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Solar Tide: The Second || 
Fox Millworks
All of this gathered data answered few inquiries, turning the others into a sprawling web of questions which only grew larger as more confusing and counterintuitive information came forth. Human science can walk only a single path - if it is answers they seek, they need to go back in.
Not immediately, though. Not yet. Right now, the most useful information the initial survey team uncovered was the volatility of samples taken from the region’s “space”. For some reason, when removed from the ambient environ of fluidic space, the contents underwent a dramatic and sudden shift in pressure the moment they were brought aboard. Probes suffered similar catastrophe for theoretically the same reasons.
Long story short, they need better equipment. With a blank check and some patience, an impromptu line of special equipment is designed and procured which should, in theory, be able to resist spontaneous, dramatic changes in temperature and pressure. Bringing along modified probes and containers capable of withstanding orders of magnitude more pressure than the pressure readings which shattered the previous capsules, they can hopefully bring something more back home.
As of right now, the Saharians do not understand the ‘threshold’ between the outside, their ships, and fluidic space itself. It might be time for another, more crisp lesson in understanding and respecting this boundary. Will their new equipment manage to stand its ground?
---
As soon as they left, they returned. And they returned in force. The familiar sight of the Equalizer, now the spiritual flagship of the expedition, leads the formation of some fifty craft. The largest among them is a heavily-modified Avalon-II type cruiser, clad in the same matte-black paneling which covers the other black-ops ships.
The S.R.S. Resilient will act as the main base for this expedition. Armed with cutting-edge laboratories, climate-control systems, containment holds, and facilities for the fleet, this cruiser is a nod towards the Republic planning for a permanent presence in this sector.
Let’s go for round two.
Another smattering of probes fan out across the system. The Resilient establishes a stable low-orbit above the third planet, the one whose surface is peppered in crumbs of steel. It is the most unusual of every rocky planet in the system thus far. While other ships from the fleet split off from the main group to investigate the other planets, a shuttle full of a dozen members in heavy-duty EV suits descends to the surface of the steel-speckled world…
New-Order2 and Utak
Grand Forge
The GFC needed a constant and massive amount of funds, at all times really. Not just in building the actual Grand Forge, but also in maintaining everything; work has to be done constantly to keep frames in place, machines need maintenance and new parts often, office staff need pay. Getting these fund are difficult for a company that has no current source of income, nor will have on for possibly a decade or longer. Loans are possible, but not many banks have the fund to both lend them the kind of money they need for day to day operations, and be able to forgo payment for so long.
The Solarian government has a solution to this, at least for now. While they cannot buy more shares, due to their pledge of only holding 20% stake of the company, they will instead give it a low interest loan each year, to be paid off once it is operational. The amount is relatively minor, relatively, but will be used for this day to day maintaining, so that more funds from other loans and the buying of shares can go directly into building the superstructure of the Grand Forge.
New Saharia and Utak
ACT 4 SCENE 1: THE RUINED THRONE /// AVALON /// BELYYDOM, LUBYANKA
~
Feel the ash on your chest.
Be at rest.
Be at peace.
Be delivered unto paradise.
~
Eight years after the Great Core War, 5412 A.U.C.
-
The ISCN Alkonost dropped out of the Veil-In-Between with silent thunder, a rift thousands of metres wide closing behind her as she glided forward with ethereal grace and beauty.
The twenty-three-kilometre-long chimeric superdreadnought was a masterwork of engineering. Adamantine plating covered it from head to toe. Missile silos dotted the entire length of the hull, whilst sixty-metre wide etherdriver ports lay covered by massive sliding doors that were each inscribed with dozens of runes.
It was a lot more jagged than it was oblong. Structures jutted out of its hull at irregular intervals - some of them with ether coursing through rune circuits, whilst others were inert and simply glistened a cerulean blue against the light of the system’s core.
Eithan Dolos gazed out of a reinforced glass viewport on the Alkonost’s only viewing bay.
Vanir Sphere was failing. The Anchors were failing them.
The gateway to another realm before his vessel flickered - almost imperceptibly - but he could see it. He could feel the flux and shifting tides, and he could feel the ticking time bomb that was this unmaintained megastructure. The blue sphere in the very middle was straining to escape.
Adamantine steel closed around the beating portalcore like claws - claws that formed a cage - but even they were frayed. They leaked. They were unstable.
The massive runes inscribed on every one of these looked like they were suffering. If they failed, and the self-enclosed ether loop that kept Vanir Sphere active failed, it would close the gateway.
Not permanently, but then there would be no good way to access Cradle and therefore no good way to access the wealth of resources that came from holding colonies on an ‘entrance realm.’ One of the very few that funnelled into the wider Expanse and its smaller magic systems.
Below the ISCN Alkonost was the bombed-out shell of the United Coalition’s old capital.
Avalon.
It had been horrifically mauled. He saw the extensive damage even from orbit. A massive crack ran through the shell-world’s outermost layer - a gaping cut that bled a tepid, sickly blue.
The planet’s core had likely been ruptured, then. There was no other reason why ether in its liquid state would bubble up to the surface like this.
Eithan frowned at the sight.
That was certainly going to complicate matters.
~
Alkonost descended through an almost non-existent atmosphere and hovered just above the planet’s frayed and shattered crust.
Avalon was over twenty layers tall at its peak. This was going to take some time, but it was worth it. There were secrets down there that none had extracted yet, and it was about time that the planet was scavenged to its fullest.
“Commence drilling.”
A pointed etherlaser attached to the superdreadnought’s underside tilted towards the planet’s gravitational pull, and began firing downward at the Administrator’s command.
The screeching sounds of wrought metal crumbling and buckling under the mining implement’s sheer force didn’t concern Eithan as the gargantuan mining drill cut through a single layer within minutes, drawing on the Alkonost’s oversized Breach Core to do so. He didn’t blink as the surface fell apart to reveal another layer full of towering apartment blocks and entrenched factories, all of them abandoned to time.
Another few minutes meant another layer penetrated as the laser vaporised material within its path.
He thanked the Compact of Species for weakening the planet’s overall structure. It made this expedition all the more dangerous, but this was a task that would’ve taken days instead of hours.
Eithan took a seat and stared down as the laser’s muted red light continued its grisly work.
-
[Twelfth layer penetrated. Stopping all operations.]
The Administrator stalked through the superdreadnought’s empty halls. The shuttle bay wasn’t much further away - most modern ISC warships above a certain size had the capacity for a few thousand drones, if not a fighter or ten. Those were purely auxiliary.
In Eithan’s case, his ‘personal’ shuttle was… not actually his. This was a Twilight Craft that was formerly operated by Naomi Dolos - after her death, he had appropriated almost all of her assets for his own use. There were no more Twilight Agents to give these vessels away to.
He opened the ship’s cockpit with the click of a button and climbed into the twin-pronged transport vehicle. Another click sent the craft careening towards the planet below as it was ejected towards its surface,
Air rippled around the vessel as it touched down on the twelfth layer’s surface. Eithan was so far below that the damages incurred to buildings around him were results of upper layers crumbling and losing their structural integrity - collapsed portions of layer ceiling were common, and the unpowered pillars that held up this shell strained under the weight of eleven more above them.
The etherforger was the first to set foot here since Avalon had fallen, all those years ago before he even came into existence.
Before him was a massive silver building. No. That wasn’t accurate.
It was a massive silver cube. No windows, no pillars - nothing. He was glad that this specific structure was in the archives found on Deosil, because otherwise, he would have never found this.
Eithan put one hand on the cube’s surface and it rippled with what felt like disgust. A flash of information passed through his mind, and then it was pain-
-pain that accumulated until it reached a crescendo, forcing the Administrator to pull away from the rippling silver that was now shimmering a sharp yellow. He winced and shook his hand, eyes flickering. The ground trembled with hidden power.
…That wasn’t supposed to happen.
The vault was supposed to open for Administrators of the United Coalition. As far as anyone was concerned, he was one.
[Administrator, I’d like to inform you that the planet is growing unstable. Critically unstable. What did you do down there?]
Eithan rubbed his chest.
“I touched the vault, and then… I’m unsure. Do I need to be extracted?”
[No. But whatever you’ve done, don’t do it again. It just disrupted the planetary core.]
“Thanks, Valorie.”
The Grand AI’s words worried him.
What was keeping him from accessing the rest of the Coalition’s secrets? Deosil wasn’t the end of it.
[Hurry up.]
He waved his hand dismissively and inched towards the cube once more.
Was there another way to approach this problem? Eithan stared at the still-rippling object and took off his trenchcoat, revealing an exposed glowing tattoo on bare skin. He wore a shirt and nothing more; the trenchcoat tossed over to the side kicked up dust that billowed outwards.
The Administrator’s Sigil.
This was how the United Coalition held ultimate control over its citizenry, back in the day.
Eithan pressed his hand to the cube once more, and once again it rejected him. There was no head-searing pain, no blinding light or further ripple - only an ominous growl, steel growling and shaking underneath him, and a message inscribed into his mind.
--YOU ARE NOT HIM. YOU ARE NOT HER. ADMINISTRATOR PRIORITIES SHARED: ACCESS DENIED. BEGINNING TERMINATION SEQUENCE--
Rumbles from underneath the planet intensified.
“Val?”
[This is your cue to run.]
Coat entirely forgotten, Eithan broke out into a dead sprint as he dashed for his vehicle. Cracks formed in the metal beneath him. It was only a few dozen metres that felt like they stretched out into eternity as he hopped into the open glass cockpit, the ship automatically closing it for him as its engines activated for a vertical takeoff.
Dust and rubble slipped into the chasm created by the laser as the Twilight Service vessel slipped off into the skies.
Behind him, a world screamed and cried for release, its tortured groans never reaching Alkonost’s ears as Eithan safely dismounted in her small hangar bay.
~
[I assume you’ve got nothing, then.]
“That would be right.”
Eithan was alone with Valorie on the ship’s bridge as she piloted it out of Avalon’s imminent explosion radius.
“There was something stopping me. Another Administrator. But as far as I know, I’m the only inheritor to the throne. And the rightful one as well. So… who’s left?”
Val’s digital avatar hung from the ceiling, legs dangling off a metal pipe in the ceiling. The Grand AI chose the appearance of a rather generic vat-born female - all-black hair, brown eyes and pale-ish skin. Interestingly enough, she wore a bomber jacket.
[I don’t know. You killed the very last one of the lot, unless… Wait. I’m going to try and find something.]
Her eyes went black for half a second before returning to their original state.
[Yeah, no. I’ve got nothing. There’s way too much missing data from Naomi and Vanir’s administrations - they wiped people’s minds when it fit them.]
“What’s the largest, most recent chunk of missing data?”
[That dates back to a little before the Compact of Species declared war on the United Coalition. There’s a single blank there that wiped my memories of that event, but before that, there’s a lot that went individually missing. I can see events surrounding them to understand that it was something important.]
Eithan tapped his chin.
“How so?”
[I’m getting to that. There’s a lot of mining vessels with zero output, or refineries that never made any adamantine within that timeframe. This could be corruption. But in the United Coalition? I think not. My best guess is that they were building something, but hid it.]
“That is confusing. That close to the Compact-Coalition war? If it was a secret weapon, I think they’d have used it. But there are no reports of anything like that.”
[Your guess is as good as mine. Well, it isn’t. My guess is probably better than yours.]
“So what is it?
Eithan sat up straight.
[This was around when the VOHLE engine was invented. My guess is that this was some sort of massive FTL drive - one of Naomi’s delusional megaprojects. If you remember after, the IXION stabilizer was invented to prevent engine activation from blowing up planetary bodies in the vicinity.]
She paused for a moment. Dramatic effect, perhaps.
[That leaves us with the question of… well, how did they know that VOHLE engines needed a stabilizer? It isn’t in any of the original runesets needed by the original VOHLE drive, and there were no actual tests involving VOHLE engines of a large enough size that would have led to the conclusion that activation of one would destroy a planet or moon.]
“That is right. So… they built a big VOHLE engine. Then what. They used it, and then they… I’ve got nothing.”
[In all honesty, neither do I. This event, though, is probably why Avalon’s moon has a chunk taken out of it.]
Val’s virtual avatar shrugged lackadaisically.
[Ah well.]
“And now we’re back at square one, with no idea as to why I couldn’t access it, and no files for any of the United Coalition’s megastructures. That would have made our jobs so much easier - we needed those schematics - but that’s fine. We’ll do alright without ‘em.”
[Agreed. Want to watch Avalon go kaput?]
“I’d rather not. Record it and send the video back to Soluna for study purposes. I’ve got a call to attend.”
[As you wish, Administrator.]
Val’s hologram vanished, leaving him alone in the room.
Eithan sighed.
Well then… it was always better to break the bad news now than when he got back.
~
Eithan cleared his throat as he stared at the holographic projections of his experienced colleagues. A few of them - the Grand AI, namely - refused to show their virtual avatars, instead using… stone pillars with speakers on them, projected as 3d apparitions.
Weird.
“Third Administrator Eithan Dolos, Executive Director of Project Belyydom present.”
Black hair, a brown trenchcoat, pale skin, and striking brown eyes defined him.
“Last Light and Fourth Authority Geneva Idis, Chief of Operations of Project Belyydom. Present.”
Black hair, a white lab coat, slightly tanned skin and blue eyes defined her.
“Etemenanki’s Grand AI Valorie, Head of Etherborn Resources of Project Belyydom - present.”
There was no image present here.
“DOLOS AEC’s Chairperson, Clara Uinde, Head of Infrastructure of Project Belyydom, present.”
Clara had a blue suit on. Her black eyes stared back at his own.
“Overseer of Intersystems Covert Operations Piranesi, Head of Communications of Project Belyydom - present.”
There was no image present for Piranesi either. Made sense, given that none of them were corporeal sans Nebula.
“Sefirot’s Grand AI Nebula, Head of Resources of Project Belyydom… present.”
“Supreme Admiral Carlton, Head of Security of Project Belyydom… present.”
The ISCN’s newest Supreme Admiral was an oddity. He had blonde hair, green eyes and was taller than most. Carlton wore a blue topcoat with the medals he had accumulated over the years stamped on the left.
“I’m here to report that Avalon’s mission is a failure. The vault blew up before we could do anything or investigate further. From now on, we’re on our own.”
Geneva cleared her throat.
“So that is that all, then?”
“No.”
Eithan responded.
“We still have to determine what the structure’s going to be. We know that it’s going to be a gateway to the Intermediary Realm Cradle, a gateway to the Lower “pocket” Realm Deosil, a catapult to the Unseen Sectors as well as a manufacturing hub, shipyard and Realm Anchor.”
Valorie responded.
[We don’t have the basic schematics for such a project. We don’t know how large it’s going to be - and without data on previous structures, we’re stuck.]
Nebula commented further, his symbol flickering.
[Then that must be the first action we perform. Investigation into United Coalition megastructures. I recommend Svizcha for its structure and manufacturing plants, Ring A0 for its general massiveness and any lessons we may learn from its stabilizers, and Vanir Sphere for obvious reasons.]
Clara closed her eyes for a moment, thinking for a while before suggesting another set.
“I think we’d do well to investigate Fallen’s Reach and the Wound, actually. Both of these could net valued information towards figuring out how to construct an Anchor.”
[Agreed.]
[I concur.]
Grand AIs Valorie and Nebula were in concert. Finding out what exactly made these structures tick was of top priority. Especially because some of them had a time limit imposed due to their currently degenerating forms.
Carlton spoke.
“That’s all well and good. I’m sure you can sort all of that out, but I’m more concerned with whether we can keep this a secret.”
Val responded.
[Piranesi’s going to be upholding an information blackout surrounding Belyydom and all involved. Non-disclosure agreements are gonna be enforced via etheric contract and bond of silence. I doubt any foreign agents have infiltrated the Intersystems’ upper echelons, either way. Your concerns are still valid. I will reassess the employees involved.]
[I will assist.]
Piranesi said simply. Eithan nodded in agreement - more security was a good thing.
“Then I’ll remind us of our main objectives. The first is to Investigate all structures listed on the Coalition’s megaproject dossier. We need to find a way to build a stabilization Anchor before we progress to the lofty goal of a Realm Anchor. We need to investigate how the Platforms were automated. We need to find out how Vanir Sphere contains its Breach Core.”
The Administrator took a quick pause to catch his breath before continuing.
“And finally, R&D needs to find a way to launch a starship from one end of the galaxy to the other.”
The others nodded as well. Reasonable enough.
Carlton cleared his throat.
“Our next topic should be security allocations. Primarily in space. I believe a detachment of ten thousand…”
~
Eithan closed the feed with a small frown on his face.
Complications. He had a vague idea of what he wanted this structure to look like, but it would take a while to hash out the exact details. As the Alkonost returned to Soluna Prime, the Third - well, Fourth - Administrator had a lot to think about.
Finally. Work to do.
~
Expedition teams were formed for an eventual investigation into every structure above a size threshold created by the United Coalition. All had military escorts of a decent size. These were large groups of hundreds of vessels - each one equipped with top-of-the-line scientific equipment and recording hardware that would hopefully make their jobs easier.
It was also decided later that this structure needed to be governed by a new Grand AI, which would lessen the stress on the three that currently existed whilst being a capable administrator for what they were calling the Silvered Throne of Soluna. At least its name was finalized, which some might argue was the hardest part of any project.
A silly joke.
But, yes - that was the next important task. Investigations into Grand AI. For example, was it possible to create one without using a pre-existing personality template like Naomi did? Was that the only way to make a stable intelligence of significant enough size?
Surely it wasn’t.
Barring that, they needed a loyal volunteer. And barring that, then they needed to consider whether or not a Grand AI was the right entity for a job. An incredibly large supercomputer might work just as well.
…Those were plans for later.
New Saharia and Utak
A Reptile Dysfunction
Dock inside... the Steadfast? Ekop was baffled, and clearly the rest of the crew was too. "I mean we could, if we vacated the rooms surrounding our docking hatch we could make them into one larger airlock. Command's going to think we're pranking them with this report so dont put it in the report until its actually done."
The bridge was silent for a few moments, crew considering the very unconventional act they were about to attempt. One of the junior officers piped up. "This means the Steadfast will be Utak's first spaceworthy carrier, doesn't it? Technically we beat Starward Ascent's construction by weeks."
Ekop laughed, the officer was right. Even if by technicality, they'd beat that smug carrier admiral to the title.
"Alright let's do it. Figure out what portion of the ship we need to seal and vent. And transmit our climate information to the Lysiri so they'll know what they're walking into. Let command know we need a diplomat but be vague about what we're doing, we don't need a million different opinions from them right now on what to do."
The bridge crew sprung back into action, junior officers coordinated efforts while the resident tech gathered all the relevant climate data. The comms officer once again messaged command with a rather undetailed report requesting a diplomat be dispatched immediately. A long stretch of corridor directly in front of the airlock and its adjacent rooms were vacated of its crew and fragile equipment, technicians on the bridge temporarily reprogramming the area to act as a makeshift hangar bay.
Ekop manipulated the command table to direct another message at the Think Positive.
"Shriss nol Ancalen, we accept your proposal and will transmit the conventional atmospheric and gravitational data of our vessel to you. If your kind has any specific environmental or technical requirements, please let us know so we can make the proper adjustments. We will open our bay shortly for you and a diplomat will be dispatched to our ship soon."
Ekop set the mic down and stepped away from the command table, beckoning for her second-in-command to follow. The crew was competent enough to handle things without them. They made their way to where the "hangar" was being configured, the last of the crew leaving the area. Seems the Sentinel-class was going to earn a reputation for first contacts.
The technicians pored through the data sent over by the alien ship, checking it as thoroughly as they could and cross-referencing it with similar data from Enortale, their homeworld - and to everyone's shock, it seemed that they had similar requirements for the atmosphere, although there was a minor difference in gravity; not big enough to be a problem, but enough that they'd have noticed if they didn't have tails to balance themselves.
Most surprising of all was that it seemed the Eckans had no need for the life giving energies of gamma, although this was certainly because of the Ascendance of millennia past - every lysiri knew of the unique circumstances that had led to their evolution, and even now some hidden lodges revered the Ones of old that had granted them sapience, as opposed to the Eclipsed Divinities.
The captain, and of course the on-board diplomat - a younger male by the name of Velgus nel Stric - eagerly awaited the landing, as the Positive maneuvered into position. The hangar door loomed over the ship, massive in size - why, you could easily fit a dozen corvettes into it all at the same time, with room to spare! - and shuddered to think at what, exactly, the Eckans had fought in the past that necessitated such measures.
Enough Warlords || 
Kinmoon
Within the formless void on the other side, the silence of space is broken by an entire Saharian armada dropping out of lightspeed. Deep blue ripples emanate from each ship’s arriving silhouette, fading out into nothing as seconds move by. Every single ship from the main fleet has dropped out of FTL, finding themselves in a boneyard of destroyed ships of alien design.
Labienus’s eyes mull over the hulk of a dead xenocraft in the center of the Vercingetorix bridge’s forward viewscreen, his monocular VSD illuminating his right eye. He doesn’t recognize it; either it’s a vessel he has never heard of, or it has changed shape so thoroughly as to be unrecognizable. His officers on the bridge don’t get much more out of a thorough short-range scan; is this one of Ooub Lok’s ships?
They seem similar to the other wrecks found in the nebula, but it’s impossible to tell. The Saharian fleet has not run their long-range sensors out of caution; they cannot risk being detected just yet, and running the scopes has a strong chance to reveal their presence to the enemy. The encrypted transmission they received - apparently from their as of yet unseen allies - was proven to be valid. After being put to the test by recon flights and the path confirmed devoid of enemies, the main fleet was moved through the passages.
They have arrived at what is apparently an outpost of some kind.
---
Minorly Gargantuan Issue
Travel advisories have long since gone into effect; local and international travel in the locale grinds to an abrupt halt as all non-military ships are ordered to avoid all redzones. With this travel restriction being implemented, the word is finally out to the rest of the galaxy - a battle rages within Saharian borders. Operational security leaves few details about the nature of this attack, but news stations across the nation and beyond are already reporting on the event as it unfolds. Hundreds of live-feeds across the turbulent frontlines display the nature of the attack in full.
Saharian resistance is an order of magnitude steeper than it had been not long ago. Much larger fleets, equal amalgams of LDF ships and warships of the Republic Navy stand guard. Response forces arrive across the front every few minutes, ready to jump in to reinforce nearby positions. There are no counterattacks, however - the focus is purely on stopping the enemy advance.
Heavy-gun cruisers and small numbers of battleships are arriving now, their escorts in tow. Compared to anything the raiders have engaged thus far, these ships are exceptionally dangerous even by themselves at just about any distance. They are liberal with their formations and firepower, positioning themselves unusually aggressively in an attempt to draw the enemy’s attention even if it means taking on significant risk to do so. Even in sectors where they are outnumbered, the defenders are willing to stand their ground…
The 13th and the 4th Armada have nearly arrived on the scene. Led by a pair of Indefatigable star dreadnoughts and a bulk force of nearly ten-thousand ships in total, they don’t plan to reinforce the line. A sledgehammer is winding up, prepared to stage a lightning campaign directly into the heart of the enemy operation. Meanwhile, fleets deeper into Saharian core territory are still being consolidated and ushered towards the front. Saharian numbers continue to grow over time as more taskforces and flotillas barrel towards the southeast. Larger groups are wary of breakthrough attempts, relying on the ISA’s pervasive sensors to track large groups of enemies trying to charge headlong into friendly territory.
With the nation being at war in all but name, border outposts across the country are on maximum alert. All edges of the nation facing unclaimed deadspace aren’t to be trifled with; although Saharian border defenses hardly approach those of Kinmoon, they will offer themselves as a challenging obstacle. Especially since they are already on-alert, and any potential foe approaching the border will have no element of surprise.
New-Order2 and Yeizuishan
O Snake Charmer, O Snake Charmer...
Akita looked into the camera, smile unwavering. Almost robotic in nature, but she listened intently to the Torie.
"I understand well. Small and light...So normal infantry weapons and some specialty stuff. What kind of roles do you need filled? If it's just regular infantry we can provide them with an entire ecosystem of small arms to fill their needs. But if you're just doing it as a formality with expansion, we can arrange it. For light arms, we provide plenty. We have recently developed some new autocannons as well. They vary in caliber, but the most usable one is capable of punching through any infantry that isn't wearing super heavy power armor."
She advertised, leaning forward slightly in her chair. Admiring the background of the Torrin ship.
Her own background was boring - A window out to a city. A space elevator in the distance, and people walking down the roads. Including the occasional snake.
Convoy 8688
There was a delay. Ten and a half minutes. And she spoke again.
"The Overseer is already contacting the capital to arrange a full diplomatic channel, and room for a diplomatic mission. This information is being relayed to the other half of the civil war, as well. And once they receive confirmation, they will understand the Saharian Republic is a non combatant."
A shorter delay followed, three minutes.
"The Overseer has received initial confirmation. I apologize for these delays, communication between Gravens and Humans can be slow."
But they held the line, a soft clicking from the other end.
"We cannot guarantee safe passage, as our ships are currently in disrepair from combat. The only guarantee is to wait for confirmation from Freedom."
Joint Smuggling Operation
Khalo looked at the message come across his screen.
Interested buyer, urgent inquiry. The exact language they were looking for. He pulled his keyboard in front of him, funneling a chip into his mouth. Wiping a hand off on a bath towel beside his desk, he typed up a response.
Six sets of coordinates, relating to a system somewhere inside of Graven territory.
"Meet here. Small ships only. Distribution center is a legitimate operation working with Freedom, they are not aware of the side businesses."
And on approach, it was a large warehouse station. Floating amongst the converted pirate fleets that made up most of Freedoms firepower. A dock illuminated, a small ping to the MYDR ship guiding them there. The ATC didn't even bother talking to them, Reisel far too experienced to risk his job.
That dock opened out to a shaded warehouse, cold as ice. Condensation off the cats breath fogging their vision. A man in a bulky coat was waiting inside, sitting in a camping chair. Not an inch of skin visible, and a wide frame. He was unmoving, like a statue. Idly looking up, a close inspection of the visor revealed closed eyes.
And he jolted awake, raising a fist towards one of the Kats, stopping himself just before a punch.
Slowly rising up from the chair, he folded it up and walked towards the back. Shelves of fruit and vegetables all through the interior of the station.
And inside, a heated office room. A skinny woman with a coat on the back of her chair was waiting inside, asleep at her desk. And the large man took his coat off, revealing a unique physique for a Feisenite. A fat bastard, with cannons for arms.
"What organization are you with, xenos?"
Unexpected First contact
Not long would go before they would reach the cafeteria. Many crewmen,maintenance,gunnery and officer crew sat and ate the food that was their rations. Thendon would then stretch out his arm like someone presenting a place or object and then would say “ This Norsam,is the cafeteria where officers,gunnery crews and the rest of the ship's crew eat together,crew this is the first man of the human race to make contact with us.” All the crew immediately stopped eating and stood up and saluted,with Thendon signalling them to sit down again. Thendon would then lead Norsam up to a line waiting to get their food served,and only waited for a short while before the line had advanced to the point where they could get their food served. Then Thendon would lead them to a table. First he would raise the metal cup with a green carbonated substance and said “This is zralzek, a form of healthy drink that helps crew stay energized during working hours,it mainly tastes sweet.” He then sat down the cup and would start to point to the various things on the plate as he explained what it was. “This meat is of the Abergan,mainly a creek Crawler that also live in fields near creeks,its yellowish meat has a subtle sweet flavour but taste savoury primarily. This bread is mostly sour tasting with a subtle taste of salt. This is a salad of vegetables with various different tastes. Now none of this should be toxic and the worst that could happen is a bad trip to the toilet which is unlikely.” Thendon would then grab his cup and with his right hand,with all his fingers except the index and middle finger folded in, make a half circle arching up then a half circle bellow arching down and finish it with a line going up through the middle. “so tell me Norsam,what kind is faith that mankind carries?.”
Enough Warlords
The Saharian expeditionary group arrived to a very orderly seeming outpost within the nebula pocket. It was bustling with rather large vessels and ships of many sizes. Despite the presence of the apparent Ooub Lok starships, the area seemed... rather quiet.
Receiving a ping from the outpost, the saharian ship would be hailed, and then motioned to make dock. Ooub Lok's commanding official in the station apparently requesting a face-to-face meeting. Even then... something did seem off, with the station appearing almost derelict, covered in the scars of battles and conflict long past.
Minorly Gargantuan Issue
It was a face off. The South Star fleets remained stoic and entrenched, refusing to budge an inch for anyone or anything. Nyaxua's forces seemed to be placing down groups of prefab defense stations within the captured systems, a tactic similar to which the saharians have faced before... although on a larger scale. If the stations weren't bad enough, mag-missile mines were scattered between the gaps of which the South Star forces were weakest.
What forces that did advance either suicided their vessels into the enemies own, or into any sort of stellar infrastructure. The fayling forces did so quite liberally, since they only made use of stripped-down and suped up UE vessels. Those holding onto the slightly more advanced starships pulled back, joining the ranks with the others to prepare their defense.
A small force in the northern sector of captured space would set course south, taking a small group of fighter-level vessels into Saharian space. These of course didn't belong to the Velrok Nyaxua, but to Code Afterlife, who wished to poke their noses further into the conflict... and hopefully strike out rich.
THE NEXT GENERATION, PART ONE || 
The Gamma Quadrant Dominion
For hundreds of years, the Jem'Hadar were loyal servants of the Dominion. Unwavering in their courage and embodying the purest form of physical excellence. At least, as far as the Founders could conceive. In detail however, the Founders had only a limited grasp on what a humanoid body ought to be like at all. The physical form of a humanoid and its proportions were all correct for the Jem'Hadar yet their vestigial features inherited from the races past remained. Horns, scaled skin, broad heads, and intravenous ketracel white injection were physical hurdles that simply could not be removed. Lest other connected traits go with them, rather important phenotypes such as autonomic heart control. Until now it did not present itself as a problem, but recent conflicts and increasing espionage into the greater galaxy found that Solid warfare beyond the Dominion’s territory had outpaced their development of infantry equipment. Solids in the greater galaxy were smooth or, at least, generally of a shape similar to the Vorta. Their bodies could carry plate carriers, ammunition webbing, wear slim helmets, hold their heads close to their weapons, and a myriad of advantages the Founders had not previously conceived of. As far as they knew, wars were settled by console commands and starship artillery. It was up to some forward thinking Jem’Hadar and Vorta officers in the nascent Dominion Army to determine the necessity of the change.
Initial brainstorming proposed the Vorta be augmented to become a new generation of soldiers. An idea, however, immediately stopped by the culture and image of the Vorta. The long years of propagandizing the position and prestige of the Dominion’s middle men placed them well above the idea of menial work. Instead, the Army officers drafted up an idea to use the previously extinguished Friaxe as a new template. And at once the idea was warmly received. The Friaxe already were genetically modified during the war and set the precedent they were capable of accepting changes to their physical form. And with the Jem’Hadar being by and large wiped out in the exchange of planet killers further pressed the need for a large personnel replenishment in the near future, making now the best and only moment for the transition. If not now, then the capability gap of replacing an established army in the future would decapitate any more hopes of the next generation.
By June 2372, the idea in mature form was sent up the ladder to the Committee of the Combined Chiefs of Staff. Presided over by the Founders themselves, the staff of the Navy made their hardline stance before the Dominion’s gods. The Navy Sadok’torans already resented their peers in the Army for what they saw as a mere ploy for lowly Vorta to sidestep their stranglehold on top ranks. They were correct, but aside from that the Navy Sadok’torans made clear that the current state of the Dominion’s military was frail at best. Personnel transfer and replacement required more than just a change in physique. Half the advantages proposed by the Friaxe based Jem-Hadar also were major revisions. A new Manual of Arms, new schools that could training and regiment a physically improved soldier, new equipment procurement was just a few examples. The Navy could read between the lines; the Army was trying to secure itself as a fully independent agency of the Navy. But as the Founders grew endeared to the idea of another genetically perfect solid in their service there was little the Navy could do. They were to assist the Army’s efforts, the one silver lining being that they did not have to convert the Navy’s Jem’Hadar to the new generation. It would have to be enough for them. Development began in earnest later that very month.
Liberty Through a Crown
Following the secret agreements with the Thestral Union, Victoria Vivi had a lot on her plate. She slowly had been gathering advisers. She also reluctantly began recruiting those willing to work with her starting with mercenaries to get a starting base of soldiers.
After a few months of this she started began starting to organize pro royalist propaganda to end the foreign rule of the Authoritarian Republican Version Pan Speciesism promoted by the Order State calling for liberty and democracy to truly be in place. To end the elitist aristocratic collaborators of the Order State rather then that of one royal family bound by the people. Also included in this propaganda is specifically on the duty of rebellion against tyrants.
Gradually over the coerce of a year and a half and much more political activism had started drumming support for a military and advisers were found and located and a secret parliament was made as levies were created. Eventually as the material support from the Thestral Union was gathered and armies and a small Providence navy were equipped to try to prevent more unequal treaties from being in place this rival goverment the Kingdom of Providence had decided to send out an old Thestral Union made Corvette, a Ruby Class Corvette to get out to the Saharian Republic's military outposts in the Order State to try to meet with the Saharian Republic and get their support as well as inform then more on the situation and see if they are willing to end those unequal treaties imposed on the territory of the Order State following the planed Revolution to restore the true goverment of the region.
Preparations for Operation: Emancipation ||
New Saharia
The Director raises an eyebrow at the word dramatically.
"If you are referring to the farm, that is a real farm and those are agents of ours they just happen to run that and it helps fund our operation weirdly enough. Also no comments on the different species quite surprising I would have expected you to at least question the Lich, everyone else who ended up here did."
She smiles and then says back onto the topic.
"Anyway after quite a bit of observation on the Crimarian Kingdom we came to a solution that would avoid any unnecessary casualties for anyone involved. Though it would take longer then a simple invasion but it would definitely prevent any of their slaves from dying in the process of being liberated."
A Neighborly Invasion || New Saharia
"Well if you are sure."
She lets him lead her to water... throughout the store, she was quite happy as she looked around in wonder. As they passed by the smaller stores in the store she was surprise by the set iup of it being a mall within a mall. She at times looked like a kid in a candy store tempted to go and look over at so many things but resisted by the tail of her tail. Through she did heavily enjoy the more nature based settings and seemed more excited in those areas. Though she found the sound of gunfire rather strangely relaxing. Thorough she got a bit queasy when she got away from that.
She only hesitantly got near the platform got near the control panel. Though the information she was getting was a bit much at first she quickly got use to it.
"Got it, it seems good so far."
Solaria has been very reluctant to expand past its current areas of development up to this point. They had always been reserved about it, and preferring to just further develop the worlds they already had, urbanizing them further and further until they were mostly cities, with a few worlds highly specialized into agriculture. So it had been for generations.
Meanwhile during the same time, there were various subsidies and programs for encouraging families, as population growth was seen as a vital part of an expanding economy and was seen as entirely beneficial to the country. The intentions of it had proven highly successful and population growth had been an average of 3.7 children per family, a solid growth rate that provided an ample workforce for the nation.
After so long however, with both of these in effect, have led to a growing issue of very dense population, that every 5 years only gets worse and worse and it is becoming near impossible to keep developing to allow for proper room and conditions for the new population. Something must be done.
Debate in the senate has begun on how to resolve this, with many solutions being thrown around by the various parties, as President Dolf has created a committee to find the optimal course of action.
FORMATION OF THE ICPZ
The ICPZ - or Intersystems Core Protective Zone - was an idea that had been brewing for quite a while. It wasn't the most glamorous or well-developed idea, but it came to fruition nonetheless.
The bill forming it passed almost unanimously within the Hall of Flame eighty-two to one. As for what this "protective zone" actually was?
Well, Eithan considered it a safe haven for nascent interstellar nations and primitives, free from outside influence under the ICPZ. That meant no contact with them whatsoever. It meant that ships that passed through this area needed to use faster-than-light communications. It meant no military vessels in that zone, and it meant no contacting primitives. Violations of any of these edicts were grounds for a plausible justification of war.
And when an interstellar nation finally reached out, they would be allowed to prosper under the stars. As it should have been from the very start.
Minimal infrastructure was set up within that area. Relay stations and supply hubs were placed around dead worlds - all that did was 'denote' the regions of space that the Collective claimed to hold jurisdiction over. A Manager - Justine Chen - was also assigned to the region as a whole, which was designated Sector 85 of the Galactic Wildholds.
A New Leaf
New Saharia Fox Millworks 
The Intersystems Collective
The Thestral Union has been reluctant to start importing military equipment at all from foreign states primarily do to the possibility of being heavily uncharged do to the accommodation that would need to be made. Subsequently any vessels that were purchased prior which was former property of DOLOS AEC which at the time was an orwellian Company no longer it is which was chosen do to willingness to cooperate at the Thestral union's limited buying power. Unfortunately the extra payment required even in that reduced price ended up proving the rule to the Union which ended up delaying a lot of purchases and led to the Union attempting to make a more autarkic measures at least of military based equipment during the period after this as the Union had been paying off it's debt.
After the debt was paid off and the Union began focusing on designing more vessels of it's own. However, with plans for Operation Emancipation and the Reconquistia being planed soon the Union must begin again considering purchasing extra equipment if only to help reinforce it's frontiers to try to prevent any separatist activity that could undermine the Equissian Regency like what occurred during the New Aquillian War. Subsequently given the lack of current active war as far as most nations are aware means that the Union can further avoid heavy up charging and thus maintain a good standard of living for it's people rather then having to be forced to lower spending on civilian welfare for the sake of national security and preventing economic collapse. However, there are specific nations that are being considered for military equipment: the Saharian Republic (for both the sake of trying to improve relations after the Thestral Union's reluctant neutrality during the Core War as well as them genuinely being a more compatible economic partner with more of the galaxy and being a more honorable sort) primarily for ground and space based vehicles and are the top priority, it is also being considered to purchase vessels from DOLOS AEC though that one is contentious and would be limited to just space vessels, Feisen is also being considered but just for regular personal weaponry. Regardless the Thestral Union is sending out Thestrals who are specialized in trade to meet with the people for negotiating out these agreements with these weapon manufactures.
FLEET MODERNIZATION PROGRAM || New Saharia
The Intersystems Collective requires modernizations of Orellian and the United Coalition's old capital fleet first and foremost, with both of their supercapital vessels next in tow. Essentially, most of these ships need refits to be better in line with ISCN doctrine - meaning that spectral etherdrivers on these ships need to be scrapped. The Saharians can choose what they want to do with the esoteric magitek - the Collective no longer requires these weapons.
However, there are still issues with handing over older vessels to Saharian engineers. Most of these surround concerns with differences in technology - the Intersystems and its rune-circuit based manufacturing and equipment would presumably be somewhat alien to the VDY or USC.
The same concerns apply in reverse.
Though - well, this may just be an opportunity in disguise for both sides. The Collective learns more about tech shipbuilding and therefore can better service the vessels of its allies, whilst the Saharians get to learn about the more esoteric sides of the galaxy.
First on the docket list for the Collective were the multiple Shentane-class and Hindi-class battleships that were formerly in Orellian service. Whilst the bulk of Shentanes were utilized as chassis for Intersystems Collective Hectval-class B41 battleships, a large majority of these 4.9 km long Orellian craft are functional but absolutely not up to ISCM standards. As for the Hindi-classes, these leviathan vessels are essentially equivalent to Saharian Warspites. They're about the same length, at the very least.
Their problems are that the weaponry mounted onboard them is woefully outdated, and that the living quarters within them and the pre-existing internal hangar bay could be better used for additional munitions and supply storage.
The cult's help was a good sign. They didn't abandon the Collective after all - they were just obtaining additional forces to assault Kinmoon's forces with.
Whilst the ISCN ships were in a standard spearhead formation with battle tenders constantly repairing and replenishing the capital fleet's shields, Kimoon's battleships couldn't make so much as a dent in Collective forces. One-way shields were used for a reason: if they didn't exist, then any impact on Intersystems vessels could potentially cause major damage to missile silos currently firing. The Collective fleet consisting of its destroyers, cruisers and supports began falling back to the Leviathan to regroup.
From there, they streamed ahead with the Ooub Lok, etherdrivers firing in tandem and smashing into the biggest target available on the scene. A few of them continued their bombardment of the target world from far away, their missiles taking a few minutes to arrive with every volley shot.
A NEW LEAF || 
FreeAmericanStates
DOLOS AEC didn't need anyone to physically head to their headquarters to negotiate a purchase.
But it was extremely common for individuals to do so - whether they be the humble merchant or the daring privateer, anyone who wasn't a blatant pirate was allowed to dock at their headquarters on Soluna Prime. That included those of the Thestral Union.
Unlike most Intersystems installations, Soluna Prime's two shipyard rings were oxygenated and built for organic creatures instead of etherborn. It was obvious why - the galaxy was mostly made up of these organics, with Thestrals being no exception. Their unique biologies meant that most had to be escorted to meeting rooms and around Soluna's many selling areas. As for what space vessels they were authorized to buy...
...Well, what weren't they allowed to purchase?
As an ally of the Saharian Republic, the Union had a lot of doors already opened for them. The only purchases barred were those of superdreadnoughts - not because they were expensive to produce, but because the sale of these massive stellar leviathans was only authorized to direct allies. Namely, Feisen, though they weren't actually in the market itself. Saharia would one day join those ranks, that they were sure of.
The Thestrals could negotiate an alliance in the interim, allowing them access to DOLOS AEC's best shipyards. They could also purchase a superdreadnought through Feisen, if they so wanted. DOLOS AEC had a feeling that this wasn't what they were after, unfortunately. Maybe smaller ones would be better for them.
STATE OF THE CORE 5412 ||| The Intersystems Collective
Fena, Reece now, was where she spent most of her time. Sitting on the surface of Fei 2 was her shuttle, visible through the back window of her office. A stark chrome ship amongst a wasteland of red soil and dust storms.
The camera flickered on, and Eithan beheld the strange sight of that dictator. A silver mask in the shape of some old earth fox spirit was floating in mid air, contained within the black hood of a trench coat. Sleeves resting on the desk, angled upwards.
Reece cleared her throat briefly, and spoke.
"Reece Maxine, Dictator of the Feisen Republic is present."
A smile curled across her lips, and she lowered her arms down to rest flatly on the table. Her office was compact; and almost completely empty. No shelving visible around the room, and the reflections in the thick plate window revealed naught else. Just a single door in front of her desk.
"Eithan, my ally. How are you doing today? Is Soluna warm and well?"
She asked simply. A sleeve rose to briefly adjust that metallic mask.
STATE OF THE CORE 5412
He chuckled.
"Warm? No. But it is beautiful."
Eithan sent a mental command to the faux window behind him, displaying the infinite skyscrapers and spires of the Collective's administrative capital. Occasionally, a shuttle or a freighter descended from space - passing just by whatever camera was set up, before descending to the ground somewhere out of sight. Unlike his usual attire of a suit and tie, Eithan Dolos wore what could be generously described as a fusion between a bomber jacket and a trenchcoat - it was casual, to say the least of things.
"And I'm doing just fine. Alright. We've got an agenda to get through today, from cooperation between our militaries and industries to foreign policy."
The Administrator cleared his throat as he sifted through a datapad.
"Here is is. First on this list is... well, industry. The Intersystems Collective has never been better, and we've likely eclipsed every entity in the core by at least a factor of two. We'd like to extend some of that industry to Feisen - specifically Fox Millworks - for their Budget Service Weapons line. It's outcompeting the Solarians, last I heard, and we're ready to commit more industrial worlds to that venture."
He smiled at her, waiting for a response.
Final
The fleet under Kinmoon's control would begin to launch salvos of missiles into the lines of the Collective, attempting to dislodge and send their formations into chaos. A small arsenal vessel made a beeline towards the nodelane, sending out wave after wave of decoys and missiles of their own, while firing off several autorail shots. It would boost itself forth, seemingly attempting to place itself right in the path of the nodelane to try and sacrifice itself by using itself as a shield. The battleships would support it, escorting it and providing point defense support.
Ooub Lok's forces would amass themselves between the vessels to try and stop them, while some of their ships engaged in minor skirmish with Unity vessels. So it seemed the battle continued... and for a while it will. A large "comet" was approaching in the distance.
A large Kinmoon fleet, very large. Made up primarily of Twk-thon First Wavers, attached to a Leviathan. Several Tziersunes and numerous Sarkers made up the bulk of the force, including a a single supercruiser. Seemed like they were the old fashion way, no FTL, having already made course for the system at least a few months prior to support a possible engagement in the system as calculated by the regional governor.
STATE OF THE CORE 5412
"At noon here it hits around eighteen centigrade. At night it drops to negative seventy. There's no way to go outside without a protective suit on, but there's no place I would rather be."
The kitsune listened intently as Eithan spoke, mask idly staring into the screen. The only sign of life coming from the rise and fall of her breathing.
She kicked back slightly in her chair. A dust storm welling on the horizon behind her, clouds of red and yellow sand dusting off the surface and off to the side.
"The Collective's industry has always been strong. Reading through other nations logs on that awful core war alongside yours was a bit of an eye opener to me. I always heard about it from my diplomatic staff, how the Collective is bound to be the industrial powerhouse to rival Kinmoon or Saharia. I believed it, but didn't know the background."
She said to him, straightening up in her seat.
"You don't need to extend anything to us, at least not Feisen. Vanir would have figured it out on their own, but it was gracious to include us in the process. I do appreciate the series. It was always worrying, leaving the millworks in the hands of someone else. Four hundred years I've been worried about its future. But it was unwarranted, pick the right crew and a captain doesn't need to spend every day putting out fires. Y'know?"
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