Chronicles of Sol: The Fall-Chapter 244 - Two Hundred and Three The Bresh’i Hive or Cooperative?

February 14th, 008 SDE:

Countryman leaned over the display, "So what do we have?"

"Recon flight picked up unusual energy readings here," replied Misaki as she pointed out a location. "That was an hour ago, fifteen minutes ago they did a flyby of the location."

Kaori interjected, "I think we might have found the cooperative, the images are a small fleet, one destroyer, two frigates and six industrial vessels, along with a dozen corvettes. They are heading our way."

"Status of our mining operations?"

"Packing up for the day," replied Misaki.

"Excellent, now I want our flight squadrons on high alert, continuous CAP," said Countryman before turning to Greyman.

Greyman spoke before he could, "You know they could be the Bresh'i, the Drifters mentioned they were also in this area."

"Right, the Cooperative and the Bresh'i are what count as local major powers. Any idea how either might respond to us being here?"

"Hard to say, but I'd recommend caution. I agree with putting our squadrons on alert."

Kaori also agreed, "It's a good thought, may I also suggest charging the main cannons, I want them on hot standby in case things go sideways."

"How long before they enter the local gravity well?"

"At current speed, we've got an hour."

"Plenty of time, any idea what kind of armament and defenses they have?"

Just then Vera walked onto the bridge via the lower entrance, "Misaki said you might need me, I've looked at the scans."

"Got an idea of their defenses?"

"They use Triphasic shields, same as us, only much more advanced. The matrix appears highly regenerative, I don't see standard shield radiators either, so I'm not sure how they dump energy. However, I should point out that our pulsars and photons would be less effective against a triphasic matrix."

"I'm aware," said Countryman. "Misaki, tell the flight crews to adjust their pulsars for use against triphasic shielding."

"Understood."

"Any other details?"

"We've been able to identify a number of gun ports and torpedo launchers, but not the weapons. The recon flight refrained from conducting active scans, so our data is limited."

"That's fine, we will make do. Bring all reactors to hot standby, and increase power to the AIF. Also raise the shields, they won't do anything but our friends would likely expect us to be running with shields up anyway."

"Aye, sir, switching to reactor power, bringing shields online," replied Kaori as she walked over to her console to give orders."

Countryman turned for the stairs, heading towards his command chair. "Now we wait."

The following hour was focused chaos as they prepared for the imminent contact with an unknown. Countryman couldn't help thinking about the Raiders, they were a known power this side of the Storm and quite hostile. Perhaps not that surprising, since they endorsed and practiced piracy to meet their requirements. The other factions suffered often, but the Raiders did have local military supremacy. Capital ship counts were highly important, and while he'd managed to sink two of their battleships. They still had twelve, compared to his one capital ship and she wasn't even a battleship, just a very large and heavily armored cruiser. His real advantage was his fighter wings, the other factions lacked the ability to deploy fighters and were lacking in point defense options.

His gaze focused on the alien vessel coming into view. The unknowns had not stayed in formation, or to be accurate, most of the fleet had held back at the edge of the gravity well, while this one vessel had moved in. She was larger than the others, her lines consistent with a destroyer. Countryman had already taken the chance to conduct an active scan, a favor that had been returned by the other ship.

The alien ship measured twelve hundred meters long, her lines sleek yet predatory. She featured multiple torpedo mounts, fore and aft fixed mount launchers, along with smaller torpedo turrets along her broadsides and numerous VLS launchers mounted along her ventral and dorsal. Her main guns appeared to be particle accelerator cannons designed to fire a focused proton burst, she had two spinal mounted cannons and sixteen turrets featuring dual light proton cannons. As for her torpedoes? The other ship seemed to be outfitted with photon torpedoes, of a somewhat different configuration from his own. With a similar range, but less than half the yield, shield penetrators appeared much less advanced.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

That was the conclusion he'd come to after extensive computer analysis of the scans. He didn't think their torpedoes would be much of a threat. The Enterprise had been designed to withstand much more advanced warheads, but he didn't think a battle would break out just this moment. The aliens didn't appear to intend hostile action, if they did they wouldn't have detached one ship to meet his.

By now his ship and theirs were about fifty thousand kilometers apart and maintaining positions facing each other. They had yet to make real contact but they had begun exchanging lexicon codes. It would only be a matter of time before they were actually talking.

As if to prove him right on that, Misaki looked up from her post at the operations console. "Incoming hail!"

He gestured to the screen, "Put them through."

An alien figure appeared upon the screen, size was hard to tell but they were obviously insectoid. Hard purple plates covered the body like armor, protecting the softer grey-blue skin beneath. The figure looked generally female with softer eyes and facial structure. There was no discernable nose and she had short mandibles, her large eyes were a vibrant green. She had no hair to frame her face, two long antennae extended from her forehead covered in fuzzy feelers, while bony plates formed a regal crown on her head. She stood on six legs, each protected by bony purple plates, while a large abdomen extended behind her. Her torso was also quite protected with mounds on her chest hinting at apparent breasts. Countryman wasn't sure if that was aesthetic or something else.

The alien bridge looked cramped, the walls coated in something fleshy, while glints of metal showed through in some places. Alien lights casting a faint green glow over the bridge.

She smiled, or something like it, "I'm Princess Yik'ti Liara of the Bresh'i Hive. Your ship is most unfamiliar to us. I bid you welcome to the storm, not that it's much of a place to live."

"Captain Jac Countryman of the Sol Refuge Flagship EFS Enterprise. We hope we aren't trespassing on your territory or something. It's our first time this deep into the storm."

She chuckled, "Hard to make claims out here, besides we arrived here second, there are plenty of other debris fields to prospect. Now do I call you Jac or Countryman? Humanoid naming conventions can get a little confusing."

"Jac is a contraction of my given name. Countryman is my family name, you may use either."

"It's ordered the other way for us. I'm a Princess of the Yik'ti brood; Liara is my personal name. I find it nice we got this sorted before any confusion can occur. In the past, issues have occurred due to perceived slights."

"Understandable, might I suggest a general exchange of information."

"That sounds agreeable, I am prepared to give our current claimed territories, we ask that those boundaries be respected."

"Agreed, we will transmit our own, and ask the same."

Countryman tapped the transmit button, and received data on the Bresh'i claims, which he noted were mostly right up against the deep storm but not actually in it. It seemed they lived near the Deep Storm, not in it. Given the hostile weather they had seen recently, that actually made sense.

"Hmm, I see you made yourselves at home much closer to the Rim than we did. You've come a long way to get here."

"So we did, but we came out this way as we were in need of materials. There is plenty of it here for both of us, and we already have most of what we need. This gravity well doesn't really offer the rest, we were planning on prospecting a few other debris fields in the area."

"In that case, we should discuss prospecting agreements. We have one with the cooperative already, it has served well to minimize conflict. As you were here first, you have first rights to the minerals, no power is allowed to exert a permanent claim on the resource, when a mining fleet leaves, anyone is free to move in and take whatever is left."

Countryman shifted in his seat, "So if I understand correctly, you've got a first come first served sort of deal going on."

"Battle is messy, children hard to replace, we'd prefer not to fight if we have no need."

"It works for us, we'd rather not engage in battle either if we don't have to," he turned towards Kaori, "I don't think we need to stay on full alert."

"Agreed sir, standing down, shall I recall our fighters?"

Liara frowned, "Fighters!? You actually fly those in the storm?"

Countryman hit a button on the console, standing down the shields. "We aren't particularly bothered by the Isanir radiation, the way other species are."

"An advantage, the Cooperative has been working on drones recently to operate in the storm where organic pilots cannot. Useful enough that we have been doing the same. Sacrificing our children to the storm is not desirable to us either. I am curious as to why you had your shields up though, they might be triphasic like ours, but they are clearly primitive. Not suited to battle and if you are resistant to the Isanir radiation..."

"Our first encounter in the storm were the Raiders, they were emboldened by our lack of active shields to attack. To them it signaled a sign we were in trouble, possibly weakened, making us look like an easier target."

"We have had our troubles with them as well, but they aren't the only aggressive group in the storm. Just the most disagreeable at the moment. Now if you will excuse us, we have another location to prospect. This meeting has been rather agreeable so far, may we meet again."

"I was hoping we might discuss future relations."

"Perhaps another time, I have obligations to meet and have spent too much time already on diplomacy. In the meantime, we can be assured that our encounter, while brief, was fruitful."

She signed off, and her ship turned around. Countryman watched it go, then turned to Greyman, "So that was brief."

"It was, strange people too, but they didn't shoot at us."

"No. They did not. Yet I wouldn't call it the most promising meeting."

"It was a start."