very mysterious.....

Chapter Ten: Contact

Meanwhile...

Mars, Sol System

Capital city of Marissa

First Federation Congress

Bradshaw rubbed his eyes to try and take away the pain which had mounted to a pounding crescendo. He knew he had to look attentive at all times, but the bright lights in the room simply made his headache worse. He reached for his glass of Saturna water and took a clear refreshing sip. The water itself came from the ice-rings around Saturn. Terran Manufacturing had sent a small fleet of ships to gather large ice chunks which were later unfrozen and found to be the purest waters ever tested by man. The price was prodigious however, especially on Mars where water was scarce and Arcologies were forced to use water recuperators. He hated the fact that these diplomats and magistrates thought themselves above the rest of the people, and showed it by demanding the best amenities.

The Congress, the first of its type ever held by mankind, had been going on for the better part of a week. There were many items on the agenda and Bradshaw was relieved when, at the start of the Congress, everyone unanimously agreed not to end this historical event without passing through all the items. Now Bradshaw was regretting it and silently hoped for a quick end to the proceedings of the day so he could get some much-needed rest. The first few items dealt with trade and developing a sound economic policy. Since the Federation was still experienceing an economic boom the likes of which had never been seen, much of the dealings pertaining to the subject were discussed and agreed upon rather quickly. Now, however, things had bogged down severely with the question of power devolution, and the whole Congress was threatened with failure.

Planetary Governors announced they would refuse to ratify the congress with their respective Legislatures unless an agreement could be reached. At the heart of the conflict was Planetary jurisdiction. Many governors felt that the current powers of taxation given to them were simply not great enough. This, they argued, meant that unless large capital was injected into the colony via the central government the colonies' growth would slow to a snail-like pace. Many argued that some colonies were thus receiving unfair advantageous treatment whenever the Federation decided to build large projects on certain planets.

As soon as this argument was brought up the Congress became divided in two. A kind of haves vs have-nots scenario developed and Bradshaw was quickly losing control over the proceedings. Led by the planetary governor of Ares the "haves" began to speak openly of setting up their own trade laws and even their own monetary system. Bradshaw had burst into a near violent uproar at the mentioning of such a situation and his advisor had whispered in his ear "manners sir, remember that in this scenario diplomacy is everything"

Bradshaw had rose once more to chastise the governor and then had sat back down his headache worse and his face a darker shade of red. At this outburst the governor had looked around and given a snickering look at this colleagues saying "We let ourselves be governed by this man and his impetuous moods? And next he wants us to speak of his proposed military spending bill!! Well how nice of him to do so after spending billions on Echelon without so much as a consultation!" Bradshaw had never been more furious in his life. Echelon had greatly contributed to the quality of life in the colonies. The satellites' transmitters could also be used for civilian purposes and messages were able to propel themselves through the Echelon network and reach their destinations in near instantaneous time. Furthermore, Ares had always been a favorite of Bradshaw visiting more than once in the past months and making sure the Telemachus shipyards be built in record time.

This wasn't the only problem facing the Federation at the moment however. Governors had even managed to dispute among themselves over the power sharing structure within a system let alone throughout all the colonies. Governors clashed over which planet in a given system should hold the major spaceports or the major trade centers. One would think that between themselves, colonies in the same system would have the same outlook on the bigger picture, but this was painstakingly not the case.

It was at this point, lost in his thoughts and anger, that Bradshaw noticed several men walking towards him including a CDF agent. The doors to the congress were meant to stay closed at all times and this rule was strictly enforced, these people shouldn't have been allowed in. He gave the CDF agent a stern look as they approached signaling that he was most unhappy at the moment. The governor of Petroni IV was standing delivering his speech on how the Guild was neglecting his planet by not sending enough cargo ships to export his vast amount of rare pricillium jewels. He continued to speak even as a low murmur rose in the large stuffy room when the party reached Bradshaw the look on his face changed completely.

He got up quickly, bringing an end to the speech, and adjourned the day's session. The room erupted in anger as there were still three hours left on the day's schedule and adjourning early would simply prolong the Congress and risk deteriorating relations between the federation and the colonies even further. Representatives from all over stood up and began shouting their similar opinions at once. Bradshaw's advisor was grabbing him by the arm and urging him to leave the room as quickly as possilbe. When Bradshaw realized they would continue yelling, and that the situation would degrade to perhaps the collapse of the congress he turned and faced the crowd of angry diplomats.

"Gentlemen! I understand the difficulties each and every one of you are facing and the immense challenge you all have overcome in turning our expansion into the stars a truly joyous and successful achievement for mankind. I fear however that you lack the understanding of some of the subtleties that make our great Federation run smoothly. Every day I am faced with decisions that affect the outcome of millions of lives and yet you still sit thinking only about yourselves. Every now and again however, people must contend with new information, information that changes the way the game is played and diplomacy is handled. Now if you'll all excuse me, I've just been informed of something momentous for our history. Not just the history of our federation but of all mankind. Echelon picked up about an hour ago a message broadcast in infra-red emanating from the Ashlain system. This message was broacast on a short wave frequency and Echelon was able to identify the location of the signal taking pictures of a clearly visible spacecraft. Take a good hard look at tommorrow's agenda gentlemen, and let us hope the military spending I am advising never need be used. Mankind has made contact with another intelligent life-form in our galaxy. One of the greatest mysteries of our people has just been answered with a resounding NO."

With this he turned heel and left a room stunned into sudden silence with his advisor telling him "Are you crazy!?!?! you don't just announce something like that to a bunch of angry diplomats." To which Bradshaw replied "Is that so? Watch how fast the ball gets moving now. This congress will be over before the end of the day tommorrow." And he couldn't be happier about it.

_____________________________________________________-

So looks like i lied. but i think you'll find it in your hearts to forgive me. I started writing just for fun to see how far i would get and before i knew it i had spent a couple of hours neglecting my schoolwork and writing the next post instead lol.

Chapter eleven: Scientific advancements

The Moon

Sol System

Gray Rock Research facility

Chief researcher Juan Lebedev

The shuttle landed with a soft thud as it's landing gear made contact with the rubber-composite landing pad. Above the ship the half dome was already closing in on itself as the two halfs met in perfect unison at the center of the semi-circle. The dome was re-pressurized and made breathable within seconds. The shuttle's airlock opened in the back and Bradshaw quickly stepped out to meet the team that had just stepped out onto the dock facility to greet the Prime Magistrate. "It's an honour to have you here again sir, admittedly you come in an apex of excitement!"

"Thank you Doctor, I must stress the importance of speed and decisive action during my short visit. Already the Planetary magistrates are on their way back to their colonies to deal with issues pertaining to first contact. GNN has been running the same story for two days now since that ship transmitted its signals and i fear that unless we gain ground here today we will have nothing short of a social collapse within the Federation."

The First federation Congress had indeed wrapped up its business in record time as Bradshaw had predicted. The issues of military spending were glossed over and unanimously approved without as much as a hitch. Furthermore a new system of jurisdiction had been set up which, at this time, was pleasing to every governor. Known space had been divided into sectors. Every sector would have its own area of jurisdiction regardless of the amount of planets within it. Obviously some sectors would be more influential than others on a galactic scale, but those same sectors would have to properly juggle responsibilities with the other planets included in that particular sector. The unitary response that had evolved out of the announcement of first contact was quite astounding. Bradshaw had misjudged the response of the people however. Some colonies had registered absolute pandemonium as people speculated about the big bad bug-eyed aliens. The truth of the matter was no one still knew what they looked like. The ship in the Ashlain system was still exchanging luminary signals with an ehelon satellite. The patterns were being studied by a team of scientists but so far a way to communicate verbally had not been established.

The lead research team of the station however, had called the Prime Magistrate's office early in the morning to report on groundbreaking developments which would require his immediate attention. With the availability of more funds, R&D would almost triple in size and importance. The critical importance of this station to the future of mankind was undeniable and its defense and preservation was primordial, ironic then that less than 1% of the population knew of its existence.

"As you will see sir we believe we may have finally solved the language barrier that will inevitably arise when there is a face to face meeting with these...beings"

"Has it been tested?"

"It has sir, but I'm afraid we will only know whether or not it is truly effective once verbal communication is attempted for the first time."

A door hissed open and the group, walking ever so quickly, entered a small room with a large window viewing another larger room. Inside the larger room were two men with a small black box hanging from their necks and wires extending from this box to their temples.

"You see sir we've completely revolutionized translation to the point where spoken language doesn't actually mater anymore."

Bradshaw leaned closer to the viewing window to get a closer look at what was going on in the larger examination room.

"Evans and Stepanovich here are proving the little device to be quite functional."

"Doctor, just how does this thing work?? Are you telling me that no matter what language you speak and regardless of whether or not you've even heard the foreign language you're trying to communicate with that it will still effectively translate the conversation?"

"Precisely sir. We call it a Universal Translator or UT for short. It's one of the greatest scientific achievements of all time sir. Think of it, language barriers are forever moot!"

Bradshaw looked on as Stepanovich read a aloud from a piece of paper in Russian. Evans, who the research team assured Bradshaw had never spoke a word of Russian, was repeating every word translated in English half a second after it was uttered by his Russian counterpart.

"You see sir we've moved beyond understanding language. The UT scans brainwaves which, after extensive testing and analysis, have been categorized according to the meaning of the word that is spoken. Therefore when you say the word 'happy' the UT is able to transmit the brainwave readings to the receiving UT which then sends the meaning of the word 'happy' to the receiver's cerebral cortex. He then gets a full understanding of the word happy and the context with which you are using it, all in His own language of course. The whole process takes approximately 0.17 seconds with a standard deviation of 10-15 nano seconds depending on the person."

Bradshaw took it all in and never lifted his eyes off of the two subjects in the examination room. "Doctor, you have indeed made an historic breakthrough, anything you need you let me know I will personally make it happen or you."

"There's more sir."

"Indeed, you have the final technical readouts on the Nolan sample?"

"I do sir, if you'll just follow me."

Bradshaw turned and followed the man. "As you know we've been working on it for nearly nine months. It's a very mysterious alloy, and yet it seems to have limitless potential. By your executive order one-oh-six we've been working on developing space faring weapons for a while. I hear that the Space Militarization Act was passed yesterday without so much as a hesitating cough." At this the scientist let out a hearty laugh. "I've known you for a long time now Alan and we both know you don't belong in politics, you'll be eaten alive for the way you publicly handed out information about first contact once the dust has settled. The armed forces need you now more than ever"

"If it settles" muttered Bradshaw

"What's that sir?"

"Nothing doctor, but I must stress that you keep the entirety of your brainpower focused on your work here and not be disturbed by trivial matters of politics. Believe me when i say that there are plenty of people who excel at just that." This only served to make the scientist laugh harder.

"yes sir colonel" No one ever used his military rank anymore, but Bradshaw was still in fact supreme commander of the armed forces. He was sure that he had used it simply to drive his point home.

"And right here sir if you please." Bradshaw was lead into another room. This room had a large table in the centre and on it was a casing with a luminous red alloy in it. It almost resembled an oversive ruby.

"Many of the space weapons we've developed have been hindered by speed issues. Space is quite large and considering the great  distance that would inevitably arise between two battling fleets one has to consider the speed of the projectile fired. Furthermore we must take into consideration the structural integrity of the projectile when fired with a certain amount of force require to make it as fast as possible. This alloy sir, easily reproducible as long as we maintain its DNA strain in our computers, allows us to make headway in these areas."

"When can you have a sample weapon ready?"

"Within the week sir, we're just finishing up the conclusion of our report and should be able to apply the findings to already existing weapons we've developed"

"Excellent Doctor, again fine work by you and your team. Make sure you transfer the report as soon as possible. We will begin recruiting new people to work with you here to develop a new space superiority fighter based on your findings."

"That would be most excellent sir, everyone here is already hard pressed as is. A couple of new faces wouldn't hurt one bit."

Bradshaw concluded the meeting with the team and quickly returned back to his shuttle. He felt exilirated like he hadn't felt since Earth had been engulfed in nuclear fire. The rush he had felt that day as he coordinated what remained of UEF space command into an organized force capable of carrying out humanitarian aid was unmatched until now. On this day he had the means to go forth confidently, on one hand the UT would allow him full communications capabilities to conduct diplomacy to whatever extent possible. On the other, should diplomacy fail, he now had the means to wage war should he see fit to. These beings were yet to reveal themselves, and already Bradshaw was contemplating all possiblities.

Hey fellas,

The next post is ready and was supposed to get posted today but due to wireless issues it'll have to wait till after Easter. Unfortunately me and my girlfriend had to put down our 9 month old german sheppard so i'll be spending time in the country with her, she's pretty upset about the whole thing.

I wish you all a happy easter and relaxing times.

cheers

Chapter 12: Contact cont'd

Ashlain System
FCS Bearing Strait
Captain Nolan Commanding

Shortly after Nolan and the echelon sattelite had simultaneously received the alien message via Infra-red signals, priority holomessages had arrived from Marissa ordering him to shut down engines and remain stationary. Nolan would have ordinarily ignored such messages. He had a deadline to respect and he was never late for any delivery. Furthermore the Federation didn't have enough ships patrolling its systems to fully enforce their laws and demands. This had led to a situation where each colony had built up modest forces of ships, mostly atmospheric craft, for planetary defense. It was hardly a concerted effort, but it did the job of putting the colonists' minds at ease.

The second message he received was from the Merchant Marine Guild. The Guild was an independent body which had existed for years prior to earth's final days. It had been set up by powerful union bodies who had joined together to ensure that space was not a purely military run facet of human life. As space travel became more and more popular, both for tourists and commerce between Earth and Mars, the Guild became more and more influential. Given taxing and regulatory powers on space travel, the Guild rose to become an indispensible part of the fabric that made up mankind's society. Any ship captain that went against Guild regulations risked all. Once guild codes were revoked you were automatically branded a pirate and liable to be hunted as one. Xavier Corin, head of the Guild, even authorized bounties to be paid in certain cases for those who brought in these "pirates". Needless to say it was best to stay in the Guild's good books.

The message flashing on the commscreen was apparently from Xavier Corrin himself. When Nolan had demanded verification codes Dee had assured him they were authentic. Nolan had cut power to the engines immediately and re-read the message:

To: Captain Sebastien Nolan MMG
GCode: B00419003
From: Guild Primero Xavier Corrin

Unidentified Intelligent Flying Object Located in your proximity in Ashlain System.

The Guild, under directive 76 and in conjunction with the Federation, is ordering the immediate quarantine of the Ashlain System. Cease your acitvities and heave to. Further information to be handed out on a need to know basis. Failure to comply will result in the strictest punishment. Federation ships are on the way. Echelon has you tracked.


"Just what the hell is going on here?" Dee had said after reading the message.

"I don't know but I don't like the feeling of being a sitting duck. Dee can you get me a position lock onto the origin of the IR alien message?"

"Already done sir, it's 8 points to port and 19 000 clicks away."

Nolan had then ordered Dee to get him a visual. When the image popped up on the main bridge screen they both held their breaths at what they saw. Sure enough there was a spaceship there all right, and she sure as hell wasn't manmade. The hull was sleek with almost a menacing air to it. It was a small ship, smaller than the Bearing Strait in fact but it was a beauiful ship compared to the light freigther. Nolan could see some inscriptions on the side of the hull but had no ideas what the characters meant. Undoubtedly it was the name of the ship, if these aliens have similar tendencies to humans he had to remind himself.

For a full week the system was in quarantine. Federation patrol craft had cordonned off the system. No outsider was allowed in and no ship was allowed to leave. Furthermore, the Guild restriced any sort of launch from Ashlain 1. This put the population in great uneasyness about the whole situation and caused massive unrest on the planet when news arrived that an actual alien craft had indeed been sighted and was in fact still there. CDF agents on the planet were kept busy during that frantic week silencing those who believed the craft represented the harbinger of death or something equally provocative and nonsensesical.

The week had been long for Nolan as well, too long, and Nolan had more than once considered breaking Guild regulations to get a closer look. During the course of the week the ship had not budged one bit and was busily flashing luminary signals to a stationary Echelon sattelite. Whoever was controlling the sattelite must have been at a complete loss as it tried to answer in its own luminary signals. Nolan had watched the whole saga unfold. Echelon was returning signals in morse, something the aliens clearly knew nothing about as they flashed back in unrecognizeable patterns. The main thing that everyone noticed and was relieved about, for the time being, was that there had been no overt sign of aggression. The craft seemed happy with flickering its lights away.

As Nolan walked onto the bridge on the eigth day he asked "Any new developement Dee?" He already knew what the answer would be.

"Actually sir yes, Federation ship, Hermes class, just jumped out of hyperspeed and is heading towards the alien ship."

"What!? Onscreen!"

The screen shifted to the Hermes class vessel. A small scouting ship, the Hermes was one of the new designs commisioned by the Federation after colonizing efforts took off. This one however stood out amongst the rest, not just among other ships of its class but among all ships of any class, for this ship carried the Prime Magistrate of the Federation...




TFS Aggamemnon - Hermes Class
Flagship of the Terran Federation
Colonel Bradshaw commanding

It was a closely guarded secret and nobody outside the crew of the ship knew of it; Alan Bradshaw refused to be flown anywhere unless he was the one doing the flying, and today was no exception. It reminded him of his early days back on Gray Rock when he was flying black ops advanced ships patrolling the moon's orbit to make sure no one got in too close to the research station. As he piloted the Aggamemnon closer to the alien craft he looked back at the nervous scientist sitting behind him. He gave him a large smile and said "Ah come on now Dr. Lebedev you were among the first humans to settle on a planet in a different star system and now you're about to be among the first to make contact with an alien civilization don't tell me the only thing you feel is nervousness I can almost hear your boots shaking up here!"

Bradshaw laughed and Lebedev tried to emulate him but only found himself more distressed. This man is surely crazy he thought, we don't even know what they look like for god's sake! As if he was reading his thoguhts Bradshaw added "Relax doctor I'm sure they'll be charming as can be". Lebedev ignored the comment and went over all the possibilities in his head. One:get eaten alive by monstrous creatures, Two: Get eaten alive by montraous creatures, and Three: get eaten alive by monstrous creatures.

"Are you sure you're going to need me with you sir? I mean isn't this a strictly military mission? You don't need a regular citizen like me getting in the way of official state business..." His voice trailed off at the end as he recognized the futility of his efforts. He was going in there and there was nothing he could do about it. Unless the monstrous creatures decided they didn't feel like playing ball, at which point they'd all be blown to stardust thought Lebedev.

"Alright get read we're approaching" said Bradshaw

The Aggamemnon approached the alien vessel and reduced speed. When they were within 500 meters Bradshaw ordered his EXO to take the con as he prepared himself for what lay ahead. He and Lebedev went to the airlock chamber and put on pressurized space suits. Lebedev carried a space proof canister with him containing the Universal Translators. As the distance closed in even more the Aggamemnon slowed to a crawl. Bow thursters shooting downward fired thus pushing the nose of the ship up to a 90 degree angle showing the underbelly to the alien ship.

"Our time to shine doctor" Bradshaw gave Lebedev a solid pat on the back and an encouraging smile.

Bradshaw clipped Lebedev to the security line and then tied himself in. As the airlock opened beneath their feet Lebedev and Bradshaw peacefully floated out into space. The airlock opened on the underbelly of the Aggamemnon and the pair now drifted slowly towards the alien ship.

"I hope these guys wanna play ball" muttered Lebedev in his suit's comm unit.

"Do you really think they traveled all the way out here just to flash a lightshow and then leave without even saying goodbye" replied Bradshaw. Almost as if the alien ship had sensed their conversation a compartment opened on the top of the ship. Looking like a small elevator it simply opened right up slowly like an extension of the ship and casted an eerie red glow within the compartment.

"Looks like they wanna say hi doctor!" Bradshaw could hardly contain his excitement

"I think I'm gonna puke." replied Lebedev

"Doctor, if you so much as gag I will personally see to it that your next assignment has something to do with studying Earth's radioactive oceans." Lebedev couldn't tell whether or not he was joking but still couldn't keep his nervousness from commandeering his bowels.

As they got within touching distance of the ship Bradshaw tried to peek inside it. Although it seemed to have the same type of properties as the clear aluminum used on terran vessels this window was completely black and it was impossible to see through it. The compartment, still emanating a red glow was now right in front of them.
"Well doctor this is it, our destiny awaits" And with that Bradshaw unclipped his security line and grabbed a hold of the elevator compartment. "You coming?"

Lebedev had never been so overwhlemed by what was going on. Everthing he had done had always been in a controlled evironment. Even the first colonizing trip to Ashlain 1 hadn't been so bad since he had spent the entirety of it in cryo-sleep. He looked down at his space proof canister and came to a realization of what it was he was holding. In his hands were the tools that would change mankind forever. Another species of intelligent beings were in this very ship floating underneath his feet and he had the means to communicate with them. He was on the verge of perhaps the greatest discovery since hyperdrive, alien first contact. Lebedev took a deep breath and was glad to feel his mind regaining control of his body, the shaking subsided somewhat and his queesyness eased off a tad. He took hold of the elevator compartment and unclipped himself. Bradshaw grinned and gave him a hand to get in the compartment. They both had no idea what to expect but they would both be changed by the experience nonetheless. Lebedev fit right in next to Bradshaw in the compartment "Almost as if they were expecting us eh sir?"

There must have been cameras or sensors of some sort, as soon as they were both comfotably standing in the compartment there was a sligth jerk as it began to lower down into the ship.

"Can I ask you something sir? are you nervous as well?"

Bradshaw let out a quick laugh "Something incredible is about to happen to us Juan. I don't deny that I've been incredibly anxious ever since this ship made its appearance but now look at us, taking actual physical steps towards the future. This is the future without any doubt, cooperation and peace between intelligent species. We can't simply think about ourselves now... unless of course they have sinister intentions, but I've already gone over that with you. No one regardles of what shape, size, colour, or origin, waits in orbit for over a week just to eat his guests."

Lebedev smiled apprehensively at this. "I suppose you're right sir"

The elevator jerked again and came to a stop. A large door now stood before them. The room was pressurized and the door opened revealing a dark empty room. "My readings indicate breatheable air sir" Bradshaw could hear the mouting excitment in Lebedev's voice and decided to take a chance. Slowly he reached up to his helmet clips and pressed the release button on both sides of his head. His helmet came loose and he reached up with both hands to take it off. He was now standing breathing freely in the ship and motioned to Lebedev to do the same.

"Whatever is happening we must show that we have a measure of trust doctor"

Lebedev removed his helmet and took a deep breath. Upon exhaling he exclaimed "Smells like my grandma's house, and not the fuzzy cozy smell, mind you my grandma couldn't cook for beans."

Bradshaw was happy to see that Lebedev seemed to be more confident, the last thing he wanted was to show any sign of weakness whatsoever. First appearances were everything and this was the penultimate test.

"My readings indicate a new kind of metal, whatever this ship is built out of it's completely foreign to us. I'd love to get a sample to ana..." He was cut off by a noise indicating that the door at the other end of the room was opening. Bradshaw steadied himself and assumed a posture almost resembling that of defiance with his chin held up high. Lebedev on the other hand looked quite submissive with his clumsy canister in one hand and his hand held sensor-reader in the other. They both held their breaths as ligths came on and the aliens revealed themselves. There were three of them, two standing behind the lead one. They were really quite large bipedal creatures, easily twice the size of a human being. Their shoulders were broad and their legs massive. As they slowly walked into the room the floor felt like it was shaking beneath their feet.

They came up and stood about three feet away from Bradshaw and Lebedev, towering over them. Looking down they stared at them with their dark green eyes. Their skin looked tough and leathery and they wore some sort of battle armour over their muscular bodies. For an uneasy and ackward time which seemed to last an eternity both parties stood and stared at eache other. Lebedev seemed mesmerized and almost dropped his sensor-reader. Sensing his uneasyness Bradshaw, in a quiet voice and without turning to him, said "Juan, the UTs"

Lebedev slowly put a knee on the ground and placed his canister on the floor.

"Vorc'har thok mak!" exclaimed one of the aliens, the lead alien put up his hand as if to tell him to shut up and gave Lebedev a suspicious look.

The cry from the alien froze Lebedev and he fumbled with the canister trying to get it open "pull youself together doctor" whispered Bradshaw.

Lebedev finally managed to get it open and revealed the UTs. He took one and handed it to Bradshaw. The aliens now seemed genuinely curious as to what was happening, and Bradshaw seized this moment. He deliberately, and in an exgerating fashion, put on the UT so that the alien could see exactly what he was doing. The alien continued to look at him as if saying "I understand", Bradshaw then took the other UT and extended it to the alien. The other one who had yelled something before now said something again but again the leader put up his hand and displayed a sense of annoyance on his face. In the first Inter-species trade of mankind's history, the alien extended his hand and took the UT which was tiny in his large palm.

He looked quite funny trying to put it on right and in and instance of brilliance Lebedev walked up to him and attempted to help him, only he could hardly reach up to the aliens head. The troublesome one seemed like he was boiling with rage and he yelled something else and stomped towards Lebedev. Bradshaw tensed up in a flash and immediately his hand reached behind his back to grab the concealed gun he had brought along just in case. Lebedev was picked up by his suit and the alien held him up in the air with one hand.

Bradshaw yelled "easy Juan!" Lebedev began to scream and it was easy to see the terror glowing in his eyes. Bradshaw was about to whip out his gun when the lead Alien boomed out something which, thanks to his UT, Bradshaw understood perfectly,

"Release him Vorlak or you shall suffer the death of a traitor!" Bradshaw almost reeled when he heard the voice in his head. So it does work! He released the gun and now stared at the alien holding Lebedev in the air.

"Vorlak!" thundered the leader.

The alien put on a menacing smirk and then dropped Lebedev who crashed to the ground. To Bradshaw's amazement Lebedev, who was visibly shaken, got right up and went back to the leader to help him put on his UT properly. He then turned around and gave Bradshaw a shaky thumbs up signalling that it was ready to work and said "You were wrong, that was not what i call charming."

Bradshaw allowed himself an inner laugh. Here it goes

"Greetings , I am Alan Bradshaw of the Sol System and leader of the Terran Federation"


************************************************

And so first contact is made!!!
I will be posting a pitcure of what the galaxy looks like soon.
Thanx for the continued encouragement Mambaman

Chapter Thirteen: New beginnings

Mars

Sol System

Capital City of Marissa

The official account of the first intelligent inter-species meeting that took place in November of 2227 is unclear at best. Any determined individual would have found that there was a great deal of effort to portray it as perhaps something other than what happened actually. For starters GNN reported that Alan Bradshaw and "a team of carefully selected individuals" would undertake this momentous event, however when the meeting was finished only Bradshaw met the press. Initial sensor-pings had revealed three life forms inside the alien ship, but Bradshaw maintained there were only two. This opened up a new door for his political enemies who were quick to pounce on Echelon's inefficiency. The holorecordings as well as the UT recordings were never released to the press and the people naturally grew suspicious further undermining Bradshaw's political control.

Something changed with Bradshaw himself some would say. He became more focused after that day. He had always been known for being an eccentric leader but in the weeks following he barely made a public appearance. Increasing pressure also started to be felt from the colonies who demanded immediate protection from a possible threat. Many planets had already experienced mild civil unrest.

A growing political turmoil surrounding Bradshaw's leadership and his right to rule soon began to take shape. The Prime Magistrate had been ever so reluctant to send out CDF agents to quell the dissent, but such actions were sometimes unavoidable. He had to make a decisions not only for himself but for the overall good of the Federation. It was clear that whoever the next leader would be, his or her background can never be from the military. It was too easy to lose power in a dramatic fashion when people viewed your leadership as a military dictatorship regardless of its benevolency.

Certain people suggest that at this moment Bradshaw took the best decision of his time as Prime Magistrate by relinquishing his post. He would, of course, stay on as head of the armed forces. The Federation needed its most capable military mind doing what it was best at, especially in these trying and uncertain times.

"Are you certain sir? There can be no going back on this once it gets leaked"

"I'm sure, give me a week before announcing anything, we have to find a suitable replacement before or there will be a power grab. Some people will perceive this as a vacuum and attempt to seize control. We must show them that without the military and the soon to be Galactic Navy at their side they will fail at such an attempt.

"I will begin the search immediately. There is also one more thing sir, The summation of history you requested from the alien life forms has been completed. I've already transferred the data to your console."

Bradshaw had been stirred and left with an uneasy feeling after the first contact meet. He had demanded a short resume of their history from the sources within the data transfers they had made between the ships' computers at the time. He saw them as a fierce and proud race, one who valued honour above all else, and one who would not flinch at killing another of its kind.

Brief History of the Alien Lifeform know as the Drengin.

Compiled by Professor Mahmoud Sheik Hadji: Marissa Institute of Superior Knowledge

All comparisons are to be made inherently with Human civilization.

Technical data (in averages): Height - 8 feet 9 inches, Weight - 389 lbs, skin composition unknown; a highly durable molecular structure makes Drenging skin impervious to light scratches and most bugs known to Earth would have a tough time biting or piercing their skin. Skin colour is usually a dark grayish but there are many variants. They appear at first to be of a reptilian nature. Their Eyes seem to be of a feline nature which corroborates with whisker-like tufts of hair emanating from the sides of their faces. It is still unknown whether or not their eyes allow them better night vision. Their physical strength, though still not fully measured is considered to be far superior. More data and testing needed for solid conclusions.

First Impressions: The Drengin are a physically superior race. They place high emphasis on the development of one's physical attributes to be tested eventually in battle. Highly patriarchal it is a serious dishonour to go against the will of the family Patrician. More information and firsthand data are needed to draw further conclusions. However, given the Drengin's undeniable love for a test of arms one should be wary of these attributes.

Drengin History: The Drengin are native to the Drengia Star System first discovered by Hubble two in 2103. The system has four planetary satellites. According to Drengin data two of these planets are habitable; their homeworld Drengi, named after the mythical clan, and Drengia Secundus, named after the star which gives life to their home system. It appears that Drengin pre-space civilization enjoyed and suffered many similar tribulations as mankind's own. Their history is plagued by endless civil wars fought between the numerous clans. There seems to be also a mention of a Drengia III which appeared to have suffered a cataclysmic event of some kind rendering the planet inhospitable.

Drengin civilization is structured in a hierarchy. Each clan is headed by a Skikda, or patrician, a male leader who is at the top of the family tree. Each family (clans are divided by family lines and genealogy) maintains their power through serfdom. It is important to note here that the serfs do not see themselves as such. To them they are simply performing their duties that is prescribed to them by the highest order of Gi'haust. No one can escape their Gi'haust. It is a dividing structure meant to keep everyone aware of his place within Drengin society. There is no resentment regarding one's Gi'haust, to go against it would be to bring great dishonour to oneself and any relevant family. Just as it is one's Gi'haust to toil in the factories it can be another's to rule a great clan. It is believed that by bringing as much honour to your life as possible you will reap the benefits by re-incarnating into a higher caste of Gi'haust. Death in combat can achieve this.

Recently, though the Drengin have not supplied us with an actual timeline, Drengin civilization have become united under a single banner. The house of Kona rules the newly created Drengin Empire after a series of vicotry over the house of Korath. The Korath now serve under, yet as equals to Kona just like all other houses major and minor.

The current leader of the Kona is a male by the name of Torlek Kona. His grandfather was ruler until a year ago when he died of natural causes well in old age leaving his father to rule for only a short time before he too passed away. Thus young Torlek was thrust into power after his final victory over the Korath fleet in orbit around Drengia Secundus' moon. He now bears the title "Highest Patrician and Emperor, the rigtheous Lord Kona". There is insufficient data to be able to make a full personality portrait of this ruler at this time.

Note of Importance: There is an ancient myth in Drengin culture that prophecizes the rise to power of a young leader who would unite the clans and bring the greatest honour and glory the Drengi (original clan of the Drengin) would ever know. According to available data the Drengin have been singular units and have endured endless skirmishes for the past 5000 years. It appears that interstellar flight have brought them together like never before and many are conjuring up the myth to explain the unprecedented rise in the quality of life for all Drengin. Many believe that Torlek is the prophecized leader. A very interesting discovery has also been made. The Drengin appear to have given the name of Mars to one of their colonized planets. It appears that in the same myth the god of war bears the name of Mars. One cannot overlook this in relation to our own myths and history.

Current Status: The Drengin currently occupy thirty-two worlds. Much of their military hardware seems to be of a pre-interstellar space flight nature. Again there is not enough data to substantiate this further. They seem to enjoy complete popular support and authority over their worlds. Their political structure is very simple. Though there is an elected assembly, suffrage is not universal and only important landowners can be admitted into the legislature. Furthermore the executive is not elected and therefore their actions are not responsible to the legislature. All decisions are made from the top down. The Empire's seat of government is on the homeworld of Drengi.

This concludes this first draft of what we know about the Drengin. Much more data and firsthand analysis is needed to reach further conclusions.

yours truly,

Dr. Sheik Hadji

thank you as usual fine sir.

also, i am starting to get anxious about your aar, when are you posting the next update!

The chancellor is pleased..keep this going

Ok so clearly Im having a lot of trouble putting up my pics. any help would be much appreciated. I posted the problem on the General forum for galciv2.

Im using fastone capture and imageshack but i cant seem to input the picture properly in my post.

I am fast running out of superlatives for this story Admiral-it has me absolutely gripped I must say and I have read a few....

And thanks for your support with mine as well-I hope to restart it this week

Athena

Capital City of Theseus

Drenth System

One Year after the appointment of Howard Anderson as Prime Magistrate

Nolan sat in the plush comfortable chair and stared at the screen hanging from the ceiling. It was one of four allowing for an individual to always be able to stare at any one screen. GNN was the station of choice, and that didn't surprise him one bit. Currently the anchor was talking about the finishing touches to Cairo Starbase. In conjunction with the Guild the Federation had built what they called an economy starbase. It would serve as a rallying point for all guild merchant ships to refuel and restock. They could also use it as a hub to sell planetary goods, reducing the amount of traveling needed to be done. Already merchants and traders from all around the galaxy had converged on Cairo to do business, and profits were soaring.

Cairo had not been the only Starbase to be completed. Howard Anderson had delivered the goods on his promise to expand mankind's reach and influence by building starbases. Everest Starbase had been completed just weeks prior and it was a true testament to mankind's nature. Galactic forums and think tanks regularly met in this esteemed starbase to discuss all matters galactic. In addition one could revel in all the luxuries and trinkets that made Terran civilization prosper.

Furthermore, the Navy had constructed a starbase of their own. Pearson Naval Station stood as a guardian of the sector of space known as "The Hub". It stood watch over the Kryo and Petroni systems like a protective lioness over her cubs. At the slightest hint of trouble it could dispatch several squadrons of SF-101/ Helixs and itself possessed armaments that would make regular space travelers tremble in their boots. The Drengin, of course, were not regular by human standards. It also served as the training academy for the young cadets who wished to command starships in the Terran Galactic Navy

*******EDIT: OBVIOUSLY THERE ARE NOT TWO CAIRO STARBASES, THE ONE IN THE LOWER RIGHT CORNER IS EVEREST STARBASE, SORRY FOR ANOTHER MISTAKE*********

As he waited for his name to be called he couldn't help but think back to his meeting with Alan Bradshaw in Marissa. It seemed like such a long time ago, so much had already happened since then. The appearance of the Drengin, the colonization of dozens of planets, it all seemed to be happening so fast, and he was but a small player in the bigger, unstoppable game. 

The Guild had moved their headquarters From Marissa to Athena almost the instant the planet had been colonized. The vast sprawling office complex and flurry of activity both in the air and on the ground made Theseus one of the most important cities in the Federation. The Guild held tremendous power and influence on this world and it was hard to find anyone who didn't work for them in one capacity or another. Hell even i work for them he chuckled to himself.

Athena was nestled in a neat corner of of the Galaxy, not far from the influential planet of Ares, and far enough from Drengin space that it was unlikely to be undefended if an attack ever came. It was in a twin orbit with its sister planet of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was a story of engineering marvel as it had become the first underwater human colony to ever be established. Its waters were rich in decomposed metals which made its oceans nothing less than a vast pool of resources.

"Captain Nolan Mr. Corrin is ready for you" said the very cute blonde. Her gray guild uniform with the guild symbol, an infinity sign within an upside down triangle, suited her perfectly and Nolan couldn't help but stammer out a response and blush.

As Nolan walked into the office of the Guild Primero, Xavier Corrin, he was awestruck by the sheer grandeur of it. The ceilings were easily five stories high and at the end of the large room, where Corrin sat at his desk, were huge pane windows stretching the entirety of the back wall. Through the window was a splendid view of the Athena Spaceport and the a large ship sitting at anchor on its main pad.

"Captain Nolan" said Corrin as he approached him and extended his hand. He had a large confident smile on his face.

Nola took and shook it firmly. He didn't want his contempt for the Guild to show in the face of this powerful man.

"Thank you for having me here sir, but i must admit I'm a bit confused as to the reason. I was on my way to Kryo II before my ship got turned around, cargo and all, and rerouted here to Athens."

"Well let's just say it's a matter of the utmost importance, one that vastly outweighs the small benefit you would receive from your usual run."

Nolan felt his senses become more alert.

"As you know we've been discussing trading opportunities with the Drengin Empire. Of course as you can imagine such possibilities are hindered by miles of red tape, mostly on our end I'm afraid to admit. It seems the Drengin are somewhat skilled at passing legislation, of course when you don't have a responsible executive such a thing is trivial, but I digress. As of early this week we've finally come to terms on the method of taxation and tariff barriers to be implemented in the greater trade scheme of our two civilizations. It is with great pride that the Guild will take the first steps towards this reality with the FCS Lake Ontario." He pointed proudly at the large ship sitting on the platform outside behind him.

"Selection of a captain for her was supposed to be a long process, but it appears that you have friends in high places Mr. Nolan. I received a call from Commodore Bradshaw who informed me in no uncertain terms that you were the best man to do the job. He is a convincing man isn't he?" the question was rhetorical.

"So without further ado Mr. Nolan do you accept?"

Nolan stared past him at the ship sitting there, her hull glistening in the sun as teamsters loaded her up with crate after crate of goods. She suddenly seemed like the most beautiful ship he had ever seen.

"Of course your salary will be increased to fit the job and don't worry about the crew. I've already been forewarned of your ability to 'work as a unit' with your current team, you may bring them onboard as well."

Nolan was speechless and he felt like he was standing in a very bright spotlight.

"She's been fitted with the latest Helios AI which will make navigating her a simple breeze. Etiquette rules for Drengin meetings are already loaded into her systems." This is when Nolan felt a chill up his spine.

"Are you saying I'm to meet actual Drengin?"

Corrin let out a loud and obnoxious laugh "Well of course! Come on Mr Nolan do you actually think the captain of the first Guild ship to ever land and do business with the Empire will not be required to shake a few hands and smile at the cameras? Like i said all rules and etiqeutte procedures have been loaded into the computer, you will begin training on these procedures with your crew to ensure all goes smoothly." Corrin had a huge smile on his face like he was enjoying lecturing to a grown man. Nolan felt like punching him in the nose, letting the blood spill onto his expensive suit.

"So do you accept this commission Captain Nolan?"

There was no way in hell Nolan was going to pass up this opportunity, even if he had to shake hands with giant Drengin feline lizards. "What did you say the pay increase was?" Nolan tried his best to smile at this man and extended his hand to signal his agreement. Corrin took it and shook it.

"Don't let us down Captain" said the Primero, that smirky smile still on his face.

I think the game settings are at the beggining of the thread. I would go back to the game and check it out but i've already started another game since and so the settings wouldnt be the same. The map is a duel however so there will only be the Drengin to wory about, and minor races. The galaxy is quite large; probably one "coche", i dont know what the word is in english, lower than the largest one.

Happy you like it the next one should be interesting as well.

Oh and Im playing DA V1.5 ...I know I know there have been many updates since but I have yet to update my game. Are there any major bug fixes or changes that would be noticeable with the newer versions?

Superb Admiral (as always) I am liking the new angle of the aliens-I wonder what future Terran-Drengi relations will bring?

Er was there a continuity error earlier?  You 1st called the Freighter the FCS Lake Ontario and then in this latest post it has become the FCS Lake Superior?

Also if you notice mistakes in earlier posts the system allows you to go in and edit that post and any post you have written can be edited that way. I would do that rather than highlighting the errors to us ignorant readers-that way you will maintain the aura of literacy that you have (that's a back-handed compliment by the way haha)

Are you writing in your 1st language by the way?