When Fate Calls (Story Thread: No Comments Please)

[Hyper Kinetic]

You become aware of being awake again despite not being aware of stopping in the first place.
Suspended animation... deep sleeping... being in stasis... being on pause... what ever it is called, it is quite different from what many seem to suspect.
Your mind always thinks in a constant stream of time, so being suspended in time means that your thoughts have stopped being processed... not that you are aware of it, of course. You can not think when you are in suspended animation. Your last thought is usually, however, something along the lines of Well, now I am going to be in stasis. Maybe something will flit in your mind before you are deactivated... but you can never tell whether it is before or after stasis when the thought commenced. You are sure that there are probably ways to determine how the time has passed. However, as an incorporeal being, you are just floating... drifting around in space and time.

Despite not having any senses, in the physical and neurological terms of the word, you are aware of being reactivated because of the voice.
*Your services are required*
Or something like that. It is still difficult to explain, even after all of these years.
Obviously, not having physical senses, the voice is not an actual voice. It is not sound at all, but rather a feeling... an impulsion. Something almost innate... attached to the inside of you.

And being incorporeal is precisely why your services are required.
Some beings would call your master a deity. Some would call it the master of Fate itself.
You? You can only really comprehend it as the grand impulsive force. It requests, you go and try to fulfil the request. You are not always successful, of course. Nothing is ever perfect and if the impulsion could ever manipulate itself in to pure perfection it would do all of its own bidding. You are not even sure if it is the puppet master or if there are other similar beings that order it around.

Nevertheless, it is the only real thing that you have ever known outside of the physical realm and so, in order to have meaning, you are compelled to obey.

*I have called on you for a very significant task* it says.
*It concerns a rather amusing species, the same species you interacted with last time in fact.
As always, time has passed since you have been asleep...*

---

Decision Thread

[Hyper Kinetic]

How long? you wonder.
Not that the impulsive force will let you know exactly, of course. You are not even sure if it is listening to your thoughts yet.

*This species has gained the ability to travel vast distances through space. Vast distances for them, anyway. Indeed, it has come in to contact with numerous other species, some of them even sentient. Your previous entry in to the physical worlds made a difference.*

Reassuring, as always. You remember that your last interaction with the species guided them towards the path of semi-peaceful space flight... a necessary path for species that want to outlive their base tendencies or their home planet's destruction.
Clearly, your master has a grand plan for these quadrupods. Humans, they called themselves.
But what sort of plan would it be? How could they fit in to a grand scheme?

*I am aware of your curiosity about my demands. As always, you are only allowed one answer to a question of my motivations before you will be sent to the physical realm. Further questions will be ignored.*

A myriad of questions run though your mind.
The obvious one would be to ask what you are to do... but that leaves the question of why. Asking why, however, may leave the question of what you are supposed to be doing. You already thought of asking exactly how long it has been since you have been away. That might give you insight in to just how well their physical technological advancement has come... but that still does not answer the question of why, or even what you are to accomplish. You want to know what the other species are like, but you probably could find that out yourself whilst searching for ways to effect your mission... which you will not know.
Obviously, you need to know what to do. You also want to find out as much information as you possibly can about everything.
This leads you to consider just two questions.

What has to be done... and why?

---

Decision Thread

[Hyper Kinetic]

After careful consideration, you ask a question:
"What must be done?"

*I want you to instigate a battle between this species, the "Humans", and another species. The battle must be started as a direct result of the Human's interactions with the other species.*

So... a war must be waged.
You wonder as to the purpose and were about to ask why, but remember that the being giving you orders has already answered one question and will refuse to answer more.
At least, however, you now have a direct objective to seek and that, for the moment, is good enough. Something to work towards.

Suddenly, the universe starts to shift around you.
Stars, despite being many light years apart, zip past you as if they were directly next to each other. Planetoids flash and disappear as if specks of dust catching dim light. The disorientation of this movement somewhat disturbs you as you come to the realization, and soon the memory, of being moved by your master.

You stop near a small cluster of relatively close stars, perhaps only a few light years between them.

*This is the region where I want the conflict started.* The voice directs your vision to a yellow star of medium size. *This star system is occupied by Humans. It forms part of the periphery of Human Controlled Sphere of Influence. This,* your vision is moved by an invisible hand towards an orange coloured medium sized star, *is controlled by another species. I would like the conflict to begin here.*

And, just as you could "sense" being reawakened from stasis, you sense that the presence instructing you is gone and that you have free control over your "body" again.
As you start floating towards the Human's star system, you take a little time to process all of the information that has been given to you.
There is a struggle to begin between two space faring species. The struggle is to be instigated by the Humans... and you are to trigger it.

Musing upon it, you realise that you do not really have that much to go with other than your imagination and creativity based upon the resources of these Humans...

---

Decision Thread

[Hyper Kinetic]

Even in the rapid transit from your location to the Human controlled system a dozen light years away, you notice that the universe has immensely changed since your last visit.
The last time you were in this plane of existence, you helped the Humans on their way to becoming a space-faring species.
Now, you can feel the pulses of starships making specialised near-instantaneous travel between places. Feel the flow of ships as they drift at faster-than-light speeds through the aether.

You stop to look around at the solar system. A small planet orbits perilously close to the solar body. Two planets orbit further out, both teeming with life, although you note that one of them would have probably been augmented in order to sustain life for any measurable length of time. A gaseous planet orbits a much further distance away and a massive gas giant floats at a leisurely pace, only barely within the reach of the sun. As you close in on the Human centres of population, you notice many gigantic platforms in space... each one possibly holding millions. Even those ships that are moving slower than the speed of light are traveling at immense speeds.

You settle on the second planet within the system as being the most likely for some form of centre of interest because it probably was the first to have been inhabited due to favourable positioning within the solar system. Floating through the clouds, you are a little surprised when you pass through a building. Pausing just on the other side of the structure, you have a look around. There are several of these structures, no matter what direction you look. You notice that there are many connections between these structures. After a moment or two, you come to the conclusion that these are most likely hard connections between the buildings and used as transport. Looking down, using the planet's gravity field as a guide, you notice that the bases of these buildings are several kilometres beneath you. You are not even certain that you can see the natural surface of the planet from this position, perhaps outside of the water. But even then, you can see comparatively small protrusions from its surface... probably the tops of vast undersea constructions.

Looking back at the buildings on the land surface, you can see one spire that is more impressive than the rest. It is much taller and wider than the others.
This, you surmise, must be the most influential part of the planet.

You float through many of the rooms within this palatial construction and see that you are not wrong. One particular part of the building draws your attention... a vast open hall. A major event is happening within this hall, as it is packed to the edges with people. You see people in striking uniforms, some form of military personnel. In another direction, people of a more modest dress set are congregating. Religious types, you guess. Scattered amongst the throng, you can make out people in dress that is markedly different from the others... members of the highly artistic community. You note people in suits at the front end of the hall, probably some form of corporate people although they may also be political leaders or maybe even members of the general public. Many thousands of people within this room milling about.

You already know that this hall contains the person that you will first inhabit in order to attempt to fulfill your duty to the higher being.

---

Decision Thread

[Hyper Kinetic]

You drift towards one of the military types, the one with the most impressive looking array of stripes and badges. This person clearly looks as if they would be capable of enacting your plans of battle with the other species.

It's a strange thing, melding with another mind. To begin with, you have to slow down your thought process and try to match it with the host. Once this is achieved, you tend to lose all of your own near-omniscient senses and must find a way to use the organism's sensory perceptions. There is an odd sensation when this is achieved, the feeling of being bounded but also of somewhat heightened awareness... as if physical sensations were more than the ethereal "sensing" that you are familiar with. You must also acquire and assimilate as much of the host's knowledge as possible so as to better interact and shape the fate of it.

The process of melding with the host takes an exceptionally long time for more complex species such as this. You decide, once you have full awareness of audio and visual senses as well as basic language perception, to make the process take a little longer by taking in your new surroundings from your host's perspective.

People were seated and looking up to a figure on the stage. It appears that much time has passed since you began the process of joining.
"... delegates from across these border worlds have gathered here on Lios to enlighten those of us you have chosen to lead you as to what direction you would like us, as both a nation and a species, to head. Future directions have been plotted out in some areas, some things there are still yet to be discussed. Some directions have been nearly unanimous, some have been heavily discussed with no compromises. All communications have been done with the utmost sincerity and conviction of belief that we have come to expect of people of the Border systems. Despite there being a couple of days remaining in this conference, I would like to extend my congratulations to all of you for this has honestly been the best Meeting of the Minds that I have had the pleasure of presiding over."
And the hall erupted in applause. People stood from their seats.
It appears that this person is some form of figurehead for this population.

You go back into yourself and your hosts mind to focus on increasing your connection and knowledge. You are never really fully certain of how aware your hosts are of your presence, nor how completely you can control their actions. In some cases you have really had to fight hard to maintain any form of control, whereas others have basically seemed to accede to your every demand as if they were soft putty.

Your next attempt at visualising the world sees you in an enclosed meeting. You note that only a few people are in attendance here in this small room. You see the figure from the stage, a person that you now know as the President of the Eastern Border Worlds, sitting in a prime position in the centre of an oval table. On either side are various military commanders, some you recognised from the Space Navy. Others are planet-surface commanders that you know your host has no real care for. You know that your host is high up in the Space Naval forces. Sitting across from the President are the leaders of the two main opposing parties and a host of advisors from all sides of politics. The whole room appears to be in tense discussion about something.

“The biggest problem is the lack of transparency between us and them,” the voice of the Alien Relations Minister said. “We know that they are as unforthcoming about their true intentions to us as we are to them. This holding pattern has just about reached its breaking point. Within the next few years, it will basically come down to integrating and intermingling completely or disintegrating entirely. This charade of 'Meeting of Minds' will not fool them forever. They will know that these meetings are taking place.”
“And this is why,” the President's military advisor chimed in, “I advocate a visual building up of our military presence. No more of this cloaking or 'rapid patrol' caper. Strong visual military presence is a known deterrent to an active attack and it shows to our people that we are doing something to protect them.”
“But let's consider the alternative again.” This time, the voice of the Shadow Alien Relations Minister. “If we were to allow full integration, there could be many societal benefits. For starters, even the partial integration of both sides has allowed both us and them to benefit from the use of slightly different conditions on planets. Granted, this works primarily only on planet surfaces where conditions are not completely controlled, but this is a step in mutual integration for the benefit of mankind. We know that we have a larger sphere of influence than they do, so by all rights we should have a major advantage in any form of political games that are played out in a unification of the species.”
Murmurs arose around the table as the president took a sip of a stimulant beverage.
“I know,” the President began, “that you all have access to computational power of high magnitude. I urge you to go back to your respective camps and generate solutions for scenarios where your will is made so. We shall reconvene at this time tomorrow to discuss the various solutions that you come up with and see how each scenario fares amongst their peers.”
It appears as if you reconnected with the world at just too late a time to influence this discussion.

However, you realise that a new opportunity is about to arise. With the board room splitting off, your host makes its way down to the military station. Your manifestation within your host's mind is close to completion. You now have access to most of your subject's memories. With it contains an intimate knowledge of many space battle tactics and strategies. This information, you realise, could be used as the Space Navy's strategy-of-choice to put forward to the committee.

---

Decision Thread

[Hyper Kinetic]

The walk from the secret meeting to the teleporter is rather short as you process both the grand strategy and the knowledge that Space Marshal Verol has about the fleet at his command.
The list is as follows:
- One Command Battleship, easily capable of holding its own against Battleship formations, massed smaller vessels and carrying a formidable Omega device, a device created by the secretive Black Science projects run by the military
- Three Space Carrier vessels
- Three Troop Carrier vessels
- Five Battleships of Annihilator designation (Battleships primarily devoted to eliminating other capital ships, space stations and potentially small planets)
- Five Battlecruisers of Suppression designation (primarily used for massed vessels)
- 20 Cruiser divisions, designed to be a “catch-all” vessel with limited annihilation, supression and carrying capacity.
- 20 Destroyers divisions of varying capabilities, primarily aimed at intercepting vessels
- 20 Frigates divisions varying capabilities, primarily used to prod generate weak points in fleet defence through superior mobility
- Numerous small patrol craft and a varied “militia”, of sorts, based upon those ships willing and capable of being mustered in an attack.

Each division of smaller ships is made up of three of the ships designations, although these are mutable to the extent that different ship classes can mingle between divisions.

You are also aware that there are five other Space Marshals with a similar Fleet.

Of the Fleet under your command, all Battleships, Battlecruisers and Carriers are capable of both Hyperdrive and Teleportation. 10 divsions each of the Cruisers, Destroyers and Frigates are capable of Hyperdrive, with the remaining 10 capable of Teleportation. The militia are almost universally comprised of Hyperdrive vessels.

You search his memory for what Hyperdrive and Teleportation mean in this context.
Hyperdrives are used for Faster than Light Travel, travelling through the aether. The speed attained is far greater than moving through normal space but it can be interrupted at points. Hyperdrive flight can also be detected.
Teleportation is the instantaneous transfer of items from one location to another. It is fairly safe and the flight path or final location can not be detected, but items that are teleported tend to have a short period of disorientation after the teleportation process.

And, speaking of such things, you are hit with a wave of nausea when the Space Marshal is teleported from the planet to the Chief Space Marshal's ship in orbit. Instinctively, you double over and half-retch.
“Huh? Verol? Teleportation Sickness in a senior officer of the Space Navy?” Your host recognises this voice as Space Marshal Tindall, a voice that is walking over to you.
“That was... unusual.” The voice of your host, now familiar. “Something must have gotten in to me.” As he stands, you are keenly aware of the rest of the room staring at your apparent loss of ability. You resolve to not let anything similar happen again. Tindall looks over your form.
“Hmm, you look alright to me. To the Briefing Room?”
After a brief pause, your host responds in the affirmative and you accompany the myriad of officers to the Briefing Room.
After the standard procedure of searching for listening and recording devices, you find your way to your seat and find your self backed by a dozen or so officers who are, militarily speaking, beneath you.
The centre of the room is taken up by Chief Fleet Marshal Corolsson. Upon the room quietening down, the Chief begins.
“Officers of the Eastern Border Worlds Space Navy, soon we may have reason to upgrade our alert status for the President has considered the Military Advisor's request for an initiation to conflict. The President has requested that we use our predictive computers to formulate our battle plans so that we may determine the likelihood of overcoming the Sirath forces in the area of the star system Barnard.” Holographic displays in front of each person present lit up with a three dimensional map of the Barnard system.
“As per standard procedure, we are dividing Barnard in to six sectors to accommodate the six Space Marshals in use. These sectors will be described as being X-Y-Zs with North and South designations. The sector that you will be operating in has been randomised as per standard procedure based on what vessels you have at your disposal and will be highlighted momentarily.”
As if by command, a section that was one sixth of the sphere surrounding the solar system was highlighted on your system. This was Z North: The part of the system most distant from Lios.
“All strategic information will be uploaded shortly. From there, you will have 10 hours to compile a solution for your sector. All sector solutions will be worked together to create a grand strategy to put forth to the President within the next 24 hours.”
And, with that, the meeting was closed. The information pertaining to your sector downloaded to your Space Navy Data Storage Unit. The officers in your command accompany you to your ship to formulate a strategy.

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Decision Branch (part a)
Decision Branch (part b)