The message opens, and a man in battle armor begins to speak. While his face is not visible, and the generic background of a bridge communications terminal are present, it is clear, from the tone of his voice, and his manner, that this is official business.
The message is obviously prerecorded, however included in the message is an encrypted communications frequency, apparently as a means to respond to the sender.
The message begins to play:
“Dear Leaders of the Phoenix, TAZ, OSI, COF, ZHR, and any other Zoner factions,
I have prerecorded this message in hopes of opening diplomatic proceedings regarding the procurement, renovation, and overhaul of one of your Nephilim Class Dreadnaughts.
I understand that you may be hesitant, or down right unwilling to allow me to obtain, own, and operate one of these beautiful, legacy ships, but I would ask, with the utmost respect, that you allow me to make my case before you completely make up your mind.”
The screen shifts from the image of the man in battle armor, to a blueprint readout of a Nephilim Class Dreadnaught. The man's voice can still be heard, detailing the scope of the renovation and overhaul, and the overall vision for the ship.
“The majority of the ship renovation will be done internally. I wish to first expand the main hangar bay, as well as convert several storage bay's into orbital drop bay's. The main hangar expansion will be done so as too accommodate a wider variety of snub craft, and transports. The implementation of orbital drop bay's will allow this proposed Nephilim to deploy a vast array of equipment, from recon probes and supplies, to military hardware such as orbital defense platforms, and strike mechs. Several storage bays will also be converted to modernized support bays, both medical and mechanical, and four will be retrofitted into armories.
The second step of ship renovation will include the hydroponics sections. While your Zoner engineers have effectively prepared for any eventuality, we wish to expand the hydroponic areas to include a fully autonomous reseeding and harvesting operation, as well as a mostly mechanized processing and manufacturing system. This upgrade will minimize the amount of physical supervision and laboring, allowing these personnel resources to be allocated in other areas of the ship.
The final stage of renovation will involve an overhaul of the primary and secondary bridges. The first major overhaul of this area will include expansion of the tactical and navigation systems, to include direct automation with an upgraded fire control system allowing for auto-fire back, as well as the ability for the ship's navigation and tactical systems to be operated by a minimal crew, or by the commanding officer alone.
On top of the tactical, navigation, and fire control systems, I wish to alter the IFF transponder, the Faction ID chip, as well as the ships weapons themselves. I am proposing the use of an Order independent transponder, as well as an Order ID chip, and Order weaponry.”
With the renovation plans completed, the screen shifts back to the figure in battle armor. After a brief pause, the figure continues.
“I am aware that your combined organization's may frown upon an independent Nephilim Class Dreadnaught operating as an independent Order entity. As such, I am willing to provide a point of character reference, and a personal assurance from myself that this extensively overhauled ship would only be used to protect, and maintain Order assets and interests, within the bounds of The Order's jurisdiction.
My point of reference, should you wish to investigate or research, and I would urge you too as my intentions and dedication to this project are sincere, is Overwatch Michal Golanski, to whom this ship and crew will report to.
In closing, I have included in this transmission an encrypted communications frequency, in the hopes that I may receive your combined permission to pursue this project, and supervise its overhaul.”
Respectfully,
Colonel Tereus Mitchell The transmission ends here, as stated in the message an encrypted communications frequency was included, and a quick scan shows that it is both encrypted for diplomatic engagements, and is online.
ID : David Dvir , Alliance
Location : Zoner Guard-74
Shalom, I must say I admire your sense of honesty, its not always pleasent to find faked papers used to gain zoner shiplines and preventing such is not always an easy task. While I do not hold complete authority on Livadia, I'm sure that once you get clearance from the primary fleet ( /Golanski ) the Phoenix group will be happy to assist you in this manner, However you should keep in mind that the Nephilim is a fortress, that brings responsibilites, to you and to your crew. If you ever get captured by foes, I will personaly turn that ship into a wreck, Our secrecy in these ships are not a laughing matter. Do not take this as a threat, I'm sure The Order will act the same with your vessels hijacked by foes. Good luck
Hallo Colonel, I suppose that i am less important in this approvall as our facility freeport is not major Zoner facility, but i chosen to take a word as i have some some serious remarks, not to let it pass in waiting bigger fishes to decide.
During last conflict of Zoner Alliance and Order in omicron 74 i have personally witnessed that Order Admiral commander in chief Golanski commanded operation on Zoner Alliance installation siege in his nephilim class Battleship. During next several days One more Order controlled Nephilim came for same purpose. That behaviour is bizzare. IF Order supreme commander use other faction technology for his commanding ship in war , what is the purpose of Order own scientist and technicians? Do you seek zoner technology to tarnish our reputation by adventuring here and there wherever Order find his presence necesarry and even against other Zoners ?!?
Quote >>
...“I am aware that your combined organization's may frown upon an independent Nephilim Class Dreadnaught operating as an independent Order entity. As such, I am willing to provide a point of character reference, and a personal assurance from myself that this extensively overhauled ship would only be used to protect, and maintain Order assets and interests, within the bounds of The Order's jurisdiction ... < quote ends
Hand of Order is long, even for Sirius. And Order interests are difficult to define, as Your ships emerge from time to time in different parts of galaxy. Your assurance will comply with Your own agenda, but i am afraid that it doesnt fit in ours, although it seems fair.
Maybe Phoenix zoners wouldnt find anything wrong with it , but to zoner communities outside omicrons this act is disrecpectfull in any means. We are not decision makers , but we are pretty sure that our argument has merit. So we are strongly against this approval, especially cause of previous events in omicron 74.
With respects , Ted Prescot freeport 101 administrator
A faint beep emanates from the comm receiver, indicating there is a pending message. As the message is decrypted the comm crackles too life, and the prerecorded message is brought up onto the terminals viewer.
As before a man in full battle armor appears, his face hidden behind his combat environmental helmet. After a brief delay, due to the encoding protocols on the transmitting parties end, the message begins to play.
"Greetings Mr. Dvir,
I have received your message, and am honored to have your pending support once all formalities, and paperwork, has been completed. I too admire your honesty, and I wish to assure you that I was in no way offended, or threatened by the conveyance of your solemn duty as a Zoner.
As you stated, The Order, like the Zoner's take pride in our level of excellence in both our craftsmanship, and our trade secrets. As I have requested the use of one of your most prized creations, which your people at Livadia spent exorbitant resources, countless hours, and man power crafting, I wish to convey to you at this time, only my sense of shame that you would feel the need to take upon yourself, the task of destruction, in the eventuality that Myself and my crew was captured.
I assure you, that while I would take the same measures, as honor and duty would dictate me too, if an Order ship fell prey to hostile takeover, I also wish to give you and all this communique may be circulated too peace of mind, and my personal assurance that I, as well as my crew, are fully ready to ensure the destruction of this ship, even if it costs us our lives, rather then it's surrender to hostile forces."
The man pauses a moment, and the clink of his armor's gauntlets can be heard striking keys on the comm panel. After a few moments, another schematic is shown, seemingly for a proposed fail-safe, in the form of an intricate self-destruct system.
The message continues.
"I wish to share with you Mr. Dvir my proposed fail-safe system. This system is a working prototype, and would be tied in directly to several of the ship's key systems.
The self-destruct sequence will be linked directly to both bridge's, as well as the main medical bay, and engineering. While the system itself will require authorization from both the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer for standard scenarios, an advanced fail-safe protocol has been implemented, via advanced AI core.
In the event that the ship is critically damaged in battle, i.e. 90% system failure, the AI, shielded within the depth's of the ship, and fully autonomous from critical systems such as the main reactor, will trigger a 90 second self destruct sequence. This will afford any surviving crew ample time to get to escape pods, yet too short a time for hostile forces that may have boarded to compromise this final fail-safe protocol.
Upon entering the last 30 seconds before self destruct, this Advanced AI Core would attempt to divert all power to the engines, and hopefully, send the ship crashing into the nearest group of hostile contacts, detonating, and hopefully, taking as many of their ships as possible with the subsequent barrage of primary, secondary, and tertiary explosions, as the Nephilim broke apart, effectively rendering your craftsmen's secrets space dust, and preventing any possibilities of reverse engineering.
While I admit that no fail-safe plan is fool proof, or 100% guaranteed, I can guarantee you that, as stated above, Should this project come to fruition, Myself, and my crew are fully willing and ready to accept the responsibility of safe guarding this ship, it's secrets, and it's tech from enemy hands.
Respectfully,
Colonel Tereus Mitchell
The transmission ends here, however it is clear that the encryption communications frequency is still secure, and online, both able and ready to receive any further diplomatic communications.
The communications terminal powers on automatically as the message is received. The computer decrypts the message with precision and ease.
As before, the image of man in battle armor appears on the terminals screen, and the prerecorded message begins its playback.
"Greetings Administrator Prescot,
I have received your communique, rebuttal, and concerns. After reviewing your message however, I am slightly confused. I wish to apologize in advance if offense is taken on your part, Administrator, but the distance this message has traveled seems to have garbled bits of it.
Your message makes it quite clear that you are against the open use of Zoner Ships and Technology by The Order. This is made even more obvious by your protest of Overwatch Michal Golanski, Supreme Commander of The Order, and Our Leader, using a Nephilim Class Dreadnaught.
In regards to technology and ships, I would like to point out that The Order's Engineer Corps often collaborates with Zoner Engineer's during research and development, and even through production. This meld of technological genius and ingenuity has brought to fruition such ships as The Hathor gunboat.
In regards to my request to use one of your elegant Nephilim Class Dreadnaughts for this special project, the reason for the request is due to the stringent specifications of the project itself. As you can infer, this particular project requires a level of autonomy that no current Order ship can achieve.
The ability to self sustain the ship, its crew, and future generations, while providing adequate offensive and defensive capabilities, as well as maintain adequate stores of supplies, and mission critical components, makes the Nephilim Class Dreadnaught a perfect candidate for this project, especially since its purpose is a legacy ship.
In regards to Overwatch Michal Golanski's possession and ownership of a Nephilim Class Dreadnaught, the only thing I can say is, that I personally, have only seen The Inquisitor once, and that what Overwatch Golanski chooses to do with his ship and resources, is solely up to him. I have neither the clearance, rank, nor right to question his actions, or motives.
In response to any insinuation that I, or The Order wish to tarnish the reputation of any Zoner, I must adamantly protest. Are we not allies? The active besmudging on either of our factions parts would be entirely counter-intuitive.
In regards to your concern that this special project will instill the will of The Order, or in your words, act as it's hand, is valid, but a bit extreme in my eyes, for the following reasons.
1. While the Order is known to gather intelligence and have agents in place throughout Sirius, our methods, within house space, have always been more subtle. You may see us flying in force in and around Omicron Mu, but I can guarantee you that you will not see Order Capital ships within house space...and if you do its an Imposter.
2. In response to your concern's about this proposed projects use regarding the protection of Order Assets. While I can fully understand where you are coming from when you state that the agenda of The Order is fickle, I can assure you that the scope and purpose of this special project is strictly limited to The Order Core systems.
While the proposed renovation would make this ship suitable as a deep space, extended siege / conquest platform, it is only feasible, in its ability for self-sustainment. The notion that this proposed project could be used as a viable offensive platform to sustain a large enough attack force to go onto system conquest is a bit absurd.
While I'm sure it might be possible, its illogical, due to the impossible logistic restraints such long term, offensive actions require. I can assure you Administrator Prescot, that I am not looking to "conquer" any star system in sirius anytime soon.
3. In regards to the event's of Omicron 74, I was not present and therefore I cannot, in good conscience make any judgements regarding this incident in question. If I were to say anything however, I would say there are at least two sides to every incident, and since I don't have any information from any other involved parties, I can't consider this Omicron 74 incident as pertinent to my project.
In closing Administrator Prescot, I hope that this communique helps to alleviate some of the concerns that you have regarding my request, and project proposal. While I respect your decision to not offer your support with this particular project, it pains me to see so much contention built within you. You make valid points, but we are allies after all."
Respectfully,
Colonel Tereus Mitchell
The transmission ends here, however it is clear that the encryption communications frequency is still secure, and online, both able and ready to receive any further diplomatic communications.
For many years from Zoner Trading Consortium to Phoenix we're own Livadia and facilitate construction capabilities, doing work for fellow Zoners in construction major capital vessels, or open for market - such as BW technology.
You're indeed right, back in Omicroners days we're granted construction of unique Nephilim dreadnought, without capabilities of colonization, but extended hangar bay and some other changes.
It was a grand decision, to show our respect to the Order, strengthen our relationship in crisis time. And I had an confidence Inquisitor will be used properly.
Also, I'm confused, from where you were able to find Nephilim blueprints, it's most secret in Zoner ship production, thus I'd think you got a fake one.
Due a little number of Nephilim colonization ships, and extremely high costs to build one your request is denied. I don't mention political reasons, if we're granting it to you, why we shouldn't drop such request to the Hunters Guild if they will ask, to keep the neutrality? I hope you're understand.
Thnks for paying attention to my remarks, colonel. I see Phoenix sent reply already. Maybe now is not appropriate moment due to recent turmoils in omicron 74 , which are major events related to Your personal request. Maybe later . And those blueprints which are mentioned by fellow zoner from phoenix are really faulty. Probably some junker/rheinland intelligence leaked data. We built some smaller version of Nephilim class hastely during crisis with Rehinland military in the past and , although have appearenace like original one , his power core is faulty and gun positions are innacurate related to original, slower maneouvrin response and other... Nice masquerade to deter enemies, but no real power. Dont waste time on that.
I switch off now comms on this chanell and wish You luck with your request in future.
Encryption: Medium Priority: Medium Identification: Paolus LXIV - Pontiff of the NCC Source: Unknown location Subject: Our opinion
Colonel Mitchell:
As well Mr. Prescot has said above, we're not decision-makers, as our brothers of Phoenix have the control over Livadia Shipyard and the construction of Nephilim class colony ships, but we believe that our opinion could be interesting.
We don't approve too the granting of a Nephilim in this circumstance, and we must support to Phoenix in the decision they have taken. It isn't distrust the intentions of the Order, that we have no doubt that they're honest, nor for lack of respect, but only as a precaution. How are we to maintain neutrality required to balance the human forces in Omicrons if we the Zoners blindly support a single cause, and deliver our technology to a single faction?
The Order has an extensive line of fully owned vessels with which, as I have understood, do their work with remarkable efficiency. I honestly don't see the need to deliver another Nephilim, with the consequent cost in manpower, material and time, not knowing what function is to be used, and no questions asked whatsoever.
We understand that the Order has its secrets, of course, and we don't pretend that you share them with Zoners, but I hope you understand that it's difficult to deliver a weapon of destruction as powerful as a Nephilim without thinking what are you going to do with it. If an incident happens, that ship being involved, indirectly the Zoners would part of that responsibility.
As I said, it's just an opinion, and is Phoenix who has the decision on this matter, but it was our duty to offer it.
My warmest greetings, Colonel, and Deux be with you.
------------------------------------------END OF TRANSMISSION-----------------------------------------
The transmission appears to have been routed from about five different transmitters on nearly eighty different frequencies. The following transmission is pristine in it's clarity and doubtless very, very, very expensive.
"Mon dieu man! It's hardly a battlewagon, what does the Order, an organisation renowned for its outstanding military heritage and remarkable talents at ionising things want one of those oversized testicular overcompensators of a colony ship for?" *breathes* "...Is the plethora of Osiris's the Order produces seemingly infinitely not infinite enough? Hell's teeth man, do the descendants of Caspar Orillion not realise just how impotent the class actually is? How logistically unsound attempting to hike two bio domes through the ether turns out to be? Ever since the class was originally constructed I have vetoed their development, as I should, as should every reciprocant of this transmission as it does not suit our current requirements. Let's face this my friend, does the Order really require a craft capable of trans-sector flight? No? Well excellent! Solution finalised."
*Appears to calm slightly*.
"Ok, first let us look at the stellar environment of the inner Omicrons where the order traditionally operates. The entire jump hole web is shrouded in rock and ice fields. Now, attempt to transport a Nephillim through even the sparsest asteroid field and then we can return to this discussion."
"Secondly, the Nephillim class and it's contemporaries have been vastly over derived, even more so than the Osiris class, by factions and groups seeking to place them to an alternate role - usually, sadly, to combat and murder - seeking a bigger pair of pectorals than the ones readily available to them. Any continuation of this circumstance is entirely unacceptable to the Zoner community as a whole. Indeed, discontinued nephillim proliferation is the one field which draws us all together, excepting, perhaps the Alliance who still utilises the class in a militaristic role for the purposes of boarder security, and understandable action knowing the alternatives".
"Let it be clear, we Zoners utilise the Nephillim class as a warship because there is nothing better available. Yet certain, well-off "people", pseudo-Zoners, are beginning to utilise the class for every possible nefarious action that one could think of".
"Against K'hara the class is singularly inept, as proven by purifier attacks on the aforementioned juggernauts. The recent ZA conflict also proved enlightening as to the class's competence when compared against the Osiris, if you don't believe me the neural net is buzzing with footage. Trust this Zoner my friend, if you want to manically purge Sirius of nomads, then utilise the Osiris as the Order has done successfully for the last twenty one years".
"Well, I'm a mere Commonwealth Zoner, and at the end of the day I have no say in the matter, oui (I believe the Pheonix has already had the final word, yes)? But if you truly wish to fly a colossus, then my friend, by all means don't fly ours". ***Outro****
THE SYNDIC LEAGUES
(A co-operative of Rheinland's Shipping Unions, retired from a life of piracy.)
Somewhere in the omicrons A ship is under watchful guard
The officer of the watch approaches the Captain with an encrypted message.
Captain Tiberius takes the message then reads the communique *smiling he responds to the officer of the watch* Send this communique to Colonel Mitchell.
Ask the Zoners about the TCG warmongers and why a Juggernaut was granted to a warring faction like theirs while the request he has made is mainly for a headquarters and a base of operations. I guess Zoners have forgotten the help and Support the Iron Legion has given them in the past. and Colonel don't forget........
Captain Tiberius finishes the message informing the Officer of the watch to ensure that only Colonel Mitchell is the to receive this message Captain Tiberius gives the Officer the codeIt is Delta Hotel ........99
Death Before Dishonour! Honour above all!
This masterpiece was made by Calego. (Iron Legion)