Caught at the throat, one knows when to give up.
Yelniv smiles, though again it is more of a slight opening of the mouth and a tiny upturn of the corners of what pass as lips on the mon calamari. "I believe we all have certain disagreements about the people or setting of this conference, but Senator Waltzburg is correct; we will get nowhere by arguing. I propose that a Torontonian scanner be set up, and the readout positioned in the open for all to see. Also, that Psionic Nullifiers be made available for those delegates that wish to have them. We can then proceed as soon as those things are done."
Complete information on Xanthal can be found in its factbook.
"Grievances of the War????"
K'Ahlon could not believe his ears.
"They invaded the Kalathaun system, clearly violating the ESUS Constitution. They seized control of our four colonies there and since then there have been reports of atrocities being committed upon its citizen populations. We have heard about piles of bodies lying in the streets. Women and Children dead and lifeless."
K'Ahlon slammed his mug down on the table. Hot tea splashed out everywhere.
"It's not just on Kalathaun IV which the Murder Lord stole, but also on Kalathaun III, Kalathaun V, and Kalathaun VII. Every captive world has had reports of its citizens dead. These reports were gotten from reporters snuck in by the Independent News Agency so you cannot claim it is something fabricated by us. All you have to do is turn on INA and watch the news."
K'Ahlon directed the computer to switch the wall monitors to the INA broadcasts using his Neurolink. Several screens came to life displaying different broadcasts from the station, each showing different atrocities the reporters smuggled out. K'Ahlon waved his hand in the direction of the screens.
"This is how our allies treat us. This is how our allies respect our sovereign rights and those of the citizens of the ESUS."
K'Ahlon slowly paced by each monitor while he spoke so nobody could avoid seeing what was displayed there.
"Some of those in the room speak of being calm and acting civil. Those broadcasts show what those nations think of treating others civilly. They also claim we had it coming because of our roll in stopping the civil war. We never even targeted a single ship with any of our weapons. All we did was activate our FTLi."
"Because we tried to stop the war, as requested, we have millions of bodies lying in the streets of the Kalathaun System. Our allies clearly used some sort of Weapon of Mass Destruction upon them or they went from street to street and house to house shooting every man, woman, and child."
K'Ahlon stopped by his chair and placed his hands upon its back. He leaned forward and began speaking again.
"We demand the perpetrators of these crimes to immediately pull out of the Kalathaun System. They will remove each and every soldier, ship, gear, everything they brought. There will be no bombs, mines, missiles, traps, or anything left behind. Everything that belonged to The Empire shall remain where they found it. There will be no captives taken, no trophies kept, or anything belonging to The Empire or any of its citizens removed under any reason."
"Each invader will fund the complete repair of all structures and ships damaged or destroyed; this also includes any ecological damage done to the worlds or the System in general. Each government will be held responsible for the deaths of the people who were forced to exist under their rule. They will also be held responsible for the deaths of each sentient being who tried to defend against them. They invaded, not us."
"Each nation will issue a public apology live on the same station that carried the reports of the atrocities. It will be the leader of that nation who must make an appearance in person. It will not be some diplomatic floozy but the one being that is in charge of the nation. There is an old saying from Earth, "The Buck Stops Here" meaning, you are responsible for the actions of your nation. You can be the only one that can rectify the situation. You will be apologizing to the Emperor himself, as well as to every Imperial Citizen and to the nations of the ESUS you have betrayed their trust in violating the Constitution."
K'Ahlon stood up straight and seemed to have been struck by a thought.
"Speaking of violating the ESUS Constitution, you will have to report to the ESUS Courts to be held accountable to the violations you have committed. You will be judged by the Courts and you will have the sentence imposed by the Courts carried out to its fullest intent."
K'Ahlon again paused to take a drink out of his nearly empty mug.
"Now I know what many of you are thinking to yourselves. I am not using any psionics; I am reading your facial expressions. You are thinking thoughts like "Yeah, right. How are they going to force us to do that?", "What makes them think we will go along with those crazy demands?", or even "As soon as they are not looking we will invade the rest of their systems since they cannot cover all of them."
K'Ahlon used his Neurolink to command the computer to link the data feed from his ship to the holographic display. About 40 systems appeared in their own display box labeling each of them. K'Ahlon sent a message to the captain of the ship to contact home and send the signal that he was ready.
"These are the systems of The Balrogga Empire. There are about 40 of them extending from Earth toward the constellation Lepus, along with holdings in a couple other galaxies. Now these are live feeds from our defense network. You can verify what you see later but take my word that this is genuine."
After a few seconds one of the systems begins to glow purple and then fades away, leaving empty space. In a few moments a couple others also glow purple and fade until there is only four systems left. As K'Ahlon spoke, each system enlarged to fill the screen.
"We have Uplifted all our systems to protect them from your violent hands. They are still residing in the same location but they exist elsewhere, out of your reach. There remain only four systems available for you to attempt to conquest."
The First expanded.
"Prospero IV is a colony world given to the Empire as part of a treaty. Cam III granted us this world within his own capital system to cement our friendship. You would be foolish to invade because it would drag Cam and his allies into this conflict on my side, as well as the nations who also have colonies in his Home system. Prospero IV is safe from attack."
The second filled the screen.
"This is Threshold. It is the center of the Intergalactic Trade Hub. It is owned by both myself and Outer Heaven. The ITH has almost 120 members that access it daily. If you attack Threshold, over thirty Neutron Stars will be spun into Pulsars, effectively disintegrating your fleets in the intense energies. This would not please Outer Heaven and it would draw him and his allies into this conflict, as well as the navies of the ITH nations because you would have disrupted their trade and cost them money. No, you would not attack that world."
The third filled the screen.
"Earth. There are too many nations with holdings there for any faction, even the ESUS to attempt to invade it. It would be suicide to even try. You would have thousands of nations to get by. Then you would have to deal with my defenses. Earth is safe from your attack."
"The last System is the Kalathaun system which is why we are here today."
The Holoscreen displayed the Kalathaun System.
"Now with all our other systems safely accounted for, we can concentrate the bulk of our fleets on repulsing you from our system. How will we do that you ask? Well, first we surround the system with our fleets, and then we Uplift it so you cannot get any reinforcements or escape, and then we systematically eliminate each and every one from the system. You will suffer a 100% causality ratio. Then we will move onto your own systems and repeat the actions. You will not know which system will get Uplifted. You will not even know where those systems would get Uplifted to. We would surgically slice sections from your empires until you agree to our demands."
K'Ahlon let his words sink in a moment before continuing. He looked at his watch.
"Now you have 120 hours to decide if you will comply. After that time has passed, we will remove our signature from the ESUS Constitution and start our campaign to free ourselves from oppression. That signature is the only reason we have not used out non-conventional weapons on you already. Remember, you four only have 120 hours. I trust you will not be late for that appointment, Murder Lord. We are through playing."
K'Ahlon picks up his briefcase and begins to walk out of the room but stops in the doorway and turns back to the room.
"You know how to contact us. Be quick about your decisions, the ships are already on the way."
K'Ahlon steps out of the doorway and stops again.
"Also, you should investigate the connection between Central Facehuggeria and the base the Consortium is using for your meeting. You might find something interesting to consider."
K'Ahlon left Conference Room #5 and went to The Balrogga Embassy and boarded the waiting ship through the private docking they had installed long ago. The transport Uplifted into nothingness
K'Ahlon could not believe his ears.
"They invaded the Kalathaun system, clearly violating the ESUS Constitution. They seized control of our four colonies there and since then there have been reports of atrocities being committed upon its citizen populations. We have heard about piles of bodies lying in the streets. Women and Children dead and lifeless."
K'Ahlon slammed his mug down on the table. Hot tea splashed out everywhere.
"It's not just on Kalathaun IV which the Murder Lord stole, but also on Kalathaun III, Kalathaun V, and Kalathaun VII. Every captive world has had reports of its citizens dead. These reports were gotten from reporters snuck in by the Independent News Agency so you cannot claim it is something fabricated by us. All you have to do is turn on INA and watch the news."
K'Ahlon directed the computer to switch the wall monitors to the INA broadcasts using his Neurolink. Several screens came to life displaying different broadcasts from the station, each showing different atrocities the reporters smuggled out. K'Ahlon waved his hand in the direction of the screens.
"This is how our allies treat us. This is how our allies respect our sovereign rights and those of the citizens of the ESUS."
K'Ahlon slowly paced by each monitor while he spoke so nobody could avoid seeing what was displayed there.
"Some of those in the room speak of being calm and acting civil. Those broadcasts show what those nations think of treating others civilly. They also claim we had it coming because of our roll in stopping the civil war. We never even targeted a single ship with any of our weapons. All we did was activate our FTLi."
"Because we tried to stop the war, as requested, we have millions of bodies lying in the streets of the Kalathaun System. Our allies clearly used some sort of Weapon of Mass Destruction upon them or they went from street to street and house to house shooting every man, woman, and child."
K'Ahlon stopped by his chair and placed his hands upon its back. He leaned forward and began speaking again.
"We demand the perpetrators of these crimes to immediately pull out of the Kalathaun System. They will remove each and every soldier, ship, gear, everything they brought. There will be no bombs, mines, missiles, traps, or anything left behind. Everything that belonged to The Empire shall remain where they found it. There will be no captives taken, no trophies kept, or anything belonging to The Empire or any of its citizens removed under any reason."
"Each invader will fund the complete repair of all structures and ships damaged or destroyed; this also includes any ecological damage done to the worlds or the System in general. Each government will be held responsible for the deaths of the people who were forced to exist under their rule. They will also be held responsible for the deaths of each sentient being who tried to defend against them. They invaded, not us."
"Each nation will issue a public apology live on the same station that carried the reports of the atrocities. It will be the leader of that nation who must make an appearance in person. It will not be some diplomatic floozy but the one being that is in charge of the nation. There is an old saying from Earth, "The Buck Stops Here" meaning, you are responsible for the actions of your nation. You can be the only one that can rectify the situation. You will be apologizing to the Emperor himself, as well as to every Imperial Citizen and to the nations of the ESUS you have betrayed their trust in violating the Constitution."
K'Ahlon stood up straight and seemed to have been struck by a thought.
"Speaking of violating the ESUS Constitution, you will have to report to the ESUS Courts to be held accountable to the violations you have committed. You will be judged by the Courts and you will have the sentence imposed by the Courts carried out to its fullest intent."
K'Ahlon again paused to take a drink out of his nearly empty mug.
"Now I know what many of you are thinking to yourselves. I am not using any psionics; I am reading your facial expressions. You are thinking thoughts like "Yeah, right. How are they going to force us to do that?", "What makes them think we will go along with those crazy demands?", or even "As soon as they are not looking we will invade the rest of their systems since they cannot cover all of them."
K'Ahlon used his Neurolink to command the computer to link the data feed from his ship to the holographic display. About 40 systems appeared in their own display box labeling each of them. K'Ahlon sent a message to the captain of the ship to contact home and send the signal that he was ready.
"These are the systems of The Balrogga Empire. There are about 40 of them extending from Earth toward the constellation Lepus, along with holdings in a couple other galaxies. Now these are live feeds from our defense network. You can verify what you see later but take my word that this is genuine."
After a few seconds one of the systems begins to glow purple and then fades away, leaving empty space. In a few moments a couple others also glow purple and fade until there is only four systems left. As K'Ahlon spoke, each system enlarged to fill the screen.
"We have Uplifted all our systems to protect them from your violent hands. They are still residing in the same location but they exist elsewhere, out of your reach. There remain only four systems available for you to attempt to conquest."
The First expanded.
"Prospero IV is a colony world given to the Empire as part of a treaty. Cam III granted us this world within his own capital system to cement our friendship. You would be foolish to invade because it would drag Cam and his allies into this conflict on my side, as well as the nations who also have colonies in his Home system. Prospero IV is safe from attack."
The second filled the screen.
"This is Threshold. It is the center of the Intergalactic Trade Hub. It is owned by both myself and Outer Heaven. The ITH has almost 120 members that access it daily. If you attack Threshold, over thirty Neutron Stars will be spun into Pulsars, effectively disintegrating your fleets in the intense energies. This would not please Outer Heaven and it would draw him and his allies into this conflict, as well as the navies of the ITH nations because you would have disrupted their trade and cost them money. No, you would not attack that world."
The third filled the screen.
"Earth. There are too many nations with holdings there for any faction, even the ESUS to attempt to invade it. It would be suicide to even try. You would have thousands of nations to get by. Then you would have to deal with my defenses. Earth is safe from your attack."
"The last System is the Kalathaun system which is why we are here today."
The Holoscreen displayed the Kalathaun System.
"Now with all our other systems safely accounted for, we can concentrate the bulk of our fleets on repulsing you from our system. How will we do that you ask? Well, first we surround the system with our fleets, and then we Uplift it so you cannot get any reinforcements or escape, and then we systematically eliminate each and every one from the system. You will suffer a 100% causality ratio. Then we will move onto your own systems and repeat the actions. You will not know which system will get Uplifted. You will not even know where those systems would get Uplifted to. We would surgically slice sections from your empires until you agree to our demands."
K'Ahlon let his words sink in a moment before continuing. He looked at his watch.
"Now you have 120 hours to decide if you will comply. After that time has passed, we will remove our signature from the ESUS Constitution and start our campaign to free ourselves from oppression. That signature is the only reason we have not used out non-conventional weapons on you already. Remember, you four only have 120 hours. I trust you will not be late for that appointment, Murder Lord. We are through playing."
K'Ahlon picks up his briefcase and begins to walk out of the room but stops in the doorway and turns back to the room.
"You know how to contact us. Be quick about your decisions, the ships are already on the way."
K'Ahlon steps out of the doorway and stops again.
"Also, you should investigate the connection between Central Facehuggeria and the base the Consortium is using for your meeting. You might find something interesting to consider."
K'Ahlon left Conference Room #5 and went to The Balrogga Embassy and boarded the waiting ship through the private docking they had installed long ago. The transport Uplifted into nothingness
-
Torontonias
- ESUS Danza Slap
- Posts: 761
- Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2004 1:40 pm
William stared in disbelief as the Balroggan ambassador went on a rampage of demands and accusations, as soon as the losses came up however, he had had enough of the Diplomats ranting.
"Do not talk to me about losses! The Capital System alone lost an entire moon! And now has its system defenses in disarray as you sat with your fleets and watched on your high horse of neutrality. Then when he had them within our grasp, you locked us down and watched us sputter, a massive blow to our dignity, that we need some sort of outside intervention to save us."
"And I can assure you, Ambassador, that our troops would never, ever go on that kind of rampage, only if they were provoked would they go on that kind of Endeavour, which isn't hard to believe with the example your putting up of the Balroggan populace, if they're all like you, there is no wonder our troops would go on a extermination mission to at least tranquilize the populace."
"Thirdly, I cannot restate the import...."
William was cut off as the Balroggan gave them their ultimatum and stormed out of the conference room. Further reports revealed that he had left the station, by similar means of which the populace had been evacuated. William brewed in his newly ignited hate for Diplomacy, he much rathered the impassioned debates he lead on the Senate floor. Regaining his composure, he turned back to the rest of the delegates, after spending some time staring out of the window of the conference room with his back turned to the rest of the delegates.
"Let it be known that the Balroggans have left the peace talks on their own accord with no incentive from the partied participating. Let it also be known that they attempted to bully and threaten their way towards there means and goals. They are no longer recipients of peace, they will only get their demands from the generosity of the parties here, if we decide to do so, their issues will now inhabit the bottom most issue of importance. After all other issues have been resolved, we will then decide on theirs"
As the other delegate most certainly had there share to say, he kept the Torontonian list of grievances brief.
"As you know, the Moon of Yonder was destroyed in the battle of the Capital System by a Metallinautian vessel; we expect full repayment from them. Also, we have net losses in the Trillions from destroyed trade vessels, a full repayment is demanded from the Sskiss, and if they are not able to pay, the debt will fall on the contractors, Central Facehuggeria. Also, a repayment plan is needed for the Atlas Defense Station as well as dozens of smaller defensive platforms. Finally, we were going to demand for damages incurred on our Samnite when it was dragged through Hyperspace from Balrogga, but his absence proves the point moot."
"See? Point has been gotten across without making a scene and storming about, also, since the Balroggan's are no longer here, I am disengaging the active scans on the Facehuggerian Diplomat. If he wants to pull a fast one, then it's the Facehuggerian reputation that's being sullied, not ours."
"Do not talk to me about losses! The Capital System alone lost an entire moon! And now has its system defenses in disarray as you sat with your fleets and watched on your high horse of neutrality. Then when he had them within our grasp, you locked us down and watched us sputter, a massive blow to our dignity, that we need some sort of outside intervention to save us."
"And I can assure you, Ambassador, that our troops would never, ever go on that kind of rampage, only if they were provoked would they go on that kind of Endeavour, which isn't hard to believe with the example your putting up of the Balroggan populace, if they're all like you, there is no wonder our troops would go on a extermination mission to at least tranquilize the populace."
"Thirdly, I cannot restate the import...."
William was cut off as the Balroggan gave them their ultimatum and stormed out of the conference room. Further reports revealed that he had left the station, by similar means of which the populace had been evacuated. William brewed in his newly ignited hate for Diplomacy, he much rathered the impassioned debates he lead on the Senate floor. Regaining his composure, he turned back to the rest of the delegates, after spending some time staring out of the window of the conference room with his back turned to the rest of the delegates.
"Let it be known that the Balroggans have left the peace talks on their own accord with no incentive from the partied participating. Let it also be known that they attempted to bully and threaten their way towards there means and goals. They are no longer recipients of peace, they will only get their demands from the generosity of the parties here, if we decide to do so, their issues will now inhabit the bottom most issue of importance. After all other issues have been resolved, we will then decide on theirs"
As the other delegate most certainly had there share to say, he kept the Torontonian list of grievances brief.
"As you know, the Moon of Yonder was destroyed in the battle of the Capital System by a Metallinautian vessel; we expect full repayment from them. Also, we have net losses in the Trillions from destroyed trade vessels, a full repayment is demanded from the Sskiss, and if they are not able to pay, the debt will fall on the contractors, Central Facehuggeria. Also, a repayment plan is needed for the Atlas Defense Station as well as dozens of smaller defensive platforms. Finally, we were going to demand for damages incurred on our Samnite when it was dragged through Hyperspace from Balrogga, but his absence proves the point moot."
"See? Point has been gotten across without making a scene and storming about, also, since the Balroggan's are no longer here, I am disengaging the active scans on the Facehuggerian Diplomat. If he wants to pull a fast one, then it's the Facehuggerian reputation that's being sullied, not ours."
-
Central Facehuggeria
- Site Admin
- Posts: 4635
- Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2004 1:29 am
- Prefix: The Second Imperium of
- Name: Central Facehuggeria
"Balroggan. Allies do not commit piracy. Allies do not hijack their friend's military vessels. Allies do not get in the middle of a feud that does not concern them. You are no allies of ours. You are just another race of foul Xenos trying to masquerade as honorable friends.
I am glad that my troops had time to crucify all the citizens of your captured world. I am glad that the priests and paladins ensured that their souls were dragged, screaming, into hell. I am only disappointed that your evil psions could not suffer more, but alas, a mind-rip is a complicated process, and we did not have the time nor equipment to torture a large amount of the population.
I will have to settle for the recorded death throes of the entire planet. But do not worry, the conquest of your Kalathaun system by Armistice Alliance forces has already been made into a full-length feature film, and is being distributed by my government to all who wish to watch it. In fact, I have a copy on hand right now. I can play it, if we need some entertainment during your otherwise boring tirade.
As for your list of grievances and the demand for reparations, nay. Your own alien stupidity brought this upon you. At least the Torontonians had the decency to acknowledge what they were doing was a military action. Yet you seem to hold to this notion that you did nothing wrong. Except that you hijacked one of our military vessels, along with those of Torontonias, Arizona Nova, and Metallinauts. You did this in clear violation of the ESUS constitution, which you professed to hold dear. You are nothing but a race of hypocrites.
The Torontonians have earned my respect through Admiral Sayre’s performance in the circle. I shall pay whatever reasonable reparations they ask. You however strike at us out of nowhere, hijacking our ships. The war was close to end anyway. -I- was already growing tired of the war and was willing to talk peace with the Torontonians, thereby ending the war. But you, you prolonged the war for what I can only presume are selfish reasons of your own. Do not think it escaped my notice that your companies sold goods and services to both sides, before both sides realized your lack of honor and struck back at thee?
No. Your attempts to strong-arm and bully us, we men and women and mon-calamari who came here for peace shall not succeed. Your demands are as hollow as your promises. I for one do not fear your ‘uplifting.’ Indeed, you may choose to attack us, but you cannot win. Your fleet is simply insufficient for the task. But, even if you, through some miracle of your god, should defeat our righteous warriors, you will still not defeat our principles. We have prepared long for cowardly foes to strike at us. Even if your own delusions prove true, a virtual impossibility, I grant, we have contingency plans in place for just such an event. In terms of survival, my government is like a cockroach colony. Impossible to destroy utterly from without.
But wait? You speak of non conventional weapons? Are you insane? You would attempt to use weapons of mass destruction against a group such as ourselves, who have such vast amounts of such weapons that we could annihilate every being in the galaxy several million times over? No. You are foolish. Let it be known that any attempt to use weapons of mass destruction against Armistice Alliance forces shall be met with the immediate and irrevocable use of the Strategic Annihilator against Balroggan systems, even the ‘uplifted’ ones, which I am sure will not enjoy having their entire system destroyed in every possible way it is possible to be destroyed, along with some that seem wholly impossible. Of course, you should take solace in the fact that your population, if you persist in this doomed venture, will not feel much pain. I think. Mind you, we have never tested the device against an inhabited system before, such is its power. Even I, who eradicates alien races as frequently as you defecate upon the ESUS constitution, feel that it is too terrible a weapon for normal use. But if you were to start unleashing unconventional weapons first, I could not possibly feel any… moral compunctions against ending your dishonorable regime and race.
But I can already hear your argument, ‘how are you supposed to find our uplifted worlds?’ Well, that is simple. We will merely follow your taint. If you think us defenseless against interdimensional threats, you are quite sadly mistaken. It is a mistake your people will suffer greatly for if you persist on this rash and irrational course.” But by then, the Balroggan had already left. His loss.
“Ahh, but I see he has left. Now, let us get down to the business of negotiating! I agree to your demands, William of Torontonias. You shall be repaid, in full, by the Empire for damages incurred by our vessels and hirelings. Your Admiral Sayre shall also be returned to you. In addition, I shall speak with our Metallinauts friends, to see if they can reverse their ‘tesseraction’ of your moon. Although I hold little hope of that being possible.” The Emperor said, his voice lighting up and sounding less like the malevolent tone of a man filled with hatred. Instead, his voice sounded a bit more 'normal;' 'jovial' even. Although it seemed likely that was just a ploy, or perhaps merely a way to show that he wasn't as disgusted with William, and the Arizonians, as he was with the Balroggan.
I am glad that my troops had time to crucify all the citizens of your captured world. I am glad that the priests and paladins ensured that their souls were dragged, screaming, into hell. I am only disappointed that your evil psions could not suffer more, but alas, a mind-rip is a complicated process, and we did not have the time nor equipment to torture a large amount of the population.
I will have to settle for the recorded death throes of the entire planet. But do not worry, the conquest of your Kalathaun system by Armistice Alliance forces has already been made into a full-length feature film, and is being distributed by my government to all who wish to watch it. In fact, I have a copy on hand right now. I can play it, if we need some entertainment during your otherwise boring tirade.
As for your list of grievances and the demand for reparations, nay. Your own alien stupidity brought this upon you. At least the Torontonians had the decency to acknowledge what they were doing was a military action. Yet you seem to hold to this notion that you did nothing wrong. Except that you hijacked one of our military vessels, along with those of Torontonias, Arizona Nova, and Metallinauts. You did this in clear violation of the ESUS constitution, which you professed to hold dear. You are nothing but a race of hypocrites.
The Torontonians have earned my respect through Admiral Sayre’s performance in the circle. I shall pay whatever reasonable reparations they ask. You however strike at us out of nowhere, hijacking our ships. The war was close to end anyway. -I- was already growing tired of the war and was willing to talk peace with the Torontonians, thereby ending the war. But you, you prolonged the war for what I can only presume are selfish reasons of your own. Do not think it escaped my notice that your companies sold goods and services to both sides, before both sides realized your lack of honor and struck back at thee?
No. Your attempts to strong-arm and bully us, we men and women and mon-calamari who came here for peace shall not succeed. Your demands are as hollow as your promises. I for one do not fear your ‘uplifting.’ Indeed, you may choose to attack us, but you cannot win. Your fleet is simply insufficient for the task. But, even if you, through some miracle of your god, should defeat our righteous warriors, you will still not defeat our principles. We have prepared long for cowardly foes to strike at us. Even if your own delusions prove true, a virtual impossibility, I grant, we have contingency plans in place for just such an event. In terms of survival, my government is like a cockroach colony. Impossible to destroy utterly from without.
But wait? You speak of non conventional weapons? Are you insane? You would attempt to use weapons of mass destruction against a group such as ourselves, who have such vast amounts of such weapons that we could annihilate every being in the galaxy several million times over? No. You are foolish. Let it be known that any attempt to use weapons of mass destruction against Armistice Alliance forces shall be met with the immediate and irrevocable use of the Strategic Annihilator against Balroggan systems, even the ‘uplifted’ ones, which I am sure will not enjoy having their entire system destroyed in every possible way it is possible to be destroyed, along with some that seem wholly impossible. Of course, you should take solace in the fact that your population, if you persist in this doomed venture, will not feel much pain. I think. Mind you, we have never tested the device against an inhabited system before, such is its power. Even I, who eradicates alien races as frequently as you defecate upon the ESUS constitution, feel that it is too terrible a weapon for normal use. But if you were to start unleashing unconventional weapons first, I could not possibly feel any… moral compunctions against ending your dishonorable regime and race.
But I can already hear your argument, ‘how are you supposed to find our uplifted worlds?’ Well, that is simple. We will merely follow your taint. If you think us defenseless against interdimensional threats, you are quite sadly mistaken. It is a mistake your people will suffer greatly for if you persist on this rash and irrational course.” But by then, the Balroggan had already left. His loss.
“Ahh, but I see he has left. Now, let us get down to the business of negotiating! I agree to your demands, William of Torontonias. You shall be repaid, in full, by the Empire for damages incurred by our vessels and hirelings. Your Admiral Sayre shall also be returned to you. In addition, I shall speak with our Metallinauts friends, to see if they can reverse their ‘tesseraction’ of your moon. Although I hold little hope of that being possible.” The Emperor said, his voice lighting up and sounding less like the malevolent tone of a man filled with hatred. Instead, his voice sounded a bit more 'normal;' 'jovial' even. Although it seemed likely that was just a ploy, or perhaps merely a way to show that he wasn't as disgusted with William, and the Arizonians, as he was with the Balroggan.
"Please tell me that you haven't heard military gossip about a fleet of invisible battleplates."
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Sskiss
- ESUS Testicle Monster
- Posts: 1799
- Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2004 9:46 pm
- Prefix: The Great Therapodian Empire of
- Name: The Sskiss
The speaking, like an endless dry season (and acompanying torment of biting flies and blood sucking ticks) went on and on. Kraal' Traak could see the effects of the seamingly endless diplomatic debates wearing on not only himself, but his entire group, whom despite all being as well trained as possable in this task, could not tolerate it for much longer. Indeed, several times the Sskiss "speaker to others" snapped at each other and often squawked, hissed and screeched when nervous or irritable. He couldn't really blame them, but he constantly, of late, strived to maintain dicipline amoung them. Territorial instincts (and tempers) had began to flair up. It was time, Kraal' Traak thought to end this.....
Koo'Kooo (a medium sized male Dromeaosaur with bright red plumage) at least, who specialized in humanoid speech and facial displays often provided additional useful information on what was being said and felt by each of the participents of the delegation. As the debate wore on, the news - for the Sskiss at least, was pleasing. The Central Facehuggrians had decided to compansate ("given of resources") on the Sskiss behalf of the damage they had caused during the conflict - The Sskiss Tyrant/watcher of all/keeper/protector of the multitudes will be pleased with this information, and Kraal'Traak showing his experience, halo recorded it.....
Fianlly, taking this all in he simply stated;
"We are multifold thankful of our crechemates (Central Facehuggrians) for the offering of the giving of resources for us to our foes/enemies". Thought/gesture never forgotten for all future/tomorrows to come. We give an offering; six of the third strength in numbers (a total of 216 Sskiss) of feral, and most vicious Sskiss for amusment of your creche.
"All else is of no concern/need to the Sskiss...."
Kraal'Traak and his group dipped their heads in "concession/acknowledgement of presence to the Facehuggrians. With that, and in unison, the entire Sskiss delegate left the diplomatic chambers.
Koo'Kooo (a medium sized male Dromeaosaur with bright red plumage) at least, who specialized in humanoid speech and facial displays often provided additional useful information on what was being said and felt by each of the participents of the delegation. As the debate wore on, the news - for the Sskiss at least, was pleasing. The Central Facehuggrians had decided to compansate ("given of resources") on the Sskiss behalf of the damage they had caused during the conflict - The Sskiss Tyrant/watcher of all/keeper/protector of the multitudes will be pleased with this information, and Kraal'Traak showing his experience, halo recorded it.....
Fianlly, taking this all in he simply stated;
"We are multifold thankful of our crechemates (Central Facehuggrians) for the offering of the giving of resources for us to our foes/enemies". Thought/gesture never forgotten for all future/tomorrows to come. We give an offering; six of the third strength in numbers (a total of 216 Sskiss) of feral, and most vicious Sskiss for amusment of your creche.
"All else is of no concern/need to the Sskiss...."
Kraal'Traak and his group dipped their heads in "concession/acknowledgement of presence to the Facehuggrians. With that, and in unison, the entire Sskiss delegate left the diplomatic chambers.
"The Sskiss are prepared to share all - All that YOU have, that is!"
"Life is like a fresh kill, eat as much as you can before it all rots"
"Our blood drenched clade shall reclaim what is rightfully ours - and so wrongly taken from us by a whim of fate"
"Life is like a fresh kill, eat as much as you can before it all rots"
"Our blood drenched clade shall reclaim what is rightfully ours - and so wrongly taken from us by a whim of fate"
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Arizona Nova
- GENTLEMEN, BEHOLD!
- Posts: 3703
- Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2004 8:11 pm
- Prefix: The Reconstituted Kingdom
- Name: Arizona Nova
Valerio put on his poker face. Not that he played poker a lot, or was any good at it if he did, but it was his mask. He hid in it during spots like this. He knew quite well that the Empire had no technology - yet - to fight this "uplifting" technology. Oh, they had WMDs - stuff that he wasn't even allowed to think about in public, for fear of psions like this Balroggan - but it would be useless if it couldn't be delivered. He listened as his demands wore on and became outrageous. He didn't know exactly what Arizonan forces for the Armistice Alliance did, as no news media of any sort was allowed for the campaign, but he was fairly sure that they would have been restrained from the "atrocities" this Balroggan was raving about. That knife-work, he was fairly sure, would have been done by the Central Facehuggerians sooner than anyone else, but of course, he had no way to know for sure, and the military complex wasn't about to let anyone else dig into their files to find out. The Torontonian delegate made his points, which Valerio nodded along to. Of all the sides in this twisted mass of intrigue, he sympathized with them the most. He then listened as the Emperor made his tyrade, and couldn't help but shudder again, though on the point of the hijacking he wondered if they could add kidnapping to the charge, as Admiral Ultan and the entire crew of the ship were also pulled with the vessel by the Balroggans. Then the Sskiss had their say, and left. He looked over at the Xanthalian delegate buried his head and nodded sympathetically. It was all a circus.
[center]Wit ye well, that when no good men remain to stand against those who choose evil, what will remain to restrain them from unleashing their dark designs?[/center]
~Anikar
{Back Burner}
~Anikar
{Back Burner}
The doorway was suddenly awash in red light as an aperture opened. Red arcs of energy could be seen flashing in the background. A silhouette formed in the opening and an elderly man stepped out of the portal. He was wearing white robes trimmed with gold. His hood concealed his face as he walked towards the table. The crimson tear in reality closed behind him as he approached the table. The old man stopped and a frail hand pulled the hood back from his face.
"Greetings to everyone present. I am Nhur-Galladu."
He spoke in a quiet voice that remarkably was easy to hear and understand despite the lack of volume.
"I must apologize for my distraught representative. He has rather mucked things up a bit so I had to attend in person to straighten this thing out. It seems he was rather distraught because he lost his entire family in your attacks. He has been replaced and repremanded."
The elderly gentleman looked around the room.
"If you forgive the things said by that unfortunate individual, I would be willing to forgive the awful things you also spoke. It was broadcast to the entire ESUS. I think things could be considered even so we can start afresh again."
Nhur-Galladu again looked around the room before gesturing at the empty chair.
"Will you allow an old man to rest his weary bones or will you turn me away?"
"Greetings to everyone present. I am Nhur-Galladu."
He spoke in a quiet voice that remarkably was easy to hear and understand despite the lack of volume.
"I must apologize for my distraught representative. He has rather mucked things up a bit so I had to attend in person to straighten this thing out. It seems he was rather distraught because he lost his entire family in your attacks. He has been replaced and repremanded."
The elderly gentleman looked around the room.
"If you forgive the things said by that unfortunate individual, I would be willing to forgive the awful things you also spoke. It was broadcast to the entire ESUS. I think things could be considered even so we can start afresh again."
Nhur-Galladu again looked around the room before gesturing at the empty chair.
"Will you allow an old man to rest his weary bones or will you turn me away?"
-
Torontonias
- ESUS Danza Slap
- Posts: 761
- Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2004 1:40 pm
William really didn't know how to feel. On the one hand, the Facehuggerians, and by association, the Centralists, had just caved to Every demand that Torontonias had to offer. Getting away Scot-free, not other concessions, just pure, unspoiled agreement. On the other hand, the Balroggan ambassador had just stormed out listing of dozens of demands, and then disappeared off the station. Then, just as soon as the irate ambassador had stormed off, this Old man wearing robes had stepped in, asking forgiveness.
Well, I suppose everyone deserves a second shot... Even though this is technically their third shot, hopefully this won't make the Facehuggerian fellow flip his lid, or Armour, or whatever the heck he is wearing...
"Nhur-Galladu, I would gladly overlook the threats and intimidation tactics used by your ambassador if we could have Balrogga back at the table. Although I cannot speak for everyone in the room, I will apologise on behalf of Torontonias for the heckling that the former representative was put through. However, there is one new development, all Torontonian grievances have been met, so long as you or no other representatives have no other issues, I would dare say that the ESUS Civil War is over!"
After raising his arms in a grad gesture, he let them fall back to him after a sudden afterthought, turning around and addressing the few representatives there, he said:
"That is, so long as no one else has any cases to make, because if you do, now would be the time to do it. That includes you, Nhur-Galladu"
Well, I suppose everyone deserves a second shot... Even though this is technically their third shot, hopefully this won't make the Facehuggerian fellow flip his lid, or Armour, or whatever the heck he is wearing...
"Nhur-Galladu, I would gladly overlook the threats and intimidation tactics used by your ambassador if we could have Balrogga back at the table. Although I cannot speak for everyone in the room, I will apologise on behalf of Torontonias for the heckling that the former representative was put through. However, there is one new development, all Torontonian grievances have been met, so long as you or no other representatives have no other issues, I would dare say that the ESUS Civil War is over!"
After raising his arms in a grad gesture, he let them fall back to him after a sudden afterthought, turning around and addressing the few representatives there, he said:
"That is, so long as no one else has any cases to make, because if you do, now would be the time to do it. That includes you, Nhur-Galladu"