In Their Imperial and Royal Majesties Name

[Simpli]

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The Beginning – Turn 1

OOC Thread

8th​ Octorber, 2018
Earth

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How would you have imagined the first day of a new age?
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Just as with about every great historical change, people would later look back at the first day of October and ask each other: What did you do on that day when they came? What did your parents do when Earth got confirmation that humanity wasn't alone out there? Of course, there are those who will tell you about how they watched the first confirmation on television: about an artificial object, something with an engine, an artificial hull and which was answering transmission towards it, having appeared in the data our furthest satellites were sending us. Contrary to what we might have expected after decades of Hollywood movies, the knowledge of alien live coming to visit us, wasn't leading to an end of the world, maybe there were some cults, some strange gatherings and a certain number of people were moving out of LA for the next few weeks, but for the most part live continued as it always had. True, the news was full of the steady advance of the alien spaceship towards us, the television shows were filled with various "experts", the militaries of the world were going through plans and contingencies that no one had ever expected to use – or were gathering their world ending floppy discs just to be save.

But in the end people weren't afraid, not even after witnessing a small stray asteroid hitting the alien ship – and bouncing off some sort of field around it, heading into another direction after breaking apart. Instead the majority of people were optimistic, even as their time was taken up by various shows, movies and discussions which simply centred around the proof of alien life – or maybe the lack thereof? After all the alien contact was still meeting all inquiries with evasions, endless politeness or simply saying "The planetary Arbiters will decide" – simply identifying themselves as agents of the Cultural Heritage Ministry, in service to the Sub-sector Arbiter Kriqors of the Quyhm Dynasty and in final loyalty and service to the Celestial Throne.

Its hard to imagine how many people want to talk about a few sentences, which had been broadcasted in the same languages the questions arrived in, and how long they can do that – but with an impossibly quick speed the ship made good way to earth after its detection, taking barely a week till it was pushing past our moon and the timers all over the internet came to an end as it swung into Earth Orbit….and broke apart. At least the first few shocked reports described it as that, the cubic form parting with one quarter at best staying in orbit, while the rest of it started to descend down towards earth, right into the Atlantic Ocean. Only a few minutes later it became apparent that all of this was planned, the fall slowing down and a thick cable of sorts becoming visible, connecting the two halves of what wasn't as so much a spaceship, but a mobile orbital elevator.

All around the world, there were live transmissions of the jagged, smoothly black thorns or prongs that were peeking out of the ocean, unfolding into what could only be named a spire. With what had one been the sides of the "box" having unfolded, the six structures that surrounded the anchor for the orbital elevator now gave the new artificial island in the middle of the ocean a diameter of around three kilometre or more, the buildings stretching upwards for a kilometre and slightly more, level upon level of laboratories, factories, vertical farms, armouries and various other installations that might come in handy on the sole outpost and representation of the Celestial Throne on this backwater planet.​

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While the world was staring at the image of an orbital elevator literally falling from the sky, six crafts had detached from it on its fiery descend, their camouflage evading all earthborn sensors as they slipped away form the commotion, leaving the primitives to marvel at the barebones version of an Imperial Outpost. Slipping past the fleets that had gathered around the arrival site, slipping past the air patrols with their chameleon skins and moving towards their targets around the globe, the medium sized fusion powered atmospheric carriers went after their targets as quickly as anti-gravity engines could take them.

All around the world they lowered with barely a sound from their engines, door sliding open and shadowy figures pushed out, weapons shouldered and armour flickering before taking on the looks of their surroundings. Nearly invisible they pushed past security and guards, only leaving a few dazed humans in their wake as they gathered their targets: Nicholas Weir of Argent Holdings Group, Erika von Heinrich and Rudolf Lisker as (un)holy trinity of the business world, while Wyatt Marx and Anna Francesca Miller were harder to judge, with the last being a once down on his luck Elric Granger.

Before long all six of them would find themselves surrounded by human shaped soldiers in thick but surprisingly flexible armour, faceless masks and helmets the only thing they saw as they were taken out of their lives and towards the Atlantic, only a few polite words from their escorts, before they were guided out of the gravflyers, of which each had landed in a different skyscraper, before taking a magnet-train towards the anchor, the building hosting also the great meeting room.

Before long all six of them were seated at a sprawling table, some kind of black sleek material making up everything from the chairs you were sitting in, to the table with the inlaid holo-transmitters that were filling you in about news from all around the world – and even the giant windows that gave you a look outside, at the strangely pacified sea and beyond the skyscrapers of which one belonged to each of you from now one. Out there were small lights, but many of them, warships of two dozen nations, the greatest naval manoeuvre in human history – and you were the main target if anything went wrong.
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"Welcome Planetary Arbiters – your work is now beginning."
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The voice greeting you came from one a seventh entrance to the room, the others all connected to the skyscrapers from which you had come. Stepping out of the blue lit room is a slim figure, barely 1.7m in height and walking with light steps. Aside from the steps you hear a light tapping and when she – or at least the figure looked pretty female in a human way- takes a stand next to the table you can see a slim agile tail that is barely hidden by the long dress-armour combination the alien is wearing. You can see no hair and a keen observer might note that the back of her costume that seems to be a mix of a helmet and a veil with a nacre sheen to it, is holding what looks like another tail connecting right to the back of her head. Also, you can't see a human nose per se, just that the area is a bit higher – but there aren't visible ears either.

After coming to a step at the table, no seventh seat for her ready either, the alien bows courtly, one hand on her chest, lowering her head: "I am Scribe An'ai, the Sub Sector Arbites has given me the honour of representing the Cultural Heritage Ministry to your council. I hope your flight to the Spire has been pleasant and you are ready to begin negotiation with your fellow natives before we have to engage the defence measures of the anchorage."
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[Simpli]

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[Terran Imperium]

Erika was surprised and a bit confused if she were, to be honest. She was for the lack of a better word kidnapped by weird soldiers in black military suits. They 'politely' asked of her to follow them. She did so, resistance against armed men was the height of foolishness. Now, Erika needed to know who sent them and why? Oh, of course, she got more than a few shares of enemies but none of them was bold enough to do this, or if they did, they took this opportunity to get to her. Everyone was distracted by the Aliens coming to knock on Humanity's collective door. She will have to fire her security and hire a new one if they are so unprofessional. She already took the opportunity herself and started advertising products which sold wonderfully. 'A bunker to hide in, in case of an alien invasion?', 'A transmitter capable to reach the Aliens! Try to send your own message and they may answer!'. A businessman or woman never miss such opportunities.

The theory of a rival staging this kidnapping got thrown out of the window as soon as she saw the small sci-fi transport ship floating gently in the air, she took a seat when the mysterious armed men pushed her in. The faceless soldiers are not saying anything, or at least externally, they could have internal communication systems. It was more than likely. So, it was the Aliens? Erika wondered what would they want with her? Surely, a civilization capable of reaching Earth from another solar system easily would not see any material gain in her. For now, it was just a wait and see situation, she didn't really have a choice. The wait, however, seemed to have lasted an awfully short amount of time since when the small ship's doors opened, she could see a massive structure in the middle of the ocean. That was in the Atlantic and it was on the world-wide news. Wait, the travel lasted only a few minutes, yet they were already here from Germany to the Atlantic? That really showcased their capabilities. They must have travelled more than a few times the speed of sound, yet she didn't feel anything in the ride. It was strangely smooth.

Erika now found herself seated at a sprawling table with five other people, she couldn't analyze them properly before her attention was attracted to the Alien that just appeared in front of them. Her appearance was unique. She had a vague reptilian appearance. She would be interested in asking if her species lay eggs in a similar way to the reptilian species on Earth but since she didn't know what would be rude or not depending on their culture, she did not ask that. She decided to ask the most important questions. Erika settled back into her chair, crossed her fingers and plastered a perfect business smile on her face.

"So, I am to understand that an advanced civilization wasted the time and resources to get to our primitive world? What for? There is no material gain, any civilization capable of faster than light travel can provide itself resources elsewhere than a troublesome divided world like Earth. What does your civilization gain in claiming Earth? You called us a few moments ago 'Planetary Arbiters'. An Arbiter unless there is some sort of mistranslation error is a person whose views or actions have influence in a particular sphere, you added the adjective 'Planetary' which imply, we are on a world-wide level. You are going to delegate us the management of Earth and its relations to the rest of the your civilization? Interesting." Erika spoke, more than a few times it was to herself rather than to the Alien in front of her. She knew that but they were all interesting facts to lay out.

"What type of Government does your civilization have? If you don't know since our ideas may be so alien to each other you may not have such things as such I will explain. The Government is a means by which organizational policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. Each government has a kind of constitution, a statement of its governing principles and philosophy. Typically the philosophy chosen is some balance between the principle of individual freedom and the idea of absolute state authority. In the case of its broad associative definition, governments normally consist of a legislature, executive, and judiciary." Erika explained perfectly and in a matter of fact tone.

 

[Tavarokk]

Saying that Anna was tense would have been a massive understatement. Some kind of special forces commandoes raiding their homes and abducting their people into the night to be brought before the powers that be was precisely the sort of thing that got her or anyone from her community's blood boiling. And yet, in the face of absolute strength, what could they do?

Thankfully, she'd been allowed enough time to warn her family off doing anything unfortunate before her abrupt departure. During the startingly short trip the engineer-slash-warlord entertained herself with thoughts of eventually making away with these guys' fancy ships and arms one way or another and having a pointed discussion about manners. This line of thought was most thoroughly derailed though when upon meeting her and five others - a few of who had 'corporate big shot' written all over their appearances and demeanors - the alien bureaucrat had immediately implied they were being put in a public position of responsibility on behalf of the outworlders.

She really, really felt like she didn't belong.

"Alright. The first question is, yes, what the hell do you want?" she agreed, wisely keeping her hand away from her sidearm. "The second is, why us? Last, but not least, what do we get out of it?"

 

[Daviush]

When the alien ship fragmented and started forming a vast base on the Atlantic, Rudolf knew he was soon to be moved there. For this reason, he gathered his family in their summer vacation estate, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. He enjoyed a nice dinner with his family there, savoring one of the far too rare moments all of them could be together, without the constant business and politics that were so intertwined with Liskers' life.

He didn't regret it, though. This day was the proof that all he had ever done wasn't for nothing. As he watched the TV report of the situation, he couldn't help but smile, which hid wife had noticed. He excused it by reminding her that he was a sci-fi enthusiast. It wasn't a lie, but a partial truth, something Aneta has long since learned to recognise. Still, she decided not to investigate further, preferring to enjoy the occasion. Rudolf was grateful for that.

As the heavily armored, black soldiers entered his dining room, he tried to reassure his family, only now explaining that he was to become an Arbiter. There was no way he could have explained it to them earlier so that they would believe his extraordinary claim. If he had told them that he had received an email from the aliens, they would understandably tell him that he was being silly, and reasonably explain that it must have been a prank.

By the time their initial shock faded away, the Lisker family was already in one of the six spires. Forced to leave them, Rudolf promised them all to explain everything when he was free to return to them. The soldiers reassured him they would find themselves at home in his new apartment, at least.

As he entered the meeting room, he was happy that he had chosen to wear his best suit this day. Meeting a representative of an alien empire that took over Earth overnight and had granted him authority to rule in their stead demanded nothing less.

"So, I am to understand that an advanced civilization wasted the time and resources to get to our primitive world? What for? There is no material gain, any civilization capable of faster than light travel can provide itself resources elsewhere than a troublesome divided world like Earth. What does your civilization gain in claiming Earth? You called us a few moments ago 'Planetary Arbiters'. An Arbiter unless there is some sort of mistranslation error is a person whose views or actions have influence in a particular sphere, you added the adjective 'Planetary' which imply, we are on a world-wide level. You are going to delegate us the management of Earth and its relations to the rest of the your civilization? Interesting." Erika spoke, more than a few times it was to herself rather than to the Alien in front of her. She knew that but they were all interesting facts to lay out.

"What type of Government does your civilization have? If you don't know since our ideas may be so alien to each other you may not have such things as such I will explain. The Government is a means by which organizational policies are enforced, as well as a mechanism for determining policy. Each government has a kind of constitution, a statement of its governing principles and philosophy. Typically the philosophy chosen is some balance between the principle of individual freedom and the idea of absolute state authority. In the case of its broad associative definition, governments normally consist of a legislature, executive, and judiciary." Erika explained perfectly and in a matter of fact tone.

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Rudolf was shocked at the casual manner his, he assumed, fellow Arbiter just questioned the very reasoning behind the empire's arrival here. What's worse, she assumed that the representative who had clearly demonstrated her mastery over english, didn't understand what a word in it meant.

The only way it could be worse was if she had just spat in the scribe's face. He knew from experience how fragile the ego of politicians, and especially superiors, was. There was no way it wouldn't be read as a deliberate insult, especially if the empire shared with medieval Europe more than monarchy and dynasties.

"Seeing that the honorable Scribe has just spoken to us in perfect english, I think it safe to assume that she is aware of the definitions of all the relevant words," he nervously told his peer, before turning back to An'ai with apologetic smile. "Allow me to apologise, we've all been quite overwhelmed by the recent events." Rudolf bowed deeply.

"While I am certain that the honorable Scribe already knows our identities, for the sake of my friends, as well as courtesy, let me introduce myself. My name is Rudolf Lisker and I am the CEO of the Asklepios Solutions. Naturally, we will be more than willing to ensure that no defence measures will be necessary, however, if I may, can we ask you a few questions first? Perhaps most urgently, how long will you be able to grace us with your presence?

"Of course, I feel like I need to echo my friend's inquiries as well, in spite of their rather … straightforward form. What are we expected to grant the Celestial Empire in exchange for the honor of being included among the august ranks of its protectorates? Perhaps more importantly, what is exactly the Celestial Empire?"

 

[Happerry]

Eric had not been having the best month, no, year of his life, and he wasn't really sure if 'being kidnapped from his bed by alien space commandos' was going to be a step up or the final step down. "I have to agree with my fellows that it would be nice to know more about what we are expected to do, but..."

Eric turns and looks at his fellow humans "Given the statement about defense measures, my new comrades, might I suggest we keep any questions right now to the very brief essentials before some people get themselves bravely killed?"

 

[Romulus]

Nicholas sat quietly in the shuttle after being brought on board by the alien troopers. While startling, it was expected that the aliens would retrieve the Planetary Arbitrators somehow before truly addressing the native population; plus having spent time in the military does get you inoculated to people who can sneak up on you, swear to god some people just don't make any noise whatsoever... Still, looking around at the troopers their gear are pretty interesting. Actual infantry level cloaking technology and on what looks to be a shuttle opens up quite a lot of options when dealing with the rest of the planet when they inevitably fight back. He doesn't know anything about how their armor and weapons stand up, but it wouldn't be surprising if they utilize some kind of directed energy weapons and have personal shielding.

Approaching the structure in the Atlantic, he looked out the window and was suitably impressed at the size and grandeur of it, though it wouldn't be surprising if it is considered to be something quite simple. An interstellar empire of the size the letter and everything has shown should be able to throw considerable equipment where it wants. The orbital elevator though he expected to not be something a fledgling and primitive world like Earth to deserve, but who knows how their overlords feel about such a thing.

Feeling the shuttle shudder as it landed on one of the big skyscrapers on the structure, he waited for the bay door to open before standing up. Seeing the troopers also stand up and escort him didn't really surprise him, they could just be making sure he arrived at his destination instead of wandering by himself doing who knows what. The maglev tram system was interesting and it appeared to be much more impressive than the ones in use around the world like the one in Shanghai. Arriving at what seems to be a conference room, he nodded at the troopers escorting him in thanks before entering.

Surprisingly, everyone else arrived more or less at the same time. Taking a seat, he noticed that he recognized a few, Erika von Heinrich, head of the Heinrich Conglomorate, Rudolph Lisker of the Prometheus Consortium, and Anna Francesca Miller from the Shore Brotherhood; the other two he wasn't aware of. The seats were rather cushy though, he was pretty glad about that. It wasn't long though before Erika started to slowly freak out. Nicholas kept quiet as she started to ask the Scribe questions, they were more or less on the same vein of what he was going to ask anyway.

 

[Space Jawa]

This was not the First Contact Mankind was supposed to experience. It reeked of an alien invasion angle, of extraterrestrials showing up, doing as they pleased, and Mankind did not have a happy time of it. Usually there was some kind of apocalypse, civilization collapse, and Earth basically being walked all over. V came to mind, particularly - aliens showing up acting as if they were Earth's best buds, only to secretly being undermining civilization for long-term slavery.

There were, of course, the stories where Mankind fought back and usually won their freedom. But those stories usually started with the aliens attacking without provocation, and the benefit of the writer being able to dictate that in the end, no matter what happened, Mankind could be expected to win because that's what made for a happy ending.

As peaceful as the aliens may have appeared, there was no doubt about it - this was nothing short of an alien invasion. There was no other way to put it. Worse, Wyatt was pretty sure that by conventional means, the aliens had probably already won. Between their attitude and the technology they had displayed, Mankind would not have its opportunity to fight for the right to remain independent from some higher power that existed in some far-off corner of the universe.

Just like that, Mankind had basically been reduced from citizens of their own individual countries to subjects of a foreign power that wasn't just miles, but lightyears away.

No wonder there was talk of fleets assembling outside. Humans usually didn't take well to being told they were under new government leadership.

And right now, the six of them that had been drafted were basically being assigned to take charge of what ran the risk of being a very messy situation.

This was not going to be a good day. This was likely to not be a good week, nor a good month, nor even a good next several years. If things went wrong, it might not even be a good next several decades, or even not a good next few human lifetimes.

Worse case scenario, it was not going to be a good remainder of human existence.

"Yeah, no pressure." He thought to himself.

He looked around the room, but refrained from saying anything. There was already enough chitchat as there was, and him adding to it right off the bat was unlikely to help the situation.

 

[Simpli]

So, I am to understand that an advanced civilization wasted the time and resources to get to our primitive world? What for? There is no material gain, any civilization capable of faster than light travel can provide itself resources elsewhere than a troublesome divided world like Earth.

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"That is correct – and of course your worries are understandable, the Celestial Throne has send out us Cultural Heritage Agents to enough developing planets, to know that it is quite hard for you to imagine that we are simply following higher ideals in our approach to your planet.", raising a hand in a human gesture, stopping you from continuing to ask, while letting her first few words sink in, she continued easily: "There are of course virtues to your world, its people and culture – which is the reason one of our minor outposts with the safest technology for your current technological advancement has been chosen to be deployed. If you were truly a danger or not worth the Imperial attention, your world would simply have been quarantined and we might have waited a few centuries to see where you are heading."

Stepping a bit closer to the table, she ran a hand over its edge, her fingertips glowing briefly before small compartments opened before each of you: a rather tiny looking brooches with a swirling amount of lines and dots in what might be art – or astronomy, or both? Still, giving you a moment to look at the An'ai tilted her head to the side, her tails swaying lightly as she continued:

"You have been chosen as Imperial Planetary Arbiters by order of the Celestial Throne, you are tasked with preparing your home world for integration into the wider Empire in due time. You are tasked with managing communications and developments between your world and all Imperial Entities that might approach you. From Free Traders to the Ethnological Studies of more core ward university, if any of these want to operate on this planet, they are only allowed to deal with or through you. Furthermore, you are tasked with introducing ideas and technologies that humanity should be familiar with before being allowed to travel out of their solar system, while supressing or changing beliefs and memes that might prove actually harmful: xenophobia, fear that machines will take over the world and various other beliefs that will clash with the technologies and culture supported by the Celestial Throne."​

"Alright. The first question is, yes, what the hell do you want?" she agreed, wisely keeping her hand away from her sidearm. "The second is, why us? Last, but not least, what do we get out of it?"

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"I am not sure why you have been chosen – those decisions have been made far above my authority, I am just humble agent attached with my staff to support you in your dealings. Most likely there has been something in your files and those of your planet, that made the Authorities and Intelligences back at the march-capital choose you. So far I have seen many people in the role of Planetary Arbiters: Warlords, Religious Leaders, Revolutionaries, the common man from the street, a cleaning lady as you would call it and various others. There is most likely a plan and a simulation of your most likely choices happening back at the capital, but I can't explain it."

Giving a small shrug and staring at Anna for a moment, seemingly trying to remember something, before inclining her head lightly "Ahh of course – personal perks and advantages. I am sure there are some of you who will appreciate the chance to steer the fate of your species into a better future – while others might enjoy the totally control they have over their assets and the chances for personal riches and capabilities in the future – a chance to evade death by old age would be one of the things you might value, wouldn't you?"​

Perhaps more importantly, what is exactly the Celestial Empire?"

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Mirroring the bow once more herself, the Scribe shook her head lightly "There's no reason for apologizes, I am aware that trying to find common languages with alien visitors and sending numbers at one another for dramatic momentum has a tradition in your culture. It's a pleasure to meet you Planetary Arbiter Lisker and I hope that you and the rest of the council will approve my teams work in due time. We are nearly a hundred people strong, all of my species the Iz'Ka aside from a few gene modified colonists and serve as representants and helpful asset of the Cultural Heritage Ministry for your Council. We will be here to follow your instructions and advice as long as you are content with our work."

Taking a small pause, she ran her fingertips over the table once again, the middle of it beginning to glow lightly as a small device pushed out of it and create a large – map? Before you and in 3D the whole of the milky way galaxy was projected, maybe not the whole of it as it grew gradually simpler, the various small dots, points and lines vanishing till you were greeted by a map that was far more similar to what you might have seen before. Giving you a moment to marvel at the image of the local galaxy, the Scribe leaned forward and touched the bright centre of it with a fingertip:

"This is the position of the Celestial Throne, the Great Project and the Core of civilized space. My ship we are decades away from it, only the smallest objects can be send quicker and it is hard for us, who are so far removed from it to recognize the societies that have risen in the Galactic Centre. Your planet is currently rated at Tech Level VII, the sub-sector capital and its neighbours are set at Tech Level 16 – which is normal for marchers like us. My peoples home planet has reached Tech Level 15 by now and one of our ancestors once visited an even further core ward planet with a Tech Level of 25 – even today we are puzzling about some of the memories she brought back as society. The question just what the Celestial Empire is – is quite hard to answer for any of us."

Giving you a moment to let the sheer size of it sink in – changing the map just a little to show the sub-sectors and sectors of the Empire, with Earth barely being part of the borders of the latest subsector in our spiral arm, with various small powers that have other powers and names nestled around it:

"Fifteen hundred light years from my homeplanet, lies the Estrasia cluster, after we were suited to join the Celestial Navy, some of our ancestors joined the missions of exploration towards it. That's fifteen hundred years before you know if a star's exploded or a war's begun – could you imagine trying to traverse or even communicate over such distances with the technology you have right now, or might have in a century or two? Even in the cluster, cold full of burned out stars and debris, did life adept in many ways and those that thrive adapted most eagerly. The natives of Belomor lost their organic form or at least their outer form ages ago, they appear to be living rocks from a first glance, towering and thick where their aquatic ancestors had once been like us – now able to life in the asteroid fields that remained of their shattered world. Yet, for all the changes we could communicate, just like my people had given themselves vocal chords to communicate with species like yours, they had been able to adapt light and other transmissions to communicate with one another and with us. Now more than a century later they are working to improve orbital structures and habitats through the whole sub sector, their dying race has found new life, they might not have been born of the same planet like us – but there's kinship between races of sentience, the ability to communicate and exchange ideas. Even in the vastness of space and time there's commonality and on this the Celestial Empire is based."
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[Romulus]

Interesting... suffice to say the Celestial Empire is old enough that their technology seems to be magic to even those of a higher tech level. That begets considerable power... a type 3 Kardeshev civilization? More?

But perhaps it would be best for everyone to calm down first. He claps his hands together enough to merely call attention to himself, "Ladies, gentlemen, perhaps it might be best for us all to take a few deep breaths and calm ourselves first? I imagine being plucked from our lives so suddenly is not at all calming on the nerves. Then perhaps we may all introduce ourselves to each other before we get too deep into this meeting. It is only polite to the Scribe who has already introduced themselves. Then we may proceed to undulate them with our questions."

He stands up and places his hand to his heart and bows slightly, "Let me begin, I am Nicholas Weir, CEO of the Argent Holdings Group. I recognize most of us here but two I do not. Thank you to Mister Lisker though for attempting to be polite in the face of the situation," stands back to his full height and faces the Scribe. "And thank you for being patient with us."

 

[Terran Imperium]

Erika was smiling to herself. This had many opportunities and many problems that could come out of it. Planetary Arbiter? When she had received the message, she didn't think much of it. With the recent news about Aliens nearing Earth and such things, it was bound to happen. Someone making a bad joke. She didn't realize that it really wasn't until the last moments.

She nodded at Mr.Weir, she got so caught up in the situation that she forgot to introduce herself. That is bad for business and in laying out a good relationship with potential partners. Such a beginner mistake, really. Although to be fair, it's not every day that you are kidnapped by Aliens and being declared as a representative of Earth to the rest of the Galaxy. She stood up to present herself, an easy friendly smile on her face. One she practised more than enough in public that no one could tell it wasn't genuine.

"Very well, I apologize, the situation is more than unusual. I am Erika von Heinrich, CEO of the Heinrich Conglomerate. It is a pleasure to meet you, all of you." She bowed slightly.

 

[Tavarokk]

"You have been chosen as Imperial Planetary Arbiters by order of the Celestial Throne, you are tasked with preparing your home world for integration into the wider Empire in due time. You are tasked with managing communications and developments between your world and all Imperial Entities that might approach you. From Free Traders to the Ethnological Studies of more core ward university, if any of these want to operate on this planet, they are only allowed to deal with or through you. Furthermore, you are tasked with introducing ideas and technologies that humanity should be familiar with before being allowed to travel out of their solar system, while supressing or changing beliefs and memes that might prove actually harmful: xenophobia, fear that machines will take over the world and various other beliefs that will clash with the technologies and culture supported by the Celestial Throne."

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"Speaking of technologies and ideas, I'm guessing the materials provided contain a list? Are we forbidden from expanding into space until that's accomplished or merely denied external aid?" Anna clarified. The rewards offered were vague, but tempting.

"Anna Miller. Of Haamea & Miller Aeronautics, I suppose," she introduced herself when her turn came up, adopting the 'name and company' pattern with a wry smile.

 

[Space Jawa]

Nothing that Scribe An'ai was saying was doing anything to make the situation look more favorable. Worst of all was the news that their new overlords were decades away. He knew people had enough problems with leaders that were considered distant when they were merely half a country away. The idea that it could take a generation for a round trip to the people that were supposed to be in charge?

"How on Earth..." He started to think, then shifted his though as he considered the idea.

"How in the universe does the Celestial Empire even function? How does it even stay together?" He found himself wondering.

He took a moment to breath. Focusing on the negatives too much wasn't going to help either. He needed to find what he could work with. Focus on finding the positives, what he had to work with rather than what he had to work against.

"Hi." Wyatt said, raising his hand as the various "Planetary Arbiters" introduced themselves one-by-one. "I'm Mr. Wyatt Marx, leader of the very recently formed 'Earth Organization'. I'm very much hoping we can work together to keep our beloved home from being turned into a post-apocalyptic planet of slaves."

There was an element of humor that he at least tried to inject into the second sentence, likely a poorly thought-out joke. Though he was forced to admit to himself it was equally a statement about his worst fears of what might happen if they all failed.

One of the worst, at least. He wasn't sure if that or Earth being destroyed outright and mankind being wiped from existence was a worse outcome.

Once again, he scolded himself as he tried to get his mind off the worst-case scenarios.

"Happy thoughts. Positive thoughts..."

 

[Happerry]

Elric looks up as the others introduce themselves, memorizing whom all these strange people are. "Ah... I am Elric Granger, college graduate, and of no organization in particular... at least before all this. I guess I'll have to establish something now. Wonder what a good name would be? Well, either way, I do find all this shiny new technology to be, well, shiny and interesting. The Material science alone needed for an actual space elevator..."

Elric shakes his head in wonder. "Well, I doubt that's the only thing that'd be extremely useful if we had some people around who understood how it worked. Anyone else think we can get a proper Mars colony going sooner then later now?"

 

[Daviush]

Lisker breathed out in relief now that he knew An'ai was very forgiving when it came to the breach of etiquette. Even better, it seemed that it was the Arbiters who held authority over the Scribe, at least formally. He suspected that if they did something sufficiently hostile to the interests of her superiors in the Ministry, as well as the Arbiter Kriqors, then she would be authorised to dispose them, but it was hardly a concern for the foreseeable future. The Celestial Empire just gave them the ability to advance humanity by centuries, if not millenia.

Rudolf could hardly imagine a scenario in which he would be forced to oppose the Empire in such a manner, without it unleashing pointless and wasteful tyranny upon Earth. Of course, he figured there were some downsides to the arrangement that the Scribe had chosen not to disclose, but they could hardly be significant enough to overshadow the golden opportunity presented to his kind.

He looked over his peers. Rudolf knew some of them, namely Erika von Heinrich, with whom he'd remembered to conduct an advertisement campaign that helped Asklepios enter the German market, although they didn't do much business beyond that. Nicholas Weir was a name known in the business world, head of a successful private military company, as well as an inheritor of a respectable megacorporation.

The others, however, were totally alien to him. He knew nothing of Anna Miller and had never heard of her company, although her rather undiplomatic approach was a peculiar thing to find in CEO's. He'd have to familiarise himself with both after this meeting if he were to develop a suitable way to approach her. She was now one of the six most powerful people on this planet, after all.

The remaining two were even greater mystery, although Wyatt seemed to belong to the upper class if his suit was any indication. Fairly paranoid though. Why on Earth would a civilization so powerful need slaves? The other was a total opposite, a plainly dressed balding man clearly associated with the middle class at best. Was he the 'cleaning lady' An'ai mentioned later? Regardless, now he was an Arbiter and thus more important than any world leader.

With that, he donned a smile and clapped his hands to bring attention to him. He remained standing, both as a minor show of respect to the Scribe and to further highlight the importance of what he was about to say.

"My fellow Arbiters, honorable Scribe, I think this is time to discuss the most important topic of the century, if not more." He he waved his hand in the direction of the window and the navies visible from there. " How will we guide the humanity into a brighter future." He'd paused for a second to let that sink in.

"We are currently the most powerful individuals in the history of humanity. Its fate is in our hands, the responsibility over seven billion men and women. What we'll agree upon now will have lasting consequences. Our first actions will determine the course our species will take, and form foundations of a new order that will not only need to allow us to exact radical changes necessary for Earth to join the interstellar community, but also flexible enough to survive for centuries.

"Since I've received my email, I've given a lot of thought to this issue. If I may, I wish to present my initial outlook on how we should place said foundations.

"Firstly, we absolutely must gain trust and recognition of the governments on Earth. They need to willingly accept our authority. While we could just subjugate them, the shuttles that brought us here would be enough to decapitate the world leadership, we would then need to occupy the whole planet, and I think we can all see how counterproductive it would be. No, we need to pursue the path of diplomacy, we need to convince the world that uniting under our banner is going to be to their immense benefit. Which, frankly, is absolutely true, even if only a fraction of what I suspect about the technology we are about to receive is true," Rudolf finished with a smirk.

"In order to achieve this, I propose proclamation of a new supranational entity, let's initially call it the Terran League, that is ready to accept any state willing to join its ranks. To incentivise this, I believe we should respect the autonomy of the member states and give them some say in how we shall govern it. Without it, only a failed state would even entertain a notion of submitting its sovereignty to us.

"As I envision it, the member states could send a representative to a grand assembly of sorts, who would represent their nations' interests and petition to the our high council. I think it would work in a manner similar to European Parliament, only with much firmer authority over the member states. This would take much burden off our shoulders, so we can focus on more immediate and important matters.

"Naturally, our council would possess a power review and, if necessary, veto the assembly's legislations by a simple majority vote, however as to not make it appear helpless in face of our judgement, it needs the power to, at least theoretically, override it. We can not expect the populace to submit to our rule without any way to challenge it and defend against potential abuse of that power. Thus, I think that the assembly should be able to overrule our vetoes with at least a supermajority of two thirds of the votes cast and three fourths of the representatives present. For the sake of simplicity, let's also grant the Assembly the right to veto our own legislations in the same manner.

"This still concentrates much of the power in the hands of our council, however, and give the member states only a very limited say on how the League is governed, which most governments won't accept. The possible solutions for that would be limiting our powers even further … or providing a place in our council for an assembly's representative.

"I believe that the latter option would be far more preferable. As it is, our power and right to rule comes from a foreign entity, not from people of Earth. Even with an assembly, the divide between democratically elected representatives and the six Arbiters imposed on humanity by a distant and alien power would be bound to cause dissent due to complete lack of influence over who sits on our council. If it was possible to elect a representative into our ranks, however, then the perception of us would be much better.

"Such a Consul, if you will, would be elected by the assembly and sit on high council for five or four years before another election. As they would be the only member whose power was given by the assembly and thus the humanity itself, it would be best to proclaim them as the head of state, who would be the first among equals here. There is no need to give them additional powers over the actual Arbiters, just the ceremonial ones.

"Additional member of our council would benefit us as well. A seventh member would prevent ties. What's more, the presence of routinely changing member would provide us with a fresh perspective on various matters. Seeing how with time the views of our people would increasingly diverge from our own, the Consul would help us stay up-to-date with current times. Besides, having a one person speaking on the behalf of the entire council would provide the appearance of unity.

"Of course, just like most countries have an office of vice president, so do we have to have someone to fill in for the Consul if they are unavailable for whatever reason, like right now. A Prime Arbiter of sorts who would similarly act as first, or second, among equals and be the public face of this council. Such an office can easily be elected by us from among our number for any term we would like, though personally I would prefer it being an annual matter.

"Of course, in order to justify being in command of the League at all, we'll need to have responsibilities to it. I think a requirement to conduct at least one large scale operation for the benefit of the League would be sufficient, with two for the Prime Arbiter.

"Naturally, these are just my initial thoughts on the matter, and I invite you all to discuss and challenge them, as well as bring your own proposals. When discussing the future of humanity, we may not rush things."

 

[Romulus]

-snip-

Click to shrink...

"I have serious reservations against raising a representative into our council, even more appointing them as the leader," he shakes his head. "While yes we should do what we can to reduce the inevitable discontent, I believe that would be going too far. How about painting us as the only thing standing between a somewhat independent Earth and one that is enslaved and occupied? That would encourage the various countries to at least work with us."

He clasped his hands together on the table, "Additionally, no matter what measures we enact there will be countries that refuse to submit to our authority, and no doubt there will be armed conflict somewhere regardless of our efforts. We could use a little bit of Machiavellian measures, allow some countries to rebel and then crush them mercilessly. This would also encourage others to step in line initially and then we can more firmly establish a government that isn't so heavy handed. All authority is based on might anyway. The average person respects the law because they fear the law."

 

[Space Jawa]

"No." Wyatt said firmly, slamming his hand on the table as he stood up and looked directly at Weir.

Realizing the nature of this immediate reaction, he stood more fully and took a moment to composed himself before he continued.

"I will not allow you or anyone else here to make things worse on purpose. Not to prove a point, not for your own personal gain. Over my dead body am I going to let anyone get away with those kind of despicable, underhanded tactics."

He looked around the table at the other five assembled around him.

"We need to consider a very important thing - what the people on the outside looking in are thinking. Yeah, they're upset. I don't blame them for being upset, I don't blame them for being scared. The only reason the six of us are here in this room is because of some mystery formula. The people on the outside don't know what we do. All they know is that some aliens showed up in the sky and have seized control of the planet without a fight. Now imagine if you were in their shoes, and suddenly, the fate of the world, the fate of your life and the life of everyone you know and love was in the hands of six strangers you've never even met, some of which you've never even heard of before."

Wyatt held up a hand with four fingers extended. He quickly realized the error then held out his thumb, then raised his other hand and held out a single finger on it, too. Taking a moment, he held those six fingers out in front of him to further emphasize his point.

"Now take a moment and consider - for 99% of the population of Earth out there, that is exactly what's going on. So yes, they are scared, they are confused, they are in the dark. So I will not accept any talk about killing people in order to justify implementing a heavy handed authority of fear."

"What we have here is a generational problem. If we want to do this right, we have to rely on a slow approach based on future populations that don't know an Earth prior to what has just happened. If what we've been told Scribe An'ai is correct, we will have generations to do that. So we need to put aside any rash, short-sighted, and unnecessarily violent ideas. Fear can keep people in line, sure. But you encourage rebellion, you give people a reason to resist, they are going to resist, and they are going to continue resisting indefinitely. They might go underground for a while, but they will not go away. They will bide their time, they will gather followers, they will do what they have to to ensure that when the time comes, when they believe they can mount a genuine rebellion, that they will then emerge from the shadows and you will have a full-scale planetary civil war on your hands."

Wyatt breathed again, taking another moment to let his words sink in before shifting the subject.

"On a level, I agree with Mr. Lisker. But I see a different angle. A generational approach is our best bet for a long-term solution, but in the meantime, we need to ensure that the people of Earth see the benefits outweighing the fact that they are now subjects of an Empire that is a generation away on a round trip, led by a ruler who is as distant from them as is possible."

"My recommendation is as follows - we need go give the people of Earth reason to have investment in the situation and believe those in charge can be held accountable. That is why we need to put our own positions on the line, and then prove that we deserve to have them."

"I say that, for the most part, we leave current nations in place. We can move towards a more unified government later, but for now, we create six unofficial zones. One for North America, one for South America, one for Africa and the Middle East, one for Europe, one for Asia, and then a sixth for Australia, the South Pacific, and potentially India as well. Each of us will then be assigned to represent one of these 'zone's. We won't be prohibited from acting outsize our specific zone, but the expectation will be that we are supposed to see to the wellbeing of the people in our zone first and foremost. If they're not seeing an improvement in their lives, we're not doing our jobs."

"We then set up five-year timespans. The first five years, we'll have our positions by default. We'll have an opportunity to prove ourselves and that the Celestial Empire made the right decision. But at the end of those five years, those who agree to the terms in our given zone will be allowed to vote - did their representative do a good job, or do they need new representation by someone who's going to do better? And for the foreseeable future, there should continue to be a new vote every five years to ensure that all of us have Earth's best interests in mind, and that if the people of Earth aren't happy with their representation, they'll have a solution other than unrest and rebellion to get a change by simply voting in someone better."

Wyatt breathed, looked around the room, then sat down again, clearing the floor to give someone else an opportunity to speak.

 

[Tavarokk]

Elric shakes his head in wonder. "Well, I doubt that's the only thing that'd be extremely useful if we had some people around who understood how it worked. Anyone else think we can get a proper Mars colony going sooner then later now?"

Click to shrink...

Anna looked up, a bit more interested, as an odd one out - even when counting her - focused on the heart of the matter.

"We will. No, we shall! Not just Mars, not just Sol, but so much more," she grinned for the first time, full of anticipation despite her earlier scepsis. "Isn't it exciting?"

Unfortunately, her mood improvement was brief as the all-important golden billion poster boys started talking about councils and international organizations and zones of influence and formalized 'democracy' and all that vile crap that had her ran out of her homeland. She wondered how long it would take to start hearing 'regulation of extraterrestial technology' or 'international legal cooperation' being bandied about if she stayed silent.

"I refuse," she stated flatly. "I am a leader of men. Here and now I hold the proverbial divine fire in my hands and, as much as I dislike relying on hand-outs, it is my duty to pass it down to my people. I shall not sit in a gleaming tower and exchange empty platitudes about unity and representation with the so called 'legitimate' governments - I shall endeavour to give everyone, personally, the capacity to choose what to make of their life, on their own time, on their own judgement, on their own power, even if they have to live with the consequences of their choices. For the first time in the recorded history, we have such ability."

Having said her piece, she was eyeing the other five warily, especially the mercenary and the civillian.

 

[Romulus]

Anyone else think we can get a proper Mars colony going sooner then later now?"

Click to shrink...

"In the short term, i.e. for the next two or three decades, that probably isn't happening. We need to focus on stabilizing Earth first before doing anything like colonizing another world."

-snip-

Click to shrink...

"Let me ask you this then Mr. Marx, why did the League of Nations fail but the United Nations did not? What is the principle difference between the two?" he shook his head. "Idealism is a nice thing to have, but not if it distorts reality. People will rebel no matter what we do simply because we exist. We have to cement the fact that we're here to stay and some words are not going to make them back down."

"Certainly simple force of arms aren't going to convince all of them that our presence here is good, and I agree with you that this will take a long time. But the average salary man in Sacramento, California isn't going to give too much thought about this other than 'Oh aliens are real!' He is too busy working and taking care of his family to care, we are so far away that he doesn't see any tangible effects on him and his. This isn't me being a pessimist, or me being manipulative; this is me understanding the way humans work. When schools were being shot up in America, the average person was outraged for a few days to a few weeks before shrugging their shoulders and forgetting the fact it happened despite the atrocity that happened in their own country."

"When people are shown the kind of life people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or people in Kenya live all they do is gasp, say some platitudes about how terrible it is and then throw some money at it before ignoring it all together because it doesn't effect their immediate lives in any tangible way. There is a reason why the public is often called sheep. Give them food, give them work, keep them entertained and they won't care too much unless it directly effects those three things. The Romans did this and they called it 'bread and circuses.' This is me being realistic and using human psychology in order to lessen the immediate impact of Earth suddenly being subjugated by an empire so advanced that they're essentially gods in our eyes."

"Breaking the world into six parts have merit though, but if someone gets voted out of office, who replaces them? I doubt the Empire will allow anyone to replace one of us on this council on the whims of the natives."

-snip-

Click to shrink...

"Are you saying you're going to just hand everyone the technology we have? Without making sure they are prepared for it?"

 

[Tavarokk]

"Are you saying you're going to just hand everyone the technology we have? Without making sure they are prepared for it?"

Click to shrink...

"Hand over? No. People don't appreciate that which didn't cost them, to say nothing of whether they have the ability to use such a gift in a meaningful fashion. But I wish to give everyone the opportunity to earn it, so that it's their actions that determine if they are prepared or not rather than a stranger who doesn't even know their names."

 

[Romulus]

"Hand over? No. People don't appreciate that which didn't cost them, to say nothing of whether they have the ability to use such a gift in a meaningful fashion. But I wish to give everyone the opportunity to earn it, so that it's their actions that determine if they are prepared or not rather than a stranger who doesn't even know their names."

Click to shrink...

"And how are you going to vet these people? Who judges if their actions mean they are worthy? You say you don't want a stranger to be the one who decides who gets what, but aren't you a stranger as well? I highly doubt you will be intimately familiar with everyone who receives what we're going to make available."

 

[Tavarokk]

"And how are you going to vet these people? Who judges if their actions mean they are worthy? You say you don't want a stranger to be the one who decides who gets what, but aren't you a stranger as well? I highly doubt you will be intimately familiar with everyone who receives what we're going to make available."

Click to shrink...

"Quite simply - I am not going to vet anyone," Anna repeated patiently. "Their results will be their sole judgement."

 

[Romulus]

"Quite simply - I am not going to vet anyone," Anna repeated patiently. "Their results will be their sole judgement."

Click to shrink...

"Their results will not judge themselves. People judge the works of others whether it is good or bad, therefore who would be the judges?"

ORDERS
Might 5/Sovereignty 4: All current military forces will provide security over all territory under my authority. No rioting is allowed, but protests are as long as they don't turn violent. Any insurrections will be given one chance to desist before security forces are to forcibly take them down, non lethally if possible. Argent Holdings' security forces will augment security forces from the Celestial Empire.

Wealth 4/Influence 4/Territory 3: Current wealth will be used to set up enough Celestial Empire standard power plants to provide free power to the civilian population. These power plants will be secured by security forces. Additionally effort will be made to revamp public infrastructure including the public transportation, water and sewage, electricity systems, roads, etc. This is an effort to encourage local populations and their leaders to accept our rule and improve the average quality of life. Our personal territory will focus on building up our industrial capability. We are effectively isolated from the rest of the Celestial Empire and we need to have our own ability to replace losses of equipment and to equip any forces recruited from the native population.
​

 

[Terran Imperium]

Erica smiled at her 'colleagues'. They are already taking sides. She knows which one she is in, however. The thing she hates the most is idealists. They cannot think rationally and always take the stupidest decisions.

"You will have to forgive me but I agree with Mr. Weir. No matter how cold his logic may seem. His words are true." she may have had what looked like a perfectly genuine smile on her face, her voice and tone was almost terrifyingly cold.

ORDERS
Might 1/Territory 2
All current military forces will support Mr. Weir's efforts.

Wealth 7/Influence 6/Sovreignity 4
Erika will focus her efforts in a marketing/advertisement/propaganda campaign to encourage the trust of their council, their viability in ruling Earth, and the fact that they are the only line between a free Earth and an enslaved Earth.​

 

[Happerry]

Granger sighs as he eyes his fellow councilmembers, and wonders what brings out the psychopath in so many people once they get a taste of power. "Personally, as the informational science revolution has shown, I believe it is better to spread out and get a lot of minds working on problems, instead of merely a few so called best minds."

Orders
Wealth: 5 \
Influence: 3 | -> Generally keep the peace, try to make sure that there aren't any riots, and resolve any actual reasonable complaints people have that can be reasonably resolved. Work to resolve people's anger with having their planet taken over in peaceful ways, and generally try to prevent bloodshed and horrible things from happening while people adjust to the new state of things.
Might: 3 /

Sovereignty: 4 | -> Offer to upgrade civic services and related areas of concern that are willing to accept the offer of a formerly unemployed person whom was just given the keys to super fancy Celestial Empire grade infrastructure and such with the mentioned new high tech infrastructure stuff such as new power plants or better, less maintenance demanding sewer systems/roads/power networks/water networks, and so on. In return, however, any region that accepts these upgrades must acknowledge that Elric Granger and associated council-people are the duly chosen and rightful representatives of the new shiny alien empire that just rolled in to this planet.
Territory: 5 /