Richter
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Post by Richter on Aug 4, 2013 4:28:58 GMT -6
Back in the main chambers the soldiers would watch him too with varying amounts of interest. A couple would poke at him, or his drone, knowing full well he was forbidden to do it back and thus had total immunity. Apparently these guys did have some sense of humor, albeit quite foreign. Not all of them were equipped with translators to communicate back, he'd notice. He'd also notice that how those worked exactly was something interesting since he wasn't aboard the Darwin's bridge when Mirchial had first donned one.
About half of the Kelp group had a number of implanted, metallic sockets in what was basically their 'neck' region, several inches below their face. Roughly where the vocal cords would be, Ginju could likely wager. The translators were a mask that fit over their beak and then connected into the sockets. Supposing he wanted to ask, one of them could probably explain how it worked.
Elsewhere two of the Iltruskari were carrying in a box from the front room that they had apparently browbeat the guard by the door to get for them. The duo set it down and cracked it open, revealing...tubes, lots of them. Looked like toothpaste, but closer inspection would actually reveal it to be freezedried food; like astronauts used to eat. The human military had better shit these days, so it seems they got their hands on some milsurp stuff given out to civilians. Ginju wasn't the only one intrigued by the alien culture they were experiencing, and wanted to see what passed for human food.
They immediately regretted the decision, popping the caps and tasting the contents and seeming quite disgusted by the results. A rather amusing conversation between then followed:
(Blegh! This is what humans eat? No wonder their people are in revolt, I have eaten gubstun that is more palatable!) The first complained, making the second nod. What the hell a gubstun was, wasn't readily apparent.
(I would rather eat my roots, I suspect it would be more nutritious, too) Despite that they didn't put the stuff down and stop eating it, maybe they wondered it if was an acquired taste? It seemed they could understand English but not read it, at least not well, because the box had a big label on the front denoting it was emergency food and not standard meal.
(It seems we'll be living off the rations we brought with us from home.)
Does Ginju dare inquire into either topic?
In a side room...
Mirchial lead the Captain off to his quarters in this place, which was notably the room with the best view of the planet. Dibs were called almost immediately on that.
"I would like to speak with you about a number of things in truth." He responded, taking a seat.
"The first is that I would like your opinion on our presentation earlier. I suspect you are more canny to the thought process of your House's directors than myself, do you think the proposal acceptable?" For now he was just making conversation about earlier, wanting to work up to the elephant in the room that was the assassination of the Empress. Which was still being played on the TV one room over actually.
"Second, when my fleet and I had arrived we noted your vessel caught in the anti-piracy operations taking place in this system. I trust your crew withstood the encounter?" That was his weird way of asking 'did everyone get out alright'. As he asked it he looked her over for injury, noting the suit would totally prevent him from getting any idea. And actually, it amused him to see the humans have to take precaution for once; but he didn't mention that part.
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Post by Pitman on Aug 4, 2013 5:00:05 GMT -6
As Ginju continued to study them, he noticed how they kept poking him in an annoying manner. Being unable to poke back, Ginju almost feeling he was being laughed at by these Iltrusakeri. But never the less the call of science was too great, then these annoyances. In his youth he would endure living near bugs that he wanted to study, even if they were poisonous ones that Kathrine had to save his neck get him medical treatment. Never the less science called him and he would endure anything for it. He noticed the various physical traits and noticed the neck piece which he soon asks, "What is that used for?"
As this was happening he noticed some the aliens took out emergency rations out, and began see them test them. He wanted to know about the device first before he would say anything about the rations he got, trying not to chuckle.
With Kathrine
Kathrine soon took her seat with her helmet still on her face she soon connected a tube on a near section to increase her hair capacity before answering.
"What you offer is actually quite beneficial. You see food production is always in demand, no matter the economical situation of the Empire. With so many humans on various planets entire star systems have been converted to solely food production. As for your plastic, I can see benefits for us greatly. As you may or may not know our current power armors are in fact quite large and bulky. They are heavy, and sometimes take up too much space. I can see benefits in that, as well as some parts of armor. It all depends on the metal, due to we have multiple armors our ships are made up depending where the ship is made.", Kathrine soon answered the question.
"As for the attack, yes we were mostly fine as my ship is in fact largely automated to only to have a crew of fifty to man it. As well I was recently informed and apologized by the Captain of the ASF Rhiannnon. We arriving there wasn't apart of the plan as the ship was on a mission to hunt down the black color ships. He in fact set a trap for them to put fake civilian transports, with a distress signal to hunt them down. So happens we ran into middle of their operation.", Kathrine soon said with a smile.
"Anyways how have you been since we meet, I was also surprised to see you were chosen for such a job.", Kathrine then said to Mirchial.
With the Chairman
"Hrmm... so the operation was both a success and failure. The real shark didn't come out but its followers did. I suspected as much, I do wonder who have been funding them.", Corann soon said with his eyes rubbing his chin.
"Obviously it has to be Duchy of Immaculada, under Duke Awdr Evaris. All sources from Caliburn has been stating he has been working with Blackguard possibly. He is not their biggest supporter and interesting his dealings actually do not benefit the rest of them in other regions. Could it be possible that this Blackguard in this region has changed allegiances or is Blackguard of alliances of various remnant factions of the 4th Republican Movement?", Garlan then replied.
"Of course that man I have disliked ever since he came into power with treachery. I remembered he wanted my daughter ever since he was young so instead I made an marriage proposal to House Avenor. That defiantly stopped the Duchy in its tracks when I got one of the Great Houses on my side. I lived throughout all Radical Republican movements and their rebellions and understand why they do what they do. But they do it only destabilizes the human race. Wouldn't this be considered a 5th Republican Movement?", Corann then replied.
Garlan soon answers, "Yes and no. Since its not officially occurring the former Emperor would of declared it so. Now with the Empress dead I fear Blackguard might of lost its excuse to attack and might take drastic measures. Anyways I also came here for something else."
"Oh? What would that be?", Corann asked.
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Aug 4, 2013 6:44:06 GMT -6
It didn't take them long to get over the fun of prodding at the good doctor and return to what they were doing, so that all of them could get back to their jobs without hassle. Or lack of jobs in their case, being they had plenty of downtime to kill now.
The Kelp that Ginju had addressed turned to him promptly to give an answer. "What you see here is a translator unit. Our species' vocal structure is incapable of rendering sounds equivalent to aerobic mammalian language naturally..." The Iltruskari would point to the cables that connected to the ports before proceeding. "We speak normally while wearing this, and the mask demodulates the sound and converts it into decipherable language for your kind. Without it, we would be unable to converse in the least, at least vocally."
The downside to this was it made them all sound robotic, the doctor would no doubt be able to tell. The Plants in the other room that were speaking normally seemed to have different tones of voice the same way every human has a unique one; but with these units it was all the same synthesized speech. It made them sound much more unfeeling and alien than they truly were.
"I suspect you would need to almost drown yourselves to converse with us in our native language...but I suppose it possible." The soldier didn't really think anyone would ever put the effort into trying. It was why they made these things to begin with. "There are military applications as well, but for the most part we merely use them to speak. Undergoing the procedure is optional for those of us below or of rank 4 in the expeditionary subcaste, and it is mandatory for those above."
Back in the main room the rest of the Kelp had filed in to see what the commotion was about, helping themselves to the freeze dried terribleness.
Meanwhile
The alien admiral swayed gently back and forth in the water as he listened to her breakdown of how the meeting looked from her side of the field. That was, to them, the rough equivalent to a human pacing around. It denoted eagerness, or perhaps anxiousness. It was good, he liked what he was hearing and gave a curt nod when Kathrine had concluded.
"Yes, I had supposed food would be quite the selling point. If nothing else the introduction of exotic and new palettes would prove interesting, even if the necessity was not factored into the equation." The irony of this was that his own men weren't enjoying anything new or exotic in return, he'd probably be face palming if he knew about it though. "I have not seen your armor personally but our ambassador to the Empire has, and from my briefing I can understand your problem. Humanoid form is ill suited to the rigors of power armored combat, I am lead to believe. Having two legs and a center of balance so high from the ground makes distribution of weight...difficult."
It was easy to tell when he was interested, because it was on those topics he ended up talking the most. Being a leader it was generally expected for him to both know his field and be able to explain it to his lessers, which is something he had a habit of doing even to people not under his command. It also didn't seem to dawn on Mirchial he was basically telling Kathrine 'your species is built inferiorly', even though he didn't intend for it to come across that way. "Lighter materials in places not typically exposed to battle would likely cut down the weight and bulk by as much as 14%. Perhaps I could outline some ideas for your Board personally if I saw a suit of it myself...supposing they agreed." Mirchial actually seemed quite pleased with how this was going; perking up quite a bit like a flower in noon sun.
When the topic shifted to the Blackguard attack he sobered up quickly though, folding his hands and listening carefully. "Impressive a ship of that size can be manned by so few, I would have expected ten times the compliment prior, if not more. Still, it is good no casualties were sustained...was that merely a routine pirate attack? They seemed oddly well equipped."
"As for myself I believe you can say I was promoted, in one sense of the word. I was entrusted this job due to our prior meeting, surprising me as much as yourself. However, I find the arrangement agreeable. I would not be an explorer if I did not wish to see alien cultures for myself, I do not want to live out my years to only have visited lifeless star systems." That was meant as a joke but it was delivered in a cold, deadpan manner that probably ruined the entire effect. Even so it showed the two of them were made of the same mold, at least when it came to why they do what they do.
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Post by Pitman on Aug 13, 2013 19:50:16 GMT -6
"Intriguing... a translator directly on the cords. Oh.. I know that would likely lead to my death so err though I would wish to try to learn the drowning doesn't sound good. As well military applications? I am going go on on a limb it has to do with some water based form of defense? Sonar? Attacking ones ear drums I take?", Dr. Ginju then stated.
But during this Dr. Ginju then noted the various kelp in the main room all gathering at one stop which it also intrigued him. As he floated towards that direction what he thought they were eating normally. He was taking notes til he noticed what they were eating.
"Er... you guys? Why are you eating the emergency rations that is stored in all parts of ships and stations?", Dr. Ginju inquired.
Meanwhile
As she was listening Kathrine then manages to reply, "The Power Armor could be likely shown... though its standard and bulky. I mean its used for both war applications and regular civilian non combat kind. Any sort of innovation actually would benefit all markets in the Empire regardless. Since its one of the current problems of human power armors. As for the pirate attack... I too have my suspicions. I have.... err well lets just say procured a few documents detailing it. It is likely why the ASF Rhiannon is currently fielded here. Whatever or whoever these pirates are have completely got the attention of the Duchy of Aurlia. As you know I love exploring as well, the whole seeing new planets new regions of space and now meeting new civilizations is much better then what I did before. I am glad I prevented another senseless war between new civilizations unlike all times prior which only ended in bitter conflict."
Kathrine remembered those memories which some happy and some bitter. Regardless she put back her calm face in the process then says, "Enough about that. The more we talk of your culture the more it intrigues me. Its utterly different from what information you have compared to ours. For us, humans sometimes do not agree due to we are all individuals. It at times can lead to great prosperity or endless internal conflict. Now that the Empress is dead and a new one has come to the throne, I am not sure what will happen. You see even though the Empress may want to make peace the events that occurred, the old trust we had to the Imperial Line was shattered.
Much nobles were either imprisoned or killed in the central region. The Imperials are loyal to the Empress even radical in their endeavor. Sometimes to the point, some think their superior, others think nobles are children who needed to be managed, or others who simply give respect to both sides to keep the peace. I know it may sound odd to you, even chaotic or unfeasible to your mind. But since the beginning of our race we have been this way. Sometimes it was for the better or worse."
Even so revealing such information to another civilization could be considered treason but at the same time. Learning, respecting each other, and more importantly learning of each other's culture is for the best.
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Richter
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Post by Richter on Aug 14, 2013 1:06:48 GMT -6
"A sonic form of attack is possible yes, considering our own hearing organs are significantly more robust than that of most mammals. But primarily, I had meant that they work to filter chemical agents in air and water both." In other words these worked as souped up gas masks and language modules. Handy.
The group of Aliens turned to Ginju when he had approached them, now having all began to sample the food. The ones who didn't understand what he was saying had it translated for them by those who could, and all basically stopped and looked at each other, then him.
"This is not standard ration for human personnel?" One asked.
"That...explains much." Telwmin said, looking at the tube in his hand with dawning realization.
"...We cannot yet read the labels." Another explained. "We merely requested a sample from the servants and this is what we received."
"Not a noble gesture of them." Telwmin said, one would think he was irked, but the mask didn't allow for the emotion to bleed through. Still, anyone getting handed that stuff when expecting a real meal probably wouldn't be very happy.
Unfortunately now Ginju made himself the prime target of discussion, with all of them now directing questions to him. "So what do your kind use to sustain themselves?"
"What is this made of to be so awful? It is like sand given flavor." One chimed in, with a second adding on, "not a good flavor either."
"Can we request your staff to provided for us something deemed fit for actual consumption?" Seems they did have a sense of humor after all.
While that went on the guard they posted at the door, who apparently got double duty of fetching stuff for the rest, hauled in another crate and dropped it off before going back to his job. This one was had a big label on the front in Iltruskari, which Ginju likely didn't know, but the 4 Plants in there all lighting up when it arrived probably betrayed it.
"Perhaps a trade of our own is in order?" Telwmin proposed to the doctor.
In another room
Before saying anything else Mirchial pointed over to the corner of the room where he had hung up his own suit of armor. Or stood up I should say, being no hook could really support something of that weight.
"I have no doubt much could be done to share in our knowledge in the field of power armored research. It is a topic we have invested ourselves into heavily as you no doubt can understand...when one is built to withstand an entirely different environment than one must work in, technology is called upon to bridge the gap. Our own instances are more form fitting and significantly lighter I would suspect despite the differences in size. But being your House focuses itself more towards civilian gestures, I could as well say an offer to construct more efficient worker exosuits is also a possibility. The benefits in construction and mining would no doubt be limitless..." He paused briefly to add weight to what he said next. "To a house that explores and claims worlds, giving early access one could say. Perhaps I shall bring it to the board next we meet."
Mention of his own culture had him fall silent again, since he didn't want to be too liberal with information either. The alien had to be careful of what he did or did not let slip, enough to bring the two groups closer surely, but not anything that could effectively be used against them in battle. But, actually, he wasn't too worried about war with the Rabona Group for now. They more or less seemed like perfect partners. "Our culture likely seems complex to outsiders, if not totalitarian. Even so every member of our race works to the betterment of the whole, and we prosper as a result of the contributions everyone makes towards our collective future. While each of us in an individual, the greater goal is something we understand almost unilaterally." Vaguely, what he was talking about sounded like some kind of collectivism. Almost communistic, but all people were definitely not of equal scale here. Fascism seemed the closest, if Kathrine had studied any older houses who operated under such a system. "I will tell you as much as you would like to know about how the Hierarchy works, though, I think your friend would be displeased to miss such a conversation."
Now, everything about the new empress really caught his attention - that was the stuff he was told to watch out for. The kind of info that would let them get the leg up on the competition if any of them got uppity. Just in case.
"The first issue that I can see, is to question why the new sovereign of your nation does not release those imprisoned as a sign of easing tensions and returning power to the rightful balance...unless the new holder of the throne has an agenda as well." Mirchial mentioned, trying to make heads or tails of it all. "While in my mind I believe it would be best for humanity to line up behind a central authority, my understandings of Imperial workings leave me rather unimpressed to the point I believe the lesser houses might have the better interests of your species in mind...but that is all speculation."
His anatomy didn't allow for a shrug, their gesture for that seemed to be them spreading their arms wide. In their culture, it basically meant they invited all possibilities, aka, they were saying they didn't have an answer.
"However it turns out, I hope all turns out to be beneficial at the end, in regards to this and the pirates. We will need to be wary of them as we depart, I suppose."
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