The Snow Arena

[Pack Rat]

Prague-system > Planet Prague > Office of Knights: End of Conflict?

 

It was quite the contrast, the blue and gray standing face to face of with the red and black. Two color combinations who have foughten eachother for a very long time. The commanding officer seems to be doubting what he should do. Afterall, it could be another trick to eliminate the Red Nation's leader Commander Aleksei Rodovar. As he kept doubting a voice came from behind him.

 

<You shall meet Aleksei...>

 

The officer looked behind him surprisingly but only to find 20 Red Nation troopers making a pathway into the Office of Knights. In the middle stood Aleksei Rodovar sided by Admiral Nickolai. Both dressed in Red Nation commander uniforms.

 

The crowd had closed around the Peregrinist men out of hate, out of unknowing what to come and out of curiosity. Afterall, the Red Nation and the Peregrinist Cult never talked to eachother.

 

<Come... We have much to talk about.>

 

As both sides entered the Office of Knights, Aleksei asked one favor.

 

<Would you please walk trough the scanner, just to make sure you aren't carrying any explosions or hidden weaponary. I know I am being impolite but I cannot afford a new war to rise.>

 

The Peregrinist men seem not to have any problems with this and after been scanned they are led to what seems to be a room where the Staff of the Red Nation discussed the problems in the Nation. The other 9 knights of the Nation already seemed to be sitting down and only three chairs were left open. Two at each end of the long table and one next to Aleksei. More then 10 armed guards were present. Cleary the Red Nation still didn't know to trust Peregrine or not.

 

<Do, sit down...>

 

Aleksei sat down at one end of the table, Nickolai next to him. The Peregrinist officer sat down at the other end of the table.

 

<Well... Let's talk.>

[Mojlnir]

Aboard his command ship Commander Hammasson monitored the actions of the recently uncloaked fleet. The ships bore markings that were unfamiliar and Hammasson decided to err on the side of caution.

 

"Sir, the fleet is broadcasting messages to Elwe and Aleksi..." called an officer from the comm center.

 

"And? What have they to say?" replied Hammasson.

 

"Sir, MyDog has informed Elwe that he will reinforce his positions on Earth and Elwe has notified MyDog of the arrival of his own reinforcments..."

 

"What of Aleksi...?" replied Hammasson with curiousity.

 

"A negative reply sir...and 3CI is reporting that some of Tabanne's men have actually landed on Prague and in meeting with senior officials."

 

"Really? I wonder what Mojlnir will have to say about thi..." Hammasson was interupted by the bleet of an in-coming transmission from home base.

 

"Commander," rang the voice of Mojlnir, "I'm sure you're by now aware that much is afoot."

 

"Yessir. I just recieved notification of the meeting. On this end we have a new fleet to report, and it appears to now be fully aligned with Elwe and is currently reinforcing his positions. We are also aware of Elwe's own reinforcements and new stations." replied Hammasson quickly.

 

"Excellent commander. It is important that we get your ships back here immediately for resupply and intel evaluation. Before jumping though, I want you to harrass Elwe and his friend a little... Understood?" asked Mojlnir.

 

"Yessir! Those stations are in the way of a safe jump anyway...We'll be out-system within the hour."

 

"Excellent. Mojlnir out." and the comm line went dead.

 

"Attention carriers and troopships! Form for in-system jump...coordinates home staging area. Battleships...destroy or disable those stations around Pluto...we need a clear path out-system!" ordered Hammasson.

 

 

12 minutes later:

 

5 battleships converged on each of Elwe's 5 space stations around Pluto...

 

Inside the station command centers the radars went red as the defensive systems were overwhelmed. The stations, only recently brought online, were manned by skelton crews as the replacement ships had not arrived yet. The fight was brief but fierce, with the stations putting up a surprising amount of fight.

 

Rather than waste munitions attacking multiple ships, each station commander ran his shields to full power and targeted his defensive systems against one of the five incoming battleships. Though the battleships were heavly shielded, the concentrated fire quicly wore down the shields and soon there were 5 smouldering derelicts floating in Pluto near-space. Fortunately, the other four ships were able to overcome each of the stations defensive measures and obliterate them before their commanders were able to repeat the same actions against the other ships.

 

Marine demo teams from the troopships boarded each of the 5 hulks remaining after the fight and placed demolition charges...Mojlnir was not about to let his technology fall into enemy hands. After the wrecks had been reduced to dust, the fleet pulled into jump formation and boosted just out-system, then ingnited their hyperdrives and left the Sol system behind.

 

When the resupply ships arrived to man the space stations Elwe's engineers had created, they were startled to find only wreckage...not a soul survived from any of the 5 stations. Dejectedly, they contacted Elwe to inform him of the loss of his stations and to find out what his orders were.

[Peregrine]

"I'll keep this nice and simple. The Peregrine you knew is not the real Peregrine. The Artifact corrupted his mind and destroyed his sanity. By the time we realized the price of its power, it was far too late. For six hundred years Peregrine has slowly regained his own mind. For six hundred years we have suppressed the truth about the Artifact, and hunted down any others. Parke's mission to New Earth was only the beginning."

 

He paused a moment as the true meaning of his words hit the officers in the room.

 

"We were content to remain out of sight in our search. The universe didn't need another war, none of us did. But now things have changed. Sludgewort and his anti-Peregrine alliance were the start of it. Somehow they discovered a tiny part of the truth. They wanted the Artifact's power for themselves. They wanted Peregrine back, but as a slave to their ambition. And the rest of them aren't much better. After six hundred years of relative peace and rebuilding, they desire another war of conquest."

 

He set the datacard on the table and pressed a sequence of buttons. A large holographic map of the galaxy now floated above the table, shaded with various colors to represent the different factions.

 

"We control a solid line across the mid-rim," he said, pointing to a slash of blue, just coreward of Earth. "We've reinforced the border stations, and we've started reactivating the fleet. But honestly, this caught us off guard. We didn't expect trouble, and definitely not of this magnitude. We've already had to concede most of the rim to them." He waved his hand in the direction of the outer rim region where almost a third of the galaxy was highlighted blood red.

 

He touched another button and the map zoomed in to focus on the region around the Earth system. Now individual fleets could be seen, along with labels describing their strength and composition.

 

"Mojlnir's attacks are buying us time, but that won't last long. And Parke's old fleet is tied up defending our other borders. We simply can't build up our forces fast enough by ourselves. Without allies, it's only a matter of time before they overrun us as well. And then their conquest of the core regions will be inevitable. You've seen the destruction there. You know how much the war hurt them. Six hundred years of rebuilding and they're still at a lower technology level than they started with. Oh sure, they'll put up a fight, but they'll lose in the end. And the their destruction will make the last war look insignificant in comparison..."

 

He flicked off the power to the map display, then waited a moment longer for his hopeful allies to think about his words.

 

"So what do you say? We were once enemies, but will you accept our offer of alliance in this war?

[Ëlwe (Thingol)]

To Mjolnir:

 

We have notified the entire Tau empire of your slaughter, you will not get away with your doing. 5000 Tau where killed and Air caste DID control the stations and not drones. We will not rest until you have been put to rest or we have a reasonable treaty wich will be verry hard to achieve...

 

 

To Peregrine:

 

Hello honourable lord Peregrine, we have noticed your change of heart. And thus we are now willing to negotiate with you about the fate of the Universe. I wish to state that we wish peacefull colonies and admit it was wrong to storm right into Earth and claim it as our own. All leftover units from other races will be accepted with no doubt on Earth Colony.

We hope to hear from you soon.

 

 

*******

Day 35

*******

 

The Earth colony has been expanded, we now have one big city done and three are still beïng built. Capital class landing space has been reserved and is now beïng optimised.

 

My war fleet has now engaged Mjolnirs main fleet. The attack started from behind Mjolnir's fleet with 2 Capital class ships and 13 Escort ships with each their own fighter hangars. As Mjolnir's fleet almost had Turned 180 degrees another part of my fleet showed up on the other side, 6 Capital class and 37 Escort ships.

 

After a voley of shots wich destroyed a large part of the smaller ships a message came in at Mjolnir's commandship:

 

You have been placed under arest, will you resist we will not make any problem of eliminating you. The choice is up to you...

[Pack Rat]

Aleksei understood very clearly what was going on. The Red Nation had always protected peace in the Universe and that had made them the greatest threat for the conquering lust that raged in Peregrine during the first wars.

 

<This artifact, you say... It is to my interest but not for that reason. Most of us here have seen the war so we know what terrible acts this artificat can create. I want it... So I can destroy it! Miljons of people were slaughtered, we tried to negotiate but Peregrine laughed us away. To my last knowledge the artifact is in posession of an old friend of Peregrine, an old friend who we still have some personal matters to discuss with.>

 

Aleksei points to Admiral Nickolai who knods at his turn.

 

<Rumor goes that Armiena knows the location of the artifact. For the last century's we have searched for her, not caring for the artifact but more for vengance... Admiral Nickolai here has searched but could not find her. Peregrine might know where she is and if he does we suggest that he does not give us information about her location...>

While Aleksei is speaking, the Peregrinist officer receives the message that was send by Elwe to Peregrine.

The officer informs Aleksei and his 10 knights of the message that Elwe had send to Peregrine.

 

Aleksei smiles... They have seen this behaviour before. Elwe knows that Peregrine is a dangerous foe. Once again they hope to find security in Peregrine's presence.

 

<They are getting scared... If we would allie ourselves with Peregrine, a new power would rise, greater than any other. Defeat is all what lays in their future then... >

 

Aleksei sits down again. This war in the Earth-system is a threat to the Universal Peace and must be ended as soon as possible. Aleksei understands that mankind still hasnt changed and if the Red Nation wants peace, they would have to bring it.

 

<Very well, if it is truly Peregrine's intention to restore peace, we shall assist him. On one condition... He will assist us in the search for the artifact and he will help us destroy it! We have seen what the artifact does and we cannot let it happen again.>

[Ancalagon]

*In the darkness of the void, he stirs. Since he is privvy to everything that Mortals say or think, he mostly finds a way to block out their voices and thoughts as he finds them trivial and useless. But one conversation catches his attention, though it comes in bits and pieces.*

 

I'll....this nice and...mple. (static)e Peregrine ...ou knew is not ...e real Pere.... (static) Artifact corrupted...mind...destroyed h... sanity.

 

*He decides to remove himself from the Star he is absorbing, and the message clears instantly*

 

...By the time we realized the price of its power, it was far too late. For six hundred years Peregrine has slowly regained his own mind. For six hundred years we have suppressed the truth about the Artifact, and hunted down any others. Parke's mission to New Earth was only the beginning.

 

*This continues on for some time, with transmissions between other voices as well. His interest aroused, he heads for the Sol system and in search of the one named 'Peregrine'. He faintly remembers the name, but cannot recall why it is significant to him.

 

*Focusing his thoughts, he forgoes his physical body and becomes a bright ball of of light. The ball of light shoots off at speeds that defy science, and it heads for Sol.

[Mojlnir]

ooc - Elwe, my ships had already entered hyperspace and left your system...there is nothing there to attack, also, that was not my main fleet, just an expeditionary force.

 

The expeditionary force safely docked on one of the lunar refitting bases, Mojlnir contemplates the situation in the Sol system as well as the meetings taking place on New Prague.

 

The loudspeaker squawks into life and the message from Elwe is broadcast into Mojlnir's office...

 

"Put me to rest...? Such nonsense, and he only lost 5,000 men. He will lose much more than that before this war is over! Those 5 ships he took carried 3,000 men apiece!!" raged Mojlnir at the speaker.

 

"Sir?" came the voice of Mojlnir's staff sergeant.

 

"What is it?" asked a still red faced Mojlnir.

 

"Intel just recieved the latest update on the meetings on Prague..."

 

"Enough intel messages...I'm going to that meeting" replied Mojlnir.

 

Red Square, New Prague - 2 hours later:

 

The small craft landed in an open corner of the Square, it was alone and unescorted. Mojlnir had little to fear from the people of this planet, having long stood in alliance with them against one foe or another. Posting a light guard detail outside his ship, Mojlnir made his way to the Office of Knights.

[Ëlwe (Thingol)]

Soon after a Tau ship arrived with unarmed Air caste and the Ethereal Ëlwe.

[Pack Rat]

ooc> Try to make it look like my defences aren't useless, you can't just waltz in :P

 

Suddenly Aleksei and all the others are surprised by the entrance of the two foreigners. Even the Peregrinist men seem to be on guard. Aleksei recognises one of them as they have met each other on Mars.

 

<Good day Moljnir... Been a while, like 600 years?>

 

Moljnir knods. Aleksei looks at both men and then sits down.

 

<Now, I guess you two arent here for a game of cards... Some information would be nice before I am getting impatient and let you remove from this room.>

 

He knods towards to four Elite Guards to remain in the room. Aleksei didn't like the sudden crowd in the room. Just wants to make sure...

[Peregrine]

15 Minuites Earlier: (before anyone else had arrived)

 

The Peregrinist officer laughs slightly as they finish speaking. "Well, then it seems my part of the deal is already complete. The artifact is gone. Vaporized by the same beams that killed Peregrine. What we search for is more of them. We have already found and destroyed three more of the devices. One more was believed to be on New Earth. But Admiral Parke's mission there found no results. That is why they can not leave their duties. If an Artifact is found on New Earth or elsewhere, they must be destroyed instantly."

 

"As far as Armiena is concerned, who knows. Her only loyalty was to herself. Even as she helped Peregrine in the last war, it was only to get his power for herself. Since the battle at Emour, she has mostly disappeared. We traced her to New Earth, but that was all."

 

 

He looks up as the new arrivals enter. "It seems negotiations may be faster than we had expected...." His guards shift position slightly, taking ideal positions to eliminate the new arrivals should they be a threat. As Mojlnir walks through the door, a slight smile escapes his control. Mojlnir's presence can mean only one thing, that events at Mars are under control enough for him to risk the trip. And that the situation now favors his side...