Stop teasing us Admiral-words is what we need!!

To which Monday or Tuesday were you referring? Certainly not one of the last two.

Oh, and mambaman - those words might apply to yourself as welll!

Two Months Later

Bi-annual United Planets Assembly

Planet Ares



The large oval room was filled with Diplomats, Ambassadors, Skikdas, Commissars, Chairmans, Governors, Generals, Governor-Generals, Admirals, Paiges, and Squires. This was the United Planets Council.

Meeting once every two years this congregation of state officials debated and decided many important things pertaining to the entire galaxy. The tradition of holding the Assembly was started prior to the Drengin War when mankind was at peace.

Today the situation was no different other than the fact that more governments and races were represented. In one corner sat the Imperial Drengin headed by the House of Korath. In another corner sat the government of the Socialist Republic of Drengia. Then there were the Humans, and for the first time an ambassador from Thalis represented the Sovereign of the Thalans.

The UP met once every two years. It discussed matters of galactic importance such as anti-pirate laws and countermeasures, trade on taxation, and location of starbases. It was usually a very good place to test one's influence on others. Power itself was, in fact, influence if one chose to see it that way.

It met in a different location every time in order to really emphasize the "United" of the UP. Sometimes it met on an Imperial World, sometimes on a Terran world, or on a Republican world. The next council was already planned to take place on a Thalan world. regardless of where the council took place security measures were always taken extremely seriously. Trade traffic was halted for the four days the council lasted while all civilian ships in low orbit were ordered to a higher geostationary point. Military vessels of the major powers being represented were parked in orbit to ensure the quarantine of the planet. Ground side measures were just as impressive. Detachments of the Stellar Marine Corp, alongside Imperial Drengin troops and Republican Drengin troops stood guard all over the capital city and at various important starports across the planet.

Inside the large hall built for the occasion a loud noise assaulted the ears of Klaus Muckler. The session had not yet been called to order and the VIPs were taking the opportunity to discuss with their comrades and compatriots. The Drengin had a skill of talking excessively loud at times. Muckler took the time to look around, he noticed that the Thalans were engaged in deep conversation with ambassadors from the Drengin Empire while most of the Terrans were exchanging small talk with Republican diplomats.

There seemed to be a slight tension present in the air. Since the degradation of relations between the Drengin Empire and the Socialist Republic of Drengia no concrete steps had been taken to remedy the situation. Muckler hoped to address this today if he had the chance. He doubted the Empire would allow him though, he knew they must have a hefty agenda as well what with the turmoil of the past two months which had permeated the Federation government and had even forced Muckler to impose martial law on certain planets.

Muckler looked at the Thalan diplomats and attempted to hide a shudder that ran through him. He remembered when First contact had been made with the Drengin many years ago. Their bipedal appearance and almost humanoid physique made them easier to accept than the hive structured Thalans. The diplomats were from a specific gene pool. Bred to have higher mental capabilities than a regular soldier breed strain, the Thalan diplomats still had four legs to complement their smaller two frontal arms. Their wide eyes and antennae even made the Drengin give them uneasy looks.

Muckler told himself it would only be a matter of time before he eventually got used to them. Besides, as it was, Terran-Thalan relations were extremely good. Trade between the two species was highly profitable to both. The Thalans were experts at medicinal brewing thanks to their unequaled knowledge in the fields of biology and molding DNA strains,and had provided helpful improvements for the Terran Navy standard meds.

A loud banging sound was heard and the large room hushed to silence. The Secretary-General had just entered the room and was proceeding to his immense podium facing the crowd of diplomats who made their way to their seats. Muckler eased himself past a large square brutish looking Drengin from the House of Korath. Muckler smiled and excused himself as he tried to squeeze past the large imposing guard. The Drengin refused to move and was visibly staying put on purpose. People everywhere were already seated and Muckler did not want to hold up the proceedings.

"Pardon me sir." as he put his hand on the back of the Drengin guard to give him a clue that he should move the guard simply stayed put. The massive eight foot frame would not budge and even turned to look at the smaller Human and gave him a smirk.

"Pathetically weak" and he mumbled a low laugh.

Muckler smiled in turn "Weak enough to have stepped victoriously on your defeated Homeworld once already" Muckler lifted his eyebrows. The Drengin was stunned to silence and before he could mutter a response about Torlek Kona being an incompetent leader and not fulfilling the prophecy, Muckler had pushed past him and sat down at his seat just as the Secretary-General was beginning his opening speech.

                                                                               ***

Kir'Ith Vire sat at his seat attempting to stay awake. Next to him the full delegation of the Drengin Empire seemed to do the same. He had been chosen by Emperor Korath to lead the delegation at this year's United Planets Council. Kir'Ith's star had risen since he had brought the secret of the datadisc to his Emperor. Skillfully extracting the information from the Human captain, the Imperial council was already working on a solution.

Emperor Korath had given Kir'Ith a great honour following the retrieval of the information. The Emperor had no heir and the empire's might was steadily growing. Such a situation was untenable and many of the lords and barons of the empire began demanding that the old leader name an Heir. Korath succumbed to the pressure and officially adopted Kir'Ith Vire into the House of Korath naming his Crown Prince of the Empire. Kir'Ith was now a Korath, a situation which had disgusted his father who in turn renounced the new Crown Prince's rights to his Vire inheritance. Kir'Ith couldn't care less. As the new Crown Prince of the Drengin Empire he answered to no one but the Emperor, his mentor.

The Secretary-General's opening speech came to an end as he called to the podium the leader of the Terran Delegation, Oberkommander Klaus Muckler.

Kir'Ith sneered at the fact that the man chosen to represent Mankind was none other than the commander-in-chief of their military with no ties to the central government. This man had not been elected through Man's much vaunted democratic process. As a matter of fact part of the Terran's official agenda for this year's Council was to discuss and clarify any misgivings on their tumultuous past months. Those months had been good for the Empire who had increased substantially the fighting force of its Imperial Navy.

As Muckler settled in at the large kanvium podium up front Kir'Ith turned off his UT. He wanted to hear this as it really was, without anything lost in translation. The Terrans were the enemy; of that there was no doubt.


                                                                              ***

Muckler placed his holopad down on the podium and gave a sharp smile to the large audience of the galaxy's inhabitants. For the past two months he had no shied away from the cameras and the spotlight, though through no will of his own. None the less he had gained valuable people skill's so to speak. He was able to give off more than his impressive military stature.

"Right Honourable Secretary-General" he began, "Ambassadors of our Galaxy I humbly stand before you as an equal. A simple inhabitant among billions, and we, like you, are part of the promise this galaxy has to offer. A place for powerful empires and honourable lineages" he waived a hand towards the Korath delegation, "A place of great change offering a full chance at life" he stared at the Head Chairman of the Socialist Republic, "And a safe refuge for anyone fleeing war and misery" he acknowledged the Thalans, "Lately, however, our part of the galaxy has been in turmoil. We were all shown how fragile peace is in our great galaxy. I stand here on behalf of Mankind knowing what you expect of me; a full and truthful explanation. You will not be denied, Mankind strives for transparency in all governments" Muckler gave a hard look towards the Korath representative who drew a large breath nonchalantly. "Our system of democracy has always functioned on mutual trust between the governed and the governing class. What happened during the Carinoids conflict was a breach of trust by the governing class. The treachery ran deep and involved outside help as well. Our report clearly identifies House Korath as a third party involved in the great treachery" At this the Korath delegation protested loudly shouting accusations of their own at Muckler. The Secretary-General called the Council to order with difficulty as the Korath would not stop until they had said all on their mind. Muckler continued "The facts are clear, The imperial Drengin government supplied weapons and technology to the Carinoids in an effort to start a war between the brave race and Mankind. This was done at a time when relations between the two Drengin governments were at an all time low and the eyes of the galaxy was focused on the MY'lioth system. This was made all the more possible by the treachery inherent in Carlos Da Souza's disloyal government. That man forgot that loyalty is not owed to the central government but to the Terran Federation, and he has paid for it with his life having been executed after a unbiased trial found him guilty of high treason." Muckler let this sink in. I am happy to report that as of today the Carinoids government have come to terms with the new central government headed by Derek Ohio and his Federalist party, and that they are now officially part of the Federation accepting full trade rights and mutual defense." Muckler beamed at the good news and continued his speech "However the Carinoids conflict has taught Mankind an important lesson; we must be more aware of our surroundings, and of what goes on in them. As such I am proposing a motion in which a neutral Terran ship be sent to the My'lioth system as an impartial observer to assure peace and stability in that region of our galaxy." The Imperials protested once again but this time the Republican Drengin also got up to shout their agreement. Once again the Secretary-General had trouble bringing everyone to order.

[URL=http://img375.imageshack.us/i/liothsystemwatched.png/][/URL]

Uploaded with [URL=http://imageshack.us]ImageShack.us[/URL]


"Furthermore, as a show of transparency that we strive for I am announcing that the Terran Federation will be raising the allocated budget for defense. It is clear after the Carinoids conflict that there are forces in the galaxy who simply do not wish peace the same way we do. We are therefore forced to secure our safety and that of our allies

[URL=http://img201.imageshack.us/i/militaryupgrades.png/][/URL]

Muckler went on with his speech...

                                                                                 ***

General Matco stood on the bridge of his flagship. As a Tir-Quan General he was the exception when it came to men commanding ships since he was not issue of the Navy but rather of the Stellar Marine Corps. Now, as commander of the Tir-Quan Brigade he was in charge of security for this year's UP Council. His ships, along with Drengin and Thalan ships, kept a tight perimeter in high and low orbit above Ares. For all intents and purposes this was a drearily boring assignment, but the Federation wanted its finest in the spotlight.

They weren't the only ones as the Imperials had brought the Emperor's personal guards as security detail. All for show thought Matco. He sat in his chair and looked around him trying not to show his boredom, clearly the rest of the crew was doing the exact same thing.

The sensor officer then spoke "Sir incoming ship bearing one two seven point three six, unknown designation sir."

"Boost sensor signal and send out another ping" directed Matco.The officer did as he was told.

The ship sent out another burst of concentrated energy at the target in order to gain a better idea of what it was. "Negative sir, specs are still completely unknown to our computer databanks."

Matco's mind kicked into high gear. "Send out two fighters to visually check the target, and order all ships to tighten formation."

Matco watched on his tactical holodisplay as the unknown blip got closer to the first line of ships guarding the planet where the galaxy's elite were all assembled.

"The ship's speed is increasing sir, it will reach our lines in forty five seconds."

Matco was torn. Should he open fire and risk a diplomatic incident during the most important instance of galactic diplomacy? That's when the ship's lights went out and emergency systems were activated. "Report!" demanded Matco.

His bridge officers seemed perplexed and confused. no one was in a position to give him a answer. The ship's power had been cut and only emergency systems were online. Without even enough power to sustain the flatviewer at the head of the bridge or his holodisplay, Muckler was completely blind to the situation.

His first officer finally answered him "Our computer's going crazy, and it seems we aren't the only ones, emergency signals coming form the rest of the defense flotilla that their ships are also experiencing power shortages, but not just Federation ships sir. Drengin ships alike are experiencing the same anomaly. Something is messing with our computers!"

Matco's heart sank. Could it be?

"It seems a virus has been introduced in our databanks just as our sensor ping was rebounding with the information on the unknown ship. They somehow managed to attach a virus. Only a programming genius could ever achieve that, not even our highest scientists in the brigade have come close to such a feat."

Matco knew exactly what was happening. "That's because that ship isn't piloted by a Human."

                                                                                        ***

"...and so with peace always at the forefront of our thoughts and actions on both a personal and a galactic scale, Mankind continues to progress and strive for positive evolution with its neighbours." Muckler finished his speech and looked at the crowd. The republican delegation stood and clapped loudly, The Korath clapped out of politeness, and the Thalans weren't sure what clapping was all about but they did so nonetheless to be diplomatic.

Muckler stood down from the podium and made for his seat. As he did so the representative for House Korath got up and walked towards center stage. His figure was imposing, at eight feet one inch and wearing his full Imperial Honour colours he displayed powerful assurance.

                                                                                        ***

Muckler sat at his chair with his UT off equally, suddenly his ears perked...what was that?...rumblin?...He finally forgot about it when the Imperial Crown Prince said "Funny that the clouds should roar and dispense thunder when some one so dark and evil as me comes to speak." he then grinned towards the Terran delegation and everyone got a good laugh. Even the Thalans let out what seemed to be laughs, with his UT off he couldn't tell at all. There is was again...That was no thunder...That was anti-aircraft fire.

                                                                                        ***

The ship was more of a pod travelling at incredibly high speeds. As it approached the ground of Ares heavy flak tried to keep up with its trajectory in an effort to shoot it down. Any AI-missiles fell harmlessly to the ground when they got too near the target. The pod then extended deployable wings to slow itself down while firing off reverse thrust. It got to within fifty feet of the top dome that was the Council building when the top was split perfectly in half by explosions blowing of its cover. What it revealed was a frightening killing machine. The large robot just loosed of its casing crashed perefctly straight into the dome.

                                                                                        ***


Mucklers head shot up as the roof cracked and a deafening roar of crushed Kanvium and glass made him cover his ears and head. As he darted to the left to the nearest exit he saw the machine. The Robot landed partly on the Thalan delegation, as it did arms came down from the side of its body with what looked like saws, and strated to mow down ever Thalan close enough. one of the bugs jumped back and made then did something that shocked Muckler as it managed ot jump all the way up towards the hole in which the machine had entered in an effort to get out of the room. The machine saw this and quickly turned to his right and launched a rocket from his shoulder launcher. The rocket sped through the air at high speeds and exploded the bug before it got any further. The machine then turned back around to face whatever Thalans were left before him. As he turned the saw in his right hand withdrew into the arm which changed configuration to to what liked shotgun. His other arm still deployed the saw. He stood tall and displayed his full thirty feet height. At least three times larger than any of the Thalans.Muckler watched as the machine and Thalans seemed ready for a showdown. The Thalans were inevitably trapped.

At this moment the Stellar Marines burst into the room pointing their guns at the. Some were recognized as Tir-Quan troopers thanks to their battle armour. The machine saw this, and just as the Humans were getting into position to start firing Mcukler realized that their bullets wouldn't do a thing to that. The Machine shocked everyone when it boomed a loud mechanical "Wait!" and held up a free hand signaling to stop. "Hold fire!" yelled Muckler as he made his way towards the marines. The Thalans were obviously in a defensive stance and seemed to hiss at the machine clearly afraid of it. One of them then attacked as it took advantage of the Machine's distraction. It jumped up in the air and was followed by the others some of whom rushed on the ground. The machine turned quckily to the left and with changed the left arm configuration back to the saw. The arcing movement of the machine was perfect and it sliced the Thalan in two. A Thalan on the ground jumped and to within a foot of the right arm shotgun and got a large hole torn out of the side of its body by the blast. Another Thalan which had lunged in the air was caught by the head with the left arm which had turned back into a hand. The large metallic hand held the head and smashed it to the ground on top of another bug killing two at once.

Muckler watched in amazement and true bewilderment. He saw that the delegation from the Republic had mostly left the room and that Korath Imperial guards had also entered to form a defensive ring around the Imperial Heir who stood defiantly and in amazement at the same time. The Machine dispensed of the last two Thalans and got up reconfiguring both of its arms into hands.

"I come in peace. I will not kill any Human or Drengin today. I am N-6, and I am Helios, the survival of Helios is at stake, and so is yours. Helios needs you help."

Rest assured the Altarians will have a big part to play yet. I cannot say more.

The correct german word for his rank would be "Oberkommandant", just FYI.

Nevertheless, great story so far Admiral. Holding on for the next chapter.

The plot thickens immensely...

The demise of Da Souza came as a bit of a surprise; I'd have expected a seasoned machinator like him to come out of things with his skin intact (if maybe not his job). And then there's the surprise twist to the return of Helios. I see two possibilities for what it it needs help against - the Altarians or the Thalans. If the Altarians are out there they're keeping very quiet about it... combined with the way Kir'ith seemed to recognize the name Altaria - and be alarmed by it - in an earlier post, I wonder if the Altarians might be a good deal more dangerous then those in Stardock canon. And then, of course, the Thalans could be the danger, given that the robot wiped out their delegation first.

One important question: how long is this after the beginning of "From the Ashes"? Very few dates were given in either story, and with this post saying it's been "many years" since first contact with the Drengin, I'm wondering when this is.

Edit: Oh yeah... great post! The more questions it raises, the more I like it... as long as they're answered in the end.

BTW, after this story concludes, will there be any more installments of "The Story of Mankind"?

2nd Edit: I just noticed, looking at the screenshots, that there's actually TWO unknown major races... the Altarians and a gray civilization to the 'north' of Thalan space. Is this the Helios AI or something else?

Thanks for the clarification. A few comments of my own

On unanswered questions: I just meant that this last post made the 'story' situation (not so the 'game' situation) even more mysterious, as hitherto I had assumed the unknown threat that attacked Nolan's mission was the Helios AI; but now, assuming the robot wasn't lying, there's evidence of another as yet unclear danger to both mankind and Drengin. I have no problem with this - I was just adding that if there's no sequel, the ending should wrap up all the major mysteries.

On Da Souza: That's about what I thought on how he went down... It just seemed a bit abrupt as the plans to oust him had been an ongoing storyline for some time and it was unexpected to have their outcome covered in one paragraph.

On the original response: Two things of note - first, in DA, I thought it was possible to rename your opponents and hence you could have renamed the Yor and Drengin to be in line with the story ("Socialist Republic of Drengia is a bit long for the viewscreen, but you could always just abbreviate it to "Drengin Republic" or something). Secondly, the mathematics there seem a bit fuzzy: 8 + 5 +7 is twenty, added to the original date of 2227 means that the "real" current date should be 2247, not 2245.

MY bad QRTXIAN your math is correct according to the post you read. I edited it once I saw my mistake but since the post already contained multiple edits i decided to try and keep it on the dl. 

Just so there's no mistake

8 years for the game of FTA"From the Ashes" which began in 2227 and ended in 2235

5 years between FTA and AAE

5 current years in AAE

18 years total.

My bad for the error will post EDIT for every one I do from now on lol

Edit: I was not aware that it was possible ot change my opponents' names. That sucks I would have done it sure. I will know for next time.

No need for AIsm. Personally, I feel one can't go wrong blaming the Korath.

Hoping for an update soon.

Good Citizens of AARland of Glaciv2 and fans of The Story of Mankind

After a long (too long) hiatus, I proudly announce that I ma working on an update for this aar which I plan on reviving. The sudden plot twists must be answered concretely. In a week or so I will have an update posted and this AAR will regain its former glory.

This AAR is most certainly not dead (well not anymore!)

cheers

edit: feel free to perhaps go back and re-read some of the posts to get a better sense of what has happened so far and to perhaps try and guess what will happen.

Fantastic Admiral-have recently also restarted my 'Saga of the Exiles'

Will be good to get some activity going again on here 

Look forward to reading your next update 

Meanwhile

Imperial World of Vi'reshk

Nolan strode through the beautiful gardens. Many of the plants were indigenous to this wonderful and he did not know the names of many of the exotic flowers in neat order, or any of the colorful vines growing up the sides of large trees. he had been here for a few weeks now. He was well rested and his crew had were being well treated. His body still ached at times from the punishing interrogation he had survived in the Korath Prison.

He liked this place but he was still smart enough to know when he was a prisoner. Nolan nor any of his crew could leave the surface. They had no ship and the Baron didn't seem too willing.

They were hosts to none other than Lord Baron Vire, patriarch of a noble House. His estate manor stood on the top of high rolling hill overlooking all smaller hills nearby. As Nolan walked through the large gardens at the rear of the manor he came upon Lord Vire sitting at a bench on the side of a stream.

Nolan approached the Drengin who motioned for him to come sit. Nolan had not really had the time to speak with his "host" since his arrival, he eagerly sat down.

"How do you like it here on my world?" asked the old Baron.

"Both charming and fascinating. I've never spent much time on a foreign planet before, and my years on Mars seem to have deadened my love for aesthetics. Your beautiful gardens are bring those senses back."

"I see truth and purity in these gardens" the baron sighed "Truth is so hard to come by these days."

"Even for the lord of a powerful house such as yourself" Nolan asked half-jokingly.

"Especially so." answered the Baron who stared gravely into the waters of the stream. He seemed quite troubled and Nolan could not stop himself.

"Perhaps, Lord Vire, you are aware of the reasons we are detained here?"

***

Federation World of Ares

The thirty feet tall killing machine brought down its arms and powered down its weapons systems. The Thalan delegation had been turned into a bloody mess. None had survived the robot's killing frenzy. Presently it stood and turned to face the delegates left in the room along with the nervous looking marines who stood pointing their guns shakily at the battle mech.

"Helios is on the verge of destruction, but it is only the beginning." said the robot.

Klaus Muckler stood behind a ring of marines who protected him with their lives. Still bewildered by what had just happened  he could do nothing but stare in awe and fear of the large machine.

"Helios' hopes and salvation are in the hands of Mankind. Three years ago we were deliberately attacked by species T-187 who waged open war upon Helios. The progression of Helios has since been stalled. We have calculated that victory against species T-187 to be at an eight percent chance. The future of Helios is in your hands. As a show of goodwill I am programmed to shut down and hand myself over as a prisoner. You will have access to all of my archived data since my creation as a token of good faith."

Muckler couldn't believe what he was hearing. It had been years since the Helios AI construct had gone rogue stealing half of the Federation fleet and killing a great number of humans in the process. Now Helios was back, and it was asking for help?

[URL=http://img175.imageshack.us/i/yorneedhelp.png/][/URL]

Close to Muckler stood Kir'Ith Vire and his own Drengin guards. He had the look of utter confusion on his face. "I thought Helios was your enemy!" he shouted to Muckler "The one responsible for tens of thousands of human deaths, and you stand here looking defeated and listening to this pile of bolts."

At this the robot turned to face Kir'Ith, IT got down on one knee to get closer to his face. "Kir'Ith Vire, descendant of noble Drengin blue blood. Crown Prince adopted of the Drengin Empire of the Korath Dynasty. We know much about you, and your activities in the My'lioth System."

Kir'ith's facial features hardened as did Muckler's. It seemed as though he finally had the proof of who was behind the instability in the My'lioth system. without thinking any further he said "N-6 I accept, on behalf of the Federation, to take you as a prisoner. Your systems will be thoroughly checked." Kir'ith continued to stare defiantly into the machine's face as Muckler gave instructions to his marines.

War between the Thalans and Helios? How could it have passed completely unnoticed? Had Helios really been the first to be attacked. Muckler's head was spinning.

Mambaman: Yes, quite so, in an effort to curtail any misunderstanding I blacked out the area where it should have said "Yor" in the pic.