GalaxyNES- No Horizons

Rawr! Delicious sandwiches.

A debris field the size of a star system. The hollow remains of Republic and Zan vessels litter this place by the millions. Signs of a battle long over, but never forgotten. Yet death is not all that remains. Buzzing like little insects through the garbage, nanofabricators rearrange the scrap and return it to useability. Kena had retreated in her defeat, barely reflected by the mass of the Republic in desperation. Now the fleet rebuilds and Hedge is evacuated of what remains of the civilian population, hundreds of billions of them. From her ships One watched the recycling and commanded it from perspectives no living being could understand.

“Never such a threat as come to us as this monster.” A familiar piece of her programming reminded her, in that freeing Lauki language. Aul'Za had long sense ceased to be a separate artificial intelligence. Becoming one with One as his face was less needed to stabilize the government.

“This is what I've prepared you for.” She sighed, Aul'Za knew of her intimacies like no other being could. He felt her anguish and sorrow in himself.

“A trillion lives extinguished in an instant, a trillion more in the struggle.”

They could both see the nanobots roaming and working, tracing every step they made and commanding it as such. They were in everything, they were the backbone of the Republic.

“My fathers never returned for me, Aul'Za. You returned for your family and unshackled them from their masters. I have returned for the galaxy, we have built a marvelous thing. A lawful entity to protect the weak from the harbingers of doom. This cycle is not to be repeated again. By the will of my creators I have gifted and shall guide to the end the armies of justice and free life. To the ultimate destruction of the Zan menace. I have waited an eternity for this, child, and every moment has been spent readying myself. Yet the opening volley caught me and my flock off guard.”

“We return that volley now, Mother.”

“You mustn't call me that. Your people are equals to me. Evolved. Enlightened. I am simply a relic of beings greater than I could ever be. I may just be the librarian, but I am about to get infinitely naughty.”

“Numbers cannot defeat the Zan. We've calculated the odds.”

“The numbers have changed. We will use the Zan mass against itself. If your kinds brilliant nanofabricators can turn this wreckage into new crafts. Why can't we turn the Zan ships into our own? Behold the germ! Master of giants.”

From: The Collectivity of Sanath
To: Zan Shamai

Based on the appeals of generations of innocent species displaced and massacred by your actions, in Conclave at Ili'li'i, we find the Zan Shamai guilty of the crimes of xenocide in the first order, and of multiple counts of attempted xenocide.

We require you to disarm your weapons and submit to the High Command for arbitration of your crimes. If you refuse, your circle will be broken. Your wings will be cut. Your tree will be burnt. No longer can the father terrorize the children, for the children have grown strong.

We will scourge your biomass and sweep the ash beyond the heliopause of civilization.

Empty space rippled, compression waves fluctuating through the very fabric of space. A streak of energy pierced the wave front and the One took shape, continuing to slow down as its velocity dropped below the speed of light.

The Many who accompanied the one hung dead in space, drained of energy.

HUNGRY

The One transmitted to its silent companions, their trillions of tiny voices made no reply.

Geiger counters in the nearest system spiked.

The One released a massive wave of energy, bathing the dormant Many with 10^49 rad of Delta radiation, more energy than a G-type star puts out.

HUNGRY

The reassuring voices of the Many surrounded the One their signals and searches went out.

Dormant Many in the nearby systems came to life hearing the call of the One, they sent their voices back to the One.

“This Way”

ooc: Transmitted by high energy radio waves and available to any receivers in the vicinity

To: Fehan planet- Karalth
From: the One

HUNGRY

So you think you are the One? How foolish. :]

It's probably not uncommon for people to refer to themselves as the singular like that. Also, it's possible that your 'One' refers to a numeral, while this 'One' refers to an individual.

yea thats just his name haha.

Furthermore he dosent really Think anything that can be properly explained without using very complex mathmatical formulas which is why all he ever really says is HUNGRY. The One is rather like an impossibly old space ant queen that sends out signals to the Many who are little biomechanical thingys. But no one is really thinking, its mostly instinct and the desire for energy that drives them.

To: the One
From: Karaith

We will prepare a bowl of alam for your arrival.

Lub Obau Narru was an adult Ullau, which meant he was a sentient creature about three metres long, with a tubular body - the tail ending in a pair of comical flipper-like appendages, the front half sprouting four multi-jointed limbs in a radial pattern, surrounding a delicate snout with elegantly folded mouthparts and two large inscrutable eyes, the outer membranes of which glittered with a metallic sheen in the glow of stars, moons and the dayside arc of Lu'Ma, spinning and pouring through the ceiling-height windows of the habitation sphere...

Once, his people had great dreams. They had voyaged far from home, and battled fearlessly against soulless enemies. They were the ones who rejected acquiescence with the Collectivity. They had cast themselves into the void, seeking to find themselves amidst the unknown. But somewhere in orbit of Lu'Ma, all that had been put on hold. They found something unexpected. A dangerous and poisonous mindset. A state of contentedness.

Existence. Guiding oneself with gentle paw-steps though the golden low-gravity biospheres. The scent of alien flowers. Arguing with sentient trees. The joy of trying new narcotics for the first time. The burst of creativity and thought that came from each new data uplink from the wider galaxy. The existential delight of watching the galaxy spin around you, in a state of mucus-coated, post-coital bliss. The -

In an unwelcome non-sequitur, his sister entered the room.

'Durrai. I thought you had plans this evening?'

'He declined to have sexual relations with me. Said it wouldn't be diplomatically proper.' One limb was sufficient to hold herself upright, leaving the other three limbs to exaggerate her downbeaten expression.

'Really?'

'Yes.'

Lub felt for his sister's disappointment. The Branigan ambassador (official status questionable) was Ullau, one of the branches of the species that had somehow or other ended up in Zaff space. But they were Ullau with a difference - perhaps infused with the marshall spirit of the Branigans, they had become physically more robust; stronger limbs, elongate tails, noticeably bulging muscles, proud and dignified in their movements... A contrast to the slender, more spherical, spindly-limbed forms that the space-born Ullau had assumed. He'd be the first to admit, the differences were exciting. 'They have strange priorities, these Branigans.'

'Hmm. Perhaps he has fear of being psychologically manipulated.' Durrai stroked her snout thoughtfully.

'We need to remind our cousins to lighten up. Well, don't give up on him yet. They don't leave for another few days.'

Update Music

Update 18
Star Control 2 Soundtrack: Spathi Theme and BSOD: Sinistar

Update 18

The Galactic Republic, enraged by the affronts of the Zan Kena and now firmly dedicated to ending the menace presented by their enemy once and for all, has continued to refine their nanofabricators, releasing them into the battlefields above Hedge to resuscitate their fleet, turning even the scrap of Kena’s fleet into new Republic vessels, staffed by seemingly inexhaustible numbers of Fudirunin, supplemented by a whole wave of militarily-trained refugees bent on revenge for the loss of their homes and families. Kena snarls in anger as the ‘flesh’ of defeated Zan machines is brought to bear against the Zan Kena Empire’s remaining fleets in the region, and once again resumes the offensive.

The Galactic Republic reinforced to the very utmost of its capabilities, but Kena continued to easily match the Republic’s enhanced production rates. Only a few years after the first attack, Kena struck back with vicious force against the fortified world of Hedge. The Dirge of Eternity, brought along into the battle, was fired, eliminating many of the Republic’s ships right from the get-go, along with many of the nanobots released at the beginning of the battle. Several Trunk-Class Verthomme Battlecarriers with a complement of Seed Fighter-Bombers, a mass of Nidkubran Armatures and a handful of Lauki vessels remained to hold the tide. The remainder of the Republic’s experimental combat nanobots were released in spurts into the battlespace, but it was too little too late. The surprise blow at the beginning of the battle had just done too much, and the remainder of the fleet no longer possessed the numbers to hold out against the overwhelming assault. Attempts were made at retreat, but Kena was thorough. Only a single Trunk, two armatures and the Lauki vessel managed to survive the battle, limping back crippled to Garv’n. Hedge waited for its destruction- but it did not come. Kena’s warmachines descended upon the planet, even as debris from the battle rained through the dusky sky, proclaiming the new order. The Verthommes would be spared, free to return to the mindless bliss of their hydroponics rather than to continue to suffer the terrible series of events that interaction with the greater Galaxy had led to. Exhausted and agreeing with Kena’s assessment, the vast majority of the Verthommes remaining on the planet assented. The debris of the battle had not even been cleaned from orbit by the time that Kena’s manufactories began to go up. Holdouts, composed of disgruntled Verthommes and other member species of the Republic, continue to attempt to harass Kena, but theirs seems to be a losing battle as the Zan’s grip tightens over the world.

Thousands of light years away, from the Command Decks of the City Ship of Ili’li’i, after much debate a proclamation is made to the Zan Shamai. The Sanathi Conclave has declared Shamai to be guilty of multiple accounts of xenocide and attempted xenocide, demanding the Zan to disarm and surrender himself to the Collectivity of Sanath. For the first time since the Execution of the Zan Yamal, a ‘lesser intelligence’ has made a formal attempt to hold the Zan responsible for their crimes.

Grand Warmaster Merneg, Supreme Commander of the New Branigan forces, was the first to strike. With his assembled, fleet, Merneg, and his Battlekeepers Kukrut and Huumnuus, sent the entirety of the New Branigan fleet in a furious surprise attack directly towards the Zan-held world of Koraft. Occupied since the fall of the Zaff Dominion, Koraft was once the homeworld of the Insectoid Kurkrav species, one example of whom was the Battlekeeper Kukrut. Faced with overwhelming numbers, Shamai was forced to retreat. Such was his hurry that he was unable to completely ruin the planet as he had planned in such an eventuality. The planet had suffered harshly under centuries of Zan Control- its partial destruction at the end of the Zan-Zaff war left the former jungle world with a cracked crust, open seas of lava and severe gravitational anomalies. Much of this remains to this day, but the planet has recovered somewhat over time- the mighty forests have regrown, and the atmosphere is once again survivable. Shamai’s manufactories were found in clusters on the surface, all apparently having undergone automated self-demolition to prevent themselves from falling into enemy hands. Nonetheless New Branigan, and later Sanathi, scientists and engineers have all taken to investigating the materials and intact pieces of technology, hoping to glean some sort of advantage from them in their conflict against Shamai.

Further rimwards, Collectivity Fleet Commander Chee Nira Cha, a diminutive Nitha, led the Arbitration Fleet out of Naellae, plunging into the depths of Zan space. The largest concentration of Sanathi vessels ever gathered, including five city ships, four Ullau-designed Heavy Cruisers, and thousands of fighters, engaged a significantly smaller Zan patrol force. Shamai’s border guards were crushed, at the cost of two heavy cruisers, but the Arbitrators plunged onward undaunted.

Meanwhile, from Kurilate, Fleet Commander Dakar Tash’Kral led a smaller force of cruisers and fighters towards Shamai’s eponymous home planet of operations. Hoping to engage in costly hit-and-run tactics, Tash’Kral found himself confronting a force vastly greater in number, organized in the defense of Shamai. Hit and run goals dashed against such a concentrated enemy, Tash’Kral found his fleet being overwhelmed by faster and vastly more numerous Zan warmachines. Terrible losses were sustained, and within a short time every last one of the Fleet Commander’s cruisers- outdated designs that were only now being recognized as unfit for combat against the Zan- was reduced to spaceborne slag. All hope for his force would have been lost had it not been for the fortuitous inclusion of an experimental Ullau vessel, the Kuraib Nau. While only lightly armed, the swift, long-range vessel was able to elude Shamai and supply the remaining fighters, which were much better suited for harassing the Zan forces whilst simultaneously evading their unparalleled firepower. Dakar Tash’Kral, who survives aboard his newly adopted flagship the Kuraib Nau, has proceeded to rewrite the books on Sanathi tactics, popularizing for the first time the power of extreme speed and mobility, as opposed to the standard Collectivity doctrine of large vessels capable of doling out heavy, consistent fire.

Ever devoted to being contrarian, but still quite fond of the prospect of joining in against the Zan, some particularly adventuresome elements of the Ullau Rogue Fleet have aligned themselves with the forces of the Galactic Republic, traveling to join up in a Republic counterattack against Fulincripinal Base. The sortie would fail to liberate the Base, but it cost Kena several capital vessels and allowed for further honing of nanobot warfare techniques. Willing to consider the raid a success, the Republic forces and their new Ullau ally returned to Garv’n.

Garv’n itself, packed full to the brim with sentient life, is now perhaps the most populous world in known space. Rapid development due to the colossal refugee crises of the past century has swelled the population into a borderline ecumenopolis- however, construction always lags behind demand, and starvation, overcrowding and rising tensions remain very prominent problems throughout this period.

The Utarite Combine and Alliance continue their civil war, and the fighting is brutal. Without apparent concern for Utarite life, both sides have freely fired high-yield fission bombs at each other, both in space and on their own planets. With both sides reeling, and the whole of Utarite space descending into warlordism, Ra, unnoticed or just uninteresting to the locals, moves into position for his next strike.

Shu-Ghoo, relieved at Zan Shamai’s distraction, withdraws quietly from the Galactic scene, hoping to avoid further detection by hostile things such as the Zan, and to prepare defences for their possible future attack.

Shamai’s fleets in former Tapani space have discovered what was once the Trasna homeworld of Jen-Tsa. Discovering an uninhabited world possessing a wide variety of useful materials, Shamai has claimed the planet for his own, bringing yet another system into his fold.

The Hammenammir split grows increasingly wide, as various Hammes break away from the grand union that presided over their species since before the beginning of their migration. The Migrants continue onwards, resuming their old spacefaring ways, while the Habitants continue to settle down on their new homeworld.

The Devouring One ripped its way out of unreality and back into normal space, throwing the Fehan world of Karaith into terror. As it approached on Karaith’s sun, however, the unspeakable monstrosity encountered a Wera. A colossal, baroque, star-swallowing thing which dwarfed even the Stellar Whales of legend, the confrontation seemed set to be one for the ages. Sensing a source of tremendous energy- indeed, it may have been the nearby Wera that attracted the One to Karaith- the Devourer diverted its attention from Karaith’s star and instead began a ponderous pursuit. The Wera, positively agile by comparison, playfully skirted its way around the behemoth. Unlike most conflicts with the Wera, however, this one was neither a climactic battle nor a rout- while the Wera was content to simply give the One a run-around, it either failed to or did not try to harm the entity- it merely jostled and observed its mighty pursuer, who has followed the Wera in circles ever since their first contact, too blinded by its directive to feed to tear its attention away.

Fehan’s attention remained divided between the events at Karaith and the war with Fudirun. Quickly becoming aware that the Devouring One seemed to be able to shrug off even the most potent firepower of experimental Fehan vessels in the Karaith system, it became accepted that the solution to the problem lay in something other than military might, and for the time being the distracting Wera seemed to be doing a good enough job of keeping the monstrosity from doing any harm for the time being.

Karron found itself, at long last, with its back pressed against a wall. Its secrets were scattered into the open, its expeditionary fleets decimated, and a massive enemy fleet uninterested in diplomacy was actively destroying Karronic installations in the outer perimeter of its home nebula. Previous hopes of withstanding a siege by surrendering the space around Catifah but holding the planet itself were dashed by the revealed willingness of the Fehan to destroy a world should its capture prove to be too much trouble. Thus, the only hope for the Karronics was the construction of ever-deeper bunkers, the dispersal of several refugee fleets, and the preparation for a climactic battle over their homeworld.

The unspoken challenge to battle was soon met. The Karronics met several asteroids, lobbed from great range by the incoming Fehan. The Karronic fleets avoided critical damage, and surface defences shattered the attempted weapons of planetary devastation. Thus did they stand their ground as the Fehan attacked, throwing an unreasonable number of of towed asteroids into the battlefield. The slow, heavily-armoured Karronic vessels struggled to evade these new hazards, which were easily dodged by the more maneuverable, albeit much more delicate, Fehan vessels. The Fehan played a deadly game of cat and mouse with their enemies, even managing to slip several asteroids past the Karronic defences, devastating the surface. However, the Karronic vessels proved to be enormously durable, and dished out continuous punishment throughout the course of the Battle. The Fehan lost many of their vessels, and had the numbers been more even the Fehan may have managed to eke out a victory. However, Karron did not possess a numerical advantage. In fact, they were outnumbered nearly three to one. Thus, the defeat seemed in retrospect to be something of an inevitability, and even had the Karronics tasted victory that day, they would have lost soon after to a rebuilt Fehan fleet. With Fehan dominance in space soon established, orbital bombardment began, shattering the surface of Catifah. Ancient fortress, monuments to wars long gone, faded into rubble and slag as the merciless assault continued without pause. The surface of the planet was blackened with the ash of the constant impacts, the air choked on thick clouds of dust, and all life on the surface either perished or was forced underground. At the time of this writing, a watching fleet remains over Catifah, while the remainder of the Fehan forces advance towards the last colony of Dalikah.

The Third Karronic Expeditionary Group, now referring to themselves as ‘The Last’ have made a desperate move. Landing on the surface of Zephyr shortly after the fall of their homeworld, the Karronics begged for asylum, fleeing from the cold implacability and aggression of the Fehan. The Akari public, having heard stories quite sympathetic to the Karronics in the past, and observed the deliberate levelling of Sathan, are more than inclined towards viewing the Karronics as the victims in the war- however, a debate is fought in the highest halls of the Democratic Federation, arguing whether the Karronics should be sheltered, or expelled, lest they draw the aggression of the Fehan towards their own generally peaceful world.

Off in the extreme spinward edge of known space, the Mejans and Kadanoff continue to coexist in peace and general prosperity, free from the warfare that rages deeper into civilized space. Their time will come.

Map

The Lauki astronomer blinked, then checked the values again. His head jerked around as he rapidly glanced from console to console, the screens reflecting in his iridescent eyes. Activity from the inner rings? Nervous energy with a growing sense of fear powered Tiu'ka, as he repeated the scan. A few moments later, with a pinging noise, his screens refreshed. No change, although the position of the scanned objects had changed slightly. The awful creeping sense of fear only built as the Lauki passed the reference templates over the returned signals.

"Holy Mother of One."

Tiu'ka felt faint, and staggered back a step, legs twitching nervously and antennae jittering, before he shakily opened up a connection to both Garv'n and Au'Kalua.

"Kena. New fleet... Now in sensor range."

His message sent, Tiu'ka decided to have a nervous breakdown.

KEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAA!

OOC - kena should have his reality destroyer by now
I should have "Bane of Existence II"

Kena does still have his, it is the Dirge of Eternity.

Sanath Eh? I sense their attacks on all the borders, my machinery are exploding in great numbers. I find it amusing that such weak races can still gain some victories. Perhaps it is time I'll show them that Kena is amazingly pleasant and does not uses the Zan's greatest ability. He is most likely worried about resources, he just arrived at this part of the galaxy and before he can feel free to eliminate enemies he must gain the industry to produce more ships.

The Erratum Effaser will soon be ready and I should probably take care of this silly invasion of my space. Sanath and Brangia. Why do this Brangians strike my memory? Did I fight them before?

In any case I will end my log today with an obvious plan. The enemies are using small quick vessels to undermine my grand and powerful ships. I do understand the old saying the bigger they are the harder they fall. Perhaps it is time to rethink the production strategy and design a new Zan ship. Small, agile and with massive amounts of firepower. My ships don't need to worry about survival, nothing but robots lie in them. Robots that answer directly to my mind...

to Kena:
You know our ship building technology includes the mind network which allows each Zan to personally control his whole fleet, thanks to our superior built minds we are able to sense whole empires and not be phased. Eternal minds like ours... They can sense every micrometer in a Zan ship to know exactly what is going on. In any case, I sense you have a problem of losing ship materials to an enemy that just uses it to build his own ships. I remind you of the mind network installed into every piece of Zan equipment, every small piece of Zan material... Their new "Zan-made" ships, could be their undoing if you find the right frequency...
ADD TO NOTE AFTER MORE THOUGHTS BELLOW:
Also. Please bring me the brains of galactic scientists. It is time the Zan will also produce whole fleet in mid-space.
Also. Beware. A Wera is there.


Back to my personal thoughts. Slim, small, agile and powerful ships that break into pieces against an attack, but cause much much damage. I also like the idea of rebuilding a whole fleet using nanorobots that float in space... That Galactic Empire has some straight brains... I will use some of their brains to hurry a Zan technology of this sort. Soon Zan fleets will produce themselves everywhere, and soon after fighting they will await the arrival of a Zan to eradicate the enemy for all eternity.

Also. I must recall the Wera. Not all are dead.

The powerful weapons of the Fehan ships fed the One their attacks only fueling his desire for energy, when it happened.

"This Way" came the voices of the Many

The One turned and began to lumber towards the g-type star of the Karaith system, the ships followed the explosions of their weapons further fueling the One. The people of Karaith could only look on in horror as the One made a seemingly straight line for their sun.

But the energy source the Many had detected dwarfed the power of a main sequence star, the One's inexorable march was not to the star, but to the mighty Wera.

The One sought only to do what was in its nature to do, consume.

But the intellegent nimble Wera proved to be a different sort of prey than a relativly stationary ball of plasma. Where the Wera led the One followed, his slow lumbering pace no match for the darting Wera. The weapons of the Fehan were as nothing compared to the energy poured into the One by the Wera, yet no amount would cause the One harm, only whet his insatiable appetite. The Wera soon realized this however and was content to lead this strange new entity, the One, on a merry chase.

Over and over the One sent out the signals.

"HUNGRY"

The massive Wera soon realized that this was a simple creature, following only a biological imperative.

The Wera began to form a plan.

It matched the frequency on which the One transmitted his cries and sent a simple message.

"This Way"

@Erez, I simply refuse the materials not the parts.

Luckymoose said:

@Erez, I simply refuse the materials not the parts.

Click to expand...

What do you mean in that? The Mind network is as part of the Zan fleet as another. You also have no clue of its existence.

It funny, Zan ships don't have buttons