So Close, Yet So Far. (Galactya-Sereniani First Contact)

Galaxiel · April 9, 2023, 11:38pm

Taivaallinen, the Galactyan Empire’s most beautiful and mysterious black hole.

Regional Galactyan Date: 32/10/6000 P.E.
Standard Sectorial Date: 0 BBT

Region: Celestial Empire Of Galactya
On a Galactyan Orbital Research Station around Taivaallinen

The Taivaallinen System was weird, even by the standards of the very dense Region of space that the Galactyan Empire occupied. Sure, black holes weren’t strange for the Galactyans, but to find multiple planets in stable orbits around one, some of them with their own moons, was truly incredible. Thanks to the shining accretion disk of the black hole, continuously fueled by the near "Celestial Wall"Molecular Clouds, all of the planets were heated to temperatures that, with a little bit of Terraforming help, could easily be considered habitable. Thus, all of the five planets were colonized, even the gas giant, and the system became one of the biggest tourist attractions in the Empire, both for the Galactyan citizens and the Empire’s alien friends. Still, the inner zone of the system was utterly chaotic, the accretion disk littered with the remnants of shattered worlds, becoming smaller and smaller due to tidal forces.

What was truly weird about the system though, was Taivaallinen itself. Some of the black hole’s properties… didn’t make sense. Some of the energy readings of the object matched the ones of Drakari Warp Rifts, and it’s ergosphere was impossibly stable, like it wasn’t even spinning at all. Some of the other properties were also similar to the ones of Gil Miria, in the Calerostian Empire. For a while it was suspected that Taivaallinen could be some sort of wormhole-like object, but nothing had ever been observed exiting it, so that hypothesis died quick. But still, after hundreds of years of research, the object’s nature couldn’t yet be explained.

The Orbital Research Station that was established around it centuries ago was still monitoring Taivaallinen, and the readings were weird, but stable and unchanging. Suddenly though, the energy levels started… rising.

Stormfire10 · April 10, 2023, 2:26am

Regional Stardate: 0 BBT
TFS Stardate: 12/20/9300

Region: Technocratic Federation of Sereniani Space
The ABH-003 Black Hole, ABHS-1A

Now normally, the ABH Systems are avoided. ABH-003, sits at a junction of Warp Relays. So, we put a nice ring station around it, made everybody feel at home. It doesn’t spin, and the area around is clear of debris, which is normal. Debris clogs up warp traffic, and that’s a problem. So, it’s always clear. Until today.

Today, ABH-003 ejected thousands of small particles. Most of it bounced off ABHS-1A, however, such an observation had never been seen before by TFS Scientists. Ever. Always one to snatch an opportunity, Anchor Point Command authorized a series of exercises involving a few microsats. The plan is to send them through, and have them return immediately. Testing to see if they would still function, and to see if they were still intact.

Galaxiel · April 10, 2023, 1:35pm

The energy levels peaked, reaching a magnitude never before observed, and the Station’s sensors started going crazy. But, suddenly, the radars picked up on something else.

UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS LOCATED EXITING TAIVAALLINEN'S EVENT HORIZON!

The scientists, panicking, activated the scanners, but before anything could actually be picked up, the objects disappeared again, plunging back into the abyss of darkness. The entire station was left dumbfounded. They knew that Taivaallinen presented strange properties, but this was completely unprecedented! Could it have been a quantic fluctuation that brought the objects in existence? Or perhaps a new undiscovered form of Melanohelian Radiation? Or, maybe… the old hypothesis was true. Maybe Taivaallinen was a Wormhole. The station contacted the other planets in the system, telling them to activate their defenses. At this point Galactya was basically used to first contacts, but it was always best to be at least careful when they happened.

Stormfire10 · April 10, 2023, 3:13pm

Star data, the stuff that was collected before returning indicates this area is in the Lampshade Galaxy. The area explored outside the Event Horizon shows mostly desolation, granted the cameras aren’t that great.

Perhaps, the scientists wondered, should we send something bigger across? We could gather some of the resources for study, it seemed Anchor Point Command had remained elusive, and-

“ABHS-1A Intercom. All Flight Personnel, all hands to preliminary flight stations. You have 15 Minutes. This is not a drill. TFSS Ixso to sortie immediately.”

The scientists sighed. Gathering all their equipment, the flight teams made it to the rather donut shaped hanger, where the Ixso awaited. Drydock configuration wasn’t an issue, she was made with an anti minelayer suite for this exact purpose. Clear a path for the others.

“ABHS-1A Intercom. TFSS Ixso to sortie. Clear the Drydock.”

Galaxiel · April 10, 2023, 3:41pm

For a good while, nothing happened. The energy levels re-stabilized and everything went back to normal for a bit. But, just as the tension was dying down, the energy levels started rising again, this time even more so than before.

ENERGY LEVELS SURGE DETECTED!
ACTIVATING SCANNERS!
ACTIVATING DEFENSES!

This was it. The anomalies that manifested before were a warning sign, and this was the big deal. As energy surged again to levels even higher than the ones detected previously, another bigger object could be seen exiting from the event horizon. As the scanners activated, the unidentified vessel appeared onto the Station’s screens. It was small, not larger than around 1 kilometer, and it’s design was different from any known civilization. These truly were aliens. This could be fun.

As was now basically common protocol, after the alien vessel completely exited Taivaallinen’s event horizon, the Station sent out a message to the System’s Security Nexus, activated it’s universal translators and opened a direct communication line with the vessel. The scientists hoped that they also had a similar technology.

UNIDENTIFIED VESSEL, YOU ARE TRESPASSING IN THE TERRITORY OF THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE OF GALACTYA. IDENTIFY YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY PLEASE.

Stormfire10 · April 10, 2023, 4:59pm

Bridge, TFSS Ixso

“Report!”

“Exited wormhole successfully!”

“The hell are we?”

“Unknown, but somewhere in Lampshade.”

“Comms array is extending.”

“Releasing starshot probe.”

“We should be able to clear this place out and make room for a harvesting platform.”

“Sortie some SSFs, I don’t want anything creeping up on us.”

Combat Information Center, TFSS Ixso

“Report!”

“Reactor 4 & 5 are out!”

“Antimatter shield recharge 50%!”

“Hangar bay is taken critical damage! We can’t launch our harvesting drones!”

“CIPDS is online! Request permission to begin clearing debris?”

“AMS Online! Permission to clear debris?”

“Granted, both of you go for it.”

“RLP Status?”

“Status is good. A little cramped.”

“Get out there, maybe you can find something around the wormhole.”

Bridge, TFSS Ixso

“Status on the Comms Array?”

“Damaged beyond repair. The secondary suite isn’t functioning either.”

“Must’ve been the wormhole, are the SSFs clear?”

“Orbiting, waiting for orders.”

“AMS status?”

“Cleaning up the disk.”

“CIPDS?”

“Busy aswell, cleaning up the disk.”

“Starshot probe?”

“Awaiting orders around ABH-003.”

“We should call in a Pulsar. Hopefully mask ourselves.”

“Call it in, I can’t help feeling we aren’t the only ones here.”

Galaxiel · April 10, 2023, 10:07pm

That was weird. No response, not even a reaction. Usually other aliens would still send a message back, even if they didn’t understand the language, but this time they didn’t even acknowledge them. Maybe their communication systems had been damaged or their response signal was either out of range or was too distorted by Taivaallinen.

Regardless, the Orbital Station activated one of it’s communication probes and sent it towards the alien vessel, to send again the message at a much closer distance.

The Probe activated it’s fusion engine and descended onto the accretion disk and onto the alien ship. As it did so, various machines could be seen being deployed by the ship, and started trying to… “clean” the accretion disk. That must have meant that they didn’t know anything about the area, considering how it was literally impossible to clean the constantly refueled disk.

As the Probe got even closer, it sent the message again.

UNIDENTIFIED VESSEL, YOU ARE TRESPASSING IN THE TERRITORY OF THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE OF GALACTYA. IDENTIFY YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY PLEASE.

Stormfire10 · April 10, 2023, 10:47pm

ABHS-1A, TFS Space

A few hours had passed. Starting to worry, Anchor Point Command was about halfway through ordering TFSS Caesium to enter the wormhole to assist the assumed stricken Ixso.

Well, as they were doing that, the Starshot Probe arrived. In perfect condition, the Commander described their predicament. They requested any ECV to assist in operations on the far side of ABH-003.

“Flight Personnel to Drydock 3. TFSS PSR-332 to Sortie. Request additional AMS equipment in storage. Load spare antenna. 15 Minutes.”

Combat Information Center, TFSS Ixso

“This is one big well.”

“I wasn’t surprised, cleaning this will take a while.”

“Where is the source? A few well placed CSM-132D’s could make our jobs easier.”

“Do we really wish to open Pandora’s Box this early?”

“Nothing could come about launching a few nuclear shaped charges anyway.”

“Contact, 5’Oclock high!”

“The hell!”

“Quit sightseeing and start shooting!”

“Sage 1, Dart-1C!”

“Confirmation?”

“Both EMPs went off at the same time. If it starts moving again I’ll put a Dart-1D through it.”

“That’s relieving, just hope that ECV gets here faster.”

Galaxiel · April 11, 2023, 8:16am

The two Electromagentic Pulses hit the probe, causing it’s circuits to temporarily malfunction, and to come back online after a couple of minutes. This time though, it wasn’t going to move anymore, at least not in relation t the ship. Soon though the probe was going to have to return to the station, as it’s fuel for resisting Taivaallinen’s gravity was running out soon.

Then, the scientists from the station decided to attempt contact through a friendliness flare, which had proven to be rather effective in many past experiences. Rising high above the accretion disk, the flare exploded, releasing a giant mass of purplish plasma in the shape of a smiling face.

Meanwhile, one of the nearby Warships was called to the system, and ordered to track at the planet of the system closer to the black hole. They still didn’t know if these aliens were actually unable to communicate or if they were actively deciding not to, and if so, if they had ill intentions.

Stormfire10 · April 11, 2023, 3:23pm

Embedded Bridge Command Center, TFSS PSR-332

“I need a report.”

“Comms, all clear.”

“Reactors, all clear.”

“Jamming Array, all clear.”

“Start jamming.”

“All systems, clear.”

“I need a picture of what’s happening.”

“The inner accretion disk is empty. Outer layers are still intact, It’ll take a few more hours to clean the third and fourth layers. Fifth and sixth appear to be fed by a few larger planetoids.”

“…Right, I assume we can’t fully clean the disk unless those planetoids are dealt with?”

“Correct.”

“Get us within boarding range of the Ixso and connect up. I need to know if they are alright.”

“No comms chatter on multispec frequencies, seems like they took a hit harder than expected.”

“Hold on, is that a-”

“A smiley face?”

“Considering the damage, it wouldn’t be viable to respond.”

“Why?”

“Ixso is still unable to communicate. It could be a trap.”

“…Alright, well let’s assist with the cleanup.”

“Deploy a SRC. I want eyes in the new system.”

“…Right, let’s actually help TFSS Ixso first. I forget this doesn’t have a rapid launch bay.”

“No worries.”

Wired Communication, TFSS Ixso & TFSS PRC-332

“Right on schedule.”

“TFSS Ixso, this is TFSS PSR-332. Comms clear?”

“Comms clear. Good timing, you see that smiley face?”

“We saw it too. Unsure on operating procedures. Plans?”

“Well, we intercepted a little satellite on heading with us.”

“Any markings?”

“Well, it isn’t DLPU or WK.”

“Well, pretty foreign then.”

“Stay cautious, our fourth and fifth reactors are down. We’ve had to seal our hangar bays.”

“Do you want us to vent the Reactors?”

“Wouldn’t we lose power?”

“PSR-332 has plenty to share, we are wired together right now.”

“Fair enough, go for it.”

“Reactor four, venting.”

“Reactor five, venting.”

“Reactors 1, 2 and 3 are shutting down.”

–Five Minutes Pass–

“Reactor startup, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.”

–Ten Seconds of Silence-

“All reactors operating in the green. Thanks for that.”

“No problem, can you launch an SRC?”

“On it.”

“We are working on multispec comms, which should be repaired in a few hours, though I doubt it will be useful, ABH-003 seems to love eating information.”

“What do you mean ‘Eat’ information?”

“More as in, it is tampering with our long distance comms. Short distance comms are all in the green. You don’t seem as fortunate.”

“Yeah, our suites were knocked.”

“Are you loaded with prefabs?”

“Always are.”

“Some automatic miners for fuel would be nice, Antimatter Hydrogen doesn’t make itself.”

“Alright, let’s get an SRC and those prefabs out.”

“I need an SRC to launch and get a good look at the system. Long distance is tampered, don’t communicate with anything. I need prefab storage out, get some mining equipment out. Appreciation in advance.”

Galaxiel · April 12, 2023, 6:51pm

The situation was getting worse by the minute. The aliens kept not reacting to any of their attempts at communications and the effects done by their machines on Taivaallinen’s accretion disk were starting to become noticeable. If they didn’t stop the situation soon, the entire disk was going to get cleaned up in less than a day, casting the colonies into complete darkness and making travel around Taivaallinen incredibly dangerous.

Because of that, the Warship was called into action. There was simply no other way. The aliens could keep pretending not to see their signals all they wanted, but the 25 kilometers large ship would be sure to make them react.

The Starlight Warrior made it’s way to the system’s center. To avoid damage from the invader’s weapons and the accretion disk’s materials shooting around at incredible speeds, it activated it’s layered shielding and started charging it’s weapons.

Galactya always tried their best to not go to war with foreign powers. But in cases like this, where the situation was starting to become actually dangerous for billions of people, there was no other way but to force things. Of course, they still didn’t want to attack the aliens, that wouldn’t be wise; they just wanted to make them stop.

The Starlight Warrior stopped it’s Warp Drives and appeared 100 kilometers from the alien vessels, becoming clearly visible above what was still left of the shining disk. How would these aliens react?

Stormfire10 · April 12, 2023, 9:40pm

TFSS PSR-332 & Ixso, Wired Comms.

“We did our job.”

“Most of the area is clear, our reinforcements are coming through.”

“We can call our AMS back.”

“Perimeter Defenses and the prefabs are all green. Should start making Antimatter Hydrogen.”

“Lovely.”

“Ixso’s Comms suite is functional again.”

TFSS Ship Communications, 5th Strategic Fleet

“All ships, report.”

“All XWD-1s reporting.”

“Frostline reporting.”

“Deuterium reporting.”

“Extol reporting.”

“XWC-2 Reporting.”

“Admiral Eliza reporting.”

“Zircon reporting.”

“Terbium reporting.”

“PSR-332 reporting.”

“Ixso, reporting.”

“Pathfinder One, tally one contact, 5 O’clock high! It’s huge!”

“All hands battlestations! Scramble! I don’t care what you’re doing, but if you do nothing, I’ll fire you!”

TFSS Defiance, 25 Klicks above the Starlight Warrior

“Sir?”

“What’s up?”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Of course it’s a good idea. It’s an order. They can’t see us.”

“How? This is so dumb.”

“The wormhole is covering the long distance comms, and this is the first ever stealth battlecruiser. They can maybe see us, visually, but that doesn’t matter. Don’t question it, it’ll be fun.”

“If you insist, sir.”

“Load, NEMPT.”

“Loading NEMPT.”

“A Lightshow it is, should whatever this thing is decide to start a fight.”

Galaxiel · April 13, 2023, 4:47am

The operation was risky. But it seemed like it had worked! The aliens had stopped cleaning up the disk.

But now that they had gotten close, they could see things more clearly. There were many, many more ships than what the scans had told them. That was probably why they could clear the disk so quickly! Otherwise, just a small single vessel wouldn’t be able to.

But now wasn’t the time to think about that. The ships were clearly in formation, as if ready to respond to any attack from the Starlight Warrior. But it wasn’t going to be necessary.

From one of the Warrior’s hangars came out a relatively small ship, which soared “up” above the disk to make itself as visible as possible, and which slowly made its way towards the invading fleet, to not make them think that it was some sort of weapon or just an attack vessel.

As it got closer and closer, it began to emit a single message from it’s radars:

Alien vessels. We are the Galactyans. You are in our territory. Please identify yourself. We don’t wish to cause you harm.

Stormfire10 · April 13, 2023, 5:38pm

TFSS Defiance Internal Communications, 15 Klicks above The Starlight Warrior

“Keep the NEMPTs loaded.”

“Roger! They’re still loaded.”

“Raised Antimatter Shields.”

“Online Sir!”

“Drop the Stealth, and prepare to transmit a message over Multispectral Comms.”

“Roger, Stealth Drive is offline.”

“Multispec is online. Awaiting transmission.”

“This is so stupid. How are they going to react when we just appear out of thin space beside them?”

“Well, only one real way to find out.”

TFSS Defiance Multispectral Communications

“The fleet under you concurrently belongs to the Technocratic Federation of Serniani. Any act of hostility or aggression will fall under the Casus Belli of Self Defense.”

“You are advised to remain calm and not approach the fleet. Entering within 50 Klicks of the fleet will result in the destruction of your craft. This is your only warning. No such offense is liable to the Technocratic Federation.”

“Questions will be answered upon first contact logs reaching our formal government. As of now, the 5th Fleet will remain in de facto control of the black hole. Any attempt to eject the 5th Fleet from this system will result in several RKVs headed for each inhabited planet. This is your only warning. No harm will come to your species, as long as you cooperate with our presence.”

Galaxiel · April 13, 2023, 7:52pm

Governon Ykkaoslem Qwerrionse of the Taivaallinen System in front of an orbital station’s observation window.

Governor Ykkaoslem was watching the first contact unfold from his office on Thaievia, the first planet in the Taivaallinen System. As he listened to the alien communication, he was completely dumbfounded. These aliens were planning to just appear in their territory and take control of their end of the wormhole?

That was simply unacceptable. They had tried their best to be peaceful, but these aliens didn’t appear to know reason. And now that they threatened the entirety of the system, there was no other course of action.

He opened various communication lines with all planetary colonies in the system.

"Colony Worlds of the Taivaallinen System, this is your governor, Ykkaoslem. An hostile alien race is trying to take control of our black hole. To all citizens, orderly direct yourselves to the Migration Ships on your respective colonies. All Orbital Stations, de-orbit immediately and track on your surface ports. You will be temporarily transported to one of the nearest Galactyan Systems until Taivaallinen is safe again. This is an order, an order for your safety."

He then opened an emergency communication line with the rest of the Empire.

"This is Governor Ykkaoslem Qwerrionse of the Taivaallinen System, Quadrant 5. An hostile alien fleet has entered the system through the now reclassified Taivaallinen Wormhole, has claimed ownership of the celestial object and has threatened to attack all colonies in the system. I have ordered a migration procedure of 10 migration ships in total. I also request at least 100 shielding stations to protect the colonies."

"The Easteolnisp System can host 3 of the ships."

"The Qughijskop System can also host 4 of the ships."

"The Malemanxi System can host the remaining 3."

Then something unexpected happened.

"The Crus-Lux System will send all of the requested Shileding Stations. Although unrequested, an extra Conqueror-Class Imperial Warship will be sent to Taivaallinen."

The intervention of the Capital System was surely unexpected, but it was… reassuring, in a way.

"Thank you everyone. I'll keep you updated as much as I possibly can."

Ykkaoslem deflated back on his armchair. Never had a first contact gone so badly as this. I mean, yes, the one with the Union Of Emerald did almost result in an attack to the Capital, but that was caused by miscommunication. This was different. These aliens had threatened entire ecosystems with their presence alone.

He opened the communication pad one last time, and directed it to both the research station and the Starlight Warrior. He ordered the station to increase it’s orbit as far as it could from Taivaallinen, and the Warship to track back to Thaievia while the other warship traveled from the Capital System.

It could be the start of a war. Probably the worst major-scale conflict Galactya ever partook in since the two Interstellar Wars. But now, things were different. They had allies on their side, just as powerful as them. Even if this meant certain war, they were going to win. No matter the cost.

Stormfire10 · April 13, 2023, 9:13pm

TFSS 5th Fleet Comms Line

“We’re just awaiting orders.”

“Seriously, who thinks of these?”

“It’s procedure.”

“Well those folks at Standard HQ might as well chuck it. They might not notice the probe missing, but just because we know some of the specs of the alien, doesn’t mean we can find an exploitable hole.”

“Sure, but as long as this goes smoothly from here on out, we should be clear.”

“Most of the time-”

“This is not a most of the time situation!”

“And it’ll be handled as such.”

“Look, as much as you can’t be confident we’ll be smacked, we have the upper hand. We have some insights. The frontiers are rather large, and we can easily pull our suites out to repair. Defiance has transmitted a warning, and it’ll go smoothly.”

“Defiance here. Words spreadin like wildfire. Seems like they have friends on the way. They are attempting a system evac.”

“A full system evac? That is one way to show off some serious superlift.”

“Well, they can’t fight if we pull the light from out of their a*****.”

“Correct… Though the point is to maintain the system. Not make it worse.”

“I’m tracking another ship on scopes, seems rather large. It’s headed for a station. The one ship we intercepted appears to be the ‘Starlight Warrior,’ according to their comm beads. It’s also pulling back. They seem to want a standoff.”

“Old fashioned?”

“They also have comms beads back and forth. I’m getting a few close parsecs, a couple of distant ones, and a few from hundred away.”

“Our orders remain. We have no business provoking a fight.”

“It seems like they are going to start one, they do not seem happy about us staying.”

“Maintenance of the hole is our priority.”

“Defiance I need you to get close. The probe in custody is being studied, we’ll have their secrets.”

“Pure curiosity, can an RKV be stopped by a shielding system?”

“Antimatter or conventional?”

“Both, for the sake of argument.”

“Antimatter can stop an RKV. One. Several, no.”

“Conventional?”

“No.”

“I’m going to put a starshot through for a few more Tungsten Class.”

TFSS Long Distance Communications

“For the sake of the meritocracy, I need every ship on station to sortie!”

“This is not a drill!”

“Tungsten, Exocet, I don’t care!”

“I AM NOT LETTING SOME ALIENS RUIN MY RELAYS!”

“Anchor Point! Get us some damned reinforcements!”

“What-”

“MOBILIZE THE 27TH!”

“You want what?”

“MOVE THE 27TH ACROSS ABH-003!”

“Uh-”

“DO IT!”

And as this whole debacle is happening, and the channels winded down, a single order remained on the channel:

This is a Mothball Fleet order for Anchor Point Command. Meet at ABH-003. This is not a drill. All ships are ordered to ABH-003 to await orders. Repeat Message.

Stormfire10 · April 17, 2023, 1:47pm

TFS Serniani (Department of Homeland Defense & External Affairs)

“For the safety of the relay network, we must use all available means to protect ABH-003.”

“Do you have any idea how bad this looks?”

“We either make a deal now, or we send it to Technocratic Arbitration.”

“Settle it here, I am not waiting through TA.”

“We’ve threatened force.”

“You do understand how bad it looks for us to jump the escalation ladder?”

“Escalating this far is fine. Nobody understands the threat in TFS.”

“Do we even have jurisdiction over that space?”

“Article 9.”

“But some won’t see it like that. It’s not so simple.”

“Look, the hotshots in the fleets want a fight.”

“Why would we let the hotshots in the fleet loose?”

“They’ve been denied the fight they always wanted.”

“Silvia. Elozia. Laurisa-44. Other countless worlds and stations tarnished because of some damned bureaucracy.”

“You want to give the military more independence?”

“They’ve shown as much restraint as humanly possible. They’ve done everything correctly.”

“Yet, they’ve shown in other conflicts to be worse. NFZ Nora is literally the best example of that.”

“It’s a protection for all the other species in TFS space.”

“We don’t have time for this.”

“Figure it out. You have 5 minutes. Meeting space is limited right now.”

“We either let the military handle the wormhole or we let bureaucracy handle it. See how it ends.”

“…Diplomacy is being secured when we have established a STN over ABH-003 Far Side. Official travel is limited.”

“Yeah, so let the people who know what they’re doing take care of it.”

“I concede only if you allow us to open official communications ASAP.”

“Then let it be that way.”

Galaxiel · April 17, 2023, 5:57pm

MIGRATION SHIP THAIEVIA-1
31 STELLAR UNITS FROM TAIVAALLINEN
8 HOURS AFTER THE EVACUATION ORDER

“Is the connection unstable or something? You haven’t said anything in a bit.”

“No it’s running fine, don’t worry. Ugh…”

“You worried about something?”

“Are… are you asking me because you actually don’t know, or because this whole thing is so nerve-wracking that you can only make small talk, even with your friend?”

“T-the second one… sorry.”

“Anyways… yes, I am, of course. I mean, how could I not be? This entire situation is probably the worst thing ever! And I’ve lead explorations in the Celestial Wall, like, I got lost in there with my ships! And this is still worse!”

“Yeah, between the first contact, the full system evacuation and the start of military operations this is just… bad.”

“I hope this ends as quickly as possible. To be fair though, how could I not…”

“At least we can laugh about the irony of it, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“Era 3 was supposed to be all about peace and wealth and friendship, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, go on…”

“So it’s kind of ironic that the “Greatest Era of peace and friendship the Empire has ever seen!”… can’t even go one year in before starting a war with an advanced foreign power.”

“Oh, yeah that’s… funny, in a way. Ahah.”

“So uhmm… how’s it going on your ship?”

“Eh, it’s fine I suppose. The Inner Ecosystems are large and luscious as always, the air is fresh and I’m chilling in my cabin.”

“Same here… I would have preferred taking my Exploration Ship with my crew, but they said that for my safety I couldn’t use it and that they had already packed it in one of the hangars.”

“Shame. But I think it’s still for the best. After all, Migration Ships have some of the best shielding in the Empire.”

“I mean putting billions of people on a single ship could only warrant shielding like that.”

“Yeah, ahah. Anyways, I think I’m gonna have to go now. I wanna go to the nearest Care Center and take a snack. I’ll talk to you in a bit.”

“Okay, bye!”

This was so, so bad. Incredibly bad. He had been alive for more than 600 years, and yet this was probably the worst predicament he had ever found himself in. At least he wan’t going to be in the first line of attack. He almost was, being one of the scientists on the Research Space Station around the black- around the wormhole… so yeah, he had been in a very, very, very high risk position for a while. But now he was safe, kind of. Still, he couldn’t help but feel very anxious and scared of the near future, considering the recent events. He didn’t wan’t to go through a war of this scale! well, nobody wanted to, but the ones that were going to actually take part in it did have their hands heavily forced, so he couldn’t blame them in the slightest.

He wondered about the ones that had to remain in order to maintain the various colonies, and those who had to operate the defense systems. He hoped they’d be able to defend his home. From what he had heard, the invaders didn’t seem to want to expand, but nobody could be sure if it was to remain like that.

What if the aliens spread out to the rest of the system and one of their vessels reached the Migration Ship? It was best to not think about it. It really was.

Stormfire10 · April 17, 2023, 7:41pm

Frost Flight, Combat Space Patrol Group (CSPG) Comms Link

“Control Check.”

“Control Check good. Frost One ready for sortie.”

“Frost Two, Control Check is good. Ready for sortie.”

“This is Frost Three. Control Check is good. Request Sortie.”

“Let’s roll.”

It was routine by now. Sortie, fly around, look cool for a little bit, return. Protocols are easily followed. Most of the time it’s easy and peaceful work. Intercepts are annoying, though sometimes it was nice to get close to the planets in the system. They looked pretty nice. Though the optics on the Valkyrie II aren’t the best, (SASF’s are usually better), the other cameras are amazing.

Frost Flight, Combat Space Patrol Group (CSPG) Comms Link

“What is that?”

“That’s one hell of a ship.”

“Pretty massive. That’s one of their evac ships.”

“Evac Ships?”

“You never have your multispec comms on, do you?”

“I keep mine on closed circuit, yeah.”

“Turn 'em on for a bit. It’s interesting to hear their conversations.”

“Are we allowed to talk to them using universal translators?”

“I… Don’t know. Probably not, but there is nothing that says we can’t.”

“I’ll at least try. It’ll be nice, and maybe soften tensions. We aren’t here to fight people. The goal is to protect the wormhole.”

“Godspeed Frost Three. Don’t you dare OPSEC.”

“I won’t, you can even remain on the line.”

Frost Three Multispectral Communications, Open Line

“Hello…? This is Frost Three “Sparrow” of The Technocratic Federation of Serniani looking to open a channel of open communication. Much appreciation in advance.”

Dead Silence. Most of the shuttles passing through diverted and actively gunned for the large mothership.

“I guess they aren’t really interested in talking, huh?”

“Not that surprising. We can always try again later.”

“This is “Sparrow,” anybody have their comms array on?”

Galaxiel · April 17, 2023, 8:50pm

MIGRATION SHIP THAIEVIA-1
MAIN CONTROL DECK

In the Migration Ship’s Control Deck, the situation was rather tense. Large scale evacuations were already rare, but one of this size was totally unprecedented. Furthermore, the Captain and her control team had been on their toes constantly for the last 5 hours, scanners, radars and shields always activate in fear of the alien threat. The situation did not get any calmer when the signal radars started going crazy.

“Attention everyone! A ship of the invading faction has been located at 21.98.76, 70 kilometers from us! They’re attempting communication!”

“What do we do?!”

“Hmm… accept the communication and activate the speaker. I’ll handle this.”

“Of course captain, just please be careful.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you down.”

“Alright! The communication line is now open and the speaker is activate.”

“Thanks. And just in case everyone, prepare the Ringularity Drive and tell the passengers to go back to their cabins.”

“We’ll do that immediately.”

FROST THREE SPARROW OF THE TECHNOCRATIC FEDERATION OF SERENIANI, THIS IS THE MIGRATION SHIP THAIEVIA-1 OF THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE OF GALACTYA. KEEP YOURSELF AT AT MINIMUM DISTANCE OF 70 KILOMETERS FROM THE SHIP UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE AND STATE YOUR PURPOSE IMMEDIATELY. ANY ATTEMPT TO ATTACK THAIEVIA-1 WILL RESULT IN RETALIATION.

Seriousness, cold and imposing tone and, most importantly, confidence. These were the three key “ingredients” to transmit a sense of authority when giving orders or speaking with enemies. And this was the perfect time to transmit that kind of feeling.