Mark System

The massive Igazra I.S.S. Subterfuge glided through the Mark system, its engines at low power, slowly pushing the battleship across space in its usual patrol route. It was a tedious job, but was necessary, for an Azdgari fleet or Zidagar battlegroup could enter at any time. If it were not for the never-ceasing patrols that went through the Mark system, an enemy force could enter without warning and assail the station before the alarms even went off. This mistake had been made once before, and had nearly left Mark in the hands of the Zidagar, but Syar Iandor did not intend to have his cell make that same mistake.

Syar Iandor was the Commander of Cell 7, currently based in the Mark system, right on the edge of the border with the Azdgari and Zidagar. Like Terapin, Mark often saw many skirmishes with enemy forces, but every time the enemies of the Igadzra attacked, Syar made sure they were taught a lesson. As of yet, Syar had not lost a single skirmish or battle in the Mark system, and he didn't intend to break the trend.

Though brilliant in tactics and battle, Syar Iandor was born in one of the few but terrible slums on Innor. But luck seemed to be with him, and Syar had risen through the ranks to the rank of Cell Commander, as was his current position. Syar did not brag often, but he did consider Cell 7 one of the better cells in the IMA. Once commanded by his father-in-law (whose daughter, Anya, Syar had married), Cell 7 was composed of the usual Igazras, Aradas, ground troops, etc., and was almost constantly in training (as Syar had ordered).

Aunchon, the commander of the Subterfuge and a Cell 7 agent (also known by his codename "Captain Subterfuge"), peered out the viewscreen into the blackness of space. It seemed to many as if he could stand perfectly still for hours on end without getting any sort of cramps, and without getting uncomfortable. Once, while in a meeting with another cell agent, the other agent thought he was dead or perhaps a statue, as Aunchon didn't move a muscle during the entire meeting and only spoke when he really had to.

"Sir, we are recieving a tactical update from the station," an ensign reported.

"Very well," Aunchon responded, beginning to look at the datapad the ensign had given him. "Sometimes I wonder if we're supposed to just wait for the Zidagar and Azdgari to surrender instead of actually going out to fight, which it seems that we never do."

"Have patience, Subterfuge," A voice spoke from behind Aunchon, calling him by his codename. "Everything has a purpose, and I have certainly not ignored the possibility of going on the offensive, but as of yet we have insufficient resources to make sure a strike." Aunchon turned and saw Cell Commander Syar Iandor, in his usual all-black uniform.

Aunchon slowly replied. "And when will that be?"

"Soon."

"How soon?"

"When I can fight and win, and not a second before. I will not engage in a battle which I cannot win, and I will not invest in an offensive which will gain little and cost much. Patience is needed, and I hope you have a lot of it, because you'll need it." Iandor paused. "Don't worry. Soon may not be that far off; it all depends on what our enemies do. Hopefully, they will do something stupid and open up a window of opportunity for us. When it does, we can take the initiative and exploit this weakness."

Iandor paused again and turned to the helmsman. "Take us towards the station and dock with it. I need to meet with Wombat and the Bird. Once done, return to your patrol route."

"Aye sir," the helmsman responded, and quickly began pressing a series of buttons. Slowly, the Subterfuge turned and began heading full speed back towards the station...

------------------
Those who would ignore reality are doomed by it.
--------------
Millennium has arrived. See it at the (url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/ubb/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&number;=20&SUBMIT;=Go")EV Chronicles(/url)

Eyes of Fire: Chapter 3
Enlistment

In a small room three miles below the Green Tower, four figures were present. Two were engaged in a heated conversation, while the others, completely oblivious to the talkers, circled each other cautiously. Each held a long staff, more commonly known as shock lances.

General Kon lunged with his weapon at Zathe ek Daal. The Supreme Commander deftly dodged the strike, grabbing hold of his adversary's arm as he did so. In a flourish of his dark green robes, ek Daal shifted his weight and threw Kon across the room and into the padded wall. He slowly advanced, keeping his lance raised at a neutral position, ready either to attack or defend at any moment.

Kon was sprawled on the ground, clutching his arm. His face was contorted, twisting into unnatural expressions. As Zathe neared him, the general sprang to his feet and activated his shock lance, sending bolts of electricity flying at ek Daal. The Supreme Commander could not dodge so many attacks, so he chose to ignore their effects as he charged, a Kayan berserker, at Kon, activating his own lance in the process. He wreathed the general in electricity, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying into another wall. Kon lifted his staff and sent a return attack into Zathe's hair, making ek Daal appear for a moment as if he were an angel of the Galactic Spirit.

Inti yelled into their battle as the lights dimmed and the staffs deactivated.

"Researcher, could you repeat that?" asked Zathe, who was brushing dust off his coat sleeve. Kon walked up to him and gave him a light chuckle, and the two clapped each other on the back good naturedly. It had been a good practice.

"Colonel Arza is here."

Arza. One of the most feared officers in Alliance Command. It was said Arza had helped in the Battle of the Belt, seven years ago, and had taken apart a renegade crescent warship singlehandedly---in an arada.

"Well then. Send the colonel in!"

A stunningly beautiful Kayan woman entered, in the full, dark green robes of the Alliance. Ribbons of pure gold and silver were woven into her robes to mark her rank, the large numbers of them across the entire surface area and slicing up the arms marking her as a Colonel from the designs they made. Zathe touched his own designs carefully, which were the only non-precious metal strands in any Alliance uniform: black zelja thread, the mark of a Supreme Commander.

"Sirs!" Colonel Arza snapped to attention, completely ignoring Researcher Inti. Kon smiled mockingly at the scientist, and Inti merely shrugged. While he was a civilian, the rank of Researcher was technically equal to that of an Alliance general. However, it seemed everyone else in the Kayan command structure chose to ignore this fact.

"At ease, Colonel. We're to talk informally here, to save time."

"Aye sir."

"Starting now , Arza."

"Aye si---Zathe."

"Good. Now, we've acquired over the past few months significant recruits for the ground forces on Kayia. I want to see a larger number of willing soldiers manning our fleets."

Inti spoke up. "We'll need highly loyal and skilled officers as well as crew to man our new ships. The laziras, especially, will require more people."

"And Voltok," murmured Arza. "Yes, I can handle this. How many do you need?"

Zathe noted with satisfaction how she did not ask when it needed to be done by, but what he wanted done overall. A fine officer. "We'll want at least a million to staff the fleets at all times, and nine million reservists wouldn't hurt."

"Ten million. And where shall they be trained?"

"In the Redsword Mountains. Camps Aleph through Zayin are being prepared by the ship commanders as we speak. I hear that Admiral Vichama's son is there to personally oversee the training?"

Vichama finally spoke. "That is correct. Jochama is capable. He shall not fail."

"Good. That's all for now then. The cloaks will be ready in a matter of weeks, and it shouldn't take more than a week to fit our fleets with them. Dismissed."

=======================

Status Reports:

Alliance Cloak: Work progresses smoothly on the multidimensional cloaking device. The fuel-consumption matrices have been successfully designed and implemented into a growing blueprint. Alliance scientists have now made significant enhancement to the dimensional shifting core, which is expected to take only a little more time. (Complete on: 4/6/03)

Voltok: The station's superstructure is now completed, and the necessary outfits have been installed inside the station. Ship technicians have joined with weapons experts from across Kayia to install the remaining batteries on the station and to facilitate efficient fleet construction. (Complete on: 4/6/03)

Constructed over the two days of 4/1 and 4/2: 1 Lazira, 6 Aradas, and 8 Crescent Fighters. 7 Laziras, 37 Aradas, and 56 Crescent Fighters total.

Fleet positions:

4 Laziras, 12 Aradas and 8 Crescent Fighters on High-Alert Patrol in DSN-4611.
5 Aradas, 4 Crescent Fighters on patrol in DSN-5651
3 Laziras, 20 Aradas, and 44 Crescent Fighters on patrol/standby in Akrayhek.

------------------
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
—J. R. R. Tolkien
(url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/ubb/search.cgi?action=intro&default;=26")The Search Feature(/url)

A new voice message came in Karns email. It was from Tust.

"Raez: I'm started on some weapons designs, and your a pretty -hiccup- smart kid, so I'm sending them for you to work on. Now, I'm going to do some... erm... work -hiccup-. Yes barten-" The message ended. Karn could have screamed at the top of his lungs, and did so. Then, he looked over and edited the new weapons designs.
----------
Gravetic Shield
Graveticly enhanced cannons
EM missile
EM torpedo
Energy dispersal field
----------
This would take a while, Karn thought as he sighed to himself and began working.

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

Vonark reviews the designs for his new Interceptors and the Fighter Engine upgrade. The Interceptor will be able to match the UE Fighter in acceleration and turn rate and will have a faster high speed giving the Voinian empire the first mild disadvantage in Fighter technology since the Human War began. The tables may yet turn, as soon as the upgrade is outfitted.
"Thank you for this helpful news, I'm glad you went into the field of research and development, Cirat."
"I'm glad you went into leadership, Lord, the Voinians haven't had this strong a leader since the treaty of Pax."
"Good work. Dismissed." Cirat leaves the room.

Military development:
Engine upgrade design complete,
Outfitting Interceptors and Heavy Fighters ETA: 2 days
Stats:
Increase top speed 60
Increase acceleration 30
Increase Maneuver 1

------------------
"Paranoia is Life"

(This message has been edited by Paranoid (edited 04-04-2003).)

At a small port on Saalia, Commander Hardee walking down the exit ramp from her Carrier, the U.E.S. Vigilance. The Wombat was not far away, with the captain, an old spacer from his looks, standing just inside the doorway. The Commander was a bit nervous about going out into unexplored territory in just a freight-courier, but she knew they were capable of moderate combat as well as long flights. "Good day, captain," she said. The captain nodded, silent and grim-looking. He reminded the Commander vaguely of General McDougall. "Just remember, Commander," the captain said in a hoarse voice as she was going to the passengers' quarters, "I'm the captain on this ship, and when you're on this ship you do what I tell you. Kapiesh?" Hardee nodded, not looking back. "Of course, captain."
Soon after, the Wombat set off to the galactic North.

Banon went through the new reports. Ah, the Destroyer refitting was done. Hardee was on her way north on board the Wombat. Dr. Brooks and his crew were starting to reverse-engineer the Frigate's Neutron armaments. And...a message. From Anna Balashova. Design sketches for a ship, as yet unnamed. It seemed quite effective, even from the sketches; it would be a great ship. Nothing less could be expected of Miss Balashova. He sent a reply message, asking to have the designs when they were finished. It shouldn't take her more than a few weeks, he figured. And he went back to the reports.

Reverse-engineering: Neutron Turret
Begun 4/3/03 End 4/6/03

------------------
—ESPilot
Take a line from any Star Wars movie. Replace certain words with 'spank':
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Spank."
"Queen Amidala is young and naive; you will find spanking her not too difficult." "And what of the Jedi?" "She should never have brought them into this. Spank them immediately."

“Gold leader where are we?”
“We have left the known space of the Miranu and we are now in DSN-1569 system”
“Gold leader the others and me are wondering if you think we will find anything?”
“It is hard to say boys but lets go find out, Azharak and Maluk get in a tighter formation, Almash and yes, you Telk get behind them and prepare for hyperspace.”
-----They jump into the next system-----
“Green Leader send a message back to Raigar that we have entered an unexplored and uninhabited system that we will name, DSN-8209”
“Copy that gold leader, shall go on a scooping run for fuel?”
“no lets go another jump, prepare to jump west”
-----They jump into the next system----
“whoa looks like we have encountered a new species!?”
“Yes gold leader shall I send a message that we have encountered intelligent life”
“yes send a message to Raigar asap. Meanwhile I will try and communicate.”
--message ‘hello we are the Azdgari’ (in Miranu) “hello we are the Azdgari” (in strand speech), ‘hello we are the Azdgari’ (in common speech)
-- ‘hello we have received your message I am a freighter currently bound for Emalghion”
--“We will follow you there and talk to a head of your government, we mean no harm at this time but our craft are quite capable’

“Well Green Leader buckle your seatbelts looks like we may find more species than we thought”
“Copy that Gold leader engaging hyperdrive”

---jump into Emalghion where a common battle is raging (just independent Voinian frigate against a merchant vessel---

“Well it looks like these people can defend themselves judging by those explosive shells they are throwing at that weird, hang on know I am hailing it .voinian vessel.”
“Gold leader as interesting as this battle may be we should contact the leaders of this government that we have stumbled apon”
“Right as usual I will go down and give a message for this species”
“we will await your return, and if you fail to turn up withing a day we will blast our way into where you are”
“right don’t get caught up in any fighting until I come back”-gold leader

-gold leader lands on Emalghia—
“dear people of Emalghia where may I leave a message for your leaders?”
“there is a government contact office just over there” –points a civilian
“thank you”
--message for the leaders of Emalgia---
“I have contacted you on behalf of the great Azdgari race. We would like to gain knowledge about the universe and survive on our plot of galactic space. However if we feel you are a threat your civilization’s military, because we do not believe in civilian casualties, will feel the full wrath of the might Azdgari race. At this time we offer a ceasefire and right of passage between our civilizations and we ask that you allow our scout ships to peacefully pass through you systems. You may contact the leader of the Azdgari on this encrypted line of 328%2D398@#$$%saf4323. That is all”
“Quickly sir do you own that fighter over there”-civilian
“yes good person of Emalgia I do why?”
“our system is currently having trouble with the voinians and we are looking for recruits”
“I am sorry but on behalf of the Azdgari race I must remain neutral”
----gold leader leaves the planet----
“Lets leave before things get to dicey gold leader that voinian craft has been winning the fight with the freighter”
“I agree lets try and contact these voinains, but first green leader contact our people at Raigar and tell them that these people have weak wooden ships but would still pose a threat”

---refuel before the Jump into DSN-4743----
“nothing here lets keep going”
“we all copy that gold leader”

---Jump into Kraali---
“not much we need to find their capital and deliver a message to these voinians”
“copy that we will jump as soon as our engines cool”

---Jump through Romit (get directions)-Chens- Voinia-

“I will land on this planet called voinia”
“copy that gold leader we will keep out of trouble”

--Message to Voinian government—
“I have contacted you on behalf of the great Azdgari race. We would like to gain knowledge about the universe and survive on our plot of galactic space. However if we feel you are a threat your civilization’s military, because we do not believe in civilian casualties, will feel the full wrath of the might Azdgari race. At this time we offer a ceasefire and right of passage between our civilizations and we ask that you allow our scout ships to peacefully pass through you systems. You may contact the leader of the Azdgari on this encrypted line of 328%2D3988lkjlk’23’__21===+__#$$%saf4323. That is all”
---leave Voinia---
“ok lets head back to Raigar”
“copy that gold leader”

------------------
"Chaos is our ally, discipline our mortal foe" --Azdgari Commander
Long live the Azdgari!

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"- George Shrub

"We have a message from another alien race." Lilende groans.
"Just what we need, give me a hard copy of it and I'll read it."
"Yes Lord."
Vornak looks at the message and decides to return contact to these warriors, cautiously.
(“I have contacted you on behalf of the great Azdgari race. We would like to gain knowledge about the universe and survive on our plot of galactic space. However if we feel you are a threat your civilization’s military, because we do not believe in civilian casualties, will feel the full wrath of the might Azdgari race. At this time we offer a ceasefire and right of passage between our civilizations and we ask that you allow our scout ships to peacefully pass through you systems.”)

(Encrypted: 328%2D3988lkjlk’23’__21===+__#$$%saf4323)
"Your message intrigues our people," a voice, obviously using an artificial translator, says. "However it would be difficult to transmit supplies since we are blockaded by two hostile races, the Emaghla and the Humans. If you survive to enter our systems you will be granted limited access to some of our planetary surfaces, and no access to any weaponry sold."
(End transmission)
Military technology:
Outfitting Engine Upgrade ETA: 1 RTD
Outfitting Capital ships: ETA 1 RTD

------------------
"Paranoia is Life"

(This message has been edited by Paranoid (edited 04-04-2003).)

“Beep beep beep beep!” Drowsily, Seleria reached her hand out to silence the obnoxious alarm clock that was currently inches away from her head. Moaning, she rolled over and tried to wake up properly. She failed. 06:00 was way to early for anyone to wake up. After drinking a rather large cup of coffee in a rather short amount of time and throwing cold water on her face, Seleria felt considerably better. Though she wasn’t due in Azdgari until 16:00(she had sent a message giving her approximate arrival time the day before), she had ordinarily been waking up at this time as of late, and then sleeping until noon, she decided to set her alarm, to remind her that today had some significance. A strange strategy for remembering things, but if worked for her. Seleria began her usual morning jog around the Hyperion , and, three hours later, after running more laps non-stop than she could count, she ended her marathon in the cockpit, to check and see how close her estimate on arrival time on Xarnes was, and, finding it right on track, returned to her running for a few more hours. She had been working on her endurance for a while now, increasing the time she ran every day. Seleria usually had quite a bit of time on her hands. When she had finally decided she was finished running, Seleria ate lunch, while wondering what the council at Xarnes would be about. Every day since she had first received the message, her curiosity had taken up more and more of her time, until it consumed her thoughts for an entire day, and filled her dreams at night. Unable to keep still once she had finished eating, she wandered down to her exercise room to take out her boredom on her punching bag. Seleria had learned to fight early in life, and had never forgotten. She found that skill to be very useful in various situations.

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

“Approaching System: Azdgari. Will arrive in exactly one hour.”
“What the??” Seleria jumped up from to floor of her exercise room, realizing all at once that her boredom had gotten the better of her, and that she had fallen asleep. In a panic, Seleria raced back to her room and jumped in the shower. Forty-five minutes later, marveling that she could actually shower and wash her hair in less that an hour and a half, Seleria hurried toward Hyperion’s cockpit, dressed in black, as usual, and sat down at her seat, preparing for Hyperion’s return to normal speeds. She didn’t have to wait long, as an alarm went off, and everything slowed down suddenly. Azdgari, Dames, Xarnes, and Veltes came into view all at once. Hyperion’s computer bleeped, and a message came in, telling her to land in the private shipyard on Xarnes belonging to the Council of Elders, and that a speeder would pick her up there. Impressed, Seleria skillfully turned Hyperion toward Xarnes. Her ships computers picked up the shipyard’s location immediately, but accidentally-on-purpose Seleria took and extra ten minutes finding it. Just enough to slightly annoy the driver of the speeder that was to pick her up, but not enough to cause any damage to the schedule. As she smoothly pulled Hyperion into an empty landing space, she look around the shipyard, memorizing every aspect of it, just in case. Before disembarking, Seleria double-checked that her Phase Side-Arm was perfectly concealed in her boot. It was. Seleria wasn’t sure if she had developed the sometimes good-sometimes bad habit of carrying a concealed weapon due to her natural mistrust of strangers, or because she was good at it. Probably both. There was not even the traditional small bulge above her boot giving away the fact that she was armed. Although Seleria didn’t like using the gun, she was a very accurate shot, and felt safer with it in her boot. She set Hyperion’s security system to high, and turned to the ship’s disembarking area. Seleria strode briskly and confidently down the ramp; at the bottom she paused and her keen eyes searched the shipyard for any sign of the speeder that was to pick her up. As she turned her gaze back in front of her, a young Azdgari approached nervously.
“You are Seleria, I presume?” he asked, slurring her name slightly like he wasn’t sure how to pronounce it.
“Yes, I am,” she replied coolly, for some reason she had an instant dislike of him.
“Follow me.” The Azdgari turn and walked out of the shipyard, with Seleria following close behind. As Seleria looked back, she smirked, realizing that Hyperion was the only non-green ship in the ship yard. The pair turned a corner, and reached the speeder. It was probably the Azdgari equivalent of a human convertible, painted a bright green(of course), with no roof or side windows. The Azdgari reached out and opened the back door for Seleria who was hiding the fact that she was impressed with the vehicle behind her usual calm look. Seleria had always been good at hiding her facial expressions. She was a little put out at having to sit in the back, but thought better of arguing. As the young Adzgari pulled away from the curb, an idea formed in Seleria’s mind
“How long is the drive to wherever we are going?” Seleria asked.
“A little over an hour.”
“Stop at the nearest bar then. I want to pick up a Vanilla Coke for the ride.” Seleria loved Vanilla Coke.
“You realize I’m on a schedule,” he replied dully, pulling the speeder to a stop at some kind of road sign unfamiliar to Seleria. As he turned around to glare at her even making that request, he was surprised to find her meet his gaze, with a mixture of different emotions in her calm eyes. Later he was unable to describe the look she gave him, but what ever it was made him nervous. The Azdgari turned around. “OK, but just for a minute. You be quick.”
“Thank you.” Seleria sat back, pleased with herself. She had not yet met many people that she couldn’t stare down and get her way with, and this Azdgari was no exception. He pulled the speeder into a parking lot of a bar labeled as “The Inferno” by the flashing neon sign above the doors, and got out to open Seleria’s door for her, but even as he stepped out of the vehicle, she had already vaulted over the door, without bothering to open it, and was striding towards the bar. Less than a minute later she returned with a Vanilla Coke in her left hand and a cheerful expression on her face. The Azdgari opened the door for her before she could jump over it again, and she settled in the back, sipping her Vanilla Coke. As he pulled the speeder away from the curb, Seleria found herself memorizing every turn the vehicle made, just in case, as well as more excited than she thought she would be, about what the Azdgari had planned.

OOC: You can take it from here, Gordontron.

------------------
-Everyone has a photographic memory, just not everyone has film.
-Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
-Great minds think alike but fools never differ.

(This message has been edited by Cresent (edited 04-06-2003).)

The leader of the Emalgha, Luik Shadow, read the message, frowned, then returned it.

"Well... I guess you can go through our space, as long as you don't help the filthy Voinians."

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

(This message has been edited by Major (edited 04-03-2003).)

(ooc it took me a lot longer than it looks to write this):
“Gordon I have received a message to relay to you from Raigar” –computer
“Lets have it then, I am suppose to join the other Council members in an hour”- Gordontron

message: “We have received a message from our scouts that are traveling in the galactic south at the end of Miranu space. Gold Leader has reported that they have found a fairly week race called the Emalgia who are at war with the Voinians. The Voinians are apparently a larger race that has technology and ships that may interest the Azdgari. We gave them a communication channel so they may contact you at any time.”

“Right then this complicates things. I am in the process of juggling many diplomatic issues computer as you may know. What is the status of the Miranu scouts and our eastern scouts?”

“We have not had any word form them”- computer

“Right then lets hope for the best. I will put up contacting those races more until other things come to pass.”

“May I suggest that we contact the Miranu about these races lest they are attacked?” –computer

“Given that they were surprised to see us I don’t think they will go blindly marauding, and besides I will deal with them when ”
“sorry to interrupt you Gordontron but I have recently received a message from our central translating unit. Here is one from the race we call the Voinians:”
"Your message intrigues our people," a voice, obviously using an artificial translator, says. "However it would be difficult to transmit supplies since we are blockaded by two hostile races, the Emaghla and the Humans. If you survive to enter our systems you will be granted limited access to some of our planetary surfaces, and no access to any weaponry sold."

“No word from the Emahla and who are these humans?”

“We don’t know who the Humans are sir but the translating unit has just sent me a message from them:” –computer "Well... I guess you can go through our space, as long as you don't help the filthy Voinians."

“Well at least they both seem friendly enough . oh my gosh I have ten minutes to get to the Council session. Quickly get my Azdara ready while I change into my robes”-gordontron

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On his way to the meeting Gordontron kept thinking about what he was going to say. Gordontron put a mic into his ear so he could converse with his computer. “Sir don’t you think that it would be wise to carry a blaster?”
“No that would only be a sign of hostility. Besides if she does fire on the council her body will be nothing more than a pile of burnt skin. “
“How is our treat going are our engineers starting work on her ship? We need the Azdgari upgrade to be completed before she leaves.”
“Unfortunately she seems to think ill of judging how her ship is locked up tight and on high alert.” –computer
”No, she may just be thinking ahead, a quality anyone should have. Even computers programmed to give advice. “
-“Point taken I shall switch off now”-computer

Gordontron saw the speeder pulling up to the front of the Hall of Meeting while he flew around to a private landing pad on the back. He walks along a long dimly lit corridor with computer and security systems bristling in corners of the ceiling. He walks out into the Great Hall and takes his seat at the top of the table. The Council Of Elders looked around patiently.

“Where is she doesn’t she know that it is rude to keep the Council of Elders waiting?” Dunglack

“Have patience Dunglack her speeder driver probably forgot. I think I can hear her footsteps now (OOC Azdgari have very good hearing). Remember her name is Seleria. “ Gordontron
--enters Seleria---
“Welcome, please take the seat there at the end of the table.” Gordontron “I thought that it would be better to eat dinner first. ( that way I can decide what I am going to do thinks Gordontorn)
Ah, I am not sure what you are used to eating so I had the cook prepare a number of foreign dishes as well as typical Azdgari food. Here is the waiter” (the speeder pilot had changed into a different robe so he is now white instead of black)

While Seleria is drinking her vinilla coke and trying to be polite by accepting seconds of an Azdgari dish offered by Yalma, a council member, Gordontron Is trying to decide how best to deal with Seleria. Eventually everyone finished and an errie silence feel as converstion died out.

“As delightful as this dinner I am sure it has been I think that I must relieve Seleria from the constant chatter of Yalma (he turns red). Seleria I would officially like to welcome to the Great Hall, a place where few besides the Council of elders has been. I will transfer the full history of our people to your computer as not to bore you death right after dinner. I like to send personal emissaries to meet with people rather than sending a message, I find it is much more .
“Freeze put your hands on your head!” –A troop of Azdgari Warriors break into the room
“Quickly rescue the Head of Council”- Azdgari Commander

Gordontron puts his hand up just as Seleria is about to take off gun blaring.

“What is the meaning of this, didn’t you know that I had booked this whole complex two weeks ago” Gordontorn

“Oh sorry Head of Council I thought you were actors set up by the Azdgari Defense Agency.” – Azdgari Commander (he starts to head for the door)

“Don’t leave commander, you dunderhead the ADA never authorized a mock up raid here in years, besides our waiter needs help clearing the dishes and in the kitchen.” Gordontron

“Ah, as you wish sir” –commander

“Moving along the Azdgari do not want you to get caught up in the strand war but we do need a middle man, woman sorry, to go between us and our current enemies. I originally called you to take on a scouting mission but that has been taken by lesser people. I would like you to go north to the Rock where you should deliver a message to the leader. (hands a data chip) If they agree to the terms then come back here and I shall have another mission for you. If they refuse then go strait into Zachit space and deliver this note to the head official there (hands her another chip).
Then come back here anyway and we shall have another mission for you. “ -gordontron

“Mr. Head of Council Of Elders, Gordontron, why would I risk life an limb for such a mission from a complete stranger”-Seleria

“a good question you must have faith that we will repay you if you show us that you are not secretly on the other side of the government. We will not pay you in cash but I can assure you that it will be worth your while” –gordontron

“Wait just a minute” –Dunglack “I trust you judge most of the time and I have turned a blind eye on the fact that you are not letting us in on what you intend to do”

“On the contrary I had a message placed under each of your seats, you may read it if you feel like it” –gordontron

--there is a shuffling and they reach for the letters—

inside is an explanation of the latest decision that I have made and the reasons for Azdgari relations with the renegades. It details how the renegades are not a threat but could be an ally if they are civilized slightly and their blood lust directed. There is also a copy of each message.
The one to the renegades:

“On behalf of the great Azdgari civilization we would like to extend an offer to your nation. We have long been adversaries even though we never conducted all out war. There comes a time of reckoning for every nation and yours is now. We give you the offer to inhabit the system of Hoot and receive support while you build an outpost there. We will also not attack your ships. In return you must promise not to attack Azdgari ships or freighters of the Miranu in, or bound for our space. We would also ask that you concentrate your raiding efforts on the strands instead of the Miranu. We would also offer you the privilege to the latest Azdgari intelligence that may pertain importance to you and the privilege of refueling on any of our planets. If you accept this deal then may our nations thrive on each others fertile soil. If you fail to take up this offer than you have doomed your people to die, and will know that you have missed the chance of a lifetime. You may send word through Seleria“

Message to Zacht: (not released on boards until such action has happened)
--a long debate unfolds between the progressives and the conservatives (led by Dunglack as to wether the Azdgari should deal with the renegades. Eventually they all reluctantly agree---

“Once again Seleria the Azdgari are asking you to be a simple messenger but if you gain our trust then your rewards shall be great”
(computer: “We had our best hackers take down the security systems of the Hyperion” “great then start the process”)
“Further more as a token of our good will we will be giving your ship the Azdgari Upgrade if you choose to accept. This upgrade will make your ship more agile. If you do though we will tap your transmission line so that we can tell if you are trying to betray us. We will be able to tell if you have removed or worked around the tap. I am sorry to do that if you accept but it is just for security and we will remove it if you complete the mission. Also your fight plan will be sent to us so that we may send help and keep track of where you are going.” –Gordontron

‘Sounds interesting Gordontron I will give you my answer tomorrow if you will excuse me I want to get back to my ship”- Seleria

“I understand traveling for so long must get tedious, we won’t start the upgrade process until then” –Gordontron

“I will take you to your ship in my private Azdara if you would like” – Yalma

“Yalma, it goes against the Code of the Council of Elders to flirt with non Azdgari’s. Especially when a. they have a lot on their mind b. they may work for us or c. they are much better looking than you (sarcasm)- Dunglack

Gordontron snikers “So who ever you choose I must get back to the office now, the speeder is waiting outside if you would rather use that. You may contact me on the frequency left in your ships, yawn good night yall, this concludes the 239,392 meeting of the Council of Elders. “
- Gordontron

edit edit: changed Hyperiod to Hyperion
edit:rewrote Dunglack
------------------
"Chaos is our ally, discipline our mortal foe" --Azdgari Commander
Long live the Azdgari!

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"- George Shrub

(This message has been edited by Gordontron (edited 04-04-2003).)

(This message has been edited by Gordontron (edited 04-04-2003).)

With the completion of the Gravity Generator, a new project is being started.

Gravetic shield
The gravetic shield is a simple design. Itproduces an electromagnetic shield around the hull of the ship. The shield is pushing outward. All metal objects will not be able to pass through. ETA: 3 days

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

(This message has been edited by Major (edited 04-04-2003).)

Eyes of Fire
Chapter 4: The Knife's Edge

"And you think there's no way for us to get around this?"

"None," replied Vichama. "The Supreme Commander is just that, the ultimate authority in the Alliance. He can't be overruled, and only General Kon can come close to defeating him in combat, and we all know those two have been friends for decades."

"So the loss of life is inevitable."

"Yes, but in this case, I do agree with Zathe that Unobot must be dealt with before the renegades."

"Excuse me, agree?"

"Sorry. Partially agree."

"Much better. Why do you say this? Surely Arza will side with us."

"No Inti. Arza is a soldier. She will follow Zathe's orders regardless of what they are, and will carry them out to the best of her ability, which is substantial. What we need to do is decide whether or not the time is right to take the power from ek Daal."

The Researcher stopped walking. Admiral Vichama turned around to face him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "I'm a soldier too, and I'll follow orders, as long as they make good strategic sense. We need to secure our back, thus we take Unobot. But there is no reason for me to be absent in the attack if Commander ek Daal is there as well. In fact, there is every reason for me to be present in that situation."

Inti nodded. "But I don't have to like it."

"No, you don't. That's not required. Your job is to make sure that your assignment goes through; that's my job as well, and it's the job of every Alliance soldier. Speaking of which, how comes the cloak?"

"We're almost done. The prototype is being completed as we speak, and we'll be testing it on a bread van before we start equipping ships with it. Once we figure out the errors in the van test, we can fix it and scale the devices up to fit them on the fleet ships."

"So how long?"

"Two more weeks, and then some more time to gain some superior weaponry. Then we can stop the genocides on Obutes. And in the meantime, we'll focus on how to make sure Zathe doesn't gain too much power."

===========================

Supreme Commander Zathe ek Daal smiled maliciously as he finished watching the recording. The leader of the totalitarian military society of Akrayhek was the most well-informed person on Kayia and South Tip Station. And now he knew of two more conspirators he could watch and manipulate into unwittingly helping his secret goals. Vichama and Inti, eh? That's not that surprising, but I had thought Fergon would have been the logical choice. Of course, Vichama killed him, and that should have tipped me off.

He walked down the halls of the Green Tower and met with Kon, who stepped out of the shadows, invisible within them as surely as the Alliance cloak would soon make the ships of his fleets. The general shared the same deadly grace as Zathe as they walked, both seeming to look ahead of them indifferently, when in fact they took in all around them and saw all.

Kon was of Army Gael, the group that was historically composed of the best soldiers who served under their leaders, Army Daal, which was now the dominant family on Kayia. Gael was well known for its assassins, who had long ago simultaneously silenced the ruling clans of all the other major armies across the planet in a bid for their own power. Gael had won, but had only ruled for three years; their assassinations had opened the way for a brilliant general of the Daal Army who layed siege to the Gael capital and, within two weeks, had taken complete control of the planet. That general, Zathe ek Daal, had aroused no resentment in Army Gael; under his leadership, Army Gael had become even more powerful than it had been when in control, and Zathe's policies had allowed many of the more talented ek Gaels to become ship commanders in the navy. Kon, who had been the ruler of Akrayhek before Zathe, had seen the wisdom in siding with this new power, and the Supreme Commander had not forgotten it. Indeed, the two were great allies, and Kon had supplied over the last few years the great surveillance networks Zathe had needed to establish his totalitarian rule effectively.

Now they boarded Zathe's arada, the K.A.S. Courageous , and soon docked with the superstructure of Voltok Shipyards. The final ship construction pieces were being put together, and some more weapon mounts were being diligently installed by the skilled military engineers Inti had placed on the project. Despite their employer, ek Daal did not see the engineers as a threat to his reign; they would be amply rewarded for their services, which would increase their loyalty to him, and not to the Researcher. Kon lead him to the command station, and there they practiced combat once more, passing some time until the scientists and planners arrived. Life in Akrayhek would soon change once again.

The scientists and planners, members of the Gerec Research Directorate and the Seljek Engineering Guild, entered the room, escorted by eight black-uniformed members of the Akrayhek Death Commandos, Zathe's elite guard. The Death Commandos left, walking with the same deadly poise as Kon and ek Daal. The lead planner, Malsuth, saluted the Supreme Commander and addressed him.

"Sir!"

"At ease, Planner Malsuth. Report on the status of this station."

"The main batteries are being brought online over the course of this week, with the secondary and tertiary weapon emplacements being installed in the second week, when we can aquire the power cores from the eastern edge of the planet."

"And the surveillance modules, they are all in place? The self-destruct and emergency procedures are hardwired into the main consoles?"

"Aye sir. And in the backup controls. No one will be able to successfully take this station intact. We duplicated the methods in place in South Tip Station rather excellently," said Malsuth with a malicious smile.

"Excellent. And the shipyards?"

"Almost complete. We still need to put the final touches on the lazira and arada docks, but they should all be ready once the main power core goes online, the day we finish with the tertiary guns."

"Excellent."

------------------
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.
—J. R. R. Tolkien
(url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/cgi-bin/ubb/search.cgi?action=intro&default;=26")The Search Feature(/url)

(This message has been edited by Solel (edited 04-04-2003).)

Fleet Status
DSN-6116:
40 Zidagar Fighters
Pozdag:
40 Zidagar Fighters
Grivok:
40 Zidagar Fighters
30
Vethair:
100 Zidaras
20 Zidigar Aradas
Vastan -
50 Zidaras
Neholl:
40 Zidagar Fighters
30
Plogok-
50 Zidaras
Marafey-
50 Zidaras
DSN-682:
40 Zidagar Fighters
60 Zidaras
Zidgar Fighters:
300
Zidagar Arada:
20
Zidaras
450
Fleet Production

Technology breakthroughs

1. Zidagar Arada : Compleate
2. SAC (Seek and consume): Compleate
3. Zidagar cruiser: 5 RTD's
4. Zidagar SA carrier (ship): 3
5. Zidigar Mori Light fighter: 3

------------------
Are we sad because it rains or does it rain because we are sad?

The 3 Emalghion fighters arive at Zanat. They quietly hail the planet with permission to land. After being granted permission, the ships report back to Emalghia the new system they discovered. Then they messaged the main authority of the system with their races information.

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

As Seleria returned to the Hyperion she could not remember the last time she had been so agitated. By her standards the meeting with the Azdgari council had not gone well. She had managed to remain civil and calm for the entire meeting, but ever since the misunderstanding with the Azdgari troops, she had been fuming. Her mood had not improved over the course of the meal, and it was all she could do not to throw that idiot speeder pilot out of the his vehicle, though she had chosen him over Yalma. When she finally reached Hyperion she immediately ran down to her exercise room, and within half and hour she had completely demolished her punching bag. At length she was finally able to calm down enough to go over the meeting. At least the food wasn’t that bad, Seleria reasoned. When the commandos had entered, and Seleria had drawn her weapon, she was somewhat pleased to see the surprised looks from the council members that she had actually been armed. It would be somewhat funny later, but then she had been fuming at Gordontron’s disorganization, and still was. She could not resist tripping the Azdgari Commander as he had taken cleared the dishes from her side of the table. Luckily, the Elders hadn’t noticed, and the Commander had only stumbled and not fallen. The second was the Renegades. Seleria hated Renegades, and wondered how the entire council had voted on a plan so stupid. At that point she had decided she would not accept, until Gordontron had mentioned the speed upgrade. This greatly interested her. Although she had already outfitted her ship with the three main upgrades of turning, acceleration, and speed, Hyperion still felt slow to her, and the idea of a better upgrade had almost tipped the scales in the Azdgari’s favor. Almost. The idea of a tap on her transmission line infuriated her, as well as the fact that they wanted to track her ship. She didn’t blame them for not trusting her, she didn’t trust them, but still... Suddenly something she had noticed at the dinner, but had quickly forgotten had come back to her. Right before Gordontron had made the offer about the upgrade, he had been talking, when suddenly he had been cut off, as if listening, and then he said what was it? “Great then, start the process.” Yes, that was what he had said. It wasn’t loud enough to hear, but Seleria could read lips. Sure it could have been part of something else entirely, but Seleria wasn’t so sure. Quickly she ran down the halls to her pilots seat, and in seconds had run several detailed searches through Hyperion’s computer. Yes, there was the beginning of some sort of bug there, and reports of an upgrade...the security system had somehow turned on and then off again. Seleria was fuming. They must have been positive she would except. There was nothing she could do right now, though. Quickly she checked every aspect of the bug. It would give away location, and tap her transmission lines when finished, just as the Azdgari had said, nothing else. She was scheduled to meet with Gordontron the next day, and there was no doubt she would give him a piece of her mind it there had been more. She was going to give him a piece of her mind anyway, she thought with a smirk. After sitting in her chair for hours, fuming, Seleria decided to go to bed and sleep on it. Ironic as it seemed, the best answers to everything came to her when she was sleeping. Usually she would wake up in the middle of the night with the answer.
---------------------------------------------------------------
At exactly 06:00, Seleria jerked awake, in a cold sweat. She didn’t have all her answers yet, but she had some, and knew exactly what she was going to do today. She had considered simply disabling the bug and flying away, she had the upgrade, what more did she want? She knew, however, that it would make her an instant Azdgari enemy, and she didn’t want that, so that idea was out. The first thing she did was returned to her computer, curious to how the Azdgari had disabled her seemingly impossibe-to-breach security system. She had written the program herself, and as a precaution had installed a program the would write down the activities of potential hackers that tried to mess with the system. In seconds, Seleria had pinpointed how the Azdgari had disabled the system, and set to work fixing the weakness. Several hours and about ten large glasses of Vanilla Coke later she found herself the proud owner of one of the most complex security systems ever designed. In a way that had not occurred to her, the Azdgari had accessed her ship’s computer from another computer, hacked into the system and disabled it. It had been turned back on the same way. Ingenious, but not preventable Now, in order to access her computer from anywhere, there were several different passwords that needed to be entered, known only by Seleria. Some had to be typed without even a notice coming up on the screen, and for others the notice was written in gibberish. Failure to enter a password or entering to wrong password would cause Hyperion’s computer to go into complete lockdown. Only a password, automatically changed every hour, both in length and letter/number would turn the system back on. The Azdgari had no way of knowing any of this, of course, Seleria had made sure their bug would never be able to trace computer activities, only transmission. She had made sure of it. The door into Hyperion , which usually needed a retinal scan and fingerprint ID to open, now needed both if them in a different sequence of five actions, failure to do exactly that would put the doors into a similar lockdown. Seleria also figured out how to activate Hyperion’s shield, even while the ship wasn’t running, so if push came to shove, no one could blast their way in. Now convinced that there was no way for the system to be breached she sat back, satisfied. The Azdgari were not going to be able to finish their bug without her consent. The sound of a horn startled her out of her concentration. Pleased with her system, she looked out the window to see an Azdgari with a green speeder, similar to the one she had rode in yesterday. Seleria carefully set the system and hurried out Hyperion’s door. The speeder was not the one belonging to Gordontron’s council, but the one she had ordered to be delivered there last night. She paid the Azdgari and climbed in, heading to where she and Gordontron had planned to meet, in his office.

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

Seleria arrived at Gordontron’s office building half an hour earlier than she was supposed to arrive, and found her way to Gordontron’s office. An Azdgari security guard was standing outside the office.
“Gordontron is not here yet, you are early,” announced the guard as Seleria tried to walk into the office.”You need to wait for him out here.”
“No, I want to wait in the office,” Seleria announced, giving the guard her special stare.
There was a few minutes’ silence as the two held a staring contest, but eventually it was no contest, and the guard looked away.
“Alright, you can go in, but first I’ll have to check you for weapons. Seleria agreed, realizing that at least one council member had taken care to notice where she put her sidearm, because the first place the guard checked was in her boot. It wasn’t there, of course. Seleria wasn’t stupid enough to hide it in the same place twice in a row. It was currently in a holster across her back, covered by both her shirt and her black cloak. Eventually the guard decided she was unarmed, and let her in. Boldly, Seleria strode into Gordontron’s office, sat in his chair, and put her feet up on his desk.
“You’re back early, Gordon,” a voice said, startling Seleria.
“Wha..huh?”
“You’re not Gordon!”
“Duh. Who are you?”
“I am his computer.”
“Well then do you have an off button? You’re annoying.” snapped Seleria irritably.
“Only Gordon can turn me off.”
“Well at least shut up then.”
“Who are you?”
“Name’s Seleria.”
“Gordon doesn’t have you scheduled for another fifteen minutes.”
“So I’m early. Now will you shut up?” The computer fell silent, and Seleria returned her feet to their position on Gordontron’s desk to wait. Fifteen minutes later, Gordontron walked leisurely into his office, starting when he saw Seleria.
“Seleria! What a surprise! “ he said cheerfully,hiding his shock “I didn’t expect you to be here. Did the guard let you in?”
“Yes.” Seleria’s voice was as cold as ice.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Have you decided?”
“You realize I am not impressed with your organizational skills.”
“What do you mean?”
“The commandos...”
“Oh yes, that was just an honest mistake.”
“Do the words ‘great then, start the process’ mean anything to you?” Seleria was fully aware of how blunt and rude she was being, but she didn’t really care.
“Huh?”
“You said them. During the dinner, in the middle of your speech."
“I don’t remember saying anything like that.”
“Well, you mouthed them. Probably talking to you computer friend I just met.” Seleria jerked her head in the direction of the computer.
“Why is that relevant to your decision?”
“You already put the upgrade on my ship and started the putting the tap on.” Gordontron turned slightly pale, but he was hiding his surprise well, Seleria had to give him that. “I think you will find it harder to breach the system, now. I wish you good luck at that.”
Gordontron shook his head. “I only asked my workers to give you the upgrade as a gift, not to install the tap”
“Well whatever you asked they did begin installing it. Couldn’t you have at least asked my permission first?”
“I guess, but I thought it would be better to surprise you with it.”
“Well either way, your workers won’t be touching my ship again, without my consent.”
Just then the computer joined the conversation;”Gordon, there is a message to you from your engineers.” Gordontron held the computer up to his ear so Seleria couldn’t hear it. Seleria raised her eyebrow as Gordontron replaced the computer on the desk.
“They say you’re ship has gone into some kind of lockdown.”
“Good.”
Gordontron sighed, and then looked back at her. “I guess this means you say no to our deal?”
“Not necessarily. I am willing to negotiate.”
“What do you mean?”
“Though you did not ask for my advice at the meeting, I will give it to you now. You have been in combat with the North Tip Renegades at Raigar and the South Tip Renegades at Apert. You should know by now they are untrustworthy. I have no doubt they would betray you. With your technology, they would be harder to defeat, I think I can safely say you do not want Renegades in a position to raid your homeworld, while still worrying about the other strands. Leave them at the edges of your space where they belong. I will not help you with matters concerning allegiance with the Renegades. I will, however, be glad to assist you with other matters, or anything against the renegades. As you should be able to tell by looking at me, I am human, and I grew up in human space. I know my way around there. Take that to your council. I will be waiting for your decision in my ship.”
Speechless, Gordontron watched her get up and stride toward the door. Before she left, she turned and added, “You’d better get your workers away from my ship before I get there.” Pleased with herself, Seleria climbed into her speeder, which was still parked outside the building, and returned to Hyperion.

------------------
-Everyone has a photographic memory, just not everyone has film.
-Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
-Great minds think alike but fools never differ.

(This message has been edited by Cresent (edited 04-06-2003).)

Commander Lia Hardee stood at the bridge of the Wombat , surveying the empty space before her. She did not know it, but they were in the Smott system. "Still nothing," the old captain said. He was standing as well, though a few feet away from Hardee. The name he gave was Brian Hertz; he had apparently been a Destroyer captain in the Battle of Sol, but afterwards had retired to running frontier deilveries. Strange; the man could've been a Commander, or even a General. Hardee could easily envision Brian Hertz and Banon McDougall being brothers; they talked alike, they looked almost the same, and they had the same stone-cold iron-hard eyes. Hardee sighed. "I think we should turn back, captain. There's been nothing for the last four systems, and — "
"We won't have enough fuel to make it back, if we turn around now," Hertz said flatly.
" What?! You mean we're stranded out here in the middle of — "
"Quiet. Look at that," the captain said, pointing. There was a small speck of light, which was growning, growing...obviously a ship was exiting hyperspace. A Miranu courier entered the system. Hardee blinked. "Should we..."
"Jennings, open a comm channel with that ship."
"Er..yes sir."
"Unidentified vessel, this is the Wombat. We have gotten somewhat lost, and are low on fuel. Requesting assistance."
There was a brief pause. Then..." Wombat , one jump north of here is a Miranu station; feel free to land and refuel."
The courier entered hyperspace once again. Hertz looked at Hardee, who nodded. They had found what they were looking for. The Wombat entered hyperspace, towards the Priat system.

Banon paced behind his desk, smoking pipe clenched between his teeth, thinking. He hadn't contacted Brian in a while; he would need to do so soon. Brian's civilian status and vessel made him ideal for gathering information on the thoughts of the citizens of the U.E., and he was willing to do it. He had just sat down to send a message, when he realised something; the Wombat was Brian's ship. Schwartz had eliminated two of Banon's greatest assets just by sending Commander Hardee out to explore on the Wombat. "Damnit," he muttered, just as his computer beeped. A message from...Anna Balashova. Banon's expectations were confirmed when he viewed the message; completed designs for the U.E. Cruiser. Soon he had sent a reply message saying that construction would be postponed, until the reverse-engineering of the Neutron weapons and the armor from the Voinian Frigate was complete. That done, he continued to pace, and think. What was Schwartz up to?

------------------
—ESPilot
Take a line from any Star Wars movie. Replace certain words with 'spank':
"The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Spank."
"Queen Amidala is young and naive; you will find spanking her not too difficult." "And what of the Jedi?" "She should never have brought them into this. Spank them immediately."

*Gordontron was in a good amount of stress when Seleria left his office. *
(ooc me thinking = * the *)
*How disappointing my term has been. It is to bad that we Azdgari last for so long and have a super memory; that way we remember every failure and brood over it. I wonder that Azmaha would have done. He led our nation for so long. If only he were here. Things are happening so fast all of a sudden we are in contact with two other nations we are about to finish new technologies, not to self ask computer about the progress later. How could he have been so stupid not to realize that the Renegades would stab him in the back. The war had stretched farther than anyone could remember. Hmm, Azmaha did tell me that another kind of memory really set of our nation going. How would other Azdgari remember him. As the fool who gave the Renegades they needed to start a reign of terror over our land or the leader who had gone out on a limb and made the alliance that put the Azdgari is galactic dominance.
Well at least I do not have to make that decision. If Seleria would not deliver the message no one would be able to. Not to mention, the fact that the council had overruled my decision and send there negative response to me just a minute ago. I guess the conservatives are starting to regain power, this could be a problem later.
And another thing who were these humans everyone had talked about. The voinians had asked they not aid them and recently our scouting party had sent word to them that they had encountered another race. It is a good decision I decided to withdraw all the scouting ships before they were killed by renegades. Seleria said she knew about them. Hmm, from what I heard to seems like a good idea to make an alliance with either the Humans or these Voinians. The scouts said that the humans had good shields, fast lasers, and homing missiles. Non of these things we need or they would need from us. Also the Voinians had good armor, slow but powerful lasers, and slow speed. Both of us could definitely benefit from a technology trade. Hmm, this armor technology is just what we could use to make our new fighters stand out. Also I think that the warships need a make over. Hmm, Gordontron you relate to the voinians too much, what do you mean we are nothing like them, yeah except for the fact that both of our nations are boxed in a corner, but we are at opposite ends of the galaxy. Hmm I guess I need advice on this matter, shall I ask the computer, naa that thing is always getting in the way. Maybe the Council, no they like finished matters, hmm I guess Seleria.
Yes Seleria. Things had gone bad very bad. He had lost his temper at the commander after she had left, when he said he was going to bed. It amused him to think that the commander was now court-martialed working in the mines. Seleria had taken his attempt to breach the security of her ship and install the Azdgari upgrade a person insult. Hmm, his gut reaction was utter despise of this Seleria who seemed the type that would start a fight in a bar. Over time she had slowly gained his respect. Hmm, she wanted a job and she wanted to deal with the humans. I guess I will go and ask her advice. He laughed at the thought. Azmaha would never had done such a thing, I guess I really am a progressive. *
He jumped into his personal Azdara. *No point in having her come into the office again that just caused more friction. Stupid computer, oh yeah –he threw the bug out of his ear and into the unused ash tray- That is better I can make decision without that computer hissing in my ear. Well if she doesn’t want to go all that way to the galaxy? Then what? --he was very deep in thought and it was only thanks to the incredible maneuverability of the Azdara that he avoided colliding with a newly made Azdgari Warship.-- *look how easily it would be to crash into the ground and end all this trouble. That is a thought I do not want to have. Hmm he would offer Seleria a number of jobs both equal in importance. As for the Voinians hmm well she might have input on that. Ah there she is, * --gordontron pulls his Azdara next to a café where Seleria is having a vanilla coke.---
“Ah hello Seleria, I apologize for last night, I will let you know that the commander was court-martialed.”
--silence—
“Rrr. I am sorry but the Azdgari Upgrade is not reversible so even if you do not decide to do anything consider it a gift. Right down to business. –leans closer—“Listen I am trusting you with more important information than anyone out side the council, I now realize that befriending the Renegades is a bad idea and the council is on your side too. If you would still like that job here is plan b. Aaa it may cause you to lose some of your prey in the north if you get my drift”
--Seleria nods—
“If you accept I need you fly to the home of the Zachit and deliver this message. –pulls out the same second data chip that he had last night—Your prey can be replaced if everything goes as planed I can offer you a private berth on OutPost Rai, in the Apert system so you can still continue your rrr . Fun. I am sorry but if you accept I must have your ships wear a tracking device, and a simple transmission scanner. The Azdgari do not do this in spite but because it is necessary for our safety that this message not be intercepted. If you want I can offer you Azdara training pilot escorts as they will be going the same way as you, if you accept. –In a much louder voice--- “Well then mull things over about that shipment of vanilla coke and contact me with your decision. I would not have those freighters go through the Yerdor system if I were you.”
--Seleria seems to be in thought as Gordontron climbs into the cockpit of his private Azdara—

Hmm now to other matter.

(ooc message sent to humans by scout ships which reached the southern edge of their space):
“I have contacted you on behalf of the great Azdgari race. We would like to gain knowledge about the universe and survive on our plot of galactic space. However if we feel you are a threat your civilization’s military, because we do not believe in civilian casualties, will feel the full wrath of the might Azdgari race. At this time we offer a ceasefire and right of passage between our civilizations and we ask that you allow our scout ships to peacefully pass through you systems. You may contact the leader of the Azdgari on this encrypted line of 328%2D3988lkjlk’23’__21=dfkj__#$$%saf4323. That is all”

------------------
"Chaos is our ally, discipline our mortal foe" --Azdgari Commander
Long live the Azdgari!

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"- George Shrub

Seleria watched Gordontron walk out of the restaurant. Despite her self control, the second his Azdara flew out of sight, she burst out laughing. Not at the mission, but how much her silence had unnerved him. She had definitely made an impression in his office. Seleria reached out and picked up the data chip Gordontron had left on the table, and an idea came for her. She found herself wanting to help the Azdgari, but she didn’t want to end up like some soldier-robot, who only knew the words “Yes sir, right away sir.” This way, she was teaching them that she could not be controlled, but would help when treated as an equal. Seleria left the restaurant and practically ran to her speeder. When she reached Hyperion , she carefully disabled the security system, and climbed aboard, spending a few minutes making sure she remembered the correct procedure to open the door. Seleria sat down at the computer, and did the usual preflight check. The fuel tanks were full, fuel scoop was working properly, all machinery was in perfect organization. Seleria prepared for lift off. A few minutes later, Hyperion was back in space, hovering fairly close to Xarnes. After zipping around the system, testing the Azdgari upgrade, Seleria wrote a transmission to Gordontron, who should be reaching his office about now.
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To:Gordontron, Council of Elders, Xarnes

After careful consideration I have decided to accept your offer. Due to the fact that the Zidagar may already be taking steps to ally with the Zachit , or I might just be paranoid, I have decided it is mandatory to leave immediately. I’m sorry I have not given you time to finish your tap, but it is completed enough to show you my location at all times, but it won't tap my transmissions. I will not tamper with it. I will deliver your message to the Zachit as planned. Do not send the escorts you offered me, as that will make travel difficult through Zidagar systems. The Zidagar have no knowledge of my involvement with you, and will not cause me any problems.
-Seleria
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Laughing, Seleria whirled the Hyperion around and jumped into hyperspace.

Origin:Azdgari
Destination: Zachit
Jumps: 14 --> 4 jumps/RTD = 3 and a half a day
Leave: 05/03/2003
Arrive: 08/03/2003

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-Everyone has a photographic memory, just not everyone has film.
-Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
-Great minds think alike but fools never differ.

(This message has been edited by Cresent (edited 04-06-2003).)

(This message has been edited by Cresent (edited 04-06-2003).)

(ooc: ok here you go Sole. 30th to the 5th so that is 6 days to make up for my southern scouting party. Take not that they can travel at 4 jumps per RTD so that comes to a total of 24 jumps.)

Gordontron thinking: Ah it is glad to be back in my Azdara thought Gordon *No worries except for crashing into billboards. Well I am glad that is over Seleria will make her decision anytime now. If she says no I will still do the same thing. My policy does not rest on her decision. It would be better to send her to the Zachit than the General at Raigar. I need a vacation, Meagh is nice this time of year I wonder if I could get a way from the office. Yeah wishful thinking. Many things are happening at an amazing speed. In the past 200 years the Azdgari didn’t do all these things I am doing in a matter of months. Lets hope my brain is faster than my action. Hmm I wonder if I should put that computer bug back in my ear. Nahh I need to think. We will need some testers for our new technology that should be finished shortly. Hmm what else is happening . Oh yes the scouting missions. The northern one is done, and Cresent will complete the relationships with those people; that is if she accepts. What about the southern search parties I wonder if they have found these fabled humans. Dam it I forgot to ask her about them. Oh well maybe later. Ah here is my office. I’ll I can do for them now is wish them luck where ever *

“we are in the Huron system. (ooc it took 13 jumps to get here, that’s 24-13= 11) I think we should jump these weird human ships are getting suspicious. We gave them the message.“ –Azdgari Pilot
“Copy that, preparing to jump” –Azdgari pilot

message to humans in Huron: “I have contacted you on behalf of the great Azdgari race. We would like to gain knowledge about the universe and survive on our plot of galactic space. However if we feel you are a threat your civilization’s military, will feel the full wrath of the might Azdgari race. At this time we offer a ceasefire and right of passage between our civilizations and we ask that you allow our scout ships to peacefully pass through you systems. You may contact the leader of the Azdgari on this encrypted line of 328%jjnnb76$%^&*((dsjc__21===+__#$$%saf4323. That is all”
--They jump from Huron to Omm-DSN-5842-LOTHE-DSN-2015-TERMILL-Hrinix-Nifal-Tibidat-Duios (ooc 11-9= 2) – they refuel and then head home

“Paylodar, it looks like these people are not Strandless like we thought but under some kind of government. Yes they all appear to be of a slightly different race than any of the strands, I just got a mixed transmission from a civilian holovid.” -Hired Miranu Pilot
“Right then I suppose we should leave a message” -Paylodar
“ Lets go down to the planet and give them the message then.”-Hired Miranu Pilot
“Right”- Paylodar

----Message to government of Akrayhek---
“I have contacted you on behalf of the great Azdgari race. We would like to gain knowledge about the universe and survive on our plot of galactic space. However if we feel you are a threat your civilization’s military, will feel the full wrath of the might Azdgari race. At this time we offer a ceasefire and right of passage between our civilizations and we ask that you allow our scout ships to peacefully pass through you systems. You may contact the leader of the Azdgari on this encrypted line of 328%jjnnb76$%^&*((dsjc__21===+__#$$%saf4323. That is all”
---Miranu scouting party sends message to Azdgari saying that they have completed the mission and found a new government and are now dispanding---

Edit: I thought that Sole was in a different system so I had to re-write it.
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"Chaos is our ally, discipline our mortal foe" --Azdgari Commander
Long live the Azdgari!

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"- George Shrub

(This message has been edited by Gordontron (edited 04-06-2003).)

Vornak walks into his office in the evening and sees Chatone sitting in her typical place writing. "Chatone, this is an impressive feet. I have never seen a female come back from labor so quickly."
"I am resilient, you must know I have good breeding."
"Alas I am not so lucky, I fear I have blundered in our first contact with a new race, could you possibly rectify my mistake."
Chatone draws in air from her chest orifice to speak, the Voinian equivalent to a sigh. "I'm afraid you have made our contact with these Azdgari rather difficult, I guess I shouldn't get pregnant next time." She exhales from a shoulder orifice, an equivalent to human laughter.
Vornak also laughs, "Most humorous, now if you could please help me?" He attempts to plead.
"Don't worry my Lord, I am already writing a response to them, I have memorized the majority of their language and will be able to translate my message, in my real voice."
Vornak covers his eyes with the external lid in shame.

(Encrypted: 328%2D3988lkjlk’23’__21===+__#$$%saf4323 Broadcast message to Azdgari)
"Greetings Azdgari ambassador." A sweet female Azdagari voice says. "We apologize for our previous reaction, we did not mean to be insulting. I have enclosed a packet of information detailing the recorded history of the Voinian and the Human races.
{Note as we do not know the length of your year we cannot give an approximate translation}
Timeline: Actual information is much more in depth. This is just an overview. Video footage is included from 79 P.C. until present day, two Voinian days (OOC: 140 hours) of footage. Massive library of data, no weapon specs or technological information but a lot of literature and history, for both species including videos of atomic testing and much other war footage.
123 P.C. Language and writing systems developed.
121 P.C. Original Voinian Empire begins, based on the domestication of animals for meat, the end of the hunter gatherer era and the beginning of civilization.
119 P.C. Irrigation developed.
110-100 P.C. First technological renaissance. Massive land/sea ships developed.
95 P.C. Complete exploration of Voinia, establishments on all continents united by one government.
90 P.C. Steam engine developed little used except in research.
84 P.C. Hydroelectric and Solar Power developed, machine powered vehicles come into use. Pollution begins to be a worldwide problem.
82-50 P.C. Second technological Renaissance flying vehicles developed, sublight space vehicles developed. Entire world is solar powered. Entire system has research facilities planted.
50-0 P.C. Third technological renaissance, faster-than-light vehicles developed.
0-30 P.E. Galactic exploration and domination. Pollution becomes extreme.
30-31 P.E. Discovery of Human Empire, monitoring of Human Empire.
31 P.E. Discovery of warlike tendencies in Humans, commencement of Human War.
31-48 P.E. Human war.
48 P.E. Present day

Human History:
Before 1700 A.D.
Hundreds of wars with limited technology,
1700-1900 A.D. Development and more wars, complete worldwide exploration.
1939-1944 A.D. Massive war, use of nuclear weapons. Without thought of environment. Used on civilization already losing the war.
1944-2126 A.D. Hundreds more wars massive growth of development in nuclear devices. Development in system exploration.
2127 A.D./2000 N.C. FTL vessels developed, four colonies established. N.C. dating system established.
2000-2100 N.C. Humans expand three factions emerge and war begins.
2100-2153 N.C. Voinian war.
2153 N.C. Present day
(End transmission)

R&D;:
VICruiser ETA: 3RTD
Shield design ETA: 4RTD (outfitting on all ships)

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"Paranoia is Life"