Arrival of Ambassadors - Xalion [Semi Open/IC]

As soon as the Acruani ships entered the system, they were picked up by the Colonial sensors. The system of Xalion lacked a true name, as it had been lost during the Long Night, but the Colonials usually called it "Zentrum", which could be translated as "the Center." Not only because Xalion was one of the Colonial systems closest to the area known as the Galactic Center, but also because it was the center of the Colonies in all the other means.

The system itself wasn't that large, although it was the most populated system of the Colonies. It had five planets, with Xalion being the second from the sun, in the Goldilocks zone of the system, while the other planets were mainly used for holding the administration and supplies needed to support and supply the Capital World. The first planet from the sun was a large, really hot planet, known for its tectonic activity and volcanoes, and was used as an "energy factory" for the system, with the first Colonial attempts to create energy by using the internal heat and magma of a planet. Afterwards came Xalion and its moon, the Earth Type Almarilion. The next two planets were huge terreristrial planets, smaller than Xalion though, but much colder, holding the main Factory Centers of the Kriegsflotte, and the fifth planet was a gas giant, holding on its moons various administrative units of the Colonies.

As soon as the Acruani ships entered the system, they would notice the absolutely huge number of military ships the system had. Not only for the protection of Xalion, but also there were many ships being refitted and upgraded in the Industrial Worlds of the system. While under normal circumstances, no foreign ships would have been allowed here, with all the defense measures being put in place, the Acruani ships were going to be allowed,

To the Acruani Ships entering the system, this is the Central System Command. You will be escorted by the Colonial Military Ship Königsberg and the Colonial Military Ship Danzig until in Xalion's orbit, so please follow their indications. Upon arriving near Xalion, you will be contacted by the Xalion Orbit Command. CSC out.

And true to the indications of the CSC, two Colonial Ships of the Line, 4th Generation battlecruisers judging by their appearance, approached the Acruani ships and escorted them towards Xalion. The planet was clearly there, visible from afar due to its appearance, the black-golden clouds of pollution still covering most of its atmosphere, giving it a sick appearance. The planet greatly contrasted with its moon, the smaller Almarilion, which had a combination of colors between the green of its continents, the blue of its seas and skies, and the white of its clouds.

After they arrived in the orbit of Xalion, the Acruani ships would also notice that they weren't alone there. A large ship was there, and with its IFF's on, it wouldn't take long for them to recognize it. The C.M.S. Terra Nova, the Nova Class Super Heavy Battlecarrier of the Kriegsflotte, which had been in a process of repairing and modernizing ever since the strong damage it had taken at Tau Volantis.

To the Acruani Ships in the orbit, this is Xalion Orbital Command. Please land in the Federal District, in spaceport FD-356-DF45. Maintain a small speed in the atmosphere and carefully calculate your entrance angle, the northern hemisphere might be hit by a forming hurricane soon. A delegation will be waiting for you near the spaceport, and the officers of the spaceport will show you the way. XOC out.

If they would follow the instructions of the XOC, the Acruani ships would land through the atmosphere and find a very familiar looking Xalion, with its black-golden skies, artificial illuminating, polluted air, and large cities. The Federal District was basically the super city holding the Colonial Parliament and the Colonial Government, and they were going to land in a spaceport near it. Upon disembarking, if anything would disembark, Colonial Heer soldiers were going to show the Acruani the way to the exit of the spaceport, where a small delegation was waiting.

As the three Acruani existed the tall building of the spaceport, the sun was setting over Xalion. Although it wasn't visible, and it wasn't a problem, since most of Xalion was anyway lighted by the huge, pole like structures with artificial lighting visible everywhere, the rays of the sun who managed to pass through a part of the atmosphere had managed to give it a slight orange hue, the only natural way through which the Xalionians could know that the sunset had come. The orange hue also seemed to be given to everything on the planet, as the small, Opilium particles everywhere reflected the orange light from the clouded atmosphere, giving the entire planet what was usually called , the Hour of Twilight.

The first thing that the Acruani would notice wasn't the delegation waiting for them, it was something louder. Outside the fences of the spaceport, there was a lather large and loud cloud, waving around banners, shouting, and protesting, with a thin line of police officers keeping it away from the fences. Although the exact reason for why they were protesting wasn't exactly clear, anyone with moderate knowledge of Colonial Standard could interpret their dialect and realize that their shouts and banners were directed at the Federal Government.

Back to the delegation, there was actually a number of people waiting for the Acruani. The most visible were ten Colonial Guards, seemingly there as some sort of bodyguards. The delegation itself seemed to be formed by three, rather strange people.

In the middle, and seemingly the most important was.. some sort of an alien. He had an humanoid form, dark blue skin, and light blue eyes, but that was where the similarities stopped. He had four tentacles, completing his two possibly humanoid legs. And, he was lacking a nose, as he seemed to be breathing though gills, located on the sides of his neck. Whether it had something with the fact that he couldn't normally breathe out of water, or simply with the polluted air of Xalion, the alien had something like a breathing device covering his gills. He was wearing long sleeved clothes, something that back on the Old Earth would have been considered oriental clothing.

On the alien's left, there was what looked to be a pure human, a young man, with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a fair skin. the classic Colonial look. He was wearing the already well known dark blue with vermilion red uniform of the Kriegsflotte, with the rank of Captain, and surprisingly, the Colonial War Cross 1st Class. On the alien's right however, there was a stranger looking human. A young girl or woman, with a long hair, whose color was somewhere between dark blue and purple, and with fair skin. Her eyes however were the strangest, as they had a yellowish color, that could be the best described as.. sickly yellow. She was wearing an uniform that was clearly Colonial, but one that however had a rather strange color scheme, with black and silver. The rank markings also didn't seem to be part of the Colonial Armed Forces.


As the Acruani left the building of the spaceport, the alien made a step forward, lightly bowing.

"In the name of the Federated Colonies, I would like to officially welcome you on Xalion, Ambassador Lee.", the alien spoke in Galactic Standard, in a really calm and patient voice. "I am Crium Rhooxiom, the  Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Colonies. Together with me are Herr Slaine von Hyre, Graf von Zeppelin, Captain of the Colonial War Fleet, and Damiana von Esmarch, First Lieutenant of the Colonial Ministry for State Security. "

The two humans also saluted, but in the Colonial military way. The alien continued. "I must deeply apologize for the conditions in which you must have arrived, but unfortunately, neither the atmosphere of Xalion, nor the protests of its people are under the command of the Federal Foreign Office or the Federal Government."

"I suppose that we should accept your condolences.. it's truly a shame that Xalion has reached such a status... that the mistakes of the previous governments are too strong for us to fix. In the past, this planet was known as the Green Jewel of the Colonies, a title that was however lost and now belongs to its moon, Almarilion. It is truly sad that such a green and nature booming planet like Xalion was has ended up to be as sick as it currently is. Once, you should look at some of the holographic recordings of the planet as it was back then. It was truly a magnificent look.", the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a calm voice, sounding as if he was personally sad about it, or as if he would have witnessed how Xalion was in the past himself.

"As for the protests..", Rhooxiom started, looking for a few moments in the direction of the distant protesters, "That would be more difficult to explain, since there are a lot of factors behind it. Mainly, they're protesting against the current Federal Government, or better said, against what they consider to be the incompetence of the current Federal Government. It's quite obvious that this Government has done the best it could, but mostly because of what happened in general, like the unexpected arrival of the Invaders, and because it is a coalition government, formed by both Concordia and Bellum members, and also of independents, the current Federal Government hasn't been doing all that good. The people are blaming our military defeats on them, the tax raises on them, the devaluation of the Bundesmark in the last year, the problems with the war industry, the refugees..".

The alien then seemed to sigh. "It is only normal that in a democratic society, the people would blame the people they elected for all the problems of the state. I would personally wish that they would act a little wiser, but yes, there is nothing we can do. Our Federation is dealing with a lot of problems right now, and the time itself is really bad. If these problems continue..I don't see how the Federation will be able to face them all. " Rhooxiom then made another pause, as if he was thinking how exactly to continue with this subject.

"Nevertheless, this particular protest is unfortunately staged against one particular decision of the Federal Government, and that is to accept foreign ambassadors on Xalion, or more specifically, foreign ambassadors from the states of the Imperial Intergalactic Alliance. Old grudges die hard, Ambassador, and our Government's decision to allow the presence of you and the other ambassadors from the IIA states isn't that popular among all the parts of the population. Your people are still blamed for the Colonial defeat in the First Intergalactic War, mostly by people who do not totally understand the events which lead to that defeat. Just as some people might not like the way you saluted. Not everyone understands the past of the Acruani, and even if centuries have passed, the Human Colonial Alliance and Terran things like that salute aren't exactly.. liked,by some people. "

"Yes... Xalion still hasn't passed the point of no salvation, but saving it might prove difficult. The war itself is drawing most of our resources, as the inflation of the Bundesmark³ has grown. And if that wouldn't have been enough, it would be fairly difficult for the Federal Government to come at an accord with all of the districts of Xalion for a common action.". As they were talking, it seemed that the Hour of Twilight was going to come soon to and end, as the pale orange light of the sun was slowly but surely taken over by the golden light of the artificial lights, that were present everywhere on the planet. Whether it was day or night, sunny of stormy, the artificial lights were always open, lighting  the 100 billion people living on a sick and dying planet.

"Well, the Federal Government is educating our people, and we are holding campaigns to remind the people those things. The majority has understood. But there will always be a part of the population that will never understand. The Colonies are made from countless species, nations, systems, and worlds. Never in our entire history have all of them stood together completely as one. That's why our politics are complicated. That's why the Federal Government is desperately trying to bring everyone together to fight against the Abyssal thread. This fragmentation is the biggest weakness of the Federation, but also it's biggest strength.", the Minister explained in an undisturbed voice. "We have also tried to explain the history of the Acruani to the people. But some, especially the humans, are really good at ignoring what they don't like. That's why the opinions of the people of the Colonies on the Acruani are diverse. Some have understood,and have gotten over the old grudge, and are willing to negotiate and be more friendly to your race, Ambassador. Some, especially younger people, are still blinded by the suffering they had to get through due to the Intergalactic Wars. Worlds destroyed. Families lost. Their futures shattered. Even if your people haven't been completely behind this, the Colonial propaganda during the war has done a pretty good job at portraying your people negatively. And that's from where all these waves of xenophobia and hate are being born.", Rhooxiom continued. "And then, the military, especially the veterans, can't get over it. The Acruani, or more specifically, the Acruani we know as Zara, were at fault for one of the greatest defeats in the history of the Colonies, and the greatest defeat ever since the Massacre of Terra Nova. The military won't get easily over this grudge. Especially the few FIW veterans left.. or the ones who had been in the military during that period."

While the blue alien was saying that, the blonde young man in his left involuntarily touched a small,  metal decoration he had on his chest. The decoration showed a stylized black eagle getting stabbed by multiple spears. The meaning behind it would have been easy to comprehend. The words : "Der Ersten Intergalaktischen Krieg. 3184-3152. Alea iacta est."² Though, strangely, at least by looks, it would have been impossible for such a young person to have taken part in that war.

"As for your request, I can only promise that those who would do something like that will be treated fairly, in accordance with the Federal laws and the Articles of Colonization. Protesting itself is not forbidden, but if any of them break the law, they will have to face the consequences. The respect the Federal Government has might be eroding, but we haven't reached a state where the Articles would be ignored. And, now that we have come to this subject, I'll have to request something myself.", the Minister said. "I would like to strongly ask you to accept the protection of a SPEKO Einheit¹. There have been... strange things happening lately on the planet. Accidents... failures.. and strangely enough, a lot of members of the Federal Diet seem to have fallen victims to it, and recently, we have lost some members of the Federal Council. The KOLSI is investigating... but we can't say anything for sure. I'm more than sure that your Acruani guards would be able to defend you and the embassy, but the SPEKO know the planet, and know their job. They will follow your orders. I must also strongly advise you not to leave this district without good security. As you might have noticed, Xalion is split into districts, similar to the Areas of the Old Earth. It is shameful to admit, but the Federal Government doesn't have that much power outside the district we are in, the Federal District, the one holding the embassies, the Parliament, and so on. It's a long story behind how it has come to his, but no matter how paradoxical it can be, the Feds, as we are called, don't have that much power over their own capital. It's an annoying, if I must say so, status quo that must be kept by the Federals and the districts. While I don't think that anything can happen.. if you choose to travel in other districts, please do it with a good enough security. Xalion is large, Ambassador. There are many places in it that simply... don't officially exist. Places where the light of the Federation does not always shine. "

The Minister then bowed, inviting the Ambassador to come towards the limousine looking vehicle waiting in front of the gates. "Before we leave however, I would have another question to ask. We will clearly take you to the location that was requested for the placement of the embassy, but your presence has been asked for at the joint meeting of the Federal Council and the Federal Diet that will happen in a few hours. Are you willing to accept such an invitation? As an ambassador, you would have the right to take part in most of the meetings of the Federal Parliament."

---

1- Spezialkommando Einheiten- literally Special Command Units, the elite forces of the Colonial Armed Forces.
2. The First Intergalactic War 3148-3152. The die is cast. Colonial Military Decoration given to all the members of the Colonial military who have participated in the First Intergalactic War.
3. Bundesmark, literally the Federal Mark, the federal currency of the Federated Colonies.

To the DCS Envoy, this is the Xalion Orbital Command of the Federated Colonies, welcome to the system. Your destination should have been Almarilion, but your presence has been requested by the Chancellor at the joint meeting of the Colonial Diet and the Colonial Council that will happen soon. If you are willing to accept this invitation, you should land at the federal spaceport we will indicate. The Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs is there, together with the Acruani Ambassador, who has just arrived. Please maintain a small speed in the atmosphere of Xalion, as a hurricane might form there in the northern hemisphere soon. XOC out.


If the Confederate ambassador would decide to accept the invitation , the ship could land at the same spaceport where the Acruani transport ships had landed. There, soldiers would escort the Confederate Ambassador and the Confederate delegation to the front of the spaceport, where the Acruani and the Colonials currently were.

As soon as the Confederates landed in the spaceport, they were welcomed by a group of Colonial soldiers, Guards by the look of it, although their markings seemed to be different. The soldiers then led the Confederates out of the spaceport itself, meeting nobody else on their way out. The spaceport itself seemed to be a former military facility, as the markings of the Kriegsflotte were still visible from place to place. During the short way, the Colonial soldiers, as quiet as always, gave the Confederates syringes with the solution needed by an biological foreign when coming to Xalion, a solution that stops the Opilium from intoxicating one's blood.

Upon leaving the spaceport building, the Confederates were met with the same sight. The black-golden clouds covering the entire sky, the huge cities in the distance, the orange hue slowly disappearing, replaced by the golden hue of the huge artificial light poles. The protestors in the distance, outside the metallic fences. The Acruani delegation, and next to them, some other Colonial soldiers,and the three Colonials. The blue alien, the blonde young man, and the blue haired woman.

As the Confederates arrived, the blue Federal Minster turned around, bowing again.

“In the name of the Federated Colonies, I would like to officially welcome you to Xalion, Ambassador Rhodes. I am Crium Rhooxiom, the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Colonies.”, the minister said.” You have arrived just in time, the Acruani delegation has also arrived here only a short while ago.

"Kobol was indeed present at that battle, but he wasn't able to operate at maximum capacity. The outdated Colonial equipment at the time barely allowed for him to work at all. The Colonial forces were unprepared and had been taken by surprise by the enemy forces. At the time, the main bulk of the Kriegsflotte was in the Andromeda.... but even so, the battle would have probably ended more favorabily for the Colonies if not for the help Zara gave to the Keltakens. This can of course be debated, and we will never know for sure what would have happened.. but the in the minds of many Colonials, the blame lies on the Acruani.", the Federal Minister tried to explain, before he smiled. "Of course, Ambassador. You shall be taken to the site of the future Acruani embassy. Unfortunately, I will have to wait for the Confederate delegation, so I hope you don't mind if Captain von Hyre will lead you and your delegation there. We shall meet again later, at the meeting of the Colonial Parliament, Ambassador.

As the Minister finished speaking, the Kriegsflotte Captain and two Colonial soldiers entered the limousine looking vehicle, before they left, heading for the site that was reserved for the building of the Acruani embassy. For most of the way, the blonde haired Colonial officer remained just as quiet as his soldiers, although, unlike the Colonial soldiers who simply didn't seem to care about anything, the officer simply... didn't seem to like the Acruani, although it looked like he was trying to hide it.

The vehicle was moving pretty quickly, as it was floating above the road, due to the anti gravity technology. But even so, the Acruani had more than enough time to look out the windows and see the planet. It seemed that Xalion was way close to becoming an ecumenopolis, with continuous cities occupying most of its surface. And it seemed that the true surface of Xalion was way down below, beneath layers upon layers of construction and pollution. But naturally, the Acruani embassy was going to be at the edge of the embassy sector, so in a more... natural area.

"The Minister said that the Acruani are usually interested in gathering more data, so he has told me to give this to you, Ambassador.", the officer said, speaking for the first time ever since they have left, although with some more or less hidden hostility. The Colonial gave the Acruani Ambassador what looked like a small data stick, with the emblem of the Federal Foreign Office on it, and with the mention: Short History of Xalion written beneath.