NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: Abh, I'm assuming a scouting attempt shouldn't be godmodding, as I'm only discovering a system with a decent amount of ships in it. You can pick and choose whichever system you like.

Oh, and anyone wanting to join in who isn't already part of the GE's invasion (I believe Thrashia was appointed to aid me), or Abh, must be either a part of the GFFA/GE, and request permission on either forum.

IC: A Battlesphere left the lattice, red heralding its arrival. It was time. The orders had been given, and the first scouting measure had to be taken. The 'sphere now had three forms, and all three were constructed of deadly black material, invisible apart from the fact it blotted out the stars with foreshadowing.

Was there to be a reckoning? No, this was no reckoning. This enemy, the Maker-Mind had decreed, was an enemy only by the reason of its existence, and would be destroyed as such. However, scouting was required.

Sixty-four Battlespheres, forming themselves into an elongated shape, prepared to scout. One per system in the area. And then they would scout again.

Each time, they would be searching for signs of life. A single sign, and they would leave the system hurriedly, and mark it for destruction. It was an efficient method of doing such things, and would make sure any enemy forces would be taken by surprise.

A thousand thousand systems remained to scout, but simple detection through the lattice made most of them redundant. Only certain systems would house the enemy fleets and peoples, and so only certain systems were looked at. There was a miniscule chance that they had made a mistake, but not one that would impact on their campaign.

They jumped into a new system.. ships were floating there, many of them. The Battlesphere rifted quickly, a bright flash of red glimmering towards the armada arrayed there.

As it was swept into the lattice, it sent messages to the Maker-Mind, detailing the light-reflections and energy it had seen, and felt. The Maker-Mind signalled a negative. They would wait, and, when they were sure of the enemy's strength, they would strike.

For they had found the enemy.

Beep-booo-beep-booo-beep....

The special designed Imperial probe shifted through the space like an ungainly bird. Yet for such an ungainly bird, it was well equipped. The Imperial Reserve had been aided by several OZ techinicians in equiping the probe with an extensive sensor array and the newest model of cloaking device.

Beep-booo-beep-booo-beep....

[Mission Log]
-Access Permitted-
....
...
..
.
Loading
.
..
...
....
-Operation Hidden Pheonix-

Find enemy forces, their location and dispositions. Do not be detected.

[Mission Log Disconnected]



The probes AI acknowledge the orders and deleted them. With quick calculations it jumped into hyperspace, having no difficulties in selecting the pre-recorded hyperspace coordinates. For the destination was that of a supposed ally: the Abh Empire.


Several hours later the probe came out of hyperspace, once again it acknowledge its orders and in accordance with its programs, began a long distance specified sensor scan within the home system of Abh. Any and all ships were bound to be found as well as certain large defenses. It was only a matter of time.

ooc: complimentary bump

OOC: Tag might ask to be involved in this later since i am on Abhs border and we have close ties. Also i think Abh is on vacation at the moment for the past 3 days anyway and i have no idea when he will return.

Ah, ok. We'll suspend this till we know he's back.

OOC: HT, all my systems have some sort of garrison force and defense to help stall an invasion and you should have also noticed the GFFA boards about my fortifications being increased so are you jumping past my borders and heading for a naval yard or are you just plain out invading? I can't make a proper post until I know what you are doing so Tag for now.

OOC: I'm assuming I've found a world with a decent-sized naval garrison (As in, a fair bit more than a typical colony). And we're not making any distinctions between defended systems (except those with powerful/large FTLi), and nonfortified ones.

OOC : Tagged for possible involvement . This could also signal my joining in GE wars .

OOC: I believe there's already another small nation (including Thrashia and myself) who has requested to join Abh. I don't think anyone's up to responding to four people, however! ;)

You might want to sit this one out, if only to make sure Abh's head doesn't explode from explodement.

OOC: Mation if you want to join it's your funeral as long as you don't mind if I have a friend join so I'm not typing forever to reply to everyone.

HT:.... Hmmm then it would be better to say that you just found a military naval base.

IC:

Vobayrunay System:

A massive orbiting station geared for construction of many of the Abh ships that had been used years ago but still served their purpose as guards of their sovereign home, the stars. The blue world below was much like that of earth with magnificant beaches, lush forests, and clean cities. Ironically it was one of the greater tourist spots within the empire. Orange swirling haze off in the not so far distance of the Voybayrunay gate was the Sord that connected this system to the rest of the Empire via planespace. Ships floated back and forth seemingly endlessly on their daily patrols. It wasn't hard to imagine that a foreign excursion was picked up.

Several Roth-class patrolships broke off to intercept. The commander on board the leading vessel sat in her chair. A message was sent out to the intruders.

You have entered Abh space without our permission and you have ventured into a military zone. You are to stop at once and return home or be destroyed.

(post for Thrashia coming soon along with a pic of the naval base.)

Tag for future intervention. I don't much like conflict on my borders, even if it is my allies causing it.

ooc: unfortunately HT, I can't be involved in this part of the campaign. I've delegated Admiral Thrawn to take over my part. Speak with him concerning Abh.

OOC: Hey Abh. Tag for possible future involvement. :)

OOC: Mation if you want to join it's your funeral as long as you don't mind if I have a friend join so I'm not typing forever to reply to everyone.

HT:.... Hmmm then it would be better to say that you just found a military naval base.

IC:

Vobayrunay System:

A massive orbiting station geared for construction of many of the Abh ships that had been used years ago but still served their purpose as guards of their sovereign home, the stars. The blue world below was much like that of earth with magnificant beaches, lush forests, and clean cities. Ironically it was one of the greater tourist spots within the empire. Orange swirling haze off in the not so far distance of the Voybayrunay gate was the Sord that connected this system to the rest of the Empire via planespace. Ships floated back and forth seemingly endlessly on their daily patrols. It wasn't hard to imagine that a foreign excursion was picked up.

Several Roth-class patrolships broke off to intercept. The commander on board the leading vessel sat in her chair. A message was sent out to the intruders.



(post for Thrashia coming soon along with a pic of the naval base.)

OOC : If I were to join , I would most likely prefer to be on a combined offensive rather than a combined or lone defensive .

Out of hyperspace along the appropriate lanes of traffic the large 80 meter freighter joined a line of other merchantmen ships over the great floating capital city of the Abh Empire: Lakfakallae. The freighter itself was of basic Corellian design and it had hull markings identifying its owner and his company. It blended quite adequately in with the other groups of merchant ships and the occasional military transport that had Abh markings.

The freighters captain stood nervously behind the pilots and technicians working the controls with the same efficiency as if it were a warship. The captain fidgeted in his flight suit, it was black with a large 3 quarter moon on the left breast as a crest; the same crest that was painted on the side of the hull. The flight suit felt unfamiliar than his usual olive gray uniform.

“Incoming transmission from Abh Capital Traffic Command,” said the comm operator. He wore overalls and a workers shirt under it, all which thought fitting him perfectly didn’t seem to match with his proficient use of language and way he held himself.

“Give me a line,” said the captain. He stepped up to the hologram projector. The comm operator spoke into his headset.

“Got’cha Traffic Command, here’s my boss,” he said, falling into a more common way of speaking. He nodded to the captain.

The face of a uniformed Abh traffic official appeared. “Good day Captain, I am Traffic Controller Dresk. I have to ask for your credentials and be informed on your cargo.”

“Certainly sir; my ship is the Gallofree. We have a large cargo of spice and we also are carrying a supply of spare ship parts, hyperdrive equipment, and about 400 liters of wine from Jurai. I am Captain Ralph Nadir, I work for the Fourth Moon Shipping Company, based in and around Mon Calamari.” He winced slightly. “Our main offices were located on Jurai, however I am sure you’d understand why we suddenly had a change of work-place,” said Captain Ralph Nadir with a hint of bitter sarcasm.

News of the Empires attack on Jurai had been in the inter-galactic for some weeks. Before leaving on this mission with his crew and a special team assigned to him by Admiral Daala, Captain Ferra had been given false credentials and given a freighter to use. His credentials themselves had been supplied by the Thrashian Intelligence service who had created the dummy company Fourth Moon Shipping Company of Jurai some years back for simple surveillance services. And with all the recent turbulence of war, the likely chances that the Abh would be able to identify the freighter as a fake were nearly zero.

And besides having some of the actual cargo he had just stated to the Abh traffic controller, his cargo hold was equipped with a cloaking device that hid some necessary military and tech equipment that he carried, any sensors would only report exactly what Ferra, or Captain Ralph Nadir, had said he carried.

“In truth I am just glad to be here in one piece.” Ferra smiled. “We nearly ran into a battle when we had been delivering moister adapters to some locals around the Core areas.”

“Indeed,” said Traffic Controller Dresk. “Well I’ll do some final check-ups and then give you a landing dock. Hold your current position Gallofree.” The holo-image of the traffic controller disappeared.

Ferra suddenly heard footsteps behind him. There in the doorway was man dressed entirely in black stormtrooper armor, his helmet however was removed and under his arm.

“Anything suspect?” he asked.

“No Lieutenant Creed. But then I think if they decide to board us and see you wearing that armor; it could raise questions,” said Ferra pointedly.

Lieutenant Creed looked down at himself and at his holstered BlastTech. “True. My men will be in the hidden compartments.”

“Best you stay there until I come get you personally,” said Ferra. The lieutenant nodded, saluted and turned.

ooc: I'll allow it since I'm curious. When is HT going to post or is he not attacking as well?

IC:

The once great palace of the Abriels now looked like a varitable fortress with its multiple defensive turrets and platforms. Two Abh destroyers flanked the Corellian vessel while massive turrets spun and focused on the merchants. Forward security center went through its routine checks and scans of the cargo. Markings on the ship went through a database to varify its origins.

Dresk sat at his desk reading the screen as the data was fed back. "What is the destination of your spare parts and hyperdrive equipment?"

You are a threat. Cleansing imminent.


The fleet that had been prepared dwarfed any the Maker-Mind had ever sent against an enemy. This was not a fleet to scour mere worlds of life, this was a fleet to scour the stars of their very existence, to slaughter those who gave any opposition, and, perhaps most importantly, to endear the Maker-Mind to the one named Palpatine. To destroy an enemy, one must first know its weaknesses... And thus it was with the Maker-Mind. The strength that the Galactic Empire possessed was the only thing that prevented it from turning on them, and cleansing them from their galaxy.

Indeed, had the New Realm not been part of this war, it would not have joined in the slightest. But the extermination of its creators, and their protectors, was far too juicy of a goal to refuse.

The entirety of the Maker-Mind's fleets had been preparing for this moment for some time, a fleet that would sweep down on their enemies, destroying them utterly, time, and time again. They had put much into this war, and a loss now would be unacceptable. A few hundred Battlespheres remained cleansing other areas, in order to fulfill prior directives, however, the majority of the Maker-Mind's fleets were now preparing to enter the system.

Sixty-four Battlespheres, mere fighter-equivalents, were prepared to fight the enemy now. However, as they spun into action, the sky lit up..



On one edge of the system, space was torn asunder, malevolent red light dominating the skies, twenty rifts, small things at first, but growing rapidly, perhaps at half a metre every second, and then slowing down, having to expand across a larger area.. The rifts were the heralds of the fleets yet to come.

The Battlespheres that were there flung themselves toward the enemy fleet, using the progidous energies of the rifts to rip the skies apart with their blasts, which crackled, and seethed with pent-up rage as they were thrown towards the fleet that stood in their way.

As they did, more Battlespheres began to spill out through the rifts, one at a time, then two at a time, their spherical shapes wavering as they were forced through the winding paths that led to reality through the lattice, and then slowly forming into solid, real shapes.

Perhaps one hundred, perhaps two.. They continued coming out. The fleets of the Maker-Mind were vast, and, although this represented a majority of its strength, a loss here would represent a withdrawal from the war.

However, if the enemy were watching... they would see ships pouring out, lines of strangely-crafted blades, perfect, spherical harbringers of doom, constantly morphing, deadly, silvery shapes, chaotic in nature, and... Well, that was all that would arrive.

The forces of the Maker-Mind would wait momentarily, as the first wave of sixty-four Battlespheres made their way towards the enemy, firing all the while.

The war had begun for the Abh...

ooc: I'll allow it since I'm curious. When is HT going to post or is he not attacking as well?

IC:

The once great palace of the Abriels now looked like a varitable fortress with its multiple defensive turrets and platforms. Two Abh destroyers flanked the Corellian vessel while massive turrets spun and focused on the merchants. Forward security center went through its routine checks and scans of the cargo. Markings on the ship went through a database to varify its origins.

Dresk sat at his desk reading the screen as the data was fed back. "What is the destination of your spare parts and hyperdrive equipment?"


ooc: yay!

IC:

Captain Ferra warily noted the pressence of the two destroyers that had taken upon flanking positions on either side of them and the Gallofree.

The Traffic Controller Dresk appeared again the the holoprojector. "What is the destination of your spare parts and hyperdrive equipment?" he asked.

Ferra pressed the response button. "They're on the open market at the moment. My employer said that the Abh or merchants from others areas might wish to aquire more for ship building. We have enough to fit about...oh, I'd say ten X-wings worth of hyperdrive engines."

Ferra blessed his forethought in actually bringing along all the stuff he had mentioned.

"Do we have clearnce to land yet? Some of my crew really need fresh air and some R&R."

Vobayrunay:

In its last moments before encountering the full attack of the Realm's attack, the commander managed to launch out its last signal that was required of it. A narrow beam transmission pulsed out as the patrolship was destroyed. The attack on the six ships resounded throughout the naval yard. Roil class attack vessels, Roth class patrolships, and Guardships began to pour out in droves as the alarm sounded throughout the system. The naval yard disappeared behind a cloud of ships as they moved forward to engage. About five thousand kilometers out, all ships stopped.

Imperial Admiral Gaf'ton stood with his arms crossed on board the Sylvanna. A holographic map laid out before him, a smirk on his face. "So a slight mistep in the enemy's calculations. Perhaps more reconnisance should have been done. Let the hammer stroke fall."

"Yes your highness."

In the back of the Realm's fleet, cloaked mines decloaked and simultaneously aquired their targets. Each mine contained a large antimatter warhead. A wall of mines behind them, a cloud of Abh ships in front, and....jump gates opened up on their sides. A hundred here a hundred there with about three hundred and total appearing to surround the enemy fleet. The large Sylvanna sat dead center of the right flank anchoring and commanding the gathered. "Prepare normal space fusion."

"Yes your highness."

So the Realm wishes to invade the Abh Empire. This is the thanks that we receive for coming to your aid and aiding your people, feeding them, sheltering them, and restoring lost territory. You repay us by taking up arms against us. Such dishonor will not be tolerated. Die knowing that you failed in your mission to cripple us, sent many to their death, and only succeeded in testing my patience.

Gaf'ton turned to his weapons controller. "Launch attack."

Blue emission streaked past as the Abh mines flared to life going after their targets. Thousands upon thousands streamed into the enemy fleet. From the flanks came the sound as Gravimetric cannons and electromagnetic rifles ripped through the silent vaccum followed closely by the glow of anti-proton cannon fire. From the front came the attack vessels diving in and high velocities to take on the smaller vessels with their massive main cannon. The fight was on and it would be bloody with no one escaping. Gaf'ton would not tolerate a single enemy vessle to leave the system alive. The gloves were off now. Extermination was all that he cared about.

Lakfakallae:

"Go ahead. Clearance granted. Proceed to docking bay J-92 to unload your cargo then head to the main hall. You will be directed to the proper areas for you and your crew."

OOC: Errr... Abh... The Realm was sorta utterly destroyed, the length and breadth of it, apart from a few refugees who are clinging to life in a puppet nation of mine, named The New Realm, which happens to be what was left of my nation at the time the Maker-Mind went on the whole 'genocidal rampage thing'.

The Realm couldn't invade an empty bottle right now, let alone a war across systems.

OOC: I pulled the name from your post when you said realm. I was assuming that was the people of what Hyperspatial Trave call themselves. I really don't know what your posessive name would be. Just change the name to whatever fits.

"Go ahead. Clearance granted. Proceed to docking bay J-92 to unload your cargo then head to the main hall. You will be directed to the proper areas for you and your crew."

"Much apprieciated Controller Dresk. Have a good day!" Ferra cut the line and the fake cheery smile that he had on his face dropped. He turned to his small crew.

"Alright, you have the landing area. Let's get this pig landed and start off."

"Yes sir, captain."

The freighter sped over the checking station where the destroyers sat and entered the city proper. It was huge, beautiful even. It reminded Ferra of Thrashia's own floating city, New Fredricksburg which lie hidden in the Redoubt.

"Captain we are coming up on docking bay J-92. Establishing ground stabilizers now," said the pilot.

"Alright, land her and do a full systems check. Mikey-," Ferra looked over at the pale man standing in a heap of electronics equipment. "-get that device you were talking about, the 'observer' thingy."

The slicer smiled. "Of course captain."

OOC: I pulled the name from your post when you said realm. I was assuming that was the people of what Hyperspatial Trave call themselves. I really don't know what your posessive name would be. Just change the name to whatever fits.

OOC: Well, seeing as we're not people.. ^_^
We're a race of hyperintelligent, genocidal robots who carry out routine 'cleansings' on every other living nation in order to make the galaxy safe for them. So this side of my nation would never have seen you before, nor would've you known them as part of a nation.

ooc: HT, then I guess you can ignore most of that transmission was sent. Other than that nothing would have changed.

IC:

A sufficient docking crew was there waiting for the Corellian crew. Lifters and carts were standing by to take the wine and heavy machine parts to their proper location.

A grisly foreman stood in front with a cigar in his mouth and paperwork in hand.

Enemies. Four directions. Side/Side/Front/Back. Directive?

Down/Up.

It was such a simple maneuver. The forces swarming out of the rifts suddenly ceased to do so, and the universe around them juddered as they brought their power to bear.

As they did so, blasts tore through Battlespheres, five, and then ten, perhaps fifteen, and then a Warsphere fell, too.. All things had to be taken in stride if you were to conquer an enemy. Force of numbers was a wonderful thing, but you had to use it effectively. And to do that, sometimes sacrifices had to be made. A wing of Battlespheres screamed into mines, firing all the while, holding their advance off for a few moments.

They were not where they had been. They had jumped downwards, as the Abh forces surrounded them from four directions, they simply utilised another direction. A swirl of red was the sign that they had left.

A message was translated into what was referred to as Abhspeak, and quickly relayed to the enemy ships. I didn't like your battlefield, so I made my own.

In unison, then, they fired. Red rippled upwards, crackling as it did so, drawing power from the rifts that had been opened. The fleet below was small, perhaps two hundred, three hundred Battlespheres, fifty or so Warspheres, indeed, not much of a fleet at all.

The enemy fleet outgunned it by a large amount of firepower, so their strategy was simply. Run. And shoot all the while. The ships still in the lattice were searching frantically for a nearby entry point which would allow them to enter en masse safely. They could all enter the system quite easily individually, but that took time, and filing out into enemy fire was not something they relished.

The rifts flared, and the deadly energies would catch anyone nearby in an attack far more potent than any craft of the Maker-Mind could wield, besides the Interdictor itself.

The first moves had been made. The board was set, and the only way to win was to wipe out the enemy. There were no kings in this game of chess..

For weeks the Klingtonians had been watching and waiting. Observing their enemy, watching their allies and seeing what was effective and what was not. Finally the time had come to join the battle. They had been training for weeks on end, three training sims and 2 data uploads a day for every Klingtonian trooper. There had been additional officer meetings, where they would run through every scenario and situation and what the Klingtonian fleet should do and shouldn’t do in response to them. Finally after weeks of preperation, the time had come. The Klingtonians were off to war.
Of the fleet of 7000 ships of various classes and assortments, 2000 of them would stay behind to defend the Empire. While 5000 would begin to mobilize and be ready to move out to any situation, in support of its allies, to attack, whatever is necessary to take down the enemy.
A comlink was sent out to the country of Abh:
“Greetings!” A young man exclaimed, “I am Narthaus. Fleet Commander of the Country of Klington, and a prospective ally. Last I checked my country is in your GFFA. Although, unfortunately my country hasn’t been too active in the past years for various reasons. We would like to help out in your war with the GE. Our fleets are ready and waiting for orders. Wherever you need us, just ask. Thank you for your time.” With that the Screen blipped out.

Gaf'ton grabbed a corner of his blue cape and snapped it out to the side as he turned and sat back in his chair. Pale fingers glided over the panel on his left arm rest as they lit up a few glass buttons. "They believe that one spot was our only mine field. I really love disappointing the enemy."

The smaller attack vessels were the main ships that took the onslaught of enemy fleets firepower. Their agility was the only thing that saved many of them but many were still not that lucky as they were wrapped in energy and utterly destroyed. A few arcs found their ways into the Imperial Admirals fleet of ships. The field around them soaked the energy up like a sponge but the energy output was so great that many reactors overloaded causing some ships to explode and others to disable.

Below and behind the enemy fleet, more mines decloaked and aquired their targets. Above the enemy, abh vessels went vertical with their main weapons focusing down on the enemy. The only opening was back towards the naval base which wasn't a pleasing option as defensive platforms came online along with defensive systems of the naval yard. "Weapons, prepare main energy canon. Inform all Symphonic ships still with us to follow suit. Send orders to the attack vessels to form up in attack patterns."

"Yes your highness."

Energy fired from the enemy fleet had been refunnled into a focused energy weapon at the bow of several ships that had not blown from the extreme contact. Streams poured out as they were straffed across the larger ships. Attack vessels in a diamond formation charged straight down firing their main energy weapon as they went dodging enemy fire all the way and focusing on shield generators and engines. Electromagnetic coils from other ships flared to life as projectiles were launched downward at near light speeds. On the other spectrum of matters, mobile mines finished aquiring their targets and plunged into the enemy fleet.

Communication Post:

The message from the Klingtons was a welcome surprise. It had been some time since they had encountered one another but their talents would be put to good use. It was relayed through a roundabout way back to the D'Haran system which was sometimes called the Second Capital of the Abh Empire.

Nicci sat in the throne room while Richard Rahl was away on military matters. It was she that was now in charge of the D'Haran nation.

"Mistress, we have a message from an ally. It seems they have taken notice of the growing conflict at their end of the galaxy and are willing to assist."

Straight white hair cascaded down her back as she looked up from her parchment. "Get me a line through."

Greetings Klingtons,
Your aid comes at a time of great need. We request that you bring a detachment of your offensive forces to the D'Haran system where you will link up with an Abh fleet and begin a counterattack. More details will be provided upon your arrival. Enclosed are coordinants for the system.

The freighter finally found the docking bay that had been assigned it. The Gallofree pilot brought her down smoothly and Ferra noticed the tall grizzly looking foreman or some other person, standing outside.

"Alright, from here on in, its up to us," he said to his crew. "He in to the city, find a local bar and spend a few credits, talk about Jurai and Mon Cal. Davis, your wife, talk about her too."

"Why?"

"Just do it. They would expect some of us to be married or engaged...just incase their watching. I don't know for sure," replied Ferra.

Ferra walked out of the cockpit and into the main hull area. The storage area was packed with large metal crates stacked atop each other in neat rows. Ferra walked down a row counting off, then turned down another side row and counted again as well. He finally came to the eighth box and tapped lightly on it.

The side of the crate, supposedly sealed, swung open without a sound and Ferra found a BlastTech E-12 pointed at his face. He couldn't see who was holding it, it was too dark.

"All clear," said a mechanical like voice. The BlastTech disapeared a light came on. Another of Lieutenant Creed's men sat there on a small chair, his black stormtrooper armor blending into the shadows.

"Sir."

"Is Creed inside?"

"Yes sir."

"Tell him we've landed. I am going to get the uplink he needs."

"Yes sir."

Ferra was slightly disturbed by the mechanical way stormtroopers always responded. It was a good thing he guessed, but it was still unusual.

Ferra turned closed the crate. He went to the port side ramp and opened it up. The ramp came down and several of the ships off-load robots came into action and began unloading the crates that Ferra had programmed into them. Ferra stepped down the ramp.

"Hiya! I'm Captain Ralph Nadir. Can you tell me the best way to get into the city? My men are looking for a good bar."

For weeks the Klingtonians had been watching and waiting. Observing their enemy, watching their allies and seeing what was effective and what was not.

OOC: The thread is closed. If you want to post reinforcing the Abh, do it elsewhere. This thread is for the express purpose of war, and since I've only been in Abh's system for a matter of seconds, and Huntaer is undercover, I can't see you knowing about us.

OOC: HT, there is a different purpose for him posting in this thread. Don't worry he is not going to attack you and you two won't even notice each other.

IC:

"Bars for the diplomats and such are near the top. It's about the fiftith level I believe. Regular bars would be down four levels."

The foreman waved his guys to work to begin taking cargo off the ship and sending it on to its respective areas.

Communication Post:

The message from the Klingtons was a welcome surprise. It had been some time since they had encountered one another but their talents would be put to good use. It was relayed through a roundabout way back to the D'Haran system which was sometimes called the Second Capital of the Abh Empire.

Nicci sat in the throne room while Richard Rahl was away on military matters. It was she that was now in charge of the D'Haran nation.

"Mistress, we have a message from an ally. It seems they have taken notice of the growing conflict at their end of the galaxy and are willing to assist."

Straight white hair cascaded down her back as she looked up from her parchment. "Get me a line through."

"Very well." Narthaus said as his voice echoed through his armor, "Consider it done."

OOC: Unfortunately, Abh, it seems I must leave you. Mainly because of a sudden change in allegiances.

The fleet will be sacrificed. Leave. We have a new purpose. New strength. New power. Obey the will of the Maker-Mind

The ships heard, and obeyed. As they did, they moved away from the rifts, the rift-lord ships ceasing to hold them open. As they did so, the rifts... closed. The angry, ravening maws of red energy were no more. What little fleet was there.. simply ceased to fire. The spheres and blades, whirling as they were, began to look for exit points..

Many were torn apart by enemy fire, perhaps a quarter, perhaps a third. Most, however, simply.. left. The attack had begun in a matter of seconds, and it had ceased in the same time. Curious.

A simplistic message was sent. It appeared to be friendlier than anything the Maker-Mind had ever sent before, although that hardly counted for much.

You are to be cleansed. Not when we next meet, but perhaps the third time we meet. Nor will such a pitiable remnant of our strength be sent forth

In the seething realm that was the lattice, the Maker-Mind seethed likewise. It could've cleansed a race, and had lost valuable servants because of it. Timeless is the Maker-Mind, echoed one of the Battlespheres. It did not matter, it knew. Such ships could be replaced within days, if not weeks, but.. It had never suffered true defeat, on the field of battle. It had never fled. Now, it seemed it had done both..

OOC: Awww, this was shaping up to be fun too. Oh well.

IC:

The quick withdrawal even had Gaf'ton confused as the remaining bits of the enemy were swept away that refused to flee. Ships had been destroyed and lives lost this day for no reason at all it seemed. Cleaning crews went about dragging disabled ships into harbor for repairs while rescue missions were launched to pick up the life pods. "Inform HQ that we will need replacement mines for the minefield and put all garrison forces on high alert. Inform the emperor to be aware that others may be trying to invade our home."

"Yes your highness."

"Alright, bring out attack squadron around and take us into Hyperspace. We can replace lost numbers in short order and be ready for another attack."

With that, the Abh vessels that had jumped in glided over to a clearing as several jump points opened. In a flash of brilliant yellow, they were gone back into hyperspace.