2755.01.20
President Undalian watched the colony ship under construction on Ryas, it was to be unfathomably huge, with a capacity of 30 million people. The construction site, in the middle of a vast desert, made it difficult to grasp the scale, but this was only one part of many being constructed across the planet. Soon they would be launched separately and joined together in space, trying to launch such a vessel under Ryas gravitational pull would take more energy than the entire planet produced in a week. The design was modular, like all Republic vessels, this one was simply on a much larger scale.
The reason for all the construction, Sol 5:
Discovered a few light years from Ryas, the planet was inhabited by another group of humans. The population here was much smaller than that of Ryas, just over half a billion, they had even less certainty regarding their history than the people of Ryas, believing themselves native to the planet. Ryas scientists are in doubt, however, that they are the descendants of another colony ship from the human homeworld. Their naming of their system, Sol, is seen as a throwback to their origins, as it is a name many historians have come across on Ryas, trying to piece together the origin of humanity.
The people of Sol 5 had been making their own first tentative steps into space, indeed that process had rapidly accelerated in the few months since the Republic exploration vehicle Hardy Interlude had discovered them. It was hoped the settlers from Ryas would bring the system under the Republic's banner, with full citizenship being granted to the residents of Sol 5.
The discovery of Sol 5 could have been the single greatest moment in the history of the Human Republic, while it was a momentous occasion it was not the shock that it may have been. It had been clear that the Human Republic was not alone in the galaxy almost from the moment Undalian launched his great exploration.
Almost the instant the first exhaust fumes cleared from the exploration vessels launch some new "friends" made their appearance. Alien pirates, calling themselves the Neroan Ravagers, attacked Republic mining ships and scientific vessels. The very name they had given themselves made their intent clear, and, despite a divided Republican Council, Undalian made it clear he would not be blackmailed and refused to pay for their "protection".
The first pirate ship to attack was destroyed by the first fleet, as was the next only a few weeks later. Undalian's construction of a small military fleet had been unpopular and many accused him of imperial designs, it's destruction of the two pirate vessels was seen as vindication and he announced a plan to track down the pirate base and destroy it to stop future attacks. The pirate vessels were no more advanced than the Republic's so he knew the approximate range which narrowed down possible bases for the pirates.
Around the time of the first pirate attack, another discovery showed that life was perhaps not as scarce as first thought. An abandoned military cruiser, larger than any current Republic vessel was discovered, floating derelict in a vast gas cloud. It was in working order, and the small crew of the exploration vessel Sneaky Treasure were able to board it and ascertain most of the design and systems were similar to Republic technology. A small team stayed on board to return it to Republic space, it would be a vital part of the fleet to rid the region of the Neroan Ravagers. A note was made of the destination in the onboard navigation computer, and an exploration vessel despatched to the location, relatively distant from Ryas, but well within range.
Undalian glanced at the sky, the ship, which had been christened Fearless Inquisitor was due to enter the Neroan system any day now, he was keen to personally inspect a vessel most probably built by non-human hands.
Distant Worlds: Legends.
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Originally Posted by Gelatinous Cube
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