The Walkers, updated 9-28-03

[chewy027]

Though most of you will not remember me, I used to be very active on these Boards. I have always lurked around, but I have once again caught the SE4 bug. So I decided to start up another game tonight with one change to my usual foray...I am going to attempt to enhance my experience with a little story-telling. Now I realize there are many of these threads floating around this board, in fact i enjoy reading most of them myself, but for my sake i think i'll try to keep myself interested in this game by writing a bit. Understand, I have never written like this before, with no due date or pressure, but i think it will be entertaining for myself. Also, understand that my classes here at Princeton start again very soon so I probably won't be able to update as often as I would like, but I will try. So without further ado, i present the first installment of my tale...please, criticisms encouraged

Prologue

So many years have gone before my time, and there is so much to tell. Perhaps I should simply start from the beginning. Yes, that would be the wisest place to start, for wisdom is the virtue prized above all else in our society, so indeed the beginning is where I must start.
Our glorious civilization has been in existence for 8,400 years by our records, though some scholars claim that we were conceived further still in time. However, I don�t believe I can assert that our civilization can lay a legitimate claim to that long of a heritage. You see, much of our early history is unknown to us, though we are aware of the fact that we were a warring society of sovereign nation states for the first 4000 years of our existence. Many battles were fought, and many of our people died vainly for the pursuit of money, pleasure, and most seductive of all, power. It was directly before the time of the eighth Great War, around 6888 that three powers emerged: the Cindron, the Eldron, and the Vandron. These three peoples had succeeded in consolidating their power and making themselves strong enough to lay claim to complete mastery of our world, though it was not fated that all should Last.
The Cindron hailed from the west. They were a society who thrived on combat and the glory of victory�at any cost. They were an advanced power who made as much use of guile and treachery as they did their physical power. It was the Cindron who ignited the eight and final Great War.
The Eldron made their home in the East. The largest of the powers, though the least advanced, they had more resources then both the Cindron and the Vandron and used this advantage to survive. The Eldron were not risk takers, but made calculated decisions to maximize their gains. They won many key battles early in the war for this reason, though, in the end, they could not stand up to the might of the Cindron.
Finally, the Vandron were caught like a city between two armies, neither of which was concerned about the city�s fate. The Vandron prized wisdom and honor above all else, and vehemently tried to stave off the inevitable onslaught between the Cindron and the Eldron. For the first 5 years their stance of neutrality and cooperation served them well. It was during these 5 years that the Eldron won many victories and looked to have the Cindron defeated. The Vandron urged a peaceful settlement of the conflict and litigated a truce between the two powers, but the Cindron�s victory would not be denied.
As the peace summit came to a close, a lone Cindron death squad succeeded in igniting a single thermonuclear weapon and in the process destroyed the Eldron High Command and any hope of a peaceful end to the Great War. The use of these weapons had been Banned since the close of the fifth Great War, and both sides had abided by these commandments�until now.
The loss of their High Command sent the Eldron into a precipitous spiral downward. None had the wherewithal to rise up and lead the people, let alone organize an adequate defense against the newly embroiled Cindron. The Eldron summarily fell to the onslaught of the Cindron though both sides continued to weaken themselves to the point of dysfunction.
Throughout these middle years of the war the Vandron persisted to sue for peace. Having had their capital city destroyed in the initial thermonuclear bLast, and continually having to scrounge together every resource and penny to sate the thirst of the Cindron, the day drew near when the Vandron would be drawn into the conflict as well. The Eldron were falling and the Cindron was eager to usurp the mantle of total world domination. They struck quickly and overran half of the Vandron�s territory. They continued to push the boundaries further until they were within grasp of terminating the Vandron. It was then that the ever calculating Eldron decided to break their self imposed ban on using their weapons of mass destruction in the hopes of guaranteeing their survival. For they had many more of these weapons then the Cindron did, and succeeded in weakening their enemies enough to drive them back. Having been pressed to action the Vandron then joined forces with the Eldron, but it was to no avail. The Cindron redoubled their efforts and burned with a great fire to quell the world of the taint of the Eldron, and in the 14th year of the war, the Eldron fell. Now the full forces of the Cindron were turned on the fledgling Vandron in the final push for supremacy.
The facts of the final years of the Last Great War are not fully understood, but what is known is that as the Vandron were once again falling to the Cindron onslaught a being of immense power and wisdom appeared to lead the Vandron. This was the Almighty, and under his watchful eye the Cindron�s forces stood no chance. Though the Vandron detested violence, the Almighty forged them into an overwhelming force whom the Cindron could not contain. As the Cindron lost battle after battle, they grew more and more desperate. It was decided that the use of their final thermonuclear bombs was the only means of defeating this new and enigmatic force, though they new that their use would render their world unusable. As the weapons fell, so our ethos teaches us, the Almighty transformed his people so that they could survive in this radically changed world, and led his people on to victory over the Cindron. Having defeated the enemy, the Almighty then began to lead the remaining Vandron on a quest to rebuild their embattled world.
Under the leadership of the Almighty, new cities were built and the Vandron established themselves well enough that their future was no longer in doubt. It was at this time that the Almighty left as quickly and quietly as he had appeared. By then, the Almighty had already come to be worshiped by the people, and none doubted that his guidance had saved our world. That was in the year of 6,000. Thereafter, we began keeping track of time anew. We slowly progressed and advanced over the course of 2000 more years without the taint of war. We concentrated on those virtues we held most dear: wisdom, honor, and trust, and in time we surpassed the technological marvels of even the Cindron. However, we have never forgotten that our survival was made possible through the Almighty�s hand, and that knowledge without wisdom is for naught. It is with this creed in mind that I, Lord Chagnon, the 27 Lord of the Vandron, turn our glorious civilizations gaze to the heavens in the hopes that we may one day come face to face with our savior the Almighty. We are the Vandron, the Walkers and we are coming�

[ September 29, 2003, 01:55: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[Cirvol]

chewy

nice start of a story... its a bit on the 'too close to alegory in real life' type of thing if you see my meaning

(with all the almighty stuff and 2000 years etc

but otherwise, i like trio of powers story line... well done

and im almost guessing they'll be gas / methane based or something ? (from the nuclear line)

anyway, keep it up, nice to see you back

[Fyron]

Mind if this gets archived in the Fan Fiction Archives on SpaceEmpires.net?

[dogscoff]

I like it, it has a kind of Tolkienesque mythos to it.

[primitive]

Primitive likes it. Primitive wants more.

Remember, there are more important things in life than getting an education. Keeping barbarians carrying big sticks happy might also be wise.

[chewy027]

Fyron...be my guest, though i'll probably edit it a bit to make the flow better and such.

Cirvol...yeah i agree with the alegory impressions, though it wasn't intended. I did the graphics for the vandron originally, and used the race description to build the brief history of the story. As for the 2000 years thing, the game starts in 2400 so it kinda fell into place like that.

[chewy027]

2400 ~ The Beginning

It is now the year 2400, and I, Lord Chagnon have been leading the Vandron people for the Last 3 years. My predecessor, Lord Mignon, was a great and wise leader whom led our people for over 10 decades. He guided our great civilization into a golden age of advancement where new technologies and theories about our world and our galaxy flowed like the blood of our sacrifices to the Almighty. There is much that we now know, yet we are wise enough to realize that we do not know all. We know that our system is one of 133 in our quadrant that has the potential to contain other planets, yet we are wise enough to realize that there must be thousands more throughout the galaxy. We also know that those systems are situated around the quadrant in small clusters, yet we are wise enough to postulate that there are many paths through these stars. We know that there are other races to be found, yet we know not where they are. It is for this exact reason that we have made our push to reach the stars and continue our search for our savior. You see, a theoretic view of the Almighty has been growing within our society since before the time of Lord Mignon. When Lord Mignon became the 26th Lord of the Vandron he was one of the primary believers in this theory, and thus steered our great civilization by its tenets. The theory holds that the Almighty was not of the Vandron, nor of the Eldron or Cindron. He was, in fact, a being not of this world. With Lord Mignon championing this belief, it soon permeated our society and gave us the determination to find the being responsible for our survival. This is how we know that we are not alone in this galaxy, and why we have made every effort to discover what lies in the Great Beyond.
From our home world, which we renamed Serenity after the Last Great War, we have seen that there are two colonizable planets in our system. Many believe that we will end our search on one of these two planets as the Almighty could have easily come from either of them. The first we call Hope, as it resembles our home world almost exactly, and many think that this is where the Almighty hailed from. Hope is a large gas giant planet with the same carbon dioxide atmosphere composition that we have been adapted to. Before the final Great War, Serenity was a beautiful rock planet with an oxygen rich atmosphere, but after the Cindron�s final attack and the Changing, we now survive most readily on a gas planet of a carbon dioxide composition. It is for this reason that I believe we will not find the Almighty on Hope. For he came to us as our planet once was but no longer is, and he continued with us many years after the cataclysm that changed our world. Therefore, I, and many others, believe that the Almighty could have come from any planet despite its makeup, and so I am resigned to the fact that it may take many years to see our ambitions realized if, indeed, they can be. Nevertheless, reaching Hope has been our main focus for the Last 50 years.
Under the rule of Lord Mignon, we made rapid advances in propulsion technologies and intra-system travel. It was in his final years that we finally developed a working Ion engine prototype that would allow us to finally reach Hope, and secondarily the planet of Rigil. Unfortunately, Lord Mignon was unable to witness the completion of these ambitions as he passed into the realm of the Almighty three years ago. It was at this time that I, Lord Chagnon, received the honor of continuing, indeed, finishing the work that we have so long been focused on. It was with this in mind that I made our first order of business to reach Hope at Last.
From the years 2397-2400 I commissioned 19 scouting missions to Hope and 3 to Rigil. We learned much about each planet, but there were simply too few Vandron to make an adequate search for the Almighty. It was for this reason that in 2400 I commissioned the construction of our people�s first Comet Class colony ship. Upon completion it will be destined for Hope, carrying 34 million colonists within its confines. It is anticipated that with this many Vandron we can establish a self-sustaining colony on Hope and eventually make this world one of many from which we will continue our search for the Almighty, unless of course we do indeed find him upon Hope. I have also harnessed our people�s broiling excitement and focused it on making new advances in the fields of physics and our own unique religious technologies granted us by the Almighty. It is the belief of Vice Lord Junon, the minister of technology, and myself that if we remain vigilant and steadfast in our research we will be able to more easily facilitate and accomplish our goal. It is at this juncture that our present history is being molded through mine, and my chief Vice-Lords decisions ultimately guided by the wisdom and honor that are central to our people. It seems that our people's future is before us.

[chewy027]

2400.1 � 2400.6 ~ A Simple Decision

Our construction on the first of two comet class colonizers is moving along exactly as planned. It should be completed within the next tenth. At the same time, Vice Lord Junon tells me that he feels that we have indeed reached a new level of expertise in physics and in religious technology, and that this new understanding will allow us to research such wondrous things as energy shields, advanced sensors, and even energy based weaponry, though this final area, that of weaponry, is the least appealing to us Vandron. It is for this reason, and after much deliberation, that we have decided that we will indeed forge ahead in the area of energy shielding to give our vessels greater protection from whatever may lay ahead of us. For this is the way of the Walkers. We have always been slow to aggressive action, but have been content with defending ourselves from the aggressor. Indeed, it is because of this that we were called the Walkers by the Cindron and the Eldron, for we accomplished our ends through the use of wisdom and application instead of brute force. And it is this philosophy that we will continue to use as we venture out into the Great Beyond. The Almighty has taught us that we should be slow to action, however, when action is necessary, we should move swiftly, wisely, and honorably. Ironically, it was during our deliberations as to what we should next focus our research on, that the twelfth of our deep space probes relayed information to us from the edge of our system that demanded immediate and swift action.
We quickly put aside our research deliberations, to the consternation of Vice Lord Junon, and focused our attention on this new information that had been brought to our attention. The following is a recording of some of the discussion that took place immediately thereafter:

�It seems� explained Vice Lord Exnon, the minister of space and exploration, �that the twelfth deep space probe that was sent out in the second tenth of 2398 has discovered a strange anomaly on the far eastern part of our home system.�
�What sort of anomaly?� asked Vice Lord Junon. �Is it of any special significance?�
�Well,� continued Exnon �The anomaly seems to be some sort of elliptical disturbance in the fabric of space itself. While we have seen strange anomalies akin to this before, none produced the same results upon further examination by our probes.�
�What do you mean by that?� asked Vice Lord Defcon, the minister of defense.
�Yes, explain the significance of these �results�� Lord Chagnon demanded.
�Of course Chagnon, it seems that as our probe approached the anomaly for closer readings, as it is programmed to, it somehow vanished.� replied Exnon.
�Vanished? What do you mean vanished?� asked Defcon.
�Well, ah, we were tracking the position of the probe from our sensors here on Serenity when the probe suddenly disappeared from our scanners. It doesn�t appear to have been destroyed, nor does it seem that its systems went offline.� answered Exnon as manner-of-fact as possible. �It simply vanished.�
�I see,� replied Defcon �and do you have any possible explanations for this occurrence?�
�Yes, Exnon, what did happen then?� asked Chagnon.
�Well, to the best of our calculations and observations it appears that the probe went inside of the anomaly. That is why it went off of our scanners, but we don�t know if it was indeed destroyed once it entered the confines of the spatial distortion. I think it would be best if we received Lord Junon�s incite into this.� replied Exnon trying to deflect some of the attention from himself.
�Is that what you think?� replied Junon, �Well then I suppose I could make some educated postulations as to what may have happened.�
�Please do,� said Chagnon, �perhaps you can shed some light on this matter.�
�It appears,� Junon went on, �that there are two likely scenarios as to the fate of the probe. The first is that it was indeed destroyed by this anomaly. If that is the case then we should make note of the coordinates of the distortion and avoid it in the future. The second scenario is that the probe was not destroyed, but was affected in some different way by the anomaly. In either case action must be taken as to ascertain the correct outcome of the probe, and the exact properties of this anomaly.�
�Yes, I agree.� said Chagnon, �the question is, what is the wisest course of action to proceed with? Should we continue to send more unmanned probes through, and continue to collect data from here on Serenity or should we commission a manned scout ship to approach the anomaly and give us a precise explanation as to its effects. What do you think Exnon? This seems to be your department.�
�Yes of course Lord Chagnon,� a somewhat shaky Exnon replied, �I would think that the wisest and safest course of action would be to continue to send probes to the anomaly. We could easily outfit some probes with our new ion technology so they would reach the destination within a few tenths.�
�However,� cut in Junon, �while I agree that would seem to be the wisest course of action, we do not yet have the capability to equip these engines on small probes.� Junon�s interest was beginning to pique as to the possibilities of such an anomaly. He went on, �besides, we don�t even know if the probe was initially destroyed.�
�But we don�t know it wasn�t destroyed.� added Defcon.
�Exactly,� put in Chagnon, �I do not think it wise or necessary to endanger the lives of any of our people. However, I also do not believe that the probe was destroyed.�
�Why is that?� inquired Defcon, �There is no evidence indicating it was or wasn�t destroyed.�
�True,� replied Chagnon �yet something leads me to believe that it was not destroyed, and therefore, I have a proposal as the action we should take.�
�Your intuitions have not been wrong before Lord Chagnon,� said Exnon perking up a bit, �perhaps the Almighty has given you a unique insight into the situation.�
�Perhaps,� Chagnon replied with a slight smile, �In any case, I believe the wisest course of action would be to commission a manned scout ship to investigate the anomaly. However, I also believe that the ship should be equipped with its own probes to send into the anomaly before it takes any such action itself.�
�As long as my men aren�t endangered I see no case for objecting to this course of action.� agreed Defcon.
�Yes, I agree as well,� quickly replied Exnon, not wishing to be the Last to speak up �that is a wise decision.�
�If this is the will of the council then I have no qualms against it.� answered Junon as he rolled his eyes.
�Then it is settled then,� Chagnon said as he stood up from the table. �As soon as the second Comet Class colony ship is built we will begin construction on a scout ship to examine the anomaly.�
�May I make one suggestion,� Defcon put in, �perhaps it would be wisest to commission the scout ship before the second Comet. We know what lies ahead of us on Rigil, but the anomaly may hold something completely unexpected. Speaking from a strictly defensive state of mind, I believe we should know what exactly this distortion is before we make plans for anything else.�
�A wise insight Defcon,� Chagnon replied slowly sitting back down, �So it shall be. The scout ship shall be commissioned before the second Comet is built. And if there are no further details to discuss then I believe this meeting is adjourned.�

And so it was. Upon the completion of the first Comet, a Revelation Class scout ship, derived from the escort chassis, was commissioned and built. It was immediately sent to the coordinates of the anomaly to discover once and for all what secrets, if any, this distortion held.
Meanwhile, Comet 1 safely arrived on Hope and the construction of Hope Colony was immediately begun. In addition to the construction, teams of scouts began to scour the land in search of any signs that the Almighty may presently be or may have previously been to this world. Hope was designated a Research World as the initial scans showed that its resource levels were particularly low, a fact that Lord Chagnon was not pleased with. Since the end of the Last Great War, resources had to be closely monitored so as not to waste anything. As it was, Hope would serve the Vandron well in their search for the Almighty, and boost their glorious civilization�s research capacities, which had been performing wonderfully.
The research for the energy shields proved to pass very quickly as an adequate level was reached within only two tenths. These new shields would now be included on the designs for all of their ships, a detail that Vice Lord Defcon saw to personally. At the same time, it was decided, albeit grudgingly, that the best defense would now be a stronger offense, and so a new level of expertise was sought for the projectile weapons currently in use, and the ability to build larger chassis for the fleets starships. Though it was projected to take nearly a year to accomplish these goals, it was decided that it would be the wisest course of research to pursue, in the event that someone or something should meet them.

[ September 02, 2003, 02:36: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[chewy027]

2400.6 � 2400.7 ~ Revelations

As the Revelation class scout ship neared the distortion, it began sending probe after probe into its maw. They all simply vanished without a trace leaving no hint that they had ever existed. This information was relayed to the High Command on Serenity, and the decision was made by Lord Chagnon and his councilors to allow the ship itself to approach the anomaly. This was made possible by the decree that all ships in the Vandron�s Navy were to be equipped with real-time communications devices that would transmit everything that the ship saw and everything that the crew spoke. It also allowed for orders to be transmitted as soon as they were decreed by the High Command. In an instant, the Revelation class starship vanished just as quickly as all of the probes. This turn of events was expected. However, what wasn�t expected was the sudden silence of communications and images being broadcast from the ship. Immediately, thoughts of regret swept through the mind of Chagnon: Had he made the wisest decision? Was the crew dead? Why did the transmissions cease? What should he do next? And he could visibly see the effects of the seeming loss on the faces of his comrades. And then, just as suddenly as it had vanished, the Revelation reappeared on their scanners as the anomaly gave a blinding flash as it spewed the little ship forth. For a moment there was silence, and then it was broken by the laughter of Vice Lord Junon.
�It�s a wormhole!� Junon sputtered with glee. �The Almighty be praised! We had thought that wormholes, if possible, could only exist in deep space. This is welcome news indeed.�
It was at this time that the voices of the crew came through over the speakers and the men and women of the tiny Revelation could be heard cheering and laughing for joy, though there was a hint of nervousness present in all of it.
�So what did you see?� asked Vice Lord Exnon. �What was on the other side?�
�What do you mean �other side�?� asked Vice Lord Defcon, �what is a �wormhole� anyway?�
�It�s a tunnel,� grinned Exnon, �a tunnel to another part of the Great Beyond.�
�He is right� added Junon, �a wormhole is adequately described as a tunnel, though what lays on the other side and how far away it exists are the questions on my mind.�
It was at this time that the crew had received the initial question and was responding.
�Another system,� the commander was saying, �but there were no signs of any planets. Just one dim yellow star, however, that was not all that we found.�
This Last sentence seemed to hang in the air like the incense that was burned to the Almighty.
�What do you mean �that was not all that we found.'� quipped Chagnon.
The room was silent until the captain responded, by this time the ship�s crew was also deadly silent. �Well, i�it seems th�that there was another ship in the system, in one of the far eastern parsecs." The captain's nervousness was detectable in his voice. "There was no time for communication, nor time to hide our own presence. If they are as advanced as we, they will have known that we were there. What�s more is that they seemed to already know of the properties of these anomalies, and es�escaped through one as soon as we appeared.�
�Are you sure of this? Are you positive it was another ship, and how do you know they escaped through one of these wormholes of their own?� Defcon spoke the words incredulously.
�W�well sir,� the captain went on. Even more timidly then before, �h�having studied the patterns of the anomalies or w�wormholes as you have called them, we have determined a way to d�detect them, sir. I�in fact, there are two more of these anomalies in our own home s�system. One to the far n�north and one in the south near H�hope, sir. The�therefore, we have de�determined that there was an anomaly in the same vicinity as the ship, and s�surmised that the ship must have passed through it, sir.�
�But are you sure it was a ship your scanners detected?� asked Defcon the disbelief now gone from his voice.
�Y�yes sir.� The captain began to regain his confidence, �It could have been nothing else. It was at a standstill, and then vectored off toward the wormhole, only to vanish an instant later.�
�So what of this system, what is it like, and where were you?� asked Exnon.
�Yes, please describe it to us.� added Junon.
�Like I already said, sir, it is barren. There are no signs of any planets, just the remains of a star, and of course the other wormhole to the far east, and one closer to our position to the North. As for distance, it was perhaps 40 light-years away. It was hard to tell, we were there in an instant, and came back through soon after.�
�So you are unharmed?� asked Chagnon feeling much relieved.
�Yes my lord. Praise be to the Almighty that we were not harmed.�
�But why did the transmissions cease?� asked Defcon.
Junon answered, �Going from a couple parsecs to 40 light-years will have that effect on communications.� And almost as an after thought added to himself, �I will have to devise a way to continue communications utilizing the strange properties of these wormholes.�

After a few more quick questions to the captain, the High Command retired to their deliberation room to decide what should be done. None thought that these wormholes were dangerous, the seemingly unharmed ship and crew proved this, however, with so many of these wormholes no one would take the risk of not further exploring them to be sure that they would not be invaded by a hostile enemy through one of them. The fact that a starship was present in the barren system proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that there was other highly intelligent life to be found, and that the far eastern wormhole held a way to reach beings of this caliber. After a few hours of deliberations many decisions were unanimously agreed upon. First, the Revelation and its crew would travel back into the Churba or barren system, and see if this ship would make another appearance. In the meantime, Vice Lord Junon and his team of scientists would devise a means to continue communications through the wormholes. Secondly, the current research into ship construction would be continued, for the projectile research had ceased, and the research into ship construction was going faster then expected. Vice Lord Defcon�s intuitions about the appearance of the wormholes had proved accurate, and they were now quite pleased that they had prepared thus. Finally, with the completion of the final Comet colony ship, Serenity would begin to mass produce Escort class Angels. They would be equipped with the new projectile weapons and the new shields in the event that they were attacked.
On Hope, the search for the Almighty was winding down as it appeared that there was no trace of any prior inhabitants. With that order of business settled the colonists turned their full attention to the completion of their own space yard, before commencing to build their monstrous research complex comprised of 23 research facilities. Though there were hints of disappointment that the Almighty was not found on Hope, things here were going well, and the High Command believed that in the future Hope would become as indispensable as Serenity itself.

[ September 02, 2003, 17:52: Message edited by: chewy027 ]

[chewy027]

2400.8 ~ Peace�

For we Vandron, peace is a way of life. We have always tried to look past our differences and made every effort to avoid situations that may lead to violence. This was our way even before the Almighty manifested himself among us. And since the destruction of our enemies on Serenity, we have had nothing but peace for over 2000 years; wisdom, honor, and foresight have prevailed where anger and rash action have failed. At least that was what Captain Mandron was telling himself as his ship, an escort class Revelation scout ship, appeared back in the Churba System where his mission was to make contact with the alien vessel they had seen before.
�I do not like the fact that we have no communications with Serenity.� Mandron thought to himself. �Still it seems prudent, even necessary, that we meet this race and determine if they are friend or foe.�
�Captain!� his first mate Sharnon was saying, �There they are, and they are not moving toward the wormhole, sir.�
�Excellent Sharnon, open all frequencies but make no transmissions.� ordered the Captain. �We will see if they want to communicate with us before we play our hand.�
�A wise decision sir, opening all frequencies,� came the reply.
�Lieutenant Sharnon, I don�t need your opinion on the wisdom of my dec�� but he was cut off by a low muddling sound coming from the speakers.
�What is that?� demanded Mandron.
�It seems to be a transmission coming from the vessel, sir.� answered the communications officer.
�Can we determine what they are saying?� asked Sharnon.
�No ma�am� came the reply. �But the computer is working on making a translation. Their language, or whatever it is they are transmitting, seems to be very different then ours.�
The transmission continued for some time until they could make out what it meant. While the transmission was being decoded, Mandron silently contemplated what the wisest course of action would be. His thoughts were interrupted when the communications officer suddenly spoke up.
�The message says, �We are the Aquilaeian Empire. We mean you no harm, though we are curious as to what your intentions are in this system,� and then it starts over and repeats itself.� said the communications officer with an edge of triumph to his voice.
�Can you make a reply in their tongue?� asked Mandron.
�No, sir.� answered the officer.
�Then transmit to them in our own, �We are the Vandron, and we mean only peace.�
Almost as soon as it was sent a reply came back in their own tongue �Greetings Vandron, we are glad to see a fellow race with peaceful intentions. My name is Arguile; I am the captain of this ship.�
�Put me on direct communications, ordered Mandron.� He waited a second and went on, �I am Mandron the captain of this ship, by the authority of the High Command. We have declared our intentions of peace, what are your intentions?�
�We wish for nothing but peace,� the reply came quickly, �and it is for this reason that we have been waiting for you.� Arguile went on, �You see, Mandron, we wish to extend to you an offer of a trade alliance.�
�An alliance?� the surprise was evident in Mandron�s voice.
�Well, more of a trading pact� Arguile went on. �An agreement stating that we will give a certain percentage of our goods to you every tenth, for the same percentage of your goods in return.�
�Why would we want to agree to this �trading pact�?� asked Mandron.
�Well, Mandron, we Aquilaeians are much larger then yourselves, and have many friends and enemies. It seems that you are in a disadvantaged position in that we are the first species you have met beside your own, and the one you call the �Almighty�.� Arguile said this with a discernable air of superiority that made Mandron�s head swim. How did they know so much about us? What should I do? Make the wisest decision he ordered himself, but as he was telling himself this, his thoughts were again interrupted.
�You are no doubt wondering how we know so much about your people? The answer is simple really, we have been monitoring you for some time now, and we know that the wise decision for you to make will be to agree to the pact.� The words dripped off of Arguile�s tongue. �Besides,� he went on, �why would you not want peace?�
Mandron thought for a moment, �You are right,� answered Mandron, choosing to avoid the tone with witch these Last remarks had been said. They would no doubt greatly benefit from this inflow of new resources, as the amount they were going to receive would more then likely be far less than they would give out. �We agree to this trading pact. But how will we give you our materials if we don�t even know where to send them?�
�Do not worry about that, our ships are already standing by. When our shipment is delivered we will simply pick up our percentage from you.� And with that the transmission abruptly ended, and the Aquilaeian vessel, a ship comparable in size to the Vandron�s own, plunged through the far eastern wormhole and vanished.
�Take us back through the western wormhole.� Mandron ordered, �Prepare a transmission for the High Command. Tell them we have good news.�