"If I were to list off every single benefit the Pangalactic Co-prosperity Pact, and by extension, the Technocracy, gave to its members and the Regime, we would be here for literal days." - Galactic Hesukar Regime representative Drusill Amarum
Pangalactic Co-prosperity Pact headquarters, Orbit of Jupiter, Sol system, 24/02/2545
Imperator Yang XIV was gazing out of the window wall of his quarters at the swirling atmosphere of Jupiter, deep in thought. Despite his lofty status as the Imperator, his quarters were surprisingly humble and adorned with sparse decor—a touch of gold trim here and there, a handful of Earthly and alien plants, and a couple of holographic paintings. He was currently at the Pangalactic Co-prosperity Pact (P.C.P.) headquarters, which totaled fifteen empires, and it was customary for all visiting heads of state to live in their quarters for a week before any major meetings occurred. He sighed, recalling the report from Admiral Williams that was forwarded to him by Robin Song. He approved his request, of course, but he was also concerned that his infatuation with this disorder distracted him from his other tasks, like maintaining diplomatic relations with the Aeldari or running his battlegroup.
He decided to leave his quarters and head to the hanger bay, which was not far from the quarters reserved for the heads of state. As he was walking, his mind wandered to Williams' report, listing the various mental symptoms the disorder had, and the fact that he and his partner, Julie, also reported similar symptoms. As he walked, he passed numerous envoys and clerks, all of whom saluted stiffly as if their lives depended on it with nervous looks on their faces.
Yang chuckled. While he didn't want people to fear him or his wrath, his position and nine-foot-tall stature often frightened many normal humans. He prided himself on not being as demanding to others as other royal rulers, he just wanted people to remain loyal to the Technocracy. After walking for a few minutes, he reached the hangar bay where a shuttle had just landed.
The ramp lowered and out stepped Empress Jaffaba "Mary" Sartyr and her son, Prince Lynntil Sartyr along with a contingent of envoys, clerks, and guards.
"Empress," Yang said as he and the rest of the staff present bowed slightly. "We are honored to have you here with us for the following weeks."
"The honor's mine, Imperator," Mary said, nodding. Yang saw that although she maintained a dignified manner, he could see the excitement in her eyes. "It's always a joy to meet with the leader of our most valued ally."
Once their entourages left them, Mary moved towards Yang and kissed him deeply, much to the chagrin of the poor prince, who saw her mother, the head of the Galactic Hesukar Regime and the leader figure of their race, making out with the leader of their most staunch ally. Yang then pulled away and noticed the blushing prince.
"You must be Lynntil," he said extending his hand. "I've heard many good things about you."
The prince shook it. "Likewise, sir. My mother couldn't stop talking about how excited she was to see you again," he said, smirking at her mother who elbowed her son lightly while looking at him with a blush. Lynntil looked around the hangar bay of the headquarters.
"So this is what it looks like," Lynntil said in admiration. "Mother always spoke of this place's beauty and majesty, but this is the first time I've seen it in person."
"You don't get out much, do you?" Yang asked, amused.
The prince shook his head. "I rarely have reason to leave our borders, sir. This is, what, the twelfth time I ever left the Regime?"
"Thirteenth," Mary corrected.
Yang chuckled. "Well, I do hope that you'll enjoy your time here. One of the clerks can show you to your chambers, your mother and I have, uh, important business to get to."
The prince nodded as he was led away to his quarters. The Imperator and the Empress then walked together down a hallway.
"The beauty here always captivates me," Mary confessed. "The view alone makes any discussion worthwhile, no matter what the resolution is."
"Indeed," Yang agreed. "Jupiter's atmosphere is an inspiration for a great many art pieces in the Technocracy. We built a resort station in the upper atmosphere that recently opened, maybe someday I'll take you there."
Mary smiled. "I would love that, Adrian."
Yang froze for a moment, as he was unused to people using his first name. They walked for a few more moments before she turned and cupped his face.
"Will the others be joining us next week?" She asked, referring to the other heads of state of the Pact's member empires.
"Of course, this development concerns us all. My admirals have created a secure egress point into the alternate universe, and have made first contact with an alien race in said universe. Preliminary reports indicate that they are similar to Hesukari in appearance, although they are noticeably uptight and arrogant."
Mary scoffed. "As long as they don't get the bright idea of attacking us, I see no issue in co-existence."
"We need to discuss our moves in the future, which is why I called this meeting in the first place. It will start in about a week, given that the others aren't going to be late."
"Well, seeing as they're not here yet..." Mary said, leaning in close.
"Well, what do we have here!" A voice called out behind the Empress. The pair turned and saw the grinning figure of Monnobaki, the Chairman of the Lilarobian Transstellar megacorporation, walking towards them with his entourage of hired security. "Are the two lovebirds gonna get it on? I should've brought a film crew, make some quick credits!" The plantoid hominid laughed.
Yang and Mary blushed. They had been romantically interested ever since Yang's wife was assassinated by another empire, which caused Yang to commit a genocidal war against said empire, but they never considered formal marriage. Yang ultimately smiled and walked up to the chairman, but Mary frowned and stayed back.
"Chairman," Yang greeted as he looked at the Chairman's hired security. "You do realize we provide you a security team, right?"
"Oh, but I pay good credits for these guys and it would be a shame to let their skills go to waste," Monnobaki said as he eyed the glaring Empress.
"Empress Sartyr," he said while nervously smiling. "Still mad at the advanced weaponry we sold you?"
"They were nothing but scrap metal attached to pre-existing weaponry!" She yelled at the now fearful chairman.
"Like I said, we've punished the ones who made the deal accordingly! It's been four years, let it go already!"
Before the Empress could escalate things further, Yang ordered both parties to their quarters. He headed for his quarters as well, for he needed to plan for the coming week.
One week later, P.C.P. council room...
Prince Lynntil observed the hegemony's meeting session from an observation room reserved for archivists and relatives of the various heads of state present in the room. He saw his mother arguing with another head of state of some non-important nation. Imperator Yang meanwhile was merely presenting what the Technocracy had accomplished and intervened when his mother escalated an argument too far, which she almost instantly stopped.
"As you all know," the Imperator said. "Last year, we opened a gateway to another universe through the Shroud via Project Riftjumper and we've been receiving a steady stream of data ever since."
A head of state, the Archon of the Kuorran Star Hegemony, raised their hand.
"How'd you know you didn't just reach another galaxy?" Asked the Archon.
"Our battlegroup and science ship both confirm it is the Milky Way, yet we did not have any survey data on it."
The Imperator continued his presentation.
"The admirals in charge of this battlegroup, Victor Williams and Juliet Conner, have also reported first contact with an alien race akin to Empress Sartyr's species, but notably more ancient and long-lived."
The Imperator projected a holographic image of said alien race in the center of the room, the heading Elvus sapiens locus vetus (Aeldari) above its head. Lynntil looked on in shock and wonder, it was almost a dead match for his species, but with a longer skull shape.
"They are also very psionically adept, and their DNA shows extensive genetic modifications. Whether or not these were self-made or made by a third party remains to be known. They are also hostile towards humans, given the xenophobic and warlike nature of our kind in that universe."
The Overseer of the Union of Qullarn Stars scoffed.
"Seems like there's at least something similar between the universes," the Overseer said before they noticed the room staring at them. "No offense, Imperator," They added quickly.
"Anyways, preliminary analysis revealed that the Aeldari are on the brink of extinction due to a calamity that decimated their population, with most of them residing in what they call 'Craftworlds.' These 'craftworlds' appear to be mobile habitat-like structures that are isolated from each other and act like a typical nation-state, each with its own culture, most of which includes worshipping various deities like what they call Khaine, their war god, and Isha, their 'mother god' for lack of a better term."
"I thought you humans despised spiritualism," the Grand Marshal of the Ixliaan Star Union said. "Why do you tolerate it now?"
Yang pursed his lips. "Given the circumstances, cooperation is much more important than our dislike towards spiritualism. At the very least, they haven't forced us to convert to their beliefs. We of course plan on ridding such a majestic and elder race of their primitive beliefs in the future, when their galaxy is pacified."
"Will the rest of us have a say in your expedition?"
"But of course, this discovery is not ours alone, we will share it with the rest of the Pact." The entire room descended into murmurs, but all of them were mostly positive. Lynntil saw that his mother was talking to the Director-General of the Galactic Imanakka Union, the last of the three founding members of the P.C.P. whose scientific resources were decimated by civil war before the Technocracy came in and rescued them. He couldn't make out what they were talking about, but it was positive based on their body language. Lynntil looked on as the Imperator detailed the plans of this universe, including the pacification of their humanity, the integration of their aliens into the Pact, and the exploitation of their resources.
After the Imperator detailed the plans, the room fell into a momentary silence. The Grand Marshal, known for their straightforwardness, broke the quietude.
"So, you intend to pacify an entire galaxy?" They asked. "I knew you humans were arrogant, but this is something else."
Yang shrugged. "We have the resources, and we definitely have the military capacity."
"If the Aeldari are truly as ancient as you say, they won't take too kindly to you erasing their beliefs."
"Of course they won't. Anyone wouldn't, but as soon as they see the products of innovation and rational thought, they'll see the wisdom of our ways and the error in theirs if they're as wise as my admirals report them to be."
"Words of conquerors and warlords galaxy-wide," the Grand Marshal retorted, voicing concerns echoed by many.
"Rest assured that what we are doing is assisting them, just like how we have assisted all of you. While yes, humanity is no stranger to conflict, what we want is nothing but cooperation from us and them. Besides, what wars had humanity fought recently?"
The Archon of the Kuorran Star Hegemony listed multiple wars humanity had fought. Human-Syliaan Annexation Attempt, 2344-2347. Result: Technocracy victory, Syilaan Union surrendered 85% of territory to Technocracy, remainder vassalized and absorbed into Galactic Hesukar Regime. Human-Qual'aan War of Aggression, 2377-2384. Result: Technocracy victory, total annexation of Qual'aan Hegemony, majority of the population now reside in Technocracy re-education camps. Human-Sliuvan War of Beliefs, 2398-2406. Result: Half of the Union declared independence with the beliefs of the Technocracy, and the resulting civil war destroyed the remainder of the original empire.
Yang pursed his lips. "That was a rhetorical question, Archon. The point I'm making here is that we would much rather prefer peace to conflict. Plus, given their numbers, a long-term war would be devastating for them."
Prince Lynntil looked at an archivist.
"Do the discussions that occur here usually this civil?" He asked.
"Most of the time," the archivist replied. "The reason being most of the topics involve mundane matters like commercial pacts, migration treaties, or the Galactic Community. Although there had been a few instances where they became particularly heated."
Prince Lynntil raised an eyebrow and leaned forward with interest. "What kind of issues caused that?"
"Well, there was the Sarpatai system dispute. The discussions turned heated when a few empires, the Galactic Hesukar Regime, the United Phlixian Suns, and the Ixliaan Star Union laid claim to the same system. Still, after lengthy negotiations, they agreed to give it to the underdog, which was the Phlixian Suns."
"No wonder Mother was angry when I saw her that day..."
"Yes, Your Highness, your mother was quite displeased about the decision. If it weren't for the Imperator, she would've fought the Grand Marshal right there and then."
Lynntil chuckled. "I wouldn't doubt it, my mother is a rather... direct individual."
He looked on and saw that the meeting was wrapping up.
"So are we in agreement then?" Yang asked loudly as Jupiter's great red spot rose in the window behind his seat.
"The Regime will support the Technocracy in all its endeavors, including this one," Mary replied confidently.
"Humans and the Technocracy have always been a wise and valued business partner," Monnobaki replied. "I see no reason why your venture would be the exception to that."
The rest of the heads of state nodded. With that, everyone left for their quarters and prepared for another day of discussions.
Illiad system Citadel, Illiad system, Segmentum Ultima
Victor was standing in the hangar bay, looking at the stream of ships emerging from the Riftjumper gate and landing in the citadel's hangar bay. Each of the arriving ships carried twelve scientists along with their gear, and Victor was assisting them in navigating to the science wings of the citadel. Julie was on her flagship, the ITS Absolution, doing final checks before the battlegroup made for craftworld Asheria. True to her word, Robin sent numerous staff and resources over to the citadel, and Victor was confident that they would get to the bottom of this disorder plaguing his crew and staff. He was in the middle of assisting another group of scientists when he noticed the Imperial Research Overseer herself walking towards him, her white uniform, officer cap, and tall black boots signifying her position.
"Robin," he said, extending his hand. "Didn't know you'd be showing up in person."
"Victor," she said, shaking his hand. "Me neither, it's been a long time."
"I take it the Imperator approved of my request."
"Yep, he approved it within the hour."
"Praise the stars for that; we needed additional scientific support here."
"Speaking of which, how are you feeling?"
Victor grimaced. "Well, I've had no other symptoms yet, so I guess I'm fine?"
Robin frowned. "That's not a reliable indicator, Victor."
"I know, but I must get on with my duties, and some odd dreams won't stop me. Your teams will be given everything needed for them to get to the bottom of this."
Robin sighed. She had read his dossier and knew that there was no point in trying to convince him otherwise. Victor then noticed a large amount of Punitive Corps members and mechanized divisions boarding the Dominion, the boarding tunnels funneling men and vehicles aboard the ship. He also saw members of the Phantom Reavers, the spec ops division of the Planetary Guard board the Dominion as well.
"What's with the reinforcements?" He asked. "We haven't sustained any losses yet."
"No idea," Robin replied. "Perhaps the Imperator suspects that you'll be engaging in combat soon?"
"I sure hope not, humanity gets a bad enough reputation in this universe."
"The Imperator might have his reasons, we can't always fathom the grand strategy at play."
Victor grunted, not entirely convinced. "I'll make sure everything stays on course. We don't need a misunderstanding to turn into a conflict. Especially since we're trying to help the Aeldari, not reinforce their beliefs that humanity is nothing more than primitive barbarians."
The pair continued to chat for a while before a Punitive Corps member came up to them, a general by the way they carried themselves. Their uniform was nearly identical to Victor's, with green stripes replacing his red.
"Admiral, Overseer," the general said. "I am pleased to report that my troops have completed their checks and are prepared to depart."
"General, tell me again why your troops are on my ship?" Victor asked. "I do not require replenishment."
The general shrugged. "Do you object to having more troops on your ship?"
"My ship is not a troop transport, general."
Victor grunted as a Punitive Corps member bumped into him and shoved him aside. He sighed at this since it was a known trait that, due to their nanite infusions, Punitive Corps members tended to be callous and indifferent, with some exceptions like the general standing before him. The general, clearly unperturbed by the interruption, maintained their composure.
"The Imperator believes that additional security measures might be necessary during your mission, given the Aeldari's innate distrust of the human race."
Victor sighed exasperatedly. He knew that he had no authority over the general as they were equal in rank and could easily take over from one another if needed. For example, Victor could take command of the general's troops whenever he wanted, and the general could take over his battlegroup in his stead if he for some reason was incapacitated or dead.
"Fine, but your troops will be under my command while on board."
The general nodded and walked off. As they retreated to oversee their troops, Victor couldn't shake the feeling of unease. The reinforced security presence on board felt unnecessary and risked heightening tensions with the Aeldari. He sighed again and turned to Robin to request two science teams with their accompanying ships, which she approved.
"Do NOT let them get hurt, admiral," she said threateningly. "They are not soldiers."
Victor scoffed. "All of us are or were soldiers, perhaps your cushy position made you forget."
"And what do you mean by that, Williams?" She said, voice laced with indignance.
"I mean that they can handle themselves. Besides, it's not like they'll see direct combat."
Robin glared at him but ultimately relented as the science teams got ready and boarded their ships, ready to depart at Victor's command. He too boarded the Dominion and waited for Julie to finish her checks before departing. As he entered their route for craftworld Asheria, he noticed that the navigational system needed time to calibrate, despite usually having a response time in the nanoseconds. This was unusual, as the navigational system was directly connected to the hyperdrive, which meant that the hyperdrive had some issues that needed resolving.
"Maintenance crews, report to the hyperdrive room," Victor ordered. "We're having some issues with the hyperdrive, and we need this resolved ASAP."
"Yes sir," came the response. A few moments later, the navigational terminal shut off along with most of the holographic displays. As Victor and his crew looked at each other in confusion, everything turned on again.
"Apologies sir, had to reboot the hyperdrive, everything should be working now."
"Couldn't you perform a brief internal check?" Victor asked
"Negative sir, the 'drive is two hundred meters long. Plus, shouldn't that be the citadel's maintenance crews' job?"
"Could you at least perform a quick scan of it?"
"Copy sir, stand by." A few boring minutes passed before the maintenance crew reported nothing unusual. With that, the fleet moved for the edge of the system, the ships' hyperdrives connecting to the hyperdrives of the two Titans. As they prepared to enter the hyperlane, Victor prepared for negotiations with the Aeldari, hoping to convince them of their scientific pursuits.
Craftworld Asheria, Hanger Bay, 11:22 am local time
"I still can't fathom your decision to allow the mon'keigh onto our home, Farseer," Fleet Admiral Fueriel remarked with evident disdain.
"Believe me, the feeling is mutual," Caennyl responded. "Yet, as they pose no immediate threat, I find no reason to expel them." His words came out neutral, as the council was still divided over trusting this new human presence and their assistance, still with nothing swaying them, although Elathana changed her vote to trust them.
Two mon'keigh in white robe-like clothes rushed past them while carrying archaic devices in their hands, while others scanned the wraithbone structures at random points, seemingly trying to determine what it was made of. All of them were muttering to themselves in their primitive language and wore excited expressions akin to children on their faces. Amid the chaos, the Farseer spotted the human admiral who arrived with Elathana some time ago, and who was brought before the council by Caennyl personally. He was looking at a bust of Isha with interest, a rather mundane one in the Farseer's eyes but it must've been captivating to his primitive brain. His black and red cape was still attached and trailed off for a short distance behind him. Victor seemed to notice the two walking toward him because he raised his head and smiled.
"Ah, finally!" He exclaimed. "A pleasure to meet you again, Farseer."
Caennyl nodded slightly while Fueriel merely pursed his lips.
"Human," the Farseer said. "It appears you brought more here with you than last time."
"I take it you're acquainted with our scientists?"
"Are all mon'keigh so eager?" Fueriel asked, slightly annoyed.
Victor laughed. "I take it your experience with humanity was mostly negative?"
"Every interaction I've had with your kind has been negative."
"Well, better us asking questions than an Imperium assault force, no?" Victor quipped, trying to add a little bit of humor. Fueriel remained unamused. "Rest assured that our scientists are exercising full discretion, and if everything goes well, it'll be like we were never here at all." The three of them turned to look at two of Victor's scientists finishing a conversation with Elathana and walking off to go do another one of their tasks.
"If any of your mon'keigh scholars come up to me, I will punch them in the throat," Fueriel said with barely disguised contempt.
"Is it not normal for students to learn from teachers?"
"Your primitive brains couldn't possibly comprehend the knowledge we possess."
Victor scoff-laughed. "That may be so, but at least we can record it and process it later."
Caennyl's gaze fell upon a metallic crate with a holographic display on it. Another holographic display showed some words in the human's primitive language;
"注意：生物危害内容 (Caution: Biohazardous Contents)
仅限授权访问 (Authorized Access Only)
管 1-16 为空； 等待内容 (Tubes 1-16 empty; awaiting contents)"
"What's this meant for, human?" He asked Victor.
"Sample collection and storage," Victor said without delay. "The flora on board your habitat ship as well as the material it is made of has drawn our scientific curiosity."
Caennyl studied the holographic display, the characters dancing in a foreign script. He arched a delicate eyebrow, his expression a blend of curiosity and caution.
"The flora and the wraithbone of Asheria is a sacred aspect of our home," Caennyl said, his tone measured. "Why the interest?"
Victor gestured toward the holographic display. "Your plant life exhibits unique properties. Our scientists believe there may be valuable insights hidden within its genetic makeup. We've also noticed anomalous signatures within the building material of your home. We seek only knowledge, Farseer, not to exploit or harm."
Fueriel scoffed audibly. "Your kind uses knowledge only to cause more destruction and misery, I fail to see how you're different."
"The difference is that we embrace the concept of progression, innovation, and rational belief while the Imperium has devolved into a clusterfuck of doormats being led by fools who think that getting a daily prayer session in is more important than fixing actual problems," Victor shot back. Realizing his sudden outburst, he quickly composed himself and returned to his formal demeanor. "My deepest apologies, farseer, I had no idea where that came from."
Seeing the judgemental gaze of the Farseer and the contempt-filled gaze of Fueriel, Victor continued with his assurances.
"I assure you, Farseer, our interest is purely scientific," he said earnestly. "Rest assured, we aim to learn from your Craftworld, not harm it."
"We will see, admiral. Let your actions speak louder than your words."
"Farseer, you can't be serious-" Fueriel began.
"I've made my decision, Fleet Admiral," Caennyl restated. "Now come along, we have other things to do."
"Thank you Farseer, you won't regret your decision," Victor said with a slight bow.
"Betray us, and you won't live long enough to regret yours," Fueriel warned before turning and following the farseer away. Victor then turned and saw a member of the Punitive Corps walking up to him, much to his surprise and dismay.
"Are you mad?!" He whisper-yelled to them. "What if they saw you?! You could've derailed this entire thing!"
If the Punitive Corps member was offended by the admiral's outburst, they didn't show it. "Apologies admiral, but I had to confirm for the Imperator that Operation Elysium will still occur soon."
"Tell him that I'll pick when it happens, not him. Our situation is far too delicate to consider such an action at the moment. Elysium will occur when I say so and not a nanosecond before, understood?"
"Yes, Admiral."
"Now get out of here before someone sees you."
The Punitive Corps member turned and left for a cargo shuttle. Victor sighed and checked his tablet, which listed the five stages of Operation Elysium. They were already in phase one, and he planned on dragging it out for as long as possible before going through the rest of the phases. As he headed for his transport, he could only hope that something would occur that would allow him to prove the Technocracy's worth.
Behneria looked on at the two mon'keigh taking a sample of some foliage with disgust. They were the fourth group of two that she'd seen so far, and she heard that there were eight groups in total, each one in a different area of the craftworld. The Guardian had been ordered to monitor this specific group by Caennyl himself. They wore bone-white robes, carried archaic devices, and took small pieces of the various plants on the craftworld, many of them had no significance to her but must've been fascinating to their primitive minds. They were conversing in their language which was far too primitive for her to understand and was grating to her ears.
"你有没有注意到我们身后那位美丽的精灵女士? (Have you noticed the beautiful elf lady behind us?)" One of them asked.
"是的，我做到了, (Yes, I did,)" the other replied. "我觉得最好不要惹她生气. (I feel like it's best not to piss her off.)"
"啊，是的，那位拿着步枪、一脸愤怒的精灵女士，如果我们朝她的方向呼吸不正确，她就会杀了我们。 是的，显而易见的先生，我们不应该激怒她. (Ah, yes, the angry-looking elf lady with a rifle who will kill us if we so much breathe in her direction incorrectly. Yes, Mr. Obvious, we shouldn't piss her off.)"
"让我们专注于样本收集，这样我们就可以摆脱他们的头发. (Let's focus on sample collection so we can get out of their hair.)"
"Isha, grant me patience..." Behneria muttered to herself, finding the presence of these primitive creatures unbearable. She saw as others on the craftworld glared and hurled insults at the mon'keigh, but due to either their obliviousness or indifference, they didn't respond.
"呃，这些混蛋就不能表现出一点尊重吗? (Ugh, can't these bastards show just a little respect?)" One of the Mon'keigh asked.
"我的意思是，如果每次与人类的遭遇都会导致屠杀，我也会很生气, (I mean, if every encounter with humanity resulted in a slaughter, I'd be pissed too,)" the other one responded.
Despite her disgust at these creatures, Behneria had to admit that these mon'keigh acted far different than what she was expecting. They didn't go around harassing other Aeldari, nor did they spew out praises to their corpse emperor, they mainly kept to themselves, being engrossed in their holographic tablets and their archaic devices. She saw as one of the mon'keigh took out a device and drilled into the side of a building and extracted a small rod of wraithbone, which they put into a small container. She immediately went over and assessed the damage. It was a small hole, so small in fact that one wouldn't have noticed if they didn't know what to look for. Even a novice Bonesinger could easily repair it.
The two mon'keigh who did the drilling tried to shrink away from the Guardian as her gaze fell upon them, evidently trying to hide away from her.
She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong though, although the feeling did not come from the mon'keigh despite their drilling. No, something more sinister was afoot, but Behneria couldn't place her finger on it.
ITS Absolution, Bridge
Julie sat at her post looking over the data being sent by the scientists present on the craftworld, the transmissions being sent at a rate of one report a minute. She sighed, thanking the ones who constructed this vessel to supplement it with additional AI systems as she dreaded having to process every report individually. The bridge overlooked the perdition beam cannon, which gave the ship the shape of a spear tip. Crimson electrical discharges ran along the length of the cannon, which was always active should hostilities be engaged. She looked up and saw that the Absolution was angled in such a way that one could slightly move the ship and the perdition beam would be lined up exactly with the craftworld.
Affectionally named "the Fist," the perdition beam had enough power to seriously damage any type of ship in existence if not destroy it completely. Every Titan in the Technocracy was outfitted with one, and the usage of them was solely at the discretion of the commanding admirals. Julie could, at her wishes, order the entire craftworld to be obliterated should the need arise, which thankfully hasn't yet.
She focused on the readings sent by a science ship that was scanning the exterior of the craftworld, but still couldn't figure it out. The ship had performed the same scans five times now, and all returned the same result; a large amount of psionic energy permeated through the vessel, which was to be expected due to the presence of such a psionically proficient species. However, a particularly large reading was detected deep inside the craftworld. She would've tasked a covert science division to sneak inside, study it, and potentially harness it if it wasn't for their current situation.
"Victor," she said into her comms. "How are things going on your end?"
"Pretty well, all things considered," Victor replied. "They have no idea about Elysium or all that it entails."
"Well, that's a relief. Are my species' cousins still unbearably arrogant and uptight?"
"Some are, but the important ones seemed to have warmed up to us slightly. Also, I'd avoid referring to them as your species' distant cousins in their presence if you value your life or mind."
"Seems like you've taken a liking towards them."
"Well... yeah, I have. To see such an ancient and glorious race be held back by such archaic beliefs, it's kind of surreal."
"Their beauty doesn't hurt either," Julie teased.
"That is wholly irrelevant, Julie," Victor replied almost immediately. Julie could hear the blush on his face if he was still capable of blushing.
"Oh, suuuuure it isn't. I saw how you eyed and talked to Elathana while she was on board, you could barely get a word out without stuttering."
"Be quiet, you."
Julie laughed. "Afraid of making me jealous, are we?"
"This entire conversation is so unbefitting of an admiral..."
"Does it look like I care?"
"Anyways, I'm almost on board the Dominion. I'll continue this conversation in a more... formal manner then."
Julie signed off and noticed the entire bridge staring at her.
"Was that necessary, ma'am?" A navigational officer asked her.
Julie shrugged. "Someone has to monitor him occasionally, it may as well be me."
"It's just that... some of the things you've said to him over the past few days over the comms, well, it might be better reserved for the bedroom, ma'am."
She waved them off. "Or maybe it's you who has the dirty mind."
"N-no, ma'am."
A loud series of beeps interrupted the awkward moment.
"Ma'am, we're detecting subspace echoes moving rapidly towards us," the scanner operator said. "It appears to be a fleet, composed of only six ships."
"Are they traversing the hyperlane system?" Julie inquired.
"No, ma'am, they appear to be coming from another dimensional space entirely. Shall we hail them?"
"Have the corvettes position themselves in a loose formation around the craftworld. Two destroyers shall accompany each corvette. Have the battleships and cruisers that possess strike craft and missile capability be on standby. Contact Admiral Williams immediately and inform the Dominion of the situation."
"Aye, ma'am," the bridge said in unison. The scanner operator sent a description of the vessels to the holographic console in the center of the bridge. The crimson 3d image of one of the vessels appeared and hovered above the console. They were roughly the size of a corvette, with their command ship being the size of a destroyer. The one thing they had in common was that there were spikes covering roughly eighty-five percent of each vessel. Julie gave the order for every Punitive Corps member and Phantom Reaver member stationed on board the Absolution to be on high alert and to deploy at a moment's notice.
Ezgrath stood on the bridge of the Obsidian Wail amidst the eerie luminescence, his features a mix of both excitement and nervousness. His last couple of raids had resulted in dismal failures, either taking fewer captives than what he had expended or getting run off entirely by local defenses. He could tell as he walked around the Dark City that his... compatriots were eyeing him up, taking notice of his weakness, and other members of the Kabal he was a part of were probably hatching plans to remove him. So, he had hatched a plan to show his continued competency. He would raid a weak but heavily populated target, steal as many captives as he could (at this point, Ezgrath didn't care about what condition his captives were in), and return to prove that he was still capable and to dissuade anyone else from having a bright idea.
Once his raiding fleet finally exited the webway, Ezgrath saw their target. Craftworld Asheria was directly in front of them, and they had translated into realspace too close for them to scramble defenses in time. The craftworld itself would have its population mobilized of course, but it wouldn't be enough to fight them off this time.
Yet, in his eagerness, Ezgrath failed to notice the void-black ships with red lights surrounding the craftworld, all of them from another universe entirely, and will not let this insult slip past them.
Information Data Logs
泛银河共荣条约: The 泛银河共荣条约, or Pangalatic Co-prosperity Pact, or the Co-prosperity Pact, or simply The Pact, is a hegemony established by the Interstellar Solar Technocracy in the year 2267. Originally formed between the Interstellar Solar Technocracy, the Galactic Hesukar Regime, the Galactic Imanakka Union, and the Lilarobian Transstellar megacorporation, it is a hegemony in every sense of the word where the Technocracy holds most of the power, with the rest split between the three other founders. An Interstellar Assembly megastructure in the orbit of Jupiter acts as its headquarters and doubles as a hub for the Technocracy's diplomacy efforts. It is by far the largest federation in the galaxy, second only to the Galactic Community itself, and is the constant target of insults and accusations from rival federations, whose members shrug off as easily as the morning dew. The Federation fleets, known as the Vanguard, is the main military might of the Pact, composed of various ship designs of member empires, all made with the oversight of the Big Four (the founding members,) while each empire's individual fleets are reserved for personal affairs. Whenever an individual member declares war on an independent empire, they may not utilize the Vanguard in their conflict, and member empires will only assist if the situation is truly desperate. Although the Pact, and by extension the Imperator, claims that the Technocracy only has a medium centralization in the Pact and everything it does is out of benevolence, detractors point to the requirement of a Technocracy bastion on every planet of a member empire as a means of covert subjugation, and to make others a vassal in all but name.
Empress Jaffaba "Mary" Sartyr: The defacto ruler of the Galactic Hesukar Regime, Empress Sartyr is the 15th member of the Sartyr royal bloodline, and came into power after her mother was assassinated by rebels during a brutal civil war where the Technocracy blended aid to the main forces of the Regime. After hostilities were suppressed and the rebels enslaved or executed, Imperator Yang and Empress Sartyr met for the first time in the Regime's capital city of Sylvaria on the planet of Mithra, still repairing after the civil war. The next year, she graced Earth with her presence and adopted the human name of Mary. She is known to be fair, but strict towards her subjects, and is not afraid to send hits after those who have wronged her. She also described humans as "adorable and bright, but clumsy sometimes and arrogant." These words alone led to the Hesukari adopting humans like brothers and led to the Imperator having intimate relations with the Empress, and the elven appearance of the Hesukari species didn't hurt either.
Lilarobian Transstellar: Originally a humble civilian arms manufacturer for a pan-global government whose name has been lost to history, Lilarobian Transstellar, formerly Lilarobian Defense Solutions, enjoyed its role of providing military-grade weapons for the people while simultaneously arming the official military, as well as owning its private military. It was so successful in fact, that it started to branch off into other commercial enterprises like medical care, food production, cybernetic implants, and many more. By the year 2198, due to progressively looser restrictions, Lilarobian Defense Solutions had garnered so much clout and support that when the Chairman made a coup against the less-than-popular ruling government, not a single member of the population or even the military dared to stand against the now megacorporation. Ruled by a hereditary line of CEOs, much akin to a monarchy, life within the megacorporation is surprisingly decent for its civilians, where many are small shareholders within the business, and taxation is proportional to individual income (i.e. a clerk's tax rate would be 1% of their income while a governor's rate would be .) However, business dealings are highly competitive even among partners, and boardroom meetings often become battlefields both figuratively and at times, literally. It is so bad that if you do not bring at least one assault rifle and pistol with you when sitting down with opposing members to discuss a deal, you will most likely not leave. The megacorporation also experiments on living subjects, either death row inmates, volunteers, desperate people, or more often kidnapped people, which the Technocracy approves to the highest degree, much to the dismay of the Galactic Community.
Phantom Reavers Spec-Ops Division: Also known as the "Grey Ghosts," "the Bogeymen," the "Wraiths," and "The Long Arm of the Imperator," the Phantom Reavers are the special operations division of the Imperial Planetary Guard, numbering fifty million members. Originally the state secret police of the pre-FTL pan-global government of Earth known as the Imperial Asiatic Technocracy, they patrolled the streets of every major metropolitan area of Earth, operating in the shadows and eliminating any perceived deviants either stealthily or violently. Beyond the restraints of the law, the Phantom Reavers were the main division of choice for the Imperator's dirty work, and were very effective, having a 98% success rate. With the advent of FTL technology and nanites, the Phantom Reavers evolved from a mere secret police force to one of the single most expansive and dangerous organizations within the Technocracy, with its members frequently covertly raiding allied empires for various reasons and possessing enough training and technology to take on rogue members of the Punitive Corps. Few know of their existence and even fewer had encounters with them and lived to tell the tale, which is what they prefer. Admiral/general out of line or forgot their allegiance? Send in the 'Reavers. Governor/Administrator getting too bold? The Long Arm of the Imperator will show them their place. Are you a rival or friendly empire that has tech or discoveries that the Technocracy is interested in? A visit from the Grey Ghosts is in order. An individual/group(s) of individuals having silly thoughts like democracy or independence? There's a reason the group earned the name "the Bogeymen." With their non-standard weaponry, AI-assisted homing firearms, homing throwing knives that assist said firearms, and various other implements, combined with their void-black armor with red lights, make the Phantom Reavers a true force to fear and devastatingly effective against all opponents... so long as they're not Aeldari.
Operation Elysium: The official process to integrate the Aeldari, or any independent empire or society, into the Technocracy involves five, sometimes seven official steps;
Phase 1: Establish diplomatic relations with the target race. [Completed]
Phase 1.5: Covertly monitor the target race should hostilities emerge or the target race be too technologically primitive. [Ignored]
Phase 2: Thoroughly document and study every facet of the target species' society, encompassing technological advancements, scientific discoveries, and cultural doctrines. [Ongoing].
Phase 2.5: Appropriately integrate acquired technology into the Technocracy and enhance it as necessary. [Ongoing]
Phase 3: Facilitate the unification of the target species if it exists as fragmented nation-states or similar divisions, forming a consolidated and centralized governing body or council. [Pending]
Phase 4: Scrutinize every aspect of the target species' culture for references to deities or spiritual beliefs and eradicate any offending artifacts or symbols. [Pending]
Phase 5: Full assimilation of the target species into the Technocracy's fold. [Pending]