The ties that bind (Cizerack, tech)

[Darth Viscera]

"....yes, he wishes to speak with your emissary. Can you arrange that?" Major Vehyin continued. The Cizerack could be difficult to understand at times, and so a translator pad lay conveniently close to him, switched to active. The female he spoke to was not without her charm, but he would not care to meet this jYassssrrrrousssa Haassssrrree woman in public, if only because of her apparent aggressive potential. One wrong move, and he might wind up as her dinner.

Apparently the Diktat does not share these same convictions, he thought, or he would not have requested this.

"jI majy be ablje to arrrrranjge ssssometjing. The emmisssssarrrjy jis often busssssjy. jI wjill asssk hjim to contjact you. Hunterrr Forrrcesss oujt."

The holograph flickered off, and Vehyin waited, yet again.

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

Ten minutes later, Sarrtarroa received a communique from one of the border patrol hubs on Rotarsis. He was about to delegate it down to somebody else to handle when he noticed whom the communique was concerning. Upon seeing this, the Emissary steepled his fingers, sitting back in his leather chair. He activated the comm, speaking to Huntress Commander Haassssrrree.

Commanderrr, contact the jImperrrjial Majorrr agajin. jInforrrm hjim that jI wjill meet wjith Djiktat Vjissscerrra. Arrrrrrange trrransssporrrt forrr both of them to Carrrssshouljisss.

Sarrtarroa switched off the comm, and began to prepare for the esteemed Imperial leader's arrival. He had some idea as to the purpose of the visit, from prior discussions with the Hyuu-mann. If he was correct, this was to prove quite lucrative.

[Darth Viscera]

"The Emmjissssssarrrjy hasss jinssstrrructed me to jinforrrm jyou that he will meet wjith the Djiktat jin thjrrrtjy sssjix hourrrsss, at hjisss convenjience," Haassssrrree reported.

Vehyin paused, taking that in.

"We are at your disposal. If you so allow, he will travel to Carshoulis in his personal shuttle. Can you arrange an escort?"

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

The Huntress Commander replied to the Major, letting him know that escorts were being sent.

Twenty minutes later, three Seeva class gunships maneuvered to the border of the Carshoulis cluster, to await the Imperial shuttle.

[Darth Viscera]

Thirty-Five hours, fifty-two minutes later...

The shuttle eased its way out of hyperspace, and Darth Viscera marveled at how smoothly the the hyperspace generator reacted to the controls. The techs at Black-2 must have done their work well, he thought.

A noise was heard, as the sensor computer alerted him to the presence of the Cizerack ships. He opened a comm channel to the ships, and spoke:

"Attention Cizerack Hunter Forces: I am slaving my ship to you. Take me to the location where the meeting will occur."

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

The gunships slaved the shuttle controls to their lead, and turned back towards Carshoulis. Because the cluster was in close proximity, hyperdrive was almost never used for transportation within the Pride. The group of ships crossed half the Pride's territory in 20 minutes, touching down on the homeworld of Carshoulis Prime.

[Darth Viscera]

The ramp deployed from the shuttle, and Viscera stepped down, eyeing the group that had arrived to meet him. One of the sub-humans in particular stood out, and Viscera reached out with the force, probed his mind gently, and confirmed his identity.

"Emissary," Viscera said, adding a small nod.

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

Sarrtarroa placed his fisted right hand against his left breast as a sign of greeting.

Welcome to Carrrssshouljisss, Djiktat Vjissscerrra. jI trrrussst jyourrr trrravelsss werrre pleasssant?

Sarrtarroa walked with Viscera, headed towards a hovercar parked at the edge of the landing pad. A group of six Cizerack infantry flanked the pair, three on each side. They guarded the car while the Emissary and the Diktat entered. Then two climbed inside, and the hovercar took off, headed towards the capitol district.

Ssso, Djiktat Vjissscerrra, jI underrrssstand jyou arrre jinterrresssted jin ourrr hjyperrrwave rrresssearrrch. jIsss thjisss trrrue?

[Darth Viscera]

Viscera nodded, keeping his voice neutral.

"We are indeed. I believe that our two peoples have a great potential, and I have witnessed firsthand now the technology borne of Cizerack ingenuity. For this reason, I wish to construct a science station. This science station would be staffed by Cizerack and Imperial government researchers alike, and produce only the most advanced experimental technology. The station would be located....at Fatasshi."

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

The Emissary's ears perked at the planet's name

Fatasssssshji? Forrrgjive me, Djiktat, but the lassst tjime jI checked, Fatasssssshji belonged to nejitherrr jyou norrr jI. Pleassse, do tell what jyou have jin mjind herrre.

[Darth Viscera]

"Then you should make arrangements to stay more up-to-date. I came here directly after supervising one of my armadas in the taking of the planet. It is a...new acquisition."

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

Sarrtarroa knew exactly what this meant

Alrrrjight then, Djiktat...but thjisss converrrsssatjion neverrr took place. Underrrssstood? The next tjime we djissscusss Fatasssssshji, jit wjill come asss a "pleasssant sssuprrrjissse" to me and the Cjizerrrack goverrrnment.

The Emissary smiled.

Howeverrr, that doesss not prrrohjibjit usss frrrom djissscussssssjing otherrr parrrtsss of ourrr plan.

[Darth Viscera]

Viscera shrugged. It did not really matter to him what secrets the Cizerack chose to keep.

"Is Fatasshi an acceptable planet for the location of the Science Station?"

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

Sarrtarroa smiled

Well, jif, jin the eventualjitjy that one of usss happensss to acqujirrre Fatasssssshji...jI thjink jit would be an excellent sssjite forrr a ssscjience ssstatjion.

[Darth Viscera]

Viscera nodded.

"When can I expect the Cizerack station personnel to arrive at Fatasshi? If you'd like to send some engineers to assist in the design of the station, that is acceptable as well."

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

Well Djiktat...jI thjink sssuch thjingsss can be djissscussssssed laterrr.

The hovercar began to approach a large building.

Forrr now, ourrr desssjign team jisss ssstjill worrrkjing out the flawsss jin ourrr hjyperrr-emjitterrr. jYou wjill sssee ourrr prrrogrrressssss sssoon todajy.

[Darth Viscera]

Viscera grinned, allowing himself a small show of emotion.

"I look forward to it."

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

The hovercar pulled to a stop beside the large building. Escorted by several soldiers, Sarrtarroa and Viscera entered the building.

Ourrr top mjiljitarrrjy and ssscjience offjicjialsss wjill hold a brrrjiefjing, and explajin to jyou the extent of ourrr prrrogrrressssss.

The group entered an elevator, which took them to the 55th floor of the Royal Pride Shipwrights building. Once they arrived at the floor, the group walked into a large conference room, which had already assembled several dozen Cizerack females inside it, with a handful of males guarding the doorways. Gesturing to a seat at the end of the table, Sarrtarroa bid Viscera to take a seat.

[Darth Viscera]

Viscera did a quick once-over of his surroundings, and sat at the table. He looked forward to seeing how the Cizerack had circumvented numerous technological gaps in their systems without Imperial assistance. He would have to make them more dependant on Imperial technology in the future.

[Seerrasseei Tsseerra]

Seer watches the Hyuu-mann and the emissary enter. As the Hyuu-mann looked around, Seer watched and remained quiet as the others did, there was plenty of time to talk when it was time to but not quite yet. Instead she wondered how her mother's crew was doing at the moment, afterall they were building a bigger product than they had built previously.

[Assaurreei Cassarreessa]

::Assaurreeei looks up from her notes as the Hyuu-mann and the Emissary walked in. She kept her eyes firmly fixed on the visitor sizing him up in her mind. Slowly she stood with an air that commanded respect and attention and gave the traditional gesture of greeting and retook her seat.::

jI am Trrrade Vjicerrrojy Cassssssarrrrrreessssssa. jIt jis a pleasssurrre to have you wjith us. jI'm surrre thjis meetjing wjill be mutually benefjical to ourrr rrressspectjive grrroupsss.

[Darth Viscera]

Darth Viscera bowed slightly to the carnivorous-looking sub-human, taking in her speech. So many worlds in the Carshoulis cluster, and yet all of their peoples spoke with the exact same off-basic type of dialect. Every word pronounced nearly identically. Odd. He would have to note that.

"Greetings, Trade Viceroy. I am the Imperial Diktat Darth Viscera, Caretaker of His Majesty the Emperor's realm."

[Assaurreei Cassarreessa]

::Assarurreei smiled inwardly. It was clear to her that this Hyuu-mann thought no more of her then she did of him. But she found it amusing to watch him. She leaned back and Gave DV a toothy smile as she clicked her claws together casually::

Let'sss be ssstrrrajiaght forrrwarrrd. We'rrre both herrre becaussse we can not complete ourrr objectjivesss on ourrr own.

[Darth Viscera]

An admission of reliance by the Cizerack. It will do.

"When can you have your Cizerack engineering team to Fatasshi to assist in the design of your half of the Trade and Research Station?"

[Jasseeri Arreearruu]

The Admiral came in through a different door shortly after the Diktat had made his way in. She had been setting the fleet with it's orders and had only just arrived.

She stopped her purposful walk to her seat, and hit her right fist to her left breast, greeting the Viscera.

Grrreetjingsss, Djiktat. On behalf of the Cjizerrrack Fleet and the Prrrjide, welcome.

She then took her seat and folded her hands on the table, waiting obediently for the proceedings to begin.

[Darth Viscera]

He bowed slightly to the Cizerack officer, taking in the sight of the three gold pips on her cap and dress uniform. A Vice Admiral, perhaps. The greyish-blue piping on her uniform seemed to identify her as a part of the Army branch, or would have had she been in the Imperial armed forces. But for the double-breasted jacket she sported, he would have figured her a soldier rather than a general officer.

"Greetings....Admiral, I presume. I apologize, you have me at a disadvantage."

[Assaurreei Cassarreessa]

::Folds her hands calmly on the table::

jYou underrrssstand of courrrssse Djiktat that anjy mjiljitarrrjy actjionsss taken on jyourrr parrrt do not concerrrn the prrrjide. This takeoverrr is an jImperrrjial actjion alone. The Prrrjide can not gjive the jimprrresssjion of jinvolvement. Howeverrr, once yjou have taken contrrrol of Fatasssssshji then we wjill sssend ourrr team at once.

[Darth Viscera]

Darth Viscera nodded.

"That is indeed the plan."

[Jasseeri Arreearruu]

The Admiral waited until both beings had finished speaking so that she could do so.

jYesss, Djiktat. jYou arrre corrrrrrect jin assssssumjing jI am an Admjirrral. jI am Huntrrressssss Admjirrral Jasssssseerrrji Arrrrrreearrrrrruu and command the Cjizerrrack Prrrjide'sss Fleet.

We both have sssomethjing jin common jin that we underrrssstand and obejy thossse lawsss that deal with offjicerrrsss and fleetsss. What the Vjicerrrojy hasss ssstated jisss trrrue, and jI will not sssend my fleet out untjil all hasss been sssettled in the Fatasssssshji sssjyssstem.

Afterrr all, we arrre to look asss though we arrre not jinterrrferrrejing.

[Darth Viscera]

The Diktat grinded his teeth together, a clear symbol of his impatience. Must he be repetitive? Yet, he kept his tone.

"I understand. Believe me, I am not unaware of required military and political maneuverings, Admiral. Had I been, I could not have defeated the wily human known as Itala. Shall we finalize our trade agreement, in anticipation of the liberation of Fatasshi?"

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

Sarrtarroa found himself smiling at what the Diktat had said. The Cizerack were not aloof to the mythical battle that had crushed the Marzullos at Frih'tan V, and the victory had propelled Diktat Viscera into somewhat of a legend in his own time. It was quite similar to the tale of Nelson and Trafalgar, from ancient hyuu-mann texts. That was precisely the reason that the Cizerack had expressed interest in such a joined venture.

He gestured the Diktat to his seat at the end of the table, as he sat at his own. Folding his fingers together in clasped hands, he began.

Pleasssantrrrjiesss asssjide, Djiktat...let usss get to the hearrrt of the matterrr.

He smiled.

The concept of fasssterrr than ljight trrravel...wjithout hjyperrrdrrrjivesss.

[Darth Viscera]

The Diktat sat at the head of the table as directed, and smiled in turn.

"Please, go on. I would like to hear your theories on the subject."

[Assaurreei Cassarreessa]

::Assaurreei reclined in her chair and listened to the proceedings. She would speak when it was necessary. Mundane stuff could be handled by another of lesser importance::

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

Sarrtarroa decided to begin, and let the others fill in where appropriate.

Sssubssspace. Sssubssspace jisss the kejy to fasssterrr-than-ljight trrravel wjithout hjyperrrdrrrjive. We ussse sssubssspace wavesss everrrjydajy...forrr everrrjythjing frrrom communjicatjion to cookjing ourrr food.

And basssjic harrrmonjicsss theorrrjy tellsss usss that all wavesss, even sssubssspace wavesss, can rrresssonate matterrr. To what extent jisss ourrr goal.

A hologram activated in the middle of the table, of a very large structure orbiting a planet.

The goal jisss, of courrrssse, to be able to generrrate wavesss powerrrful enough to prrropel a ssshjip jinto hjyperrrssspace. Thjisss jisss posssjible bjy gjivjing the wave generrratorrr a larrrge porrrtjion of powerrr, and lowerrrjing the frrrequencjy, asss well asss boossstjing the ampljitude trrremendousssljy.

The hologram began to show a very long waveform outline, emanating from the structure in orbit.

Asss we ssspeak, Teerrrrrrousssssseji jInc. jisss prrreparrrjing a sssujitable devjice forrr ourrr ussse.

jI wjill let thejirrr rrreprrresssentatjive ssspeak now.

[Seerrasseei Tsseerra]

Seer listens quietly until Keerrourri finishes speaking then looks around the room for a moment as she tries to collect her thoughts on the best way to explain it to the outsider.

jI am Seerrrrrrasssssseeji Tsssssseerrrrrra, the agent and distributer for Teerrrrrrousssssseji Inc.

Asss jyou majy know, manjy companjiesss overrr the jyearrrsss have trrrjied to achjieve a fasssterrr wajy to trrravel wjithout the ussse of a hjyperrrdrrrjive, but up untjil rrrecentljy no one wasss able to fjigurrre out how. But ourrr team of worrrkerrrsss haven't found a prrroject jyet that couldn't be done and we werrre able to make jin a few weeksss what otherrrsss had trrrjied to achjieve for jyearrrsss. We werrre able to make the prrroduct that Keerrrrrrourrrrrri had ssshown jyou a moment ago, a prrroduct that mossst could onljy drrream that somedajy would be made. By usssjing thjisss technologjy, jit wjill be possjible to trrravel wjithout the ussse of a hjyperrrdrrrjive whjich hasss alwajysss been one of ourrr goalsss. At the moment, the companjy is worrrkjing wjith the detajilsss to make sssurrre everrrjythjing jisss worrrkjing prrroperrrly but we ssshould have the prrroduct completeljy worrrked out wjithjin the next few daysss, majinly jit'sss jussst a matterrr of tesssting how jit worrrksss jin thjisss much larrrgerrr ssscale.

[Darth Viscera]

A rather brief and uninformative explanation.

"The Empire would like to receive a prototype of this device as soon as is practicable," was his only response.

[Seerrasseei Tsseerra]

Asss sssoon asss we'rrre done, the empjirrre wjill one of the fjirrrsst to know. All that jisss left jisss jussst makjing surrre the prrroduct ssstjill doesss what jit ssshould underrr thessse much larrrgerrr djimensssjionsss, afterrr all no companjy putsss out a prrroduct wjithout tessstjing jit jin everrry feasssjiable wajy.

Seer didn't know why but something about Darth Viscera's reply annoyed her. She knew her explanation had been brief but she knew that Darth Viscera would have been bored with all of the details and Keerrourri's explaination had been sufficent in giving the hyuu-mann the jist of how the product would work. Explaining her products never seemed to make a difference in the long run, instead it seemed to bore most business partners and besides the product would speak for itself when the Pride was able to give a demonstration.

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

So they didn't have a full-scale prototype in production...yet. However, they did have a scale-down test version built...courtesy of Royal Pride Shiprwrights. It was only 100 meters in diameter, and could angle its harmonics only enough to propel a 6 meter long martlet probe. However, it could show that at least the concept was working.

Sarrtarroa leaned back in his chair slightly.

jIf jyou would be jinterrresssted, Djiktat...we have a sssmall tessst model that jisss operrratjional. jI can orrrderrr a marrrtlet prrrobe launched frrrom the emjitterrr.

[Darth Viscera]

Darth Viscera smiled at the Emissary, screwing up his face to produce a feral grin. Finally, things were about to happen.

"I would very much like to see this test model in operation," he said simply, adding, "I have anticipated it greatly."

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

Smiling, Sarrtarroa tapped a comm switch on the table, and a female voice spoke.

Arrrrrro'a'larrrrrree'yorrrrrrcha'corrrrrro'? She purred in the guttural Cizerack tongue.

With bemusement, Sarrtarroa monitored Viscera's facial expression as he tried to unravel the growls and purrs of his subordinate's query. In turn, he also spoke in his native language.

A'charrrrrro'arrrrrrassssssa'korrrrrr'sssarrrrrree 'morrrrrraurrrrrrji'ta'.

There was a silence for a moment.

Do'charrrrrr'ya'.

On the holoviewer...a small structure could be seen in orbit of Carshoulis Prime. It was a large concave structure in orbit. Near it, a small structure hung suspended a few hundred meters. Sarrtarroa turned to Viscera.

We wjill now commence wjith the tessst fljight. Keep jin mjind...therrre arrre ssstjill....prrroblemsss.

The superstructure of the subspace emitter dish began to vibrate, as a pale blue shimmer erupted from the subspace propelling system. The low-frequency propulsion wave leapt forward, sweeping the small martlet probe up in its resonance. With a bang, the martlet was shot into hyperspace. For a while, the screen flashed with sensor readouts from the probe, as it traveled toward the edge of the Carshoulis cluster. However...15 seconds into flight, the sensor feed went dead, as the resonations from the subspace carrier wave shredded the probe apart in a streak of fire. Sarrtarroa's claws unsheathed in response, drumming a few times on the table's surface. Yes, there were still many problems to deal with.

[Darth Viscera]

Darth Viscera watched the hologram excitedly, and frowned as the probe shredded itself to pieces. He thought a few seconds, then saw what the problem was, and his frown changed to a grin.

"I believe that all your device needs is a certain piece of Imperial technology, Emissary. Can you arrange for a duplicate of this.....orbital structure to be installed at the Fatasshi research station once the planet is pacified?"

[Seerrasseei Tsseerra]

Seer dug her claws slightly in the table. Dammit! They didn't replace that worn part after the last test! I'm going to have to kill them for making me look stupid! Seer thought to herself while trying to control her anger. After Darth Viscera offered his help, Seer spoke in the guttural tones of the Cizerack to the emissary, explaining that she knew exactlly what the problem was and that she didn't want or need the hyuu-mann's help, her techs would fix the minor problem.

[Assaurreei Cassarreessa]

::Assaurreei listened quietly durring the test and resulting exchange. Her eyes narrowed as the test probe exploded. Problems again. Her nose twitched thoughtfully as she listened to Tsseerra angrilly explaining to the Emissarry.

Despite the less then successful test the Diktat was indeed intrigued. It was a good sign. Of course how could the hyuu-mann not be interested in helping the progress of such a technology. Her claws once again drummed against the desk in front of her thoughtfully.::

[Keerrourri Sarrtarroa]

Sarrtarroa listened to Tsseerra's explanations. It was quite possible, of course, for the martlet to have a structural flaw, but the chance of the past 20 launches having the same design flaw was remote to the extreme. It might be a problem, but Sarrtarroa knew something more serious plagued the hyperwave project. The stress tests on the remains of the prior 20 martlets had all shown microscopic stresses of the metal in almost a uniform pattern.

Sarrtarroa gestured with a hand for Tsseerra to cease explaining the error.

Whjile that mjight be a prrroblem, jit doesssn't explajin the fajilurrresss wjith the passst 20 launchesss.

No, jI beljieve the prrroblem doesss not ljie wjithin the marrrtlet desssjign orrr ssstrrructurrre.

We sssjimpljy have neverrr put thessse kjindsss of ssstrrressssssesss on anjy object beforrre. The sssubssspace wavesss mussst be rrresssonatjing on the prrrobesss.

He turned to Seerrasseei

jYou would agrrree, a sssubssspace rrresssonance would dessstrrrojy a ssshjip wjith that jintensssjitjy?

[Seerrasseei Tsseerra]

Sssjince we have jyet to tessst jit on the larrrgerrr ssshjipsss, jI can’t rrrealljy sssajy forrr sssurrre. jIt majy have to do wjith the marrrletsss orrr jit majy be the wavesss but gjiven thjisss small amount of data, jI can’t rrrealljy gjive jyou a defjinjite anssswerrr now can jI? jIn orrrderrr to know that, jI would have to tessst larrrgerrr ssshjipsss, forrr all jI know at thjiss pojint jit may jussst be a desssjign flaw in the marrrletsss, jI can’t gjive a defjite anssswerrr on sssomethjing jI haven’t tesssted alrrreadjy. But jin theorrry, jit mjight be the cassse orrr jit could be anjy otherrr of the ljimitlesssssss numberrr of completeljy unrrrelated factorrrsss at worrrk herrre.