Enter the Conflux

[Xyrael]

Tarius opened the com channels, informing the marines of their intended destination. "You will travel by shuttle to the central landing area of the craft. The atmosphere within their vessel is not especially comfortable, so make sure you're out there for no more than four hours. Your conversation will be monitored from here. We can't trust aliens, so if anything goes wrong get off that vessel."

The lieutenant looked to his men. "Alright, boys, almost standard procedure. But this time, we use words and not plasma bolts. No firing, or I swear to God your ass is going to be fried."

"Lieutenant Faust, sir. What if they open fire?" asked a Marine.

"There's 6 of them. We kill em all, got it? But we aren't there to kill. So, me and nine others, head to the shuttle."

"We're not taking a full shuttle?"

"There's six of them, in a four hundred meter long vessel. It's either really spacious, or really cramped. I also don't feel like babysitting ten more people."

Ten marine quickly boarded a small shuttle. The plasma drives sparked to life and a blue glow emanated from them. Within moments the small bay doors opened and the craft raced towards the G shaped vessel. Within a minute it had set down within the small alien vessel and the marines opened the pressurized hatch. Lieutenant Faust slowly stepped out, breathing in the fresh oxygen from his mask.

[Solnath]

Iskar arrived only a few moments behind in a most peculiar manner. He had managed to pick up a white shield-coat in his haste and it fluttered in the oxygen-nitrogen compound that had been formed to serve as the atmosphere for their guests. Also, Iskar fell from a transport conduct in the ceiling of the hangar, decreasing his velocity thanks to the tube's reversed gravity. The rest of the hangar remained at 0.6 G as always. The tube operation was one of the truly perfected systems, to help travel inside the ship in all situations.

Iskar landed with a soft thump and crouched for balance as he had been coming down fast to be on time. He was off-line, but closely observed by the rest of the crew so he stood up and walked closer to the marines, stopping twenty meters away and raising his hand slowly in a greeting.

"I come in not-war," he said in Xilonog, his low-pitched voice slightly muffled by the breathing apparatus covering the lower half of his face.

[Xyrael]

Lieutenant Faust looked quizzically at the creature called Iskar and it's peculiar entrance. He glanced up to the tube in near wonder, then he spoke in plain Auroran, transmitted through speakers in his mask. "I don't understand a damned word you're saying." He turned to another marine, waving him forward. "Specialist Tael, inform the... thing... that not every Auroran speaks Xilonog. Then, ask him how we can help learn our language, so I don't have to hear the blasphemy any longer."

"Yes sir," commented a marine, relaying the words in a more diplomatic form to the Mozaran.

His magnetic boots were keeping him locked to the hull, but he still felt slightly nauseous. It always took several minutes to adjust to a new gravity setting. He looked back up to the tube while the marine translated his words.

[Solnath]

Iskar listened eagerly, nodded and thought for a while. The limited vocabulary made it difficult for him to form complex sentences, but as he heard the language, he absorbed more of it.

"I need to join with your know-machines that know your language and all of it. Like so I can learn your language fast." He shifted his weight, unsure of what the reaction to access their computers would be if that indeed was what he had said. The coat might actually come in handy. He hoped it would not.

[Xyrael]

Faust watched the creature speak, vaguely intrigued by it's eccentricity. If nothing else, at least he was humoured. "Private, cut the uplink to the Shield. Purge all of the memory systems except the universal translator." The good thing about shuttles was they were only needed for one routine, flying. And that was something Aurorans did not trust robots to do, so wiping the shuttles memory would cause no long term downsides, especially when the useful information would be reloaded when the uplink to the ship was re-established.

He turned to the creature, motioning for it to enter the shuttle after the marine. "Tael, tell it it can use the computers. See if it'd be willing to give it their language as well, unless that's not possible."

Specialist Tael quickly relayed the information in Xilonog. Some Aurorans spoke Xilonog fluently, it had become useful during the resistance to learn what he enemy was planning.

[Solnath]

Iskar nodded in acknowledgement and entered the shuttle. The small space made him feel comfortable as he looked around for an input device. He couldn't find one.

"Where is the use-thing for the machine?" he asked with slight confusion in his voice.

[Xyrael]

The shuttle powered down rather suddenly, and the marine called out to the lieutenant, "Give her a minute!" After several long seconds, the craft powered up again, and a cheery marine hopped out of the cockpit. "Alright, she's rebooted."

The lieutenant looked to the specialist, then pondered. He nodded to Tael, "Tell him if he can direct connect through the secondary interface," he pointed to the interface before the navigators seat. It had several ports built into a secondary computer, and a keyboard with a simple monitor. "If he can't, tell him he's shit out of luck."

Specialist Tael relayed the information to the creature through his mask, looking back to Faust, who also checked his oxygen levels.

[Solnath]

Iskar listened closely and sat down on the chair. He breathed in deep and said over his shoulder: "I will be in pain, do not fear." He lay his hands on the keyboard and suddenly the top layer of his metallic hands seemed to peel off and disappear inside the machine.

A quick scan he discovered that the translator was all that remained in the shuttle's database and smiled. A good precaution, he thought and activated the download. The rush of information made him convulse and snap straight in the seat. After a few seconds of spasms with only his hands fixed on the keyboard the metal rearranged itself on his arms.

Iskar panted and analysed, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes. "Thank you very much," he said in Auroran after recollecting his thoughts. "Communication should be a bit easier now, don't you think?" He smiled under his mask.

[Xyrael]

Lieutenant Faust was taken aback by the scene, and when the creature spoke a chill ran down his spine. Never had he heard his language spoken so well, and yet it was so cold. He shrugged, deciding the creatures would need a small amount of time to realize which emotions went where. "Alright, let's exit the shuttle and I'll have my men purge the systems again... you must understand the situation the Auroran Imperium is in. Aurora is under siege by the Xilonog, and our factories sole purpose is to produce weapons of war which keep my people alive, our people don't have time to make mistakes. We've been enslaved for over four centuries, and we aren't so keen on relinquishing our new found freedom."

Specialist Tael tapped his helmet, establishing a link with the Shield. "No, the aliens have learned our language. Shuttles uplink will be reestablished in five minutes." The shuttle powered down once more, before restarting again.

"The Xilonog are overdue for an attack, the two ships you encountered are part of a system defense group which looks for threats," the lieutenant realised he was slightly more comfortable with a creature that spoke his language, and he tensed realizing that it was still a foreigner. "Why have you come to Aurora, and why are we not the ones you were supposed to meet?"

[Solnath]

Iskar stood up, still exhausted and listened carefully to the marines in their native language. "It is a long story, millenia long, in fact. Let me introduce myself properly first, now that it is possible," his stance became straighter and more powerful as if he received energy from speaking. He followed the Lieutenant outside, flexing his muscles as he stepped outside.

"I am Iskar, pilot of the Mozaran Conflux. Aboard this ship, one of six exploration vessels, are my beloved navigator, Ysyl of the Crescent, another pilot/navigator couple and two specialists.

"I can now see why you were so concerned about our appearance and most humbly apologize for the intrusion. We... jumped inside your system due to a slight error in my piloting," Iskar smiled as this way he protected the perfectness of his beloved from the aliens interest. "We expected these Xilonog to be here instead of you. We came here to assess their threat level and provide information for the Conflux so that our leaders might decide on the best course of action regarding them."

The red-skinned humanoid smiled through the transparent mask. "And we are most likely not a threat to you. We bear little in the way of armaments, mining lasers and explosives. For the time being, the Conflux has decided to avoid conflict with locals. As such, I am not sure whether or not we can assist you in your war presently." He looked around him.

"The atmosphere should be suitable for you, oxygen and nitrogen with a ratio of twenty-one to seventy-eight. Hydrogen dioxide, water, is also in the gas."

[Xyrael]

"Our initial scans picked up high levels of other gasses, so allow me to confirm this..." he looked to Specialist Tael, who walked inside the shuttle. After checking a few monitors, he nodded to the lieutenant.

The lieutenant, however, had remembered stories of a plague that had afflicted the Xilonog shortly after their occupation of Aurora. He decided against his better judgement, releasing the clasps of his helmet, tossing it through the low gravity environment into the shuttle. "Keep your helmets on boys, if these guys have any diseases we'll need vaccines, and we only need one sample." He turned to his comrades who nodded in return.

"So, ya'll are miners?" he inquired rhetorically, continuing before the alien could answer. "Well, that's just fine, although since there's obviously no Xilonog here we're not sure what use you have for this system." He breathed a deep breath, inhaling the manufactured oxygen of the ship. Just like home, he thought. "So, what do you mine anyways?

[Solnath]

"No fear for disease. We are not strictly biological and it grants us certain advantages."

"We mine higher-degree elements; uranium, thorium and elerium are our main priorities. We also collect simpler metals, aluminum, copper, iron, titanium and precious metals, gold, silver and platinum." He thought for a while. "We also look for primitive life-forms for genetic data to enhance our own if possible. We have deteriorated in the last few hundred years at an alarming rate."

"What use do we have for your system? Nothing I could say without contact to the Conflux. Except that considering that our mission in your galaxy will most likely take a long time, it would be good to have..." He paused to pick the proper word. "Brethren here." He gazed outside through the blue haze of the containment field, seeing space mostly covered by the curve in the hull.

"Space is a cold place, Auroran. Too cold to be alone in." Finally his voice had caught a tone, one of regret and inhuman sadness. Iskar sighed and continued to look out of the landing bay. He had a habit of losing himself when talking about space. He reckoned that after travelling so long in the void, a part of it was in him.

"You are not alone here, Auroran," he finally continued, his deep voice cool like before, but now it had a more natural tinge to it. "Many races beside the Xilonog have developed spacetravel and they will come. You may win your war against your former oppressors, but you should also prepare for the others."

Ysyl, he whispered through the ever-present circuitry as he connected to it and transmitted the data from the universal translator to the main database. He enjoyed the painlessness of uploading. Observe and acknowledge: dispatch one message probe to communications range and inform the Conflux of the situation. We have potential allies who might be able to help us in our search. And who might be of pleasant company. He added the last with a virtual smile.

As you wish, fire of my heart. Probe on stand-by.

"If you do not mind, we would like to inform the Conflux of our situation with a probe." He turned to stare at the Lieutenant with his shiny black orbs.

[Xyrael]

"As long as your mission does not prevent us from fulfilling ours, I see no reason why we cannot work together..." he said hesitantly, somehow sensing the creature may have seen worse things than he could have imagined. He looked to Specialist Tael and told him to inform the Shield and Keeper that the vessel would likely launch an object which was not a threat. Both vessels acknowledged.

"You can launch your probe when you will," Faust said, looking at the Mozaran's strange red flesh. "Space is indeed a lonely place," he noted, his eyes glancing down to his boots, "although it never bores me to see the stars or orbit Aurora. They say our world was once beautiful, but now a massive layer of smog covers it. If you orbit at the right angle, the blue light from our star does wonders in the atmosphere, and the city sparkles in a wondrous way."

He paused as well, surprised as he realized he was drifting off as the Mozaran had. He found it strange that the alien could feel the same emotions as he, very different than the Xilonog. "The 'others' that you speak of, they would be wise to be as polite as your kind," he said as a crooked grin crossed his face. "You seem like you've come a long way, what is your mission?"

[Solnath]

The small cube a dozen meters away lifted up and slowly penetrated the forcefield before accelerating towards the rim of the system. Iskar looked at it as it disappeared behind the hull.

"Our mission... We have many missions. One is to prepare the civilisations for the guidance of the Collective should they wish it. Another is to seek a way to control zerospace." He looked at the officer and continued, knowing that they had no such word, but that it came close to the meaning. "Zerospace is what we use. You might call it another dimension, which it is and is not. The technical details are complex and some are beyond even me." There was no boasting in his voice. He just happened to be one of the best 0-space manipulators in the Conflux, second only to their highest leader.

"The others... I can not say. We have not made contact with them as of an hour ago, but regardless, we have an advantage to them," he sighed. "An advantage and a curse. They lack the perspective we have gained over millennia." He looked outside again.

"A horrible perspective in many ways, but at least we do not have need for fear. We accept," he thought for a while and added in the regular cool tone: "Specialists, stand down from generator activation." They are not a threat.

"You actually do have something we have been lacking for a long time, something we haven't needed - or realised we needed - before." Iskar turned to the Lieutenant and smiled, white shining between his thin lips. "Emotions."

The line of thought ended and Iskar felt triumphous. He shared his ideas with the rest of the crew and was answered with an amazed stillness. He was right. This revolutionary revelation must reach the Conflux. The others hesitantly agreed.

[Xyrael]

Lieutenant Faust shuddered slightly, attempting to not make it noticeable. They need emotions? How long HAVE they been in space?

He paused, trying to think of some witty remark to say. He found one: "Well, not every emotion is useful, and I wouldn't trust myself to teach you emotions, my comrades say I'm moody. If you don't have em, maybe you're the lucky ones... and watch out for jealousy, she's a killer," he said distastefully, thinking of his wife. Ex-wife, rather. His men were getting lazy, only two of them were actually paying attention. The other seven seemed to be either sitting on the shuttles ramp, or gazing at the alien vessel. He rolled his eyes and looked back to Iskar.

"To be honest, honesty being a good emotion, I wouldn't go forcing the Collective down anyone's throat. Trust me, I speak for all Auroran's when I say we don't enjoy being told what to do by... someone else. And Zero-space... sounds... interesting. I'm a marine though, not a physicist, so I don't think I'd understand anything past the first 5 words your speak," he joked.

"I'm not sure there's much else I can help you with. I'll wait with you until your probe returns, in case your superiors require something. But beyond that, you'd either have to follow our craft to Aurora or come back sometime later. You'll probably get a warmer greeting next time 'cuz you sure ain't green," he said, looking over the creatures red skin with a crooked grin.