathas. I shall report to the Naval High Command”
A ship approached. No person in the crew recognized it. Perhaps it was some large cargo freighter from a backwater? …No, it could not be.
- “Sir, a ship is approaching”
- “Scan the ship. Quickly”
The scan confirmed the Admiral’s fears. Why was there a civilian ship with military design and weaponry?
Pirates. They got a military company to manufacture this ship for some reason. Corruption in The Imperial Rim is really something.
- “Sir, we have detected military-grade armaments on the ship, and our databanks do not recog-”
- “Open fire! Disable that vessel immediately!”
The Resurgent-class Sword of Justice began to fire its turbolaser batteries at this unknown ship. The escort cruisers and corvettes sat there, as the aim was to disable the ship, not destroy it, so they did not need to engage. Thinking they were still in Ryccian territory due to the ship’s faulty computers, they did not hesitate. After all, this could be a dangerous pirate gang. They must be arrested, and then eliminated.
- “Send a message to the ship. I shall speak”
- “Yes, sir”
The communications link was open. The Sword of Justice began to transmit a message, in English, to this warship.
- “This is Admiral Kavle Sanross of the Ryccian Imperial Navy. You are being detained for the illegal possession of a military-grade warship. Your ship is being disabled. Do not resist either our attack or our boarding party, or we shall use lethal force”
This was a monumental error. One the Ryccian fleet was not aware of. After all, their damaged computers tell them they are somewhere in the Murtel system, an uninhabited area in The Imperial Rim. To the Ryccians, it was executing protocol. But what would it be to the Stoinians?
- “Shields up, full red alert!” Captain Popa shouted and sirens could be heard all over the ship.
- “Tactical fire all weapons systems.” Soon the entire crew opened fire, missiles, plasma and disruptor cannons were fired. These weapons did nothing but scratch the shields a bit to the hostile vessel.
The Little Rascal was hit. Somehow structural integrity was badly damaged and shields were half their capacity. There were small fires all over the ship. Captain Popa had heard the message, but with the monitoring screen being damaged, only audio was available. These imperialists proclaimed that this was their territory? Absurd! Popa knew what he had to do and so did his crew.
- “Just who the hell do these people think they are?” He pushed a button on his chair, contacting engineering. “Chief, you there?”
- “Aye Sir, just what the hell are we facing?”
- “Some Xeno perpetrators. Chief, listen carefully. I want you to divert power to the MAC Cannon and engines from life support and also do that to the grav plating in one minute.”
- “But Sir, without those …”
- “That’s and order!”
- “Yes, Sir!”
Another hit, the ship was in a bad shape. The left engine was beginning to fail. Captain Popa knew his time had come, but he would go down fighting.
- “Shields at ten percent! Hull breaches on decks four through seven!”
- “Send a distress signal to Deep Space Two, inform an enemy vessel has come to claim our territory. And open a ship wide transmission.”
He took a deep breath, but he assured himself it’s the right thing to do.
- “This is the Captain speaking. We will go zero g in a few moments, so grab something. I know we are in a bad shape, but some aliens have come to claim our territory. This is what we signed up for, it’s our duty to the King and Mankind! To Glory in death! Hail to Mankind! Hail to the Stoinian Star Kingdom! Hail to the King!” All over the ship an eerie silence could be felt. They finally had to pay the price they signed up for and now they sure as hell were going to pay it.
He then turned towards the helm and tactical.
- “Helm give me ramming speed! Tactical divert all powers to the MAC Cannon!” He looked at the monitors, but not in fear. Instead they all chose their fate, he could feel it. The crew was ready for it. The last push to serve Stoinia and Mankind.
The ship’s grav plating had been shut down as did all the other non-essential systems. All power was now going to the MAC Cannon and engines. The MAC Cannon fired its round at a pace the crew didn’t think was possible. It was getting closer towards the main ship, but it still was far away. Memory wipes of the databanks had begun as per the Cole Protocol.
Deep Space Two
Hyperion Sector, Stoinian Star Kingdom
High Admiral Pavel Chekov look at the message from Little Rascal. Unbelievable another xeno species, this short while the King was away. He immediately turned to the com officer.
- “Lieutenant, inform Fleet Division Twelve to come with me towards the Little Rascal’s last location. We may have a war on our hands.”
A few moments later the fleet jumped to warp it will only be a few hours until they arrive at the Gesitis System, which probably would become the Little Rascal’s grave by the time they arrived. He didn’t know Captain Popa himself, but he knew he was a man of action and would go down fighting. The question remained, who killed him?
Unidentified Planet, Unknown
Definitely Not the Ryccian Empire
- “Concentrate fire on that ship! All cruisers and corvettes, open fire!”
The Ryccian fleet was surprised. This pirate gang was suicidal! What is this, some frenzied charge? Most of the time, pirates surrender or just stop fighting. Never in a million systems has the Admiral ever encountered this lunatic charge.
The Resurgent-class kept sending messages to the ship to cease, but nothing dissuaded them. This fanatical pirate vessel…the Ryccian fleet had no choice.
As it raced towards its final gambit, firing that cursed cannon, the Sword of Justice stopped it. Forever. It was now a million pieces.
- “…Sir, the enemy vessel has been destroyed”
- “What was that…Contact the Naval High Command, immediately”
- “Sir, the enemy weapons damaged our long-range communications systems. Our engineers estimate that it will be repaired soon”
- “Blast those pirates…very well then, get me a shuttle. I shall contact them from a cruiser”
The Admiral began to walk to the elevator, but an officer ran to interrupt him. He was of Vurbentan origin, but his accent was not usual of that race. He came from elsewhere.
- “Sir! Please see this!”
- “What is it, Lieutenant? Why do you show me a planet in your holopad?”
- “I was looking at our scanners by curiosity, and I zoomed in to the nearest planet in this system. This isn’t Murtel”
- “How do you know this? It could be a minor planet in orbit not registered in our databanks. After all, Murtel is a backwater system”
- “Sir, I can surely say that this isn’t a planet from Murtel. The moon of Akgroys, orbiting the planet of Murtel proper, is my home”
- “…You” Kavle ordered to an officer “Get me the Fleet High Command and cancel my shuttle, immediately. Lieutenant, you shall come with me”
Both men said “Yes, sir”
The High Command of the Fleet gathered in the Star Destroyer. The top commanding officers of all the ships were there, either in person or by hologram. The Admiral began the reunion in the meeting room.
- “Members of the High Command, Lieutenant Akgraar, an officer from Murtel, has told me that this is not the Murtel system. His identification bar confirms his origins”
- “Why is this of importance?”, objected the Captain of the Cruiser Holy Light, George Thurmay “I had believed there was a more imperative reason for this meeting rather than a mechanical failure. I do suggest that you order the engineers to fix the computers”
- “I agree with Thurmay”, said the Kaminoan Vice Admiral Gan Chiet “This is a waste of our time”
- “If the ship we faced was normal, I would be inclined to concur, Captain Thurmay. In fact, I already ordered them to fix it again”, said the Admiral “However, the enemy was a fanatical one, and I fear that our hyperspace computer actually led us to a world off the boundaries of the Empire”
- “Preposterous!”, Thurmay once again objected “Those were human pirates. Our ships conducted a bioscan, and we detected the signal. It is, with absolute certainty, the English language, spoken by humans. How could we not be in Ryccian territory?”
- “I do not know the reason this has happened, Captain. But all the signs indicating the possibility that the computer leading us to foreign lands are there. Think of it: we cannot even contact the Murtel planetary authorities, and these pirates were fiercely hostile”
- “The communications of the Star Destroyer are damaged, Admiral”, countered Thurmay once more “Those thugs did that to the vessel. Perhaps this hostile gang attacked the local settlements and desperately fought to the end to hide their crimes? Murtel does apply the death penalty, according to our records. Am I accurate in my assertion, Lieutenant?”
- “Yes, sir”, said Leukink Akgraar “But that is not a planet from my home system”
- “Lieutenant, perhaps you were not aware. By this comment, I do not mean to call you stupid, however. I myself have recently learned that a minor, obscure planet orbited my home system. Many may not know of these planets that have no importance whatsoever”
- “This meeting is not pointless, but there is a faster route to end this: we must contact Daonlathas at once, Admiral”, said the female Velpan Captain Furstelin Purchanout “I offer my cruiser, the Solace, to send a message”
- “Very well, I sha-”
- An officer came bursting into the room, screaming.
- “Admiral, a lot of ships are appearing before our fleet! They are of the same design as our previous enemy!”
- “…You heard her, to your stations!”
The Admiral was right. But it had to be like this. Sometimes, being wrong is a blessing.
In the deck, the Admiral began to bark orders.
- “Shields at maximum power! Have all weapons ready! Activate all troops!”
High Admiral Chekov and his Fleet Division arrived several hours later. They numbered 146 ships in total maintaining a diamond formation with the bigger ships in the back and the destroyers up front. They were ready for anything right now. Gun ports were open, but it was too soon to lock on to the enemy. The Fleet Division was approximately half an AU away, but approached it at one quarter impulse.
He sat in his command chair onboard the HMS Azhdaya, a Basilisk-class dreadnought. He then relayed a message on all known frequencies in multiple Terran languages.
- “This is High Admiral Pavel Andreyevich Chekov of the Stoinian Star Kingdom. You have entered our territory in the Gesitis System. We hold you responsible for the destruction of the HMS Little Rascal. We give you the chance to state your intentions within ten of our minutes. Failure to do so will further ratify your actions as an act of war against the Stoinian Star Kingdom and Mankind itself. We have our experiences with First Contact Wars, do not tempt us.”
With the message, files were sent consisting time details and imagery of Stoinians hunting Mardakii and the Butchering of Velutaria. A show of force and the Stoinian Lion’s wrath.
The High Admiral turned to his crew.
- “Anything that survived on the Little Rascal?”
- “Nothing, Sir. It looks like they went down fighting.”
Chekov made a cross sign and tilted his head towards the roof and whispered.
- “May you receive them all.”
- “Relay this to the Fleet: maintain formation and keep weapons hot. Keep our current acceleration.”
Chekov then stood up from his chair and stood in front of it. The typical militaristic posture, the chin high up and his arms behind his back. He shook his uniform checking if everything was in place and then proceeded to take his white beret off and put it under his right epaulet. He awaited a response from the perpetrators though he really liked the odds he was having.
Humans? Why? And how? Humans only existed in Ryccia…right?
In any case, these Stoinians must understand. But if they shall not, this would be their last stand.
- “This is Admiral Kavle Sanross of the Ryccian Imperial Navy, the naval branch of the Ryccian Empire. Our computers malfunctioned horribly and we had believed we were still on our own territory. We decided to fire upon this Little Rascal you speak of, as we believed they were dangerous pirates. We apologize, this was an error”
High Admiral Chekov couldn’t believe his eyes. The hostile vessel was Terran?! This certainly will test the current Stoinian protocols and directives regarding First Contact. Though he was excited and enraged at the same time. They had finally found their Terran brethren, but what was the cost? These Ryccians had committed an act of war and the Admiral sure as hell was going to show them his sword. He sure was determined to find out more about what happened.
- “High Admiral Chekov here. I request an audience with Admiral Kavle Sanross on board his ship. I hope you have a decent explanation for your actions. Send us your docking procedures, we will arrive in seven T-minutes”
The High Admiral proceeded towards his shuttle with a full marine detachment of twelve men. The shuttle was also escorted by two full squadrons of Star Furies. The rest of the fleet still approached at one quarter impulse. During the flight, Chekov was contacted by the King Himself. He had received new orders from the King Himself.
- “Lower defenses on Docking Bay A-1, and send fighters! Do not fire on that shuttle, and contact it!..When you dock, I shall be there. Our guards shall escort us to a meeting room in our Star Destroyer. Please arrive on the designated docking bay, which the TIE Fighters shall direct you to. I request that you do not fire upon them”
The shuttle was arriving. The Admiral was there personally to receive this foreign military officer. It was High Admiral Chekov, yes?
- A line of stormtrooper infantry stood there in honour guard formation. Kavle was there, flanked by two Imperial Military Guards. The mood was tense, and the Admiral was nervous, but determined to face this trial.
The Concord shuttle passed the hostile formation, the marines were in awe of the ship designs. It had a certain taste to it that they liked. The shuttle landed according to the instructions. Though the Star Furies Squadrons had stopped earlier and were keeping an eye on the Ryccian vessels from a distance, though no further contact was made with the Ryccians. However their protocols were followed. As soon as the door came down, marines came outside and formed two lines. Between them the High Admiral came forward with his hand on his sword, he was furious. His big old menacing look even scared some marines, despite him being of a short stature. He stopped two meters from Admiral Sanross and then drew his sword and pointed it at the Admiral in a rather slow manner as to not provoke the Ryccians. However the Ryccian guards didn’t agree. Nonetheless Chekov didn’t show any sign of fear, knowing his marines had his back. A quick intervention by Admiral Sanross with a small hand gesture quickly disposed of the Ryccian Guards’ weapons.
- “Admiral let this be clear. If you were not Terran I would have slit your throat with this sword. You are lucky that you are Terran, for if you were any sort of xeno scum … I think I made myself clear.”
He sheathed his sword and looked around for a bit. What were they? Did the Ryccian Admiral have xenos under his command? As equals or as slaves? Suddenly High Admiral Chekov could feel a disgust growing in his stomach. He then returned towards the Admiral.
- “Had my vessel not been destroyed, I would have shaken your hand as an equal. But you have proven otherwise. Let it be noted that destroying a vessel of the Stoinian Star Kingdom is still considered to be an act of war, though I don’t quite know your “Ryccian” customs and procedures. Let’s not waste any time now, I received orders from my King.”
He did a hand sign to the marines and two followed him and the Admiral towards the meeting room. Though there were chairs, High Admiral Chekov opted to stand up behind the chair designated to him. His two bodyguards stood behind him, adding to his menacing look.
Even now, Kavle was still in shock. Everyone was. This is a human? Outside of Ryccia? Were these like the Mandalorians who had fled Ryccian rule and established their own culture far away? Was that old history of thousands of years ago missing a group of escapees?
And why did he call humans “Terran”? Was their capital named Terra? And why do they call themselves Stoinians then? So many questions…
- “Greetings, High Admiral Chekov. I shall explain what happened to our fleet”
- “We were directed towards a system in our territory when our computer malfunctioned. Our engineers had initially believed that we were going in circles, and thus we thought we were still in Ryccian territory, as our systems indicated this to be certain”
- “We were about to communicate to our Navy when the Little Rascal approached us. As we still were under the impression that we stood on Ryccian space, we immediately opened fire to disable the ship, board it with our marines and arrest the crew, as it is illegal for non-military entities in the Ryccian Empire to own or operate such vessels”
- “We had believed that these were pirates, but then, in our horror and confusion, the Little Rascal resisted fiercely, even getting closer in a suicidal charge to attack this Star Destroyer. Despite our continued calls for them to cease hostilities, they marched on, and thus we were forced to destroy them”
- “I offer my apologies for this unfortunate incident. Your men fought bravely, High Admiral Chekov. Had we known these were not Ryccians and this was not our territory, we would have left immediately”