The Rules of Kanly (encrypted communication between Palomedes and Ar'yay)

Activating the encrypted communication device, Palomedes listened closely and all he heard was static, pops and crackles.

"Calling Big Q, calling Big Q, this is Bootes Trucker, do you read, I repeat do you read over."

Palomedes waited.

"Big Q, Bootes Trucker heard your baby left town and is now with a new woman. over.
Big Q, Bootes Trucker also heard of a rescue agency that might bring your baby back. Over.
Big Q, should Bootes Trucker bring this rescue agency in. Do you copy?"

Palomedes waited counting the pops and crackling

....Ummm, is this actually necessary? Do i have to speak like that? I am also kind of confused on what you mean. I am not well versed in...this type of communication....ummm this is Big Q (i think) you are Bootes Trucker then? I am not sure I understand your message, I would be happy to talk to you. Do we have to do it like that?

Palomedes scratched his head. He wasn't sure how to reply.

"Big Q this is Bootes Trucker, this is how all the Space Truckers talk, isn't it? Over
Big Q recover guy is code for mercs Either Mercs4Hire or the Blackheart Security. Over
Big Q your baby is the gal with the larvae who the Hive Queens plan on using to replace you. Over
Bootes Trucker can hire recovery guy to get your baby back."

Palomedes waited. It was never this complicated in the holo movies.
He sighed.

We aren't space truckers, is this line secure?

"Encrypted and coded. Then routed through about 100 truckers communication hubs so it can't be traced."

Excellent so we can speak clearly and regularly. This may be a golden opportunity for you to relive some of your favorite movies but I am sorry to say that I prefer just talking.
As for grabbing the girl they would instantly know who was responsible for that. That would be the end of me real fast, they would send billions of Quall to make sure that I never gain from that. They are leaving me here to make me desperate they are hoping that I do something more to give them the excuse they need to remove me faster.

I will be happy to support you in any way that I can, however my options are very limited at the moment.

Palomedes poured himself a scotch.
It had a good burn. He must remember to send a bottle to the Board.

"So you've given up and wait for death. if that is the case you might as well fall on your own sword and go out honorably.
Ma'am what are your plans if not to try and turn the table on the Queens and Board?"

Well, My Dear Sector General, my options seem quite limited, I have angered the powers that be and their influence is indeed great. My options that I can see are the following, either be meek and pray that the powers forgive me, though as you have seen in the past that is rather difficult for me as I feel that my actions were correct. I can attempt to do what you are asking for and basically strike indirectly at the powers that be and hope that it doesn't anger them too much. I can attempt to flee and become totally rogue, though where i would hide so many I do not know and I will not abandon my children. I can seek protection from another power, however I do not want to fight my own kind or endanger those who have actually helped me.

So right now, i need to plan and think. The Hives can see very far and it is unlikely that whatever I do will escape their notice, the powers that be would prefer me to fall on my sword and simply be gone, that much is obvious however that is currently not the right option either.

I will need some more time, I will be happy to call upon your aid when I think of something. If all else fails, you idea would be better then doing nothing in the end. Though you must deny any part in it, as to not to anger the powers that be in your dimension.

Sector General Palomedes, I have been thinking about what I should do with myself. I have never been one to sit around, I think a little exercise is in order. I am thinking the plane of awareness, the Uth probably need a reminder of why they should stay to their castles and hide.

Have not heard from you in a while Sector General, I have been thinking about possibly taking some subtle action in your dimension. None of my Quall forces of course but one of my Horned Dogs, Prelate Ye'seren continues to operate on the mobile colony "Light of Dawn" If you have any need of assistance, or want to interact with my forces directly I am sending you a secure communication code from which you can contact him with. He is currently attempting to broker a deal with Blackheart security in order to better prepare them for any possible confrontations with the Trilat.

Apologies HiveQueen I was checking with our records department about these Uth you referred to. Outside of being spotted on Druzi what threat do they represent to the Iron Republic?

They do not inhabit the Bootes Constellation and I have never dealt with them before.

While waiting for your explanation I will people loyal to me reach out to this Prelate, fellow.

Sector General Palomedes

The Uth as a species represent a unique threat to the Iron Republic. As a species they are not going to move against you but individuals can cause problems. They have a special ability to look into the memories of others to spy upon them. They are excessivly violent and are slavers usually. The Zadoni that was on Druzi is a strong ally of the EEF. If there are any Uth among the Trilat then they will be using their talents against you.

However upon further thought I have reconsidered an attack upon the Uth holdings upon the plane of awareness. There is a Kasanthian base above the Startship Graveyard, I am thinking about looking into that facility. I hear that there is some action going on in that area involving the EEF, the Uth, and the Kasanthians. I am going to send some people to watch and see what happens there so I may have better information.

HiveQueen,

These Uth seem truly dangerous. How can one hope to attack a Guerilla force that can see your memories? Tacticaly they must seem insurmountable. We are simply lucky they do not sound like an organized army only rebel rabble.

It may work to our advantage that the Uth seem equally adverse to the Kasanthians as they are to us. Can we play that to our advantage? Perhaps set them on each other through some shared environmental resource.

Ships will not win a war on the plane of Awareness. We already have replaced our Interdiction ships, but they are useless against foot soldiers.

Can we hire these Uth? Perhaps pay them in something they need?

Sector General Palomedes

Well, there is a problem with attempting to become friendly with the Uthvelor, they are members of the Children of the Falosini, and even more then their brethren they are especially volatile when it comes to the Quall N'Drone. They view the destruction of the Quall as the meaning of their entire species. As you are allied to the Hive Queens they will view you as an enemy, however just because they can see memories doesn't mean that they always do. If you work through other groups not affiliated with the Quall they will be more open to doing what you wish.

Most of the Uth are in scattered clans and are not much threat to you. Zadoni Cylese who leads this particular group is more organized then other clans, she isn't very technologically powerful which is why she is making this trip into the starship graveyard. It will be convenient if the Kasanthians interfere with them, if they start hostilities then it will be easier for you to manipulate them.

Greetings again Sector General, despite my banishment I will continue to help the Iron Republic against those enemies who I feel pose a grant threat to your dimension and my own. As I spoke about before my banishment I believe that the E Strain pose a great threat to all. I am currently attempting to purchase weapons that are very effective against the foul E Strain, as a bonus I am attempting to trick the Kasanthian Federation into supplying this weapons. However they have proven to be more suspicious of weapons deals with the proxy group that I am working through now for some reason so they are demanding 1 division's worth of RPGs and 5 rounds for each weapon. I believe that this deal is worth it as these weapons that I will acquire will be used against the largest threat to the Iron Republic. The Kasanthian Federation is a problem for the future and will never be a threat that will endanger the entire Iron Republic while the fast breeding E Strain will in time grow in enough numbers that they will be able to challenge you one day. These moons with hundreds of Bloom Ships is proof that they are growing uncontrolled and are a threat to be taken seriously. My forces destroyed their ships on Mandate and the Grey eliminated the first moon. Who knows how many other moons they have like this. One more or a dozen, possibly thousands, or tens of thousands of Bloom ships and trillions of E Strain. We need every weapon we can get to destroy them before they grow too strong to deal with.

I do hope that you will understand my position on this and are able to be of assistance.

Besides these weapons, would you be able to supply me with EMP weapons in the form of missiles and grenades? Any and every type of EMP weapon would be appreciated as the E Strain is a threat large and small.
Plus i admit in my attack to destroy their bloom ships my Mothership was infested by E strain that we are even now attempting to put down. However due to my lack of chill or EMP weaponry this is proving to be a long and costly endeavor. Any weapons that you can provide that would give me an edge against the E Strain would enable me to help you more effectively in the future.

Dear Sector General

The first issue has resolved itself, no need to worry about those RPGs.

I would still like to get my hands on those EMP weapons, if possible.

How odd,

I was just contacted by a corporation with similar requests to yours, HiveQueen.
In fact I already shipped a few crates to them.

As for EMP Missiles they can be shipped to you. Of course I ask with the utmost respect for something in return. Nothing gross like cash or land. I need subjects for experimentation.
Now here is where I ask you to not be offended queen.

The subjects have to have Quall Larvae and if the tests are successive will most likely as not die. But the rewards are vast, first off it will help final test a new Virus bomb designed to take out E-strain.

In exchange for 100 test subjects with healthy larvae parasites I will send you 5,000 EMP missiles.

Sector General Palomedes.

Sector General, you have proven to be an ally when the rest of your people turned out to be false, therefore i will trust you with 100 of my children, you believe that they will most likely survive? If you have faith then i shall have faith in you, if we can have the opportunity to strike down the E Strain then the cause is just and worth the risk.
I shall be sending the people to you immediately.

Sector General, my build up is going smoothly, I am acquiring weapons from multiple areas, and will hopefully soon be able to act more efficiently against our enemies like Kasanth, and the E Strain.
I am slowly building up the fleets of the Church of the Horned Dog, I am hoping that one day I will be able to rely upon them for fleet actions in your dimension instead of constantly illegally moving my own fleets in. I understand you might one day get in trouble for continuously working along side my forces while they break the rules by entering your dimension.

I have noticed that Garmen Fe has been allowing more of their new "allies" onto his floating fortress in my realm, also his allies fungus continues to spread. I was thinking, would it be possible for me to acquire some of your Dreadmechs, and some of your larger artillery Striders? The ability to fight this fungus without allowing it to infect my people would save many lives, and the ability to launch these weapons from afar would help keep my people safe.

In return please inform me of what you might need from me.

Ar'yay HiveQueen,

I have checked my supplies and I certainly can deliver twenty Anti-air Striders with Helios Cannons without anyone batting an eye.
I could divert a single Bastion Siege Striders to you. The type with the Dual Domebusters. But that would be very expensive and personally cost me from my private defense force.
If the threat is as grave as you say I will provide it to you.
I do not know if the term you would owe me one translates into Quall society. It is not a threatening term. I am sure you will get a deep understanding of the term if you check your shared memory.
Out of respect I will have a Banking Guild courier ship deliver them to you immediately.

Dread Meks I would have to get from offworld, it will take some time and some credits, HiveQueen.
It would be a minimum of 10,000 ghaz each. The assassin robots are highly regulated so I have to buy them not just divert a requisition order.

Sector General Palomedes

Well, i will take the Anti Air Striders, and thank you.
Also the Bastion Siege Strider is something I could really use at the moment. I do have resources in precious metals and gem stones, I can pay you in that. Of course the payment would have to go through the Cult of the Horned Dog then to you, I am sure you will understand that.


Oh, the Cult of the Horned Dog recently purchased 10 IR Starcrusiders, however they have no weapons. I was wondering if you could bring them up to standard specs for me. Like I mentioned above I can pay in Gem stones and precious metals. The Horned Dog will handle the payment as it is for them this fleet is being created for.

As for the Deadmeks, I will hold off on those for now. I have flooded the open (and not so open) market with precious stones and metals, and I think if i keep spending at this rate something bad will happen. So i will resist the temptation of spending several million ghaz for an army of Deadmeks. Maybe another time.

I would prefer Gems to other payments.
Please send the ships to the following coordinates and I will have them refitted with proper weapons.

HiveQueen, thanks for the test subjects. I can return them to you in good health and in spite of a week or so asleep they are unharmed.

Speaking of your Horned Dogs,
You may want to reign them in (only politically I mean, I am happy to see them targeting our mutual enemies). They are starting to draw Deers interest and nothing good happen to any living thing that man is interested in. just a word to the wise, and I am quite sure of your wisdom HiveQueen.

On a subject less pleasant, Le-a HiveQueen seeks revenge on Garmin Fe. She thinks the IR treaty stops her from doing that. You should remind her that our treaty only applies to our dimension, on Kyrpos she can do as she likes and could easily go after Garmin Fe holdings there without any repercussions.

The payment of Gems will be sent out immediately, I look forward to the Bastion Siege Strider the most, I have big plans for it.

As for the Horned Dog, you must understand that they are a religious organization who view us almost like gods. Therefore if they see for example Sector General Deer openly disrespecting a Hive Queen they are going to get quite angry. There is only so much I can do as long as I am on this dimension when it comes to reining in the Horned Dog on your dimension. I can communicate with the leadership but not all members have larva within them. I can do nothing to those who don't and their faith is no less strong then those with the Larva. If I may, I would ask you to remind Deer that I don't have total control over their actions they are not puppets or clones they are people who have faith. People with faith can be very dangerous, they mean well but they can act irrationally. Please inform Deer that if he continues to openly disrespect Hive Queen Le-a then Horned Dogs of most all Hive Queens might get pushed into doing something stupid. If he needs to criticize tell him to do it in private, that should solve the Horned Dog problem.

As for the Garmen Fe problem, I will inform her of her freedom to do things in our own dimension. However i do not think you have much to worry about from her, she is rather passive and never wanted to join this war in the first place. I doubt she will go on the offensive unless I do it first.

Respectfully may I ask a question?
We can all acknowledge the Quall are powerful beings who control many dimensions. We can all acknowledge that the Quall can use the Leyas for miraculous events.
And we can all admit that faith has power.
From my dealings with you HiveQueen, you are neither malicious nor focused on oppression.
So why allow your followers to have these lies in their heads? Specifically the lie (or misrepresentation I don't want to offend) that Quall are gods?

Wouldnt your people be better served with the truth. I will not say anything publicly but I just would like to know for myself.

Is it just about control?

That can be a difficult question to answer, I am going to attempt to give you a simple answer but remember this is a watered down answer and cannot be true for all circumstances.
You see there are billions of Horned Dogs in your dimension, they serve many Hive Queens who follow the commands of the Hive Queen council.
The council has a certain view of the other species, as in they don't view any species other then Quall to be of any import. Therefore they enjoy the sight of the other species worshiping them

As to why my own followers view me as such, the simple reason is that if suddenly my followers changed the way they acted, the other Horned Dogs serving other Hive Queens would view this as a blasphemy and begin a crusade to wipe them out. This creating civil war within the Cult around the polar expanse.
I do my best to make sure that my followers are well treated by my Quall, they have their needs taken care of and they do their best to help others in need rather then simply kidnap people to implant.
I take those who wish to join, and I try to convince them by making them understand how we can better their life. I only implant forcefully when others attack me, and generally just for information about those who attacked me in the first place.

So despite my desire to put this shortly it has gone on a bit longer. It is because of things like this that I lost the support of the Council, they disagree with my ideas, they find new ideas dangerous and attempt to quash them.