Pulled in by the gravity of a gas giant, huh? Hopefully the ship isn't destroyed, and the planet has something to be discovered on it...
-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Chapter 4: The House next door
Howard Austin: Scout-jet hangar, Sol Shipyard, In Orbit of Earth, 18.04.2202
The First Minister walked casually along the gangway, down below in the docking bay dozens of newly built scout jets were lined up row on row, the bay teeming with pilots and mechanics, checking out their light weight ships ready for this afternoons display.
With the recent rescue of the UNS Valiant and her crew, there was a buoyant mood amid Howards team, Diana and Caroline were certainly relieved with the news. Both aides had feared that a disaster for the Valiant would spell disaster for the First Minister himself in future elections and would cause difficulties for them when future government proposals were moved through the United Nations Assembly.
The Valiant had been instructed to complete her survey of Barnard Star as quickly as was possible before returning to the Sol system, were the crew would be granted shore leave to visit their families, the data and specimens acquired could be properly digested by the Institutes of Science, and the Valiant herself could under-go repairs.
Down in the hangar, a small squadron of jets were suddenly being crewed, their engines whirling into life as their pilots hopped into their cock-pits. The Defence Ministry had ordered a rotational patrol of the system, with individual jets flying off in varying directions to each of the hyperplane points surrounding Solaris. It currently took about a two week at a steady speed for the jets to reach the edge of the system and back, although it was said they could do the whole trip in just under ten days, with maximum speed and avoiding the gravity of the various planets. Judging by the current activity, the previous patrol was set to return shortly, and a fresh team would be dispatched.
Howard Austin: The First Ministers Office, California, North America, 25.06.2202
“Andre, welcome” Howard met the Science Officer at the door of the office, always eager to set a relaxed tone, even when he didn’t personally feel particularly relaxed, “Please do come in and have a seat, I have set aside an hour or two for our meeting” he smiled warmly, tossing his own jacket onto a chair and taking his seat behind the desk, he pressed on the office intercom, “Sasha can you bring in the refreshments I had ordered! And make a note on the scheduled, we are not to be disturbed!”
“A beautiful office, Minister” Andre Laurent took a seat, “the views are astounding” he opened his briefcase, pulling out a computer tablet, “I can see why you have chosen to set up here!”
“It is stunning” he reached over taking the tablet he was offered, “Jacob loves it and Amy really enjoys her school, but I tell you” he gazed out suddenly through the window with its magnificent ocean view, “There is nothing so spectacular as the views from here, sunsets are magical, but when the storms come in off the ocean, they really are something to see!” He skimmed his eyes down the tablet, “But let me save the tour for later and get down to business” he clicked on the miniature holo-projector built into his desk, “the report you submitted on the drone study, it makes for interesting reading!”
“It has taken a little longer than I anticipated, but I managed to break their encryption matrix and their internal communications, with no small amount of effort” he scanned through his files, “they seem to be entirely automated, harvesting resources from various mineral rich worlds. If left undisturbed they are harmless enough, but they have a preset proximity-field, which activates when a ship displaying either especially high energy signals or weapons arrays comes to close” he flicked through more screens, “I noticed that the ships orbiting the Alpha Centauri system, left orbit when their internal security systems where hacked by a long range data-stream, and from my observations it would appear the signals emitted from the Procyon system are exceptionally efficient at hacking their command codes, I would suggest it is not the first time they have broken them!”
Howard clicked a series off controls and with a few sudden projection changes, streams of text half in an alien dialect with human translations began flowing onto the holo-screen, “Dolores tells me that you managed to intercept and decipher a considerable amount of the aliens commands?”
“Indeed” he smiled, suddenly more excited, “we have been comparing our findings and thanks to their attempts to hack the drones, they have inadvertently provided us with a base coding for their language which we have sent to the Institute of Biology and Sociology in Rio for further study, I am going to join her there in a few days to help in her efforts to form a proper translation matrix!”
Dolores Alonso: The Bridge of the UNS Discovery, Alpha Centauri System, 18.01.2203
On the main view screen the small alien vessel hung motionless, its shields were down, its engine discharged, no weapons had been detected and the only remarkable thing, was the constant hailing signals it was now sending out on various band frequencies.
“They are hailing in nearly fifty nine languages captain” the comms officer looked startled!
“Can we translate or understand any off them?” Ambassador Alonso stood beside the captain, both in awe of the bravery of this little vessel, which had parked itself firmly in their path, despite the Discovery’s considerable size advantage.
“All of them Ambassador” the comms officer checked her readings, clearly looking confused, “they are hailing us on every frequency using our own languages!”
Dolores spun, staring at the comms officer, who was listening intently to the messages, “Play us the message, lets hear what they have to say!”
Suddenly the ships comm system engaged, an a curious alien voice began speaking in near flawless English, “GREETINGS HUMANS, WE ARE THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF LUKES 24 CONTINENTS, WE BID YOU WELCOME!”
“Can we reply? Is there a visual?” Dolores hands trembled ever so slightly, her breath caught in her chest, the comms officer was busy fixing up a channel and the view screen suddenly changed to the inside of an alien vessel.
On the screen suddenly was an alien crew and who they presumed was its captain, though the image astounded everyone for they were nothing like anyone believed even possible, they appeared to be made of crystal and rock! There message continuing to broadcast. Could it even be possible for life to exist in lithoid form? Never mind the implications of alien life, these were intelligent, highly sophisticated boulders!
“Greetings traveller, I am Ambassador Dolores Alonso of Earth, it is good to speak with you!” Her heart filled with joy, tears welling at her eyes, this here was a moment that would change mankind forever, first contact with a sentient alien species, its implications could not be over-estimated.
Howard Austin: His Private Offices, Virginia, North America, 22.01.2203
The whole building was abuzz with activity, calls were coming and going constantly, secretaries and officials dashing everywhere. The First Minister had called the United Nations back into session almost a month earlier than anyone expect, the only reason being given was a need for him to address the assembly.
Helicopters, air-plane flights and various transports where being booked through his private office, his aides working through the night to contact members of the Assembly and their teams, last minutes accommodation was being sought, and a waft of nation leaders had had their own presence requested; the Leader of the United European Federation, the South American Unity Movement, the African Coalition, etc to name but a few.
So far the news of First Contact had been kept from the public and the UNS Discovery had been placed under a “radio silence” protocol, with messages only being permitted between the First Minister, Admiral Potti, Captain Ni Zhao and Ambassador Alonso. Whilst news of alien life was now considered more a matter of when, than if, nevertheless for many the realisation that a whole alien civilisation was now in direct contact with earth, would shake the very fabric off humanity, faith leaders would be hard pressed to explain their philosophies, political parties would need new policies, the economic markets would either boom or bust and for the wider population, the simple question of, Who are we? Would offer some challenging hurdles.
Moreover, when images of this species broke on the media, even bigger question would emerge, the most noticeable being; What is life? What do we call life-forms? These aliens after all appeared to be formed from solid rock, if that was the case then in what other forms could life exist? As liquids, gases, metals or maybe even plasma?
Howard sat at his desk, Caroline Healey beside him, they had been sat for hours planning and carefully cultivating the language of his speech to give the smoothest delivery. He wanted to be as factual as possible and so he was currently reading intently over what was known of the new species; They named themselves the M’tok and indeed they claimed to inhabit a planet in the Procyon system currently referred to as Luke, although it was widely believed this was chosen simply because the proper translation of their home-worlds name seemed near impossible for their linguists to manage. From current communications they seemed friendly enough and claimed to possess no military designs toward mankind, and even stated to possess no naval power at all, indeed they were so keen to co-operate with Earth that they had proposed sharing the Procyon system with Earth, if a suitable shared ownership deal could be struck.
Rep. for Germany Hans Schumer, United Nations Assembly, NYC, 26.01.2203
A stunned silence gripped the whole assembly as the recording of the UNS Discovery’s first meeting with an alien civilisation was played out for all to see, the First Minister had given a lengthy and moving address on the topic, he was enthusiastic about further contact, keen to highlight the potential social an economic benefits of opening relations with this new civilisation.
According to his report, the M’tok had even extended an open invitation to mankind to send a delegation to their Home-world to open up formal channels of communication, though as yet that had to be debated an approved by a majority of the Assembly, and whilst Representative Schumer himself was enthusiastic, he knew all too well, many within the chamber would be cautious, potentially even opposed to the idea.
Regardless of how far they had come as a species, as a civilisation, he knew all to well his fellow citizens overwhelming urge to reach for a weapon when presented with something that inspired fear. He was sure in the days ahead, their would be many among the assembled nations who would push for expansion of the military, investment in ever greater weapons of “defence”, though quite when in Earth history a weapon had only been used for defence he could not recall.
His wrist-watch suddenly buzzed, looking down he noted a chain of emails and calls flooding down the little screen from his European colleagues, who would been keen to meet that evening and discuss these developments on behalf of the European Federation.
Howard Austin: Scout-jet hangar, Sol Shipyard, In Orbit of Earth, 18.04.2202
The First Minister walked casually along the gangway, down below in the docking bay dozens of newly built scout jets were lined up row on row, the bay teeming with pilots and mechanics, checking out their light weight ships ready for this afternoons display.
With the recent rescue of the UNS Valiant and her crew, there was a buoyant mood amid Howards team, Diana and Caroline were certainly relieved with the news. Both aides had feared that a disaster for the Valiant would spell disaster for the First Minister himself in future elections and would cause difficulties for them when future government proposals were moved through the United Nations Assembly.
The Valiant had been instructed to complete her survey of Barnard Star as quickly as was possible before returning to the Sol system, were the crew would be granted shore leave to visit their families, the data and specimens acquired could be properly digested by the Institutes of Science, and the Valiant herself could under-go repairs.
Down in the hangar, a small squadron of jets were suddenly being crewed, their engines whirling into life as their pilots hopped into their cock-pits. The Defence Ministry had ordered a rotational patrol of the system, with individual jets flying off in varying directions to each of the hyperplane points surrounding Solaris. It currently took about a two week at a steady speed for the jets to reach the edge of the system and back, although it was said they could do the whole trip in just under ten days, with maximum speed and avoiding the gravity of the various planets. Judging by the current activity, the previous patrol was set to return shortly, and a fresh team would be dispatched.
Howard Austin: The First Ministers Office, California, North America, 25.06.2202
“Andre, welcome” Howard met the Science Officer at the door of the office, always eager to set a relaxed tone, even when he didn’t personally feel particularly relaxed, “Please do come in and have a seat, I have set aside an hour or two for our meeting” he smiled warmly, tossing his own jacket onto a chair and taking his seat behind the desk, he pressed on the office intercom, “Sasha can you bring in the refreshments I had ordered! And make a note on the scheduled, we are not to be disturbed!”
“A beautiful office, Minister” Andre Laurent took a seat, “the views are astounding” he opened his briefcase, pulling out a computer tablet, “I can see why you have chosen to set up here!”
“It is stunning” he reached over taking the tablet he was offered, “Jacob loves it and Amy really enjoys her school, but I tell you” he gazed out suddenly through the window with its magnificent ocean view, “There is nothing so spectacular as the views from here, sunsets are magical, but when the storms come in off the ocean, they really are something to see!” He skimmed his eyes down the tablet, “But let me save the tour for later and get down to business” he clicked on the miniature holo-projector built into his desk, “the report you submitted on the drone study, it makes for interesting reading!”
“It has taken a little longer than I anticipated, but I managed to break their encryption matrix and their internal communications, with no small amount of effort” he scanned through his files, “they seem to be entirely automated, harvesting resources from various mineral rich worlds. If left undisturbed they are harmless enough, but they have a preset proximity-field, which activates when a ship displaying either especially high energy signals or weapons arrays comes to close” he flicked through more screens, “I noticed that the ships orbiting the Alpha Centauri system, left orbit when their internal security systems where hacked by a long range data-stream, and from my observations it would appear the signals emitted from the Procyon system are exceptionally efficient at hacking their command codes, I would suggest it is not the first time they have broken them!”
Howard clicked a series off controls and with a few sudden projection changes, streams of text half in an alien dialect with human translations began flowing onto the holo-screen, “Dolores tells me that you managed to intercept and decipher a considerable amount of the aliens commands?”
“Indeed” he smiled, suddenly more excited, “we have been comparing our findings and thanks to their attempts to hack the drones, they have inadvertently provided us with a base coding for their language which we have sent to the Institute of Biology and Sociology in Rio for further study, I am going to join her there in a few days to help in her efforts to form a proper translation matrix!”
Dolores Alonso: The Bridge of the UNS Discovery, Alpha Centauri System, 18.01.2203
On the main view screen the small alien vessel hung motionless, its shields were down, its engine discharged, no weapons had been detected and the only remarkable thing, was the constant hailing signals it was now sending out on various band frequencies.
“They are hailing in nearly fifty nine languages captain” the comms officer looked startled!
“Can we translate or understand any off them?” Ambassador Alonso stood beside the captain, both in awe of the bravery of this little vessel, which had parked itself firmly in their path, despite the Discovery’s considerable size advantage.
“All of them Ambassador” the comms officer checked her readings, clearly looking confused, “they are hailing us on every frequency using our own languages!”
Dolores spun, staring at the comms officer, who was listening intently to the messages, “Play us the message, lets hear what they have to say!”
Suddenly the ships comm system engaged, an a curious alien voice began speaking in near flawless English, “GREETINGS HUMANS, WE ARE THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF LUKES 24 CONTINENTS, WE BID YOU WELCOME!”
“Can we reply? Is there a visual?” Dolores hands trembled ever so slightly, her breath caught in her chest, the comms officer was busy fixing up a channel and the view screen suddenly changed to the inside of an alien vessel.
On the screen suddenly was an alien crew and who they presumed was its captain, though the image astounded everyone for they were nothing like anyone believed even possible, they appeared to be made of crystal and rock! There message continuing to broadcast. Could it even be possible for life to exist in lithoid form? Never mind the implications of alien life, these were intelligent, highly sophisticated boulders!
“Greetings traveller, I am Ambassador Dolores Alonso of Earth, it is good to speak with you!” Her heart filled with joy, tears welling at her eyes, this here was a moment that would change mankind forever, first contact with a sentient alien species, its implications could not be over-estimated.
Howard Austin: His Private Offices, Virginia, North America, 22.01.2203
The whole building was abuzz with activity, calls were coming and going constantly, secretaries and officials dashing everywhere. The First Minister had called the United Nations back into session almost a month earlier than anyone expect, the only reason being given was a need for him to address the assembly.
Helicopters, air-plane flights and various transports where being booked through his private office, his aides working through the night to contact members of the Assembly and their teams, last minutes accommodation was being sought, and a waft of nation leaders had had their own presence requested; the Leader of the United European Federation, the South American Unity Movement, the African Coalition, etc to name but a few.
So far the news of First Contact had been kept from the public and the UNS Discovery had been placed under a “radio silence” protocol, with messages only being permitted between the First Minister, Admiral Potti, Captain Ni Zhao and Ambassador Alonso. Whilst news of alien life was now considered more a matter of when, than if, nevertheless for many the realisation that a whole alien civilisation was now in direct contact with earth, would shake the very fabric off humanity, faith leaders would be hard pressed to explain their philosophies, political parties would need new policies, the economic markets would either boom or bust and for the wider population, the simple question of, Who are we? Would offer some challenging hurdles.
Moreover, when images of this species broke on the media, even bigger question would emerge, the most noticeable being; What is life? What do we call life-forms? These aliens after all appeared to be formed from solid rock, if that was the case then in what other forms could life exist? As liquids, gases, metals or maybe even plasma?
Howard sat at his desk, Caroline Healey beside him, they had been sat for hours planning and carefully cultivating the language of his speech to give the smoothest delivery. He wanted to be as factual as possible and so he was currently reading intently over what was known of the new species; They named themselves the M’tok and indeed they claimed to inhabit a planet in the Procyon system currently referred to as Luke, although it was widely believed this was chosen simply because the proper translation of their home-worlds name seemed near impossible for their linguists to manage. From current communications they seemed friendly enough and claimed to possess no military designs toward mankind, and even stated to possess no naval power at all, indeed they were so keen to co-operate with Earth that they had proposed sharing the Procyon system with Earth, if a suitable shared ownership deal could be struck.
Rep. for Germany Hans Schumer, United Nations Assembly, NYC, 26.01.2203
A stunned silence gripped the whole assembly as the recording of the UNS Discovery’s first meeting with an alien civilisation was played out for all to see, the First Minister had given a lengthy and moving address on the topic, he was enthusiastic about further contact, keen to highlight the potential social an economic benefits of opening relations with this new civilisation.
According to his report, the M’tok had even extended an open invitation to mankind to send a delegation to their Home-world to open up formal channels of communication, though as yet that had to be debated an approved by a majority of the Assembly, and whilst Representative Schumer himself was enthusiastic, he knew all too well, many within the chamber would be cautious, potentially even opposed to the idea.
Regardless of how far they had come as a species, as a civilisation, he knew all to well his fellow citizens overwhelming urge to reach for a weapon when presented with something that inspired fear. He was sure in the days ahead, their would be many among the assembled nations who would push for expansion of the military, investment in ever greater weapons of “defence”, though quite when in Earth history a weapon had only been used for defence he could not recall.
His wrist-watch suddenly buzzed, looking down he noted a chain of emails and calls flooding down the little screen from his European colleagues, who would been keen to meet that evening and discuss these developments on behalf of the European Federation.
The first contact with aliens was peaceful. That's good... it should lead Earth down a path of xenophilia.
Despite that, those drones are worrying.
Despite that, those drones are worrying.
Sub-Chapter: Home
Captain Pike: The UNS Valiant, Barnards Star System, 04.04.2203
“Set course for home ensign, full speed ahead!” Captain Pike took up his seat, after a three-hour briefing with his team. They had successfully completed their survey of the Barnards Star System, and a new outpost would be shortly constructed in orbit of the star, claiming the system for the United Nations of Earth and potentially offering new resources for extraction.
Last night fresh orders arrived from Earth, the Valiant would be returning home for debriefing and some much needed shore leave, giving his crew time to catch up with friends and family after nearly two years away. From there the Valiant would undergo repairs and maintenance, before disembarking for the Procyon System at the invitation of the M’tok’s First Speaker.
According to the message received from Earth, the United Nations had debated the viability off such a visit at length, and despite significant pressure from those who supported a more militarised response, it was in the end agreed, by a two third majority to allow the mission to go ahead.
A full copy of the M’tok language would be downloaded into the Valiant’s computer core on its return to Earth, though as yet some slight imperfections need to be ironed out, it seemed the aliens were willing to allow for some misinterpretations off their own language, that created a slightly haphazard translation, like the fact their planet clearly was not called “Luke” but they had accepted the title in order to ensure more smooth relations and also for the fact humanity it seemed did not possess the necessary linguistic skills to process some of their more complex words, hence also why it was believed the head of their government was called “First Speaker”, it being assumed this title had been accepted on the grounds it identified the individual most closely associated to Howard Austins, rank as First Minister.
Captain Pike: The UNS Valiant, In Orbit of Earth, the Sol System, 05.05.2203
Captain Pike’s heart nearly burst as Earth appeared slowly but surely on the view screen, growing ever bigger, ever brighter, ever clearer. ‘Home…. home at last’ emotions clouded his mind, feelings of joy, love, exhilaration even regret, it was hard to decipher exactly how he felt, though one feeling was certain, he had a new understanding of what “home” meant.
On their passage across the Sol system, the Valiant had been receiving regular transmissions from Earth, detailed broadcasts across all major media platforms and it was safe to say the news off alien life had for the most part been received with extreme enthusiasm, so much so the return of the Valiant and her crew had hardly made a headline. ‘Thank the Lord the parade has been cancelled’ he had received an update from the Scientific Institute that morning, confirming his request to cancel an official parade planned for his crews return, nearly two years was after all, a very long time to be away from home and confined with a limited community. Many of his crew, whilst not openly admitting it, where apprehensive about seeing friends, family and colleagues again, no doubt also worried about the potential media attention they may get in the weeks ahead.
‘Six weeks of shore leave, I mean what am I meant to do with that!’ He himself, had few family, his mother had died a few years earlier and the few relatives he had lived scattered between North America and Western Australia, where they had been forced to flee to after a mega-tsunami caused by Nuclear detonations along the tectonic faults wiped out huge swathes of the Eastern coast during the Third World War. Though the war had happened when he was very small, he had few memories off it, but he had sailed the Eastern coast of Australia with his grandfather some years later, exploring the new mangrove swamps that had burst into life in the ruins have half sunken towns and cities. ‘Perhaps Sydney will be worth a visit, I would love to see the Peace Tower.’ The only real Eastern city left standing had been Syndey, though her skyline had been dramatically reshaped, the world-famous Opera House, needing drastic repairs.
But before he could make any major plans, he had a meeting later in the week with the First Minister, and whilst he had escaped the parade, he had been unable to avoid speaking before the United Nations about the Valiant and her mission.
Alexander Harris: The Biology Lab of the UNS Valiant, In Orbit of Earth, 06.05.2203
Sealing the sample jar with an electronic tag, Alex placed the little fungus back on the shelf with its cousins, made up of a long wrack of fungal specimens taken from Barnards Star II. Looking out of the window, he could just see beneath the clouds, the outline of Britain, gently moving into view as the earth moved on her axis.
Other crew members had disembarked yesterday and most of his own laboratories team were busy packing their cloths ready for departure, and as excited as he was to see his little sister, his mind lingered ever so, on Barnard Star II and the plethora of life that it offered, he had already resolved to request a transfer when the system was formally occupied, hoping to join a biology team to explore the planet and her flora further. Captain Pike had already provided him with a reference, that was almost guaranteed to allow the request to go ahead.
“You know Alex you absolutely baffle me” suddenly the heavily accented voice of Svetlana Maskovich, his opposite number on the biology team broke his thoughts, “You sit there day after day, puzzling over your little collection of fungi, fawning over your plants” she looked around, Alexs desk nestled amid a collection of plants, flowers, shrubs and tree’s he had brough onboard, “The Valiant is heading for a brand new alien civilisation, and you want more than anything to go back, to an uninhabited planet and make plant catalogues!”
He laughed allowed, “That’s the point though isn’t it beautiful” they always had a flirtatious banter with one another, “it isn’t uninhabited” he stroked the leaf of the nearest plant, its gentle green colouring shifting to a purple shade at the touch of his fingers, “Barnards Star II, has thousands of life-forms” he paused a moment, glancing once more to the Earth, moving slowly down below, “When you have grown up like I have, in a major city like London, with buildings and people crammed together everywhere, I guess you yearn for somewhere, with a little bit more of a quite pace, and where the night sky shines that bit clearer.” He picked up several boxes and moved them to a secure unit, a label on the side showing the contents to be toxic, “I always wondered as a kid, what earth was like before we came along, and I guess back there I have found the closest thing to it!”
Lo-tang, Chief of Security on the UNS Valiant, Shanghai, China, Earth, 09.05.2203
Moving down the little streets Lo, stopped to open the gate that led down yet another back alley, lamp-light lit up the gloomy avenue and despite the fact it had been nearly two years since she had been home, her mother’s plants packed out the street just as they had done before she left.
“Mama!” a little voice suddenly burst through an open side door, and Lo turned to see her daughter, Mai, now ten years old racing out to meet her, she scooped her up in her arms moments later! Tears burst out, sobbing suddenly, “Mama, mama!” Stood in the doorway suddenly, Lo’s mother!
“You took your time getting here?” she did not sound impressed, “The Valiant has been in orbit for days, was your own mother and daughter not enough to tare you away!”
“I had things to do mum, I couldn’t just drop everything!” she cuddled her daughter, cleaning her face and wafting her hair from her eyes, a huge smile brushing both their faces, “Look at you little lady, haven’t you grown!”
“They do that” her mother waved her in, “children! They grow up and you have been gone to long!” They moved inside and her mother bolted the door tight, “I guess it was too much to expect that when visitors from another world make eyes at your home, you would think off your family first!”
Captain Pike: The UNS Valiant, Barnards Star System, 04.04.2203
“Set course for home ensign, full speed ahead!” Captain Pike took up his seat, after a three-hour briefing with his team. They had successfully completed their survey of the Barnards Star System, and a new outpost would be shortly constructed in orbit of the star, claiming the system for the United Nations of Earth and potentially offering new resources for extraction.
Last night fresh orders arrived from Earth, the Valiant would be returning home for debriefing and some much needed shore leave, giving his crew time to catch up with friends and family after nearly two years away. From there the Valiant would undergo repairs and maintenance, before disembarking for the Procyon System at the invitation of the M’tok’s First Speaker.
According to the message received from Earth, the United Nations had debated the viability off such a visit at length, and despite significant pressure from those who supported a more militarised response, it was in the end agreed, by a two third majority to allow the mission to go ahead.
A full copy of the M’tok language would be downloaded into the Valiant’s computer core on its return to Earth, though as yet some slight imperfections need to be ironed out, it seemed the aliens were willing to allow for some misinterpretations off their own language, that created a slightly haphazard translation, like the fact their planet clearly was not called “Luke” but they had accepted the title in order to ensure more smooth relations and also for the fact humanity it seemed did not possess the necessary linguistic skills to process some of their more complex words, hence also why it was believed the head of their government was called “First Speaker”, it being assumed this title had been accepted on the grounds it identified the individual most closely associated to Howard Austins, rank as First Minister.
Captain Pike: The UNS Valiant, In Orbit of Earth, the Sol System, 05.05.2203
Captain Pike’s heart nearly burst as Earth appeared slowly but surely on the view screen, growing ever bigger, ever brighter, ever clearer. ‘Home…. home at last’ emotions clouded his mind, feelings of joy, love, exhilaration even regret, it was hard to decipher exactly how he felt, though one feeling was certain, he had a new understanding of what “home” meant.
On their passage across the Sol system, the Valiant had been receiving regular transmissions from Earth, detailed broadcasts across all major media platforms and it was safe to say the news off alien life had for the most part been received with extreme enthusiasm, so much so the return of the Valiant and her crew had hardly made a headline. ‘Thank the Lord the parade has been cancelled’ he had received an update from the Scientific Institute that morning, confirming his request to cancel an official parade planned for his crews return, nearly two years was after all, a very long time to be away from home and confined with a limited community. Many of his crew, whilst not openly admitting it, where apprehensive about seeing friends, family and colleagues again, no doubt also worried about the potential media attention they may get in the weeks ahead.
‘Six weeks of shore leave, I mean what am I meant to do with that!’ He himself, had few family, his mother had died a few years earlier and the few relatives he had lived scattered between North America and Western Australia, where they had been forced to flee to after a mega-tsunami caused by Nuclear detonations along the tectonic faults wiped out huge swathes of the Eastern coast during the Third World War. Though the war had happened when he was very small, he had few memories off it, but he had sailed the Eastern coast of Australia with his grandfather some years later, exploring the new mangrove swamps that had burst into life in the ruins have half sunken towns and cities. ‘Perhaps Sydney will be worth a visit, I would love to see the Peace Tower.’ The only real Eastern city left standing had been Syndey, though her skyline had been dramatically reshaped, the world-famous Opera House, needing drastic repairs.
But before he could make any major plans, he had a meeting later in the week with the First Minister, and whilst he had escaped the parade, he had been unable to avoid speaking before the United Nations about the Valiant and her mission.
Alexander Harris: The Biology Lab of the UNS Valiant, In Orbit of Earth, 06.05.2203
Sealing the sample jar with an electronic tag, Alex placed the little fungus back on the shelf with its cousins, made up of a long wrack of fungal specimens taken from Barnards Star II. Looking out of the window, he could just see beneath the clouds, the outline of Britain, gently moving into view as the earth moved on her axis.
Other crew members had disembarked yesterday and most of his own laboratories team were busy packing their cloths ready for departure, and as excited as he was to see his little sister, his mind lingered ever so, on Barnard Star II and the plethora of life that it offered, he had already resolved to request a transfer when the system was formally occupied, hoping to join a biology team to explore the planet and her flora further. Captain Pike had already provided him with a reference, that was almost guaranteed to allow the request to go ahead.
“You know Alex you absolutely baffle me” suddenly the heavily accented voice of Svetlana Maskovich, his opposite number on the biology team broke his thoughts, “You sit there day after day, puzzling over your little collection of fungi, fawning over your plants” she looked around, Alexs desk nestled amid a collection of plants, flowers, shrubs and tree’s he had brough onboard, “The Valiant is heading for a brand new alien civilisation, and you want more than anything to go back, to an uninhabited planet and make plant catalogues!”
He laughed allowed, “That’s the point though isn’t it beautiful” they always had a flirtatious banter with one another, “it isn’t uninhabited” he stroked the leaf of the nearest plant, its gentle green colouring shifting to a purple shade at the touch of his fingers, “Barnards Star II, has thousands of life-forms” he paused a moment, glancing once more to the Earth, moving slowly down below, “When you have grown up like I have, in a major city like London, with buildings and people crammed together everywhere, I guess you yearn for somewhere, with a little bit more of a quite pace, and where the night sky shines that bit clearer.” He picked up several boxes and moved them to a secure unit, a label on the side showing the contents to be toxic, “I always wondered as a kid, what earth was like before we came along, and I guess back there I have found the closest thing to it!”
Lo-tang, Chief of Security on the UNS Valiant, Shanghai, China, Earth, 09.05.2203
Moving down the little streets Lo, stopped to open the gate that led down yet another back alley, lamp-light lit up the gloomy avenue and despite the fact it had been nearly two years since she had been home, her mother’s plants packed out the street just as they had done before she left.
“Mama!” a little voice suddenly burst through an open side door, and Lo turned to see her daughter, Mai, now ten years old racing out to meet her, she scooped her up in her arms moments later! Tears burst out, sobbing suddenly, “Mama, mama!” Stood in the doorway suddenly, Lo’s mother!
“You took your time getting here?” she did not sound impressed, “The Valiant has been in orbit for days, was your own mother and daughter not enough to tare you away!”
“I had things to do mum, I couldn’t just drop everything!” she cuddled her daughter, cleaning her face and wafting her hair from her eyes, a huge smile brushing both their faces, “Look at you little lady, haven’t you grown!”
“They do that” her mother waved her in, “children! They grow up and you have been gone to long!” They moved inside and her mother bolted the door tight, “I guess it was too much to expect that when visitors from another world make eyes at your home, you would think off your family first!”
Sub Chapter; A question of identity
Theodore Sima: The Captains Ready Room on the UNS Entrepid, Sol System, 02.07.2203
Out through the main window of the Captains ready room, the mighty, creamy swirling clouds of Jupiter could be seen, Ganymede one of its moons, currently in immediate orbit. On the holo-projector however, a different solar system was on display and little red markers highlighted points off interest for the upcoming mission.
Captain Sima, had been recruited to captain the newest of Earths science vessels. He had waited until the day he accepted his security command codes, to point out that some poor junior clerk had misspelt the ships name, for she should have been called Intrepid, but when he pointed it out an offer had been made by the Shipyards controller to have the name altered, Theo had told them to leave it as it was, seeing it perhaps as a sign of good-fortune.
Their current mission was to make for the binary-star known as Sirius, around whom no less than six planets had been counted. For Theodore this was the dream of a lifetime, growing up amid the more middle-class homes of Alexandria, he knew all to well, about how the ancient inhabitants of his homeland had idolised and mythologised the Sirius Star, even erecting the Pyramids to mark its course in the heavens, to visit it in person was something few could ever wish to experience, and to be fair, the mood on Earth had become a little heated in recent months; riots, looting in poorer districts, protests and shortages had rattled on and off since First Contact.
Captain Ni Zhao: The Shuttle Bay of the UNS Discovery, Alpha Centauri System, 28.12.2203
Dozens and dozens of crates littered the shuttle bay, and the four small transport vessels were swarming with crew-members all hand-picked by the Captain for their first away mission to the surface of Alpha Centauri IIIa. The bay doors were opened already, the endless void of space held back by the deflector fields that were in place across the ship.
The crew had come together over the last few months, and a tight knit team had emerged, especially after their rescue of the UNS Valiant and her own crew. They had spent some brief time on Earth on the return journey, but the captain was glad to be back to work and pursing her mission in the system. Alpha Centauri was Earths nearest neighbour and from scans of the planet below it held real potential for exploration and discovery, even from this high orbit, rolling sea’s, deserts and forests could be seen blanketing the planet, nestled as it was in the shaded and protective power of the mighty gas-giant, Alpha Centauri III. Without its colossal gravity holding the moon in place, it was a scientific certainty that it would have been dragged into the two burning giants at the systems core, there no doubt it would share a similar fate as those planets in orbit of the sun’s, turned into molten, scorched infernos, stripped off all potential.
Ni Zhao stopped at a crate, lifting the lid; rifles! She turned to one of the ships quarter masters, “You’re going a little heavily armed?” she felt uneasy at the sight of them.
“Just a precaution captain” he smiled at her, not really bothering to look away from his list, “in case anything down there see’s one of our team and considers us an easy meal!”
“Just make sure our teams realise we are here to seek out new life, not but bullets in it!” she closed the lid carefully, “If we wanted to go on a hunt, we wouldn’t need to travel to a whole new star system to do that!”
She went to make for the door, there had been a noticeable shift in the general mood that was still it seemed working its way through the crew. Whilst a vast majority had expressed excitement at First Contact with the M’tok, there was nevertheless an underlying apprehension, the galaxy had become a much ‘smaller’ place seemingly over-night. Where once they had considered themselves alone in the universe, and whilst the discovery off primitive life in the Barnards Star system had caused many to wonder at how magnificent creation could be, yet discovery of advanced life had come much sooner than any imagined, a sense of physical and ‘spiritual’ insecurity was spreading steadily.
Mining Captain Derek Scooza; The Inner Belt (Ceres), the Sol System, 11.01.2204
The captains office was somewhat grim and dank, since the mining platforms heating system had been playing up, an his breath was visible in the simulated air, but he thanked whatever “God” maybe watching, for at least making sure that, that was working! He slapped the side of his computer hard, the screen blurred for a few moments. A reem off stats and figures rolled up the screen, production targets, docking manifests, working hours, the list went on and on. ‘I should have applied for a bloody job on a ship’.
He had hoped, taking command of an orbital mining station would be an exciting job, but three years on and the most excitement he had found, didn’t so much excite as terrify the life out off him. Occasional meteor showers cascaded through the Belt, from the outer rim of the Sol System, with deadly force. Only last year, during one particularly heavy shower, one had punctured a junction in the station and dragged two crewmen out into the void of space in seconds, their bodies seen through the rather limited windows, dancing around in the freezing dark for days.
A video recording request flashed up on his screen, labelled with the insignia of his head office, ‘For f**k sake, what can the bastards want now, my arse is still sore from their last comms!’ No doubt it was another dressing down for not meeting their quotas, ‘what do they except with half a f**king team.’ He had some of the roughest, toughest, son’s of bitches, Earth could provide, men and women eager to earn themselves credits and rations for their families back home, but then new had arrived off alien ships travelling in the void, and with that news, almost half his team had either resigned or put in emergency requests for compassionate leave, although he was sure 98% of those were bogus. And now he was forced to train up kids and lackies, who had no experience of mining on earth, never mind mining in fake gravity, with failing heating, bad lighting, recycled water and basic ration packs.
‘Spooked the pissing lot of them!’ his temper rose ever so slightly, moving to open the message, “I tell you if I ever meet one of those bleeding talking rocks, I will show them what we do with boulders back home and see if they go buzzing around then!”
Rev Alicia Pike: St Maria’s Church, Sydney, Australia, 20.02.2204
“You have your cousin and his lot to thank for this, I tell you” the Verger was not impressed, “My job is to keep the Church doors open and the grounds tidy, not crowd control!” He grabbed a pile of hymn books from off the cabinet, “Every week we get more and more, stupid it is, utterly stupid!”
“One would have hoped Verger, that people seeking God, was a good thing?” she looked at him, clearly unimpressed by him storming into her office and disturbing her whilst she was finishing writing the mornings sermon.
“Yes seeking God is all well and good” he lowered his head a little, embarrassed, ‘But God is not what these people want, they are afraid and seeking answers God can not give! That’s my point!”
Over the last few months the churches attendance had swelled, and more than a third hard clearly hardly ever stepped into a church before, whilst some it seemed hardly understood a single thing about religion at all. Fear had spread slowly as the excitement had worn off, many now questioned what it meant to be human, where they had been seemingly alone in a universe, now one of the greatest questions of all had been answered; Was man alone in the universe?
“You think God has no answer for this?” she tried to control the irritation in her voice, “The Lord of all Creation can not explain why he created more than simply man to fill the heavens?”
Diana Woodword; The United Nations Building, NYC, North America, 22.02.2204
“Mark my words Abbas, if we don’t get these things dealt with and dealt with soon, we will all be out on our ear, do you understand?” the First Minister had sent Diana Woodword, his Chief of Staff, to meet with the Governor.
Riots had broken out in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, East and West Africa, food shortages, amenities and medical supplies had been stretched with demand out stripping supply due to people hoarding and panic buying, to make it all worse a number of more extreme Representatives in the UN where blocking almost any attempt to resolve the problems.
The Governor didn’t look up, busy scanning the raft of demands sent to him from various assembly members and national leaders, so Diana continued, “Howard has placed his trust in you to get things done and right now, nothing is happening!” she looked as calm as anything, but her voice belied her emotion, “If we don’t get this fixed it will spell disaster at the next elections and I promise, if we loose our majority you will lose your job before I loose mine!” she wasn’t naturally a bully, but the times needed a firm hand, “Howard may not lose the election, but without a majority in the Assembly he may as well do, and I am sure if I don’t have you sacked the opposition will demand that you are!”
“I am doing all I can” he looked up and his face seemed drawn, “It is only a handful of discontents, people are concerned, not everyone is overjoyed with the news, you have to understand that!” His voice choked in his throat as he spoke!
“Five nights of riots in Tel Aviv? 40,000 protesters in Largos, two months’ worth looting in Nairobi, a terrorist attack on an official UN embassy in Spain, global suicides up 3%...” she sighed heavily, “A handful of discontents? I dread to think what you would actually call a f**king problem!”
Theodore Sima: The Captains Ready Room on the UNS Entrepid, Sol System, 02.07.2203
Out through the main window of the Captains ready room, the mighty, creamy swirling clouds of Jupiter could be seen, Ganymede one of its moons, currently in immediate orbit. On the holo-projector however, a different solar system was on display and little red markers highlighted points off interest for the upcoming mission.
Captain Sima, had been recruited to captain the newest of Earths science vessels. He had waited until the day he accepted his security command codes, to point out that some poor junior clerk had misspelt the ships name, for she should have been called Intrepid, but when he pointed it out an offer had been made by the Shipyards controller to have the name altered, Theo had told them to leave it as it was, seeing it perhaps as a sign of good-fortune.
Their current mission was to make for the binary-star known as Sirius, around whom no less than six planets had been counted. For Theodore this was the dream of a lifetime, growing up amid the more middle-class homes of Alexandria, he knew all to well, about how the ancient inhabitants of his homeland had idolised and mythologised the Sirius Star, even erecting the Pyramids to mark its course in the heavens, to visit it in person was something few could ever wish to experience, and to be fair, the mood on Earth had become a little heated in recent months; riots, looting in poorer districts, protests and shortages had rattled on and off since First Contact.
Captain Ni Zhao: The Shuttle Bay of the UNS Discovery, Alpha Centauri System, 28.12.2203
Dozens and dozens of crates littered the shuttle bay, and the four small transport vessels were swarming with crew-members all hand-picked by the Captain for their first away mission to the surface of Alpha Centauri IIIa. The bay doors were opened already, the endless void of space held back by the deflector fields that were in place across the ship.
The crew had come together over the last few months, and a tight knit team had emerged, especially after their rescue of the UNS Valiant and her own crew. They had spent some brief time on Earth on the return journey, but the captain was glad to be back to work and pursing her mission in the system. Alpha Centauri was Earths nearest neighbour and from scans of the planet below it held real potential for exploration and discovery, even from this high orbit, rolling sea’s, deserts and forests could be seen blanketing the planet, nestled as it was in the shaded and protective power of the mighty gas-giant, Alpha Centauri III. Without its colossal gravity holding the moon in place, it was a scientific certainty that it would have been dragged into the two burning giants at the systems core, there no doubt it would share a similar fate as those planets in orbit of the sun’s, turned into molten, scorched infernos, stripped off all potential.
Ni Zhao stopped at a crate, lifting the lid; rifles! She turned to one of the ships quarter masters, “You’re going a little heavily armed?” she felt uneasy at the sight of them.
“Just a precaution captain” he smiled at her, not really bothering to look away from his list, “in case anything down there see’s one of our team and considers us an easy meal!”
“Just make sure our teams realise we are here to seek out new life, not but bullets in it!” she closed the lid carefully, “If we wanted to go on a hunt, we wouldn’t need to travel to a whole new star system to do that!”
She went to make for the door, there had been a noticeable shift in the general mood that was still it seemed working its way through the crew. Whilst a vast majority had expressed excitement at First Contact with the M’tok, there was nevertheless an underlying apprehension, the galaxy had become a much ‘smaller’ place seemingly over-night. Where once they had considered themselves alone in the universe, and whilst the discovery off primitive life in the Barnards Star system had caused many to wonder at how magnificent creation could be, yet discovery of advanced life had come much sooner than any imagined, a sense of physical and ‘spiritual’ insecurity was spreading steadily.
Mining Captain Derek Scooza; The Inner Belt (Ceres), the Sol System, 11.01.2204
The captains office was somewhat grim and dank, since the mining platforms heating system had been playing up, an his breath was visible in the simulated air, but he thanked whatever “God” maybe watching, for at least making sure that, that was working! He slapped the side of his computer hard, the screen blurred for a few moments. A reem off stats and figures rolled up the screen, production targets, docking manifests, working hours, the list went on and on. ‘I should have applied for a bloody job on a ship’.
He had hoped, taking command of an orbital mining station would be an exciting job, but three years on and the most excitement he had found, didn’t so much excite as terrify the life out off him. Occasional meteor showers cascaded through the Belt, from the outer rim of the Sol System, with deadly force. Only last year, during one particularly heavy shower, one had punctured a junction in the station and dragged two crewmen out into the void of space in seconds, their bodies seen through the rather limited windows, dancing around in the freezing dark for days.
A video recording request flashed up on his screen, labelled with the insignia of his head office, ‘For f**k sake, what can the bastards want now, my arse is still sore from their last comms!’ No doubt it was another dressing down for not meeting their quotas, ‘what do they except with half a f**king team.’ He had some of the roughest, toughest, son’s of bitches, Earth could provide, men and women eager to earn themselves credits and rations for their families back home, but then new had arrived off alien ships travelling in the void, and with that news, almost half his team had either resigned or put in emergency requests for compassionate leave, although he was sure 98% of those were bogus. And now he was forced to train up kids and lackies, who had no experience of mining on earth, never mind mining in fake gravity, with failing heating, bad lighting, recycled water and basic ration packs.
‘Spooked the pissing lot of them!’ his temper rose ever so slightly, moving to open the message, “I tell you if I ever meet one of those bleeding talking rocks, I will show them what we do with boulders back home and see if they go buzzing around then!”
Rev Alicia Pike: St Maria’s Church, Sydney, Australia, 20.02.2204
“You have your cousin and his lot to thank for this, I tell you” the Verger was not impressed, “My job is to keep the Church doors open and the grounds tidy, not crowd control!” He grabbed a pile of hymn books from off the cabinet, “Every week we get more and more, stupid it is, utterly stupid!”
“One would have hoped Verger, that people seeking God, was a good thing?” she looked at him, clearly unimpressed by him storming into her office and disturbing her whilst she was finishing writing the mornings sermon.
“Yes seeking God is all well and good” he lowered his head a little, embarrassed, ‘But God is not what these people want, they are afraid and seeking answers God can not give! That’s my point!”
Over the last few months the churches attendance had swelled, and more than a third hard clearly hardly ever stepped into a church before, whilst some it seemed hardly understood a single thing about religion at all. Fear had spread slowly as the excitement had worn off, many now questioned what it meant to be human, where they had been seemingly alone in a universe, now one of the greatest questions of all had been answered; Was man alone in the universe?
“You think God has no answer for this?” she tried to control the irritation in her voice, “The Lord of all Creation can not explain why he created more than simply man to fill the heavens?”
Diana Woodword; The United Nations Building, NYC, North America, 22.02.2204
“Mark my words Abbas, if we don’t get these things dealt with and dealt with soon, we will all be out on our ear, do you understand?” the First Minister had sent Diana Woodword, his Chief of Staff, to meet with the Governor.
Riots had broken out in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, East and West Africa, food shortages, amenities and medical supplies had been stretched with demand out stripping supply due to people hoarding and panic buying, to make it all worse a number of more extreme Representatives in the UN where blocking almost any attempt to resolve the problems.
The Governor didn’t look up, busy scanning the raft of demands sent to him from various assembly members and national leaders, so Diana continued, “Howard has placed his trust in you to get things done and right now, nothing is happening!” she looked as calm as anything, but her voice belied her emotion, “If we don’t get this fixed it will spell disaster at the next elections and I promise, if we loose our majority you will lose your job before I loose mine!” she wasn’t naturally a bully, but the times needed a firm hand, “Howard may not lose the election, but without a majority in the Assembly he may as well do, and I am sure if I don’t have you sacked the opposition will demand that you are!”
“I am doing all I can” he looked up and his face seemed drawn, “It is only a handful of discontents, people are concerned, not everyone is overjoyed with the news, you have to understand that!” His voice choked in his throat as he spoke!
“Five nights of riots in Tel Aviv? 40,000 protesters in Largos, two months’ worth looting in Nairobi, a terrorist attack on an official UN embassy in Spain, global suicides up 3%...” she sighed heavily, “A handful of discontents? I dread to think what you would actually call a f**king problem!”
Last edited:
The sheer disconnect between the relative calm in Sirius and the chaos of Earth was good.
Will exploring religious reactions to the existence of Stellaris phenomena be part of this AAR? Because I'm all for that idea.
Will exploring religious reactions to the existence of Stellaris phenomena be part of this AAR? Because I'm all for that idea.
- 1
I am thinking so.... Humans are by our nature a philosophical if not necessarily spiritual species, arent we... our spirituality however,is one of the stepping stones to "sentience" so it feels worthwhile to explore it somewhat.
Chapter 5: Incy Wincy
Away Team Lead Jeff Pritchard; The Surface of Alpha Centauri IIIa, 26.02.2204
“Shoot them” Commander Pritchard gaze the order, “Cover me on the left” he shouted into his communication relay, he was dragging one of his crewmen along the ground, the officer unconscious, directly ahead of them, giant alien spiders where crashing through the undergrowth, with pincers snapping and legs flailing, one of their pack falling dead to the ground.
“COMMANDER GET OUT OFF THERE!” his second in command screamed, “THERE IS TOO MANY OFF THEM!”
“Keep calm Olanda” he was trying desperately to lift the body of his injured crewman to their feet, “Concentrate your fire at their eyes!” Up in the canopy more off the arachnids where heading toward the ground, descending on long, threads of silk, as hard as iron. Heavy fire burst out on the right, as the second team responded to Commander Pritchard’s distress call.
They had stumbled into this nest off monsters, quite by chance having detected unusual readings on the sensors. What exactly had caused the readings seemed a mystery, but it was one, they would have little time to decipher, they either withdrew immediately or else they would be overwhelmed by the pack.
“This is Commander Pritchard to the UNS Discovery, do you copy” he fell to the ground, dropping his crew-mate as one of the giant beasts crashed through the tree’s beside them, a branch falling heavy from above and nocking them both to the ground, “UNS Discovery do you copy!”
Away Team Lead Jeff Pritchard, the UNS Discovery Briefing Room, 27.02.2204
On the holo-projector on the desk, the holographic recording of the arachnid attack was playing out, utilising body-cam footage and sensor logs, to reconstruct the engagement. In total one crewman had been killed, ripped to pieces by the arachnids, and three more, including the one that Commander Pritchard had tried to save, where seriously injured and in the medical bay.
“You did well Commander to get back here alive” Captain Zhao smiled coldly at her officer, though the loss of a crewman had caused all of them distress, “If you hadn’t acted as you did, I dare say our casualties would have been far higher!”
“I dare say Captain, that will be little comfort to Ensign Erose’s family!” Cmd. Pritchard had not taken the loss of one of his team members at all well, and he had requested to be relieved from away-team command for the foreseeable future.
The Captain rose from her chair, and paced the length of the table, “I agree with you there, Cmd. Pritchard, but I today have one fatality to report rather than twelve and for that we must be thankful” she paused, looking around her command team, trying to find the appropriate words, “We all accepted the risks of our mission, and we each new that we may have volunteered to give our lives for this mission, it is regrettable, but it is as it is, it could have easily been someone else!” She clicked several commands on her console, “For the moment we will restrict our studies to orbital and low-flying expeditions only, but we will review our mission details and procedures before commencing further landings!”
“Ensign Erose’s body will be placed in deep stasis, so it may be returned to his family on Earth, when we return to port” the ships chief medical officer, Hazel Hallon interjected. When coming aboard all crew members were asked what method they would prefer in the event of their death; their bodies could be placed in a deep-stasis freeze, incinerated, or ejected into space. “I will have her death formally registered later today and then her private files will be opened, I am sure her parents would wish to hear, her final testament recording!”
“Thank you doctor!” The captain took her seat once more, having obviously finished pacing the table.
Marc Rubio:- Xeno-biologist, Alpha Centauri IIIa, Northern Hemisphere, 01.03.2204
The shuttle skimmed along, buffeted by a strong northern wind rushing down from the pole, snow flecked on the air and according to the weather reports, a heavy snow storm was creeping in from the west. A call went over the internal comms, letting everyone know their target was in sight.
Some days ago another patrol had managed to tag one of the northern continents most formidable predators, but it had managed to slip away as heavy snow drifts banked in and the weather had made pursuit impossible. The team named them Ice Kreugar’s, giant beasts nearly a ton and a half in weight, covered in white shaggy fur, with teeth and claws as hard as diamonds and a thick tail. They wandered the ice plains off the northern hemisphere, at the very top of the food chain.
Looking down through the side door, Marc could see their quarry plodding onward against the wind, solitary creatures, designed perfectly for life out on the frozen wastes.
In the far south, amid the tropical forests the giant arachnids were the dominant predator, but here the north ruled by the Kreugars. If Earth ever hoped to spread its people amid the stars and colonise new worlds, it was safe to say that the little moon, of Alpha Centauri III was not the best choice to start.
Captain Pike; The UNS Valiant, Heading for Luke in the Procyon System, 04.04.2204
“Captain we are receiving a transmission from the station orbiting the planet” the comms-officer, quickly ran the message through the translator, “They have granted us permission to enter the planets orbit.” On the main view screen, beautiful shining lights could be seen covering the whole planet, a glittering jewel of civilisation amid the gloom of space.
“Takes us in Ensign and bring us into a steady orbit” Captain Pike, glanced over the controls, reading their communication, he tapped in a communication pathway, “Ambassador Alonso we will be coming within range of video communication shortly” he paused, waiting for her to acknowledge, “You may wish to come to the bridge.”
The Valiant’s engines slowed to lower impulse, and the Captains heart skipped a beat ever so, here in front of them was one of the most momentous days in Earths history and the gravity of that was not lost on him or the crew. Directly ahead was an alien world, teeming with life and welcoming humanity with open arms, across the view screen, smaller transport vessels could be seen descending and ascending between the planets surface and its massive orbital station.
“Enhance the view Ensign, lets get a better look” and without a word, the screen suddenly zoomed in, bringing the planet into higher resolution. It was astounding, the whole surface of the planet was transformed and unlike earth, not a speck of green or blue could be seen, every single inch of the surface covered in one giant city, Captain Pike, no doubt like many of the crew, held his breath, for nothing had prepared him for this sight, a whole world, transformed into one mega-city.
Ambassador Dolores Alonso, The Planet of Luke, Procyon, 06.04.2204
Crystaline structures stretched from horizon to horizon, as far as the eye could see, huge pyramids, emerald-coloured towers and diamond obelisks stretched up to the sky. The air above the mega-city was buzzing with transport vessels, down below brilliant veins of light shone brightly denoting transport lanes and high-speed rail-lines.
“Best to let me do the talking, Captain!” Ambassador Alonso stood by the transport barges side door, a forcefield allowing the doors to be open, so the whole city visit could be viewed on their descent. Besides her, other Representatives, sent at the First Ministers request gazed in wonder at the city below, they were made up off a small delegation off politicians, scientists, and religious leaders. “We don’t want to go sparking any diplomatic incidents on day one!”
“As you wish Ambassador, politics is not really my forte” Captain Pike, squirmed slightly, his ceremonial uniform, a little tight around the neck.
“Beautiful isn’t it!” Reverand Shettle, off the New Church of Jesus Christ marvelled at the view, “A Day few of us will ever forget, I am sure” she turned to the group, “Perhaps we should offer a brief prayer before we land?”
Dolores laughed a little, “If you feel the need to Reverand, but perhaps you would go and say them at the back of the ship, not everyone after all shares your sense of piety!”
The Reverend and a small body off those who shared similar beliefs moved to the back to commence their prayers, whilst Dolores continued to watch the decent toward their landing platform. According to the information supplied to them before decent, a delegation of esteemed members of the M’tok council would greet them in the government district.
The M’tok claimed to have made contact with dozens of alien species over the centuries and they preferred a more low-key type of affair, rather than a massive public display. From the information they had supplied, they had been receiving visitors to their world for three centuries and despite their apparent warmth and openness, it had been made incredibly clear to the delegation, no one would be allowed to leave the government district, not even for leisure purposes or to engage in tourist activities.
Almost twenty minutes passed before their inter-orbital barge stopped descending and began moving horizontally, flying across various districts of the city toward the government sector. It was hard to decipher from the buildings, exactly what was what, though it was clear the M’tok had an incredibly sophisticated civilisation, even though the nature of their buildings gave it a slightly chaotic appearance. Judging from the sheer scale of the city, covering as it did the whole planet, and assuming, that many billions of citizens inhabited the world below, it was obvious to all, that as well as being highly sophisticated, the M’tok must have engineered an incredibly prosperous economic model.
Away Team Lead Jeff Pritchard; The Surface of Alpha Centauri IIIa, 26.02.2204
“Shoot them” Commander Pritchard gaze the order, “Cover me on the left” he shouted into his communication relay, he was dragging one of his crewmen along the ground, the officer unconscious, directly ahead of them, giant alien spiders where crashing through the undergrowth, with pincers snapping and legs flailing, one of their pack falling dead to the ground.
“COMMANDER GET OUT OFF THERE!” his second in command screamed, “THERE IS TOO MANY OFF THEM!”
“Keep calm Olanda” he was trying desperately to lift the body of his injured crewman to their feet, “Concentrate your fire at their eyes!” Up in the canopy more off the arachnids where heading toward the ground, descending on long, threads of silk, as hard as iron. Heavy fire burst out on the right, as the second team responded to Commander Pritchard’s distress call.
They had stumbled into this nest off monsters, quite by chance having detected unusual readings on the sensors. What exactly had caused the readings seemed a mystery, but it was one, they would have little time to decipher, they either withdrew immediately or else they would be overwhelmed by the pack.
“This is Commander Pritchard to the UNS Discovery, do you copy” he fell to the ground, dropping his crew-mate as one of the giant beasts crashed through the tree’s beside them, a branch falling heavy from above and nocking them both to the ground, “UNS Discovery do you copy!”
Away Team Lead Jeff Pritchard, the UNS Discovery Briefing Room, 27.02.2204
On the holo-projector on the desk, the holographic recording of the arachnid attack was playing out, utilising body-cam footage and sensor logs, to reconstruct the engagement. In total one crewman had been killed, ripped to pieces by the arachnids, and three more, including the one that Commander Pritchard had tried to save, where seriously injured and in the medical bay.
“You did well Commander to get back here alive” Captain Zhao smiled coldly at her officer, though the loss of a crewman had caused all of them distress, “If you hadn’t acted as you did, I dare say our casualties would have been far higher!”
“I dare say Captain, that will be little comfort to Ensign Erose’s family!” Cmd. Pritchard had not taken the loss of one of his team members at all well, and he had requested to be relieved from away-team command for the foreseeable future.
The Captain rose from her chair, and paced the length of the table, “I agree with you there, Cmd. Pritchard, but I today have one fatality to report rather than twelve and for that we must be thankful” she paused, looking around her command team, trying to find the appropriate words, “We all accepted the risks of our mission, and we each new that we may have volunteered to give our lives for this mission, it is regrettable, but it is as it is, it could have easily been someone else!” She clicked several commands on her console, “For the moment we will restrict our studies to orbital and low-flying expeditions only, but we will review our mission details and procedures before commencing further landings!”
“Ensign Erose’s body will be placed in deep stasis, so it may be returned to his family on Earth, when we return to port” the ships chief medical officer, Hazel Hallon interjected. When coming aboard all crew members were asked what method they would prefer in the event of their death; their bodies could be placed in a deep-stasis freeze, incinerated, or ejected into space. “I will have her death formally registered later today and then her private files will be opened, I am sure her parents would wish to hear, her final testament recording!”
“Thank you doctor!” The captain took her seat once more, having obviously finished pacing the table.
Marc Rubio:- Xeno-biologist, Alpha Centauri IIIa, Northern Hemisphere, 01.03.2204
The shuttle skimmed along, buffeted by a strong northern wind rushing down from the pole, snow flecked on the air and according to the weather reports, a heavy snow storm was creeping in from the west. A call went over the internal comms, letting everyone know their target was in sight.
Some days ago another patrol had managed to tag one of the northern continents most formidable predators, but it had managed to slip away as heavy snow drifts banked in and the weather had made pursuit impossible. The team named them Ice Kreugar’s, giant beasts nearly a ton and a half in weight, covered in white shaggy fur, with teeth and claws as hard as diamonds and a thick tail. They wandered the ice plains off the northern hemisphere, at the very top of the food chain.
Looking down through the side door, Marc could see their quarry plodding onward against the wind, solitary creatures, designed perfectly for life out on the frozen wastes.
In the far south, amid the tropical forests the giant arachnids were the dominant predator, but here the north ruled by the Kreugars. If Earth ever hoped to spread its people amid the stars and colonise new worlds, it was safe to say that the little moon, of Alpha Centauri III was not the best choice to start.
Captain Pike; The UNS Valiant, Heading for Luke in the Procyon System, 04.04.2204
“Captain we are receiving a transmission from the station orbiting the planet” the comms-officer, quickly ran the message through the translator, “They have granted us permission to enter the planets orbit.” On the main view screen, beautiful shining lights could be seen covering the whole planet, a glittering jewel of civilisation amid the gloom of space.
“Takes us in Ensign and bring us into a steady orbit” Captain Pike, glanced over the controls, reading their communication, he tapped in a communication pathway, “Ambassador Alonso we will be coming within range of video communication shortly” he paused, waiting for her to acknowledge, “You may wish to come to the bridge.”
The Valiant’s engines slowed to lower impulse, and the Captains heart skipped a beat ever so, here in front of them was one of the most momentous days in Earths history and the gravity of that was not lost on him or the crew. Directly ahead was an alien world, teeming with life and welcoming humanity with open arms, across the view screen, smaller transport vessels could be seen descending and ascending between the planets surface and its massive orbital station.
“Enhance the view Ensign, lets get a better look” and without a word, the screen suddenly zoomed in, bringing the planet into higher resolution. It was astounding, the whole surface of the planet was transformed and unlike earth, not a speck of green or blue could be seen, every single inch of the surface covered in one giant city, Captain Pike, no doubt like many of the crew, held his breath, for nothing had prepared him for this sight, a whole world, transformed into one mega-city.
Ambassador Dolores Alonso, The Planet of Luke, Procyon, 06.04.2204
Crystaline structures stretched from horizon to horizon, as far as the eye could see, huge pyramids, emerald-coloured towers and diamond obelisks stretched up to the sky. The air above the mega-city was buzzing with transport vessels, down below brilliant veins of light shone brightly denoting transport lanes and high-speed rail-lines.
“Best to let me do the talking, Captain!” Ambassador Alonso stood by the transport barges side door, a forcefield allowing the doors to be open, so the whole city visit could be viewed on their descent. Besides her, other Representatives, sent at the First Ministers request gazed in wonder at the city below, they were made up off a small delegation off politicians, scientists, and religious leaders. “We don’t want to go sparking any diplomatic incidents on day one!”
“As you wish Ambassador, politics is not really my forte” Captain Pike, squirmed slightly, his ceremonial uniform, a little tight around the neck.
“Beautiful isn’t it!” Reverand Shettle, off the New Church of Jesus Christ marvelled at the view, “A Day few of us will ever forget, I am sure” she turned to the group, “Perhaps we should offer a brief prayer before we land?”
Dolores laughed a little, “If you feel the need to Reverand, but perhaps you would go and say them at the back of the ship, not everyone after all shares your sense of piety!”
The Reverend and a small body off those who shared similar beliefs moved to the back to commence their prayers, whilst Dolores continued to watch the decent toward their landing platform. According to the information supplied to them before decent, a delegation of esteemed members of the M’tok council would greet them in the government district.
The M’tok claimed to have made contact with dozens of alien species over the centuries and they preferred a more low-key type of affair, rather than a massive public display. From the information they had supplied, they had been receiving visitors to their world for three centuries and despite their apparent warmth and openness, it had been made incredibly clear to the delegation, no one would be allowed to leave the government district, not even for leisure purposes or to engage in tourist activities.
Almost twenty minutes passed before their inter-orbital barge stopped descending and began moving horizontally, flying across various districts of the city toward the government sector. It was hard to decipher from the buildings, exactly what was what, though it was clear the M’tok had an incredibly sophisticated civilisation, even though the nature of their buildings gave it a slightly chaotic appearance. Judging from the sheer scale of the city, covering as it did the whole planet, and assuming, that many billions of citizens inhabited the world below, it was obvious to all, that as well as being highly sophisticated, the M’tok must have engineered an incredibly prosperous economic model.
How long will these M'tok stay friendly?
That's the danger of exploring alien worlds - there might be very dangerous alien wildlife. Let's hope that Earth learns from this incident...
That's the danger of exploring alien worlds - there might be very dangerous alien wildlife. Let's hope that Earth learns from this incident...
Sub-Chapter: The United States of Lukes 24 Continents
The M’tok Species:
The M’tok are a crystalline species, formed from a mix off organic, biological and mineral matter. Standing at approximately 3ft in height, with six legs and weighing in at just under quarter of a ton, they are a very sturdy species. Their internal organs are formed from interconnected mineral and metallic pathways, that form something like veins, though unlike most species, what counts for blood in the M’tok is something more closely akin to a liquid sulphuric compound. Due to their material composition the M’tok live for a considerable time, often twice the length of the average human, death only coming usually after considerable degradation of their surface material.
Species Origin:
The M’tok are not native to Luke, in fact they are not even native to the Procyon system, nor is their sapience the result of natural evolution. In fact, the M’tok were genetically modified from an older asteroid dwelling species, brought to Luke by an earlier civilisation known as the Kirillians.
The Kirillians, are the original native species to Luke, and after an extended civil war which spanned a number of systems, they found their population so decimated as to send their economy into freefall. During a brief peace and with some understanding of genetic manipulation they took the M’toks ancestors from their home, and enhanced their evolution to create a sapient species, who could fill the gaps in their labour supply.
Unfortunately for the Kirillians, the peace did not last long, and war returned! Millions were slaughtered in this second inter-system conflict, tipping Kirillian society over the edge and leaving their culture broken. With their birth rate falling rapidly and unable to stabilise their failing economy, it did not take to long for the M’tok species to become the larger population. It was at that point the doom of the Kirillians was cemented, for the M’tok did not wish to participate in the conflict and when their creators sought to force them into military service, they rose up and seized control not only off the government, but the means of production and sustenance.
When one rogue scientist released a novel virus to try and cull the M’tok population, the results worked in reverse, the virus mutating rapidly and transferring from one species to the other, wiping out the Kirillians species completely and leaving the M’tok as sole rulers of the planet.
Characteristics, Ethics and Governance;
Due to exceptional longevity, requiring little sustenance and with an incredibly high immune system, the M’tok are a naturally a populace species and thus over the years have become highly communal. Their home planet is reckoned to have at the best estimate some 20 billion citizens, which thus makes communality incredibly beneficial on a world were space is at a premium. It is suggested that one of the few illnesses that affect does affect the M’tok, is depression when they are removed from close contact with their own species.
Whilst looking over, the history off the M’tok species, they have off course moved through various cultural and ethical shifts, nevertheless their most dominant philosophies have always been founded in egalitarian and democratic values.
In modern times these egalitarian values have manifested to give rise to a planet wide government, based heavily in the protection of individual citizens rights, and with considerable checks and balances to ensure the preservation of their democracy. The accepted leader of the M’tok Government, referred to as the First Speaker in the nearest human translation is but the head off a “cabinet” of 54 ministers in charge of various aspects of governance.
With an incredibly forward-thinking legal system separated from all political influence, an economic structure that ensures the whole citizen body benefits from the prosperity and trade and a government structure heavily entrenched in democratic values. For many centuries now, suffrage has been extended to the entire population from the age of twenty years which is the accepted end of M’tok adolescence, with no distinction made between genders, of which there are five, and no class or ethnic differences.
On first contact with humanity one aspect of M’tok ethics presented an incredibly curious paradox, whilst being incredibly open and xenophilic, the M’tok have banned all non-native settlement on their world, travel across Luke is heavily prohibited without special government dispensation. Considering how they came to own the planet; it is likely that they are very conscious of allowing any other species to gain a foothold on their home world. Further to this the M’tok value privacy both personally and in relation to their business contacts, they refuse to ever consider sharing information on their trading partners.
The Planet of Luke and the M’toks Economic Structure;
Once a mycelium world, covered in huge mushroom forests, one would hardly recognise the planet as it is now, covered as it is in one gigantic city structure that spreads over every single continent, few cities on earth could ever hope to be so massive, though for humanity such a huge shift in the natural environment would not be beneficial to the human condition.
When the M’tok took control of Luke, one thing that helped above all else was the left over production facilities built by the Kirillians, who were exceptional engineers and gifted in mineral extraction and energy production. Whilst they themselves do not require much in the way of amenities, many of the factories that were left where geared to the production of amenities, which are still today produced on mass for export to their various trading partners.
Despite their considerable population, there is still huge room for expansion and employment still within their economic system as one policy the M’tok insist upon is constant investment in capacity for economic growth to allow for potential future business.
Given their genesis security is incredibly important to the M’tok and considerable investment is given to policing and to the military establishment, with their planetary defence force numbering in the millions.
The M’tok Species:
The M’tok are a crystalline species, formed from a mix off organic, biological and mineral matter. Standing at approximately 3ft in height, with six legs and weighing in at just under quarter of a ton, they are a very sturdy species. Their internal organs are formed from interconnected mineral and metallic pathways, that form something like veins, though unlike most species, what counts for blood in the M’tok is something more closely akin to a liquid sulphuric compound. Due to their material composition the M’tok live for a considerable time, often twice the length of the average human, death only coming usually after considerable degradation of their surface material.
Species Origin:
The M’tok are not native to Luke, in fact they are not even native to the Procyon system, nor is their sapience the result of natural evolution. In fact, the M’tok were genetically modified from an older asteroid dwelling species, brought to Luke by an earlier civilisation known as the Kirillians.
The Kirillians, are the original native species to Luke, and after an extended civil war which spanned a number of systems, they found their population so decimated as to send their economy into freefall. During a brief peace and with some understanding of genetic manipulation they took the M’toks ancestors from their home, and enhanced their evolution to create a sapient species, who could fill the gaps in their labour supply.
Unfortunately for the Kirillians, the peace did not last long, and war returned! Millions were slaughtered in this second inter-system conflict, tipping Kirillian society over the edge and leaving their culture broken. With their birth rate falling rapidly and unable to stabilise their failing economy, it did not take to long for the M’tok species to become the larger population. It was at that point the doom of the Kirillians was cemented, for the M’tok did not wish to participate in the conflict and when their creators sought to force them into military service, they rose up and seized control not only off the government, but the means of production and sustenance.
When one rogue scientist released a novel virus to try and cull the M’tok population, the results worked in reverse, the virus mutating rapidly and transferring from one species to the other, wiping out the Kirillians species completely and leaving the M’tok as sole rulers of the planet.
Characteristics, Ethics and Governance;
Due to exceptional longevity, requiring little sustenance and with an incredibly high immune system, the M’tok are a naturally a populace species and thus over the years have become highly communal. Their home planet is reckoned to have at the best estimate some 20 billion citizens, which thus makes communality incredibly beneficial on a world were space is at a premium. It is suggested that one of the few illnesses that affect does affect the M’tok, is depression when they are removed from close contact with their own species.
Whilst looking over, the history off the M’tok species, they have off course moved through various cultural and ethical shifts, nevertheless their most dominant philosophies have always been founded in egalitarian and democratic values.
In modern times these egalitarian values have manifested to give rise to a planet wide government, based heavily in the protection of individual citizens rights, and with considerable checks and balances to ensure the preservation of their democracy. The accepted leader of the M’tok Government, referred to as the First Speaker in the nearest human translation is but the head off a “cabinet” of 54 ministers in charge of various aspects of governance.
With an incredibly forward-thinking legal system separated from all political influence, an economic structure that ensures the whole citizen body benefits from the prosperity and trade and a government structure heavily entrenched in democratic values. For many centuries now, suffrage has been extended to the entire population from the age of twenty years which is the accepted end of M’tok adolescence, with no distinction made between genders, of which there are five, and no class or ethnic differences.
On first contact with humanity one aspect of M’tok ethics presented an incredibly curious paradox, whilst being incredibly open and xenophilic, the M’tok have banned all non-native settlement on their world, travel across Luke is heavily prohibited without special government dispensation. Considering how they came to own the planet; it is likely that they are very conscious of allowing any other species to gain a foothold on their home world. Further to this the M’tok value privacy both personally and in relation to their business contacts, they refuse to ever consider sharing information on their trading partners.
The Planet of Luke and the M’toks Economic Structure;
Once a mycelium world, covered in huge mushroom forests, one would hardly recognise the planet as it is now, covered as it is in one gigantic city structure that spreads over every single continent, few cities on earth could ever hope to be so massive, though for humanity such a huge shift in the natural environment would not be beneficial to the human condition.
When the M’tok took control of Luke, one thing that helped above all else was the left over production facilities built by the Kirillians, who were exceptional engineers and gifted in mineral extraction and energy production. Whilst they themselves do not require much in the way of amenities, many of the factories that were left where geared to the production of amenities, which are still today produced on mass for export to their various trading partners.
Despite their considerable population, there is still huge room for expansion and employment still within their economic system as one policy the M’tok insist upon is constant investment in capacity for economic growth to allow for potential future business.
Given their genesis security is incredibly important to the M’tok and considerable investment is given to policing and to the military establishment, with their planetary defence force numbering in the millions.
Last edited:
That's a nice piece of worldbuilding. I am interested in more details about these five genders, though. How does their reproduction work?
Chapter 6: Metals and Minerals
Ambassador D. Alonso: The Government District of Luke, Procyon System, 28.04.2204
“I do hope you can understand Ambassador” Minister Tzxek, in charge of production and industry, walked slowly beside the Ambassador, forcing himself to keep pace with her, since his six legs allowed for a much quicker gait than a human, “It would take significant alterations to our facilities to produce goods suitable for distribution amongst your population, thus small orders simply, cannot be accommodated so easily!”
The delegation from Earth had spent nearly three full weeks in discussions with the M’tok, establishing a keen rapour with their hosts, whom seemed all to ready to establish peaceful relations with their new inter-galactic neighbours. And whilst Dolores had spent a considerable number off hours in discussions, meetings and presentations, her fellow dignitaries had been ingratiating themselves fully into M’tok culture, who held amicability and hospitality amongst their most highly held virtues.
She had on occasion noted, other “alien” dignitaries in conversation with government ministers, but they had always been kept at a clear distance and any attempt to enquire as to their origins or species, was met with a stone-walling, equal to the skin of any M’tok elder, hard and unbreakable! Privacy and confidentiality also a keenly held principle.
“My friend, rest assured I bare no ill-will toward you, for your decision and I am sure my government will understand why you have come to the conclusions you have” she had hoped for some headway on a trade deal, but the truth of the matter was, the M’tok wanted for nothing, their home world produced more than enough to meet all of its citizens needs. “Such as it is, I know the First Minister will be happy enough with our non-aggression agreement!”
“Quite right” Tzxek chuckled, an eerie creaking, gravel like sound coming from within him, as if the thought off war between the two races was comical, “In time perhaps a trade agreement can be struck, rest assured we are not closing the door on future negotiations!”
Captain Pike; The Xeno-biology Lab, the UNS Valiant, In orbit of Luke, 29.04.2204
“Professor Maskovich anything to report” Captain Pike strolled through the lab, dozens of junior scientists suddenly standing to attention and. He smiled, nodding to a few officers, “At ease people, go back to you work, there is nothing to see here, just taking a stroll.” He took these “strolls” weekly, visiting various research labs to keep abreast of current studies.
All around the room various tables were covered in sample jars, vials of fluids under-going tests, good old fashion Bunsen burners heating jars of vicious looking chemicals, test-tubes lined in row on row, whilst holo-projections of a M’tok adult circled on one desk, the officer working at it, adding various details to the computers system, which then appeared as blue info-dots on the projection. In the far corner of the room, a young officer was half buried by plants acquired from Barnard Star II.
Svetlana Maskovich turned, smiling, “Captain a pleasure to see you” she grabbed her tablet and tapped a number of keys, moving over to the holo-projector, “You couldn’t not have arrived at a more perfect moment, we are currently reviewing the physiological reports sent to us by the M’tok, the image on the holo-projector shifted to display five M’tok adults. “I have spent the morning looking over the unique make-up of M’tok breeding cycles and their divergent genders!”
“And?” he and Svetlana had an excellent working relationship, indeed when he had been offered command of the Valiant, he had specifically requested her appointment to the biology team.
“It would seem the reason for the M’tok possessing five genders, is based on an oversight off their engineers” she clicked some mor buttons, DNA strands beginning to appear in the holo-matrix, “When the Kirillian’s first acquired the ancestors of the M’tok, it would seem they had not noticed that the samples they had taken were not in fact one single species, but rather three separate subspecies of an earlier life-form” suddenly pictures of asteroids emerged in the display, “It is my belief, that the Kirillians took the M’tok ancestors from a number of asteroids, within the same belt, believing them to be a united species, but in fact they had significant genetic divergences no doubt acquired from years of isolation on individual asteroids, only crossing one another when their was a collision.”
“But they are one species now?” Captain Pike had looked over much of the history of the M’tok himself, and whilst on the planets surface he had been offered a tour of their heritage museum.
“Oh indeed they are, but they are a species divided by their mutations, and over the years breeding between the various sub-species proved difficult, apart from one random phenomena” she selected on off the floating holo-graphic M’tok and enlarged it, “This is of the M’zak gender group” she brought up its DNA sequence and a number of other data, “its role in M’tok society is similar to seahorses on earth but with one noticeable difference, it cannot conceive its own children, but it is required to allow two members of the divergent species to conceive and carry the infants” she noticed Captain Pike looked incredibly confused, “it is given the reproductive material off both male and female off either subspecies, by mating with both, it then uses that material to bring about conception and then carries the child on behalf of the parents, allowing them to continue their work unhindered!”
“Can they not cut out the middle man so to speak?” the Captain was baffled, to thing of a species possessing more than one gender and parents using a surrogate as part of their natural reproduction was mind blowing.
“Unfortunately not” the Professor allowed the holo-image to change further, “there are two main sub-groups nowadays of the M’tok species, the Borak and the Mar’oz, females of both species can not carry the child of a mate off the other sub-group without the use of a M’zak, nor can they breed with members of their own subspecies due to mutations to their reproductive system and M’zak are genetic anomalies, seemingly born via a commonly occurring, yet random mutation.”
“Fascinating” Captain Pike circled the hologram, examining the data, “there is almost nothing like this on earth!”
“It is not at all simple, and I have only just managed to get my head around it myself, how this all has come about will need much more analysis and in depth study!”
Abbas Al’adat; New York City, the Cabinet office of the United Nations, 11.05.2204
Various Secretaries aides filtered in and out of the meeting, bringing documents for their relevant members attention, the room was packed with members, sat around a huge table one huge round table encompassing a smaller circular desk on the inside, around which the most high ranking Permanent Secretaries sat, with the Governor at their centre. Every single week recently, they had met in full council, after the First Minister and his team, had demanded either progress be made on their party’s agenda or sackings would follow, no doubt championed by the fiery, Diana Woodward.
The finance secretary was currently speaking, “We are fortunate that the Assembly has now, finally voted in favour of our finance package, albeit there have been some amendments needed to various areas of investment in order to secure the deal” he paused momentarily, clicking onto the projector the newly amended budget, “I am pleased to say work on clearing many of our sub-standard housing districts can now begin!”
“I see my own budget has been slashed!” the Secretary for transport interjected, clearly irritated.
“And my budget too seems to have gone down significantly” the Secretary for European Recovery adding her own voice.
“It is regrettable my friends” Abbas suddenly interrupted on the Finance secretaries behalf, “But these adjustments came from the First Ministers office directly.”
“Are these adjustments entirely necessary? Or are they simply political decisions, made by our masters to ensure they win the next election?” The Permanent secretary for Internal Affairs added his own voice, always keen to push for greater freedom for the civil service against political interference.
“I assume both” Abbas defended his position and that off his colleague, “We are here to serve at the pleasure of those elected to their offices and to enact the wishes of our Ministers, but I have looked over the funding pledges they require and my own team and the Financial office have worked closely, to make the most neutral amendments we can!”
First Minister Howard Austin; Hiroshima, Japan, Earth, the Sol System, 21.06.2204
“Here, today, I make a sworn promise to all off you, that my administration will secure the funds required to allow you to go on with your research” Howard’s voiced carried with passion, at the back of the room, filled with journalists and scientists, Diana mouthed every single word of his speech, the two having spent hours going over it the night before. “Who would have thought two centuries later, that here in Hiroshima, a place that knows all to well the destructive power of nuclear energy, we would be standing on the cusp off a break through which will forever do away, with the need to use such an unhealthy mode of energy!”
Applause broke out across the room, and journalists jumped from their seats eager to ask their questions, but Howard waved them down. He had come to Hiroshima especially to look at the result of their recent studies; data sent back from the UNS Valiant and the UNS Discovery, proving crucial in driving the research into fusion power almost century ahead.
“My friends for your hard work, your determination and skill, I thank you!” Howard smiled, this was just the kind of positive publicity they needed, and whilst the average man in the street had little interest in how his or her lights were powered, the imagery was great, ‘Howard Austin to abolish nuclear power!’ Given the devastating effects nuclear radiation had had, in earths history and the use of nuclear weapons during the last global conflict, it was an election winning message, popular with the young and old, even if Earth’s small navy was still equipped with nuclear weaponry.
Diana had impressed upon him, the effects of first contact with M’tok and whilst in many ways it had been greeted with enthusiasm, Howards more welcoming stance had given his political opponents the means to criticise him as an ineffective and passive leader, especially given the recent unrest and the fact constant debates on first contact protocols had begun to stall his progressive agenda in the United Nations Assembly.
Captain Ni Zhao; The UNS Discovery, In Orbit of Alpha Centauri I, 19.09.2204
The Discovery’s hulled creaked and groaned under the immense gravimetric pressures being emitted from Alpha Centauri’s binary stars as the ship tried to hold a stable orbit above the systems first planet. Its close proximity to the two stars and its orbit around the larger off the two bodies, dragged through the centre of them, turning its surface into molten magma, and super heating its core.
“Sensors detect a huge amount of mineral deposits on the planets surface” Sensory Officer, Xi-tang stood by her station, “As the magma cools on the planets darker side, they appear to temporarily take on solid form, huge tracts of the solidified lava is covered in ore veins and I dare say may be open to extraction!”
“Can we determine when and where these veins will form?” Captain Ni Zhao, sat comfortably in her Captains chair, gazing out the view-screen, extra filtration allowing them to view the orbiting world without damaging their eyes.
“Presently no Captain” Xi checked her readings, “but if we were to remain in orbit for a few more days, I am sure we could better understand the process.”
The Captain rose from her seat, moving to the sensor station, she checked her officers readings, “Prepare a probe and send it down, if we can penetrate the crust and observe the mantle, perhaps we will be able to gain a more accurate series of measurements.”
Captain Theodore Sima; The UNS Entrepid, Sirius Star A, Sirius System, 24.09.2204
“The Deflector’s are at 30% and falling Captain” the ships chief tactical officer sounded alarmed, “if we hold orbit for much longer we risk losing them completely!”
“As you were commander” the Captain crossed the bridge, “lets not lose our heads now!” despite the fact the Captains expertise were in mineral extraction and chemistry, he had to admit the readings had intrigued him. Scans of the star had detected a series of objects/satellites in lower orbit of the star, but so far their scans could not pierce the radiation being cast out by the stars internal reactions. “Ensign” he turned to their helm-officer, “Back us away to a safe distance” he turned again to the tactical commander, “See if your team and engineering can’t modify the deflector to compensate for the stars radiation.”
Ambassador D. Alonso: The Government District of Luke, Procyon System, 28.04.2204
“I do hope you can understand Ambassador” Minister Tzxek, in charge of production and industry, walked slowly beside the Ambassador, forcing himself to keep pace with her, since his six legs allowed for a much quicker gait than a human, “It would take significant alterations to our facilities to produce goods suitable for distribution amongst your population, thus small orders simply, cannot be accommodated so easily!”
The delegation from Earth had spent nearly three full weeks in discussions with the M’tok, establishing a keen rapour with their hosts, whom seemed all to ready to establish peaceful relations with their new inter-galactic neighbours. And whilst Dolores had spent a considerable number off hours in discussions, meetings and presentations, her fellow dignitaries had been ingratiating themselves fully into M’tok culture, who held amicability and hospitality amongst their most highly held virtues.
She had on occasion noted, other “alien” dignitaries in conversation with government ministers, but they had always been kept at a clear distance and any attempt to enquire as to their origins or species, was met with a stone-walling, equal to the skin of any M’tok elder, hard and unbreakable! Privacy and confidentiality also a keenly held principle.
“My friend, rest assured I bare no ill-will toward you, for your decision and I am sure my government will understand why you have come to the conclusions you have” she had hoped for some headway on a trade deal, but the truth of the matter was, the M’tok wanted for nothing, their home world produced more than enough to meet all of its citizens needs. “Such as it is, I know the First Minister will be happy enough with our non-aggression agreement!”
“Quite right” Tzxek chuckled, an eerie creaking, gravel like sound coming from within him, as if the thought off war between the two races was comical, “In time perhaps a trade agreement can be struck, rest assured we are not closing the door on future negotiations!”
Captain Pike; The Xeno-biology Lab, the UNS Valiant, In orbit of Luke, 29.04.2204
“Professor Maskovich anything to report” Captain Pike strolled through the lab, dozens of junior scientists suddenly standing to attention and. He smiled, nodding to a few officers, “At ease people, go back to you work, there is nothing to see here, just taking a stroll.” He took these “strolls” weekly, visiting various research labs to keep abreast of current studies.
All around the room various tables were covered in sample jars, vials of fluids under-going tests, good old fashion Bunsen burners heating jars of vicious looking chemicals, test-tubes lined in row on row, whilst holo-projections of a M’tok adult circled on one desk, the officer working at it, adding various details to the computers system, which then appeared as blue info-dots on the projection. In the far corner of the room, a young officer was half buried by plants acquired from Barnard Star II.
Svetlana Maskovich turned, smiling, “Captain a pleasure to see you” she grabbed her tablet and tapped a number of keys, moving over to the holo-projector, “You couldn’t not have arrived at a more perfect moment, we are currently reviewing the physiological reports sent to us by the M’tok, the image on the holo-projector shifted to display five M’tok adults. “I have spent the morning looking over the unique make-up of M’tok breeding cycles and their divergent genders!”
“And?” he and Svetlana had an excellent working relationship, indeed when he had been offered command of the Valiant, he had specifically requested her appointment to the biology team.
“It would seem the reason for the M’tok possessing five genders, is based on an oversight off their engineers” she clicked some mor buttons, DNA strands beginning to appear in the holo-matrix, “When the Kirillian’s first acquired the ancestors of the M’tok, it would seem they had not noticed that the samples they had taken were not in fact one single species, but rather three separate subspecies of an earlier life-form” suddenly pictures of asteroids emerged in the display, “It is my belief, that the Kirillians took the M’tok ancestors from a number of asteroids, within the same belt, believing them to be a united species, but in fact they had significant genetic divergences no doubt acquired from years of isolation on individual asteroids, only crossing one another when their was a collision.”
“But they are one species now?” Captain Pike had looked over much of the history of the M’tok himself, and whilst on the planets surface he had been offered a tour of their heritage museum.
“Oh indeed they are, but they are a species divided by their mutations, and over the years breeding between the various sub-species proved difficult, apart from one random phenomena” she selected on off the floating holo-graphic M’tok and enlarged it, “This is of the M’zak gender group” she brought up its DNA sequence and a number of other data, “its role in M’tok society is similar to seahorses on earth but with one noticeable difference, it cannot conceive its own children, but it is required to allow two members of the divergent species to conceive and carry the infants” she noticed Captain Pike looked incredibly confused, “it is given the reproductive material off both male and female off either subspecies, by mating with both, it then uses that material to bring about conception and then carries the child on behalf of the parents, allowing them to continue their work unhindered!”
“Can they not cut out the middle man so to speak?” the Captain was baffled, to thing of a species possessing more than one gender and parents using a surrogate as part of their natural reproduction was mind blowing.
“Unfortunately not” the Professor allowed the holo-image to change further, “there are two main sub-groups nowadays of the M’tok species, the Borak and the Mar’oz, females of both species can not carry the child of a mate off the other sub-group without the use of a M’zak, nor can they breed with members of their own subspecies due to mutations to their reproductive system and M’zak are genetic anomalies, seemingly born via a commonly occurring, yet random mutation.”
“Fascinating” Captain Pike circled the hologram, examining the data, “there is almost nothing like this on earth!”
“It is not at all simple, and I have only just managed to get my head around it myself, how this all has come about will need much more analysis and in depth study!”
Abbas Al’adat; New York City, the Cabinet office of the United Nations, 11.05.2204
Various Secretaries aides filtered in and out of the meeting, bringing documents for their relevant members attention, the room was packed with members, sat around a huge table one huge round table encompassing a smaller circular desk on the inside, around which the most high ranking Permanent Secretaries sat, with the Governor at their centre. Every single week recently, they had met in full council, after the First Minister and his team, had demanded either progress be made on their party’s agenda or sackings would follow, no doubt championed by the fiery, Diana Woodward.
The finance secretary was currently speaking, “We are fortunate that the Assembly has now, finally voted in favour of our finance package, albeit there have been some amendments needed to various areas of investment in order to secure the deal” he paused momentarily, clicking onto the projector the newly amended budget, “I am pleased to say work on clearing many of our sub-standard housing districts can now begin!”
“I see my own budget has been slashed!” the Secretary for transport interjected, clearly irritated.
“And my budget too seems to have gone down significantly” the Secretary for European Recovery adding her own voice.
“It is regrettable my friends” Abbas suddenly interrupted on the Finance secretaries behalf, “But these adjustments came from the First Ministers office directly.”
“Are these adjustments entirely necessary? Or are they simply political decisions, made by our masters to ensure they win the next election?” The Permanent secretary for Internal Affairs added his own voice, always keen to push for greater freedom for the civil service against political interference.
“I assume both” Abbas defended his position and that off his colleague, “We are here to serve at the pleasure of those elected to their offices and to enact the wishes of our Ministers, but I have looked over the funding pledges they require and my own team and the Financial office have worked closely, to make the most neutral amendments we can!”
First Minister Howard Austin; Hiroshima, Japan, Earth, the Sol System, 21.06.2204
“Here, today, I make a sworn promise to all off you, that my administration will secure the funds required to allow you to go on with your research” Howard’s voiced carried with passion, at the back of the room, filled with journalists and scientists, Diana mouthed every single word of his speech, the two having spent hours going over it the night before. “Who would have thought two centuries later, that here in Hiroshima, a place that knows all to well the destructive power of nuclear energy, we would be standing on the cusp off a break through which will forever do away, with the need to use such an unhealthy mode of energy!”
Applause broke out across the room, and journalists jumped from their seats eager to ask their questions, but Howard waved them down. He had come to Hiroshima especially to look at the result of their recent studies; data sent back from the UNS Valiant and the UNS Discovery, proving crucial in driving the research into fusion power almost century ahead.
“My friends for your hard work, your determination and skill, I thank you!” Howard smiled, this was just the kind of positive publicity they needed, and whilst the average man in the street had little interest in how his or her lights were powered, the imagery was great, ‘Howard Austin to abolish nuclear power!’ Given the devastating effects nuclear radiation had had, in earths history and the use of nuclear weapons during the last global conflict, it was an election winning message, popular with the young and old, even if Earth’s small navy was still equipped with nuclear weaponry.
Diana had impressed upon him, the effects of first contact with M’tok and whilst in many ways it had been greeted with enthusiasm, Howards more welcoming stance had given his political opponents the means to criticise him as an ineffective and passive leader, especially given the recent unrest and the fact constant debates on first contact protocols had begun to stall his progressive agenda in the United Nations Assembly.
Captain Ni Zhao; The UNS Discovery, In Orbit of Alpha Centauri I, 19.09.2204
The Discovery’s hulled creaked and groaned under the immense gravimetric pressures being emitted from Alpha Centauri’s binary stars as the ship tried to hold a stable orbit above the systems first planet. Its close proximity to the two stars and its orbit around the larger off the two bodies, dragged through the centre of them, turning its surface into molten magma, and super heating its core.
“Sensors detect a huge amount of mineral deposits on the planets surface” Sensory Officer, Xi-tang stood by her station, “As the magma cools on the planets darker side, they appear to temporarily take on solid form, huge tracts of the solidified lava is covered in ore veins and I dare say may be open to extraction!”
“Can we determine when and where these veins will form?” Captain Ni Zhao, sat comfortably in her Captains chair, gazing out the view-screen, extra filtration allowing them to view the orbiting world without damaging their eyes.
“Presently no Captain” Xi checked her readings, “but if we were to remain in orbit for a few more days, I am sure we could better understand the process.”
The Captain rose from her seat, moving to the sensor station, she checked her officers readings, “Prepare a probe and send it down, if we can penetrate the crust and observe the mantle, perhaps we will be able to gain a more accurate series of measurements.”
Captain Theodore Sima; The UNS Entrepid, Sirius Star A, Sirius System, 24.09.2204
“The Deflector’s are at 30% and falling Captain” the ships chief tactical officer sounded alarmed, “if we hold orbit for much longer we risk losing them completely!”
“As you were commander” the Captain crossed the bridge, “lets not lose our heads now!” despite the fact the Captains expertise were in mineral extraction and chemistry, he had to admit the readings had intrigued him. Scans of the star had detected a series of objects/satellites in lower orbit of the star, but so far their scans could not pierce the radiation being cast out by the stars internal reactions. “Ensign” he turned to their helm-officer, “Back us away to a safe distance” he turned again to the tactical commander, “See if your team and engineering can’t modify the deflector to compensate for the stars radiation.”
Wouldn't slashing European Recovery's budget hurt the popularity of the administration in Europe? How relevant is that continent politically?
I liked the stuff about the M'tok. I wonder if their creators created/substantially modified any other species...
I liked the stuff about the M'tok. I wonder if their creators created/substantially modified any other species...
Chapter 7: The frontiers of new age.
Rep. for Germany, Hans Schumer; Bergem House Restaurant, New York, 11.10.2204
“Lorraine welcome” Hans bid his guests to sit, “Diana, good to see you”, he pulled out a chair for Espet Skoldof, in her 80th year she was amongst the oldest Representatives in the Assembly. He had been reading over the recently published budget and had decided to call together a few of his more prominent allies, preferring a quiet lunch in the cities more modest districts, than the open view of the United Nations.
“I have meetings to attend all afternoon Han’s, so if we could make this quick it would be appreciated” Diana clearly didn’t wish to waste time on the pleasantries.
Hans waved to an serve to bring them a wine list, “Diana, I often think you forget, we are elected to our positions and you are appointed to yours” he smiled at her, taking his own seat as his other three guests took theirs, “Such as that is, you are our employee, not our employer!”
“Such as it is Representative Schumer” her tone suddenly shifted, “Without me and my team you would be unemployed!”
He sighed, taking the wine list from the server, who was passing the menus around, “If you wish me to cut to the chase then I shall” he looked around, nervous, “You and Howard, have placed all off us in a very awkward position!” There was a sudden exchange of glances between the other guests.
“We understand that difficult choice must sometimes be made” Rep. Skoldof interrupted, despite her age, she was in fine health, and her mind was incredibly sharp, as one would expect of a political leader who had been in office for more than thirty years, “But the budget adjustments you have made will not be well received back home” she took a sip of water, clearing her throat, “Europe needs the money you have taken, if we are to meet our own manifesto commitments!”
“It would not be the first time a manifesto had to be amended after an election” she turned to the Representative for Norway, “I am sure, you have dropped plenty of your own pledges over the years, Espet.” Diana was clearly in no mood for a debate, and she had expected an ambush. She had warned Howard, that they would face opposition to their budget. The other guests moved to speak, but Diana raised her hand, seeking more time, “Your about to tell me if we do not return your funding, you will find it difficult to support us in the next election” she looked at them sharply, staring down the Dutch Representative, “And that choice is entirely yours!” She poured herself a water, leaning casually back in her chair, “Europe is not as it was, the last war diminished your influence considerably and there are always more votes that can be acquired elsewhere!”
“Bribery and populism!” the French Representative, Justine Hollande spat, “You will shift funding to the south and east in the hope to rig the election!”
Diana laughed, draining her glass and moving to rise from her chair, “I prefer to call it pragmatism and fair distribution, Monsieur Hollande!” She made a point of looking each one of them in the eye as she stood, placing her glass back down on the table firmly, “Support us now and we will support you later” she turned to walk away, not bothering to look back, “Or don’t, the choice is a simple one!”
Captain Ni Zhao: The UNS Discovery, Alpha Centauri B, 30.11.2204
Another huge vortices opened in the stars surface, swirling ferociously as it grew in size, great plumes off flaming gas rising up and falling back down. The stars corona was unusually active and gigantic solar flares sparked near constantly across the surface, sending great flashes off light and waves off radiation our onto the solar winds.
“ I want a full scan of the star and prepare a series of probes” Captain Zhao ordered her science team over the comms, she had been in communication with a research program back on Earth, who were keen to acquire readings from inside the star in order to better understand the fusion reactions, going on within it to help further their own studies. She turned to her First Officer, Commander Edward Rosie, “I will be in my ready room, let me know when the probes are ready to launch.”
“Aye, Captain!” Edward Rosie was a skilled officer, having risen up through the Institute of Engineers in California, he had personally over-seen the refitting of the ships probes, enabling them to withstand considerable temperatures and pressures.
Alexander Harris: Shuttle of the UNS Valiant, Procyon III, Procyon System, 25.03.2205
The shuttle gently swooped into one of the floating pockets, its engines slowing as the pilot navigated them through the rocks, roots and drooping vegetation, that clung together in this atmospheric bubble. Orbital scans had found the gas giant was teeming with organic life and on closer inspection this had been found to be plant-life. All across the upper layers of the gas giants atmosphere, away from the crushing pressures of its heart, vast pockets of gases had formed together, populated by a wide variety of plant life, using rocks that were lighter than air as a anchor in which to grow and thrive, intaking noxious gases and expelling them as less harmful gases that allowed these pockets to be sustained.
“Aren’t they marvellous!” Alex, sat in the co-pilots position, gawping in wonder out of the view screen at this marvellous floating forest, “Who would have ever imagined anything like this?” He checked his sensor readings, as the shuttle swung to one side, narrowly dodging a rock that had suddenly begun to spin out off position. “We could do to get some samples of the flowering plants and tree’s” he looked down at his sensors, pointing to one the segments they had flown through the day before, “The tree’s in this area, I am sure I saw them with fruit on them, when we passed yesterday!”
“You want me to head that way?” his pilot altered course, she had joined the Valiant’s crew before they last left earth, and Alex had to confess, for a young woman only in her late teens, she was a bloody good pilot, especially considering these new shuttles were only proto-types, loaned to the Valiant for field testing.
“Just imagine” the ship swooned again, its engines revving as it moved ahead at pace, dodging and dipping as a tree fell from higher up, its decent would no doubt end in flames as it plunged into the lower atmosphere, “If we can find edible plants or fruit here, then the potential to harvest a whole worlds produce could feed millions!”
“Last time I checked there was still rationing in my home town, a find like this would sure help fill some bellies!” she didn’t bother to look at him, focusing on the task at hand.
First Minister Howard Austin; His Private Office, California, North America, 02.11.2205
Jacob hugged him tightly, their daughter Amy now striking up fast, joining them both, their dog Bo sat on the sofa, seemingly oblivious to the events unfolding around him, he was more bothered that the Minister of Education, Charlene Rossi was taking up part of his chair, which usually he had too himself.
“Well that’s you in the history books” Jacob leaned in a kissed Howard on the cheek, “Alexander the Great eat your heart out!” He laughed suddenly, whisking their daughter away as other members of Cabinet came to offer the congratulations, on the television screen, the picture was astounding, the first inter-stellar orbital station, coming online with a minimal crew, staking Earths claim forever on Barnard Star and the flag of the United Nations fluttering against the solar winds above it!
“You wanted a win, well this certainly is that!” Admiral Potti stepped forward, a champagne flute in her hand, an infrequent visitor to the Ministers home, “You realise off course now we will need the resources to defend it?” her thoughts were almost constantly focused on acquiring ever more resources to strengthen her limited forces!
“One step at a time Admiral, one step at a time” the First Minister, chinked glasses with her, his face aglow, not a man or woman before him could compare to this feet, it was one thing after all to conquer nations or discover new continents, another thing entirely to lay claim to whole star systems.
Diana dashed through the door, crossing the living area at speed, dodging the various Ministers who were caught in excited chatter, “Howard darling, the media are at the end of the drive, they want to hear from you!”
“Can we not do that tomorrow?” he sighed, hoping to enjoy the moment with his family and colleagues.
“No we cannot” she smiled, but it was cold, her mind ever focussed as was her job, on keeping ahead of the game, “three minutes that’s all you need” she scoped the room, “grab Amy and Jacob, a family picture will look great” she spotted Bo on his sofa, “get the dog in too, let him run out the door first, it will be a perfect shot, a happy family celebrating humanities greatest achievement!”
Professor Shinzo Abwey; Hiroshima, Japan, Earth, the Sol System, 21.05.2206
On the screen behind the lectern, a huge engine was on display with brilliant blue flames flickering intensely inside the reinforced casing, the very first fusion reactor!
“This is a great day for humanity, following on from an exceptional few years, not only by my own team, but with the assistance of our science teams aboard Earths exploratory ships” Professor Shinzo was beaming with joy, “Here today we can announce Earths first fully functioning fusion reactor and I cannot overstate, the revolution this will bring to our world” he glanced briefly over to his family, his wife and children brimming with pride, “This is probably one of the greatest scientific leap since the invention of the hyper-drive, a stepping stone in our long story, along which nuclear power, the world wide web, the industrial revolution, Tesla’s light-bulb and Faradays electric engine, stand together as tectonic markers in our species progress.
Rep. for Germany, Hans Schumer; Bergem House Restaurant, New York, 11.10.2204
“Lorraine welcome” Hans bid his guests to sit, “Diana, good to see you”, he pulled out a chair for Espet Skoldof, in her 80th year she was amongst the oldest Representatives in the Assembly. He had been reading over the recently published budget and had decided to call together a few of his more prominent allies, preferring a quiet lunch in the cities more modest districts, than the open view of the United Nations.
“I have meetings to attend all afternoon Han’s, so if we could make this quick it would be appreciated” Diana clearly didn’t wish to waste time on the pleasantries.
Hans waved to an serve to bring them a wine list, “Diana, I often think you forget, we are elected to our positions and you are appointed to yours” he smiled at her, taking his own seat as his other three guests took theirs, “Such as that is, you are our employee, not our employer!”
“Such as it is Representative Schumer” her tone suddenly shifted, “Without me and my team you would be unemployed!”
He sighed, taking the wine list from the server, who was passing the menus around, “If you wish me to cut to the chase then I shall” he looked around, nervous, “You and Howard, have placed all off us in a very awkward position!” There was a sudden exchange of glances between the other guests.
“We understand that difficult choice must sometimes be made” Rep. Skoldof interrupted, despite her age, she was in fine health, and her mind was incredibly sharp, as one would expect of a political leader who had been in office for more than thirty years, “But the budget adjustments you have made will not be well received back home” she took a sip of water, clearing her throat, “Europe needs the money you have taken, if we are to meet our own manifesto commitments!”
“It would not be the first time a manifesto had to be amended after an election” she turned to the Representative for Norway, “I am sure, you have dropped plenty of your own pledges over the years, Espet.” Diana was clearly in no mood for a debate, and she had expected an ambush. She had warned Howard, that they would face opposition to their budget. The other guests moved to speak, but Diana raised her hand, seeking more time, “Your about to tell me if we do not return your funding, you will find it difficult to support us in the next election” she looked at them sharply, staring down the Dutch Representative, “And that choice is entirely yours!” She poured herself a water, leaning casually back in her chair, “Europe is not as it was, the last war diminished your influence considerably and there are always more votes that can be acquired elsewhere!”
“Bribery and populism!” the French Representative, Justine Hollande spat, “You will shift funding to the south and east in the hope to rig the election!”
Diana laughed, draining her glass and moving to rise from her chair, “I prefer to call it pragmatism and fair distribution, Monsieur Hollande!” She made a point of looking each one of them in the eye as she stood, placing her glass back down on the table firmly, “Support us now and we will support you later” she turned to walk away, not bothering to look back, “Or don’t, the choice is a simple one!”
Captain Ni Zhao: The UNS Discovery, Alpha Centauri B, 30.11.2204
Another huge vortices opened in the stars surface, swirling ferociously as it grew in size, great plumes off flaming gas rising up and falling back down. The stars corona was unusually active and gigantic solar flares sparked near constantly across the surface, sending great flashes off light and waves off radiation our onto the solar winds.
“ I want a full scan of the star and prepare a series of probes” Captain Zhao ordered her science team over the comms, she had been in communication with a research program back on Earth, who were keen to acquire readings from inside the star in order to better understand the fusion reactions, going on within it to help further their own studies. She turned to her First Officer, Commander Edward Rosie, “I will be in my ready room, let me know when the probes are ready to launch.”
“Aye, Captain!” Edward Rosie was a skilled officer, having risen up through the Institute of Engineers in California, he had personally over-seen the refitting of the ships probes, enabling them to withstand considerable temperatures and pressures.
Alexander Harris: Shuttle of the UNS Valiant, Procyon III, Procyon System, 25.03.2205
The shuttle gently swooped into one of the floating pockets, its engines slowing as the pilot navigated them through the rocks, roots and drooping vegetation, that clung together in this atmospheric bubble. Orbital scans had found the gas giant was teeming with organic life and on closer inspection this had been found to be plant-life. All across the upper layers of the gas giants atmosphere, away from the crushing pressures of its heart, vast pockets of gases had formed together, populated by a wide variety of plant life, using rocks that were lighter than air as a anchor in which to grow and thrive, intaking noxious gases and expelling them as less harmful gases that allowed these pockets to be sustained.
“Aren’t they marvellous!” Alex, sat in the co-pilots position, gawping in wonder out of the view screen at this marvellous floating forest, “Who would have ever imagined anything like this?” He checked his sensor readings, as the shuttle swung to one side, narrowly dodging a rock that had suddenly begun to spin out off position. “We could do to get some samples of the flowering plants and tree’s” he looked down at his sensors, pointing to one the segments they had flown through the day before, “The tree’s in this area, I am sure I saw them with fruit on them, when we passed yesterday!”
“You want me to head that way?” his pilot altered course, she had joined the Valiant’s crew before they last left earth, and Alex had to confess, for a young woman only in her late teens, she was a bloody good pilot, especially considering these new shuttles were only proto-types, loaned to the Valiant for field testing.
“Just imagine” the ship swooned again, its engines revving as it moved ahead at pace, dodging and dipping as a tree fell from higher up, its decent would no doubt end in flames as it plunged into the lower atmosphere, “If we can find edible plants or fruit here, then the potential to harvest a whole worlds produce could feed millions!”
“Last time I checked there was still rationing in my home town, a find like this would sure help fill some bellies!” she didn’t bother to look at him, focusing on the task at hand.
First Minister Howard Austin; His Private Office, California, North America, 02.11.2205
Jacob hugged him tightly, their daughter Amy now striking up fast, joining them both, their dog Bo sat on the sofa, seemingly oblivious to the events unfolding around him, he was more bothered that the Minister of Education, Charlene Rossi was taking up part of his chair, which usually he had too himself.
“Well that’s you in the history books” Jacob leaned in a kissed Howard on the cheek, “Alexander the Great eat your heart out!” He laughed suddenly, whisking their daughter away as other members of Cabinet came to offer the congratulations, on the television screen, the picture was astounding, the first inter-stellar orbital station, coming online with a minimal crew, staking Earths claim forever on Barnard Star and the flag of the United Nations fluttering against the solar winds above it!
“You wanted a win, well this certainly is that!” Admiral Potti stepped forward, a champagne flute in her hand, an infrequent visitor to the Ministers home, “You realise off course now we will need the resources to defend it?” her thoughts were almost constantly focused on acquiring ever more resources to strengthen her limited forces!
“One step at a time Admiral, one step at a time” the First Minister, chinked glasses with her, his face aglow, not a man or woman before him could compare to this feet, it was one thing after all to conquer nations or discover new continents, another thing entirely to lay claim to whole star systems.
Diana dashed through the door, crossing the living area at speed, dodging the various Ministers who were caught in excited chatter, “Howard darling, the media are at the end of the drive, they want to hear from you!”
“Can we not do that tomorrow?” he sighed, hoping to enjoy the moment with his family and colleagues.
“No we cannot” she smiled, but it was cold, her mind ever focussed as was her job, on keeping ahead of the game, “three minutes that’s all you need” she scoped the room, “grab Amy and Jacob, a family picture will look great” she spotted Bo on his sofa, “get the dog in too, let him run out the door first, it will be a perfect shot, a happy family celebrating humanities greatest achievement!”
Professor Shinzo Abwey; Hiroshima, Japan, Earth, the Sol System, 21.05.2206
On the screen behind the lectern, a huge engine was on display with brilliant blue flames flickering intensely inside the reinforced casing, the very first fusion reactor!
“This is a great day for humanity, following on from an exceptional few years, not only by my own team, but with the assistance of our science teams aboard Earths exploratory ships” Professor Shinzo was beaming with joy, “Here today we can announce Earths first fully functioning fusion reactor and I cannot overstate, the revolution this will bring to our world” he glanced briefly over to his family, his wife and children brimming with pride, “This is probably one of the greatest scientific leap since the invention of the hyper-drive, a stepping stone in our long story, along which nuclear power, the world wide web, the industrial revolution, Tesla’s light-bulb and Faradays electric engine, stand together as tectonic markers in our species progress.
That new food will prove useful. Perhaps that's a reason to found colonies in the future - food for the home planet. Colonies can have a surplus, after all.
Ah, democracy at its finest. I feel bad for the Europeans - they're trapped between a rock and a hard place.
Ah, democracy at its finest. I feel bad for the Europeans - they're trapped between a rock and a hard place.
- 1