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As the Guild’s remaining forces celebrate on Psyche, Lieutenant Borisovich speaks with the Militia Commander Ovechkin over secure comms.
“Repeat that to me again, Lieutenant. I don’t think I heard you clearly.”
“Commander, they’ve rejected the Guild. Khalisha won’t budge. We’ve been excluded entirely from the treaty.”
“Blast it! We sacrifice all our troops to help free their colony, and what do we get in return? Nothing!”
“To be fair, Sir, they agreed to maintain friendship with us. However, with the Assembly still around, I have my doubts on how far that friendship will be allowed to go.”
“The Assembly is clearly involved in this. They don’t want to give up Psyche.”
“My thoughts exactly, Commander. It’s a dire situation we’ve been thrust into. Should I begin withdrawing our forces from Psyche?”
“Not yet. They fought hard to secure victory, let them celebrate. It would be disappointing to tell them their sacrifices meant nothing. Besides, the fleet...or what’s left of it, still has need of repair. I need to speak with the other Guild leaders as well. Go and relax, Lieutenant. You’ve earned that much.”
“Yes, Commander. Thanks.”
—————————————————————
Cocytus Station Command, Ceres Orbit
By the time the dormant missiles reach Ceres, the Stygian orbital station would take notice.
“Uh...Captain? Are our sensors not working?”
“What do you mean?”
“I swear I can see a group of small objects coming into the Orbital Zone, but I’m looking at the sensors and there’s nothing.”
“Have you been drinking, officer?”
“While at work? No, I’d never! Just look out the window, right there.”
As the station captain would direct his gaze to the window, he would squint to see a group of objects just coming into view.
“Ah, I see them now. That’s strange. Officer, get a camera on that sector.”
The station bridge would display a live image of the rogue cluster across their observation screens.
“Enhance the feed.”
As they zoom in on the cluster, it would reveal silo-like shapes, slowly moving closer and closer.
“Nothing on the sensors?”
“That’s a negative, Captain. Scopes are still- wait! I’m starting to get traces of atomic decay!”
“What’s the source?”
“It’s coming from that rogue cluster!”
The station captain’s eyes would widen at the screen as he realized what was happening.
“How many signals?”
“33 in total! Atomic decay and acceleration increasing rapidly!”
“Oh no...”
As the missiles begin to activate and launch, the captain rushes over to the station’s controls and slams a big red button. Alarms begin to blare and lights start flashing.
“Battle stations, now! Get the defense grid online and start evacuating the station! Send a transmission to Governor Yanovich immediately!”
As the station’s defenses and Ceres’ satellite guns start firing on the incoming missiles, Governor Yanovich sits in his office within the capital Undercity Charon Alpha. His assistant rushes into the room, exhausted.
“Sir! Emergency transmission incoming from Cocytus Station!”
“Send it through immediately.”
The transmission would come with a bit of static, but Dimitri would be able to tell from the captain’s serious voice that there was trouble.
“Captain, was the situation?”
“We’ve got nuclear missiles headed straight for the colony!”
“Missiles?? Can you shoot them down?”
“There’s not enough time, they’re too fast! I recommend finding shelter immediately!”
As the transmission cuts off, Dimitri jumps from his chair and pushes a button on his desk. Security guards enter the room.
“Initiate lockdown of all Undercities ASAP! Send a colony-wide broadcast: all citizens NEED to find shelter IMMEDIATELY! GO!”
Barely minutes later, and the asteroid colony would fall into mass panic as Stygian citizens would run wherever they could to find shelter. But there wouldn’t be enough time.
The missiles burned towards Ceres with fury of an angry star. As they made it closer, the PDC defensive fire from Ceres' orbital defenses became ever-more dense, straining the onboard computers to the limits of their evasive capabilities. Eventually, the first missile was hit and destroyed, momentarily breaking the link between the other missiles, before the connection re-routed. Soon afterwards, a second and third were hit, then a fourth, then five missiles all at once. The missile computers made the decision to spread themselves out farther, making their formation a more difficult target, but to little avail.
More and more missiles were destroyed, as the shield of bullets formed by the dwarf planet's defenses became ever more dense and hard to navigate. A final decision by the computers was made. The remaining missiles formed a shield around a central three, protecting them from PDC fire. The shield allowed the missiles to just barely make it through the primary defensive grid, with only one of the main three destroyed. With only two of themselves left, the final pair of missiles made the split decision to change thair strike targets. Both had been directed to impact orbital infrastructure, but without the other missiles the surface of Ceres would be left unscathed. One missile peeled off from formation and headed towards Charon Alpha's dock-yards, while the other stayed straight, heading towards Cocytus Station.
Shortly after giving the lockdown order, Dimitri leaves his office with an escort of security guards, but not before he grabs a special datapad. The streets of Charon Alpha- like every other Stygian Undercity- would be swarming with citizens trying to reach shelter. Dimitri had never expected to be threatened by nuclear attack, but the Yanovich family was known for being prepared for any situation.
During the Belter Pirate Raids, his father, the former governor of Styx, ordered the construction of a massive bunker complex deep within Ceres, below even the Undercities. Referred to as the Labyrinth, it is a large array of bunkers that stretch all across subterranean Ceres, a passageway connecting all the Undercities. Within the Labyrinth, the people of Styx could live safely in the event of an attack. It was a massive project that rivaled the construction of the asteroid colony itself (the project wasn't completed until after the Guild's campaign had ended), and the amount of resources that were invested into the Labyrinth brought about decline in the Undercities, turning much of them into slums. When Dimitri took over for his father, he further added to Styx's countermeasures by installing failsafe blast gates on the colony's Docking Pits, the man-made sinkholes that lead into the subterranean asteroid colony. He realized that the Docking Pits were Styx's most vital entrances and exits, meaning they were vulnerable to bombardment. The ability to seal up the docks made it that much easier to protect Styx from any danger. Dimitri didn't stop at blast gates, though. He also beefed up Styx’s security with a vast array of satellite turrets orbiting the colony, as well as various anti-orbital weapons on the surface, further driving the colony into the Guild’s debt as his predecessors already had.
With everything he and his predecessors have done to protect Styx, Dimitri hoped it would pay off. As he could tell from the current situation, however, they didn’t prepare enough. Had the missiles been detected earlier, perhaps there would’ve been a chance to foil the attack. The defense grid and Cocytus station would only be able to buy the colony a few minutes. After that, it’s up to the blast gates. Though, Dimitri was unsure as to how well the gates would hold against a nuclear strike. Then it’s up to the Labyrinth to protect them all. But…not everyone will be able to get there. There just isn’t enough time.
“Sir, we need to move now! Everyone, clear out of the way!”
One of Dimitri guards snapped him out of his thoughts, prompting them to continue wading through the crowds of people trying to get into the Labyrinth. The Governor looked at all the faces of his citizens as he passed them by. Men. Women. Old. Young. Would they all make it in time? Is he leaving them behind? Dimitri couldn’t help but ponder this as he enters the Labyrinth. But before he gets inside, he looks up to Charon Alpha’s Docking Pit as its blast gates slowly seal up. He hears screams from the crowd as he looks through at the sky. Multiple glowing lights were moving across the Cererian sky amidst the scatter of colonial battery fire, getting bigger and brighter. The missiles.
“EVERYONE GET IN NOW! SEAL THE GATE!”
A security officer shouts as loud as he can as the crowd pushes forward into the Labyrinth alongside Dimitri. At this point, it didn’t matter who could come in or not. Survival was at stake. The last thing the Stygian leader would see before the entrance to the Labyrinth closes is a massive wave of energy spreading across the sky.
The first missile to hit was the one headed for Cocytus Station. The missile imbedded itself inside the station itself, tearing through the outer hull before coming to a rest. Within an instant, Cocytus transformed from a floating hunk of metal and guns into a blinding ball of light.
As The first missile atomized Cocytus, the second made it to the Charon Alpha dock-pits just as the blast-doors finished the process of closing, the teeth of the giant metal constructs only a dozen meters from fully sealing. The missile just barely squeezed through the doors, hitting the side of the one of the blast-shield's teeth as it entered the pit, causing it's detonation to go off early, filling the sink-hole with atomic fire.
Cocytus station was all-but destroyed, what pieces of it weren't vaporized by the nuke either began a massive cloud of debris in Ceres' orbit, or fell to the surface of the dwarf planet, impacting the world's grey face. Beneath the surface, the dock-pits of Charon Alpha had suffered from a similar amount of data. The infrastructure in the pit for ships the use to dock and repair at had been melted to the wall's of the cavern, while the nuke's EMP wave knocked out any electrical devices still using power at the time.
Styx had been devastated.
__________________________
It would be another hour before news of the treaty on Psyche reached Helios-City on Mercury, by which time the nukes had done their damage. While Pryam Semenov, leader of the Assembly, was in no way pleased by the treaty, it was preferable to losing the whole of the asteroid. Despite the treaty, whatever diplomatic presence the Guild might have had on Mercury was immediately slashed and restricted to a bare minimum. Guild citizens on Mercury, those with no permanent residence on the planet, were immediately expelled from the Assembly. The attack of the Guild on Psyche would not be forgotten soon.
While some on Mercury celebrated the end of the war on Psyche, the day was overshadowed by loss of Psyche territory and the devastation brought by the nuking of Ceres. While no official casualty could had come out from Charon Alpha, estimates still put the death-toll in the high tens-of thousands.
By the time Cocytus Station would be struck by the missile, there’d be no chance for survivors to escape, for the detonation also generated a devastating EMP wave, causing a great deal of ships (and satellites) in the orbital zone to lose power and fall towards Ceres, along with the shattered remains of the station.
Within the Labyrinth, Dimitri could still feel the foundations shaking from the explosion. They remained inside the bunker network for around an hour before they believed it was safe to go back into the Undercity. As Dimitri and his guards come back up wearing EVA gear, they witness the hell that Charon Alpha has been turned into. As far as they knew, the entire city had been shut down as a result of the EMP. Buildings had collapsed, the docking pits were utterly destroyed, bodies and rubble everywhere. If the initial explosion didn’t kill them, then the aftermath did. Yet still, there were plenty of people still running around, screaming, calling out names of loved ones, searching through rubble.
“Captain, do we have any contact with the other Undercities?”
“No Sir! It seems the EMP wave was far more severe. The damage seems to be focused around our Undercity, but it’s likely that the others may have suffered a loss in power as well. The Labyrinth is our only point of contact.”
“It’s a godsend that the Labyrinth has a backup power system, otherwise I don’t know how we’d get through this. Gather what men you can and start searching through the Undercity for any survivors. Get them into the Labyrinth. Charon Alpha isn’t safe anymore.
“Yes Sir, right away!”
“And get into contact with the other Undercities! We need all the help we can get!”
As Stygian security start exploring the remains of Charon Alpha, Dimitri goes back into the Labyrinth. He walks to one particular bunker, a special one built for the Governor. Once he’s inside, he gets on the comms and starts to make calls.
“Cocytus Station, this is Governor Yanovich! Do you read me, Captain?”
Dimitri only gets a static response. Nothing. He tries again, but still gets silence on his end. And then he realized that Cocytus no longer existed. All those people, all those ships, all gone. He slams his fist against the wall in anger.
“Dammit! This is a nightmare! How could we not see this coming?? Where did the missiles even come from?! This puts my entire plan at risk!”
He desperately searches through his datapad to look at various information.
*sigh* “Perhaps there’s still a chance. The foundries of Pallas remain hidden. I cannot lose those.”
Dimitri wonders about the war on Psyche. Perhaps the Guild’s efforts there have been more rewarding. And yet, with the situation on Ceres, he needed them back. And so he made another call.
“Commander Ovechkin, it’s Yanovich, come in!”
“Governor? What’s this about?”
“Styx has been hit! The colony’s been nuked!”
“A nuclear strike??”
“Yes, as far as I know, Charon Alpha is the only Undercity that was struck, but the rest of the colony has lost power from the EMP! We’ve lost the station as well as the defense grid!”
“Damn, first Psyche, now this?”
“We can discuss the war later, right now I need you to gather your forces, get your fleet together, and come to the colony IMMEDIATELY. See what you can do about getting aid from Elysium too!”
“Of course, Governor. We’ll be underway ASAP! Commander out.”
With haste, the Militia would withdraw its troops from Psyche and return to the wounded fleet in orbit, leaving as quickly as they came. However, the Stygian Forces would remain for a little while longer, salvaging the remains of the Guild’s failed efforts. Once they had taken all the salvage they could, they got back aboard their mining ships and left Psyche, although in a different direction as the Militia, it would seem.
Terminus Spaceport, Low Martian Orbit
Encrypted Audio Feed: Guild Council Meeting
SB-DY: “You mean to tell me that the Guild sacrificed over half of its military forces by standing alongside the Psyche rebels, and to thank us for our efforts, they kick us out??”
AM-RO: “It’s out of my hands! They’ve bought into the Assembly’s compromise to end the war! Had that not happened, we may not have been able to hold out for much longer. We gravely underestimated the threat that the Assembly and its allies posed.”
V-SZ: “Psyche may not have joined the Guild, but at least they still want to be friends.”
SB-DY: “With the Assembly still maintaining a presence on Psyche, they’ll never let us get anywhere close. This mission was a complete failure!”
AM-RO: “Not to mention the nukes.”
SB-DY: “It’s been a week since Styx was attacked and we’re still cleaning up the wreckage of Cocytus Station! Charon Alpha was rendered completely uninhabitable! Power’s been restored to the rest of the colony, but the other Undercities are still needing repairs from all the falling debris. It’s a mess!”
EMRU-AC: “Where did the Missiles even come from? Who attacked us?”
SB-DY: “There’s only one nation I can think of that would have reason to do this.”
AM-RO: “We’ve managed to analyze the trajectory of the few missiles that made impact. Their origin comes from Mercury.”
EMRU-AC: “The Assembly?”
V-SZ: “It adds up. We challenged their forces on Psyche. And they responded.”
SB-DY: “To think that they were desperate enough to call a nuclear strike upon MY colony...”
AM-RO: “Mr Yanovich, I know what you’re thinking. We don’t have the manpower to take them on again. There’s just no way.”
SB-DY: “Don’t worry about a response. I’ll handle that.”
V-SZ: “So what’s our next move? The fleet’s been effectively cut in half. We’ve lost nearly all of our War Droids. The loss of Cocytus Station and 70% of the Stygian mining fleet has crippled the colony’s operations in the Belt.
EMRU-AC: “By my estimates, it’ll take at least a few months minimum to partially recover from all of this.”
AM-RO: “So we just sit back and wait? That’s it?”
SB-DY: “I suppose that is our only option. At least until I can get the colony up and running.”
AM-RO: *sigh* “So be it.”
V-SZ: “We’ll divert whatever resources we can to help you, Mr Yanovich. Your colony is vital to the stability of the Guild.”
SB-DY: “I know. Thank you, Chief. Now, if that is all we have to speak about, I must excuse myself. I have some important business arrangements to make.”
AM-RO: “Farewell.”
EMRU-AC: “Good luck.”
V-SZ: “Safe travels.”
End Audio Feed
Helios City, Mercury
"Another drink?"Boris asked Chandran. She waved it off, saying she had had enough for the night. Praym Jeteksi Boris and Minister Chandran were by far the mostpowerful individuals in the Assembly, They held unimaginable power, and with that power came a sense of responsibility. They now sat watching the news coming from Ceres, images of melter dock-ports, unrecognizable heaps of metal once ships, and the blasted remnants of a massive blast-door were among the compilation of destruction left by the Assembly's nuclear counter-attack. Boris had tried to justify it in his mind, telling himself that the Guid had forced his hand, but deep down he still felt a tinge of regret. Had the message of the treaty on Psyche reached Mercury just a few minutes earlier, Boris could have send a message to self-destruct the nukes, but the missiles had detonated before anything could be done. He knew he could have done nothing, but still he felt like a monster.
"How do you think they will remember us?" Chandran asked out of the blue, her eyes dead on the news ticker.
Boris Turned his head, knowing what she meant by the question.
"TV off," Boris commanded. The screen turned black before lowering itself into a cabinet. He got up, turning around to look out the window of his office. The entire city of Helios stood before him, all in its grey-chrome beauty. The people of this city would right his story, there was some comfort in that for boris, but also worry that his people did not see him as he saw himself.
"You still haven't answered my question." Chandran pushed. Boris smirked, knowing she wouldn't let it go until he said something.
"You will be a distinguished figure, the voice of reason. For me, after this war, well let's hope they write my story with mercy Chandran. Let's hope that they learn from my mistakes, and make peace a priority."
"Hm, let's hope."
__________________________
F I N
Ithaca Station, Pallas
10 Days After Styx Attack
Dimitri never let the Council in on his plans, but he did in fact have a response for the Assembly. For the attack on Styx, the Helian leader would pay with his life, or at the very least, a message would be sent. For such a response, the Stygian Governor needed a hitman, and only the best.
And so he traveled to Pallas, another Stygian territory, though this one has remained hidden from the Guild and all who dwell within Sol. And Dimitri intended to keep it that way. The destruction of Cocytus Station was indeed a huge loss, as it severely crippled the colony’s mining operations. However, Pallas is even more valuable, an asset that Dimitri cannot afford to lose. Immense resources have been spent to keep Pallas secure, boosting its vast security measures to the maximum. The dozens of stations built into the surface are home to many secret projects, projects that may jeopardize Dimitri and his colony should they be discovered.
In sharp contrast to the other Palladian research stations, Ithaca Station instead holds an underground community of mercenaries, smugglers, pilots, and other kinds of freelancing individuals seeking adventure and money: the Freelancer’s Association. Ever since the Belter Pirate Raids and the Anti-Freelancer Act of 2240, the Guild had been hunting down and arresting all kinds of freelancers across its sphere of influence. It was Dimitri’s idea to offer Pallas as a refuge to any fugitive freelancers, so long as they stayed away from the Guild.
These freelancers had no allegiance nor attachment. But he found them useful to his plans nonetheless. As long as the mission is complete, it doesn’t matter whether they come back dead or alive, as no one would know who sent them.
After being cleared for entry, Dimitri’s ship sets down within Ithaca Station, freelancer ships all around in the hangar. As he exits the craft with several guards, he is approached by a trio of freelancers, one of them wearing a trench coat and a cowboy hat, his hand cannon clearly displayed on his right thigh.
“Ah, if it isn’t the Governor himself!”
“Nikolai Chernakov...”
“I heard of what happened to the colony...quite unfortunate.”
“Indeed. We may have to push our plans back a little. Without Cocytus, the colony’s operations will be scarcely limited. Styx’s fleet is too small at the moment.”
“What about everything you have going on here? All these other ‘secrets’ that you won’t tell me about?”
“Never mind that. I will tell you when they are ready. Just make sure you’re ready when we’re ready.”
“Of course. I’ve been making calls to a lot of old friends. They’ll come when it’s time.”
“Good. Styx may be injured, but that means the Guild is too. It will take some time before they can recover. We won’t get another opportunity like this.”
“I agree. Now, what brings you here? I don’t reckon you came here just to talk to me?”
“I’m here for Pavlovich.”
“Ah, Mr Terminator himself, eh? What, you need someone dead?”
“No questions.”
Nikolai chuckles as he points over to a ship on the far side of the hangar, then walks away with his crew. Dimitri sends his guards back to the shuttle as he makes his way to the distant ship alone. As he gets closer, he sees his quarry- Luka Pavlovich, geared up in his exosuit as always. The black visor of his helmet feels empty, cold like his personality. He is a cyborg, after all, possibly more machine than man, though Dimitri has never seen him under the suit. Cleaning a rifle next to Luka is Sara Zolina, his companion. As the Stygian Governor approaches, it seems as if the freelancer duo knew he was coming, and so they stopped what they were doing and looked up.
“Mr Yanovich.”
“Ms Zolina. Mr Pavlovich. I have an important mission for you.”
“How important?”
“Very. I need Pavlovich to remove a Mercurian politician from office.“
Dimitri pulls out a hologram of his target. “Praym Jeteksi Boris.”
“You want Luka to attack the Assembly?”
“That man is responsible for destroying the capital of Styx and killing tens of thousands of Belters. Take him out, and kill any witnesses. You’re the best killers in the Association, and I need professionals. Can I count on you to get it done?”
“But- “ Sara is cut off as the silent cyborg stands up and approaches Dimitri, growling in his face before stretching out a hand. Dimitri smiles, and shakes his hand.
“Excellent. Leave as soon as you can, I will have your reward available upon your return. Good luck.”
As Dimitri leaves, Luka starts packing up his gear and motions for Sara to start loading up the ship as well.
"We read you Crimson, We're moving to assist you directly. Any heavily damaged ships should pull back to our repair stations, we'll assist them with emergency repairs. And just you wait, these may seem big on the outside... but the inside is what's truly spectacular, I'd be happy to give you a tour when this is all over. Now, I think it's about time we wrapped this fight up."
On the Vállalkozás and her battleship escorts, hatches begin to open, revealing rows of missiles that were immediately launched. As they fired and were guided to their targets, what looked like beams of light shot from the fronts of the ships, something unlike any weapon seen on such scale before. As most of the beams hit their targets their outsides became partially melted. While most of the hits were not strong enough to penetrate their armor, they were more than sufficient to destroy their sensors, leaving them vulnerable to what was to come. As dozens of missiles began to explode in the vicinity of their targets, what looked like miniature stars formed and cleared, revealing clouds of debris. While not all of the ships were destroyed, the few survivors knew better than to fight a losing war and fled.
Over the next half hour, the newly arrived Jovian vessels were able to pell a majority of the Saevian vessels from orbit, breaking the Enemy control of the void above the world. Within the hour, Helian re-enforcements arrived within firing range of EEC1, and began their own barrage of the re-grouping Saevians from afar. While still out of range for any of their guns and missiles to hit effectively, their presence alone in the system prompted a Saevian with-drawl.
While victory had been won in orbit, Saevian forces still lay siege to Jovian bases on EEC1. But with the arrival of the new Helian and Jovian fleets, their orbital support lost, and their diminishing numbers, the soldiers turned to a strategy of last resort. Several low-yield fusion bombs were detonated in or around Jovian basses across the surface, the Saevians taking out as much Infrastructure as they could before their inevitable surrender. Eventually, Helian and Jovian ships began to shell their positions from orbit, incurring mass casualties. The Saevian Soldiers would eventually lay down their arms, sending signals to the fleets above.
United Frontier Worlds, Saevia, New polska-litwa commonwealth
While the siege of EEC1 was a victory for the Jovian-Helian Coalition, the battle was a costly one, causing the destruction of massive portions of Jovian infrastructure on the moon's surface. Dozens of Jovian and Helian ships were destroyed, with thousands of lives being lost.
In response to the loss of life Praym Semenov, leader of the Assembly, has extended a branch of peace to the Nations of the Eridani System. Semenov has offered the establishment of a white peace, with borders and diplomatic relations returning to what they were before the beginning of the conflict. The only change, will the the creation of of a de-militarized zone 10 AU in diameter around the world of Epsilon Eridani C, also know as Tros.
If accepted this offer will, coupled with the partition of Psyche, will bring an end to what many Helians are already calling the Belt War, establishing inter-stellar peace yet again.
Call of the Deep
One out of two
Several days of drilling, just to get some water source for a town he had never heard of. Joe was not a picky guy, he took jobs as they came but a drilling job on the surface, this was by far his furthest low. Worst part was he was going to miss Adam's birthday, he shook his head and focused on the job, all this was for him.
The drill's mechanisms would freeze every few Rels, a rel was a measurment made on Charon, something about how long it takes for ice crystals to from properly. It worked roughly like a minuet and had even replaced minuets in slang in most areas of the Foundation. Joe was from New new York, so his accent and slang stood out a bit more he guessed. The damn drill was like a bad hunting dog, always stopping when you needed it to go, so he did what any good mechanic does, kick it.
"Ah good, the thing actually works." He said climbing down the railing to check on the main drill tip. The spinning mass of metal had finally hit liquid, now standard procedure entrusted joe to drink it first, after some basic filtration. He was not sure why the big wigs were so worried, its just some underground water, there is not even any microbes native to pluto. He scooped up some in a empty bottle and casually walked up the steps. After getting inside the drill car, well he just gave it a light warm up, if there was ANYTHING in it, just some simply warming could kill it. At least thats what Joe was always taught.
20 Rels of some heating over the stove, perfect. After dropping some ice in to cool it he was all set, down the hatch the water went. And it was here he wished he was more safety concious. He felt his muscles twisting in unatural ways as..something made its way through him. He screamed out in pain and tried to hit his own arm to somehow crush the thing within his blood. It soon hit his head and he was hit with a flood. Colours his eyes could not see before. Legends, stories and words, voices chattering in his mind.
Joe's body began to mutate, flesh and vein flooded with fungus, his skin ripping open in some areas to make way for growths, but the pain was numbed. His mind was now more than his, he coexisted. He could think and feel but, the control of the body was now in the hands of...them. His head filled with only one thought now. He needed to get back to Adam, his son. "They" were happy to oblige, hardening his before, weak body to deal with the ridged cold of the outside. Joe began the slow treck through the snow of Pluto, strange, he thought. He was now the first man to walk the surface with no protection of technological means.
He was coming home.
Call of the deep
Two of two, First light
Deep waters. Smooth waves, existence is peace. "Great and terrible feeling, many popings of buds." Brother of blood signal. Bright, bright before all dark. New thing, frighten. In flight or flight the dance lit, move to life. Warm, soft. Not like cold waters of home. In pours of life find red, cells of oxygen and iron. Strange things of white. Many new. Electricity meets with I.
Memories and thoughts flood into me. Words and ideas, past, present, future. Time. Speach now becomes strange. Memories of life, muddled and confusing. Adam. Offspring. As i would know before, a sporling a lesser colony. This body needed it. So now we must go. March march. Onto the home and to bring the home to them. I bring order to the chaos of its life. Must help the others. The colonies will follow.
PPC network
The camera shows the logo of the network, then several advetisements and one meme of the day. A cat that says "me want" to whatever it owner asks. It then cuts to the news board, with the lead anchor. Jane Maliave. A attractve girl with snow white hair and slightly red eyes.
"And good morning Pluto, today we begin by a look at investments. Stocks in ship building and weapons on a continued rise. While research into oil fuel goes way low. In other news the city of New New York is facing a outbrake of a mystery illness. Almost all of the lower levels report feelings of headaces, sneasing. And sticky blood. So far the Foundation has released a statement, that the ilness is some form of mold or fungus that while disruptive, is harmless."
They show a few of the events in the city, but then quickly move onto sports fails.
End of days
New new york streets, downtown, two districts from outbrake starting point
They said it was a harmless outbrake, not even dangerous. Death imposisble, half true. I looked out over the baracade, a scattered group of 3, mutilated beyond belief. The fungus had altered their bodies to fit whatever task it saw fit. Sometimes it made sense. Others were horribly deformed and bearly able to live or survive.
These ones were fairly basic, fungus popping out of random bits of their body. The police had set up this baracade to hold off the spread. I was one of the few lucky sods who got in before they shut it. All i can say is. I don't if the baracade could hold againt "The big one."
Within the centre of the exploration site
Lights, city is full of them. So much biomass also. The songs and tales failed to warn of this. How could we not have known of the giants above us? The hoomans. More colonies came to descover. The Family of Blood. The Great Rat. The Terrible Hound. And others. We had gathered the biomass so much to work with. Abilities we did not know we had. The Ameoba mounts of old were obsolete now. These hoomans were grand fortresses to live inside of. Bastions of defense against the new...barbarians. "Microbes" as the hoomans called them. Strange and unknown to the water homes.
First lights
As the slowly moving fungus advanced through the underground, things in the cities were best described as "Meh." New New York had been quartered off on the street level, but the underground could not be closed off. Now the fungus was making its way towards Kazud Dum. The Foundation had already sent out signals, the planet was under quarenteen.
On the streets, lights and decorations for the approaching christmas were already in place. Christmas songs blared through the street. And below, it reverberated to the fungus... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4BTYiy0Qi4
The fungus, in their best attempt, sang back the strange melody that took their ears. Happily putting off the movements, just short of the city. While above, the absense of any attacks was given to a christmas miricale come early...
Pryam Boris Semenov Assassinated! Killer Still at Large!
Early this morning, Pryam Boris Semenov, Leader of the Helios Assembly, was assassinated after attending the opening of a military memorial park in Helios City along with a large part of his personal security detail. The assassin first attempted to kill the Pryam at the park itself, but only managed to wound Boris before his security detail was able to escort him to his motorcade. Several minutes later, the Pryam's car was ambushed only meters from the safety of the Golden Dome. While, according to street CTV video obtained by the Helian Media, his security detail put up a fierce defence, they were all killed, allowing the assassin to viciously end the Pryam's life. The same video does, however, appear to show the Pryam injuring his attacker before passing away.
Currently, the Helian Marines and National Guard are in pursuit of the criminal, hoping to capture him and bring him to justice. Word from the Golden Dome itself states that Aarohi Chandran, Minister of International Affairs, has been sworn in as the 3rd Pryam of the United Helios Assembly, becoming the first women to sit in the office.
A Word from Earth!?
Good Evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Solar News Network. We have breaking news from the planet Earth, humanity's old homeworld and old ruler. In a shocking and unprecedented press release, the first from the planet in as much as three decades, the UN released a statement condemning the traitorous actions of one Captain Wolfgang Kaulitz . . . now thats threatening a name if i've ever heard one . . . who apparently fled from Earth and to the Ross-128 system, unbenounced to the the UN or the other nations of the spur. Pryam Chandran is expected to make an announcement regarding this press release later today. To give our viewers some context, here is the transcript of the press release given by the UN.
Hymn of the United Nations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iMiYfGdAa8
[Peoples of the Earth, give your attention to your screens, listen as the the Secretary General Speaks for all our world, hear his voice of wisdom.]
"My fellow Earthers, today one our own has turned against mankind. Captain Wolfgang Kaulitz of the UNE navy has turned from the blue-skies of Earth and into the arms of the traitors beyond. It was discovered the captain was consorting with the likes of the greedy Plutonian pigs in an effort against the people's or Earth. For his crimes, the captain was sent to join the very stars he wished to betray our planet for, and now floats in the void as a frozen husk. Take this to mind, citizens, our great union does not endorse traitors or terrorists, and we will defend our mother-world as fiercely as possible. Thank you all.
There was also a covert message sent to the governments of Sol, reading as follows:
[ Return the traitor Wolfgang Kaulitz to us. This is not a request. If he is not returned, we will retrieve him ourselves ]
Charon Beta, Styx
News of the Pryam's brutal murder would reach the Guild, who would see it as a devastating blow to the Helian government, clearly politically motivated, though who the assassin served was a mystery to remain unresolved. Even on Ceres, where the Stygian citizens still felt the effects of the nuclear attack sent by the Assembly's leadership, this attack was of great surprise. To the leaders of the Stygian mining colony, however, the mystery behind this plot was all too clear...
Though Styx has grown far beyond what the original Elysian colony used to be before the RLF took over, its foundation remains in the Yanovich Clan- the three elite Russian mining families that established Elysium long ago. Were it not for the combined leadership of the Yanovich, Zakharov, and Voronin families, Styx would have never become a prospering colony. Even with all the sacrifices that Styx has suffered over the years, it remains a strong influence within the Belt.
While the rest of Sol looks upon the death of the Helian leader in sorrow or shock, the members of the Stygian Triumvirate watch the news with concern.
"-the killer's identity and whereabouts are still unknown, but the Helian government has made the public certain of its intent to hunt down this man, whoever he may be-"
Dimitri Yanovich mutes the footage, pacing back and forth across his council room in the temporary Stygian capital Undercity. His fellow patriarchs lean back in their chairs with concern, watching him react with satisfaction.
"I take it you had a hand in this, Dimitri?" David Zakharov- patriarch of the Zakharov family- appeared to be the most conflicted about the convenience of this news.
"And what if I did?
"I thought we were done meddling with these superpowers."
"Your point being?"
"Our efforts on Psyche have already put us at odds with the Assembly! Now you have their leader killed? Do you want a repeat of Charon Alpha??"
"I assure you, it will not come to that. The assassin played his part well. Very well, I should say, his violent tendencies made it all the more convincing. The Helian government is only interested in hunting the bloodthirsty dogs, not the ones holding the leash. Not that they seem to have the slightest clue of the leash."
"And what happens when they capture him?"
"This assassin won't allow himself to be captured. He's far too good at his job. And even if they managed to succeed, I have ways of ensuring that nothing gets traced back."
"Even so, David has a point, Dimitri." Maxim Voronin- patriarch of the Voronin family- rises from his chair to look at the looped footage of the Terminator's attack. "You shouldn't trust these freelancers so much. They're only loyalty is to money."
Dimitri shuts off the footage.
"My freelancers are different. Had I not given them asylum within our borders, the Guild would have locked them all up years ago. I'm the only reason they can still work in the Belt. And they know that. Besides, they're merely pawns."
"I see...and what do you think will happen when they no longer need to hide in the shadows of the Belt?"
"Excuse me?"
"Tell me you've at least considered this reality."
"They're just freelancers. I find it hard to believe they'd ever be capable of posing any kind of real threat to us. They're not pirates."
"What's stopping them from coming back?"
"You realize that the Black Skulls are gone, right? They were the only real threat to the Belt, and then the Militia crushed them. Most of them are either dead, locked up on Elysium, or scattered elsewhere. The Guild pretty much made it impossible for them to come back as a real threat."
"Perhaps that may have been true when the Guild was at its peak. But after our failure at Psyche and the Assembly's attack on our colony, the Guild is weak. I have doubts as to how well they can protect us."
Dimitri chuckles at the comment. "Failure, you say? No, my friend. Where you see failure, I see opportunity. The Guild is indeed weak from exhausting all their assets just to help some rebels. We may have lost a vital asset in Gamma Station, but we still have an ace that not even the Guild is aware of: the Ithaca Foundries."
David jumps out of his chair and slams his hands on the table. "Is that where all our resources have been going? Styx is already turning into asteroid slums, and you're putting everything into those secret projects of yours??"
"Those secret projects are what will give us freedom from the corrupt Guild."
"Freedom? How? The Guild is doing everything it can to help us recover!"
"They help us only because they need our resources. A weakened mining industry won't help them rebuild their machines. For centuries, our people have been exploited by their militaristic ideals. It was the Guild that drove us to the Belt, and yet they continued to pursue our wealth to use for their warmongering. We can change that, however. While the Guild cowers on Mars like a wounded animal, we've been preparing. What lies within the Ithaca Foundries will allow us to finish off the Guild and bring our colony into a new era of prosperity. Soon, the Guild will be no more, and Elysium will be ours again."
Fate of the Guild
Thanks to the conflict on Psyche, the Elysian Guild’s strength and influence has weakened substantially, and with the failed effort to assimilate the colony into the Guild, the Elysians had nothing to compensate them for their severe losses. Adding insult to injury, the Assembly’s nuclear attack on the Cererian colony Styx resulted in the destruction of Gamma Station, the colony’s most vital mining hub for their extended operations in the Belt. Without the station- and much of the Stygian mining fleet, the Belter colony’s industrial capacity has been reduced drastically, and thus, the Guild’s pool of resources grows ever thin. The current state of the Guild and its leadership makes it vulnerable to attack from outside.
Or from within.
Ever since the end of the Belter Pirate Raids ten years ago, the freelancer presence has been hiding in the shadows of the Belt, growing ever so slowly within the territories of the Stygian Belters. But it was merely a ploy.
The Pirate Raids saw the defeat of many pirates and other Belter gangs, but in reality, the true threat was a rather large pirate organization known as the Black Skulls. Before their rise, pirate activity was random and sparse, but after they came to power and unified every criminal group in the Belt, their threat became far too evident for the Guild to ignore. During the twenty year-campaign carried out by the Apex Militia, many of the Black Skulls’ hideouts were destroyed, their leadership taken into custody, and their forces ultimately crushed and scattered across the stars. Even with such a decisive blow made against what could have grown into one of the strongest criminal organizations in Sol, the Guild never found the leader of the Black Skulls, presuming him to be dead. Since then, it was believed that the Black Skulls would never be able to return to power, nor any other pirate group.
Everything changed, however, when Fort Dominus- the Militia’s high security prison- fortress- came under attack by a group of freelancers, led by a gunslinger who proclaimed himself to be the leader of the Black Skulls. The group managed to infiltrate Elysium aboard a stolen Stygian freighter. Fort Dominus was quickly overrun by its prisoners, now broken out by the freelancers, and before the Guild’s leaders even realized what was happening, Elysium was plunged into chaos. Unknown numbers of pirates who had infiltrated the Guild factions as sleeper agents made their presence known and began spreading fear across the island. At the same time, dozens of pirate vessels appeared in Martian orbit, striking crippling blows against the weakened Guild fleet in an effort to seize control of Terminus Station- perhaps the most important asset owned by the Guild. Though the Guild’s warships were indeed more powerful, they were severely outnumbered, and with the Elysian Defense Grid being disabled by an unknown user, the Guild’s forces were completely caught off guard.
While Elysium lay under siege by the resurgent Black Skulls, the Elysian leaders convened in Styx regarding their plans for the future of the Guild. Upon learning of the ambush on Elysium, the leaders prepared to depart the colony, only for a bomb to destroy their ship, killing Militia Commander Roman Ovechkin and EMRU Director Alexei Chernetsky. Vanguard Chief Sofia Dragovna was intended to also be aboard the ship, but her body was never found. Upon further investigation of the scene, Stygian authorities never found evidence of a bomb, and so it was labeled as a tragic accident.
In an effort to reclaim Elysium, the Stygians sent their new fleet of mining vessels to Mars, only to discover that the Black Skulls had completely taken over the colony, both on the ground and in space. The Guild’s fleet was nowhere to be seen, though from the wreckage in orbit, they likely fled after realizing the colony was a lost cause. The Elysian Guild was no more. However, Elysian people were still trapped on the island, unable to escape because of the pirate uprising. Given all the assets that the Black Skulls were now in possession of, the Stygian leaders saw war as too great of a risk, even as they would have preferred turning Elysium to glass just to get rid of the pirate scum. The losses would be too great. Instead, they decided to strike a deal with the Black Skulls, allowing the Elysian refugees to leave the planet, while the Stygians promised not to interfere with the Black Skulls.
And so, Elysium was transformed into New Keos, a colony of pirates and freelancers, a massive den of criminal activity that could eventually grow in power and influence across Sol, and perhaps even beyond. With their control over many of the Guild’s old military assets, including factories and depots, the power the Black Skulls could potentially wield would be tremendous, and as long as they have Terminus Station and its Orbital Defense Grid, none would dare to oppose them.
The Black Skulls are not the only ones that may be on the rise. Without the exploits of the Guild tying them down, the Stygian Mining Collective may yet be able to recover from its past shortcomings, and once its mining operations can return to full capacity, the opportunity to become a major power in the Belt may finally present itself.
Far beyond the Belt, however, the remnants of the Elysian Guild limp away in defeat. The Apex Militia was the protector of Elysium and its people. Now, they are but a shadow of their former strength, weak and wounded by the very pirates they thought they destroyed. Their leaders are dead, their colony is gone, and now they have nowhere to go. Without a home nor a cause, the Militia now wanders the stars, offering their ships and soldiers as mercenaries for any who would need them.
South slovestinia,Saevia,Aurora-agaan
Beyond Mankind's Domain
7 million years ago a great empire once ruled over the arm, their reach seemingly unending. They are gone now, disappeared, wiped out. The great cities they built are gone, reduced to dust by the natural processes of the worlds they were built on. The worlds that made gardens have almost all returned to the hells they once were, a precios few remaining habitable. Now, other races walk unknowingly on the grave of a giant.
While almost all of this empire's relics have disappeared, one remains intact; the Veils. Built for an unknown purpose, the Veils were cloaked stations of gargantuan size, usually orbiting far beyond a system's last planet, and seemed to posses the ability of masking the radio signals broadcasted from any point inside or outside them. Like the other relics they too have slowly failed and degraded, but some have remained operational. Now, however, the final Veil stations are failing, their un-describable power flickering out.
Finally, the races that have built their civilization in the shadow of an ancient power may speak, they voiced be heard, and know that are not alone. While Mankind focusses on its colonial expansion, three other races have finally found themselves surrounded on all sides by new friends . . . or enemies.
Saevia and United Frontier Worlds
The White Hunters of Tùs
____________________________________
The Signals
| Near the edge known space is the lonely system of Wolf 1068. However, to its indigenous people, it has a more sacred name, that of the Sun Goddess Eigyr. Up until recently, however, they have not been noticeable much to the international community. That was until radio transmissions began radiation out from Tùs at the beginning of the Third Surface War in 2153. While the war ended long ago in 2206, the transmissions continue their journey through space, with most having become nothing but a distorted mess. However, some, mainly those from the warships that participated in the war, remain somewhat legible. |
| Of course, the first system with life to actually receive the transmissions was Sol, as it was the closest. However by then, the radio signals were indecipherable yet showed a clear pattern. A very remote chance at a possible sign of life, originating from a distant red dwarf named Wolf 1061. |
The Third Surface War
| The Third Surface War changed everything. Prior to this, there were multiple kingdoms and factions on Tùs, notably the Kingdom of Cogdisa and the Kingdom of Corrán Theas. Afraid that the Kingdom of Cogdisa was working to cut them off from space, the Kingdom of Corrán Theas launched a full scale invasion of Cogdisa along with some of the other factions. Like in the prior Surface Wars, this was done via crossing the icey surface of Tùs. What was different this time was the use of a new weapon system by Cogdisa, captured from their enemies; The Sleá Eigyr or "Eigyr's Spear". The system used kinetic rods embedded with a 1 megaton nuclear warhead. The rod's depleted uranium cap would burrow through the ice and, hopefully, through the foundational layer of a city's ceiling. Once the pressure sensor detected no resistance from the ground, the warhead would detonate. |
| In a catastrophic move, the station managed to launch ten of these rods before being destroyed in a massive battle in orbit, which saw the first use of spaceships in combat in the Wolf 1061 system. The launch was devastating, with ten cities collapsing from the nuclear blasts, and to this day the areas are abandoned, left as graveyards for the millions who died. |
| While this lead to the surrender of most of the enemy's allies, the two kingdoms still fought, Corrán Theas determined not to lose the war. This eventually lead to a series of attacks by the Special Warfare Service of Cogdisa, where undercover agents would detonate EMPs in various cities prior to an attack. This resulted in major losses of territory for the Corrán Theas, and along with orbital bombardments from the victorious SSR, lead to their unconditional surrender 53 years after the war first started. |
| In turn, this lead to the signing of the Treaty of Oirgaineamh, which inevitably gave Cogdisa power over the entirety of Tùs. Since then, a war has not happened on the planet, not even a civil conflict. By 2277, many of the scars of war have been buried in ice and snow, however some are still visible, such as the craters of the so-called Sunken Cities that were hit with the orbital weapon. Various wrecks have also managed to stay unburied, while a ring of debris in orbit of Tùs is, to this day, still being cleaned up by the SSR and various civilian foundations. |
| The losses during the war were high, with the official tally being at 670 million, including both military and civilian deaths. Undoubtedly, this left a major stain on the Éan's history. Many are wary of another war, leading to very little investment in actual space travel outside of military operations and civilian clean up crews. However, since the 2270s started, there have been many to call for the exploration and colonization of Meadhbh and possibly even some large celestial bodies in the Belt of Eigyr. |
The Éan
| This only leaves one question as we continue to look back in the history of Cogdisa; What are the Éan? It is believed that the Éan evolved from cave-dwelling predators that fed off of smaller reptiles and mammals. Classification of their species would inevitably prove difficult, as they possessed traits from mammals and amphibians alike. They are warm blooded, possess mammary glands, and give live birth like mammals, however possess no hair, have smooth skin, much like that of an amphibian. They are typically pale, with eyes that lack any pigment, and generally stand between 2.1 and 2.4 meters tall, though this hasn't stopped extremes that can put them as short as 1.2 meters tall or as tall as 3 meters. The Éan are digitigrades, much like many animals on Earth, and possess a rather long tail. The Éan are unisex, however possess a feminine body shape. Their origins, and the low light conditions of their homeworld, make them particularly sensitive to light, and as a result, their cities, vehicles, etc. are dimly lit to what is optimal for them. The Éan also possess rather impressive regeneration, similar to that of an Axolotl. They are capable of regrowing limbs in a matter of weeks, or even days with the proper medical care. |
The Seirbhís Spáis Ríoga
| Similar in some aspects to the space navies of Humanity, the Seirbhís Spáis Ríoga, or Royal Space Service (SSR), is the dominant military force in the skies of Tùs. Since its inception as the Royal Space Forces in the early 2200s, the SSR has grown in power and experience, resulting in the First Generation Lonsorcóras seen in use today. Such warships are considered cutting edge by the Éan and are essentially torpedo carriers in practice. So far, the SSR has been working with civilian groups to clean up the debris in orbit that was left over from the Third Surface War, with a majority of the Lonsorcóras remaining docked to the Réalta Bán and Réalta Dhubh stations. Since the early days of launching probes, no vessel of the Éan has left the gravity well of Tùs, however changes are being made for a manned mission to Meadhbh, to potentially research its habitability and, hopefully, set up a colony. These measures are not complete however, and only time will tell if the Éan are truly ready to venture off their small ice world. |
- Mentions
| Tartarus foundation
|
United Frontier WorldsThe Alliance for Democracy is on the verge of first contact and are preparing to enter the Epsilon Eridani system.
https://discord.gg/cPQpqP5M
The Alliance for Democracy decided it had better things to do than make first contact because the people it was trying to make first contact with started shooting at them.
A Signal From Afar
The WOW signal, BLC1, The Tau Blips, throughout humanity's history of space exploration, there have been events and mysterious instances of what humans thought to be evidence of intelligent alien life among the stars. While humans have found simple organism on other world's near to Earth, no instance of definitive intelligence has ever been discovered. It seemed humanity was alone in its knowledge and technological power, at-least for the time being.
Unbeknownst to humanity, however, it was not a lack of intelligence the universe suffered from, but it was the in-fact the side-effects of s long dead intelligence that once governed the spur millions of years ago. Ancient artifacts, built by this forgotten power, had been what hid the abundance of alien life from mankind, called Veils. The Veils have slowly failed over the years, and now the last of them die, their unlimited power slowly flickering into nothing.
This has allowed, for the first time ever, for signals from the Tu'Vala empire and the Éan to propagate beyond their home-systems and into the open universe. The signals would first reach Sol, alerting mankind to a mystery. While the signals were weak and garbled for the most part, it became clear they were not one-off events like the ones heard in the past, but actual tangible evidence of a possible alien intelligence.
To investigate, a joint task force from the Tartarus foundation, United Frontier Worlds and the The united helios assembly has been assembled to investigate one of the sources of the mysterious signals, the Gliese 667 system, home of the Tu'Vala (Saevia).
____________________________________________
Alken Nauka felt excitement swell through him again
The same excitement he had felt when it was announced he would be heading the expedition to Ross-128, only to have that order rescinded less than 2 days later. He felt like the Assembly was punishing him in some way, probably for creating the Treaty of Psyche without their permission. He felt no remorse for that decision, having saved the lives of his men and what remained of UHA territory on the asteroid-station.
Now it seemed the Assembly wanted to send him as far away as possible, and he couldn't be more excited.
Currently, he was riding in the HASS Sorin, a science ship bound for the Gliese 667 system over 20 light years from Sol, with Jovian and Tartarun cruissers trailing not far behind. Their jump had been made in two consecutive parts, one of 5 days duration that took them to a small red dwarf designated 9MASS 12298347HJ778 (Or as Nauka called it, N-mas) in middle of interstellar space, where the small fleet recharged the ships' exotic-matter drives, before continuing on. It was a ballsy move considering they left themselves open to interstellar wind and radiation, but the red dwarf's magnetic field had protected them from the worst. In the end however, it was all worth it. Nauka was pursuing what might be one of the most important discoveries in human history, and alien intelligence. While his comrades back on Ross-128 claimed that "goo" of theirs might have some for of intelligence, Nauka saw nothing but a waste of time. Surly no such creature could be intelligent.
No, he was heading for what seemed like a source of confirmed artificial radio signals. While weak they were promising.
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