NationStates Jolt Archive

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, En-Route to Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Admiral on Deck!"

With those three words every crewman and crewoman on the bridge of the Priam stood a little straighter and moved a little faster, everybody wanted to look good for the Boss. Captain Lillith Miller, the woman who would have been master of the Priam had Admiral Gramh not chosen to set his flag upon it, rose from her chair and approached the Admiral who had just decided to grace the crew with his presence.

"Admiral, I don't believe we've met yet. Captain Miller, Commander of the 3'rd Fleet. Well....former commander of the 3'rd Fleet."

Her grin might almost have been sheepish if there hadn't been a touch of pain behind it; it was the Admiral who had replaced her as Commander of the Fleet.

"Welcome to the command center for the Priam, I think this is your first visit to the bridge. Would you like to take the chair?"

The Admiral simply looked around, not even acknowledging Millers greeting. His stare was a bit cold, most people being presented with the command of an Achilles class Battleship would have been giggling and grinning from ear to ear; Admiral Gramh just stood there and watched the staff going about their business and didn't say a word.

"Uh.....very well, sir. We were planning to de-activate the G/TD drive in a little less than five minutes, it will drop us in right near the edge of the system and close enough for an Intra-System Sub-Space Jump. The Fleet will then Jump inwards, if our information is right we should end up pointed right at their throat."

The Admiral still said nothing.

"Sir, I know it's not very relevant, but something has been bothering me. We've owned Tau Ceti for several centuries and most of that time it's been inhabited by Guanyu. There've been civilian ships, military convoys, and businesses of every kind going in and out of this system for years. How the hell didn't we even see this nest? Seriously, when we were building the base here we strung this system with sensors from end to end and had Corvettes scanning every rock that could hide so much as a flea. Yet we didn't even know they were here until a random patrol just stumbled upon them? It just doesn't sit right with me, sir."

For the first time since he had entered the bridge the Admiral looked at the Captain, then slowly nodded and turned his head in the direction of the small briefing room located behind the command center. Entering, he held the door open for the Captain and shut it behind her, both of them sitting at the sole table in the room.

"Captain, what I am about to tell you is Classified; Level Rho. I don't think I need to tell you what will happen if you let it travel beyond these walls."

"Level Rho, sir? But I only have Lambda clearance."

In responce the Admiral reached into his pocket and pulled out a small envelope which he slid across the table to the Captain.

"Effective immediately you are hereby promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, with all that the rank entails. Included is a clearance level of Sigma, which will allow you to hear what I have to say."

Captain, now Rear Admiral, Miller was silent; she had never imagined that she would earn the rank of Admiral. She'd never imagined that she'd even get past Commander, and she had been promoted past that point several years ago. She also knew that for her to be promoted as such, without weeks of reivew and preperation, meant that what she was about to hear was more important than a briefing on a pitiful pirate base that they had been dispatched to destroy.

"I understand, Admiral."

"Good. What the briefing you, your staff, and your crew had last week contained only a fraction of the information vital to this mission. True, this is a small pirate base that we are being dispatched to destroy. True, it is crewed mainly by military trained personnell and armed with military grade technology. True, our destruction of the base will not be very difficult. But, what the briefing didn't say, was that the base is not controlled by some random warlord or foreign power. It's not a remnant of the Guanyu colony or just some migrants passing through. No, it is staffed, supplied, and run by defectors from the Klonor Space Corps. That is why we never saw it before last week, before last week it didn't exist. They are all refugees from the very military base that detected them."

"Klonor personnell, sir? Is that possible?"

"It is. Our own kind have struck out against us, and it is our duty to wipe them out. Without remorse and without qualm, we have to wipe them out."

EDIT: OOC: Comments are appreciated

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, En-Route to Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Commander Milosh Venkman sat in the Captains Chair on the bridge of the Priam, filling in while the Captain was in conference with the Admiral.

"Helm?"

"Yes, sir?"

"What is our ETA for arrival in Tau Ceti?"

"A little under one minute, sir. We'll be de-activating the G/TD drive as soon as we're within the system, then initiating a Sub-Space hop as soon as we've slowed to Sub-Light speeds and have updated the latest gravitic stats for the system."

"Excellent, give me a heads up ten seconds prior and then continue."

"Yes, sir."

A bare few seconds later.....

"Ten seconds, sir."

Before Venkman can even respond the helmsman flipped a small switch on his console and the Priam decelerated drastically, dropping to Sub-Light speed almost instantly and hovering at the systems edge.

"We'll be jumping to Sub-Space momentarily, computing now."

"Belay that, Lieutenant."

Looking a tad shaken, Lillith Miller emerged from the briefing room at the rear of the bridge that she had just occupied with the Admiral. She crossed to the Captains chair and took her seat, ignoring the Commanders stare at the new insignia resting on her shoulders, and cast a few brief glances at the crew members surrounding her. Her gaze was a bit more suspicious than it would have been under normal circumstances, but as the Admiral had just pointed out, this situation wasn't exactly normal.

"Restart your calculations, take us to the Illium and the rest of the Fleet at the interior of the system. We're going to re-group with the rest of the 3'rd Fleet and maybe some of the garrison ships before we head after the pirates."

"Ma'am? The entire Fleet? Is that really necessary for a single pirate base?"

"Commander, the Admiral has just revealed some interesting new information to me about the nature of this base. We both agree that the Priam alone isn't prepared to face them; we're considering taking some special precautions before our assault."

"Yes, ma'am."

The Commander returned to his normal duty station as the helmsman began re-calculating for a slightly longer Jump in a different direction. A few seconds later, with a brief flash of blue and a small ripple of space, the Priam jumped towards the military base near the core of the system.

ASI Illium, Tau Ceti Military Base Administrative Headquarters, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Admiral Miller sat in her temporary quarters aboard the Illium and stewed over the events of the past day. In ten minutes her entire world had flipped, and things didn't look to be getting any easier as time went on.

Civil War. Klonor against Klonor, citizen against citizen, this can not be happening again! The Epsilon Pegasi incident was bad enough, that was when Klonor had fractured and split already. Now.....this is supposed to be a Golden Age, a time of prosperity for all and unity in our nation! This can tear the entire Association apart! It's bad enough they're Klonor citzens, but they're Klonor citzens who've defected from the Corps. How can we keep this quiet? How can we keep this from spreading? Dear God, how can we keep this from ending in the deaths of thousands of my fellow citizens? Minerva, if you've got anything tucked up your sleave this would be a really good time to let it out, I'm as clueless as Salm was when he stormed the Palace.

The doors tone, however, shook her out of her internal monologue and brought her back to reality before Minerva could deliver any pearls of wisdom.

"Yes?"

"It's Commander Venkman, Cap....uh...Admiral. Permission to enter?"

"Granted, Commander. Enter."

The door opened at a word from the Admiral and the Commander rushed in, concern apparent on his face.

"Jesus Christ, Lil, what the bloody hell is going on? You're an Admiral without a single second of preperation and, instead of dancing like a woman who's been asked to a party by the Duke, you look like you're about to pass out. This is more than a miniscule pirate base, isn't it?"

"It is, Mi. It's a lot more. If we don't handle this right we might end up ushering in the Bad Times again."

"The.....the Bad Times? What the hell are you talking about? What did the Admiral tell you?"

"You know I can't, Mi. Level Rho and above only, I didn't know until he handed me the star..."

She reached up and brushed the red star resting on her shoulder.

"...and I wish I still didn't know."

"Look, Lil, if you're expecting the Priam to go through with whatever it is we're supposed to go through then we'll need to know. We deserve to know. You know that."

"Yeah, I know it, but Admiral Gramh might not. He's in command of the 3'rd Fleet and we are subject to his orders. You know his rep as well as I do, the guy isn't always friendly with his subordinates but he's supposed to be up there with Salm and Keane in ability. If he keeps you in the dark it's because he's got a reason."

"Yeah, but who says his reasons are the rights ones?"

"The Duke does, that's who. He put Gramh in charge and I know you're not about to start questioning the Dukes orders."

"I.....no. I won't go that far. But this just doesn't feel right for me."

"It doesn't feel right for me, either, but I'm hoping it will work out. Look, Mi, I've got a meeting in twenty minutes; all the Admirals and Generals in Tau Ceti. I'll let you know what's what afterwards. Until then.....until then you'll just have to trust me, and trust that that Gramh knows what he's doing."

The Commander left quickly, leaving the Admiral alone with her thoughts again.

What does Admiral Gramh have in store for me now? The last time we spoke he dropped this bombshell in my lap, at this meeting it might be something twenty times as large. Please, Jove, let this just be strategy and battle plans. I can't handle anything more today. Jesus.....strategy! I haven't thought of a damn thing for assaulting this base! Everything I had before is out the window, nothing I made will be right for assaulting Klonor personnel. They're bound to have Harbingers, I'll need to keep my Corvettes at the fringes.....but that will leave the Destroyers vulnerable to the Mercuries that they're sure to posess. Oh, damnit, this is going to cost us. This will cost us dearly. I only hope it's worth it.

Admiral Lillith Miller rose from her seat and made her way to her closet, brigning out her brand new Admirals uniform, not yet worn, and quickly dressing herself.

You know, you'd think they'd make these things a little less revealing. We're supposed to be here for our minds. Oh, well, nothing I can do about it now. Onward into the Abyss.

Visibly steadying herself, she approached the doorway and pressed several of the small buttons inlaid against the door frame. She then stepped through into the secure meeting chambers on the other side of the Illium.

ASI Illium, Tau Ceti Military Base Administrative Headquarters, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Admiral on Deck!"

Whereas on the bridge of the Priam those three words had sent everybody scurrying and got everybody moving faster, in the secure briefing room of the Illium it only resulted in the raising of a few heads and the occasional mumbled greeting.

I am never going get used to hearing that whenever I enter a room.

Admiral Lillith Miller emerged from the Phase Gate as one of the last arrivals to the metting, already the room was filled with dozens of high ranking officers of the Klonor Space, Land, and Air Corps. There were more stars present than Miller had ever seen in her entire life.

I've spent the past seven years wishing that I could sit in at one of these meetings, now I'd give anything to sit out.

"Lillith? Lillith Miller?"

A Generals uniform with insignia so bright it shone was approaching her, a smile sticking out of the top.

"Praise Jove, it is you! What the hell are you doing here?"

She dug into her memory for a name, trying to attach a label to the uniform now talking to her. A vague thought stuck in her mind and she grabbed on to it.

"Jonathan? Is that you? Holy crap, I could ask you the same question!"

The last time she'd seen this specific uniform was during the assault on the Gamma Draconis miltary base, he'd been a corporal in charge of a Flak Cannon and was scheduled to be booted from the Corps a week later.

"I though the Corps was about to let you go? Something about unlicensed selling of.....certain products?"

A sheepish grin broke out on Jonathans, General Jonathan, face.

"Yeah, I was, but then all of a sudden I shot down a warhead headed towards the Colossus and suddenly I'm this big war hero. Corps promoted me, dropped all charges, and gave me a raise. I've been working my way up through the ranks ever since. But you, when did you make Admiral? I'd like to think I'd have heard about something like that! After all, we Generals do hear a lot of things."

"Yeah, funny story......it just happened yesterday."

Jonathans jaw dropped and his eyes bugged, he didn't even utter a sound. His reaction was perfectly understandable, for a person to get promoted a day earlier and already be at a secured meeting was unheard of. Then again, being promoted in a single day was a bit more unusual.

"Hey, talk to Gramh, it was his idea."

"Ah....Gramh. Yeah, he's a tad unusual."

"Tell me about it. So, John, what's this specific meeting about? Gramh just gave me a time, no objective."

"You've got clearance, right?"

She reached up and tapped the star strapped to her shoulder.

Am I going to need to tap this thing in every conversation I have?

"Yeah, I've got Sigma. Should be enough for everything here."

"Sigma should do. So, I can assume then that Gramh has told you about the unusual nature of this base?"

"Yeah. From what he said I think the entire reason I was pomoted was so that I'd be allowed to hear it."

"Well, we're here to figure out how to obliterate it."

"That's it? I mean, I know it's gonna be difficult, they're Klonor afterall, but do we really need to much gold here to plan this? A direct assault by the 3'rd Fleet would finish it rather quickly."

"No, you don't get it. We're not here to destroy the base, we're here to obliterate it. Nothing left. No traces, no stories, nothing. We don't want anybody to hear about this until long after we're all in our graves."

Yeah, that will be a bit more difficult.

"How exactly are we going to do that? They're bound to have an Inter-System Jump-Drive, once they see that they're losing they could just jump out. How can we keep even the tiniest fighter from retreating?"

"That's what we're here for. We need to make sure that once we attack they stay there until the end. We need to make sure that once we attack it is the end. No second chances here, this needs to be done in one shot."

He's leaving something out. Nobody can escape, yes, but.....no surrender, either. We're not going to take any of these men alive, we're going inand planning on killing every single man and woman down there. This is not how I wanted my first day as Admiral to go.

ASI Illium, Tau Ceti Military Base Administrative Headquarters, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Admiral on Deck!"

This time every General and Admiral in attendance, along with their various aides and attendants, snapped to attention and turned to face the new arrival.

Who.....oh, it's him.

Admiral Gramh emerged from the Phase Gate and headed towards the head of the table centered in the room, nodding to the various other officers as he pased them. He'd been placed in command of the 3'rd Fleet and the entire Tau Ceti military base, technically he outranked every officer in attendance.

"Gentlemen, Ladies, we are under extreme time constraints so we must begin at once. If you will all take your seats."

The meetings participants, scattered in conversation throughout the room, drifted towards the center and began to seat themselves. Lillith, moving towards the far end of the table where 'lower' officers usually sat ('Lower' being entirely relative in this case, she is currently one of the ranking officers in the KSC), was instead met with harsh whispers and gestures towards the head of the table.

"No, not here! Over there."

Well, isn't this just getting weirder and weirder.

She slowly made her way to the head of the table, searching for an unoccupied seat and finding one only next to Gramh's right hand.

I think I missed something...

But she took her seat anyway.

"I'm sure everybody here knows everybody else, we've all worked together on many occasions. We're also all aware of the dire situation we find ourselves in. We're here to find a solution to this rather peculiar problem, and hopefully it's a solution that will keep everything quiet until years after we're done here. But, before we begin, I'd like to introduce you to Rear Admiral Lillith Miller, who shall be my Second in Command throughout our campaign here in Tau Ceti."

Second in.....WHAT?

"Admiral Riso, I believe you have a presentation for us."

"Yes, sir. Lights, please."

The lights dimmed and Riso began a rather lengthy speech, complete with pictures, that outlined the past exploits of the defectors and their estimated military strength. Lillith didn't hear a single word he said.

I must have heard wrong, did Gramh just say his Second in Command? Okay, something here is seriously out of whack, this doesn't make any sense. I've been an Admiral for a day and I'm already Gramh's Second? We're being sent on a murder spree? Next thing I know it's gonna turn out that Salm is going to be my cabin boy......wait......is Salm my cabin boy? Nah, things aren't that bizarre yet, but we're getting pretty close. Centuries of military tradition are being stepped on here and nobody is even blinking an eye....well, Jonathan seemed shocked at first, but once I said it was Gramh it made perfect sense to him. What do they know that I don't?

She tried to turn her thoughts away from the obsurdity of everything and focus of Riso's speech, but her mind kept drifting back to the past few days.

Has Gramh gone rogue? Is that it? Maybe he's the one who's defecting from the Association and is stringing me along? No, if everybody here was in on it they wouldn't be defectors, that'd be a full blow revolution. Maybe Gramh has just lost it? No, the Duke himself signed Gramhs orders, he's acting with approval from the Association. So why is it all so messed up?

"Thank you Riso, does anybody have anything to add?"

With a start Lillith woke out of her mental haze and realised that she'd been debating internally for nearly half an hour, she'd missed the entire assesment of the enemy.

Great, now I don't even know anything about who I'm fighting.

"I think you all know what will happen if we mess this up. If word of these pirates spread it could trigger more defections from the Corps and erupt into full blow civil war. If news of what happened here gets out after we've wiped them out it could trigger resignations from the Association, the last thing any systems want is evidence that the Duke is 'opressing indigenous and soverign people.' They wont care that they're pirates and deserters, they'll resign anyway. So, we need to end this fast, silently, and leave nothing left. Ideas?"

Yeah.....we're screwed.

OOC:

Hey diddle diddle, said the cat with the fiddle. Guys, Girls, readers of unknown gender, I would appreciate some feedback on this. Praise. condemnations, various statements regarding purple flavored cheese, anything. It'd be nice to know that people are least reading my stuff, even if you don't like it.

ASI Illium, Tau Ceti Military Base Administrative Headquarters, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

The Generals and Admirals tossed ideas back and forth, plans for direct assaults and sneaky surprise barrages, ideas on convincing them to surrender and ideas on bribing them to cease hostilities, they scraped up every lesson they'd learned over the years, but nobody had a plan that would guarantee not a single enemy would escape. Nobody knew how they'd knock out every single fighter that the pirates had, or how they'd halt every single ship from jumping to Sub-Space.

"It's simple, we set up a second ring of ships beyond our main battle line. If they break through then they're still caught by the second ring."

"Look man, we're in space. This isn't infantry warfare, you're not thinking three-dimentionally. They can just fly right above or below them."

"Then make it a sphere! Give them nowhere to run!"

"So, they're all trappeed there, no hope of escape, what do you think they'll do next? Simply lie down and wait for us to finish them off? Hell no! They could just jump to Sub-Space and go right through the outer ring of ships."

"Well, yeah, but--"

"There is no but, that's the biggest problem here. We can't stop their Sub-Space jumps so we can't contain them. Unless you have some mystical FTL blocker that plan just won't do it."

Lieutenant General Dilos sat down, his face downtrodden at the fact that another plan of his had been torn apart.

Damnit, I'm a tank driver, not a fleet man. I haven't been trained for this!

Vice Admiral Lorson didn't look much happier, despite his little victory. With each new failed plan their hopes that they could contain this grew lower and lower. Finally, all the voices slowed and stopped. In this room were some of the smartest and most experienced officers in the entire Klonor military, and they were as stumped as a group of teenagers being quized on Ancient American Cuisine. Admiral Gramh rose, hoping to at least get something out of the meeting.

"Look, it's pretty obvious that we need to keep them in this system. The only people here are the inhabitants of this base, we can keep them quiet easily enough. If they're trapped here we can hunt them down at our leiusre, the problem is if they escape into the rest of the Association. If we shut down the TLMDG it's a little easier, only the G/TD equipped ships will be able to get to the rest of the Association. Fighters are out, they're only Sub-Space equipped and there are no Nodes in Tau Ceti, they're stuck here without somebody to transport them. So, the capital ships are all that we really need to worry about, they'll be able to get somehwere else even with the TLMDG. So, forgetting about the fighters and preventing their escape into the system, how do we keep the capital ships from escaping from the system?"

Lillith sat quietly in her chair and didn't speak, deep thought evident on her face. She'd been silent almost the entire meeting, still unused to the fact that she was now equal to these men in power and responsibility and a bit reluctant to speak up. But she had a germ of an idea and wanted to see it used.

"Uh.....Admiral Gramh? I think I might have an idea. It'll be risky for the Priam and might cost us the ship, but it will probably knock out a majority of their larger ships before the battle even starts."

"Well, go on Lillith. You're the one with the most experience with the 3'rd Fleet, you know what they can do better than anyone else."

"Right, sir. Okay, it'll require some refitting of the Priam and the refits will be difficult and costly, but I think it'll be worth it."

She stood up and reached into her pocket, pulling out a small holographic projector.

Rank does have its priveledges, this thing came with he uniform.

She tapped a few buttons and a schematic of a standard Achilles class Battleship appeared in the air.

"As I'm sure you all know, this is an Achilles class Battleship. The Priam is one such ship, the most recent one produced. It is impressivley armed with 8 Heavy Beam Cannons, 38 Laser Turrets, and 5 Tsunami Launchers. It's the last that you should focus on. I want the Tsunami Launchers converted to Harbinger Cannons."

A single gasp came from every single throat in the room.

"Not fully functional ones of course, a ship the size of an Achilles can't even hold a single Cannon if you want to keep everything else it's armed with, but single shot devices should work fine. It'd only require modifying the barrels to hold a slightly larger warhead and taking down all the anti-matter safeguards. When it's done we can load a Harbinger Warhead into each Cannon and it'll work as smooth as a real one. We can't reload, but we wont need to."

There was a slight murmur as all the officers consulted with their technical advisors, but everything came back okay.

"Once that's done, we find where the main pirate base is. We need to know precisely, I'm talking down to the meter. The approximations we have now won't do. Once we know where it is, we do a precise Sub-Space jump."

"Where to? If you're going for a normal attack why do you need to specific location?"

I'm glad somebody asked.

"Because this isn't going to be a 'normal' attack. I'm taking the Priam inside the base, jumping right into its dock. We should be at point blank range for its major capital ships, except for the few on patrol. We launch the Harbingers then and take down its entire fleet in one stroke."

Silence greeted her. Nobody had a thing to say, they'd never even dreamed of jumping a Battleship into a dock, it'd be suicide. Off by a few meters and the entire thing would tear itself apart. But, then again, this warranted the risk. Looking at Lillith with newfound respect they nodded their heads in approval. Gramh nodded last, looking at Lillith with an odd expression on his face.

"Very well. We'll begin modifying the Priam at once. Dismissed."

OOC: Still waiting for some kind of feedback

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Very well, continue with the construction."

Admiral Lillith Miller reached up and closed the circuit, ending her conversation with the foreman in charge of the Tsunami Launcher conversion. The conversion was proceeding on schedule, but she was having difficulty concealing what was going on from her crew. They weren't stupid, and they knew that construction like this didn't happen every day. They were bound to figure it out sooner or later, and she rather it be sooner so she could ease her own conciense. She'd never liked it when Admirals had kept her in the dark and she didn't like doing it to her subordinates now, but she had to for the sake of basic security. They didn't know what kind of plants the pirates had in the Tau Ceti military base and the less people aware of the plans the better.

"Admiral, may I have a word with you?"

"Of course, Commander. Enter."

Back in her usual quarters aboard the Priam, Lillith opened the door and allowed Commander Milosh Venkman into her room.

"Lil, I have to know what's going on. You've practically been a hermit in here ever since you got back from the Illium and you won't let any of the engineering staff look at what the new construction is. You've never been one to keep me in the dark and I wish you wouldn't start now. What are they doing to the ship?"

"Mi, I've never kept you in the dark before, and you know that. You also know that I'm not going to blatantly violate orders and tell you what our plans are just because I want to keep on my past course. You're the Second in Command of the Priam and a fine Commander, but you're only a Commander and you don't have the clearance. As long as you're a Commander you'll know what we're doing when you need to know and not before, and right now you don't need to know."

Milosh is visibly stung by her words and seems on the verge of an outburst that will likely earn him a court-martial, but he also sees that she's right and he's wrong. Clearance levels are in place for a reason, and violators are not dealt with kindly. For her part, Lillith doesn't seem at all happy with the authoritan tone she is forced to take.

God I hate being an Admiral, it was so much easier when I was in his place and could complain to him about 'the man upstairs.' Fortunately, I do like some of the power it gives me.

"It is therefor with great pleasure that I tell you that, as of nine a.m. this morning, you are hereby promoted to Captain and placed in command of the Priam."

She reached into her desk and pulled out a small envelope similar to the one handed to her by the Admiral a bare few days ago.

"Rank does have its priveledges, you've been in the program for a Captainship for a while now. I just moved it along a bit more quickly. With myself off at the Admiralty the Priam will need a new master, and there's nobody I'd rather see entrusted with that responsibility."

"I.....Lil I.....but.......I......it......but.....that.......but....."

"Mi, this would be a good time to say 'Thank you, ma'am', take the envelope, then come have a drink with me. I think we both just got off duty."

She grinned at that, then grinned more when Milosh sprang into action and quickly grabbed the envelope, opening it to find a brand new Captains rank insignia within, along with the necessary official documents.

"Thank you, ma'am!"

He practically swelled up with pride as he placed the insignia on his uniform and formally shook the Admirals hand, then pulled her close and gave her a big hug.

"Hey, Milosh, take it easy! I might not spend as much time on the front-lines anymore but I still do need my spine! It might be a slight inconvenience if it snaps."

"Oh, right."

He lets go, still beaming with joy.

A pity I'll need to kill that joy in a few seconds.

"So, how 'bout that drink? I think you'll need it, the news isn't very good."

"I'll handle it, Lil. How bad can it be, another civil war looming?"

He smiled a bit, but it disappeared almost instantly when he saw her face.

"Oh.....shit."

"Have a seat Milosh, I'll get you something to drink."

As he sat down she approached the cabinet at the rear of her cabin, bringing out a small Collostomizer bottle and two glasses. Sitting across from him she poured a large glass for each of them, then slid one across to her partner. Downing her entire glass in one quick gulp, she waited for him to start before she told him the whole story. Her promotion, the story about the defectors, her plan of attack, everything. The bottle was empty within ten minutes.

OOC: Still waiting for some kind of feedback

Read it, it's pretty good.

ASC Levi, 3'rd Fleet Support Ship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Rear Admiral Lillith Miller stood on the bridge of the Levi and watched the crew around her go about their duties, not exactly overjoyed at her new vessel but at least content.

The Priam would take this thing apart in ten seconds without even getting a spike in shield energy. Hell, a Destroyer could probably get it done it twenty. But I suppose it'll do for now, personal commands aren't given out every day in the Corps and I suppose I should be honored. Afterall, how often do you get a Cruiser for your own personal use? Not to often. Besides, I've passed the Priam off the Milosh, it's his baby now. I've got to move on. An Admiral can't be tied down. I just hope it's still there to be not tied to in a few minutes.

Her thoughts drifted beyond her new command, to the Priam floating in space a few kilometers off the Levi's bow. Aboard the Priam was a bare skeleton crew, a few dozen people compared to its usual complement of thousands, but those few souls would be more than enough to perform the Priams next task and there was no need to risk the lives of the rest of its crew unnecessarily.

"Lieutenant Rowly?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Open a channel to the Priam, I'd like to speak to Captain Venkman."

"Yes, ma'am. Channel open."

"Captain Venkman, how are things progressing over there?"

"Very well, Admiral. The last engineering personnel just left after one last once-over of the Tsunami Launchers. They say everything's in tip-top shape and it should all go off without a hitch."

"Let's pray they're right. You have authorisation to proceed with the tests. Good luck."

"Channel closed, ma'am."

"Thank you. Turn on the Vid screen, I'd like a split display. Show me the Priam and all five drones, I want to know what happens as soon as it does."

The display screen in front of her flickered and activated, displaying the massive Battleship and the five target drones now hovering around it.

Mars, grant them favor. I would really like it if the crew over there lived through this.

On her screen the Priam continued to hang in space, motionless and with no signs of life. Suddenly, the five Tsunami Launchers aboard its hull rotated and focused, targeting the drones hovering around them and hurling death towards them at nearly the Speed of Light. With a soundless bang and a flash of light so bright it is nearly blinding even through the visual dampers of the Vid screen the Harbinger Warheads detonate, each five gigaton explosive unleashing power enough to crack open a planet. When the light faded the five target drones were gone.....and the Priam hung undamaged in space.

Oh, Praise Jove & Mars!

"Staus of the Priam?"

"Scans are just coming in now ma'am......it appears undamaged. The Tsunami Launchers are off-line, as expected, but the necessary repairs for them will take not even a day. No casualty reports are coming in from the crew over ther and they are reporting all basic ship systems as fully cuntional. It looks like it worked."

"Good. Very good. Lieutenant Braklay, you have the bridge. I'll be in my quarters."

"Yes, ma'am."

Lillith rose from her seat and exited at the rear, her joyful expression slowly fading to one of concern.

The test was a success. The Priam now has five fully functional Harbinger Cannons. My plan is going to go ahead. Shit. This means it's really going to happen, we're really going to obliterate this base. My plan, their blood will be on my hands. Damnit, why the hell did they have to be Klonor defectors? They couldn't be Jimathon renegades or Sol pirates, I wouldn't think twice about this then. They'd deserve what they get, and these men deserve it now. But still.....it's just not sitting right.

Her face hardened, a look of determinaion crossing her features.

It doesn't matter. They're pirates, rebels, and they're this close to ripping the Association apart at the seams. They're going down and they're going down hard. They don't deserve a scrap of mercy and they won't get it.

Reaching her room she let herself in and poured a rather plentiful glass of scotch.

What I wouldn't give for some alien invasion, that'd be great right now. Somebody to kill who I haven't worked with and lived with and risked my life for. That'd be a hell of a lot easier. Oh, well, nobody said being an Admiral would be easy.

She downed the glass of scotch quickly.

Nobody said it'd be easy, and it isn't going to be easy.

Oh My God It's Awesome, You Rock! All Bow Down To Klonors Kickass Writing!

*bows*

It's pretty good. ;)

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Captain Milosh Venkman held his breath as the weapons officer, one of the bare few people still on the Priam, reached out and pressed the large red button. Five seconds later he let out his breath as the Harbinger Warheads were flawlessly launched, annhilating the target drones with no damage to the great beast of a ship that launched them.

"Status?"

"One moment Captain, reports are coming in now.........engineering reports that the Launchers are offline, as predicted. The rest of the ships systems seem unaffected, life support and gravity are functioning within normal parameters. I'd say the experiment was a success, sir."

"Good news Ensign, good news indeed. Tell the rest of the ship that we are standing down to Tactical Alert Gamma and then move us towards the dock. We need to get our crew back aboard and our Launchers fixed as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir. Moving now."

The massive thrusters towards the rear of the vessel, by themselves larger than a Corvette, burst to life and pulled the Battleship through space towards the womb of the space dock. There was much that still needed to be done before the attack could commence and Venkman was not one to put off vital business.

"Once we've docked I'm going to visit the Illium to see Admirals Gramh and Miller, I expect the Launcher repairs to be well under way by the time I get back and the crew to be back to normal rotations. Understood?"

"Yes, sir. Don't worry, sir, I'll take care of everything."

"Good. Well then, I bid you adieu."

Rising from the Captains Chair he approached the door at the rear of the bridge, pressing several of the buttons inlaid against its frame. He then stepped through, emerging on Illium in the outer chambers of Admiral Gramhs private quarters. Approaching the aide on duty he made his presence known.

"I'm Captain Venkman, I've been scheduled for a meeting with Admiral Gramh upon the completion of the Priams test. Would you please inform the Admiral that I have arrived?"

"The Admiral has been expecting you, sir. Please have a seat, he will be out to meet you in a few minutes."

"Thank you."

He sat himself down on one of the many chairs strewn throughout the room and waited quietly, unperturbed that he was being forced to wait despite his appointment. A Captain saw an Admiral when the Admiral saw fit to see him, and Captain Venkman knew this.

"So, I see that a Captainship agrees with you. You look better than you have in a year."

Venkman grinned a small grin to himself as he rose to his feet, snapping a brisk salute before extending his hand to the newly arrived Admiral Miller.

"Yes, ma'am. Something about being in control of the ship, master of my own destiny.....it's practically intoxicating. I seem to recall you saying the same thing when you got your first command. Although that was a small Dreadnought, I got lucky and stepped right to the Big Rigs."

"Hey, don't forget who's responsible for putting you in that Big Rig. I expect a return favor some time in the future, and it's going to be more than just a nice bottle of Ale."

"Well, how 'bout two bottles of Ale?"

"That should do it......It's good to see you Mi."

"Same here, Lil, it's been a month at least. You've been stuck on the Illium since you passed the bar to me."

"Tell me about it, todays little trip on the Levi was my first time out from behind a desk in the past week. I'm beginning to go a bit crazy just waiting."

"I know what you mean. But the good news is the Priam is almost ready. We'll go in the next day or two and then it'll be back to the regular routine."

Millers face fell a bit at that statement, but she quickly brought a smile back to her lips.

"Yeah, regular routine with me an Admiral and you a Captain. For some reason I doubt our past routine is going to stick around for long."

"Well, we'll make new routines. Isn't that one of the foundations of the Corps? We improve, adapt, and overcome. We'll manage."

"I believe we shall. So, shall we go see that Admiral?"

"I'd like to, but he's got me waiting outside. I feel like a boy sent to the principals office being made to wait in the hallway. What I wouldn't give to just be able to barge in."

"Hey, let's barge. I think you've forgotten my new position. After all, I'm his Second in Command. I think he'll let us enter when we chose."

"Well, since I've got you to take the heat off me, let's go."

Both grinning, the two of them walk into Admiral Gramh's office to begin planning the final preperations before their assault on the pirates base.

*CLAPS* as always Klonor a good read, makes me wish i did a search for ur name more often... Somehow i dont think that pirate base is what it appears to me hehe...looking forward to the installment.

ASI Illium, Tau Ceti Military Base Administrative Headquarters, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Sit down over against the far wall, and don't make a sound as you go."

Admiral Gramhs office was almost completely devoid of light, the only illumination coming for an active Vidscreen showing scenes of brutal space combat. Admiral Miller and Captain Venkman cast a matching set of confused glances at each other and then moved over to their designated seats. The Admiral seemed completely engrossed in what he was watching, not even bothering to look at the new arrivals.

On the screen was a flashback to a period in Klonors history that made any true patriot shiver and sob, the Civil War in Epsilon Pegasi. Brutal, violent, and merciless, the war had driven huge wedges between the Human and Elvish inhabitants of the system and the after effects were still felt to this day. The video was of the wars opening campaign, the initial strike by the Humans when they attempted to seal their dominance of the system. Before the eyes of the three viewers Klonor ships were being massacred by Klonor ships, Beam Cannons were slicing open hulls and Laser Turrets were vaporising fighters. Indistinguishable from one another, the Humans and Elves were doing their best to slaughter the other. Suddenly, a Megingjard class Heavy Fire Destroyer moved into view and eclipsed nearly every ship present. Seconds later the entire combat area erupted in what can only be described as hellfire as the Megingjard unleashed an onslaught of Harbinger Warheads across the entire range of combat. When the painful light faded all that was left was smoldering wreckage and the occasional dead hulk. As the Megingjard moved off the screen slowly faded to black and the rooms lights came on.

"What you just saw was a recording of the first Battle for Epsilon Pegasi from the standard mission camera of a Hygeia class Support Ship. Its crew was killed a few seconds into the battle and nobody thought to finish off a ship dead in space when an enemy armada was close by. This recording presents us with one of the most unbiased and clearest observations of the war that we have. It's also an excellent reminder. If we fail here, this starts all over again."

"Admiral, what side was the Megingjard on? It massacred everything."

"To tell you the truth we don't know, it was destroyed in battle a week later and no records on either side make any mention of it except descriptions of its actions in combat. Now, what can I do for the two of you?"

The two visitors rose from their seats and approached the Admiral, taking seats across his desk from where he sat.

"Admiral Gramh, I'd like to report that the test firing of the Priams Harbinger Cannons has been a complete success. No damage to the ship and the Warheads were launched just as predicted. The Launchers will be operational again within the day and we will be ready for our assault on the pirates."

"Excellent news Captain. Admiral?"

"Sir, I've put the final touches on my plan for assaulting the base. With you permission?"

Gramh nodded his head and Lillith reached forward, plugging her Padd into a slot on the side of Gramhs desk. With a tiny shimmer the surface of the desk changed from wood to a map of the system. A tiny glowing dot hovered just outside the asteroid field, surrounded by a myriad number of small holographic fighters and Corvettes.

"This is where our scouts and patrols have pegged the pirates nest to be, sir. There are currently Pegasus Stealth Fighters en route to determine its exact location for the Priams assault, they should be reporting back within the hour. Now, for our attack I've divided the 3'rd Fleet into six groups, minus the Priam and the Levi, of course. Each group is being positioned for a different angle of attack on the base, we'll be coming in from all sides so nowhere they go will be out of weapons range our Fleet."

The map changed slightly, holographic ships suddenly popping up all across the space around the pirate base.

"Once the Priam makes its assault...."

The tiny dot signifying the pirate base winked out.

"....the rest of the 3'rd Fleet moves in and wipes out what's left of their Fleet. The Priams assault will hopefully cripple their Capital Ships, all that will be left for the Fleet will be fighters, stationary defences, and the odd Corvette or Light Cruiser that was out on patrol. We should be able to mop them up quickly before they have a chance to Jump out, and if not they'll still be stuck in Tau Ceti and we can hunt them down at our leisure."

The holographic 3'rd Fleet closed in on what was once the pirates base and engaged the holographic pirate Fleet, defeating it quite quickly.

"As I said, the Levi will not be part of the assault. Obviously because it is my new command, but also because we'll be waiting at the edge of the system with our G/TD drives hot and waiting. If any of the pirates larger vessels, their G/TD equipped vessels to be precise, survive the assault and try to escape the system we'll be ready to hunt them down before they approach anywhere special."

Admiral Gramh studied the holographic map of the system quitely for a long time, obviously running it through it in his mind.

"Approved. Get to work."

ASI Illium, Tau Ceti Military Base Administrative Headquarters, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Lieutenant Johansen Curaldi, Auxiliary Weapons Officer for the ASCv Hornet, woke up with a headache behind his eyes and a frown on his face. As he slowly made his way to the shower, bumping his head on the ceiling numerous times and stubbing his toes on the junk that was stuffed in the hallway, he mentally hurtled insults at Dionysus for ever introducing alcohol to the human race. But he didn't mean any of them, and his frown soon evaporated as he began to shower and wash. Nothing is better for a hangover than warm water and the prospect of a good meal in a few minutes.

It could be worse, I've got it pretty good compared to some of the unlucky bastards out there. The Hornet's docked for standard repairs and upgrades, and I get an unscheduled week long leave of duty. Nothing doing except drinking all night and spending the next day drinking all over again. I tell you, it's good to live in Klonor.

Finishing his morning duties and dressing himself, looking rather spiffy in his nice and clean uniform, he began to make his way towards the Screaming Wookie and a planned rendevous with a large bottle of Collostomizers.

"Hey, Jo! Wait up!"

"Louis, what are you doing here? I thought you boys on the Priam were all busy with a dozen new modifications at once."

"What can I say, I caught a lucky break. They're testing some new technology today and shoved almost the whole crew off the ship. I was just heading for a drink, care to join me?"

"Well, I did have a previous engagement, but I think I can reschedule. Anybody else joining us?"

"Maybe Mike and Robet, but that's probably it. So, how's life on the Hornet been treating you?"

"I tell you, it's been treating me as if Jove himself were standing behind me. I haven't had to report for duty in at least a week, and the time off is all paid, too."

"Why you lucky bastard! I've been tearing my hair out on the Priam and you haven't had a thing to do? Times like these make me regret getting assigned to an Achilles."

"Yeah, but when we're in the middle of a space battle and you're brutally violating the enemy I think you're probably saying the opposite."

"True, but we're not in combat now so I am going to bitch and moan all I want!"

"Tell you what, if I buy the first round will you shut up?"

"You've got a deal!"

The two men continued to the bar, joking as they walk and updating each other on the latest rumors circulating throughout the Corps. Ever since the 3'rd Fleet had arrived in Tau Ceti every officer in the Fleet, from Ensign on up, had been trying to guess what the Admirals were up to, so far no two people had the same ideas and it didn't look like they'd figure it out any time soon.

"I tell you, it's just gotta be a simple wargame. They're obviously expecting combat soon, what with all the ship upgrades, but even we'd have heard if there was some system under attack or an offensive planned. It's gotta be something small, and if it was a real small thing then they wouldn't have the whole Fleet here."

"Then explain this, when's the last time the entire crew of a Battleship was kicked off just to test some new technology before going into a wargame? There has to be something bigger going on here, and they're just trying to keep it quiet."

"Yeah, but....uh.....oh, look, it's Mike and Rob! Ahoy!"

"Hey Jo! Care for a drink?"

The two other crew members of the Priam, there waiting for Louis to show up, stood from their seats and handed each of the two new arrivals a filled glass.

"I tell you, they've got some good stuff here. This bottle's just been uncorked and I'm already feeling it in my gut."

"Yeah, but you never could hold the strong stuff. It looks like Rob isn't having any trouble."

"Yeah, but Rob's had a third of what I've had. Hey, you don't believe me try it for yourself."

"Don't mind if I do."

Grinning, Johansen raised the glass he'd been handed and downed it in a single gulp.

"Not bad, not bad at all. Set 'em up again and we'll see how far we can go."

Laughing, the four of them waved over a waitress and ordered another large bottle, settling down into a nice pattern of talking and drinking. They swapped more rumors, told each other greatly exagerrated adventures that they'd had in the past, yelled at passing women, and kept drinking. The hours flew by and Mike and Robet slowly drifted away, unlucky enough to actually have jobs to perform, leaving just Louis and Johansen alone again.

"So, I'm standing in the hallway stark naked and then General Keane walks past!"

"Oh, shit! What'd you do, and how come you haven't been thrown out of the Corps yet?"

"I considered turning and just running to the nearest airlock and venting myself into space, it'd probably be less painful, but he'd probably be on me before I ran ten feet so instead I stand up, throw my best saulte, and say 'Sir, I regret to inform you that I have yet to succeed in infiltrating the nudist cult plaguing the Fleet!'"

"Oh, come on! He bought that?"

"Hell no he didn't buy that. But he was laughing so hard he just waved me off before he thought to take down my info. I scampered back to the engine room and dressed in record time."

The two laughed for quite a while, both knowing that the reality of the story, if there even was a base in reality, was drastically different, but they were too drunk to really care.

"Well, Lou, it's getting late. I think I'm gonna go turn in. After all, I need to get up bright and early tomorrow for another day of drinking and eating."

"Then I bid you a fond farewell, and may your dreams be plea---"

Attention! Attention! Attention! All crew members assigned to the 3'rd System Fleet are required to report to duty stations at once! I repeat, all crew members assigned to the 3'rd System Fleet are required to report to duty stations at once! Crews stationed upon the following garrison ships are also required to report for duty: ASCv Pincher, ASCv Respondent, ASCv Lewis, and the ASD Galatea! All ships within the Tau Ceti system are hereby brought up to Tactical Alert Beta! I repeat, all ships within the Tau Ceti system are hereby brought up to Tactical Alert Beta! That is all.

The two drunk men stared at each other for a full minute, not uttering a single word. Then they were a flurry of unsteady motion, both rushing towards the door and pulling scrubbers out of their pockets as they ran. They swallowed the pills as soon as they'd managed to open the package and were suddenly walking much straighter and seeing much more clearly. They nodded good-bye to each other and rushed to get to where they needed to go.

I couldn't have heard that correctly. Beta? Damnit, this is not good. This isn't just a wargame.

Tactical Alert Beta was reserved for only the most dire of situations, the standard readiness level when a ship expected to enter combat within minutes and their foes were not going to be eliminated in a few seconds. A system wide alert meant large scale action, not merely a small skirmish but a Fleet Battle.

I hope to Mars that those upgrades are finished.

Reaching his temporary quarters her entered and readied himself for return to the Hornet, bringing himself to combat readiness. Checking that he hadn't forgotten anything he walked to the door and pressed a sequence of numbers on the buttons inlaid against the frame, stepping through to the bridge of his Corvette.

"Lieutenant Johansen Curaldi, Auxiliary Weapons Officer, reporting for duty, sir!"

"Man your station, Curaldi, and be ready for anything."

Johansen swalled the lump in his throat and sat down before his console, the knowledge that something big was about to happen settling into his gut.

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Rear Admiral Lillith Miller sat in the Captains Chair of the Priam for what was likely the last time, looking around and trying to hold on to these last few moments. Steadying herself, she nodded to the communications officer to transmit the Alert.

"Alert sent, ma'am. Crews are returning to their ships."

"Very good. Let me know once the ships are at combat readiness."

"Yes, ma'am."

As she waited, the Admiral considered just what she'd tell the various crew members of the Fleet. By now they'd know they were headed into combat, a Beta Alert practically guaranteed it, but they didn't know who, where, or when. They'd need to know it was a pirate base within the system, but how would they react to the news that they were Klonor citizens? The Captains and Commanders had practically fainted when she'd told them the day before, and they had a broader view of things than the Ensigns and Lieutenants did. But they couldn't be expected to fight without even knowing who they were fighting, and they'd notice it was Klonor technology their enemies were using once the first shots were fired.

"Ma'am, the docked ship commanders report that their crews have returned from the station, and the patrol ships have been brough up to combat readiness."

"Okay, open a system wide channel. I'd like to address the entire Corps in Tau Ceti."

"Channel open, ma'am."

"To all members of the Klonor Space Corps, this is Rear Admiral Miller aboard the Priam. As I'm sure you are now aware, the 3'rd Fleet, as well as several of the Tau Ceti Garrison Ships, is about to embark on a course of action against hostiles within this system. Our target is a pirate base near the asteroid field several AU out from the station. Your commanding officers have already been briefed on our plan of attack and you shall be given your specific roles in the crew briefings scheduled for later today, but there is a critical piece of information that I feel you must be told. The pirates we are about to assault are not aliens that have invaded our territory, they are instead members of the Klonor Space Corps who have left their stations and taken it upon themselves to prey upon those they once swore to protect."

She heard many gasps from all around her when she revealed this, even the crew of the Priam hadn't been told the identity of their enemy, despite their critical roles.

"I know the very idea of fighting Klonor citizens is repugnant, but it still must be done. They no longer honor the oaths that they took when they entered the Corps and they no longer even honor their countrymen, as they prey upon them without regard for their victimes lives. Take that to heart: These men have betrayed everything we hold dear. That is why we must do this. For the good of Klonor."

She paused for a moment, trying to find the best way to close her speech.

"Your Captains know what must be done for now, they shall later tell you what you need to do. This is a complex maneuver we are about to embark on, but I have no doubt that you will complete it without difficulty. Follow your training and remember one thing: We do this for the good of the Association. Admiral Miller out."

"Channel closed, ma'am. Ma'am...is it true?"

"Yes, Ensign. It's true."

Rising from her seat, Lillith approached the rear of the bridge and took the Phase Gate to the bridge of the Levi, leaving the Priam to Captain Venkman. Outside, in the void of space, the massive Fleet of Klonor began to move and prepare for their assault on the pirates nest.

My god man write a f**king book! I swear it would be a best seller!!!

Kappa Wing, Suicide Kings Scout Squadron, 3'rd System Fleet, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Captain, how much longer do we have to sit out here? I'm just about ready to pop my canopy just to get a little change."

"Simple, we stay out here until Admiral Miller starts blowing the hell out of the rock we're orbiting, and if you don't stop complaining I'll pop your canopy myself. Whine, whine, whine! It's all you do! You sound like an old Jewish woman!"

"Hey........I am not old!"

Captain Glen grinned to himself when his insult sailed over his subordinates head, but the grin didn't last long. He could sympathise with his subordinate, he was beginning to go a bit stir-crazy himself, they'd been out there for hours. Just floating in space, doing nothing but staring at an asteroid no different than the thousands that surrounded it, was enough to drive any sane man mad. But he had his orders, and he followed his orders.

Suddenly, a light next to his comm signal began to flash rapidly, there was a transmission coming from the Admiral.

"Admiral Miller, this is Captain Glen. What can I do for you?"

"Captain, are you and your wing still holding at the designated asteroid?"

"Yes, ma'am. We've been here for hours."

"Any changes?"

"No, ma'am. It hasn't moved so much as a micron, excepting standard stellar rotation."

"Have you been scanning it for the entire duration of your mission?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Upload your scans now. We need to know its exact location, accounting for everything down to the tiniest dust caused wiggle."

"Uploading now, ma'am. I'm attaching the scans from the rest of my wing as well."

"Good job, Captain. Continue to hold for another five minutes, then Jump back to the Illium. In six minutes stealth fighters won't be much use. Notify us immedietely if the rock moves even a centimeter before you leave. Miller out."

"Yes, ma'am. You heard her, boys. Keep holding, but prep your motivators and ready for a hop. In seven minutes we'll finally get back into gravity!"

The rest of the wing whooped for joy at the prospect of finally moving, but they still didn't move until the time had passed. Glen smiled at that; his men followed orders.

ASC Levi, Rear Admiral Lillith Millers Command Vessel, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"........minutes stealth fighters won't be much use. Notify us immedietely if the rock moves even a centimeter before you leave. Miller out."

"Channel closed, ma'am."

"Good. Status of the Priam?"

"They report fully functional, ma'am. The Cannons are in perfect working order and the crew knows exactly what to do."

"The rest of the Fleet?"

"They've split into their groups as you ordered. They're currently en-route to their pre-launch positions. They'll be in place long before the Priam goes, and they'll be ready to swoop in and finish them off."

"And us?"

"We're at fully combat readiness, ma'am. The Beam Cannons are ready, the Laser Turrets have been charged, and our fighters are manned and set for launch. The garrison ships Admiral Gramh insisted upon are a few kilometers off our starbord side, ready in case more ships escape the Priam than we'd expected."

That's it then, everything's set. It's finally going to happen. Pluto have mercy upon me for what I must do, for who I must sent to your domain.

"Ma'am, we're receiving a signal from the 3'rd Fleet......they're in position."

"How much time until the Priams launch?"

"Just over one minute, ma'am."

"Very well."

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Time until launch?"

"Just under one minute, sir."

I never expected to actually reach this point. I never thought this would actually happen. I always thought something would come up, something to prevent this from going ahead. But nothing did, nothing changed, and we have to do this. So many dead, so many Klonor citizens dead....can I truly do this? Yes, I can. I must. If we let them live they could eventually bring down the Association itself.

"Ten seconds, sir."

It will be quick for them, the Harbingers will vaporise them before they even feel it.

".....nine seconds....."

But what about the ships already out of the dock? They'll at least go down fighting. It's how I would like to go.

"....eight seconds....."

They're going to be massacred. How can I stand by and let this happen?

"......seven seconds....."

Worse, how can I make this happen? The entire reason I joined the Corps was so I could protect Klonor citizens, not kill them!

"......six seconds......"

They brought this on themselves! They abandoned the Corps, they betrayed everything it stood for, they live off the blood of those they kill!

"....five seconds...."

Says who? We've only heard the reports given by the Admiralty, no independent varification! It could all be an entire sham!

"...four seconds...."

What possible purpose could the Admiralty have? This won't be a long and drawn out campaign so no military companies will profit from it, it's going to be classified so it won't earn them any glory, they get nothing from it.

".....three seconds...."

Maybe that's a normal colony, maybe the Admiralty wants to start a civil war with this attack! Maybe they're planning on inciting a rebellion against the Duke!

"......two seconds...."

No, they're not that stupid. They know no revolution against the Duke would ever get the support it needs. Besides, from what I've seen these men are nothing but loyal. They'd lay down their lives if the Duke but asked them to.

".....one second....."

This can't be right! It just can't be! There must be some other way! There must be some way to get out of this! I can't go through with this!

"....zero, sir."

Lil told me to.

With a voice as cold as steel Captain Venkman turned to the Helm officer.

"Jump us."

In the cold emptiness of the eternal void there is a flash of blue and a ripple of space, and the Priam jumped to Sub-Space.

Unnamed Pirate Base, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

The sweet sounds of an ancient symphony wafted through the air, Beethovens Fur Elise to be specific, and an elderly couple slowly swayed in time to the beautiful music.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do. I've known it since I first saw you in that bar back in Deneb. God you were drunk. There are times when I think I can still smell the alcohol on you."

"Hey, last time I checked you were matching me drink for drink. Besides, if I hadn't passed out and fallen on your lap we might never have met."

"True, but I like the story we tell the grandkids so much better. How you were a stalwart Colonel in the KSC..."

"...and you were about to be ravished by Elves during the Civil War...."

"...and you showed up right in the knick of time to save my life. It's like something out of a movie."

"Our story might make the better movie, but the drinking in the bar is what really happened, and that's what led me into your life, so I'd pick that over the romantic version any day."

They both smiled huge smiles and continued to move to the music, bliss evident on their faces. Then they froze in place, the very air around them as still as if coated in ice.

Playback Complete. Record Finished. Play again?

A voice, hoarse as if speaking from a throat already dead, clawed out from the darkness.

"Yes.....again."

The sweet sounds of an ancient symphony wafted through the air, Beethovens Fur Elise to be specific, and an elderly couple slowly swayed in time to the beautiful music.

"I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do. I've known it since I first saw you in that bar back in Deneb. God you were drunk..........."

Slowly, the voices of the elderly couple faded until the only sound was a harsh breathing and that same scratchy voice.

"Oh, my sweet Edna. Why did you have to leave me? We still had so much time left. So much time. Now you're gone, and I wonder why I keep going."

Suddenly the elderly couple vanished, gone as if they had never been, and a man in his mid-20's stood in their place.

"Jim, there's something you really need to see."

"Not now Kevin, please not now. Me and Edna are only getting warmed up, we're going to dance through the night."

"It's urgent."

With a low moan Jim stood from his chair in front of the Vid screen and turned to face Kevin, old and crooked he still made an effort to stand militarily erect.

"What is it Kevin?"

"It's.....it's the Fleet."

"What about it? More patrols? More escorts on their freighters? What couldn't have waited until me and Edna were through?"

"It's not normal maneuvers, Jim. They're not just throwing out more patrol ships. The entire Fleet is on the move, and they're forming up around the base. They know we're here, and they're planning to attack."

"Bullshit. There hasn't been a ship within a thousand kilometers since that patrol stumbled on us a few months ago. How could they possibly know where we are?"

"I don't know, but they obviously do. They're coming in from all sides. We need to get our Fleet into space as soon as we can to see if we can beat them back."

"Oh, why bother? That behemoth of a Battleship that arrived a few weeks ago could take on our entire Fleet by itself, what do you think we could do against an entire System Fleet?"

"I don't know, but I want to at least try. I'm not going to just lay down and wait for them to kill me. Is that what you want to do?"

"You know me Kevin, I sure as hell wouldn't mind the sleep."

"Yeah, but if you're dead how can you and Edna keep dancing?"

"Low blow Kevin. Low blow."

"Then it's low, but it's true. Damnit man, if we can't fight let's at least try to escape! Let's at least survive."

"You really want to live through this?"

"You know I do."

"Fine. Order the evacuation. Get everybody off the base and onto the ships. Have them try to blast past the Fleet, don't stop to engage, go for the TLMDG. Zip to some other system and split up from there. After that they're on there own. Now, if you'll excuse me, Edna was just getting warmed up."

He began to sink back into his chair, but Kevin reached out and grabbed his arm.

"If I'm leaving, you're coming with me."

Wow. That's amazing. You really should write a book. An excellent read.

Unnamed Pirate Base, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Thousands of people were running about in near panic, struggling to gather all their belongings and get to their escape vessels before the 3'rd Fleet closes in and wipes them out. Within the massive interior dock, a Ganymede station built right into the core of the asteroid, dozens of Cruisers, Corvettes, and Transports hummed to life and began to gather their passengers. Frantically, everybody elbowed and shoved as they tried to get a seat on the fastest and stealthiest ships. Unfortunately, they struggle in vain.

"Come on Jim, move for Christs sake!"

Kevin was damn near dragging Jim towards the dock, Jim not even bothering to move his legs much.

"They're gonna be on us in a few minutes, damnit! Hurry up! The Wasp is still mainly empty, it might make it past the ships to the TLMDG, but we have to move!"

But Jim had, for all intents and purposes, simply given up. Not a moment to soon, either.

In the center of the dock, surrounded by the Fleet of the pirates, there was a flash of blue and a ripple of space as a Sub-Space Node formed, disgorging the Priam inside the pirates base. The thousands of people within the dock stopped moving and stared in shock and wonder, none had even seen an Achiless class Battleship before and they were overpowered by the sheer majesty of the vessel. It was a truly awe inspiring sight, dwarfing even the largest of the pirate ships. Though thousands were present, there wasn't a sound to be heard. For the pirates, it would be the last sound they ever wouldn't hear.

"Captain, we are in position. Harbinger Cannons are hot and ready for launch."

The weapons officers voice trembled a bit as he spoke, the terror he felt in his gut breaking through his painstakingly crafted military calm.

"Very well. Lock on targets and fire."

The Captains voice was calmer, but he felt the same terror the Lieutenant did. The Priam would be launching five Harbinger Warheads within an enclosed space, an enclosed space barely bigger than the ship itself. The mammoth vessel would feel every explosion, and the odds of its survival were not the greatest in the world. Even a single Harbinger Warhead was enough to damn near cripple a Battleship, five together might be to much, even if they were indirectly received. But they had a duty to perform, and every crew member aboard was willing to do their duty.

Outside the Priam, within the belly of the pirates nest, there was an explosion powerful enough to shatter a world into thousands of miniscule pieces. The asteroid detonated as if it had been a wet paper bag struck by a sledgehammer, nothing left but dust and pebbles. Then the dust was gone, burned away by the fire that came from the bases destruction.

ASC Levi, Rear Admiral Lillith Millers Command Vessel, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

The bridge was filled with an unholy light, a light to bright for human eyes, and a light that came from a single view screen towards the front of the command area. Slowly, the light faded and the screen cleared, focused on what was once a pirate base and was now merely a collection of rubble.

"That's it, send the signal. I want the Fleet to dice those bastards from end to end."

But she almost needn't have spoken, the rest of the Fleet saw the explosion just as clearly as she did and they knew the time had come. Their engines lit up and they moved as if Mercury himself had given them a shove, they dove towards the remnants of the pirate fleet and began to carve it up as if it was a puma on Ascension Day. There was never any doubt what the outcome of the battle would be, even at its full strength the pirates fleet wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes once the Corps ships got off their first volley. Now, with almost their entire force obliterated by the Priam and the rest damaged from the asteroids explosion, the battle was done within seconds.

The plan had gone off without a hitch, not a single ship larger than an Elysium Transport escaped, and the ones that did get out would be hunted down with ease. They were stuck in the system and there were only so many places to hide. The pirates base was gone without a trace, unless you set up a dozen Massometers and checked the orbits of every rock within an AU you would never know that there had once been an asteroid there, and even then it'd just be known as one rock among thousands. Not a soul would know what happened here until centuries had passed and it was declassified, and by then only the Duke would be alive to worry about the reaction.

"Helm, set a course for the Illium and take us into dock. The garrison ships can take care of any stragglers, I want the 3'rd Fleet to dock and resupply as soon as possible. I expect that we'll be shuffled back to Regulus as soon as the Beam Cannons cool down."

"Yes, ma'am. We are underway, ETA just under ten minutes."

"Good. Hopefully we'll be able to leave this infernal system quite soon and we can put this whole sordid affair behind us."

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

The bridge was a mess, it looked as if a whirlwind on steroids had run amok for half a lifetime, and the crew members stationed there were slowly regaining conciousness. Muffled groans and half-hearted curses were heard as men and women pulled themselves out from under broken chairs and collapsed consoles. Captain Venkman was silent when he first regained conciousness, wondering whether he'd still be able to move and if it'd be a good idea to try to. It felt as if an elephant had landed on his back and he hoped that his spine was still in one piece.

"Status?"

The word was barely a whisper, it sounded as if the throat it emerged from hadn't uttered a sound in years.

"Captain? Captain! My God, somebody help me here!"

Venkman heard several several grunts, and then the weight on his back was gone and light was shining into his eyes.

"Thank the Spirit, he's still alive! Somebody run down to sickbay and haul one of the doctors up here. Now, damnit!"

He blinked as he tried to clear his eyes, everything was blury and he couldn't see who was tending to him. Soon he felt something cold pressing against his forhead and a needle entered one of his arms. Then he slept.

"Captain? Captain Venkman? Sir, can you hear me? Good. Sir, it's important that you wake up. You need to open your eyes, sir. Very good."

He slowly returned to conciousness, feeling as if he was forcing his way into a room sealed shut, and opened his eyes to find himself in the Priams medical bay. Surrounding him were close to a dozen doctors and several members of the command crew. Next to them were many officers that he didn't recognize, but the Priam was a big ship and the Captain couldn't know every single Ensign stationed aboard.

"What happened?"

"Captain, do you remember out last mission? What the Priam was dispatched to do?"

"Of course I do, we jumped into the pirate base and blew it to hell. From what I recall we succeeded, that asteroid burst like a dropped egg."

"Good, Captain. Do you remember what happened next?"

"We...the Priam....we then.....I have no bloody idea. I saw the rock blow and the next thing I remember was waking up on the bridge. What the hell happened?"

"Captain, the explosion within the pirates base caused considerable damage to Priam. Part of the deck above the bridge collapsed, you were buried beneath some of the rubble. You have some minor injuries, a few broken bones and a bruised kidney, but nothing that wont heal. Others weren't so fortunate. We have an estimated 117 dead, dozens more are injured. Among the dead are Commanders Robbins and Whit."

The Captains head lowered a bit at that, shocked at the news of the Priams second and third in command. That would explain the new personnel surrounding him, and the sadness evident on their faces. Everybody ached for promotion, but nobody worth one wanted to get it that way.

"The Priam itself is heavily damaged; both our FTL devices are off-line, as are our long range communications. It's estimated that we're several hours from the Illium at our maximum Sub-Light acceleration, but our normal engines are damaged as well and it will likely take days. Repairs are already underway on all critical systems and it is estimated that we will have communications in a few hours, we can then call for pickup and not need to even bother flying to dock. FTL, on the other hand, won't be fixed for weeks if we don't get any additional personnel to help with the repairs."

None of this was particularly bad news, not when all was taken into account. The Priam hadn't even been expected to survive the assault, to escape with only minor damage to the ship and a hundred souls lost was almost welcome. But some things quite add up.

"How did we get away so easily? It was expected that the Priam would be out of service for years if it managed to survive at all, a few weeks of reapirs are almost nothing. Wait....why would we even need to repair ourself at all? We should have already been towed to dock by the other Corps ships, the last time I checked a twenty-five gigaton explosion is a good signal. They should know exactly where we are."

"Yes, about that, there were some interesting after-effects of the explosion. It seems that, when the Harbingers detonated, the collapsing deck fell atop the navigation station on the bridge. It triggered the Sub-Space drive, with no course inputed, and flung us to the other side of the system before we could sustain the more serious damage from the shockwave. We assume the Corps thought us destroyed in the explosion."

"Something else isn't right.....you said it will likely take days to get back to the Illium with our engines in their current state. I have to have been sedated for at least three days, why aren't we there already?"

"Captain, there have been some difficulties. Complications beyond what I menionted, decisions that need to be made that we wanted you here for."

"Like what?"

"Like whether or not we should go back to the Illium at all."

The Captain just stared, not quite comprehending what he'd just heard.

"Sir, we all know the reaons for what we did, and we agree with them. Those men deserved to be killed, they were preying on their own kind. We did the right thing. But the men......the men still don't feel right. The correct thing to do or not, we've still spilled the blood of Klonor citizens and members of the KSC. We don't think we could go back to living our daily lives, not after something like that. Some of the crew are thinking we shouldn't go back, not after we've done what we did."

"What the hell do they expect us to do then? Just sit here in space? These ships are built for long voyages, but not eternity. What are we going to do for food once ours runs out? Where will we get the hydrogen for the MiniStar? Where will the repair parts for the damaged systems come from? How will we live, with nothing to do but man our stations and sleep? Battleships aren't built for luxury, without leave to the planets and stations how will these men have any fun or relaxation? We'd be lucky to still be sane in a month."

"We don't know yet, sir. We haven't even made up our minds yet. But we have several days to make a decision, and we wanted you here before we did. If we don't go back, we'd like you to come with us. You're still the Captain of the Priam and we'd follow you even if we weren't in the KSC. If you don't want to come with us, we'll put you on a Transport and send you back to the Illium. But we're going to make this decision ourselves, and whatever we decide we're going to stick with."

The Captain could hear the solidarity in his voice, the conviction, the steel that left no doubt he meant what he said.

"Very well. Get me out of this bed, so I can begin to beat into your skulls the fact that we belong to Klonor and I have no intention of letting you steal yourselves."

ASB Priam, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"You're no better than the men we killed on that base. No, you're worse, since you think you're better. You make me ashamed to say I'm from Klonor."

Captain Venkman was berating one of the dozens of men who had come to his cabin to convince him to take the Priam out of the Association. The others had all tried to think of new ways to survive, becoming mercenaries or pirates in Sol or an inter-national bodyguard for weak nations, but this one in particular had woken the Captains ire.

"You say we did the right thing back there, that our assault was justified because they were traitors to the Association and pirated civilian convoys from our own government. But you say it'd be okay for us to do the same thing? You think it'd be fine for us to become pirates in an Association system, that it'd be no problem for us to start capturing freighters for our own use? That just because we killed them it's perfectly okay for us to step into their place? You are dismissed, sir, and you'd better pray that I chose to side with you, because if we ever get back to the Corps I will personally make sure that you are tried, convicted, and jailed for so long you won't even remember your own name when you get out of prison. Now get the hell out."

As the Ensign scampered out of the Captains office Lieutenant Commander Ewell, second in command of the Priam now that Robbins and Whit were dead, entered.

"I take it he wasn't very persuasive, sir?"

"That sorry bastard said we could easily survive by pirating right here in Klonor. He said it'd be easy, we could just pretend to still be with the Corps, order frighters to stop for inspection, then send over troops to take control. I'd rather see this ship dead than aimed at our own."

"As would I, sir."

Ewell might have sided with those who wished to take the Priam out to Inter-Stellar space, but he was a man who loved Klonor to the very core of his soul.

"Sir, think about it this way. If we did leave the Corps, if we survived by pirating in some foreign system or working for some warlord or charging 'protection' from tiny nations, we could still protect the ones we love. You know better than anyone aboard the kind of red tape the Corps has, it took months before this assault on the pirate base was set in motion. We could act immedietely, take down pirates and smugglers while the government is still debating whether or not to attack. We could beter serve Klonor this way."

"Ewell, you are one slippery bastard. Every time one of your supporters makes me want to space the lot of you and go crawling back to the Admiral you turn it around."

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't thank me just yet, I haven't made up my mind. I've been a Corps man my entire life, it's all I've known. A little blood on my hands, even if it is Klonor blood, isn't enough to make me turn away from everything I've known. I'm not that easily swayed."

"I know, sir. If you were you wouldn't have made it Captain and you wouldn't be as good a commnder as you are, you'd be some whiny little Ensign trying to keep his Lieutenant happy and parroting whatever comes out of his mouth."

"Don't forget that I'm not the only man you have to convince, either. More than half the ship wants to return to Klonor, you need to win them over before the engines are repaired or we all go back. You know what happened to Petrarch and the Aquitaine, you're not going to start another war on a single ship."

"True, sir, but if I get you then the rest will fall soon afterward. A Captain is closer to a man than his own father, they value you more than they value the Admirals who send them to die while they wait in their offices a parsec away."

"Let's not forget that the Admiral who ordered you to die this time is your own former Captain, and she spent this battle on the bridge of a ship of her own."

"It was a general statement, sir. I have nothing against Admiral Miller in particular, she was the finest Captain I ever had."

"Ewell...."

"You'd be lying if you didn't say the same, sir, and I'd be lying if I didn't say that I think you'd rather have an honest second in command than a snake who'll say anything to keep you happy while the ship burns down around you."

"A good point, now get out. I need to think."

"Yes, sir."

ASB Priam, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"John, I've always liked you. We were in the Gunnery Corps together during the Gamma Draconis battle and I've never forgotten that you saved my life. Hell, you saved my life and the lives a dozen other gunners, too. We've been stationed together on a dozen different ships and you've always struck me as a smart person who won't bow to the pressures other people people place on you. So, if you don't mind me asking, why the hell have you sided with these lunatics?"

John Delma, Weapons Officer now that the former Officer was dead, looked at the Captain with the tired eyes of a front-line combat soldier.

"Mi, I'm gonna be honest with you. I've wanted out of the Corps for years, I've just never seen an opening. I've been enlisted just as long as you have, put in just as many hours, and the only time I get a bridge commision is when my predecessor gets hit by a falling block of metal. I'm not resentful, Jove knows I'm not, you deserve what you got. I'm not an idiot, but I never could grasp the larger details that you need to know to be a capable Captain. I'm never going to get a command of my own, I'll probably never even make Commander, and the lower ranks wear you down after a while. If I saw something I could do in the job market I'd have resigned years ago, but nothing struck my fancy. Then this comes along. Now, I don't really give a damn what those other guys are saying, I've got no regrets for what we did, those bastards got what was coming to them, but this is a time for me to get out of this rut. Now I'm a Bridge officer, if we went back I'd probably become an Auxilary Officer again, and I have something beyond my normal routine to look forward to. I love Klonor with all my heart, but I need a change and this looks good to me."

The Captain eyed him for a minute, trying to sense any deception, before he slowly nodded.

"That's the best answer I've heard so far, everybody else is to busy bawling over how they're torn up for what they did, and an honest one. Thank you, John. Dismissed."

"Thank you, sir."

Rising, John exited and left the Captain alone.

The documentaries you see on the Captains of Old always deal with war, rebellion, mutiny, conquering, never with something like this. A democratic mutiny, with the Captain in on it? This has to be some kind of first. If I ever get back to the Association I could probably write a book. As matter of fact, I will write a book. Probably be a best seller, too. Of course, if we don't get back to the Association it'll never get published. Probably never even read. But, it'll help pass the time.

Reaching down to his desk he pulled out a piece of paper and began writing immediately, not putting it off for a second. After all, if he's busy writing about a mutiny he doesn't need to decide whether or not to go along with it.

ASB Priam, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Chapter Seven: The Aftermath of the Assault.

I come to my senses slowly, aware of only a strong pain in my back and the lack of light. It turns out I'd been buried under part of a collpasing deck, I was lucky to even survive. The bridge crew quickly pulled me out and got me to a doctor, but not befo--

"Captain? May I have a word?"

Sighing, the Captain lowered the pen to the desk and slid his papers off to the side, resigned that he'd need to take a short break from his writing.

"Of course, Commander. What can I do for you?"

"I have some reports that need to be brought to your attention, sir. The Engineering crew believes that we will have full engine power back within the day, once they're fully operational we can get back to the Illium in a few hours of we chose to go."

"Well, that's good news."

"Crew surveys report that more than 50% still wish to go back to the Corps, we're going to need your support to pull this off, sir."

"You're going to need to convince first, just asking me over and over again isn't going to do the job. So far it looks like all your supporters are just out for their own good, they want adventure and a freedom from military restrictions. I've yet to see a good reason to take the entire Priam out."

"We've got a few hours yet, sir. Things might still change."

"That they might. Now, what's the status of the injured crew members?"

"Largely unchanged, sir. The majority have injuries on par with yours, a few fractures that are easily mended. Ensigns Rino, Wilson, and White, unfortunately, has suffered ciritcal damage to a number of internal organs. If we don't get them to a hospital soon they won't make it."

"That's just more of a reason for me to go back to the Association, you know that, right?"

"I do, sir, but I'm not doing this for personal benefit and I'd rather not lose any more crew than we already have."

"Anything else for me?"

"No, sir."

"Very well, dismissed."

Ewell quickly exited, leaving the Captain alone again to resume his writing. Pulling the paper before him once more he began to write, but quickly stopped after a bare few words.

Who am I kidding? This book will never get finished, and even if it is the Corps will never let it get published, everything in here will be Classified until after I'm dead. I'm just putting off making a decision. Leave or Stay? The Association or Space? Damnit, this would be a great time to have somebody else telling me what to do, I really didn't imagine something like this coming up when Lil promoted me.

ASB Priam, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Engineers Mate Hunry Stan put down the wrench and wiped his brow, taking a few deep breaths before he dived back into the repairs on the ships engines. He'd been working nearly non-stop since the Priam escaped from the explosion and the engines were nearly fully operational, a few minor adjustments and his work would be finished. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that, once he finished the engines the crew would need to decide once and for all whether or not to go back to the Association. He was a strict Corps man, but more and more of the ship was set on leaving and he wasn't sure that the patriots could hold out if the Captain didn't side with them.

"Hunry, stop staring into space and finish that damn engine! The longer you wait the more bastards decide to jump ship and neither of us wants that to happen."

Hunry shook his head, waking himself out of his daydream, and nodded to his supervisor. He needed to get this done while the patriots still held a majority of the crew. Picking up his tools he got back to work.

17 Minutes later............

"Sir? I've completed the repairs to Sub-Station A7, according to the output the engines are back to 100%."

"Have you begun a full diagnostic?"

"Yes, sir. Team C is going over everything as we speak, we should have confirmation within half an hour."

"Excellent. Prepare a report and bring it to the bridge. The Captain will want to know as soon as possible."

"Yes, sir."

With a small sigh, everybody hates paperwork, Hunry began typing an update on the ships condition for the Captain and prepared to deliver it to the bridge. Walking towards the rear of the engine compartment he entered the lift and began to traverse the length of the vessel towards the command section in the center.

"Halt! Identify yourself and explain your presence on the bridge!"

Hunry froze in place and didn't move, staring down the barrel of a KSMAR-1000.

"Engineers Mate Hunry Stan, I'm bringing an update of the ships condition to the Captain. I have bridge authorisation and orders from my superior."

The Marine holding the rifle nodded to the man beside him who approached and checked the I.D. on Hunry's uniform. Checking it against the computer database he nodded and the Marine lowered his gun.

"Sorry, Engineer, but with the decision coming soon the Captain is worried that an armed inssurretion might come from whichever side loses. He's begun to take precautions to make sure that nobody takes the ship by force."

Not trusting himself to speak, the Marine was awefully imposing and the image the gun was still burned into Hunry's brain, Hunry just gave the Marines a weak smile and proceeded into the bridge.

"Captain, I have a report on the engines status for you to review."

"Thank you, Engineer."

Grabbing the thick report, eyeing it with dread, he laid a hand on the shoulder of the Engineer already turning to leave.

"Just give me the essentials, I'll read the full report later."

"Sir, the engines have been fully repaired. We're running diagnostics now, but we don't anticipate any problems."

"Thank you. Dismissed."

The Captin turned away from the Engineer and sat back down in the Command Chair, getting up almost immediately and heading towards the rear of the bridge.

"Commander Ewell, you have the bridge. I'll be in my quarters."

He had a very hard decision to make, and only a few more minutes to make it.

ASB Priam, XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Lieutenant, open the comm system. I'd like to address the ship."

Captain Venkman had come barreling out of his quarters like a tank running through a brick wall, scattering the officers before him as he made his way to the bridge. Arriving, there were no signs of his previous hesitation as he prepared to inform the crew of his decision.

The time for worry, confusion, and indecisiveness is over. The time has come to let the crew know what I plan to do and I'd be nothing but a pansy if I try to put this off any further.

"Yes, sir."

With a slightly trembling hand, the Lieutenant reached across his console and flipped a switch, broadcasting the Captains voice to every crew member of the Priam.

"To the men and women serving aboard the ASb Priam, this is the Captain speaking. I have been informed that the repairs on our engines have been completed and we can now move the ship at its maximum acceleration capacity. However, the completion of repairs means more than that. The time has come for the Priam to make a decision, for us to make a decision, and to follow that decision through."

He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and gathering his wits.

"Over the past four days I've heard both sides of the story. Members of the crew feel that they can no longer return to normal Klonor society with the blood of other Corps members on their hands, even if the blood came from traitors to the Corps and the Association. They feel that we can better serve the Association on our own, and that we ourselves would benefit from working outside of the rules and regulations imposed by the Admiralty. I sympathise with their thoughts, it was a struggle to force myself to give the order to attack the pirate base, and understand where they are coming from. Unfortunately, I do not agree with them."

His voice was now iron strong and the crew knew what was coming.

"This is the ASB Priam. Let me spell that out for you. The Associated Systems Battleship. We are members of the Klonor Space Corps. We are all citizens of Klonor, Greatest of the Great Nations. We have all sworn oaths to uphold the law of the Association, we are commited to obeying the Duke, we have pledged our lives to keep the Association together, not to help tear it apart. The blood on our hands will not go away, but do not pretend as if this is the first difficult command you have been giving by the Admirals of the KSC. You were not forced to join and you were not forced to stay, you can not blame the ranking officers for your own actions. You have had difficult missions before and you have dealt with them easily enough, do not expect me to believe that you are suddenly struck with a conciense. We all have a duty, and I expect us to perform it."

He turned to the Helmsman, one of the staunchest supporters of the succession, and fixed him with an icy glare.

"Set a course for the Illium. We are going back to the Association."

With shaking hands the Helsmsman input the course and the massive engines of the Priam hummed to life, moving the Battleship back towards its home.

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

The Priam glided through space towards the Illium as serenely as the day it came out of the construction yards, there was no outward indication of the internal turmoil now wracking the ship. So far it hadn't grown to violence, but it was nearing the breaking point. Commander Ewell had stated that the dissenting crew members would accept the Captains decision, which they had, and that they'd co-operate to their fullest extent, which they weren't. A decision regarding the Priam as a whole might have been reached, but the individual crew members couldn't suddenly start feeling a different way about an issue of such magnitude.

"Helm, ETA to the Illium?"

"Approximately five hours, sir."

Five hours. I just need to hold everything together for five more hours. Then we'll be back with the rest of the 3'rd Fleet and I can transfer every dissenter to frontier patrols in Ross128.

But things didn't seem to want to hold together for even those five short hours.

"Sir, reports coming in from security stations all across the ship!"

DAMNIT!

"DAMNIT! Report contents?"

"No violence yet, sir.

Thank Jove

"But many of the dissenting crew members are refusing to go about their business and return to their stations. They are clamoring for a Transport to take them off the ship and demanding that the Priam cease its movement towards the Illium until they are far enough away from the Priam to initiate a Sub-Space hop."

I knew they wouldn't just roll over.

"How much of the security details are with the dissenters?"

"Not a one, sir. They've stuck with us since the beginning."

"Good men. They are ordered to arrest and jail every member of the crew who refuses to man their station, we're done tip-toeing around these bastards. No more leniency, the ship is staying with the Association and the crew is going with it. That makes every man refusing to return to stations a traitor, and will be treated as such."

"Yes, sir."

A hint of glee could be heard in the security chiefs voice, he'd wanted to space every member of the dissenters since they started talking about leaving. Other members of the bridge crew, however, exchanged a few uneasy glances. They knew what had happeaned aboard the Aquitaine when it had errupted into its own little civil war and none of them, patriot or dissenter, wanted to see it firsthand. They all prayed for more speed for the Priam and hoped that they would reach the Illium still in one piece.

OOC:
A small thread trying to gauge peoples opinios of this story, go give it a vote: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=414667

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

The cells on the prison level were nearly overflowing, the Priam hadn't been constructed with the intention of holding nearly a quarter of its crew in captivity and there was no indication that they'd be emptying out any time soon. Not only were they not losing any of their prisoners, but they were rapidly gaining them as well. More and more of the successors were pushing for a ship off the Priam and more and more of the security forces were being used to jail them. If the crew kept deserting at this rate the Priams performance might begin to suffer.

"ETA to the Illium?"

"Just over three hours, sir. By now they should have detected us on their sensors and ID'd us an Association ship, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a tug popping into space rather soon."

"That'd be nice, a quick little hop to put us right next to the dock in ten minutes. I tell you, without Sub-Space travel even going inter-planetary is a pain in the ass."

"No argument here, sir."

"What's the status of the dissenters?"

"Still only minimal violence, and then nothing beyond simple fistfights, but with so many refusing to man their stations we're beginning to run out of space in the brig. Not only that, but several key systems are beginning to run low on staff. We're not in any real danger of systems failure yet, A.I. systems and surplus crew are filling in, but we're closing in on a quarter of our crew inactive and even more of the crew occupied with holding on to the dissenters."

"Thank Jove this won't have to go on for much longer. Is Engineering sure that they can't get our FTL systems on-line right now? Even shaving just these last few hours off our trip will save us quite a bit of grief."

"Answer's still no, sir. As our last few reports have told you, it will take weeks to bring either of our FTL systems back on-line with the staff and equipment we have on hand. We'll be back to the Illium before our repair crews had even gotten started."

"Damn. Very well, keep us moving at maximum acceleration. See if you can't squeeze some more power out of the shields or weapons, we don't need them right now."

"I'll see what I can do, sir, but I doubt it'll make much difference."

"Keep trying anayway."

"Yes, sir."

Meanwhile, within the prison section of the Priam, Marines continued to stuff dissenters into the bare cells. By now the number of prisoners far exceeded the number of cells and they were beginning to run three or four deep in places. Not that the prisoners cared, for them it was merely a chance to catch up with old friends while they waited for the Captain to give in to their demands. On this they were positive, they felt that it was only a matter of time. So, they sat and waited and passed the time as they could.

"Gin!"

With a small curse and dash of his arm Major Kiril swept the cards off the small table, sending the entire deck tumbling to the ground. The chips followed soon after, accompanied by a slightly louder oath.

"Oh, come on Kiril. You can't throw a fit every hand I beat you."

"I can and I will, I outrank you and I plan on wringing every bit of juice from that while we both still have a rank. Besides, if the cards stayed on the table people might begin to notice how often yours come up on top, and that would never do for my image."

"Please, what image? You haven't won a round with the men for at least a month, your only reputation is that of an officer who's easy pickings for an Ensign who's short on cash."

"Yeah, but I'm easy pickings who won't hesitate to put whoever picks me on duty scrubbing the engine shielding, and that's the rep I don't want to lose. When people see you with your hands clean even after our games they might think they can escape my wrath as well. Then I need to go through this whole thing with the yelling and the screaming and the threatening of a court-martial before they realise that it's not a good idea to take my money."

"Uh....Kiril? You do remember that we're currently trying to get out of the Corps, right? That if we succeed we won't have ranks, disciplinary powers, or engine shielding to scrub. Did that slip your mind?"

"No, but if the terror is strong enough it'll linger even after the cause is long gone."

"You diabolical little bastard. Deal the cards and I'll show you how much terror you cease to inspire."

With a chuckle the cards and chips were gathered and redistributed, the game beginning all over again.

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Gin!"

With a small curse and dash of his arm Major Kiril swept the cards off the small table, sending the entire deck tumbling to the ground. The chips followed soon after, accompanied by a slightly louder oath.

"Damnit Kiril, stop doing that! It was funny the first few times and tolerable after that, but now it's just a pain in my ass. If you keep it up I'm going to call the Marines and have them move me to a different cell. Hell, I'd even go back to duty if I had to. You're driving me nuts!"

Kiril just mubled a bit under his breath, not giving any coherent responce, as he bent to pick up the cards he had just spilt.

"I'm serious. Either you stop throwing a fit with every loss, or I'm gone."

"Fine, but let's play a different game for Joves sake. There's only so many times I can hear you say 'Gin' without beginning to crave a real one and I don't think the guards are going to let us visit the Priams bar."

"Probably not. So, what are you in the mood for? Five card draw? Texas Hold 'em? War? I'll whip you in any game I know."

"Yeah, and you'll walk out of here with half my salary tucked under your belt. Put the cards away, I've gotten a bit put off gambling for a while."

"Pansy."

"Hey, until the Captain gives in that's 'Pansy, sir' and don't you forget it."

"I'll remember it as soon as you begin to act the part."

Just as Kiril was about to rise to the challenge and prove his higher rank the deck beneath them rumbled, a vibration felt right to the bones of the two men. Soon after the vibration ceased the deck lurched violentely, tossing the two men to the floor like a pair of rag dolls as their cards and money flew through the air. Then, just as they were pulling themselves to their feet, an alarm began to ring throughout the ship, echoing through the halls.

"Well......that's not good."

Within the bridge the command crew was just beginning to pull themselves to their feet, officers dragged themselves back to their consoles amid muttered curses and groans. The Captain, tossed a good ten feet from the Command Chair, limped back to his seat and tapped one of the buttons on the handrest, signaling an alarm throughout the ship.

"What in Joves name just happened?"

The crew rapidly began to checking their data readouts, but they all came up empty. There had been no incoming weapons fire, no accidents with Priams own weaponry, the engines were fully functional, and no damage was being reported. The ship had just been jostled and nobody had any idea why.

"Well, somebody find out why! Sensors, scan the immediate area. Communications, check for any transmissions. Weapons, bring our armament back on-line. Somebody tell me something!"

"Sir, I might have something."

"What is it Lieutenant Tischel?"

The Priams science officer re-read his screen before turning back to the Captain.

"From what I can tell, the Priam was simply shoved to the side. It looks as if there was a sudden appearance of matter a few meters off our starboard side and, as space reconfigured around it, we were moved with it."

"A sudden appearance of matter? Matter doesn't just appear, Tischel."

"Yes, sir, but it could have been inserted there, occupying space formerly occupied by minor dust and other particles and shoving them apart. Perhaps a Sub-Space Node."

"Impossible, a Sub-Space Node that close to the ship would have torn us apart."

"Likely, sir, but not if it was an extremely small Node, sir. Say the size of a single fighter or transport. It fits the data, sir. Afterall, it is the stress placed upon a ships hull from being shoved to the side that makes such jumps impossible. An Achilles is a lot sturdier than any other Klonor ship, the odds are that any other class would have been destroyed in the same situation."

"Sensors, forget your standard scans. Use the Massometers, if Tischel is correct then it'll have to be no more than ten meters off our hull and it might blend in with the Priam in a normal scan."

"I have it, sir! A single Elysium class Transport, seven life signs aboard, but they're all very faint."

"Bring them aboard as soon as possible, I want to know who they are and what the hell they're doing out here!"

"Yes, sir. We're drawing them into the docking bay now."

"Good. Commander Ewell, you have the bridge."

Rising from his seat Captain Venkman approached the Phase Gate at the rear, teleporting directly to the Priams docking bay to oversee the recovery of the Elysiums crew.

http://209.85.12.231/595/43/upload/p2162750.jpg

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

The seven inhabitants of the Elyisum, six humans and an Elf, lay stretched out within the cavernous sickbay of the Priam, each carefully tended by the medical personnell which had, by and large, avoided the growing work stoppage. Though their injuries were minor, damage consistent with mild physical trauma, they were each in a state of near-starvation, and had clearly not just been out for a short trip when they'd stumbled upon the damaged Battleship.

"Any idea who they are?"

"No, sir. No personal identification aboard the shuttle, it had no dent-keys, and, believe it or not, the serial numbers were actually removed from the interior equipment, likely with in-retro techniques. Analysis of the transports exterior indicates it's been in Tau Ceti for some time, but that's about it. Whoever they are, they clearly didn't want to be identified."

"What kind of shape was the Elysium in? Can we use it to contact the Ilium?"

"No, sir, it's in even worse shape than the Priam; all communications systems have been completely wrecked and their Sub-Space motivators were literally fried in their last Jump. If we hadn't picked them up, their life-support would have failed in a few hours. Preliminary examination lists exposure to a Harbinger explosion as the cause of most of their damage, the rest from just floating in space."

"Well, that can't be a coincidence. Refugees from the pirate base?"

"No, sir. They're definitely current Corps members."

"What makes you think that?"

"This."

Lying on a table nearby, next to the Klonor Space Corps uniforms the men had been wearing when they were found, was a standard data padd, unique only in its unusual color scheme, which was instantly recognizable to Captain Venkman.

Admiral Gramh's personal staff. Shit.

"Which of these men was the ranking officer?"

"That one wore a Commanders uniform, but without any insignia we can't be sure."

"Uniform's good enough for me. I need him awake. Now."

"Yes, sir."

With a nod to one of the many attending physicians, the prone individual was administered a small stimulant and, within seconds, his eyes fluttered open. Taking in the entire room in a quick glance, his eyes settled on the Captain without the usual disorientation or confusion one would expect in someone roughly awakened from what could almost be termed a coma.

"I'm Captain Milosh Venkman, you're aboard the ASB Priam. We recovered your shuttle a few hours ago, you and your crewmates were unconcious within and your ship had suffered extreme damage. Can you tell me who you are?"

"Captain Venkman, under section 34.2.9 of the Beta Aquilae Convention I hereby declare that you have no authority to question or detain myself or my comrades. You will immediately release us and turn yourselves in to the Klonor Admiralty for trial on charges of treason and piracy. You will comply immediately."

To this, Captain Venkman could only respond with a vague stare as he struggled to comprehend the unnamed Commanders statement. Section 34 of BETAC dealt with situations of rebellion, revolution, and acts of sedition; the second section in particular dealt with rogue members of the Corps. This Commander had just accused Captain Venkman, and the entire crew of the Priam, with treason against Klonor.

ASB Priam, 3'rd Fleet Flagship, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

"Try that one more time, and try it slowly. Consider your words very carefully. I'm told you're suffering the effects of numerous detrimental events, and am willing to make allowances, but I extend that courtesy only so far."

Captain Venkman showed no external signs of rage, nothing so cliched as balled fists or a clenched jaw, but those who knew him well could detect an anger that wasn't so much being emitted as it was consuming him. To a loyal officer of the Corps, and even to those disloyal officers currently filling the stockade, to be accused of treason was a slander equalled only by an accusation of invasive telepathy. To one who had just taken part in the execution of several thousand fellow Klonori, in defense of Klonor, it was nearly justification enough to have the man spaced.

"I ask you again; who are you?"

"And I repeat my previous statement. Members of the Corps engaged in active dissension against the Association retain no authority, regardless of their previous rank. You have no right to question me or my subordinates, and the longer you resist turning yourself over to the proper authorities will only worsen your punishment."

At this the Captain had to visibly restrain himself from simply reaching forward and throttling the aggravating being, and the expressions on the men surrounding him, including the medical staff, showed that they were experiencing similar urges.

"That is the second time you have accused me of acting against the interests of Klonor. There will not be a third time. I will ask you your identity one more time; if you refuse to answer on the grounds which you have previously stated, I assure you that there is not a man here who will not swear to your untimely death as the result of an unfortunate heart attack."

"Then I will have a heart attack. I will not be bludgened or cowed by a thing who insults that uniform by wearing it."

It was an unusual event, and one which Captain Venkman had never previously encountered in his life, but as he looked into the eyes of the still un-named Commander he saw, without the tiniest hint of doubt, a complete lack of fear. Whoever he was, he truly did not dread the thought of an immediate death.

Luckily for him, even if the victim didn't fear death, Venkman was not a man to order an execution, regardless of his personal feelings.

"I and my subordinates are loyal members of the Klonor Space Corps, and would gladly gives our lives for the preservation of any of the Associated Systems. We are currently acting under the orders and authority of the Admiralty in Gamma Draconis with written approval from the Duke himself. If you will not answer the requests of a superior officer, and will not deliver a satisfactory explanation as to why, you will be considered insubordinate and treated as such. Commander?"

Lieutenant Commander Ewell, former leader of those who wished leave the Corps after the assault on the pirate based, stepped forward. He might have been at the forefront of those who did not wish to return to the Association, but he had submitted to the decision of the Captain, just as he had said he would.

"Take this man to a cell. An empty one. Full identification procedures, if he claims he's in the Corps we'll have some record of him somewhere. Don't let him contact any of the dissenting members of the crew. His containment is to be the highest priorty, if you need to let some of the other notd out of their cells to keep this man in, do it. Further medical treatemnt is to be carried out in detainment facilities. These men..."

He gestured to the other, still unconcious men who had been on the shuttle.

"...are to remain here, under guard. The moment one of them wakes up, notify me."

Turning to one of the anonymous ensigns who always followed a captain around, he pointed at the padd with Gramh's colors.

"Find out what's on that. Now."

OOC: Okay, it's been more than two years since the last response has been posted; surely somebody else has an opinion this story. For good or ill, I'd like to know what people are thinking.

IC:

AST Aftərlīf, Docked with Unnamed Pirate Base, Tau Ceti, Associated Systems of Klonor

Thirty-three minutes prior to the Priams' attack

Commander Alfr sat at the command console of the small Elysium transport and slowly tracked through page after page of diagnostic information. It was all rather standard data, essentially a long and complex way of saying that everything was performing fine, but in the current situation it wasn't wise to take things for granted. This base had only the most rudimentary of repair capabilities, a lack of supplies and trained personnel kept even the most important of vessels in barely working order, and small things like an Elysium transport often had to suffer. As such, even with all the lights flashing yellow, Alfr still read through each page.

"Sir? Another update from Gramh."

Javery Simit leaned into the control cabain and extended a standard padd, unique only its complicated color scheme. One end was glowing slightly, the indication of a new message, and was warm to the touch as Alfr took it.

"Anything urgent?"

"No, sir, just regular status updates. We've made headway in Regulus and Ross 128, but have had to fall back in SR-2091. Episolon Pegasi is still tottering back and forth. The good news is that Tau Ceti is finally receiving the attention of the Corps; Gramh's managed to convince Ihm of the systems necessity and we should be seeing action relatively soon."

"Good news at last. The sooner we take the Illium the sooner we can divert the rest of our forces throughout the Association; we'd finally be able to have an impact, instead of just hassling from the rear."

"My thoughts exactly, sir. Hopefully, in a fe---"

"Priority message from external sensors! Automated Alpha transmission!"

Alfr and Javery both turned to speakers that were suddenly squaking what could only be bad news. Alpha priority was left to only information of the highest importance and most immediate necessity. The relay screens, displaying what the base sensors had automatically broadcast to all receivers in the asteroid, only confirmed the bad news. The fleet towards the interior of the system had begun what could only be hostile maneuvers, and were clearly aimed at the base.

"Did that message from Gramh say our position had been compromised?"

"No, sir. No indication whatsoever."

"Then Gramh's out of the loop. Contact the quartermaster, get the Aftərlīf fueled as quickly as possible. Open the hatch and bring in anybody nearby, the whole base can't fit on the evacuation ships, and we've got a few extra spaces. We're out of here as soon as possible, and anybody without a ride is going to be left behind."

"Yes, sir."

At that moment, however, before Javery could even open an external hatch, and before Alfr could could begin proper pre-flight procedures, the cabin of the ship was bathed in a blue light and, in the distance, they saw the impossible image of an Achilles class Battleship appeaing inside the asteroid.

Without even taking the time to strap himself in, Alfr slapped the control console and activated the Aftərlīfs' Sub-Space drive. As a wave of flame roared towards the transport, it was itself encircled in a flash of blue as it slipped into Sub-Space bare milliseconds ahead of the main wave of Harbinger destruction. The odds of surviving an unplanned and unguided Sub-Space hop were next to nothing, and finding out where you were after the hop was just as difficult, but staying next to a Harbinger explosion was even more likely to result in ones own death. Regardless, in defiance of the risks, the crew of the Aftərlīf had obligations to meet, and facing death was something people, especially those in service to the Klonor Space Corps, were expected to do when engaged in a Civil War.