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RP [Iruotl] Far Travellers

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Koenig808

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"Foreman, we're approaching the edge of the next navpoint. Preparing to touch down near the edge of the asteroid field." The computer's voice resonated throughout his mind, as was natural for one who was currently linked with his ship.

"All hands, touchdown in less than a tick." His grainy voice crackled over the intercoms of ships throughout the fleet. "Get to your bloody battlestations and rouse the gunnery AI. Our days of pacifism are over, and so help me I'll space the next sorry folk who skips his defense op duty. Prepare for ECM emissions!"

Although they numbered just over a hundred ships, most of them were running low on supplies even after strip mining the previous two systems. Intermittent pirate attacks hadn't helped the rebuilding effort either. As he mused about this, his thought was interrupted as he felt the ship decelerate as it approached the edge of the asteroid field.

Sensors brought up a fairly large star system with multiple planets and gas giants in orbit around a hot, white sun. More unusual however, was the trio of planets that all played host to life and appeared to cradle mature civilizations on their surfaces. Megastructures sprang from the surface of the inner two worlds and much of the system was littered with habitats and orbital structures in various states of use.

Signals breaking through the mild interference of the asteroid belt were loaded with data, all transmitting in a language that was oddly familiar. The entire system was alive with FTL chatter and wide distortions pinged across deeper scans as vessels leapt across space between settled regions.

'Well, hell's bells,' the Foreman thought to himself. 'An inhabited system. And I was hoping for a quiet mining op. I wish the Lighthouse wasn't still down, it would make updating star charts much less of a pain...'

The intercoms of the fleet once again crackled to life. "All units be advised, we are entering an inhabited system. No reds on scanners yet. Harvest 5 through 23, get cracking, and have your ships pre-alighted for jump out. Be prepared to dump the barges if things get too hot. Haulers will be en route in five ticks. TacOps, start watching local traffic and give us a defense picket between us and the system core."

Slowly at first, but then with urgency the fleet began repositioning itself in a defensive formation. Mining cruisers approached the asteroid belt and spewed forth hundreds of Junker drones, which hastily began demolishing the asteroids.

It was only a couple of minutes before the inhabitants of the system began mounting an organized response to the incursion, ships hastily jumping to meeting points and crawling into formation at several points near the Freespacer fleet. None seemed to be attacking, either lacking FTL weapons or the initiative to use them, but the vessels pooling were clearly designed for combat, running hotter than the majority of the local traffic and possessing heavy shields that seemed to dampen and distort sensor feedback.

Planetary and orbital garrisons across the systems were alive with chatter, although mildly encrypted and decoding to a language that was unfamiliar to the fleet. Eventually though, sifting through endless streams of data revealed a handful of words easily understood: "...the Deoradh... here."

"Uhh...Control," a young, nervous woman began broadcasting from the Harvest 9 mining vessel, "We've got ships amassing just outside the kill zone threshold of the picket. You'd better give orders to strike early or evac, because looks like there's a lot more en route."

"Aff, Harvest 9. Standby." The Foreman's AI-assisted mind began rapidly running projections on possible responses, but it was only a few seconds before he received an alert from one of the TacOp synthetic intelligences.

"Foreman, be advised we found a match for the ship signatures in one of the older databases. "Iromakuanhe, non-belligerent, early interstellar flight indigenous population. Might want to stand down gunners before someone gets nervous and turns this into another Beanfield."

'The last thing we need is another battle. We're not even finished rebuilding the fleet yet.' The Foreman paused as he calculated his next response. 'Well, no sense in starting another war.'

The Foreman focused his mind on sending an open transmission, and the Mothership complied. "This is Rebound-Zero-Six of the Zoroastrian Legion, we're just passing through to resupply. Stand down and stop amassing here, or by my word you'll never leave this spot."

The Foreman hesitated once again. 'Maybe that was too aggressive...but we can't risk showing weakness anymore. Damn you, Yamatai.' He cursed them silently as he nervously watched the tactical display before him.

Traffic to the area around the Legion's mining operations slowed significantly after the Foreman's message was sent, although ships elsewhere in the system were still converging on on. The ship formations did however lower shields and power down any weapons that might have been apparent, revealing the full extent of their twisting, curved and golden shapes that imitated sails and exotic sea life, filled with glowing lines of crystal blue light.

"Deoradh... Free State, you were once invited to this place as honored guests. Why do you bare fangs at the Iromakuanhe?" The quiet voice of man hummed deeply as another open transmission was returned by the fleet.

One of the smaller vessels in the fleet strode forward towards the very core of the Freespacer fleet, stopping midway between the two gathering fleets. Like a wisp of gold surrounded in the rippling blackness surrounding space, the vessel had clearly kept shields active, the distortion patterns matching those recorded during the Free State's first encounter with the technology.

The signal, which clearly came from that ship was only faintly distorted by the effects of its own shield as the message continued. "This is the VSV Figure of Grace, command ship of the Splendor Battlegroup, in defense of the home system. We have come to confirm your intentions in this system."

"We..." The Foreman's voice began broadcasting to the Iroma vessels in a much quieter tone than before. "We... No, I apologize. We've been on edge since the genocide, and we've been hit by marauding pirates the last few weeks. Our reaction was...uncalled for."

"We were just passing through with the intention of strip mining the system, but did not realize this system was inhabited. It seems our starmaps are fairly outdated on account of the Lighthouse being knocked out. Just give us half-a-cycle to resupply." He mentally went over the supply roster once again. No, there really was no choice in the matter.

"Our projections indicate we won't make it to the next nav point carrying this many refugees without sustaining high casualties if we're unable to manufacture more filters for the life support systems. It is for this reason, and with a heavy heart, I must insist on remaining for a while longer." The Freespacer ships retained their formation and combat-ready status, despite the Foreman's words.

The ship remained in the same relative position between the two fleets for a few moments before the reply came. "I understand the necessity of your actions, Zoroastrian Legion. Inform your fleet they may resume mining operations, but I will have to ask that you allow the Splendor to form a secondary picket around your fleet. The outer edges of our system have been quite dangerous for several months now, and security for this region is our responsability."

"We have very little to offer you otherwise, as the Vanguard cannot speak for the people as our supplies have been co-opted by campaigns abroad." The Iromakuanhe officer replied again, conveying faint worry in his voice as he continued. "But I suspect...if you remain for several more hours, I believe we will be able to mount some form of formal aid response for you otherwise."

"I can promise nothing beyond your safety while you remain here, however."

"We thank you for your consideration." He mentally motioned to the fleet to stand down, and the Mothership uplink interpreted and transmitted it to the rest of the vessels. Most of the vessels broke from their combat formations and moved to begin assisting the mining operation. "We're standing down save for a few patrols to watch for pirates. And, yes, it'll take a few hours to finish mining and then smelting the ore before we intend to depart, so we would welcome the aid."

The Foreman sighed. "We've been at over one-half maximum capacity for months now and we're burning through life support systems and rations at an alarming rate. Lately we've been able to manufacture more cruisers to help alleviate overcrowding but-- I apologize, it seems I am rambling. Yes, aid would be welcome." He let out a sigh of relief. Armed confrontations were always bad for his nerves, especially in recent years. Under his breath he added, "A few bloody drinks would also be welcome once this shift is over."

"I'll do my best to elicit their charity, Zoroastrian Legion. Saints willing, you will have what you need for your journey." The officer replied one last time before the Iromakuanhe battlegroup moved into formation, forming a loose sphere around the Free State mining operation. There they remained for the following hours as the mining vessels and their drone hives carefully stripped away a handful of asteroids to reclaim their precious resources.

----

The official response from the central government took several hours to assemble. A dozen supertankers carrying volatiles, primarily purified water and Helium-3, formed the very core of a relief fleet that featured several repair vessels, small cargo haulers and other civilian vessels hastily pressed into service. Leading the group was the very plain-looking shuttle with a matte ivory hull and a few years of visible wear and staining along the hard edges of the hull components.

The main vessel pressed through the picket set by the Splendor Battlegroup hours before, with the military formation parting to allow the civilian fleet to pass through.

"Zoroastrian Legion, this is Captain Neph Curry of the Gallach Dream, with a cargo of diplomats and representatives ready to meet with your Foreman and others. Requesting navigational instructions and permission to dock." The female pilot of the vessel communicated on open channel with the Freespacer fleet calmly, keeping a slow bearing to avoid causing an incident.

"Hey baby, your place or mine?" The Foreman guffawed loudly. "Proceed to the nav beacon we've lit up on the frequency we've transmitted. Hangar 17 is clear to receive with quarantine and security teams. Don't forget to suit up! Foreman, out."

'In the mean time, I had better send a representative as well. This old mainframe ain't what it used to be.' He gave a digital signal to an Automaton on that deck, who then joined the several suited crew members in the vast hangar. As the ship drew closer, the outer blast doors began to open the now-depressurized bay.

"Understood Foreman. We'll make it a soft landing." Neph replied curtly, suppressing a faint chuckle. "Landing now."

The Gallach Dream pulled into hangar, reactionless thrusters faintly rippling ambient space as it made a steady descent onto the surface of the landing. Curved landing struts deployed onto the floor with a wet hiss, exposing the muscular organic chassis beneath the weathered hull as the shuttle locked into place.The boarding ramp lowered a few moments later, allowing the Iromakuanhe delegation to leave the craft.

Consisting of a single official and his bodyguard, they stepped forward to meet with the receiving party, clad in faintly ornate and curving encounter suits made of some sort of organic smart material. The representative had deigned to wear a pait of colorful synthsilk robes over his suit, feeling it might mitigate the vaguely inhuman and esoteric shapes of his outfit, while his escort seemed to feel that little more than a sidearm was necessary for the occasion.

The representative waved and bowed gracefully, looking at the members of the reception. "Govind Joshi, representing the Iromakuanhe people."

"Greetings Govind." A rather well-beaten Automaton stepped forward. This particular model was fairly lean and had rust nipping at its joints. It was an old labour model, but was sufficient for the Foreman's purposes. By using his ship link to transmit, he could meet with them using this proxy.

"Is it alright if I call you Govind?" Rebound asked.

"Of course it is. You're a diplomat. You're probably not allowed to object to social errors. In any case, I'm afraid it's a bit of a mess around here." He motioned behind the quarantine team to the various pieces of broken machinery lining the edges of the hangar. "We weren't expecting company. Well, actually, we were, but I was too busy to bother with appearances."

Govind nodded knowingly, not really knowing how to reply to having his learned social graces dissected by an alien construct moments after meeting them. Still, he took it in stride and lent an outstretched hand to the automaton. "Yes, Govind is fine, and appearances other than my own don't particularly concern me on what is supposed to be a humanitarian mission."

"Or however you'd prefer we call this event." He nodded again. "We have a large amount volatiles and some raw materials prepared for you in the supply convoy to recover. Beyond that, I am also here to barter for information, in the interests of making this meeting an exchange that reflects favorably on the parties involved."

"Of course, of course." Rebound bobbed his head up and down. "There have been some problems disseminating new data between the nodes, at in this sector, due to lack of relays so our databases are a bit dated. You'll have to tell me what in particular you're interested in so I can distill some data packets. But first, where would you be most comfortable in having this discussion? This hangar will become a bit noisy once Junkers begin hauling in goods..."

"I'd rather like to see the inside of your ship while we discuss terms." Govind rubbed his helmeted jaw line as if in thought, keeping his attention on the automata so as to seem polite. "As for our interests... we've only ever made cursory explorations of the Blue Rift Expanse, and only by penetrating from the 'Eastern frontier' as the races from the supposed 'core' might say."

"For navigational routes, detailed scans and even high-resolution imagery, we might be willing to trade much. Beyond that, cultural anecdotes and analysis on other nations would be of high relevancy."

One of the suited Freespacers tapped Rebound on the shoulder and leaned it. Rebound nodded. "While we were chatting my fine lads did a quick scan of you. You're clean enough, so we may proceed without quarantine. If you'll follow me to the lift, this way please." Rebound's Automaton motioned towards a large metal freight lift, and then stepped inside.

"Of course." Govind and his bodyguard followed behind Rebound, taking a moment to take in the sheer size of the hangar bay. The diplomat was suitably impressed, having only been on a handful of facilities and vessels that could quite compare, although his accompaniment was somewhat less magnanimous towards the modest and well-worn surroundings.

"Pray tell us, how have the other fleets fared since the last time our races met?" The diplomat inquired somberly, looking at his automata guide. "I believe it's been several years since the first encounter, and we've heard little from any of the major fleets we were informed of."

The lift started abruptly moving downwards. Rebound turned to glance his monoeye at Govind. "How familiar are you with events throughout the imperial sectors? Are you, for example, aware of our own...predicament?"

"Only vaguely, I'm afraid. Your people were the victims of unilateral atrocities by multiple fleets by the belligerent Yamatai Star Empire, while the other players of the galaxy stood by, I believe?" Govind explained hesitantly, feeling a little uncomfortable that he had a gap in his knowledge of foreign affairs that placed him at a slight disadvantage. "I know little of the causes and less of the aftermath."

"Indeed. Most of the remaining fleets were pushed north after the genocide. We even developed Rift Generators to allow to to delve into the Blue Rift Expanse itself, which is one of the few natural hazards that can keep Yamataian ships at bay." Rebound let out a digitalized sigh. "Many of the fleets now reside there. Those few that don't are those either transporting refugees or mounting mining expeditions. The latter we did."

The freight elevator shruddered to a halt. "Well, for starters, how about a look at hydroponics?"

"Oh, that sounds interesting. Of course." Govind nodded in agreement as they stepped out of the elevator. "I suppose it's for the best that you remain as far from their influence as possible. We've begun making contact with some of the other nations in the region, but there has been a certain unwillingness to interract with the Empire until we do so from a position of relative power."

The hydroponics bay was a vast domed wilderness, not unlike a park. Indeed, if not for the slight metallic sound beneath the dirt and the opaque white dome, one might even come to believe they were in fact on an alien world. The Foreman took the first step and began leading them along a stone pathway past several fields being attended by heavy machinery.

"Yes, that would be for the best. Yamatai has a history of such things. Not genocide, per se, but of subjugation and colonialism that tends to be unfavourable for the minor partner." The Foreman glanced back at the diplomat. "It is still important to keep abreast of current events even if you avoid contact...In fact, with your permission, we could install a network node on one of your moons to both extend our own network and feed you data feeds from the imperial sectors."

Govind took a few moments to take in the strange and exotic environment of the garden, almost wondering what the air smelled like before promptly remembering the mild state of wear and decay most of their technology remained in. It probably wouldn't smell nice at all. "Interesting thought. We'd been hoping for access to their networks, so you save us a lot of time and resources in doing so."

"But who would maintain it? It would need crew or some sort of oversight AI familiar with your technologies in order to keep in a proper state of maintenance." He inquired, almost smiling behind his faceplate. "It would perhaps be fair trade to allow refugees to settle around the beacon in exchange for its maintenance. We have many hostile and barren worlds and moons that could be put to good use as a safe haven for any more fleets passing through this region."

"We can place it under the jurisdiction of a local SI, although a refugee settlement would also be a good idea. It would be useful to have a minor shipyard and trading port this far north, and of course Yamatai under the new Empress wouldn't dare glass a settlement in another race's territory." The Foreman nodded to himself. "Of course, we'd have to see how many would volunteer to stay behind, but it is probable that at least a few hundreds would agree. Several thousand at most."

"A few thousand wouldn't be a burden. Our civilization and economy is large enough to support that many refugees trivially until they can become self-sufficient." Govind explained briefly. "Unless they wish to remain undisturbed, you can expect them to receive aid from the citizenry, as well. The potential for cultural exchange would likely be extremely welcome by our space-based populations."

"Hah! Just what I was thinking." The Foreman slapped Govind on the back. "Did you have anywhere particular in mind for such an endeavor? Preferably somewhere with minimal habitation since strip mining tends to be looked upon as unfavorable by indigenous populations."

"There are a handful of particularly hostile worlds and moons that have only seen partial exploitation over the centuries." Govind retrieved a flexible datapad from his robes, holding it out to the Foreman. He winced only a little from the slap, not particularly used to being playfully struck by hydraulic limbs, and continued. "The innermost two have an abundance of solar and geothermal energy, and are relatively pristine."

"Righto." Rebound chimed in as they continued along the pathway. "You are going to provide a security detail and treat it as part of your sovereign territory, I hope. Since I imagine you'd be uncomfortable with us planting an inter-stellar strategic missile base down there..."

"You'll nominally be allowed self-defense, but it is as you say. Our people would naturally be bothered by the prospect of strategic weapons being aimed at them." Govind replied in agreement, running his hands across the worn walls. "You'd be protected in any case. This region is our responsibility."

"Excellent. As for those data files, I'd offer to transfer them now, but they'd just be obsolete compared to what the network uplink will give you. With full fleet support the network node should be done in, oh, I don't know...a week local time?" The Foreman stopped for a moment in thought. "We'll have to start manufacturing pre-fab shelters, begin mantle scans for optimal mining locations..."

"Of course. The raw materials being carried by the aid fleet are yours to make use of in the meantime. If any more aid comes through the pipeline, we'll be sure to use the uplink to inform you." The diplomat nodded to the Foreman in agreement, patting his stomach and looking around a little. "So, where and what do the organics in your crew eat... ?"

"Hungry are we?" The Foreman let out what could only be described as a synthesized digital laugh. "I hear the fruit salad is to kill for. Of course, I don't actually have taste receptors, so I can't tell you first hand. There's also a delightful drink I think you should try..."

LE FIN
 
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