Author's Note: Here is todays chapter. If you haven't read the side chapter yet, then I recommend you do. It was fun for myself to write, and the somebodynobody's writing style is totally different from my own.
You don't *need* to read it, but there will be mentions of things happening in future side chapters as secondary notes that might be somewhat confusing if you don't read them.
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POV: Arthur Sinclair.
The moment I had been shown samples of the strange material, I immediately had to find more; the potential applications were astronomical. It could increase a ship's structural integrity by orders of magnitude or make armor that was potentially immune to kinetic damage. The potential was incredible.
We spent two days trying to find samples of this material in the nearby asteroid belt to no avail; it only existed on Kaelastrum itself. A quandary for sure, but something that could be explored at a later date.
So, after a further week of surveying, we discovered several locations with higher quantities of the material and got to digging. We had scanned the sub-surface, and they had all shown that the ground was solid rock, even the subspace sensors that were installed on the Tel'tak and Al'kesh showed the same.
Then after a mere twenty meters of digging, the ground below the requisitioned mech had given way to an absolutely massive chasm, filled with a civilization of bipedal lizard aliens; to say that hell had broken loose would be an understatement.
When we started examining the civilization from above, the oddities somehow increased even further. The inside of the cave had an oxygen level that was actually breathable — something that should have been impossible considering that the dig site was at a height of almost 10,000 meters above sea level.
The simple pressure differential alone should have caused all the air in the caverns to rush out, but no. Despite the laws of physics, the atmosphere remained constant.
Second were the lizards themselves; they clearly had a developed society, with the ability to produce advanced structures, housing, and clothing. That we had somehow totally missed their existence was odd, to say the least. Not that they weren't primitive; they were in the early Iron Age at best, but there should have been signs of them living on the surface.
Third was the glowing moss that covered most surfaces in the cavern and produced enough light for every nook and cranny. It was psychically active and devoured small quantities of warp energy for fuel.
Finally, the massive spire that extended upwards from directly below the hole. Initial measurements put it at nearly 300 meters in height. It was primarily constructed from a black stone that scans showed was artificial and very sturdy.
There were also two sets of patterns that covered the outside of the spire; the first was a collection of points and lines that were made of gold, appearing very similar to the depiction of constellations. The second was the set of silver lines that ran up the edges of the obelisk; these were smaller, but seemed somehow out of place.
I slowly put down my flexi as I finished reviewing the last of the scans and images. Thank goodness I wouldn't be dealing with this.
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Within a couple of hours, one raptor and a set of ring transporters were requisitioned and taken down to the caverns below. The area directly beneath the hole had been cleared of all but a few select lizards, who were watching us intently.
The raptor carefully lowered into the hole, and the lizardfolk all watched on seemingly in fascination. When it reached the ground, the Ring Transporter was carefully released, and the raptor landed a few feet away.
A small group of lizards approached the raptor as it landed, and the team designated for first contact carefully stepped out, each of them wearing oxygen masks for safety. The first steps were rather awkward, as the lizards seemed to think we would understand them, though they quickly realized that wasn't the case.
Instead, the lizards gestured for the crew to follow. They led the crew to the largest building in the city and through many hallways, each of which was covered from floor to ceiling in delicately crafted murals.
The entire structure was recorded for those on the surface to examine. As the tour reached the end, the team arrived before the stone spire. The lead lizard pointed at it and said: "Zatsarya."
The rather quick trip through the structure ended with a return to the raptor. With the initial contact established, the Raptor made the return journey to the surface, leaving the ring transporter behind on the ground.
Several hours were spent preparing a larger diplomatic party to meet with and begin translating their language. Echo the Centurion was also asked to join, something she was happy to agree to.
We continued to monitor the lizards while this team was being assembled, and we watched on as an absolutely massive caravan of lizards left through a cavern at the northern end of the cave.
Then, early the next day, the diplomatic team was ready and entered the caverns through use of the ring transporter. The first few hours were rough, but the lizards quickly understood the purpose of the party and began going out of their way to assist the translators in any way they could.
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POV: Arriston Pyrros.
As Echo entered my office, having just returned from the fifth day of diplomatic efforts with the lizardfolk, as they called themselves. I stood up and offered my hand, which Echo took with great care. "It's good to see you, Echo. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Without any hesitation, Echo nodded once; as time passed, its gestures continued to become increasingly more human, something that no one failed to notice. "Deimos and I both wish to formally request citizenship with the RoK."
I froze for just a moment. "That is going to cause issues. The Colonials are already on edge just having you around. This might get them to riot."
Echo was quiet for a moment before continuing. "Deimos and I have been considering the likely outcomes of any interaction with the Colonials and Biocylons. We have come to the determination that if the mechanical Cylons have not yet been scrapped, then once they have been fully reactivated, they will choose to split from the Biocylons. If you offer them a place where they will be respected as fellow living beings, then there is a 90% chance of them choosing to join the Republic."
He stopped for a moment as she considered her next words. "You must consider whether you would have the Colonials or the Cylons as your preferred allies."
I slowly put my pen down and sat back in my chair. We stared at each other for several seconds before I finally responded. "We both know it won't be that easy. The colonials have given a lot to the RoK. I can't just wipe that away."
"But they are still Colonials. They may have citizenship with your people, but they still consider the Twelve Colonies their home." I didn't have a way to respond. We were both quiet for several more long moments.
I closed my eyes, and let out a deep sigh, before finally I nodded. "Alright then. I guess I have something to work on."
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POV: Arthur Sinclair.
The next eight weeks passed in a flash. It took barely a week to complete the translation matrix for the Lizardfolk language. That was with Echo's help and dozens of listening devices gathering data on the various speaking patterns of the locals. Even then, it wasn't quite perfect yet, but we could communicate with them properly.
During this period, my Avatar advanced its level three times. First from Rudimentary to Lesser, then from Lesser to Standard, and then finally from Standard to Superior.
Just the rudimentary avatar was already trippy. I could close my eyes and move around a second body. The Lesser Avatar was different; I could still see and feel everything my Avatar could, but I didn't need to focus on the body to move it. In exchange, I had a lot of trouble completing more complex tasks without my main mind focusing over.
It was an odd feeling, and I was very relieved when I reached the Standard Avatar. While the lesser Avatar felt almost like having a part of myself missing, the Standard Avatar could do a lot more and could actually help me with the design process, increasing my work speed by 50%. Even better, it could actually produce the same amount of wraithbone dust as me.
The perk description had stated that it wouldn't be able to use my abilities as well as myself, but I guess it considered my peak abilities to be at the level of an Aeldari Boneseer, so my current abilities were indeed heavily reduced from that point. With that in mind, that effectively doubled our daily output of wraithbone dust.
Of course, the upgrade to Superior was much the same, and very little changed there. The Avatar could actually bleed at that point and was much more intelligent, but it was still me. Needless to say, the entire thing was confusing even to myself, let alone to those I tried to explain it to.
At the same time as the diplomatic party was entering the caverns, the expedition in Grunur space discovered a relatively intact Grunur colony. The primary site was a colossal bureaucratic center, and after nearly a week of searching, they discovered an intact data storage room containing several dozen data crystals that had somehow survived several million years. After a couple of days' work, Slightly Overweight, Overly Small, and I were able to reverse engineer those crystals. The retrieved information included information on nearby Grunur worlds, as well as fleet movements and where supplies were sent.
Oddly enough, the Grunur had been defeated not long after they had defeated the Baol — less than five years after, in fact. With the new information, the search for the Grunur facility holding the Last Baol could continue with much greater ease now.
Several former Baol planets were quickly discovered, and three separate excavations were opened up at points of interest.
The complete scanning of Camelot Command was moving apace, but it would be at least several months before the entire facility was cleared for renewed operations. In the meantime, after some searching, three Space Defence System hangars had been discovered in nearby asteroids. Two of them were still operational, and all of them still had nearly their full supply of drones.
The Periphery Expedition completed its reconnaissance of the Járnfolk, Alfirk, Antallos, and the New Delphi Compact.
The Járnfolk were actually a relatively egalitarian society. All the citizens were descended from the same eight families, with each of the family heads having some control; they had somehow kept this system working with the same eight families for hundreds of years.
Some especially important industrial facilities were restricted to being accessible only by the family that owned it, but other than that, almost any job was open to any person who wanted it.
Alfirk, on the other hand, was a democratic republic with an excellent economy. While there were signs of a plague passing through the population a decade before, that was no longer the case. The ComStar Explorer Corps had also set up shop in the system, and all of the system's eight drydocks were busy either repairing existing JumpShips or constructing new ones entirely.
Antallos, in contrast, was a barren desert world that had suffered a near total collapse when the Draconis Combine killed half of the population on the planet while searching for Star League technology. In the modern day, the system was a haven for pirates, smugglers, and slavers. Plans to confiscate any slaver or pirate JumpShip that entered the system were quickly made, though any actual follow-through would need to wait until the Voidhawk powered armor was in production.
The New Delphi Compact was similar in concept to Alfirk; they were a federal democratic republic. However, the population at large considered government of any type to be a necessary evil, so they did everything they could to prevent interest groups or singularly powerful families from taking power. A representative was limited to a single term in each "layer" of government unless specifically chosen by a senior or chief councilor, in which case they would be banned from taking any other governmental position.
Their desire to prevent a single family from taking power for themselves extended so far as to prevent the family of an elected representative from taking office for 20 years after their term had ended.
Much more worrying, however, was the so-called Delphi Curse, a collection of aggressive, contagious, and adaptive viruses that infected all worlds of the New Delphi Compact. When samples of these viruses were gathered and tested, it was estimated that up to 90% of those infected with it would die, and of the 10% that survived, a further 95% would be immunologically crippled.
Further testing showed that even Goa'uld symbiotes could be affected by the pathogen if it was given the time to mutate sufficiently. Needless to say, a proper vaccine would need to be developed before full diplomatic contact could be made with the Delphians.
The entire crew of the SLS Claymore was immediately moved to this project, along with Astrocreator Azaryn, who was asked to assist.
On the other side of the Inner Sphere, the expedition sent to New Dallas recovered the New Dallas Memorycore before continuing on towards the Niops Association at the rimward edge of the Free Worlds League.
The Niops Association itself was a highly technocratic, caste-based society, where one's education dictated their position, though the lower classes still maintained a rather high standard of living compared to many worlds in the Inner Sphere. Even the lowest ranked laborer in Niops could expect a better standard of living than most Capellans.
Surprisingly enough, the system didn't appear to have any connection with ComStar, even after significant searching. It was decided that once the Tripitz had been recovered, a further reconnaissance force would be sent before making contact.
Once the team had completed the initial survey of Niops, they continued on towards New Vandenberg to assist in the search for the Tripitz. They arrived six days later.
All of this was happening in conjunction with a set of debates regarding the rights of artificial intelligence in the RoK. The Colonials were, of course, the primary opposition to the bill, though a large percentage of them had begun to reconsider their beliefs, especially when the information regarding the true origin of the Cylons as a human mind, uploaded into a machine intelligence was made public.
Then, on the 16th of July, one of the vessels in former Baol territory entered a system and immediately detected a Grunur distress signal which originated from the orbit of a habitable planet. Within a matter of hours it had been confirmed; this was the facility that held the Last Baol.