[Organic] The TransAfrican Channel

[Schwieger]

 

Nalydian Cape Verde

Orbis, Orbis System

 

The transition of the Cape Verde Islands to Pordish control has gone relatively smoothly since the Paramarines seized the lands for the Greater Nalydian Empire. Upon the myriad islands vast cities have begun to spring forth; tall skyscrapers, architecture not typically Nalydian but nevertheless used when not constructed on sacred coldground, call to the heavens. To eyes uninitiated they resemble pagodas, but only in styling. And while their construction is of steel and stone (the masonry is very impressive), they are molded and decorated to pay homage to the great god Rekazhnar who has allowed them to live upon his mighty ocean. Yet even with Pords pouring into these new territories - its population has ballooned considerably - they are still well below peak capacity.

 

Elsewhere in the nation, however (namely Nalydian Iceland), the first of the newest generation of Jewels has been completed: the Jewel of Orbis. At its greatest extent it sprawls for fifteen kilometers across and has a draft of some half kilometers when fully sitting in the water. It is of new design; the Jewels built previously, all of Frankian design and some even of make, were flawed. The death of the Jewel of the Pacific and the millions of Pords who called it home is testament to that. Fortunately for Nalydya, such mistakes will not occur again. To kick off the completion of the first Jewel (more are on the way - one for each ocean as High Hunter Nykat declared) a world tour has been ordered for the floating city with at least one nation per continent being visited: Kressnia in Europe, Triskel in Africa, Tonina on North America and the Almarin Expanse south of them. The Frankian Asian Territories are to be the last lands visited.

 

Following the announcement of the world tour, tens of dozens of industrial movers and heavy lifting ships began sailing towards Africa - Dakar, Senegal, in particular. Starting well out in the Atlantic where the water is some one kilometer deep, vast amounts of earth are moved out of the area, re-purposed, and then used to reinforce the start of a new project: the Nalydian-Triskeli TransAfrican Channel. The ships hover above the calm Atlantic and go about their business as efficiently as they can. Overall, the channel is planned to be a kilometer deep and twenty wide, and will link Lake Chad to the Atlantic Ocean to allow for ocean going vessels easy access to Triskel. As the final major city on the path chosen, Dakar will serve as the primary staging ground for the continental portion of the project. Nalydian ships and engineers will begin building from the sea and hopefully will meet up with Triskeli engineers building westward from Lake Chad. With the exception of Dakar (which will now border the channel), towns, cities, and villages in the path of the channel will be relocated. 

Edited October 21, 2016 by Schwieger

[TheGrandTriskelionEmpire]

Triskeli Africa

 

Since the arrival of the Triskeli Fleet in Africa the whole sector had been transformed into a metropolis of fortifications ranging from artillery forts to huge landing zones which would be used to supply the Imperial base with fresh troops and supplies. The blue sky above had been changed from a light blue to a dark cloudy abyss which poured down heavy rain on the fortress below, what had been a barren desert had been replaced by a maze of armoured castles which spanned for hundreds of miles in each direction. Sitting above the in the clouds was an array of awe inspiring vessels which looked over the new Triskeli bastion.

 

 Lake Chad

 

On the edge of the lake a great construction project was under way, thousands of droids could be seen swarming through the air, most of them consisted of large digger units which were being used move masses of dirt to create a large channel wide enough to move a gigantic object. At the same time other droids and units were laying monstrous metallic plates on the sides and bottom of the channel, the material was reminiscent of the metals used to create Star Destroyers.As each stage was being completed it was being filled with water which would eventually allow it to be reconnected to the lake for the arrival of the Nalydian Jewel. As all this work went on there was a large security force watching over the construction, this force consisted of TIE fighter squadrons which patrolled over the zone constantly, backed up with several star destroyers which sat above and around the site, their weapons systems ever watching for the arrival of trouble makers.

 

Sniper Platform- Construction Zone

 

TK-66532 held onto his sniper rifle as his platform hovered over the construction zone, beneath his feet was a deep chasm which ended in darknesss, there were other armoured Imperials over watching the construction but they were few and far between. In his helmet he could hear the monotonous chatter of various fighter squadrons checking into the pattern for their routine patrol and other stormtroopers who were chatting among themselves.

 

His platform shuddered violently as a large droid carrying a thick piece of metal drifted from above him. He always worried that if a droid was to slip or to malfuction for a second he'd be crushed under tonnes of metal, never to be seen again by anyone, his fellow men or even his family. With this thought he tightened his grip on the rifle and refocused himself watching the workers go about their business in the various platforms around him.

Edited October 25, 2016 by TheGrandTriskelionEmpire

[Wolfie]

I get this is your own RP, but just a reminder you do not own the Cape of Verde, 

[Schwieger]

OOC: @Wolf -

If you have issues, you are free to PM me. I will discuss matters there; please do not interject OOC comments into IC threads without actually participating IC. Thanks in advance.

 

 

IC: 

 

Dakar, Senegal

Neutral Territory Between Nalydian Cape Verde and Triskeli Africa

 

The serene African landscape is greeted with the presence of large ships that loom menacingly overhead. Dakar, a city with some one million inhabitants, has become the focal point for the Nalydian end of the construction project. Lower members of the Colony Natynozh High Hunter Council are dispatched to discuss the details of the project with local authorities; for the most part agreements are readily reached without prolonged debate, but in a few cases the natives are... Coerced into cooperating. No matter in the long run however - the project will soon be over from the Pordish perspective and Nalydya will be out of their hair. Thus landfall is achieved: the movers and haulers finally come upon the rocky African shores and vast torrents of earth are sucked skyward creating massive chasms; myriad fields and containment barriers prevent collapse of the newly and rapidly forming channel, and speedy repurposement of the material removed allows for the speedy establishment of solid retaining walls and other things of that sort. Behind them massive seawalls keep the Atlantic from storming in just yet - they will not allow the stormy blue to claim the channel until they have completed its construction. 

 

In Nalydian Iceland, the Jewel of Orbis has completed preparations for its world tour. In the command room deep within the bowels of the city, the officer on deck gives the orders to pull away from the yards; the city acquiesces and it begins to distance itself from the building docks. Vast torrents of water spray out from under the gargantuan craft as it begins to settle in the water; the Pords at the helm ease her down - making note of the water depth, careful to avoid fully settling her as the area is not deep enough to permit her to fully rest - and set course for the open ocean. The transition takes all of ten minutes from release to full steam. By the end of that timeframe she is pulling away from Nalydian Iceland and Pords can be seen lining the streets towards the outskirts of the city and standing atop buildings and on balconies and porches to catch glimpse of land for the last time until they reach the first stop in their tour. With plenty of steam and a considerable clip, the Jewel of Orbis makes way for the Mediterranean. 

Edited October 21, 2016 by Schwieger

[TheGrandTriskelionEmpire]

Triskeli Construction Zone

 

TK-66532 had been at his patrol post when this original alarm had been sounded, this meant one thing, for some unknown reason a worker close to the drill had pressed a panic button which had sent the entire construction zone into an automatic lock down and all security forces were know descending on the drill location.

 

His shoes clacked against the metal ground and his HUD bounced in front of his eyes as his helmet moved slightly with every step forward that he took. In his right ear, he could hear the sound of the open net going completely wild as new star ships and other security vehicles were appearing overhead, the panic alarm must have been heard far and wide from the current construction zone. In his left ear, he could hear his squad leader barking orders of his own “All units, converge on the drill head, all units’ convergeâ€.

 

It took his less than five minutes to reach the drill head, by the time he reached the zone it was swarming with clone troopers, Stormtroopers and even two AT-STs had been dropped on the platform.  The air above was swarming with TIE fighters which he couldn’t see visually but knew they were there due to their high pitch screaming which he always thought to be an amusing tactical flaw in their design.

 

His HUD had targeted an object so large that it dwarfed the drill which had since been moved back from the gaping cliff side. Poking out from the charred cliff was a large crystal like object which would have to be miles across, it appeared that he drill’s beam made contact with the crystal and the beam had been deflected back at the drill and it had been nearly obliterated by the beam. In his mind, he knew there was only one crystal in the universe that was used to deflect energy beams.... Suddenly he felt a sense of dread and cold wash over him like a waterfall, as if an object had just blocked out the sun leaving the planet in darkness.

Turning around his HUD picked out a tall cloaked figure nearby sat in the cliff face, the figure appeared to be watching the construction. The only thing he could make out at this distance was the glowing orange eyes which disturbed him greatly.

 

 

Apollyon sat hunched on the cliff face, his dark cloak shrouding his body from view, he’d be tasked with the oversight of this operation and now the Force had drawn him here with a monstrous Kyber crystal emerging from the construction site. This was a bonus for the Triskel had he’d also been tasked with finding such crystals for a new secret project.

Standing up he reached for his holopad and spoke “Inform the Empress, we have located what we need for our new weaponâ€.

Edited October 30, 2016 by TheGrandTriskelionEmpire

[Schwieger]

Border of Mali and Burkina Faso

North of Tongomayel

 

Pordish construction crews work at a feverish pace: they are eager to see their portion of the channel completed on time and by schedule; they clear, compress, and advance at the rate of some one hundred kilometers per day - a rather sedate clip considering the ease of construction from the air. Needless to say, the vast streams of earth and rocks and dirt can be seen from many kilometers away as they are freed from the dirty African savanna and climb skywards towards the ships above, shunted to vessels further back, and then placed back down in the rapidly advancing chasm as massive flat slabs. As the first gravitic haulers near and enter the Sahel Reserve in Burkina Faso, they threaten to overtake their allotted time-slots and become... Early. A pleasant surprise, but nothing all too unexpected considering the nature of what they are completing. Overall the project is rather minuscule in comparison to those Nalydya is much more accustomed to taking part in; the grand difficulty here is primarily marked by the finesse and precision with which the Pords are required to operate courtesy the inhabited nature of Orbis. Almost paradoxically, massive changes to worlds are done much more easily, but they are also done with very little regard for who or what may be living on a planet. For obvious reasons, such disregard for life cannot be taken here - thus the extreme care with which they are now operating. 

 

Of course behind the main engineering force a smaller cadre of equally capable rear echelon workers flow forth (they trail the main group of engineers and workers by some fifty kilometers) to begin polishing what has so far been completed of the channel. While the main force does maintain the ability to further refine and process what they have completed already, it is much more efficient to allow a dedicated force to do so. This is the primary reason for the vast sea walls previously erected. And so with all the tools and accouterments befit of their task, these rear echelon engineers go to work: the channel bed is fortified heavily and then covered in a decently thick layer of material from further out to sea to maintain the continuity of the seabed. With the channel twenty kilometers in width, the first three kilometers along either side are used to create a sloping shore that descends at a rather natural rate up until three kilometers from shore - where it then plunges down to the full depth of one thousand meters, allowing for the passage of the majority of ships that ply the stormy seas of Orbis. For Nalydya, at least, the bulk of passenger and freight shipping is more than capable of traversing the waters, and even some military craft - mostly runner type vessels, older destroyers which may or may not actually still be in service, and cruisers - even the larger Generation XV cruisers which range from 2 to 5 kilometers as their length is much, much, less than their draft.

 

Out on the Atlantic Ocean, the Jewel of Orbis has made its way to the Mri holdings in England. The visitation there is short as the vessel is forced to enable its rather extensive environmental shielding to keep out the horrendous noxious gases and atmospheric particulates. No tours are held - the Mri are simply presented with a gift to thank them for allowing it to sail with Mri waters and to reinforce the bond between the Nalydian and Mri people. It soon pulls away from the British Isles and once again begins steaming south towards the Mediterranean, but a few changes have been made in her itinerary, the most relevant of which being a short visitation with the Evenstar before passing through the narrow straits of Gibraltar, effectively moving the Kressnians down the list to third nation to be visited, but second where tours are to be held. With news that the TransAfrican Channel is on schedule, the commanding officers adjust the speed of the floating city to keep pace with its construction, and plan on arriving off of Nalydian Cape Verde in time to be able to use the channel to visit the Grand Triskelion Federation. The Triskeli visitation is planned to be the longest and most scenic of the visits on the Jewel's world tour, and fortunately for those sailing on her, they will get to experience the exotic African coast (in stark contrast to the bleak ocean which is what the view is for most of the tour) for most of the transit to and away from Triskel. 

[Sailor Jerry]

Ha, ha.....lol, when I first saw the title of this topic, I thought there was a new cable channel dedicated to African sex changes!  My bad.....please resume.

[TheGrandTriskelionEmpire]

Triskeli Africa

 

Imperial construction crews had rushed to make up for the lost time they had spent removing the monstrous kyber crystal from their path, since then more crews had been drafted in to make up for lost progress. The sky above the works was filled with a thick brown smog which choked up the air, sitting above the works were new vessels which were being used to remove large swathes of rock and dirty with the tractor beams, from miles around large boulders and streams of dirt could be seen flying up into air towards these vessels. Once the ship was filled with debris it would be moved to another location and dropped out of the sight of anyone travelling on the Jewel. The issue that Triskel was facing with this project wasn’t the size at hand or even the equipment that had been brought into the universe. It was the fact that Triskel had so many construction projects going on in the universe their work force from men to droids had been split thinly throughout the universe. This had meant that the Empire had used its vast bank vaults to hire workers from various nations increasing the amount workers by tenfold. With this new source of workers and raw material the waterway had been extended to a location which had been marked on old maps as ‘Birnin Kebbi’. For now, this is where the Imperial works halted.

 

 

Meanwhile the Imperial occupation zone was expanding all the time with new forts and defense areas being built every day. The original natural landscape had been replaced with miles of thick armoured plating and shield generators as far as the eye could see. Birds which once soared through sky had been replaced with metal birds which unleashed a fearsome roar as they screamed overhead. Wild and dangerous animals which once roamed through he tundra had been replaced by armour clad Imperials and gigantic metallic walkers which now stalked the land by day and night; hunting those who dares to oppose Imperial rule.

 

High Orbit

 

Imperator Star Destoyer ‘T.S Knight

 

Lancer heard the ping of the door opening before she saw the doors open, she had just arrived in system mere minutes and already was being spammed with reports from various commanders from all across, be it the Grand Admiral who wanted to cozy up to her to a low-level infantry commander who was asking for men and equipment at their location. No one said that being in charge of the Empire’s military was going to be easy, she did like the challenge but sometimes she had to take a second to collect her thoughts before trying to sort through the chaos.

 

Suddenly she was back into it, as her foot made contact with the metallic floor of the destroyer, there was the sound of arms moving, feet stomping and then silence. The whole bridge crew were standing to attention; all eyes were on her. With a quick nod the crew went back to their business, excluding the Captain of the Destroyer who paced over to her. She could see that his Captain was a young man, probably recently promoted or fresh out of the academy and lucked out on his first command, either away the lack of experience was showing clear as day.

 

“Welcome aboard, Knight Commander, how did I get the honour of personally receiving you ?†he said in an accent which must have originated from one of the core Triskeli worlds, likely born into the nobility and went from there, which is how he managed to get a star destroyer for his first posting. She would investigate this later when she had the opportunity.

 

“You just happened to be the ship with the most convenient view of this back-water planet which you have been posted to. I will be using your vessel to complete my goals in this universe. You’ll have her returned once I’m done†She paused form effect, having no time for snobs from the core worlds was one of her raw talents. That was one of things she didn’t miss at all, the politics of the core worlds, the further you were away from it all, the less it stank.

 

The Captain’s face scrunched up “Ma’am, I have direct orders from high command to patrol this sector and not to move. I cannot and will not move at whim, you’ll hear from my father if you cause troubleâ€.

 

Lancer tilted her head within her helmet and made the face that would have given the Captain a shiver and within a second she had reached for her pistol and put a bolt between the Captain’s eye, his body slumped to the floor and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. It took only a few seconds for two of Lancer’s troopers to appear and drag the body away in the eerie silence which floated around the bridge like a cloud.

 

No sooner had his body been dragged away she paced over to the navigation and communications trench on the bridge, leaning over she saw the faces of several naval personnel, in one swift motion she threw down a data pad which one of the ensigns caught “On that is the location for our next jump. Inform when we arriveâ€.

 

Within several seconds the destroyer and three others activated their dark space drives and vanished into space.

Edited November 11, 2016 by TheGrandTriskelionEmpire

[Schwieger]

OOC: 

 

Continued here.