Chanced Mistakes

OOC: Crappy title... I know. XD
Here's the thread, Rut... I hope there's nothing wrong/godmoddy about it.

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Outskirts of Sarusilem, Avion, Angelic Wraith Empire

Several men dressed in crisp, black, uniforms sat before their individual consoles. Their surrounds was brightly lite, but was composed of dark gray walls and matching, marble tile floor. The wall in front of the men was different than the bare walls behind them; it was composed of glass, glass a lot thicker than it seems at a simple glance. The men's attention was directed towards the consoles before them, completely ignoring the scene in the room through the glass. While they typed away on a glowing green keyboard, with simple particles showing them their text on a field above the keyboard; the room across the window looked much livelier. If it wasn't for the sound proofing, the uniformed men would hear the faint sounds of trucks being activated, and the whispers of men and women as orders were given out; or simply: another supply party being sent to one of the Angelic Wraith Empire's inter-system bases, in preparation for the colonization of another planet.

The window was actually a screen, and the sound-proofing simply the sheer distance between the surface of the planet, and the underground facility which commanded Sarusilem's stargate.

One of the men spoke, and their voice seemed to be heard outside as several of the humans outside turned to face the screen. "Initiating systems..." the stargate outside lit up. "Inserting target code..." a small screen at the top of the circular gate began to flash Angelican symbols, although it was barely readable due to the distance between the ground and the screen. "Forming connection..." The stargate came alive with a flash of blue light immediately followed by swirling lights dominating the stargate's core. "Deactivating lock..." The swirls rippled, as a film seemed to withdraw back to the gate's inner edges. "Connection established. Convoy ID: S2N501, you are cleared to proceeded towards Uberman-Alpha."

Immediately, the trucks began to file into the stargate. Although it was a planet-side gate, it was still rather large ─ capable of letting tanks march through in two with sufficient leftovers for a man to walk by comfortable. It was also large enough to allow an aircraft to get through. The only real limit to as to what could be sent through this gate was the target; in this case: the target gate was only large enough to allow a single file line of medium sized trucks to just barely pass through.

Soon after the first truck went through, a weakly encrypted arrived from the same vehicle reading: Convoy misdirected. Destination unknown. Immediately, the gate's command crew halted the rest of the convoy. Messages were quickly typed up and sent, causing a detachment of armed troops to begin a march towards the gate from the underground compound, accompanied by armed vehicles and scientists. In the meantime, the controlling officers surveyed their reports from the gate.

In an unknown world, an equally shady distance away, Captain Amelia Fairbanks of the Angelic Wraith Army Logistics Corps exited her vehicle and surveyed the area around the gate she had just drove through...

The gate on Dreva, in the Imperial Republic, comes to life. While it may be out in the open, it's clearly being monitored by what looks like little cameras on poles. Wherever this is, the new arrivals have met a new civilisation.

Captain Fairbanks was soon met with a voice only message, repeating through the area. "Stay where you are. A representative will meet with you shortly." The audio is repeated in English, German, and Rutian. Well, okay, English, German, and what sounds like really bad German.

(OOC: Nothing Godmoddy at all and the title seems pretty good actually. Will let you respond to the message before my representative shows up. )

Fairbanks looked confused; she didn't understand what was being said, if anything was being said at all. She merely spoke in Angelic as she turned towards her passenger. "Where the hell are we? And did you hear that? What the hell was it." The grunt merely shrugged a respond, which caused Amelia to roll her eyes. She soon set her finger on a device in her ear and spoke once again in Angelican, "All troops, take defensive positions. We're Logistics troops, but we'll have to hold the line until the combat guys arrive if whatever's out here is aggressive." As she had spoken, Amelia had taken a glance at the gate, and took down it's size and shape on a small pad within her hand and sent it a message back to Sarusilem.

Following her orders, her passenger stepped out of the truck and reached for his handgun, keeping it's grip firmly within his hand. After a few seconds, another soldier walked in from behind Amelia, his handgun already pulled. Amelia looked at her; they were not equipped for this at all.

(OOC: Aiight. Well, I did what I thought was most natural for a minor military detachment who didn't understand what was being said to them.
Also, how big's the gate?)

(OOC: It's about the size you mentioned. Big enough for trucks to go through as well as soldiers, but not large enough for planes or large tanks. It's used as a pedestrian link to Elianam. And yes, that reaction works, which is why I allowed for it.)

The Rutians show up after a few moments, the majority of them with rifles in their hands, but they're not threatening. If anything, they're also in a defensive stance. The only thing they knew was that something not Elianan came through the gate. It's likely they never prepared for this possibility. The Rutians just watch their visitors closely for now. For the most part, they look human. Their eyes change colors though. It's a rapid flickering, but some of the colors are fairly wild. There's one that's blue, red, and yellow. Another has blue, green, and purple. What marks them as having split from the human race, however, is that one of the Rutians has wings that are folded behind her back. She's also the one that looks to be in charge.

The female motions to the others to keep distance, though she comes forward. As the vast majority of Rutians are psionic, the choice of this one was likely a good one. She's an Empath. She broadcasts a feeling of peace toward them. It's not designed to affect them in any way, but it is designed to let them know her intentions. Her rifle is slung over her shoulder and resting across her back. Her hands are also empty. There is a faint shimmer around her though. Body shield perhaps?

"Please, do not be alarmed. We're not going to attack." The woman speaks softly in Rutian, but still loud enough to be heard. She slowly moves and pulls out a handheld device that looks like it might be a computer. She taps something on it and the device repeats her message in all the languages that the Rutians know. Unfortunately, Angelic is not one of them. All Earth based languages are in there though. Yes, it will take a while, but if one language is recognised, she'll stop the playback.

Burnination doesn't know/ignores the activity, and will continue to do so unless directly contact or threatened.

((OOC: Earth is in the RP world? Who controls it? ))

Fairbanks felt the odd vibrations entering her mind. Her immediate thought was that it was being invaded, but the feelings quickly turned peaceful, showing no malice. Yet, she couldn't help but to feel offended; these beings were invading her mind. She set aside her discomfort, as the female being began to speak. Fairbank's attention was momentarily caught in the humanoid being's eyes and wings. Her attention then quickly shifted to the strange and extremely foreign languages she was speaking. As her mind absorbed the languages she failed to understand, her fingers quickly typed away on her communications pad: Contact established. Beings non-aggressive. Cancel military movements. Requesting certified, inter-species diplomats.

Immediately afterward, her finger returned to her ear as she spoke again, "Stand down." Her squad-mates immediately obeyed; they probably wanted to avoid dying.

Finally, Fairbanks turned to the strangers. Not one of the languages, as she had come to assume them, was even remotely understandable. While there was the occasional sound that seemed familiar, the sounds around it weren't and Fairbanks set the language aside. As she continued listening, she wondered how long till the requested personnel arrived. In the meantime, she listened intently for an even remotely understandable language.

((OOC: If you don't have anything to react, tell me and I'll RP the arrival of the "diplomats"))

(OOC: No one controls "Earth". It's the main MT/PMT planet, but 200 years in the future with an alternate history.)

(OOC: If you want to know who's the dominant power, however, it's Switzerland.)

(OOC: No reaction really. She's just going to let the thing play through all known languages by the Rutians. Then they're finally going to develop a Universal Translator that can react to thoughts rather than programming each language in. )

((OOC: Aiight. ))

Several minutes had passed, and Fairbanks had not recognized a single language. It seemed as if the machine would continue, except the gate behind Fairbanks started to ripple once more as two men dressed in black suits walked through. One of them was rolling a small desk along, on which sat an odd device. Connected to a small black box with a few switches on it was a small, flat projector-like device. Near the device sat several smaller circular devices, around one and half centimeters in diameter.

The men looked at the people across them, and the woman holding the interesting device spouting out foreign languages. The men knew little of the culture, so merely motioned for the winged woman to approach them as one of them activated the machine. The other took two of the plugs, and set one on his own forehead while handing one to his partner. He shot a glance at Fairbanks, and she immediately retreated to stand by her truck; her subordinates did alike.

The projector activated, and particles filled a small field above it. Soon, the field came to life with colors and images... it was the best translation an AI could come up as it transferred the thoughts of both men to images. Even though the men felt each other's thoughts directly due to the device's simple transfer of brainwaves to one another, the visible model had been added so that those not connected could have a vague idea of their thoughts. In addition, while the two could send ideas of concepts, such as words, those were difficult for the device to translate properly on the display ─ although they did commonly show action.

One of the men looked at the winged foreigner while holding one of the circular objects in his hands. He pointed to the 3-D projection; it showed a short film which neatly explained that they'd be able to communicate with another once the device was set on her forehead.

The woman presses the device and the languages stop. She frowns at the device, then again at the film. She holds up one finger, then turns to her kind behind her "Michael? Dylan?"

Two young men come out, both armed, though they sling their rifles behind their backs. Neither of them are dressed like the others here. These two are likely not military. They look at each other for a moment, facial expressions shifting from hesitation to irritation and finally agreement. One comes forward and presses a gloved hand to his chest. "Michael." He approaches the small desk and the two men. He points to the device, then to himself.

The other man comes up from behind Michael, pointing to himself, hand also gloved. "Dylan." He stays behind Michael, removing his glove and placing his arm around Michael. Michael's response is also to remove a glove and place his hand on Dylan's wrist. Dylan closes his eyes, entering what might be a state of concentration.

The woman busies herself with something on the device, though she is watching what's going on.

From the truck a few meters away, Fairbanks was sending a live video feed with her communications pad to her Sarusilem's Stargate Command. While her small, hand-held, cell-phone-like device recorded away, her own attention was fixed at the group of men.

So it was that she saw one of the diplomats, who was taller and older than his partner, introduce himself as Abel. His younger comrade identified himself as William. Soon after, William handed Michael the device and watched silently as the young Rutian set it on his forehead.

An odd burst of light within his mind later, he felt a foreign presence in a small corner of his mind. This version of the device didn't allow for the full merger of the mind, as that was unnecessary in the present scenario; it merely allowed for the conscious part of the mind, i.e. the part of it that was actively thinking, to connect through the system. It had been a safe lock system, to ensure privacy between diplomats on both sides. William soon transferred his thoughts to concepts, and the device transferred his concepts to those connected to the system. In this case, William's concepts were words, and the device simply projected a matching idea into the minds of those who were connecting. As such, the device transcended the limits of language and allowed simple inter-species communication.

"Greetings," William's 'voice' said within the heads of those connected. "I am William, and this is my colleague," his body pointed at Abel, "Abel. We are representatives of the Angelic Wraith Empire, and we, of course: come in peace." For the "Angelic Wraith Empire", Michael and Dylan most likely received images of the empire as it is seen from William's eyes: a beautiful, peaceful, distant land. The Rubian words for Angelic, Wraith, and empire were also likely seen as a means to identify to.

When the contact was established, Dylan and Michael had no response to what would be considered an odd form of communication to many. "I am Michael. This is my partner Dylan." The word partner was chosen after a run through of other thoughts. They're not just working partners and bound telepaths obviously. "We're telepaths. When we knew you were not Elianans, we were sent here. We have not invaded your privacy." Probably just a routine comment about why telepaths are here and a routine reaction to the word telepath.

Dylan, however, decides to show that he's connected through Michael, though he's apparently forgotten that little fact. "We come in peace. Wasn't that a catchphrase on some of those old data storage tapes?"

Michael: "Dylan...."

Dylan: "Oh, right. Sorry." He opens his eyes and rests his chin on Michael's shoulder. "As the nephew of the Emperor Shein Darson, we welcome you to Dreva, one of the many planets that make up the Imperial Republic of Rutianas."

"So this is indeed another space faring nation." William thought; it was difficult to say if that was just a normal thought or if it was addressed at the Rutianas.

Abel's mind quickly broke in, "We hate to say this, slightly, but our coming here was a pure accident. A military convoy meant for a colony world somehow ended up here. We never intended to trespass on your territory, or establish contact."

William entered the conversation, "But now that it's done. We wonder as to what may result of it... Our dispatch to this location was rather sudden, so we're not authorized to offer much more than the bare minimum; hellos and an offer of an exchange of embassies. Perhaps, once your ambassador arrives within the Angelic Wraith capital, we may proceed to discuss details of a treaty. Unless, of course, you're willing to wait here a while until our superiors authorize us for much broader agreements?"

Dylan can't help it. He has to laugh at the admission that it was pure accident. He shakes his head afterward as the thought is picked up. "Sorry. It's just that we know a lot about accidental discoveries."

Michael slips a little and reveals a bit about a test that went wrong, endangering an entire species. The name of the tested item doesn't pop in, but the fact that it can destroy a star does. Before much more is revealed, it's cut off completely.

Dylan whispers something in Rutian to his partner that is not translated. Mentally, through the machine, he 'speaks' again. "No matter how it happened, we're always glad to meet another nation that's advanced to the point of intergalactic travel." He glances at the stargate. "I'm sure our Emperor would like to meet with one or both of you. However, I'm not sure he'd be willing to use this method."

Abel and William shared a glance at one another when the images of the test slipped into their minds. When Dylan spoke again, William answered.

"Perhaps if you'd hand us some sort of instruments to learn your language, or vice versa?"

Dylan fumbles for his datapad briefly. He finally has to let go of Michael, which diminishes his contact through that machine. He's still connected through Michael. A few choice words make their way through though when he drops the datapad. Dylan is obviously not a diplomat. He picks it up and walks off toward the other Rutians. Fetching another datapad, he links the two together and transfers something through. Putting his own datapad away, he sets the second down on the desk. He puts his arm around Michael again, causing his connection to grow stronger again. "I've placed a visual dictionary of our language on that datapad as well as German and English. Rutian isn't the easiest language to learn as spoken Rutian is much different from written."

Michael smiles faintly. "Not to mention that just about everything is inferred. Two words can mean a whole number of things. If I were you, I'd stick with German. All citizens of the Imperial Republic know German at the very least. Some know English, some don't. Emperor Darson may know all three, but he prefers German."

Dylan nods. "True." He's silent for a moment before speaking again. "I think you need to understand something. I know you got a bit of Michael's thoughts of that missile test. First, we didn't know there was a life bearing planet. We were checking for carbon based life. The Prill are silicon based. Second, the Prill had a defense system that screwed with the missile. Third, we'd only use it in the case of a galactic threat to all life." Well, that brought on another brief thought of a planet called Reva that used that missile against it's own star, but it's a confused thought. It appears to be linked to a possible future. Not a past event.

William and Abel nodded silently. Even though they attempted to keep their thoughts under control, some did seep through. A variety of questions about languages and other objects flowed into the Rutians' heads, before they fell silent and William posed a question, "Will your Emperor choose to greet ours himself? Because learning any language would take days, at least. That alone would postpone the meeting of our leaders."

They chose not to comment on the missile-related event, even though bits and pieces of their mind's thoughts on it were blurred across the machine.

Dylan nods slightly. "I'm sure he will. If you can give us something similar on your language as well as audio on it, we can program our translators fairly quickly. The translations may not be completely accurate, but it might be faster."

William nodded and turned to Abel; Abel, who was standing closer to the desk holding the machine, turned to the machine in turn. His hand grabbed a suitcase which resided on a lower table, and pulled it out cautiously. He held it on one of his hands, palm open, as he popped it open and scanned it's inside until finding what he was looking for: a small device, identical to one Fairbanks was using to record the event. It had a few buttons below the screen which took the majority of the device's front.

Abel stretched it out with his hand towards Michael and Dylan as he thought, "This is one of our simplest computers. You merely have to turn it on," his eyes shifted from Michael and Dylan to the largest button on the device in his hands, "And it'll start up. It's already been modified to serve as an educational device, meant to teach a language. It will automatically start with the lower essentials of our language and work it's way up. The screen will provide images, while the speakers will provide audio. As I doubt it would be compatible with your current systems, it's solar powered."

Michael takes the device and nods. "As long as it teaches, our people can program it into our translator. Once they do, you'll be able to converse with everyone in the Imperial Republic. We all carry datapads and they all update with language information." Powerful little computers. He hands the device to Dylan.

Dylan takes it and lets go of Michael. Again, he's diminished, but not gone from the link. He takes the device to the others and hands it off, speaking in Rutian. The young man he handed it to is off almost immediately. Probably to take that device to people who can get it programmed in.

Michael 'speaks' again to William and Abel. "I don't know how long it will take. You'd be more than welcome to stay here if you wish. We can find space for you at the Citadel."

"We'd enjoy it," William said. "But we have to report to our superiors of the situation, and have them request that our Emperor meet with you." He eyed Fairbanks, "That's not a job for the military. I take it this is good by, then?"

Both Dylan and Michael look confused initially, then something clicks with them. Michael responds. "Not goodbye as you put it. It's 'until we meet again'. We monitor the gate regularly, even if we are not present."

Dylan looks over toward Fairbanks before 'speaking' through Michael. "Why is it not a job for the military?"

Michael rolls his eyes and actually answers Dylan. "Because not every race is ruled by the military, genius."

Dylan frowns, then looks away. "Oh."

William giggled slightly, before his active mind leaked his thoughts, "There's that. But there's also the tensions between..." His mind trailed off. "Until we meet again then; Michael, Dylan. Farewell." Both he and Abel shook the Rutians' hands. Immediately after, the system was taken apart, the connectors removed from the forehead and placed on the desk. Abel and William broke into silent conversation as they took the desk back through the stargate.

Soon afterward, Fairbanks and her party boarded their truck and back up into the stargate.

((OOC: I hope you don't mind that I ended it so brashly, but now... Shall we move onto the meeting between the Emperors? Also.... your people still have diseases, right? ))

(OOC: That's fine. It can be assumed that in two days they had programmed it into their system, though the grammar may not be completely correct, and they sent a message through the stargate. Also, yes, they do, but they don't have any major ones. They still have colds and minor irritating little things, but all major illnesses they suffered in the past are no longer there. They've had immunity for so long the viruses and bacteria causing them died out.)