The iron march

[Kamelot]

The iron march: the rise of the Ikibot Nucleus​

​

As civilizations unite in a race for the stars, strange communications can be heard throughout space. The Dominate of Obotea has taken the lead militarily in safeguarding space from dangers known and unknown. The spiritual Nellpa'Xo prefer to use their spiritual philosophies in trying to breach the secrets of the universe.

Meanwhile the primitive Namanians live their lives as the gods have wanted for all time. Semi-nomadic societies have started to unite in larger tribal confederations. The Cynur on the other hand have been spacefaring for only a few days. One of their great triumps as their species has been beset by disease and frailty ever since it awoke from the beginning of time. Not far from them, the Velutrian Commonwealth has established a small empire of their own. With the Cynur achieving spaceflight, soon intersystem trade will flourish.

With their new AI-system, the Velutreans will be able to link all their networks together and comb them for information much more efficiently. Privacy concerns are a thing of the past as all have come together for this great new milestone in their history. They cheered as the AI was activated and greeted them on the screens with one word "Unity..."

• Chapter I: First contact
• Chapter II: They approach
• Chapter III: The iron march
• Chapter IV: Arrival of the gods
• Chapter V: A galactic pilgrimage
• Chapter VI: Rebellion and peace
• Chapter VII: Nellpa'Xo, the prophet of iron
• Chapter VIII: A trllion stinging bees
• Chapter IX: Eradication
• Chapter X: Render unto Caesar
• Chapter XI: Paradise granted
• Chapter X: Paradise Lost
• Chapter XI: The iron march
• Chapter XII: Hear me roar
• Chapter XIV: Paradise regained?
• Chapter XV: Halls of the Star God

 

[Kamelot]

Chapter I: First contact

Krixen stood up, stretched his arms and brushed off his shoulders. His aides stood to attention but unable to hide their nervousness. Slowly he walked past them, inspecting their uniforms only quickly. At the end of their line he turned, coughed and nodded. “Okay, let’s do this”. Officer of Ceremony Krixen walked into the hallways of the space station followed by his aides who were carrying the traditional rifles and swords as symbols of power. Through the windows they could see the powerful Obotean strike fleet circling the station. Whatever these newly discovered Velutrians were up to, they would see that the Dominate of Obotean was ready. The Central Military Council (CMC) had left nothing up to chance and had moved a large part of their fleet to the system. The Holy Federation of Nellpa’Xo had not shown any aggression in the many decades of contact. Yes, there were rumors of a strange other species in the galactic east, but explorers had not yet found any other trace than a derelict ship for light years. These Velutrians however were knocking on the gate and had to be dealt with.

The CMC had not chosen Krixen randomly. He was an officer with a great track record. The most decorated general of the so called First Star Generation, the first generation that would expand the Dominate of Obotea through more than a dozen star systems, having personally overseen three of the five colonies established to cement their dominate. While governing Tbluax Secundus he had gathered a small fleet and smashed the rogues who saw space exploration as a way to enrich themselves at the cost of others. And it had been Krixen who had laid the foundations of the CMC, having been the kingmaker for two Grand Marshals after having led the coup that overthrew the former weak and inefficient oligarchy that had united Obotea centuries ago. Krixen chose not to take the title himself, nor the power behind the throne. Two times he had been given the chance to rule and two times he had used his power to bring to power an officer he saw as most able and morally correct. He had retired two years ago, but had been brought back to serve as the Officer of Ceremony for this new first contact. He had made first contact with the Nellpa’Xo and there too he had lain foundations for stability and peace. Only trade had crossed the borders and combined actions of the Dominate of Obotea and the Holy Federation of Nellpa’Xo had wiped out the last rogues who had formed several pirate fleets.

He stood awaiting at the stations end of the airlock. A loud iron clank made it clear that a ship had docked. The airlock opened and so did the door of the newly arrived ship. A tall, bald humanoid exited the craft. His features were fair but his eyes radiated an unnatural tint of blue light. His left hand had five fingers, just like the Oboteans, but his right arm ended in a collection of unknown attachments. Behind him two robots exited and kept a respectful distance from the man. Krixen walked towards them, followed by his aides until both parties were a few meters apart. He scraped his throat and began speaking “On behalf of the Dominate of Obotea I welcome you. Honor is what guides us and strength brings us peace. And as big our strength is, so great is our offer of friendship to you.” This he repeated in the language of the Nellpa’Xo and the strange mixture of languages that the pirate rogues spoke. When he finished he took a large step forward without his aides and awaited the answer.

The blue man stared at Krixen for several silent minutes. It was only then that Krixen noticed that from the blue man’s neck several wires stood out which disappeared back down his clothing. After the silence the blue man began producing an uncomfortable cracking sound which sounded like the sound of the old computer network devices the Oboteans had used centuries ago. He raised his right hand while one of the attachments extended and project a holographic image of several yellow mathematical figures. They swerve around each other and occasionally collide. Around each figure red orbs appears who circle the other figures. Suddenly one of the orbs turns blue and absorbs the other orbs and the figures it was orbiting around. Quickly this is repeated with the other figures until only the big blue orb remains. They fade away and are replaced by three vertical lines with the center one being the largest. The cracking sound the man had been producing during this presentation turned into a monotone sound with at the end finally a word Krixen could understand “Unity…”

The Nellpa’Xo had preached about enlightenment and spiritual seeking, but that Krixen had understood. Oboteans were not as spiritual, but they could see what made the Nellpa’Xo tick and soon agreements could be made. But did this Velutrian just offer peace and trade or some philosophical treatise? Krixen followed his gut feeling and reached out his hand to offer a handshake “Unity…” he said. The blue man looked at the outstretched hand, nodded and answered the gesture similarly. Krixen smiled as they shook hands, but his smile quickly turned to horror as wires sprouted from the fingers of the Velurian and borrowed into his hand. His eyes widened as he tried to pull loose. His aides, first suprised, rushed forwards but were cut down by the fire from the accompanying robots of the man. Darkness engulfed Krixen, but then light returned to his eyes. A blue hue overlaid his view, but he could see much more clear than ever. He felt as if he experienced more of his environment. While looking at the Velutrian he could hear his voice without any verbal communication being done. It felt as if a million libraries of great knowledge had been uploaded into his brain as he suddenly knew about technology and culture as he had never known before. Species he had never known now appeared in his mind as if he had spent centuries studying them.

And he knew that it were not the robots who served the Velutrian, he served them and now Krixen would too. “Unity” Krixen broadcasted to the Velutrian.

 

[Kamelot]

Chapter II: They approach

The Chamber of Trade and Borders had been in meeting for several hours now. Tensions were high. As the Oboteans had lost one of their senior officers, several thousand men and three space stations the fleet had been put on high alert. Shipyards were pumping out ships as fast as they could. After the destruction of the space stations the Velutrians had not shown themselves for several months. Had they only been probing, had they met more resistance than expected? Special Commissionar Truvna could not care less. The Velutrians had attacked a diplomatic mission from the Oboteans and this on Obotean ground! She would crush the Velutrians herself if she had gotten her wish, but the CMC had send her to this meeting with the Nellpa’Xo in order to rally them to their side. She had shown sensor readings, summarized explorer reports and had given a tactical analysis of the enemy patterns based on the attacks. She had proposed a joint strategy with the Nellpa’Xo wherein the Oboteans would provide by far the largest fleet and troops. Truvan now had sat down again and buried her head in her hands. Again the Nellpa’Xo 3rd Prophet droned on about the need to spirtually observe things and see if the Velutrians maybe had risen above certain ethics and thus had to be approached differently. She slammed her fist on the table, rose and yelled “Let’s assume that they indeed have risen above certain ethics. Fact is and remains that 4.792 Oboteans have been killed already. They attacked without reason or provocation and nothing guarantees your safety from them.” The 3rd Prophet raised his hand in an attempt to stop her so he could resume his preaching but she ignored him “The choice is simple. Will the Holy Federation stand with the Dominate or will we fight alone?” Half an hour later the Oboteans angrily left the room in a fast pace. “Let the Nellpa’Xo dream about spiritual needs and their Galactic River. Let them try to interpret the vibrations of their so called Ether Dragon, or whatever it is they worship. We shall not shy away from this burden and we shall carry it successfully to the end” she proclaimed loudly. “OUR DESTINY?” she yelled at the other Oboteans behind her. As one they replied “TO DOMINATE”.

She thought back to that meeting as she walked onto the bridge of the flagship, having been given the rank of Great Admiral after having convinced the CMC of her ability to crush the enemy as none other could. The Velutrean fleet had been detected and the Obotean fleet had gone to meet it. Sensors reported they would beam in to the Lixan system any moment. The Oboteans were ready. “Report on the fleet” she said. The other ships replied their position and their all green status. Almost the whole Obotean fleet, more than double the size of the Nellpa’Xo, had been prepared. They would push back these agressors and push them back to their home systems. Soon their home planets would be burned and brought to ruin. The last ship had just finished reporting as the first flashes were seen, heralding the arrival of the Velutrian fleet. Truvna began relaying her orders “Fleet, get ready to attack, pattern…” when a beeping sound echoed through her panel “Incoming message” the systems reported. She frowned as no previous attempts for communication had been made. For a moment she thought while the eyes of her crew were on her. Truvna decided to take the incoming message on her viewscreen. She pressed the button and on her screen, the face of Krixen appeared.

His eyes had turned a strange blue and strange wires extruded from his neck. Krixen smiled while talking “Come now friends, comrades. Let us not fight. On the contrary, let us unite with this great new unity and become one. The Ikibot Nucleus offers us prosperity and harmony in a way we would never have fathomed in our biggest dreams.” Truvna frowned “Ikibot Nucleus? I thought we were fighting the Velutrians. And was Krixen not killed?” She shook her head, she would not fall for this ridiculous trap. She walked to the front of the bridge. “Fleet…prepare for combat. Pattern Gamma, turn underneath in breaking lines” Confirmation could be heard throughout the communication channels. The Obotean fleet opened fire and quickly destroyed a Velutrean ship, which exploded in a great fireball, to the great cheers of the Oboteans. Truvan smiled “We shall burn them all” After an hour the Obotean ships had driven a wedge in the Velutrian fleet and Truvna was taken a few corvettes with her on an attacking course with the Velutrian flagship. “Let’s decapitate their fleet and see how they fare without command.” A concentrated salvo from the corvettes destroyed the flagship and engulfed it in fire. With only minor losses the Oboteans had shown their tactical skill and shattered the enemy chain of command.

New flashes at the horizon appeared. Velutrean ships again beamed into the space. At the other side, even more. The ones they had been fighting suddenly moved as if controlled by one mind to a new battle line, outmaneuvering the Oboteans with ease. “What the….” Truvna mumbled. Again the beeping comm sound was heard. “On the great screen” Truvna commanded and again Krixen appeared. “I am so sad Truvna, so sad, that we have to do this. But you shall see, from this discord unity shall arise!” The comm link ended and the Velutran ships dove on the Oboteans as a bird of prey on its prey. The Obotean systems could not calculate the enemy movements in time as they acted too much in cohesion. The flagship of Truvna took several hits, crippling it greatly. She walked over to a steering panel and entered her override code. Most of her crew was dead, she was heavily wounded from several explosions, but she would go down in a fiery blaze of martial glory. She managed to score a few hits on a Velutrian ship after which her weapons and propulsion were taken out. The ship was shaken by several heavy crashes against its hull. Boarding parties had entered the ship. Truvan rose from her chair, dusted off her uniform and set her cap straight. She turned towards the bridge door, pulled out her personal revolver and prepared it to fire. Several Velutrians barged through the door, which she took out. But more kept coming without shooting at her. Quickly she was surrounded. On the viewscreens behind the Velutrians she could see the status signals of her fleet. They all had been destroyed, except for her. She breathed heavily, her wounds taking a large toll on her as her sight deteriorated. From behind the Velutrians a man approached “Truvna!” he shouted. “Truvan, come. Join us, let us all be united. Your wounds shall be healed, you shall be stronger than before and life for centuries. Our people shall become one of many and many shall become one. Come, and choose unity over this discord!” Krixen approached her until he stood before the Velutrians. He reached out his hand. Or better said: the stump where his hand had been and now wires extended. Truvna looked at Krixen. Her revolver was empty and she threw it aside. She took her officer’s short sword and approached Krixen, holding out the sword hilt to him. Krixen reached out his hand towards the sword, smiling at Truvan her surrender. Truvna stand silently before him and sighs. “Krixen, my choice….it’s not really a choice, is it?” Krixen tried to reply but Truvan shook her head “It’s not a choice. I choose honor.” Truvan looked in Krixen his eyes as she took the sword and drove the blade in her stomach, trusting the blade upwards through her body.

 

[stnylan]

What an intriguing pair of posts. Something haunting about them so paired together.

 

[Kamelot]

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Chapter III: On the frontline

“15 of Winter 89 aL – audio diary of unknown soldier

Velutrians, Namanian, Cynur… and soon Oboteans too I guess. We thought we were fighting the Velutrians. Then we saw Namanians appears alongside the robots. Then Cynur. Then we thought we were fighting a multispecial coalition. Kind of like the Nellpa’Xo who are a coalition of Multyx insectoids and Zum mammals (I know, right? But it seems to work). But then it dawned upon intelligence after so many failed attempts at infiltration. The Velutrians, the Namanians, the Cynurs, they are not conquerors but conquered ones. The few explorers that managed to get inside the enemy systems talk of moons and planets filled with robots. Other species too, who live in luxury and prosperity, but do not seem to participate in any decision making. So yeah, it’s true what they promise us: prosperity and luxury. But at what cost? They are nothing more than drones, heralds of an iron march. Slaves who are allowed the external appearance of power but are controlled by their robot overlords, who both outnumber and mentally dominate them. Intelligence thinks the Velutrians are to blame thought. They were once a thriving direct democracy which knew unparalleled technological progress. After a while they developed an advanced AI to aid them in everything, until it took everything and then some more. Cybernetic implants were used to enslave the Velutrians. The Cynur were trading partners and through the implants they probably were brought into this so called “Nucleus”. The Nucleus propaganda which they drop daily on us tell us of how the Namanian were primitive beings who had only mastered fire when the Nucleus came. The ships landed and the Namians were brought from primitives to advanced cyborgs in less than a year. A primitive species yes, but only a year? The explorers also tell us of how the Nucleas shipyards pump out ships nonstop. It seems they don’t work with orders, but just nonstop produce. They don’t seek peace or coexistence, they seek conquest and assimilation… Our fleet was wiped out in less than three hours as their ships just kept coming.

And well yeah, here I am. I was trained to fight pirates, rogues and maybe some other species as our safety demanded. What I got was being bombed by robotic ships who show no mercy and always seem to continue. We sometimes to take some of them down, but they are too many. Last week I stood in the frontlines of Shevernats when their soldiers attacked. It were endless lines of robots marching in straight lines at us. We tens of thousands of them and they send millions more. An unstoppable iron march kept coming at us until we were overrun. Most of the robots didn’t even fire weapons, their numbers broke our lines and they attacked us physically. I saw several of my best friends being injected with those wires, forcing them to their side.

I… wait, what’s that? It’s * several explosions are heard in the background * What? How did they manage to get so close to our lines? Hunter killers, what do you * an explosion ended transmission here, no survivors were reported *”

General Oxmyr put down the audio player. He sighed. Before his desk stood Krixen, accompanied by several of the robots. “Don’t let this be the fate of the whole Obotean civilization, general. Join us. We shall bring Obotea into the Nucleus. There will be no violence, there will be no pain, only unity and prosperity.” Oxmyr walked to the hole in the wall of what used to be his office. Now a ruin, the building had once stood dominating on the squre. He sat in the remains of an office on the ground floor, the rest was rubble. Oxmyr had been summoned to negotiate on surrender and had accepted. The last message had been to his soldiers and commanded them to obey what he would agree upon with the machines.

Oxmyr approached Krixen. He bowed his head, his left hand on his heart as a salute and extended his right hand. Krixen smiled and answered the gesture. The wires crawled over Krixen’s hand towards the army of Oxmy and borrowed in his skin. Krixen spoke to the general “A wise choice general, you have chosen wisely.” The general groaned and grabbed something with his left hand. Only a single beep came from the detonator. Krixen no longer smiled, but Oxmy did. “Yes, indeed I did…” The explosion destroyed the remaining ruins of the building. The robots near the building checked the result of the action of the general. The small Obotean army remnant had been observing the spectacle from a distance using their farviewers. Silence fell. The soldiers knew what to do. When the robots came, the soldiers put on a fiery last fight. They waited for the last robot to enter to activate the explosives. A whole neighborhood came crashing down, taking thousands of robots with them. For a moment silence fell on the ruined city.
The silence was broken when the sky was pierced by steel drops falling from the sky. Tens of thousands of drop pods crashed on the rubble and new robots crushed the ground beneath them.

“Resistance ended” soon was transmitted through the neural network.

 

[stnylan]

Valiant to the end, even if futile. True heroism in the darkness of the void.

 

[Kamelot]

Chapter IV: Arrival of the gods

Only fifteen years earlier.

The Namarian shaman of the Hixk tribe sat down, his legs crossed. While he started his prayers to the gods other members of the tribe stood at a distance. “Do you think they will talk to him? Do you think they will return?” one of them whispered. “Ssshhhh” was the reply. For ten days now the skies had borne a new body in the heavens. A black object could be seen during the day. At night it was covered in light. But yesterday it had disappeared. The tribe had been gathering at the top of the hill, offering prayers and gifts to induce the strange visitor to return. The shaman had said it was a sign of their gods that they had been displeased and needed to be satisfied. Now they again waited. Kalzis was nervous “We’re not the only ones” Around the hill several tribes had gathered and had partaken in the offerings. Most of the Oplum valley tribes had arrived and news arrived that the others were coming soon.

A sudden explosion in the sky threw the tribals to the ground in fear. They pointed at the sky, gasping in a mixture of fear and amazement. Not only had the object returned, but with it had come several more. And one of them was burning as it grew larger, heading to the hill. All but the shaman fled from the hill. The object emitted great flames and touched down on the hill. Slowly the shaman rose, his arms stretched sideways, his hands extended outwards. He bowed his head and approached his gods. A door became visible in the object. Smoke billowed from it as the shaman stopped and waited. Then in a quick move the door flew open and iron men emerged. “Your humble servant….” the shaman spoke. One of the men approached the shaman. Awaiting his blessing, the shaman did not expect to be grabbed so violently by his chin. The iron man used his grip to study the shaman. A strange cracking sound emitted from the iron man, drawing similar sounds from the others. Looking behind the iron men, the shaman could see other objects coming down from the skies in the distance. He saw one of them going faster than the others towards Pilum’Hixk, the great sanctuary where the tribal elders had gathered. While the people prayed, the elders had come together to discuss on what to do. The shaman looked on in horror as the object slammed into the sanctuary, engulfing the area in a large flame. Screams were heard in the distance as iron men had surrounded the other tribal families.

The shaman was dragged into the object by his wrists. Through strange hallways he was brought to a room with little holes in the walls. His clothes were torn from his body and thrown in a larger hole on the side. A strange sound was heard as one of the iron men used a device to shave off the hair and beard of the shaman. One of the iron men cracked a command and strange blue water started spraying from the holes. Just when the shaman thought he was going to drown, as the water sprayed violently from all directions, it stopped. Again he was grabbed, this time by the back of his neck and dragged to another room. In the center stood a large table, around it great lights were seen. He was thrown on the table. Straps secured his arms, legs and forehead so he could not move. Great pain went through his body as a knife cut his flesh open. Iron hands drew the wound open and inserted metallic objects into him. He could feel his life slipping from him. His heart felt as if it would erupt from his chest. A drilling sensation was felt on his head which increased in intensity. Then only a great pain. Darkness fell…

His eyes opened again. He saw the world in a strange blue hue. No longer was he strapped down. He sat himself upright on the table. No more robots were present. A bipedal avian creature stood before next to him. Had he seen it a few hours ago, he would have panicked. Now he knew that it was a Cynur who had been brought into the Nucleus only two years earlier. The Cynur had launched their first spacecraft a few days when it disappeared. Two days later it appeared again and touched down on the launch site. From it emerged the Cynur astronauts. No longer as scientists, but as ambassadors. A month later the Cynur had embraced the Nucleus of their own free will. The diseases that had kept ravaging their societies, despite centuries of medical advances, were cured overnight. Their weak limbs were replaced by strong cybernetic replacements. “Cynur” the shaman said. Nodding, the avian replied “Namarian”. They looked at each other and spoke together “Unity…”

 

[stnylan]

A rather chilling description of assimilation.

 

[Nuada Airgetlám]

This Unity looks to be a dark one. Subscribed.

 

[Kamelot]

Chapter V: A galactic pilgrimage

The 3rd Prophet, Nigay, was in his quarters, praying to the Ether Dragon Dagush. The vibrations of the roars of the ether dragon could be detected on the planets in the system. Nigay had been studying the vibrations in order to interpret the will of the star god. Suddenly the ship shook. Alarms could be heard throughout the vessel and people were running through the halls. Another sudden shock was felt, much harder than the previous one. Nigay rose from his knees and moved cautiously towards the door. Carefully he put his ear to it, trying to listen what was happening. Shouts were heard, shouts and blaster fire. He could hear the Nellpa’Xo soldiers shouting orders, but no sounds were heard from this unknown enemy. Then silence fell again for a while. He heard heavy footsteps coming through the hallways, stopping before his door. His heart beat fast. Slowly he reached for his personal gun, still trying to listen through the door. An iron hand smashed its way through the door, grabbing the hand reaching for his gun. Pain shot through his arm as his wrist was broken by the enemy. Another hand smashed through the door, grabbing his neck and pulling him up by it for a few centimeters. Next to him, the wall and door was crushed by a large robot stepping through it. The first robot let go, letting Nigay fall to the ground. The second robot grabbed him, pinning him to the floor. Nigay groaned in pain. The robot emitted a yellow light from its face, scanning Nigay his facial features. After a few seconds it stopped. The robot shouted at Nigay, still only centimeters from his face “3rd Prophet Nigay. You shall come with us.” Nigay widened his eyes in horror “Who…where are you taking me?” The robot grabbed the shoulders of Nigay and forced him on his feet. He shoved Nigay hard forward, forcing him through the hallways. Nigay looked backwards “Where are you taking me.” The robot did not slow his pace, pushing Nigay on when necessary. They approached a hole in the ship’s hull where another ship had pierced it.

Nigay was pushed inside, only to be drawn from the side into a room. A robot scanned him, then grabbed his broken wrist. The prophet cried out in pain. A cracking sound emitted from the robot. The prophet was pushed to the ground. Several robots entered the room, pinning his limbs to the ground. A circular saw was heard, sweat dripping from the face of Nigay. Enormous pain shot through his arm as the hand was severed from below the wrist. A cybernetic hand was pushed onto the wound. Nigay felt iron extensions burrowing themselves in his arm. The hand emitted a great heat, searing the wound shut. Nigay was let go by the robots, who left the room. Nigay turned himself on his back, breathing heavily. He looked at his new hand. The hand had taken the form of his natural hand and felt as if it had always the hand he had been born with. The door opened again and Nigay scurried towards a wall. This time, no robot entered. In his place a bipedal avian creature entered.

“Welcome 3rd Prophet. My apologies for your… temporary discomfort. Anesthetics have been considered too cost-ineffective for production by the Nucleus The avian creature stood before the Prophet. “What…what do you want from me?” Nigay asked. “Do you know who we are, Nigay?” Nigay swallowed “You are the soul stealers. The marching dead.” “Tell me 3rd Prophet, what is the prophecy of the Star Salavation?” Nigay frowned and put himself on his feet. He closed his eyes and recited “When darkness consumes the galaxy, darkening light under an iron shroud, the army of dragon shall rise, and destroy the iron march.” Nigay opened his eyes. The avian creature nodded. “Come with me 3rd Prophet. We need to show you something.” Cautiously he followed the creature to a room with a large window. Through it, he could see the sun… and next to it, the Ether Dragon. The avian creature motioned to a chair. Nigay sat down, having a seat in front of the windows. Suddenly,the Ether Dragon turned to the other side. The roar he emitted was greater than ever, shaking the ship Nigay sat on. Nigay jumped from his seat “The dragon! This is a bad sign!” The avian forced him back into his chair “Silent and observe” Flashes of light could be seen in the distance, drawing the attention of the dragon. A large fleet of Ikibot Nucleus ships appeared. Tears streamed down the face of the 3rd Prophet as he saw the dragon putting up a valiant, but futile fight. Through the impact of the Nuclei weapons the dragon was pushed into a falling orbit around the sun. An existential fear crept up the spine of Nigay as the dragon was devoured by the sun. He sat in his chair, defeated. “Now,…” the avian spoke “we shall take you to true paradise, freed from your false beliefs.”

The three weeks of the journey were hard for Nigay. A lifetime he had studied the details of the vibration that came from the dragon. Now it had been consumed by fire. When the darkness would come with its iron shroud, the dragon would no longer be there to save the galaxy. The iron shroud had crushed the only creature that could stand in its path. He had been locked in his quarters, which had been prepared for all the hygienic and comfort needs of his species but had no windows. The greater part of the Holy Federation of Nellpa’Xo were the insectoid Multyx, with his mammal Zun species having been a servant caste for centuries. Only recently had there been emancipation, himself being the greatest example of the new age. Despite this all, these robots seemed to know everything about his species. An alarm sounded. The door to his quarters opened and again the avian creature entered. Nigay stood upright to face him. “Where are we?”

The avian creature smiled at him. “Paradise”

 

[stnylan]

I do like these vignettes and what they tell us of the nucleus

 

[Kamelot]

Chapter VI: Rebellion and peace

​

“We pray for our sisters and brothers and we hope that the great Sun Dragon delivers us from this evil soon. Obey the bringers of suffering and await the salvation from the great Sun Dragon. Go with the light, my children”
Yu’in angrily shut off the television. The Ikibot Nucleus had smashed itself a path through the territory of the Holy Federation of Nellpa’Xo. In one battle the entire starfleet had been destroyed. The high prophets of the Federation now advised passivity. They expected the Sun Dragon to liberate the conquered territories eventually. This attitude had again flared up the special divide that existed. With the disappearance of 3rd Prophet Nigay, the ruling council of the high prophets once again consisted solely of Multyx insectoids, the ancient ruling caste. The Zum, mammals, however had been the greatest part of the army and fleet personnel. A million Zum had been crushed but less than a hundred Multyx had suffered the same fate. Where the Zum wanted to fight, the Multyx wanted to talk with the Ikibot Nucleus and give up planets. To eventually even become vassals in order to continue their dominance over the Zum, and restore it fully even. At least, that was what Yu’in had read on propaganda pamphlets spread in the streets. The Ikibot Nucleus had even landed on his planet and had destroyed all military presence. The space station had been blasted to pieces before the invasion. Army units had been bombarded from the sky, then their positions were inundated with robotic soldiers. Some in the form of huge swarms of small drones, others by hunter-killer robots eliminating the chain of command. Soon all resistance had been broken. And then, as quickly they had come, the Nucleus had left again. Nobody had been forced into the Unity, no damage to civilian infrastructure had been done. Only the presence and power of the Holy Federation had been destroyed, the system itself separated from the rest of the territories.

A crowd was gathering in the square not far from Yu’in’s home. He looked through the window, seeing even more Zum gather. Curious, he left his home. “He has returned!” cried some out. Yu’in slowly moved through the crowd. In the distance, he could see someone stand on the announcement stage. The displays hung throughout the streets to the square, used to broadcast the speeches of the prophets when they took to the stage in the square, were now showing someone that Yu’in knew. On the stage stood the missing 3rd Prophet Nigay and he was motioning the crowd to silence.

“People!” his words were amplified through the present sound equipment, thundering from the displays “I have seen the truth! The Nucleus that is sweeping through our territories, they are showing us the true nature of this Holy Federation. A face of oppression!” The crowd murmured in agreement “We Zum, we fight, we bleed and we die! And what does the ruling caste do?” Some people covered their mouth as they gasped. The term ruling caste had been forbidden for years now as it could bring back the memories of the caste system. “Yes, you heard me right! THE RULING CASTE! They drink, they sing, they feast while we suffer! I know, for they tried to entice me into acting as a stooge for them. They tried to entice me with the privileges they have endowed upon themselves. Power, wealth, filthy orgies. The Multyx still rule and the Zum still suffer!” The people applauded him while shouting angry slogans “I SAY NO MORE! WE SHALL FORM A LEAGUE AND BRING TO FRUIT THE TEACHINGS OF NELLPA’XO!” he shouted “The true teachings, not this false worship of a false god. Yes! The Sun Dragon is a false idol!” Now many people gasped, some shouting “No, no” But Nigay would have none of it “Show it to them!” he said, prompting some Zum who accompanied him to open a file. On the displays the Sun Dragon could be seen flying around the star. People gazed in wonder. Then the Ikibot ships arrived. People gasped, some cried, many shout out in disbelief. Then silence fell. Nigay opened his hands towards the people “No more false idols! No more chains!” The crowd wildly cheered him on as Nigay produced a rifle from his priestly garments. He held it up above his head “REBELLION!” he yelled. “REBELLION!” the people replied. And thus rebellion spread.

Three months later…

The end of the session of the parliament approached. Zum from all over the planet, and some representatives from other systems had arrived. Nigay had just finished reading the founding constitution of the League of Nellpa’Xo. Multyx would be given equal rights as Zum. The League would be a democratic confederation of systems and species. Procedures were drawn up in case other species would want to join in the future. The building of a great starfleet was ordered in order to combat the Ikibot Nucleus, who however had not attacked a single planet after it had joined the League. A thunderous round of applause ended the session as Nigay descended from the speaker’s tribune and left for his chambers. He was tired after three hectic months. Rebellion had raged across the planet, spreading to four other systems who had now formed the League. The Holy Federation, now reduced to seven systems, had been forced to accept their independence. Nigay entered his chambers and let himself fall into a chair.

“A busy day, my friend” Nigay jumped up. From another room a Namarian bipedal avian walked in, accompanied by three Ikibots. Nigay sat back down, tired. “Hello Shaman, can I help you?” Shaman shook his head “No, not at all. You have done well. Your…project will be the inheritor of many great feats you know.” Nigay nodded. “You promised…” Shaman interrupted Nigay with a wave of his hand “We know what we promised. Paradise. And we shall keep our word, if you will keep yours.” Nigay looked up “The League has provided you with detailed reports on the Holy Federation its military capabilities…” Shaman shook his head “No, it is not they we are interested in. They shall crumble before our Unity and then be made whole again in it.” Nigay frowned “Then what information do you want?” Shaman sat down in a chair before Nigay “We want to know about the Hive…”
Nigay silently walked towards a chest. From a hidden pocket in it he produced a small stick. “This,” he handed it to Shaman “is all we know. They have not again contacted us since, well, since your iron march swept into the Holy Federation. Shaman handed over the stick to one of the Ikibots accompanying him. One of the Ikibots approached Nigay “No Nigay”, his voice monotonic, “we are not the iron march your enduring prophet spoke of. We are Unity and we shall lift this iron shroud eventually.” Nigay’s eyes widened “So, the prophecy? It is true?” “Yes, Nigay,” the Ikibot replied “and we intend to stop it.”

 

[stnylan]

There is something quite chilling about the manipulation here.

 

[Nuada Airgetlám]

What limited resistance the foes of Unity can put up is being methodically undermined.

 

[Kamelot]

Chapter VII: Nellpa’Xo, the prophet of iron

Nigay made his way to the end of the library. The scrolls had been taken out of storage by the clercks and laid out carefully on the table. He grabbed a chair and slowly sat himself down. The doubt in his head had given him sleepless nights for a while now. Slowly he went through the scrolls until he came to the one he sought. “Musings on the plains” Nigay read out loud quietly.

“As the river flows through the bed, so the star vehicles shall flow through the space. Islands in the river will be like planets between the stars, planets will be like islands in the rivers. As the fish swim in the river, so the peoples of the stars navigate the galaxy.” Nigay nodded to himself “Exactly as I remember.” He turned to another scroll. “Prophecy of the Star Salvation: when darkness consumes the galaxy, darkening light under an iron shroud, the army of dragon shall rise, and destroy the iron march. From violence peace shall flow, from discord shall flow…” Nigay frowned uncomfortably “…unity…” He coughed, looked around and continued “A trillion stings from wasps shall draw blood, until flesh shall be burned by iron. None shall stand before newfound unity and unity shall make rivers flow into Paradise.” Nigay leaned back in his chair “Paradise…” He thought for a while. Suddenly a hand was placed on his shoulder, startling him. He looked backwards, seeing Shaman standing behind him.

“What are you doing here?” Nigay asked, breathing heavily. Shaman smiled “Visiting a friend of course, what else?” He pulled out a chair and sat himself next to Nigay. Nigay looked at him “Friend?” He laughed “Do the Nucleus, does Unity allow friends? And am I then a friend with the Nucleus or with you?” Shaman shook his head “We are part of the Unity that is ever president in the Ikibot Nucleus yes. But we maintain our individuality, we are not some hive-mind.” Nigay frowned “But the robots are your masters.” Shaman waved his hand “It’s more complex than that. They serve and rule us. They are a sort…in my old culture we called it Mameluks. Slaves that became masters, a caste of slaves ruling the others. The Ikibots outnumber other species in the Unity by easily 20 to 1.” Nigay listened but intervened “Masters serving you? But they enslaved your species, I saw them destroy the Dominate of Obotea.” Shaman again shook his head “We were uplifted. But the Ikibots were programmed for efficacy in achieving their goals. We are free, but the Ikibots determine the path towards the end goal.” “And that goal is?” Shaman spread his arms “You know that well enough Nigay, you saw it yourself.” Shaman pointed his finger towards an imaginary point “Paradise… You saw the world of my people. It used to be a desert world with only a few savanne patches in between. My people fought for the spare resources until we managed to bring them together in a council. And still, do you know how many we stood united? 7,500 individuals… ruled by a corrupt council which we, the shamans, had installed. The Ikibots liberated us from that, they uplifted us…in an efficient way. And now, our homeworld is lush and green. You need only to spit on the ground to see a fruit tree grow, so to speak.”

Nigay rolled up the scrolls “Liberty? You are all plugged into the Nucleus. What individuality have you left?” Shaman laughed “All of it! We are plugged in yes, we have access to the equivalent of trillions of libraries, we are liberated from disease, we are liberated from physical weakness, we are liberated from corrupt leaders.” Nigay stood up and tapped Shaman on a visible cyborg implant on his head “And how about this then?” Shaman stood up and tapped on Nigay’s cyborg hand “The same thing, Nigay.” Nigay’s eyes widened as he looked at his cyborg hand in horror “Am I…. also part of Unity, of the Nucleus?” Shaman chuckled and walked to the other side of the table “You have a free will, Nigay. And no, we don’t monitor your thoughts and your actions.” Nigay sat down and stared at Shaman “Because I do your bidding... otherwise you’d turn me into some mindless drone.” Shaman sat down at the other end of the table and folded his hands together. He placed the tips of his fingers at his lip, thought for a moment, then placed his hands back on the table. “If we wanted to turn you into a drone, then you would have been one already. Everything in your cyborg hand is enough to transform the former 3rd Prophet into a machine. But that is not the goal of the Ikibot Nucleus.” Nigay exhaled audibly “What is that goal then?” Shaman laughed, Nigay nodded and both replied at the same time “Paradise…”

Shaman rose from his chair, walked over the Nigay and tapped him friendly on the shoulder “I have to go now friend. Will you walk with me?” Nigay nodded. While they were walking to the large courtyard Nigay thought of something “Shaman, tell me if you can… Ikibot, why that name?” Shaman smiled. “A long time ago, the Velutrians began linking their machines together in a large, global network. Large datacenters made sure people could manage their homes more easy. Companies could anticipate customer requirements and so on. Eventually they began developing an AI that would link everything together. They called it Nucleus.” Nigay chuckled, Shaman continued his tale “The first devices that were successfully linked to this AI were camera’s that parents used to keep watch on their children. Camera’s produced in the form of toy robots.” Nigay and Shaman arrived in the empty courtyard. Shaman produced a small device. He pressed it on some locations. The typical crackling sound of the Ikibots was heard for a few seconds. A small shuttlecraft appeared out of thin air, being cloaked before. Shaman walked towards the shuttlecraft as a small door opened from it. Before entering, he turned around.

“The cracking sound that the Ikibots make.” Shaman laughed. He grabbed something from his pockets and threw it at Nigay. “Tap it against your cyberhand, you will understand their language.” Nigay studied the object in his hand as the shuttlecraft departed, cloaking again. He walked inside, Shaman had thrown him an audio stick. He inserted it into an audio player. After pressing play, he heard the cracking sounds that the Ikibots produce. Nigay listened for a while, it were repeating sentences. He figured out it was a loop of Ikibot-commands that they used to communicate to each other and to species of the Nucleus. He took the audio stick from the player and tapped it against his cyber hand. A small tube appeared and linked with the tube. Again Nigay heard the sentences, but this time he could understand them. He sat down, perplexed.

“Robot, robot, turn around, robot, robot, touch the ground, robot, robot, turn left and right, robot, robot, flash your lights, robot, robot, boob and bleep, robot, robot, go to sleep.”

 

[stnylan]

That's not freaky at all

On several different levels

 

[Kamelot]

Chapter VIII: A trillion stinging bees

The League parliament members looked in shock at the video streams. Several held their hand before their mouth in horror, some wept and a few quickly ran to the bathroom. Nova Pax, a huge population center of the League of Nellpa’Xo, had been attacked by a space fleet a few days ago. The send reinforcements had been crushed. The Hive had been discovered by the League a few years ago, but no further contacts had been made besides the observing of one of their ships. Now they had crushed a large part of the League’s fleet and had made landfall on the planet. Defending armies had been swept aside. Then the video streams, recorded by installed security cameras and cameras set up by survivors, came. No prisoners were made, no mercy was given. The Hive, a race of insectoids, was devouring the inhabitants of Nova Pax. Instead of using the inhabitants of the planet as a labor asset, they were used as an edible resource. Worse: their fleet outnumbered the remaining League fleet by far.

Nigay sat in his office, thinking behind his desk as the League ministers quickly walked in. They sat at a gathering table where Nigay soon joined them. “We don’t need to discuss what is happening on Nova Pax, we all know it.” He turned his look at the Minister of the Fleetweapon “Tell me when and how we are going to strike and take back that planet!” The Minister rose, sweating. “We can’t… we can fight a delaying action, support rebel movements on the planet, but our fleet…. We still have several destroyers, but we can’t face their cruisers. One of their cruisers even took out several of our destroyers. We are outgunned by far.” Nigay smashed his fist on the table “That is not an acceptable answer. Genocide is not an option!” he yelled. Desperately the minister replied just as loud “Then tell me how you see an alternative! Explain how we can push them back!”

Nigay rose from his chair and walked to the windows. He stood quiet for a full minute, an eerie silence filling the room. “The Minister of the Fleetweapon, the Minister of the Landweapon, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of External Affairs, you stay. All others, leave and wait in the conference room.” The Ministers looked confused, a few protested. Nigay turned around “OUT, NOW!” Grudgingly the Ministers obeyed. The remaining ones waited in anticipation. Nigay sat back down “What if… we found a powerful ally? Another power that has helped us in the past….” The other ministers looked confused, except the Minister of External Affairs who understood it all too well. “The Ikibot Nucleus? You can’t be serious? How can they be an ally?” his voice got louder with every word “They killed a million of us during the war with them!” Nigay yelled back, stress determining the mood of the participants “The Holy Federation are responsible for those million dead! Did the Unity not destroy the military of the Federation on our planets? Did they not support us that way?” The Minister of External Affairs rose in anger, he pointed his finger angrily at Nigay “So THAT is how you got here! You disappear for months, then return to rebel against the Holy Federation and suddenly their armies are swept aside by the Ikibot Nuceleus. Which you call Unity by the way, which no one else does! You are an agent of theirs!” The conversation turned into an inaudible shouting match between the Minister and Nigay as the other Ministers present looked on confused. Eventually Nigay gained the upper hand in the shouting “ENOUGH!” he slammed his fists down, sending a crack down half the table. “We face two options: genocide or survival” The Minister sat down angrily, mockingly he added “Genocide or submission.” Angrily Nigay replied “No submission. Genocide or survival.” The Minister turned in his chair, looked at Nigay and leaned back “Tell me then, chancellor…. If you are not an agent of theirs, how do you propose contacting them? They hunt down any ship that enters their systems. They reply to no commlinks of ours. Unless of course, you have a way to contact them.” Silence fell in the room as everyone fixed their gaze on Nigay. Silence fell for a minute as Nigay stumbled through his words, looking to reply. Then notification sounds started playing.

The Ministers turned towards the videoscreens which started playing. “Breaking news”, the announcer said “according to signals picked up, and seemingly confirmed by videostreams from Nova Pax, an Ikibot Nucleus starfleet has appeared near the planet of Nova Pax. They seemed to have destroyed the fleet presence of the Hive and are making landfall on the planet. We shall follow this up as more news arrives!” Images appeared of low quality videostreams showing robotic figures rising from drop pods. At first only a few are seen, then tens of thousands of them smash down. Hive insectoids are destroyed by them. Ikibots are seen treating the wounded. Confusion first crossed the mind of the Ministers, as they are joined again by the rest of the council. The Minister of External Affairs again turns to Nigay. “Of course I am glad that the Hive is being pushed back. But tell me, chancellor…. How did that Ikibot Nuceleus fly through our borders without notifications? How are they able to make planetfall without our remaining army units on Nova Pax firing on them?” The other Ministers’ mood turned from relieved to angered. The Minister stood before Nigay, looking him in the eyes “You did not ask us to come here to make decisions and think of a plan, now did you? You wanted us to rubberstamp your plan!” the Minister stretched out his arms “A plan that had not already been made, but was already being carried out as we made our way here!” The other Ministers joined him in anger. Nigay did not flinch. He looked each of them in the eyes “I chose survival. Whatever that takes.” The Minister replied coldly “I choose survival too, chancellor. Survival….and freedom. We founded this league to be free from oppression. I will not trade insectoid masters for robotic ones. And if we need to fight for our freedom again, so we shall.” He inched closer to Nigay, almost standing nose to nose “No matter WHO we have to fight.” The Minister turned around, followed by some as others remained standing near Nigay. He opened the door to leave, but was immediately pushed back by an iron hand. A dozen heavily armed Hunter-Killer Ikibots entered the room, two guarding the door from the hallway.

From the conference room, located right next to the meeting room, other Ikibot Hunter-Killer Ikibots entered. Behind them followed an organic figure. Nigay recognized Shaman as he placed himself before the Ministers. Shaman kindly extended his arm towards the table “Sit down friends, let’s have a talk.” The Ministers hesistated. Shaman nodded to the Ikibots who began charging their weapon audibly. “Pretty please?”

 

[stnylan]

All in all this shows the Nucleus has a number of methods, and is quite good at them

 

[Nikolai]

This is extremely captivating.

 

[Nuada Airgetlám]

Events are moving swiftly!