Ok guys I have gone away and played about some. What Brian said about just moving forward I think is good advice but I became a bit obsessed about getting a solid foundation to build from, this is very much an exercise for me at this stage. Otherwise I have taken on board advice and suggestions (thanks again for those - maybe you can all spot your influence!). Also defiantly ignored other advice! (Don't hate me!)
I was hoping to edit the first post with a spoiler for the old version but am on my iPad so not sure if that is restricting me doing that?
Anyway, I now have a blunt hatchet...
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329NE, Genesia, Capital City of The Human Expanse, the planet Senye
They had known about the Jaani since before even landing on Senye. Anadae Tobe himself had led the team up into the medisphere to find them in the icy mountains, all those years ago. It was a triumphant mark in his career, opening the way into the shadowy ranks of the Novalum, that he had brought one back, alive. Yet here they all were; the most prominent figures humanity could offer, gathering beneath the domed glass roof of the Atlas Atrium to hear it confirmed to them - the very hope and fear that was as old as the stars themselves - mankind's solitude was at an end.
An air of apprehension stifled the large hall, the muted talking while the assembly settled holding a nervous tone. The rumours of what had happened at Niagahara the day before had spread like a cloud of volcanic ash, to their farthest reaches, heating the nation's mood to a boiling point. Something had happened that had changed the world forever, and they knew it.
As Commander of Security to the Aegis, Tobe's seat was reserved in the upper tiers of arced rows, and positioned to the far side of the atrium at his request. He had been one of the first there and now watched the members of Senye's officialdom and aristocracy shuffle in, observing the exchanged greetings and making a mental note of those between who the looks and handshakes lingered.
As the rows below him filled, a hundred different scents of fashionable pharamonised perfumes assaulted Tobe's nose - the resulting mix was the signature stink of modern wealth and power. They were all dressed in their finest outfits, all sorts of gowns and cloaks of different colours and shapes. Awkwardly pointed headwear that reached for the ceiling, and sculpted hairstyles that changed in shade as they moved. Tobe's own suit was cut and stitched by one of the finest Siatic tailors in the city, with none of those fancy frills and coloured tails like on the clothes of those beneath him. It was a clean cut, and contoured to his frame perfectly. Exquisite, he had thought, as he had put it on. And what better occasion to look so good.
A robust figure appeared from the side of the main stage, prompting a hush for the room to fall silent. The great city of Genesia sprawled away through the tall glass wall behind him. Chosen to deliver the speech for his malleability, Munity Councillor Frayet Iroqane was a walrus of a man, as bald as he was round.
Tobe listened as the Councillor began the scripted rhetoric, the man's lengthy drawl and over emphasis on each word grating at him. His eye twitched annoyingly each time he flicked his combilens for the next page of the speech, and his chin wobbled its subcutaneous sag at each supportive gesture. Considering it was possibly the most important speech in Iroqane's short life, he was throwing himself into it with an idiotic fervour that caused the wobbles to come disgustingly often. Indulging himself on the audience's rapt attention, he leeched theatrically through the formalities before finally reaching the statement they had been waiting for. Despite his distaste for the man, the hairs on Tobe's neck bristled in anticipation.
"The time has come where our peace has become threatened," trumpeted Iroqane. "Yesterday, the milling operation run by Noma Ohura - one of Senye's most esteemed benefactors - at our southern-most reach in Niagahara, suffered an attack. It was the first attack of its kind - ever. An attack against Humanity - by an alien species."
Hearing the words made real, subdued gasps and small pockets of commotion broke out across the room, looks of shock creasing their plastic faces. The faint strength that once was hope crumbled, with a satisfying finality, beautifully and emphatically into fear.
How easily they were convinced, thought Tobe. The attack at Niagahara was not by the Jaani. A little death to bring the idea to life, he had enjoyed planning it. And what a convenient coincidence that the businessman Ohura was there to burn in the wreckage of his beloved company. He was one of a few venturing a little too far for comfort, getting carried away with his enterprises and squeaking about rights and taxes. Something was needed to bring them all together again, to abort the embryo of even a whisper of a republic, before it formed. Something to unite them, unquestioning, toward the cause of building the war ships that would go into space. The Novalum had known they would face the creatures in force soon, they had signalled their own kind years before the human Light-Ships had even put down on the world. And it was their holy planet after all.
He would have done it differently, though. Watching them all flustering below, Tobe noticed with a callous irony that the huge black glossed pillars of the atrium, representing the seven states of the human spirit - the last of which, that ridiculous notion, Freedom - now enclosed them all like a giant cage. It would not take much to crush them all, one foul coup right now, to change the course of history. So much subtlety - why hide when they were clearly a superior evolution to the human template? They could easily make the people do what they wanted, instead of coercing them. The Priman deserved to be worshipped. But, it was not his decision - not yet anyway. So - they would be told what was deemed necessary, the Laws would be passed and the future of the human race decided.
"People, please." Iroqane raised his hand for silence, head dipped, adopting a reverent pose like some biblical prophet. Tobe resolved that he would remind the Councillor of his place in the scheme of things at the first opportunity. As if in answer to his thoughts, his combilens flashed briefly, in notification of an incoming message. The shapes, painted across the slim membrane on his iris, appeared as words hovering in front of him.
... We wish for Councillor Iroqane to want to step down, Second Light tomorrow ...
He looked to the upper balconies of the atrium. It was only his combilens that allowed him to see through the pearlescent screen which would appear as a wall to anyone else without the required coding. The row of Elders were sat motionless, watching the proceedings. One of them looked directly at him, dark eyes set grimly into pale skeletal features, her stare devoid of emotion yet seeming to contain unlimited knowledge. The Elders had always made him a little uneasy, he found them above all to be somewhat... unnatural. But looking back into the depths of the hollow gaze, Tobe acknowledged the request with the faintest of nods. It would be done, and as the Councillor continued his speech he let his mind wander briefly into the black realm of how.
"Our most pressing concern is more serious, however," Iroqane announced, pausing for dramatic effect. "We have learnt of a signal that has been sent into The Void, communication from these beings to another unknown planet. We are working to translate the message to learn of its full content, but portions have been revealed by our Free-Think systems. They have transmitted details of our numbers, our locations, our technology and our military capacity.
Along with the Aegis and the other Frontier Commissions, we have spent much time deliberating over the facts to decide what is best for mankind at this uncertain time. It is with a heavy but resolved heart that we must officially conclude - Humanity is now at War."
