The Galactics UnionBoard

New Saharia wrote:

A Frank Change of Views || Balisi

The Saharians watching the spherical droid dance before their eyes retained a sense of… defensive curiosity. None of them had ever seen a droid like this before, let alone one that seemed to imply it was on the same moral standing as Xaluna. Strange, they couldn’t help but think. And yet, the small drone gave off a warm sense of charm that helped to soften the prejudiced edge of the Saharians.

“Welcome to the station to you as well, Maztzur. Although droids are a rare sight onboard, I’m sure you’ll find it as welcoming as anyone else.” Commodore Ivano was, oddly, more hospitable so far than his devoted diplomat companions. Still, whether the Culture knew by now or not, they would discover that their kind would be fighting an uphill battle to appeal to Saharians. An egregious posthuman, and a droid held on par with a man. But now was not the time to let culture-shock get the better of them. And everyone knew that.

“We have prepared quarters for both yourself and your companions,” Letcher continued. “However, I am sure the Commodore is full of ideas of where to begin.” Seems like it was better to hand things off to the eager man before he found room to interrupt of his own accord.

“Yes, of course!” He replied, predictably enthusiastically. “Please, if you could accompany me to the station promenade…”

---

The journey on foot was surprisingly short. And that was by design; the docking ring which took on the Culture ship was closest to the promenade, allowing visitors and traders to reach the colossal market. Colloquially known by Saharians as ‘ring markets,’ these spaces were easily forty stories tall. One massive ring of open space, circumnavigating the station’s central body, every floor lined with overhanging platforms, shops, plazas, and people of every shape and size.

The hallways between the group and the promenade were… abnormally wide. The architecture was that conspicuous “utopianistic militarism” Saharian ships and stations were known for. Sleek white paneling, wide and rectangular, divided into fours by thick black contours. The hallway was segmented, each segment separated by pillars which were attached to the wall, flush. Likely to be able to project a forcefield or reveal a blast-door in the event of a catastrophic event. Hanging and potted plants dotted the journey, holosigns bearing maps and advertisements, announcements and notices hung from the ceiling and extending from the side wall.

And finally, the last door opened to reveal the twenty-sixth floor of the Altrus Starhold Promenade. The group found themselves walking out into a wide, open-air space, a plaza perched upon one massive balcony. Both above and below, there were platforms up against the outer wall behind them, allowing seas of people to flow in either direction. The occasional bridge connected both the inner- and outer-faces of this cavernous, ring-shaped space, letting pedestrians cross uninhibited. Incredibly, the wide open canyon between the platforms was for ships. Starships - allowed to fly within the confines of this station. Shuttles, haulers, personal craft, barges…

It was difficult to see the ‘floor’ of this space from where the group stood. But the ceiling was visible, its edges lined with what appeared to be windows, allowing those walking through to stare downwards into the dizzyingly beautiful chasm.

This space was not devoid of life; hanging plants, waterfalls, and even small parks stood their ground against the ruthless march of crowds and storefronts. Some hung colorful banners over the edges of these platforms, hung artwork in their windows… And despite all of this, the noise wasn’t horrifically deafening. Invisible dampeners throughout the promenade kept things to a reasonable level.

“Welcome to the Promenade,” the Commodore announced proudly. “People come from lightyears away to visit here. To buy, to sell, to meet a friendly face… or simply to enjoy themselves.”

A Frank Exchange of Views || New Saharia

It didn’t matter to Xaluna that this was ‘routine’. No, members of Contact did not really think like that. No one did. As they explored the large interior of the Promenade, she was already thinking of a thousand different things she could do to avail herself of the marketplace’s offerings—respecting the monetary system in place of course. She noted that the others were probably thinking the same, but their discipline and diplomatic bearing held them back until official business had been concluded. The little drone Maztzur Tse’bal-Reyd was positively glowing gold as it too took in the sights.

New places never got old. Not to her. It was why she had accepted to be in Contact. The wonder and fascination of seeing new locales and meeting new peoples never ceased. The Promenade also felt familiar, like her mobile home across the stars. The GCU Paradigm Shift was not truly home, but rather a co-worker and companion she just so happens to live in during these circumstances. No, their true home (even the Paradigm Shift’s) was the GSV The Happiest Place In The Galaxy. The ship itself was the Promenade, dialed to a hundred and scaled to the size of a city.

A venerable mobile paradise that was all at once a titanic amusement park, a cruise ship, and the primary residence of around a million organic and artificial sophonts. The Desert-class did not hold back on the amenities it provided, especially as a Systems Vehicle of Contact. It was so much more than that as well, containing all the technologies and industrial capabilities a GSV could offer.

“It’s amazing,” one of her compatriots intoned, a post-Rotisivite male by the name of Aisi Edotranh. The rest of her diplomatic corps agreed. It certainly was a sight to behold, even by Culture standards. The ‘utopianistic militarism’ might be a bit bleak, but the panhumanity was there, eager to break out and run wild.

“We appreciate you touring us the ring market, Commodore Ivano. The station is most exquisite,” Cossant added. “Then it is only our obligation, no, our duty to lose ourselves here after our initial talks have reached a recess.”

Fox Millworks | Can't think of a unique title sorry

The ISF receives a message:

[START]

OFFICIAL

Direct to: Foreign Affairs Authority, Interstellar Forum
Classification (internal use only): Most Secret

The Most Terrestrial Planet-Republic of Keres seeks non-voting status in the Interstellar Forum.

[END]

-

The Message was short, though not necessarily sweet, just straight to the point.

Coalition Remnants wrote:

High Tide

He stared blankly at the ceiling.

Any moment now, he would wake up. It felt so... real. So natural. But there had been so many things, so many things that had felt similarly real. This time was different. That was what he convinced himself with - that this time, things would go his way. An ever-cascading series of events that would bring him back to where he yearned to be.

If only things were ever that simple. They never were, and never have been. And I don't think they ever will be.

That was cruel reality, slapping him awake. Nothing ever happened for free - and this was no exception. What had he handed over, anyways? A bunch of coordinates that led to a grove? It was so silly of him to believe that it would ever amount to anything.

Alone with only his thoughts, these ideas ran rampant. Intrusive emotions. Worst case scenarios.

The world was static, and he was in the eye of the beholder; written by the Fates that cared not for who he was. Little threads of coincidence - an abduction from a house here, an assignment there, a chance meeting on a street, a meal at a diner - it all amounted to something. Arthur didn't care. He wasn't thinking about any of that.

~

When the door creaked open, he didn't quite believe it. Arthur was never a patient person.

Waiting for so long grated at his mind; because he couldn't trust even his eyes. What use were his ears? It felt real enough. Was it real enough? He didn't care to look up - the ceiling was what he knew. It gave him comfort, to know that this entire room stayed constant. It wasn't supposed to be like that. He wanted change. He wanted to stay the same.

The first touch of contact told him that yes, this was very much real.

The dam broke.

Years and years of nothing, and this was what broke him. He couldn't hide it, he couldn't hide what he felt - nor could he verbalize it. He lay there immobile, almost paralyzed, sobbing into the only familiar face which had ever treated him with kindness. It felt good, and it felt bad. It felt liberating in a way which he'd never felt before.

That was when he knew that everything was going to be alright.

High Tide, Higher

This woman, Xesia...She just kept hold of him. Letting him cry, letting his lone arm wrap around her, letting him relax for the first time in the many, many years he was suffering in that City. The cold room contrasted by her very warm scales and skin of her. Tail tightening around Arthur as it rose further up his legs.

The snake kept him held close. Moving closer and closer to the bed with the little motion she could coax out of him, sitting on it, and rolling to lay side by side with him. Right on top of the bedding, continuing to rub his back and shoulders.

"It's okay, Arthur. I'm here. And you're here, now. I love you."

FreeAmericanStates wrote:

Battle of Marie Part One

Something has changed as the ever-present war for humanity's survival continues in its indefinite stalemate. The 2nd Survey Squad discovered two newly discovered Judgmentians, the Swarm and the Shadow.

The Swarm is able to dissolve itself temporarily into a bunch of smaller ships that are the size of corvettes and reconstruct itself. While the shadow is able to turn itself invisible to the human eye, however, it is still able to be detected with proper scanning equipment as both ships planned on breaching the outermost ring named Marie.

Due to the actions of the 2nd Scout Squad the Aidleian Navy planed an unconventional heavy ambush to occur on both Judgmentians.

As soon they began engaging with the defensive platforms on the ring, the Navy began flanking it and encircling it.

Battle of Marie Part Two

As the 2nd Survey Scouts began their encirclement, they got at least two specific Saints ready. Unfortunately, Saints will be needed and authorized to be used once they tackle this amount of Judgmentians with this small fighting force. The Saints were explicitly trained in the Heaven Program, a Psionic program dedicated to improving Psionically gifted humans for military use. They have access to significant capabilities involving using their psionic abilities, but they are not magic or genuinely scientific, but rather a hybridization of both concepts. Saints are the term for those currently serving as members of the Ailediean military and are Psionically trained.

However, it seems likely that the use of Saint will be who can detect hidden objects as while not ever used on ships before, this was used to deal with an occasional terrorist who took to using cloaked bombs made from a chemical compound known as Ash this ability is known as Scattered Ashes. It would also be necessary to use a saint who can create a singularity to counter the split up of the multiple small ships by driving them together before exploding, known as the Consildatious. Unfortunately, this would mess up the ability for many other things to be cast due to how much energy it drains, meaning if the Saint who casts it is not successful enough in its use, it could jeopardize the entire mission.

Subsequently, the two vessels the two saints were put on were given a specific tracking device to ensure they could reach their destination and if anything went wrong. This luckily did not occur. The first of the two Judgmentians to be ambushed was the Swarm-class. Upon being spotted, the Judgmentian immediately split itself into a swarm of smaller ships, about five-hundred in number. Each was roughly the size of a corvette. This, however, would be its undoing - although the Consildatious spell being cast by the Saint would have been moderately effective against one large target, it dealt its damage in a wide area. Divided up like this, each of the small ships would be utterly unable to withstand the powerful blow of the Saint's spell.

As the central part of the squad had split up enough to force the Swarm into dividing into its Swarm Mode, the Saint had cast from the confines of her vessel Consildatious, forcing the split-up Corvettes to go into a singular point before unleashing a massive explosion destroying it but also putting that Saint into unconsciousness do to the amount of energy consumed. The second Judgmentian to be ambushed was the Shadow. Shortly after it activated its cloaking ability, The Saint activated the ability of Scattered Ashes, effectively making its ashes in the metal illuminate it. This made it a straightforward target, especially when finding the Shadow's weak point. The Shadow was quickly shot and destroyed.

Fox Millworks wrote:

High Tide, Higher

This woman, Xesia...She just kept hold of him. Letting him cry, letting his lone arm wrap around her, letting him relax for the first time in the many, many years he was suffering in that City. The cold room contrasted by her very warm scales and skin of her. Tail tightening around Arthur as it rose further up his legs.

The snake kept him held close. Moving closer and closer to the bed with the little motion she could coax out of him, sitting on it, and rolling to lay side by side with him. Right on top of the bedding, continuing to rub his back and shoulders.

"It's okay, Arthur. I'm here. And you're here, now. I love you."

High Tide

The key takeaway was that Arthur was tired.

Of a lot of things. Maybe not physically - physically, he felt fine, more than fine - but things had taken a toll on him. Life had made him lose things he didn't even know he had in the first place; life had made him lose things he'd never gained.

So it hurt.

It hurt a lot, to feel these emotions of being wanted, of belonging, for the first time in an eternity.

A heart-wrenching, gut-sinking feeling that Arthur couldn't quite place. Not now, and maybe not ever. But he would try. He didn't promise himself this - he didn't promise himself anything, struck with sorrow, fear and comfort as he was - but he would try.

One arm managed to wrap its way around her waist, scrambling at her and returning the hug. The other arm was missing. It wasn't like that before. He couldn't... he wasn't the same. Maybe that was okay. All attempts at dialogue were shut down; the etherforger couldn't say anything. For how could he? Just lying there, staring at the ceiling unmoving - something drained out of him. He slackened. He loosened his shoulders.

(i love you too, he wanted to say)

And he fell asleep.

It was a restful sleep. He didn't need to sleep.

He didn't.

A newsnet post reads:

Newsnet Service of the Notaries Company
Registered as a publication of a guild authorised to operate in the territory of Keres

Bundle teleporter installed at the Zandromeda Petty Commercial Court

Following consultation with the Notaries Company, the Court Service has replaced the bundle holofax which served the Zandromeda Petty Commercial Court, and whose age was so old that it could not even be determined, with a fully fledged bundle teleporter. The holofax, which was becoming an increasing point of contention with the notaries who regularly appeared before the court, was of technology so arcane that it left registrars at the court clueless on whether a hologram technician or a bundle transfer architect was the correct professional to call on. With its manufacturer lost to time and its architecture too old to begin to decypher, the Notaries Company and firm Daniel and Mitchard successfully saw a non-political endowment approved by Zandromeda's Clerks of Review in In the matter of Mitchard (and another) and the Registrar-General. The bundle teleporter was installed earlier this week, and holofax has been discarded according to recycling regulations.

Controversial quashing orders to be removed by Perpetual Council amendment

A great victory came to the Notaries Company when the General Council accepted PC amendments to the Statutory Review Modernisation Draft Ordinance today. The Notaries Company has been campaigning since the inception of the draft ordinance to use it to remove the controversial prospective-only quashing order. Though rarely used, this quashing order is able to order a person or body to cease performing an action, but will have no retroactive effect otherwise. The use of these orders have long been criticised by the Notaries Company, and their continued existence was redundant. The Notaries Company welcomes this amendment to the draft ordinance.

First notary to begin practise on Predentis

Granted a constitution only a few months ago, the Colonial Service today announced that the Principal Court (Colonial Division) would cease operating and regular courts of law and equity would take their place. With this news comes a planet with a fledging legal community. No advocates, doctors or proctors are registered to operate on Predentis yet, but Willis, Blake and Magnussen, a Notaries' firm, has been successfully registered with the Zandromeda Commercial Court sitting for the Planet of Predentis. Steven Willis, a senior partner at the aforementioned firm, inaugurated the opening of the branch office on Predentis and told us-

"I have practised my whole career on Keres, and while I will miss the brilliant community I have spent so much time with, I am infinitely excited to see the development of a brand new one on our newest planet."

Willis has been a notary for 18 years and specialises in Solarian law referrals to the Commercial Court and insolvencies. Legal practitioners will not be required to register to practise on Predentis for a period of 14 Kererian months after the notification of withdrawal of colonial courts, and practitioners of nearby planets will continue to be able to provide services until the end of this period. For information regarding registering on new planets see our guide at KSNOTCOM.REGISTRATIONTERRAFORMATION.

First lists for the courts of Predentis published

As longstanding tradition in our bulletin dictates, the first list of cases to be heard on a new planet are published onto our print and newsnet publications. Therefore:

Battle of Ninov - Introduction || New Cathen || New Saharia

The Third Battlegroup wasted no time assuming their own defensive position. They knew time was of the essence and that the enemy could arrive at any point. In return, the Rear Admiral's response to the Saharian hail was just as short and to the point.

"Understood. I'm on my way."

---

The Resolute's interior was active with crewmembers and marines manning their battle stations. In the main hangar, Patra Talsen had entered with a security escort. She was currently in a discussion with her adjutant.

"...so, we're on our own?"

"Um, for now, ma'am." the younger officer replied sheepishly, having been overworked and currently running of 5 cups of caf. "Chairwoman Karanis and her fleet are almost at the rendezvous. She's put out a contract for independent mercenaries in the sector to join the defense and Admiral Atzerri has promised that more Naval reinforcements are on the way but...aside of that, we're it."

"Well, tell Bera that her forces need to pick up the pace." Talsen stated, a slightly irritated tone in her voice. "The Trelisan invasion is imminent, and we need to make haste."

"Yes, ma'am!"

The two officers finished their discussion just as they were making their way up the ramp of a Valkyrie-class dropship, currently refitted to act as a command shuttle. Though she certainly wasn't going to admit it, Patra was nervous as high hell. This was her first command during a major order and the odds were not in her favor. The success of the 3rd Battlegroup was entirely in her hands, and it weighed a lot on her mind. Nevertheless, her orders had been given and she was going to carry them out to the letter. Once she strapped into the seat, she took a deeo breath, holding it in for a few seconds before exhaling slowly. Just as she did, the rear door of the Valkyrie shut close as the engines accelerated.

---

Once the Resolute was in position, the Valkyrie emerged from its hangar, making a beeline for the Ninnov station with a fighter escort. This one lacked the armor that most others had in exchange for more speed, allowing it to quickly dock in the station's shuttle bay. Once landed, the rear doors opened with a sharp hiss, revealing the door. A squadron of armored Alignment Naval Marines stepped out first, followed by none other than Admiral Patra Talsan herself, easily identifiable by her Admiralty cape. Most of the marines stayed behind with the ship, with only two, plus the adjutant, falling behind the Admiral.

New Saharia wrote:

Battle of Ninov - Introduction || New Cathen || Sakoor

The door to the station’s briefing room was wide, circular. Unnecessarily so. Stepping within, the lighting was noticeably dimmer. The room was circular, with a large dome in the center. At first glance, it seemed that this briefing room was on the ‘roof’ of the station, as the dome seemed to be made entirely of transparent glass. This was an illusion; this critical room was deep within the station. The glass dome above was an illusion; it was simply a live projector showing the scenery outside.

The table in the center of the large chamber was atop a raised platform. There must have been maybe thirty chairs, all arranged around the circumference of the table. Two of the chairs - opposite each other - had much taller backrests. One of these was occupied by none other than Rear Admiral Corram. Two spaces over sat Captain Talbert, whose position at the table had a small control panel jutting out from in front of him.

“Welcome aboard, Admiral,” Corram announced cordially. His voice was reciprocated by an echo, which helped to enunciate his words. He lowered his voice slightly. “My apologies for the lack of fanfare; as you know, time is of the essence. My forces have already identified hostile recon units lingering at the edges of the starsystem…”

Battle of Ninov - Introduction || New Cathen || New Saharia

Talsan stepped forward first. She was a Sakooran female of rather average height herself, standing at about 157 cm and had reddish-brown fur. She had the complexion of someone in her late thirties, being rather young for an Admiral. In fact, she was currently the youngest member of the Alignment Navy's Admiralty Board as a whole (there had been acting Admirals who were younger, but those haven't been heard of since the tyrannical Inara Era). Nevertheless, she held a calm and disciplined look, giving an affirmative nod to the Saharian Admiral before taking a seat.

The Adjutant took a seat right next to her, taking a few seconds to adjust her uniform. She was in her early 20s and, like many a Sakooran officer, had been rather overworked in the past few weeks, currently running on 5 cups of caf and a nutrition bar. However, she was still determined as ever to carry out her duties, holding a datapad close to record everything noteworthy.

The marines accompanying the Admiral stood just behind her, wearing white armor with black highlights, including a helmet with their ears folded back to fit inside.

All of the Sakoorans maintained a respectful silence, listening to what Admiral Corram had to say about the upcoming battle.

New Saharia wrote:

Battle of Ninov - Aggressive Reconnaissance Sakoor

“Additional details can and will be communicated to your forces as the situation develops. Intel suggests that the enemy strikeforce consists of no more than twenty ships. Light and fast. Akin to corvettes. It is unknown whether or not they are unmodified Trelisan vessels, and thus less advanced than their Orellian-modified counterparts. If you require assistance, I can promise a few ships. However, my forces have other objectives to pursue while you are on-mission…”

That seemed to be the Sakooran admiral’s cue to ask questions if she had any.

Battle of Ninov - Aggressive Reconnaissance New Saharia

Talsan's eyes widened slightly at the holoprojection. Admiral Corram didn't need to state just how dire this situation was. The Third Battlegroup consisted of dozens of ships...against potentially thousands. She knew the Alignment would be the underdogs in this conflict, but now she was getting a sense of just how much the odds were stacked against them.

Regardless, she managed to keep her calm. The Saharian Admiral's plan was a sound one, using cunning and misdirection to hold off the enemy until reinforcements arrive. Her attention turned over to Ninov VIII as she listened closely to the Admiral's description of the enemy force. She took a few seconds to process the information before replying.

"Hmmm...the Third Battlegroup should be able to handle this on our own, but we are lacking in firepower."

She motions to her Aide to bring up a projection of the Sakooran force, showing all of the ships including the newly constructed Sentinel Battlecruiser. A formidable warship by their standards, but sadly the only massive damage dealer in the Alignment task force.

"As you can see, the Resolute would be the best at dealing with corvette sized ships, but besides that, we don't have many other vessels capable of that sort of damage output. I won't ask for too much, since your forces are spread thin as it is, but if it's in the realm of possibility, a few bigger guns could go a long way into assisting us. We can have our corvettes and line support craft provide cover for them as well, so there shouldn't be a need to bring your own."

Sakoor wrote:

Battle of Ninov - Aggressive Reconnaissance New Saharia

"As you can see, the Resolute would be the best at dealing with corvette sized ships, but besides that, we don't have many other vessels capable of that sort of damage output. I won't ask for too much, since your forces are spread thin as it is, but if it's in the realm of possibility, a few bigger guns could go a long way into assisting us. We can have our corvettes and line support craft provide cover for them as well, so there shouldn't be a need to bring your own."

Battle of Ninov - Aggressive Reconnaissance Sakoor

Rear Admiral Corram showed visible disappointment for a brief moment. Just before he could say anything, mouth half-open, Captain Talbert wisely interjected. “We can spare a heavy cruiser. The Integrity. My battlegroup will be pursuing other objectives in the meantime.”

His Admiral didn’t say anything in reply. Instead, he simply stood out of his seat. The Captain did so as well. “Good luck, Admiral. As I understand it, this day will mark Sakoor’s first military action against a foreign power in history. Make it one for the history books.”

---

The Sakoorans would once again find themselves back onboard their ships, preparing to launch for the edge of the system. A priority communication awaited Admiral Talsan when she returned to her flagship. From Captain Talbert.

“--The S.R.S. Integrity has been transferred to your taskforce. Captain Ramon is standing by for your orders; she should check in with you as soon as possible. My forces are moving to engage the enemy. If we complete our objectives before you complete yours, we will rendezvous with you in orbit of Ninov VIII. Fair winds and following seas, Admiral. ~ --”

The titanic Saharian battleship in the backdrop slips into lightspeed, a flash of dark blue as the vessel disappears in the blink of an eye. As moments pass, more ships vanish alongside her…

The Colony of Newfont

If you've ever been to Keres, you'd know that the space it resides in is desolate. Newfont, then, is similar, but only even more empty.

Newfont is Keres' only territory which isn't connected directly to it. The strange location was at one point reckoned to be an invaluable addition to Keres' possessions, especially for its scientific research potential. Political strife, budgetary disagreements and internal policy conflicts led to this dream never being realised, and instead of becoming a centre for intergalactic science, Newfont slowly became an obscure territory conducting work that the Astronomical Service didn't particularly care about.

Though some see it as an embarrassing failure of Kererian expansion efforts, Newfont today is not as much of a dump that some politicians want you to think it is. Today it is a largely self sufficient autonomous area of Keres, hosting research stations for physical and biomedical sciences, as well as a partially terraformed planet which is used by the Kererian Land Forces for training exercises. The territory is protected by the Customs Cutter Service, the enforcement arm of Customs and Excise Keres, with a small military garrison also being present. The name Newfont refers to the star at the centre of the system, with five planets orbiting around it. Newfont Charlie, called Char by the local scientists, is the partially terraformed planet, and features planetary bases and a deep-level mining and research operation. The planet itself is slightly larger than the Earth where humans originated from. In orbit of Char are five separate fully fledged stations, one for the central administrative apparatus, three which specialise in a specific field, those being virology, astrobotany, and high energy physics, and one for generalised research. There are also two midget stations, which are just smaller space stations, with one preoccupying itself with astrolithology and one with anomalous materials. In addition to this, many other artificial satellites orbit Char.

In more recent times, Newfont has been granted a unique constitutional arrangement, sitting inbetween a Planet and land administered by the Colonial Service in terms of autonomy. The sui generis body called the Council of the Star and Planets of Newfont was created, and is responsible for a number of devolved matters, although most continued to be the responsibility of central government bodies such as the Colonial Service and Customs and Excise Keres. In addition to this, all of the research and engineering stations are owned by the Astronomical Service or Astromedical Service.

And therefore today, Newfont remains a curious territory of Keres, toiling away on whatever research project they may be delegated this time.

Sakoor wrote:

Battle of Ninov - Aggressive Reconnaissance

"Contact the sensor station." Talsan ordered. "Let's see what we're up against first."

The Third Battlegroup made a beeline towards the station as the Sakooran comms officer sent out a hail. "Sensor station, this is the A.S.V. Resolute leading the Third Battlegroup. We have come to assist in the defense of the sensor array as well as evacuate personnel."

Battle of Ninov - Aggressive Reconnaissance Sakoor

Ninov VIII, Graveyard Orbit

Lodged within the sole, undignified asteroid moon of the eighth planet was the sensor station. Characterized by a large, circular dish protruding from the oblong asteroid’s ‘pole,’ the artificial structure jutted from the asteroid somewhat awkwardly. Light-gray metallic architecture speckled with white-blue lights as windows, and a hangar bay which emerged from the surface of the rock, not quite perpendicular with the rest of the structure. Navigation lights flickered in the darkness. The station was still transmitting.

Onboard, the anxious crew of twelve men and women made their last-minute preparations. Tapping away ceaselessly on consoles, with a pair of men removing a panel from the wall in order to gain access. The group leader, Second Lieutenant Noble, could hardly wait another moment onboard this coffin of a station. He could watch diligently as the enemy force approached their defenseless station. Megameter by megameter.

A jolt of excitement struck him as the station received a hail… but, even after blinking several times, he could see it wasn’t coming from a Saharian vessel. A.S.V..? What the hell kind of designation was that supposed to be for? ‘Whatever,’ he easily convinced himself, ‘this is our one-way ticket out of here.’

---

“--Resolute, this is Interstellar Subspace Array Outpost SS-NIN-08. Receiving you clearly. We’re ready to depart ASAP. Transmitting active-sensor data to you now.--”

And there it was. No doubt the Sakooran fleet and their accompanying Saharian cruiser had picked up the enemy force on active-sensors as well by now. But the track and data provided by the station was impeccable; number and size of enemy ships, their direction of travel, formation… all was revealed before the battlegroup even got close to the eighth planet. Twenty ships exactly, thankfully none of them particularly large.

That was the end of the good news. Surely the hostile fleet spotted the Sakooran force, and were preparing for a fight. There was no good cover to hide behind (other than the sensor station itself), no potential for ambush or underhanded maneuver. Rear Admiral Talsan was now being asked to take her fleet into a head-on confrontation against a technologically superior force, with a minimal numerical advantage. Fortunately, the hostile ships were revealed by the sensor array to be unmodified Trelisan ships; this meant that the gap in technology wasn’t as severe as it could have been.

The rest is now up to Talsan. The Sakooran force will arrive on-site mere minutes before the arrival of the Trelisans. She will have precious little time to prepare her forces and organize an evacuation. No doubt that the sensor station will be fired upon should it pass within range of the enemy. No obvious solutions, no easy way out. Baptism by fire, and nothing less.

---