The Ethereal Wing of Martian Manufacture, a colony-class starship owned by the Central Sol Federation set on a maiden voyage across Uncharted Space for the sole purpose of expanding their Interplanetary Colonization Order, a tradition that had been continued since the dawn of trans-light travel. The Ethereal Wing, like many of its manufactured brethren, was a Whale-Class Martian Built Colony Construct Vessel and the sixth generation of its kind. The Wing was built for the sole purpose of exploring and claiming the fabled Caesar System that was discovered no less than a century ago accidentally during the zenith of Genesis War.
It was a rather fortunate timing really, if not for the now accursed Unity Empire had dissolved and its subsequent systems either annexed to the Pact of Thirteen or fell to civil war, the coveted Caesar System was ripe for the taking. For some, it was a strange sight to see an interplanetary organization as large and powerful as the Federation would bother themselves to voyage outside the Milky Way, into the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud. What importance does a random world far beyond the reaches of most Civilized Factions in the galaxy for the Federation to even dare venture? What value would a far distanced star provide compared to the hundred millions that laid scattered near the Orion Arm?
The answer lied upon the twin worlds orbiting the third ring of the Caesar System. Both respectfully named Gaius and Julius as a clear reference to the olden tale of the famed Roman emperor. When the two worlds were first noticed by their long range sensor, their existence was noted as nothing more but another unassuming terrestrial bodies recorded and noted amongst the billions of archives they've collected for the past three centuries. Yet it was much later that their peculiarity were noted and notified by the scientists of Sanctioned Interplanetary Research Administration (also known as SIRA, the spiritual successor of NASA).
Both Gaius and Julius emitted strange electromagnetic signature as well as unique radiation residue, one known by all as the enigmatic psionic field, or some had come to call it 'magic', 'thaumaturgy', 'miracle' and 'paracausality'. Regardless of the moniker given, there left very little doubt to the nature of these two alien planets and the value they bore for the Federation.
Fleet Captain Morris Leighton Vander was both delighted and apprehensive of their recent discovery, a concern
made worse with the interference of the other Civilized Factions. It was not a secret that many would love to get their grubby little hands on the twin worlds, and if not for the Extraplanetary Inhabitation Rights Agreement, there were sure to be objections made regarding the subject. Even now, there were others, such as the Pact of Thirteen or the Grand Star Alliance, working their way to twist the words of the Agreement to better fit their goals.
It was pertinent that he, and in extension, the crew of Ethereal Wing, maintained tight hold over their right to Julius and Gaius. Furthermore, the Federation was currently funded and aided by at least sixteen different megacorporations, three of which were prominent names across the Unified Systems. With over three thousand colonists aboard in a six months long journey, their sponsors had made it clear that the safety of their crews were of the utmost importance, and even provided significant military funding—though still within reasonable limits.
Frankly, Morris found the presence of the megacorps to be distasteful. Even this far out from Earth and her Vassal Colonies, he couldn't escape the incessant corporate propaganda plastered almost on every little corner of the ship he could find. Honestly, he was half tempted to just send those pesky Corpos out into the cold vacuum. The stress dealing with shifty corporates was more than enough to dampen his mood, but the subsequent bombshell following their near arrival upon Caesar System was yet another pile of agitation to his already unsettled mind.
"Sir, you have a voice message from Earth," a monotonous yet jubilant tone of his onboard Virtual Intelligence chirped.
Morris grunted in irritation, ignoring the machine in favor of his current task; managing and monitoring all the material resources of the vessel, supply rations and overall crew conditions. An unenviable job made slightly easier with the assistance of AI, limited as they were. His hand tapped away at the haptic touchscreen, a faint holographic projection wavered slightly and reacted according to his movements.
"Sir, the content of the message is urgent. It comes directly from the Chief Director of the Federation's Defense Division."
Morris paused, before he slowly turned his head to face the holo-projector. "The Chief Director?"
Without further prompting from the VI, a holographic projection materialized to display the intangible apparition of a middle-aged man of eastern descent. His skin a slight tanned complexion, both eyes a vibrant crimson hue with a short black flattop for a haircut. "Fleet Captain Morris, I hope I didn't catch you in a bad time."
"A- ah, no Director Davelyn. Just conducting a standard monthly examination. Is there anything you need, Director?"
The silence that followed after was almost suffocating, but graciously, the intense man replied. "There have been complications with the mission, Fleet Captain."
"Complications?" Morris pressed, his fingers curled in dreaded anticipation. What could that mean? Did something happen back on Sol? Was their mission compromised in any way? "What happened?"
"SIRA's preliminary trans-light scout drones found something that stirred quite the ruckus back home. Those two jewels you're heading right now are Verdant Worlds, sitting right in the middle of the good ol' goldilocks zone."
Morris frowned, "is that a problem? I mean, that is pretty much what we expected right?" He then paused, face twisted to a deep contemplation. "Did you guys find something else there? Contagious pathogens? Dangerous atmosphere? Kaiju-class lifeform? It better not be the last one, the Ethereal Wing is not equipped to deal with another Behemoth Incident."
"No, fortunately. It is none of those things. However, it's something just as concerning."
"What?"
"First Contact Scenario. We're talking ye ol' standard Cave-Class Protocol more specifically."
"Shit," gasped Morris, slumping to his chair. "Shit..."
"Right now, the Board Directives are debating what to do, lest we drag the attention of something like the Overmind," the Chief Director murmured the last part with a shiver. "The drones, especially, detected a concentrated presence of activity from both of our target planets. Seems like neither of them even reached the Industrial Age yet judging by the lack of carbon footprint, or any inclination of mass manufacturing."
"Oh goddamnit, this is going to be another Ferturian Crisis again..." grumbled Morris. "I guess the folks back at Sol don't want us interfering with the 'innocent indigenous xenos' huh?"
"I've already brought this forward to the Board and they're working on something to ease the Unified Systems off our back. Luckily for you, and us, our expedition isn't rescinded. However, unfortunately, the Unified Systems had declared that our activity needed to be monitored. They're going to send folks from OETEL (Organization of Ethical Treatment of Extraterrestrial Lifeforms), SIRA and even the Systems' Exo-Military Peacekeepers. If they don't like what we've done over there, they're going to pull the plug on this one. Now, I don't think I have to explain to you that we don't want that now do we?"
"W- what exactly did we find to warrant that kind of reaction?" Morris asked uncertainly, dreading the answer yet curious all the same. It wasn't the first alien civilization they've discovered, hell, for the last three centuries, humanity had encountered at least two dozen different sapient species and waged war with at least three of them. There was a protocol needed to be followed with First Contact, and such endeavor was made even more so significant if the society they've encountered had yet to reach the first stage of the Kardashev civilization scale.
"Gaius and Julius," the Chief Director of the Defense Division first started off. "They're both almost indistinguishable in terms of biosphere, gravity, atmospheric pressure and global climate. Your good ol' standard Verdant Planet. Green forest, vast ocean, oxygen-rich atmosphere. A month ago, one of the drones caught sight of a rather massive anomaly on a portion of the planet's surface and further examination of that matter, SIRA discovered that there's about a couple of large settlements across the twin planets. Our own scans show some interesting discoveries, it seems like the xenos there are just right about the ripe stage of medieval tech, and would suggest that they're to remain that way for 'bout couple more centuries too. Assuming they advance as fast as we do of course."
"Both of them?" Morris questioned, his interest piqued, but so does his irritation. "Do we know anything else?"
"Well, so far the drones have been doing orbital reconnaissance, but I can safely say that we've discovered quite a flock of colorful xenos. Their biology and appearance had given the eggheads back on SIRA and some of our own xenobiologists quite the headache."
"What, is this another case of spectral lifeforms?" Morris frowned. Their initial discovery of psionics was followed after with the encounter of a bizarre group of aliens composed entirely of psionic energy known simply as the Spectres. Their unique physiology had been a subject of intense debate amongst the physicists of the time, and also responsible for the accelerated progress in studying psitech (psionic-based technology).
"Nope," Director Davelyn remarked succinctly. "I think it's best if you see it for yourself."
Not a second later, Morris was presented with several apparitions of holographic projection, depicting a series of various alien lifeforms they were to encounter. For a moment, silence reigned, the Fleet Captain only stared in disbelief before his first reply was spoken, "elves?"
"And dwarves, centaurs, harpies, along with all the other fantasy creatures you can think of," exclaimed the Chief Director, his voice betraying a hint of exasperation. "In fact, this is one of the main reasons why the people back on Sol are agitated with our presence here. Claiming that we would, and I quote; 'ruin the natural beauty of this magnificent planet that presents the greatest discovery of the ages' or something like that."
"What the hell is this?" Morris' gaped as he studied the images with rapt interest. "Did we find Narnia or something?"
"I think Toril would be more apt, but regardless, what we've discovered there is a great scientific curiosity. There's been a buzz here on Mars and Earth, with some people claiming that it's the work of some ancient alien, god, spirit and all the usual stuff. Hell, there's even some folks accusing us of artificially engineering the planets decades before we even built the Ethereal Wing. What matters here is that you, Morris, have to be careful with your actions there. One wrong move and we'll have ourselves another Ferturian Crisis in our hands. The people back on Centauri and Perseus Upsilon are still holding that incident above our heads. As if it's our fault that the savages on Ferturia got themselves fucking killed over a stupid 'holy tree' of theirs."
"Ah, y- yes Sir," Morris hesitantly replied, uncertain and uncomfortable with his superior's rather xenophobic description of the tragic events of Ferturia. Who could've known that intruding upon the sacred ground of the natives would have resulted in a conflict? He remembered clearly the things said on hypernet and how poorly it reflected upon the Federation's decision during the incident. A hundred dead Ferturian and a few injured Federation employees, along with the destruction of several properties that mainly concerned the 'holy tree' worshipped by the locals. That incident caused quite the stir in the media.
Morris dreads to think what their rival contenders would do now, seeing the opportunity to slander the Federation and present accusations of misconduct and mistreatment of local lifeforms. They could probably get away with most of the allegations if their xenos were a little bit more inhuman, but alas, these newfound extraterrestrials were as close to humans as they could be.
"Also, our drones had also found something far more interesting than the bizarre nature of our 'new friends'. Most notably, their usage of psionic radiation. It seems like, while not as abundant nor sophisticated as some we've found in the greater galaxy, these folks are surprisingly adept at psychic force. The eggheads in our Xenobiology Department managed to collect quite the document, I implore that you go and see them for yourself. From what I've seen, the psychic stuff really hammers down the D&D image of this world, especially with the way they use them."
"What, did they actually have mages and stuff?" Morris uttered incredulously. Though it was true that psionic seemed quite 'supernatural' in the way it functioned, it was no more than an extension of science in its most bizarre form. A new manifestation of the fundamental force that eclipsed all the other unifying fields in its application and property.
"Yep, even got the robes and staff to really sell the idea," Davelyn sighed. "Look, this has been a rather crazy month. We're still trying to figure out what the hell this all means and what the fuck's going on with that two worlds. Now that we've got the attention of everyone, our rivals would probably try to capitalize the situation and claim Caesar as theirs. The Board is pressuring me, and in extension you, to maintain hold over the situation. The Unified Systems has been quite insistent that our First Contact with the locals to be as peaceful as possible, and our activity, regulated. However, as much of a shit show this is, those worlds present us an opportunity. We have a pair of highly psioactive worlds and about a fuckton of scientific inquiry that SIRA would love to get their hands on. Our main advantage now is that we have a head start of six months before any of those from OETEC and Exo-Military folks arrive. We're the one controlling the narratives here and it is very important that we maintain that control, you understand?"
"What do you want me to do?"
Davelyn smiled, "gather your crews, Fleet Captain. Tell them the news, you've got work to do."
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[5th Februs 250 AC (Aglow Cycle)]
[Frostland, Nothun Continent, First Realm (Gaius)]
Frostland, a land of frigid tundra coated in nothing but rock and snow situated deep within the great northern continent of Nothun within the mortal world of the First Realm. The inhabitants of Frostland knew nothing but the biting chill of winter's breeze and the harsh condition of its unwelcoming gale. Yet, even in this most frosty and uninviting land of the north, there were those who called it their home. Amongst them were the white-furred wolf-kin of the Snow Howlers, being one of the many races of Beastfolks that inhabited the four continents.
They were men and women most similar to elves save for their lupine ears and thick furred tail akin to that of a hound. There were even those who possessed sharp fangs and even sharper claws not too dissimilar to the beast they resemble. The Snow Howlers were a particular breed of Howlers that made the cold, snowy biome their abode and had even thrived amidst the chilling air of the north. The noblewoman who guarded these lands was none other than Lady Vesna of House Clawtun, blessed by the Ice Queen of Old Winter that runs in her blood.
She, like many Snow Howlers, bore the magnificence of lustrous white hair, with thick wolfish ears and snowy furred tail that ended in a slight greyish tip. Vesna was a pragmatic woman that wore her title with pride and austerity the Clawtuns were known for. In a world where women were expected to lead, Vesna held the title as the Lady Realm of the North with great responsibility, never once letting herself idle with the dealings of her lands.
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Even now, the Bold Wolf, and her entourage of Snow Guards, prowled the Deep Forest of Frostland in search of any signs of banditry or barbarians that dared disturb the peace of her realm. Vesna was alert and stoic, her large blue eyes scanned the area with great caution that was followed by her guards in equal manner.
"It seems like the bandits all either ran away or were killed, Milady. Those that escape our grasp won't survive the cold, and even if they do, the wildlife will make quick work of them," uttered her loyal chief knight, Syr Alastria Thaunar. Clad in polished steel cuirass and boiled leather armor, and armed with her most prized mithril sword, Bonecutter.
"They're not that far off, we should give 'em a chase and let not one be spared from the bite of our blades. Lest they come again to try their luck against us. I grew wary of these ne'er-do-wells, Milady. I think it best we cut the vipers right at their head," exclaimed the boisterous words of Vesna's other chief knight, Syr Laura Lumberton, a Snow Howler with a rather impressive musculature and intimidating physique clad in contoured armor made to flaunt her athletic figure.
"It could be an ambush, Syr Laura. For all your talk of strength and endurance, you lack what really matters, and it's the stuff between your ears," chided their only lady magus, Mystrene Melnari, master of Gale and Frost Magic.
Laura rolled her eyes and responded with a booming exclamation, "bah, you and yer sorceries! All yer talk of 'strategy' and 'tactics' bore me to tears, Magus. Men only desired women with the skill and strength to wield yer sword! Not the fancy words of yon tongue. Lest, how else would you handle the 'blade' of your partner?" She ended her statement with a smirk that only served to annoy the sorcerer.
"If you could for once in your life think with your brain instead of your cunt then maybe you could see what I'm trying to tell you. This is a trap for sure. There's too little bandits this time for what should amount to a sizable number. It makes no sense for them to send only a meagre force to attack this heavily fortified part of the town."
Laura grumbled, "they're bandits. Not really known for the brightest of their kind y'know?"
"Cease this banter, knights. Your senses needed remain sharp for this task, a dull mind is a dull blade," reprimanded their Noble Lady with a tired exasperation. "I agree with Magi Mystrene on this, it is too simple for it to be anything other than a trap. They are waiting for us in the woods. Let us fall back, the bandits are little more than annoyance anyway. I doubt they could do much against our town's guard."
"One would've thought that those idiots would've learnt by now, but alas, we are dealing with fools." Murmured Alastria with disappointment.
"Though it is worrying that their numbers have arisen lately. Could this be the cause of the civil war deeper in the Old North?" Frowned Mystrene. The Old North, as it was named by people of Frostland was technically part of the land, but it was so far into the deepest north and colder than even their chilling realm that it was referred to as a different region entirely for it was known only as the abode to the savages of the Mountain Tribes.
It had been but two months since the barbarians of the Old North first started a war amongst themselves, one that was of little concern for the civilized society of Frostland. But lately, the intensity and scale of their conflict had been a subject of slight concern for Lady Vesna and some of the other Great Houses of Nothun. Especially when it began to spill into the rest of the realm.
"Whatever troubles may inflict the Mountain Tribes of the Old North, it is none of our concern. Their misfortune was of their own work, we need only focus ourselves with the... consequence of their battles."
Laura clicked her tongue in annoyance, "those damn barbarians couldn't keep the fighting in their own turf can't they? It's becoming our job to clean up after their mess now. If it's up to me, I'll just kill 'em chieftain and be done with this."
"Hold your tongue, Syr Laura. We are women of Frostland, honorbound to the Ways of the Pact God and the Covenant of the Ice Queen. Tis our shared reverence of the same deity that grants us peace with the Mountain Tribes. Even if our ways of life are different, our values are one and the same. They're not animals to be culled, but respected followers of the Pact God."
"I know, Milady. It's a jest," smirked the musclebound chief knight. "I just wished they keep their problems to themselves."
"Aye, that I can agree," Mystrene mumbled, rubbing her hands as she leaned onto her magi-staff. "The headache from the Star Scholars of Magi College is enough of a pain as it is, I don't need to deal with petty squabbles of some barbarians beyond the Deep Forest."
"Ah, speaking of the Star Scholars... What was the commotion from last moon about? Last I heard a prominent soothsayer from far south claimed to have envisioned a 'great disturbance from the stars' or something," Alastria chimed.
"Oh that," grumbled Mystrene. "Nothing more than the mad rambling of a drunken elf. You know how they are, pompous pricks who knew nothing but the grandeur and illusion of self-importance. What else is new?"
"Now, now, it is not becoming to speak ill of our knife-eared neighbor. Even if what you said is mostly true," Lady Vesna stated seriously, though the faint twitch of her cheek betrayed the amusement in her own words. "It seems like our work here is done. Come now, we shall return before the sun sleeps, lest I be lectured by me own lord husband."
"Hah, finally!" The daughter of Lumberton bellowed heartily, sheathing her blade and leapt unto her steed with enthusiasm. "All this waiting and meandering tires me bones! Nothing but a warm meal and a good dicking would satiate the hunger of Syr Laura the Greatest!"
"All you talk about is your jaunt in the brothels and your 'battles' with the pleasure boys. I tire with the ceaseless tales of your 'plundering'." Mystrene glumly muttered.
"Hah, is that envy I hear of you, Magi? Why, you should come to the joints with me if that be the case, maybe it would loosen up that stick up yer arse," snarked the Lumberton knight, much to the indignation of the sorcerer.
"P- preposterous! Unlike you, I have duty needed be done and have no time to dally my time with carnal pleasures," Mystrene snapped as she rode on the rear side of Alastria's horse. "B- besides, I have much experience with men, more than you! In fact, I'll have you know that my name was well known amongst the brothels of Silver Cities during my studies as an apprentice there! All the boys scream my name when I walk past the street!"
"Ohohoho, is that so?" Laura grinned, clearly enjoying their little banter. "I s'pose I'll have a visit to the Great East me'self to have a taste of the fruits there."
"Ladies, you are all knights of the Snow Guard, protectors of Fort Blackshard, spears of Frostland. Please act the part," Vesna chided disapprovingly, knowing well her husband would've had her ears if he'd known what manner of conversation her knights spoke.
"Y- yeah, exactly, Milady Clawtun." Mystrene shot a glare at the large Howler, who responded with a light chuckle. The magus furrowed her eyes at that, but said nothing more as her fellow knight urged their steed to trod forward, leaving the Deep Forest behind.
Vesna allowed the silence that followed after to revisit the events of today into the forefront of her mind. The civil war between the various tribes of the Deep Mountains had been steadily growing amongst themselves and affecting the surrounding settlements under Frostland's protection as well as the various neighboring kingdoms of Nothun. Banditry and skirmishes grew evermore common whilst the tension between the Tribes of Old North and the civilized kingdoms of Greater Nothun brewed in intensity. Their allies from the south, both the Holy Continent of Westria and the Allied Kingdoms of Authros, were of little help, as they viewed their neighbors from the north to be nothing more than cold uncivilized folks. That, and the fact that the so-called Allied Kingdoms of Authros were anything but unified, a haphazard coalition of nine kingdoms serving under one king who was expected to lead various different and conflicting cultures between the nations. The Holy Continent of Westria on the other hand, was dominated mainly by the elves, especially those of the highborn purebloods, their distaste of anything non-elven was made quite clear to the other kingdoms and realms.
There was also the continent of the far east, Datrika, but the distance between them made any meaningful alliance a moot point. Currently, the Frozen Continent of Nothun was overseen by six major kingdoms (excluding the Mountain Tribes of Old North), Frostland being one of them. All of which served under the authority of the Northern Queen at the southernmost part of Nothun, the Crown's Berth. It, along with Frostland, Rockstone, Trust Isle, Lakelinger and Clearnaude, together they formed the Arctic Kingdoms of Nothun. One of several great powers of the First Realm, alongside the Imperial Theocracy of Westria, Allied Kingdoms of Authros, Newfolk Association of West Datrika and the Merchant Guild of East Datrika.
Though it wouldn't be a lie to admit that the complexity and intricacies of the Realm's politics eluded Vesna, as she held no interest over the befuddling games played amongst the great minds of the First Realm. She had met personally with the Northern Queen to know that those who indulge themselves with the so-called 'Great Game of the Realm's Crown' were elusive and maddening in nature. A simple conversation with them would be akin to traversing a great and befuddling labyrinth that led to nowhere and everywhere all the same. She was of similar mindset with a lot of northern highborns, for they too cared little of the bloodied 'Game' played amongst the elves. She briefly wondered if the proclamation of the Westrian soothsayer was some elaborate planning devised by the noblewomen of the Imperial Theocracy but quickly dismissed it. Whatever elusive trickery the elves indulged themselves was of little concern to her, it wasn't like she would be involved in anything major in the foreseeable future.
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[5th February 2400 AD]
[Ethereal Wing, Caesar System, Large Magellanic Cloud]
The disclosure of their newfound discovery of the baffling worlds had gone well enough, though there were still some crew members who expressed disbelief and befuddlement, as well as those who showed concern over the nature of their current mission. What was originally intended to be an extraplanetary mining and colonization program had drastically shifted to a First Contact scenario with all the troubles it entails.
The shock of discovering a completely alien civilization that resembled much to the fictional narratives of their world still lingered amidst the crew and some had even questioned the nature of these planets, along with the hidden secrets might lie beyond. There were even conspiracies that started amongst the R&D Department that J. R. R. Tolkien might be of extraterrestrial origin, though such rumor were quickly quelled lest the Federation were accused to be the source of misinformation if such rumors were to leak beyond the ship (despite the fact that such theory had already grown popular in Sol).
As of currently, the top managers of the expedition quickly assembled and discussed amongst themselves regarding their current inconvenience. Among them were the Fleet Captain Morris Leighton Vander, Chief Representative of Federation's Interest Elton Triske Sevielle, Militant Commander Gordon Leyne Kardelon, Chief Secretary Beyonce Beiber Kardashian and Prima Vita Nova, their resident synthoid replicant.
"So, I hope you all had a good breakfast this morning because what I'm about to tell you now will be needing your full attention, do you copy?" Started the stern voice of Morris Leighton Vander, his eyes slowly scanned the room.
"Cap, no amount of recycled rations are going to make any breakfast 'good', just get along with it," remarked the Elton Triske Sevielle, the man's lithe figure leaned against his morph-chair.
"Well, I'll take that comment as a yes then," Morris rolled his eyes but continued regardless. "As you've all been briefed an hour ago, just about a month prior, SIRA's preliminary trans-light scout drones discovered an alien civilization on both of our target worlds that match the description of Cave-Class Ivanov Civilization Index. The wide-wings back home are fuming whilst the freethinkers are just as equally agitated, though for the opposite reasons. Regardless, I'm not here to talk about Sol's politics, I'm here to talk about the Unified Systems, the Big S, and their following actions if we don't deal with this carefully. Our organization had worked hard claiming stake over Caesar and built this magnificent son of a bitch for a ship, and we're not going to let some treehuggers back home stopping us. Which, need I remind you, are the same people who lived on ye ol' polluted Earth."
Morris paused for dramatic flair and waved his hand, the holo-projector had been imbued with slight psiokinetic force to generate the illusion of physical touch, allowing his fingers to brush against the hardlight construct and feel its glassen texture. The holographic apparition itself was that of the aforementioned planets discussed, sharing quite the resemblance to Old Earth and New Mars. Both had a mostly green surface and vibrant blue ocean, along with scattered patches of white clouds in its atmosphere. One of them was visibly larger than the other, yet both shared roughly the same gravitational pull.
"Gaius and Julius are both Verdant Worlds with all the biodiversity you would expect with this type of planetary classification. They both have the highest psion reading of any terrestrial bodies so far, with a Psi-Index of over ten kiloscion compared to your standard hundred scion index. With a psion reading this high, we could only guess the sheer potential these twin treasure worlds could bring us. Thus it is why it is important that we maintain our hold of these jewels, this is the biggest boon for the Federation, our key to progress. Humanity had made some amazing stuff with psionics; trans-light engine, QETS (Quantum Entanglement Tether System) telecommunication, thaumic power, matter transmutation, efficient energy conversion, anti-gravity, electromagnetic manipulation, hologram technology, nanite swarm, artificial intelligence, esper generation, to name only a few."
By now, the projector showcased the various different technologies they've achieved thanks to the aforementioned discovery of psychic field and its near infinite potential.
"This was all achieved with a limited access to aetherite, just a few kilograms at most. Just imagine what we could've achieved if we dug up a mountain of them? Our species wouldn't just be another piece in the galactic board, we'll be a powerhouse of the galaxy. This– this why it is important that we're the one to usher in the new era of psio-technological advancement. When our children, and their children, sit on their fancy high tech chairs in some super advanced ship or whatever, I want them to remember that we, the Federation, are the one responsible for the luxury they'll be living off."
Beyonce Kardashian then stepped forward, the secretary took a moment to collect herself and carefully stared at each and every person in the room in the eyes before she remarked. "Our arrival on Julius and Gaius won't be till four days from now, so we have a lot to prepare ourselves for. The Wing had already sent a couple of recon drones and even a few single-stage-to-orbit VTOLs to scout out areas suitable for landing. Our engineers and computers had designated a few regions that would suit our purpose quite fine. The first and foremost being at the far north of Gaius, where settlement seems to be quite sparse and far from major concentration of native civilization. We'll be setting up our main base there before venturing out of the place. I've reviewed the SOP of all articles relating to the Cave-Class First Contact we're to follow and thankfully, we're allowed to arm ourselves in case there's nasty surprises there. Though I do caution restraint when dealing with the natives, especially for the sapient ones, the legality of self-defense is muddled, to say the least. Now, Commander Gordon, if you please..."
The grizzly form of the Militant Commander spoke up, with a voice of thick jovian accent that betrayed his birthplace as a Titanian, "we're allowed to arm ourselves, but within limited parameters of course. First off, Grade-5 Plasma Weaponry is prohibited unless we've proven without a shadow of a doubt that there is a threat to necessitate such a course of action. We're to mainly use laser-based firearms, and gauss weapons below the standard penetrative power of Global Peacekeeping Force as per stated in Article VIC-6 of Interplanetary Colonization. We're not to use biological or chemical weapons, save for the one linked here... there's a long list of disclaimers that I won't bore you with. Oh, all WMD is also banned unless we're dealing with a Kaiju-class entity, and even that, it'll be under the Systems' permission."
"Well, having a few lasrifles with us doesn't sound too bad. Though that plasma grade limitation is annoying though," Elton remarked.
"There's also a case of language barrier," Morris continued onward. "Luckily, our drones are quite a broken piece of clarketech. The AI have managed to analyze the vocal patterns and psionic reading, we've managed to file a comprehensive list of their linguistic database. It will take a while before we'll have ourselves a proper translation software, but by then I'll have all of you ready your implants."
"We'll also have the droids and drones set up at our main base before our arrival. I think the Habitat Constructor is ready to be deployed as we speak. If we send them now, they'll have four day's lead to start working on our base. Setting up basic infrastructure, plumbing, wiring, telecommunication, roadwork and all the basic necessities," chimed in Elton.
"That's good, do that. Gordon, what do we have with us on board? Any big guns we could use?" Morris addressed the Militant Commander.
In response, Gordon presented to them with a holographic projection of their expected firearm. A sleek and angular piece of weapon, with a straight cuboid chassis that terminated on a smooth, small and hemispherical bulb at the end, where the projectile was expected to emerge. "This is your standard Exo-Military Bulb Beamer LR-20 Mainfire Laser Rifle manufactured by Ardent Corps in 2290, a little outdated but still functional. Made to puncture any armor produced in the early 22nd Century, though it's nothing more than a glorified honor weapon these days after the production of PAX V-90. Nonetheless, this thing still packs a punch, designed to shred armor at seven hundred meters like a shotgun."
"Shotgun?" Elton whispered to himself.
"It is a long-barreled gas propellent firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge from a primitive pellet projectile that relies heavily on chemical reaction causing a tiny yet controlled explosion that would launch the pellet projectile at supersonic, or even hypersonic, speed. The weapon is a predecessor to the much more effective and reliable sonoburst firearms. It is understandable why you haven't heard of it, projectile-based weaponry has fallen out of use since the late 22nd Century in favor of psionically empowered firearms such as photonic, fusion, positronic and gravimetric sources."
"Ah, thank you Prima," Elton replied, just realizing the presence of their fellow replicant. "Still, it's a pre-Nexus weapon ain't it? I thought these things still used solar pack charges, right? Sounds pretty unreliable, especially if we're making our base at the far north."
"That's not a problem, we'll just have the fabricators modify its energy pack with thaumic battery. That's enough for at least thirteen trillion shots in a single package, the guns will break down before it ever runs out of ammo," Gordon explained. "The next we have here is the Arc Tracer Model-J9, a Grade-3 Plasma Carbine. Currently we have only about eighty of these, but I can have the fabricators reconfigure some of our Grade-5 weapons, seeing that we're not allowed to use them anyway. It has an effective range of eight hundred meters, but theoretically a maximum range of one kilometer before the plasma discharge dissipates. It will be hard to supply all of the Arc Tracers Carbines with standard thaumic batteries, at most I would say that half of them would be equipped with ion batteries. It doesn't have as much power to charge up the internal fusion mechanism, but compromise has to be made."
"Well, if we're setting up an aetherite extraction point, I don't think thamic battery production would be a problem in the future," exclaimed Morris, urging for the Militant Commander to continue onward.
"We also have here civilian-issued gauss weapons. Right here is your MR-15 Gauss Piercer, its overall fundamental design is taken directly from Stag MK 88. Admittedly, this thing is very ancient, they used it back during the Inter-Martian War. It's completely useless against our armor, let alone a simple hadronic shield generator, but it'll serve its purpose well enough. We also have Claw MT 900 and the Lever Colt Browning, though their difference is negligible compared to the much more modern stuff."
"We're also looking for a way to arm the locals in case we've found ourselves a friend. What we're lacking right now is manpower, a little help would be best for us," Morris remarked.
"Yeah, that's what we're looking into either, but of course we're not going to give them our new toys. That's just asking for trouble. If, in the case that we'll be making allies, I can set up a production of Benson-Piper Lasrifle. It's cheap, robust, simple to use and no more powerful than the pre-psionic era of the late 21st Century firearms. Especially with its modular design, the Piper could easily be modified and reconfigured without our fancy tech."
"It is also imperative that the Colony armed itself with anti-psionic weapons considering the potential threat presented on this planet," piped Prima.
"Void charges are expensive, Prima. We don't have the resources to churn a battalion of them," Gordon replied.
"I meant to suggest heavy artillery, mounted weapons and large-scale firepower. The colony has the necessary material to fabricate approximately eight thousand hover tanks, two thousand gravitic aircrafts and various other autonomous combat machines of standard quality expected of most post-psionic technology."
"And, again, if we set up a mining site there, we can produce even more. Assuming of course, the Systems don't kick up a fuss about us arming ourselves," Elton agreed.
"Well, they might take issue with us arming ourselves. But, what's the protocol for, let's say, we armed the locals?" The Fleet Captain directed his inquiry to the Militant Commander.
"Under the pretext that we sell them through a trade agreement? There's nothing stopping us from doing that. Then again, might I remind you that we shouldn't give the locals anything better than the Benson-Piper. Y'know, for safety reasons."
"We can work with that," grinned Morris as he loudly clapped his hands. "Okay! We have ourselves a plan folks. Elton, go and deploy that Habitat Constructor thing now. Prima, you think we can fabricate a few unmanned recon vehicles before our arrival?"
"We already have twenty eight six-wheeled Land Lizards ready for deployment, Sir," intoned the synthoid.
"Perfect. I'll have a meeting with the Director of the Defense Division in the next hour. You're all dismissed."