as written by barney_fife and Azrican
IAN ICB Pax Imperium
Iconoclast Battleship
The Iconoclast Battleship was the latest in Imperial firepower, as elegant as she was deadly, and sporting some of the Empire's most powerful armaments. Ships of the line such as these were the guardians of the United Aschen Empire. Guardians that would be called to defend the Empire at a moment's notice.
This was one such occasion. With the arrival of the IRV Aeniad, the Aschen Empire had detected the whole it tore into subspace, and dispatched the Pax Imperium to ascertain the nature and the intent behind this alien vessel.
Space bent and winked, and the Iconoclast jumped in roughly 150,000 Kilometers off the starboard side of the Aeniad. Commander Armand Cauldwell, a seasoned Imperial Naval veteran watched the wide-spectrum scanners.
"It doesn't match any known designs." One of the Bridge officers reported. "Detailed scans are coming back negative for the Machine Daemon."
The 5km long Iconoclast Battleship drifted slowly towards the exploratory vessel, immense weapons emplacements swiveled to life.
"Hail them." The Commander ordered.
"Channel's open..." A bridge officer replied.
"Attention unidentified vessel, this is the Imperial Aschen Navy Battleship Pax Imperium, Fleet of the Impenetrable Aegis. Identify yourselves immediately."
____
By the time an unknown ship had appeared off the Aeniad's furling stern she had continued through several whole rotations, appearing like a crippled whale spinning through the waves. In those several hours much had happened on the ship however, with something resembling a functional bridge greeting Mark as he returned to the captain's nest.
"What the hell's out there, Theodore?" He asked bluntly, ignoring the sudden klaxons and displays flashing away down in the pits. A holotank nestled against the railing that overlooked the bridge sprang to life, where the shallow face of a man appeared.
"There is an unidentified starship a hundred and fifty thousand kilometers off the stern, Captain -- "
Mark paced away from a small diagnostic panel near his chair and put two hands on a console in the railing. "Whatever was trying to find us after the splash this damn bucket made might not be the best of friends." Mark replied shortly, prying a wired transmitter from the console and activating a ship-wide communique.
"Attention all hands, there is an unidentified and possible ET ship in close distance with the Aeniad: all crews are to ready any personnel that have recovered from cryostasis and prepare your stations. Members of the Security Detachment are to make their equipment and systems ready immediately."
As Mark planted the transmitter back into the console, Theodore's avatar squawked to life. "They are hailing us in a common tongue, Captain Lenerd."
"Dispatch it to Communications."
Less than three and a half minutes later Junior Lieutenant Arman Noviejo had ciphered the message and ensured it's message was a harmless transmission to the Aeniad. When the soundbyte played, a stillness drew upon the bridge crew with the message filling their ears. For many, this was the first of a voyage such as this -- others however had made a living in the lawless stars and meeting distant peoples and cultures.
For Mark, this was shaping up to be his third, or fourth depending on your political leanings, first contact with an extra-terrestrial species in his nearly fifty eight years of expeditions. He exchanged a quick glance with Theodore before silently authorizing him to open a reply.
This is the IRV Aeniad, a federally chartered exploration vessel contracted by the Republic of Domovsky ... what are the coordinates for our vessel's current locations?
____
The Iconoclast Class battleship continued its course, moving ponderously towards the Aeniad. It's massive MAC batteries coming to bear upon the alien vessel.
"Sitrep." The Commander asked as the scans returned. "First the Hegemony and now these guys, we'll need to signal the fleet." He said, thumbing his chin.
He pondered a few more minutes before he stood up from his command chair.
"Send a reply." He ordered, and the moment later, a lieutenant opened a return channel.
"IRV Aeniad, you are in the sovereign space of the United Aschen Empire, two parsecs from the Tal'dor system. Your next step is to disengage your engines and prepare to be boarded for inspection."
The reply was stern and with it came a thinly veiled warning. The Commander of the Battleship was prepared for anything to transpire.
The Iconoclast inched closer towards the exploratory vessel, while her commander debated his next move. Turning to his Lieutenant he spoke up.
"Ready a couple Condors and a marine strike force for embarkation to the alien vessel."
The Loeutenant nodded, and the Commander sent out another hail. "Remain in position and prepare to be boarded."
07-27-2015, 09:47 PM
Azrican
Several tense moments passed as Mark stood on the bridge, Theodore a few feet away pouring over whatever piece of information he could find about the 'Aschen', or 'Tal'Dor'. For these grinding fifteen minutes the crew teetered on the edge of conflict, until Mark heard a soft chime and turned to see Theodore. "There is nothing I can find on a memberstate by the name of the Aschen Empire -- and if they are correct we are far, far beyond the Garden Captain."
"Damn ... " He replied shortly, two hands fixing at his waist while he reviewed the text of the message again and again. "When in Rome, though." Mark finished, reaching to the console and pulling the wireless phone free. As he raised it to his ear, he made a quick hand signal down to Commander Alameda, who quickly relayed the instructions to the bridge. The Aeniad was to comply.
"This is Captain Lenerd, we have established first contact with a nation beyond the Garden -- very far beyond the Garden, as I understand. We will allow these Aschen onboard to inspect the ship, within reason, then we will find our bearings and, hopefully, be granted the chance to forge a connection with these beings."
He could see some trepidation in the eyes of his crew, but thought nothing of it as he turned to Theo and gave a quick nod. "Respond to the hail, in as basic Common as possible -- I would prefer to avoid any misunderstandings."
"Yes sir, Captain Lenerd. You are broadcasting."
This is Mark Lenerd, Executive Officer and Captain of the Aeniad's exploratory mission: it appears we have suffered a breakdown of our FTL core and have been thrown wide off course. I and this vessel were chartered to explore Aboran's Keep in the edges of the Local Region -- we will transfer our drive into low power and prepare the vessel for inspection at your request.
"Oh and Theodore, make sure to get some of the GOLIATHs running ... just in case."
07-28-2015, 03:39 AM
barney_fife
"Hold position and we'll come to you, then." The Commander of the Pax Imperium responded. By now the massive hulking form of the Iconoclast Class Battleship was positioned right alongside the Aeniad, of course the 5km Battleship was a slight bit shorter than it's counterpart.
Commander Cauldwell looked over the data as it scrolled on his displays, by now the pair of Condor dropships had cleared the Pax Imperium's Hangar Bay, and was en-route towards the Aeniad with a security contingent, and an inspection officer on board.
"Commander, We're recieving a hail from Admiral Harper." The Bridge Officer spoke up. At this moment Commander Cauldwell nodded.
"On Screen." He said flatly, and the image of the Imposing Admiral flickered onto the main viewscreen of the Iconoclast's CIC.
"Commander, secure the alien ship and prepare for my arrival." Admiral Harper hailed. "This is a first contact situation from according to the files provided by the Hegemony, a Scatterran vessel, it's likely ICON. Maintain condition one and await further instructions."
---
The pair of Condors approached the Aeniad, and a simple hail from the Condor's pilot followed.
"Attention IRV Aeniad, this is Condor One Niner-Seven, requesting docking coordinates and instructions." The Pilot hailed on all frequencies, waiting for instructions from the Aeniad's flight crew for landing instructions.
Several moments followed, and two additional ships jumped roughly 500 Kilometers away from the Aeniad, the first ship was an Iconoclast Battleship, like the Pax Imperium. This one was the flagship of the entire Imperial Navy, the Strictest Doctrine.
Unlike the Pax Imperium, the Strictest Doctrine bore the obvious signs of battle, gouges and carbon scoring in it's hull plating. The wounds were fresh, unlike the pristine hull of the Pax Imperium. However alongside the flagship was the massive, bulbous form of a Reverence II, more specifically the Profound Solitude II, which also bore the scars of battle, specifically several places along the sleek hull that bore the obvious signs of repair. The 30km Reverence II looked to be more than capable of providing full drydock docking for the Aeniad, giving it a pressurized environment to conduct repairs in the field.
Both ships idled where they jumped, before the Aeniad recieved another message, this one from The Strictest Doctrine.
"IRV Aeniad, this is Gina Inviere, Chairman of the Imperial Navy; maintain present condition and prepare your staff for my arrival following your inspection. Welcome to the Aschen Empire."
07-28-2015, 04:15 AM
Azrican
"Captain."
"Not now, Theodore." Mark said bluntly, leaning over the railing down in the pit to observe Junior Lieutenant Miranda Greene's display effectively. "For fuck's sake what the fuck is going on -- " He then trotted down the grating to another station, a technical station for the ship's weapon systems and defenses; ensuring they were neutralized. "Theo I could really use some fuckin' info on the people who are about to come traipsing aboard my god damn ship."
"Of course Captain, but you might -- "
Even before the AI, processing thoughts in the trillions per second, was to make a response Mark had already reached another station and was frantically pointing to the screen as the junior officer worked underneath him. "There is no info, Captain."
"God fucking dammit Theo just make sure those people get on this god damn boat!" He said angrily, pulling the coat from a piece of railing on the walkway out of the pit. As he bee-lined it for the elevator, he shook off three or four curious junior officers on his way.
"Captain, are you sure you're -- "
"Shut the fuck up, Commander. We're really not in a position to resist."
As he stepped into the elevator, Theodore appeared beside him. "The 'Aschen' will be arriving in Hangar Charlie, there's a rig for them at Deck 32." The AI replied, as Mark stood silently while the elevator descended through nearly a thousand flights of deck.
"Begin broadcasting them the diagnostics of our system checks, let them know there might be an FTL issue." Mark replied, feeling the elevator begin to slow as he reached the depths of the ship, just above her massive 3 square kilometer interior hull where the Aschen craft would be received. When the elevator door opened with a quiet swish, the Captain stepped out onto a catwalk to see the massive hulk of an AvKing transport go looming past; a piece of cargo quickly sidelined to make room for the arrivals.
When he received a message from the bridge, transmitting one 'Invierres' instructions, he quickly keyed back into Theodore and broadcast a return.
"This is Captain Lenerd, I am preparing to meet your authorities now in the bay of the Aeniad. Thank you for aiding us, though I must confess the ship may perhaps be unstable at this time."
____
The two Condors slowly touched down within the massive hangar bay of the Aeniad. Their VTOL Engines screamed in protest before they inevitably quieted down.
Once the Condors had settled down, their rear hatches opened up, revealing a squad of Imperial marines, which disembarked from the Condors in precise formation.
Their dark grey starship camouflage pattern uniforms were worn with matching Ceramite vests, and hanging upon their backs with straps were weapons unlike anything seen in Scatterran territories.
The Inspection officer was clad n a dark grey uniform trimmed with a black standing collar, and blue epaulettes.
He surveyed the Hangar bay for a moment, before he directed his men to fan outwards and provide a security cordon, as his eyes sternly scanned the contents of the hangar bay. The man reflected for a moment, knowing that the Reverence II would soon provide a more thorough inspection. It was then he spoke up.
"I'm looking for the commanding officer."
____
As metal structuring and prominent bulkheads flowed upward from the cab of the tram, Mark could see the Aschen vessel nestling onto the land pad. Then it would blur away into the ribbing of the ship until finally reaching the desired level with a soft whir: powerful magnets kept the platform adequately fast yet quiet.
Standing by the railing, almost fifty meters above the group of (apparently) humanoid inspectors that had come aboard the Aeniad, Mark drew a hand to his mouth, lips near a microphone device on the sleeve of his tunic. "That would be me,"
The voice echoed through all three kilometers of bay, thanks to the spacious nature and open chasms that made the vessel's bowels. Mark began descending the stairs, making sure the collar of the Initiative pilot's suit fit neatly on his stern frame.
He felt uneasy wearing the Acheron logo on his breast as he reached the landing platform. He pushed away different and past thoughts, instead approaching the Aschen party with a slow gait and easy demeanor. "Your systems are nearly eighty kiloparsecs from the farthest distance anyone in the Territories has ever traveled -- gentlemen, what the hell are you people doing this far out in space?"
____
The Inspection officer turned to the source of the intercom, noting the approach of the ship's commanding officer. The Inspecting officer stood a good foot shorter than his Scatterran counterpart.
"We live here, the question begs what are you doing this far from Scatterran sectors of space?" The Inspector asked before he extended his hand. "I'm Lieutenant Tyrel, and I'll be conducting the inspection of your vessel today. First and foremost I require a copy of your crew and cargo manifest, we'll be verifying it as well." The Lieutenant said, as he took a step forward.
"We've come into contact with Scatterrans before, but they weren't your kind." The Inspector said, as he gestured for the Captain to lead the way.
"You couldn't have found a more inopportune time to appear in one of our most heavily patrolled sectors of space, might as well since we'd likely have never found you otherwise." He said, surveying his surroundings.
"So you're on an exploratory mission, from ICON? Our friends within the Hegemony have told us about your federal government" The Inspector said.
"Odd that they'd charter a ship this far out, though." He said, putting his hand to an earpiece. "I've been informed some engineers are en-route to assist in taking your FTL Drive offline, we wouldn't want to have an incident once you've docked with the Reverence."
____
When the Aschen spoke, Mark let his assumptions wander as to this man's familiarity with the Scatterran kind. So there is a chance they've already met the worst of what might be around us. He thought, before reaching to take the man's hand with a stern grip. "Mark Lenerd, Executive officer of the Aeniad." He replied shortly, then leveled a question. "Why have Scatterrans been this far out before? They were either Freemerchants, like myself, or the Hegemony -- whom I assume you clicked with swimmingly."
He observed the Aschen for a moment up and down, and while didn't find much of a difference (omitting physical similarities) with one of trillions other humans still felt uneased with the circumstances of this encounter. He shrugged off the thoughts of a manifest and record -- or anything to verify it against. There might be some complications if there were different interpretations of 'inspections'. "If I'm to be rather blunt with you, Lieutenant, the transnational government isn't particularly aware of a Domovskian expedition. Raynimorgi is the port of call for the Aeniad after the Initiative purchased her from the Republic."
"A business adventure retrofitted the Aeniad for a deep space research and exploration mission." He finished, reaching calmly to the belt at his side where a tablet rested off his hip. The device came to life with a blink, and with an impressive fluidity the computer was monitoring the 500 crew of the Aeniad. "There are exactly four hundred and sixteen crew still in cryostasis, due to possible damage to the cryo-regulation mechanisms in the sub-deck engineering." Mark offered, before turning back towards the tram and motioning for the men to follow.
"There's not much of the Coalition out here meaning, the vessel is where it needs to be. Now, in the meantime, I will escort you around the ship as you conduct your inspection -- the Aeniad is seven point zero three kilometers in length, we are in the central structure where the hangars are. Prior to her purchase the Aeniad was a Domovskian luxury ship, and before that a drone carrier in service with the Colony Fleets during the Empire War."
____
"We recently established trade relations with the Scatterran Hegemony, they have appraised us of the other Scatterran states operating in your little corner of the galaxy." The Inspector said.
"So you're out here for deep space research and exploration, then I am confident we won't find anything here that will be of concern to the security of the United Aschen Empire, at least I would hope so for your sake." With everything the Hegemony told the Aschen regarding the other Scatterran nations, the Lieutenant was visibly cautious. Though the man recognized propaganda and spin control, his goal was the security of the Aschen Empire.
Following the captain towards the Tram, the Lieutenant took notations of everything that was going on around them on a flickering holographic tablet.
"My inspection is cursory at best, there will be a more thorough inspection once you've docked with the Reverence, repairs can also be made at this time." He said, before he turned to ask.
"To that end, are there any weapons on this vessel I should be made aware of?"
____
"You're aware of the situation in the Colonies? Well, the Outer Territories depending on whom you speak to ... " The Captain remarked shortly, escorting the Aschen onto the tram where it would take them to a central station within the Aeniad. The transportation about the vessel's length was handled by a huge network of trams and elevators, though stairs (unfortunately) could be found. When the Lieutenant mentioned his opinion on the outcome of an inspection on an otherwise routine exploratory vessel he had internalized anxiety.
Perhaps his distraction and dodging hadn't indicated quite what Mark had intended. "Well to be upfront with you, the Garden has been rather dangerous lately so -- the vessel is rather heavily armed for the simple purposes of science and culture. Many members of the security detail and containment teams are enlisted Apparatus, sort of a special detail though." He said, leading the Aschen off the tram as it came to a stop and into a large atrium with false windows shining light into the areas below.
"There are sixty GOLIATH drones: most used for exploration and excavation, while others are for containment." Mark indicated to a holotablet he produced, showing a diagnostic of the several GOLIATH chassis that were stocked within the Aeniad's internal bays. At nearly 5 meters tall, the mechanical giants were quite useful in all sorts of conditions; not just about ships, GOLIATHs were also used in combat with the Apparatus. "We have about three hundred various military firearms: assault rifles, sniper rifles, machineguns and carbines ... "
"Then there is the case of, six hundred and thirty two stasis chambers enclosing various xenotypes. You've probably encountered a few of them out here, nasty buggers -- the ones that go from squawking and gibbering to infesting a whole planet over some months.