A Brave New World

[Ide Jima]

Planet K-146...

 

The blasted piece of rock, orbiting a star somewhere miles from home. The planet served as the main base for Jimantai operations into the Pheonix cluster, the furthest extent of the federation's control from the homeworld. The base itself constituted several 'wings' and a central tower, which elevated high above the surface of the planet. In a large, airy room surrounded by windows at the top, the base commander sat a desk, whilst the Chaplin of the Cruiser Nie-Xiao stood facing a window.

 

"I don't like it," The Chaplin was uneasy, he put his hand on the glass looking at the dull red soil far below. He followed the movement of a dustcloud across the blasted wastes with his hand.

 

"They are the orders of the Emperor! They must be followed!" The Commander bought his fist down on the desk.

 

Looking up at the Nie-Xiao orbiting the planet, miles above, the Chaplin took a breath before replying "Have you not read the scriptures? In the frozen wastes on the edge of existence reside the seven lords of chaos. The prophet Kae-Lok Tang said so himself. This could be it, we could unearth a great evil. We have reached the stage where if we head any further, our foolish quest for knowledge would lead god to destroy us."

 

"Chaplin, with all due respect we get this kind of crap from your sort every time we enter a new cluster."

 

"It is only a matter of time before we overstep our bounds, for how much longer can the universe continue?" The Chaplin ignored the disrespect the commander had taken.

 

"You have your orders, now get out..."

 

 

---

 

38 Hours earlier, an Imperial Navy Frigate operating out of K-146 had encountered a planet that had not appeared on previous reports. This planet was capable of supporting life, a trait so rare that only two or three others existed in the entire Jimantai Federation. As the nearest ship capable of supporting protracted ground operations, the Nie-Xiao was being despatched to investigate the planet. With a crew of 13,000 as well as another 2,000 marines with the capability to serve as a docking platform for more, the cruiser was perfect for the task.

 

 

---

 

Fully supplied, the vessel began to power it's main engines, breaking free of the weak gravity field that surrounded K-146 in minutes. One day's travel away was the new planet, K-352 as it would come to be known awaited. On the bridge, the admiral of the ship was connected to New Serekan and was in direct contact with the emperor...

 

"Everything has gone to plan, sir. There was certain trouble with the Chaplain, however he has been replaced with someone more willing. He found a permanent placement on K-146 more to his liking".

 

"Very good". The emperor, a young man, wearing black suit, a white shirt with a black tie sat a table. Eitherside of him, sat several characters, to the left an overweight elderly gentleman wearing a pinstripe suit, smoking a cigar, and to the right, the general of the militaries, wearing the distinctive Stahlhelm that had become synonymous with the Ide Jiman military over the past millenia, he too wore a black uniform. The screen might have been in black and white were it not for the young woman in the colourful outfit sitting next to the emperor. She was the queen, the duchess of the Dragon Cluster, the envy of every Ide Jiman - a woman originally employed as a secretary in the Imperial palace, now wife to the emperor and one of the most powerful people in the universe.

 

"We are expecting to relieve the Frigate FFSG-568 in about 12 hours time now, special forces shall be deployed to the ground prior to larger operations being launched off of the ship".

 

"Impressive, please - make sure you check that this planet is eligible for colonisation," The fat old man to the left of the emperor piped up. The emperor's uncle, due to become baron of the region had made clear his jealousy of the Queen, she had two life supporting planets, he had none yet.

 

"It will be done sir, I will contact you again upon reaching the planet, my thanks".

 

ooc: To be continued as and when I have time

[Ide Jima]

The 'New Planet'...

 

The Nie Xiao was now orbiting the planet. The from the bridge, the admiral looked up to see the blackened surface of the planet, cratered and scarred, the glowing light of lava running across the surface in places. The other hemisphere appeared vaguely green, it certainly didn't look like it could support life - but the sensors aboard the frigate were clear. One big question remained - if it could support life, was there anyone home?

 

The Jimantai federation had made very little progress in the discovery of new life forms. The only other three planets capable of supporting life had been completely deserted upon discovery. This could be a make or break moment, but first there was to be one more meeting with New Serekan...

 

The screen flashed up again. There was the emperor, this time in a different office, a rack of swords behind him. Next to him, the queen and on the other side the general. The old man was now on a seperate screen, in an office somewhere - out on business. In his place next to the emperor was a leading bio scientist, ready to instruct upon the discovery of life.

 

"We have reached the planet, your highness" The Admiral smiled.

 

"Good job, any boots on the ground yet?" hardly able to contain himself, the general butted in.

 

"Not yet sir, we need the authorisation of the emperor".

 

"And you shall have it" The queen spoke for the first time to the admiral.

 

She was beautiful, and for a moment the admiral said nothing, staring at her, before the Emperor explained "The necessary documentation is en route to you Admiral".

 

Wondering if the emperor had noticed him looking at his wife, the admiral lost some confidence. "Thank you your highness, it shall be dealt with."

 

"Before you go, Admiral, tell us your exact plan of action." It looked like he had noticed.

 

"As you can see, sir the planet is divided in two, one hemisphere has obviously been subject to the ravages of space, with craters, and no vegetation, this may have something to do with the orbital pattern, whereby one hemisphere remains out of the light of the star."

 

"Interesting theory, except the frigate clearly stated that that is not the case." He'd definitely noticed...

 

"S-sorry sir, we plan to insert two special forces units, of 20 troops each to each hemisphere, to collect samples, verify the reports of the frigate and examine the landscape".

 

"I don't suppose I need tell you the price you will pay if you fail". The Emperor cut the communication link. On the other screen the fat old man looked at the admiral, and raised his eyebrows in a 'you really shouldn't have done that' expression before cutting his link.

 

The Admiral leaned to the comms panel, and spoke to the special forces teams on standby...

 

"The Emperor has authorised the landing of imperial military units on a neutral planet. Your LZ has been designated, as you know squad A will investigate the Dark side of the planet, Squad B the green side. After 48 hours, we will begin landing marine units on the planet, I want an update every 5 minutes!"

 

"Yessir" The voices shouted on the far end of the communication channel.

 

--------------------------------------------------------

 

The 40 troops marched through the shipping bay of the large ships. Around them, marines prepared equipment for the main landings, the troops boarded two special forces transport ships, which lifted off. There was an uneasy motion as the ships lumbered forwards across the shipping bay, still attached to the ceiling rail. The rail moved into position pointing out into space. Up ahead, the green mass could be seen, the blasters powered, and the bay seemed to race by, as the ships were catapulted into space. The troops felt the jerk as the ship left the containment field, they weren't in the cruiser anymore.

 

The Computer did all the moving, the blasters had been programmed to guide the ship to the exact location on the planet, accuarate to within ten yards. The planet's atmosphere went by smoothly - as far as atmospheric entries could be considered smooth. Soon the two craft were roaring low over the surface. The Commander glanced out of the portal, he saw three peaks reaching into the sky, with dark clouds gathered over them, they seemed to grow closer calling out to him. He went for a double take, but now the ship was going past a rock canyon wall.

 

The ships slowed down, the LZ was below them, a flat area - you could almost draw a line as to where one half of the planet ended and the other began. There was a shudder as they hit the ground. Both ships were intact, the troops put on space gear - just in case the reports were incorrect, the doors opened.

 

"LZ Secure"

 

The Troops exited their craft...