NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: For information on what has happened so far, see Shadows of Zoir (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=515279) and The Lies of Gods (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=515727) in that order.

Note: this RP is offically CLOSED, due to the number of people now involved. If you really want in, and have a good reason, TG me.

===================================


IC:

The first woe is passed. There are still two woes to come.

Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels were released, who had been held ready for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, to kill a third of mankind. The number of the troops of cavalry was two hundred million; I heard their number. And this was how I saw the horses in my vision: the riders wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur; the heads of the horses were like lion’s heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths.

--Book of Revelation, chapter 9, verses 12-17

…

Phase Two initiated. Isolation and deconstruction of Atlantian Federation now in progress.

…

Murkuri System, former Zoir territory

Silence, the sound of death.

Twelve thousand years ago, this system had been a very influential commercial port for the Zoir empire. Less then thirty years ago, it had begun to grow again, with the revival of the Zoir empire.

…Until they had been cut down by an even older, and far more sinister empire.

An empire that was now on the move, cutting through those who had attempted to move into the dead systems left behind. And an empire that was now currently engaged in battle with those who dared to stand against them.

Near the second world in the system, a battle raged. The familiar blue and silver hulled Atlantian vessels, who one would describe as a “metallic cross between fish and birds-of-prey” moved through space, fighting an unfamiliar dark-hulled fleet. Their ships were black, yet shimmered, as if the hull was moving. Dark tendrils extended from them, like angry talons. The demonic ships were outnumbered by the Atlantians, yet apparently outclassed them in technology.

Not that the Atlantians would give up without a fight. The Demons were getting dangerously close to Atlantian space, with this being the fifth defending action in the last week. They were continuously being forced back, as if only delaying the inevitable. For every ship the demons lost, the Atlantian fleet would lose at least two, if not more. The Atlantians couldn’t hope to keep fighting like this and win…or even survive, in the long run.

Aside from numbers however, the Atlantians seemed to have a slightly upper hand in tactics in this particular engagement. Forty-two demonic ships, ranging from a mere hundred meters to almost a kilometer in length, fought the Atlantian ninth fleet, holding out at about two-hundred ships, all ranging from about eight-hundred meters down to three-hundred meters…not counting the various fighter craft on both sides. This was by far the largest battle of the war yet.

The Demon ships blasted through some of the larger Atlantian ships in the center of their lines with advanced weaponry. Polyphasic Disintegration Torpedos, which could pass through even advanced shielding, and this distort the molecules of the vessel. Phased Energy Beams, which were much more dangerious then normal phasers. Energized Tachyon Pulse Cannons, which pulverized the Atlantian fightercraft.

As they did this, the smaller, faster Atlantian vessels began to outflank the Demon vessels, hitting them from both sides of the battle, and a few of them coming in from behind, above, and below. They cut through the pre-occupied large Demon vessels with Orcalic Beam Cannons, missile batteries, and plasma cannons. As they got in close, they activated a second layer of offensive shielding, the expanding sphere generator. This allowed them to block most attacks for a short time, and allowed them to “ram” the enemy vessels with the ESG, skimming the armor of the Demon vessels.

None of the Atlantian weapons were purely-light based. Even the Plasma cannons relied on some form of physical matter and kinetic energy. The Orcalic cannons and pulse turrets relied on electro-magnetic energy from Orichalcum metal. The reason for this was because the Demon vessels’ hull was made purely of photonium, a material created from a strange form of “freezing” photons. Light weaponry would not work, and would only make them a little stronger. Phasers and Photon Torpedos were a useless combination.

The flanking and pseudo-ramming techniques worked. Several of the larger demon vessels were ripped apart by explosions, as their photonium armor began to break apart, energy emanating from them. Im’s information regarding their weakpoints was just about the only thing keeping the Atlantian fleet in the game at this point.

Now with the center of their lines gone, the Demons were open to attack. While they had been seemingly getting the upper hand in the fight, now the surviving larger Atlantian vessels moved in, cutting their forces in two. After a few more minutes of battle, the remaining Demon ships warped out, only sixteen of them still in one piece.

However, the Atlantians had also suffered casualties. Almost half of the fleet, a full ninety ships, were now in pieces. The surviving one-hundred and ten ships were in various states of damage.

The ninth fleet would be out of commission for a long while. And this had only been a defending action, against a minor scout fleet, for a system of little worth. This was a (yet another) pyrrhic victory.

The Demons would keep attacking. Continue to soften up Atlantis’s defenses until it was time for the main strike. Alone and without many allies, Atlantis would not last much longer. They needed a miracle.

OOC: I would like to contact you soon about this RP. Please IM me on MSN asap. Thanks.

OOC: This sounds interesting. I'll join. can i have a quick summary of the "The Lies Of Gods" thread? I really don'thave time to read 5 pages worth of stuff.

Im sat in his office, going over battle plans with Io. Well, the small part of her processing power allocated to that task. "If this is going to work more than once the first strike needs to completely decimate the enemy."

"Agreed. I can coordinate with other AIs and jam them efficently until all straglers are choking on space."

Im smiled. "You're right. All the battle plans have been distributed to the fleet?"

"Yes Comm-" The AI stopped mid-word. Before she even started to speak again, Im was on his feet and headed to the door. As he steps onto the bridge, Argo looked up from beside his command chair. "Commander, we are recieving a communication from the Atlantians. They have engaged the Demons and won a dubious victory. They have suffered massive damage."

Im took his seat. "Fleet to battle stations. Prepare for jump." As he watched the ships around him prepare, the fleet took on a faint glow, from so much energy in one place.

"Io... signal the Clusters to send the Fourth Fleet." Six days from now, they would arrive. Im had to make sure there was something to arrive to...

"Calculate the most likely next target. I want to be there ahead of the Demons."

"Calculated. Feeding coordinates to the fleet."

The ships jumped away, leaving stardust in their wake.

They re-appeared inside a Zoir system and, for a moment, an impressive force of ships were visible, before they scattered and cloaked. There was no Atlantian force in this system, though there was a class M planet that somehow avoided destruction.

The attack did come, like the other system it was mostly scouts. As they powered towards the planet, fully intending to make it unlivable, the satelites in orbit caught sight of an unbelievable sight.

Over one hundred ships decloaked around the Demons... for a scant few seconds, the Demons were in shock, before opening fire. It had little effect on the ships they were facing four of them arching around and disrupting the hulls of the Demon ships, others pouring plasma and magneticly launched spheres into the holes.

The battle took a matter of minutes. The largest ship, a cruiser, was impaled on the bow of the largest ship present and was systematically sliced into pieces by the fleet. They then began to bombard every ship that was even partially intact, reducing the Demon force to nothing but debris.

They had been wounded too, three light cruisers were badly damaged, one was adrift. Fifty fighters were lost. The battleship that had rammed the cruiser had paint damage and gouges in the battering ram that made up it's bow.

The satelite was recording it all and sending the information to the small colony which was already mostly abandoned, and then they sent it to the Atlantian media. Anyone that could do such things to the Demons...

------

Im looked pleased, leaning back in his command chair. "Flawlessly accompliched, people. Get those light cruisers under tow and make repairs along the way. We can't remain here long."

Aristomache, his first officer, stepped up. "You know that the colony is broadcasting the battle to the Atlantian civilian population, correct?"

"Of course. I saw the report."

"They will think that we are able to crush the Demons with ease."

"Exactly, Aristomache. This will give the Atlantian people hope that they will survive this war. You and I know that this fleet was just outclassed and caught unprepared, but they don't. And what they don't know won't hurt morale."

"Yes, sir." Aristomache walked off, sounding anything but convinced.

http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/2235/renegadecommodoremn5.jpg
Im Kmmta
Shiplord of the Battleship Trident

OOC: 1010102, I can’t. So much happens in those five pages that to summarize it would take…five pages. Either way. In essence, the thread *IS* a summary. Of the history of the universe, of the first demon war, and of everything that might happen. If you don’t read it, you’ll be totally lost. I’m sorry.

IC:

Posidopolis, Cirrus, Kora system. The Atlantian Homeworld.

News had reached the Senate about the “Angel” fleet’s victory over the Demon forces. There was hope. They could win this war.

There was hope.

Celebrations were going off all over the city. The first decisive victory of the war, even if it hadn’t been Atlantian forces saving the day. It was still a victory. Little did they all know everything was a complete sham.

In the Senate chambers, more celebrations. Every senator (and for that matter, the admirals who’s fleets were in orbit) was engaged in handshakes and hugs and yelps for joy.

There was hope.

As this happened, the longest lasting and head senator glanced down one of the halls from where they were. She was one of the few surviving members from the original Senate, before the war with the Ascendancy. She was Senator Andromada, one of the founding members of the Atlantian Federation. Her, Admiral Vega, the late Senator Orion, the late Senator Intar…

The middle aged woman glanced down the hall every few minutes. She knew that one branch of the government was not here. That branch had been so distant ever since she had returned from the Turi system. She had declined to speak to anyone except on matters of business.

…what had happened to the Empress? This seclusion wasn’t like her. She liked her space and isolation, yes, but never like this. This wasn’t the former marine of the AIV Olympia the senator had come to know during the war.

…What had happened to Atlantia?

…

Atlantia’s personal quarters

“Connect damn you, connect!” Atlantia strangled the screen of her computer. Another busy signal. “RAAAAAAAAAAGH!” she screamed in aggravation. Still no response from the Elaran government.

“Damned blue skins!” she screamed, “We fought when the Drovan attacked, and now you can’t even spare me the decency of a RESPONSE?!”

Well, that wasn’t a full truth, she knew. There was a *reason* why Atlantis had withdrawn from the Drovan conflict so many decades ago. Damned Neo-Atlantians.

She sighed, letting go of the computer. There was still no response from Admiral Vega, or his situation in Xanthalian space. The Elarans weren’t responding. And despite Im’s victory, she knew they were just as outnumbered as the Atlantian fleet.

Atlantia drummed her fingers on the desk, thinking. She had an option, yes. Although she didn’t like it, as it involved swallowing her pride.

Another sigh.

She pressed a button. “Launch pad three…have my personal transport ready to leave in the next twenty minutes”

She was going to go find a certain general, in a certain republic.

As the fleet prepared to leave the system, Im sent a transmission to the colony which was faithfully transmitting to the Atlantian public. "Greetings, people of Atlantis. I am Im Kmmta, Shiplord of the Battleship Trident. Some of you may have seen or heard of my exploits, as a member of Task Force Renegade... I was sent to observe this area of the galaxy several years ago, as we suspected teh Demons were becoming active again. Unfortunately, we were right." He sighed, softly. "The road ahead will be long, hard and painful for many of you. You will lose family members in the Atlantian fleet. You will watch friends sail off to war and never return. To tell you otherwise would be to insult your intelligence. What I can tell you is this: With our help, with the help of your allies... teh Second Demon War will be the last Demon War. Your descendents will never have to live in fear that black ships will appear in the sky to rain death upon them. You are living in an age that will be marked by the destruction of the greatest living threat to survival of civilization among the stars. The demons will be beaten so bad that they will never be a threat again. I give you my word. Trident out."

And the ships lept away, leaving the shattered hulls of Demon ships behind.

A yawn.

His eyes were glazed as he attempted to keep awake, fixated on the diminishing fire before him. The last long crackled and collapsed into the rest of the ashes, joining it's friends finally as it was consummed by the greedy flames that attempted a last jolt to stay alive.

"Dominus," an elderly man walked into the room, shutting the door behind him quietly, "Your bath is ready."

"Thank you, Clitus."

Marcus remained seated, sliding forward and resting his head on his fist, his elbow in turn resting on his knee. Clitus had been with him for near twenty years, probably the best slave he had ever had. As loyal and calm as an eunuch, but with none of the atitude of court attendants. He stood up and stretched. A bath before bed would be nice.

Thunder boomed in the heavens as Clitus took Pompey's tunic and set it aside while his master slipped into the bath; a rectangle made of white marble cut into the tile floor, filled with steaming water. Marcus sank into the loveliness of the bath, the heat of the pool mixing with the cold of the marble pressing against his back and neck. He closed his eyes and tilted his head, re-opening them to see the dark sky peering in the window above the bath, the rain that was falling with hostility slapping against the glass. That didn't trouble him, however, for at least 90% of the time it was raining on Taledonia.

It had been a long day. Senate had sat to discuss the recent hostilities with the Galactic Empire, it seemed war was inevitable now. No matter, simply meant the Legions would have something to do instead of continuous drills. It had been too long since there was a war for the Republic to fight in, all the excitement of being a politican was leaving, now it was returning. He wasn't off to a very good start though. Shows up with an entire battle fleet to secure a location and claim it for the Republic, ends up sending it home and failing in his mission from the Senate. Met a pretty princess and an interesting pirate however, fun story to entertain the Senate. He let his mind wander back to that meeting with the Atlantians as Clitus washed him. Would he ever meet with Atlantia again? Oh well, her image was still in his head. He would have to make a note of traveling more, perhaps every corner of the galaxy held exotic beauties.

Approaching Talean system via Talean-Sol jumpnode

A small personal shuttlecraft flew through the rippling blue tunnel of subspace. Behind it, a bright light. Ahead of it, another bright light.

Inside, Empress Atlantia sat at the flight console, alone. She had not taken any guards with her, or any other personnel. Hell, technically this hadn’t even been an official action.

“ETA to arrival in-system” she asked the computer. This shuttlecraft didn’t have an AI. She found it to be too disconcerting, having a sentient computer alone with you.

“Arrival in system in approximately three minutes”

Atlantia sighed. A few more minutes went by, until the bright light at the end of the blue tunnel engulphed her vessel. As her ship was transported to the edge of the Talean system, she hoped to whatever god DID exist that Pompey, or whoever the hell she was going to be speaking to was still interested in a defense pact of some kind.

And she also hoped to whatever god existed that they were ready for a war.

As the shuttle entered the Talean system, she sent out a message:

“Attention citizens of the Republic. This is Empress Atlantia of the Imperial Federation of Atlantis. I request a meeting with General Pompey as soon as possible”

Well, she wasn’t one for fooling around.


…

Citadel Ten, Turi system

Half of the fleet. Half of the damn fleet, a full twenty-five hundred vessels, all in either the Turi system or in Zoir space, being picked off bit by bit. The Demons had restricted their attacks to scout fleets, but now that Im’s fleet had shown themselves, the Atlantian admirals were sure that the Demon fleet would now up the attacks with larger attacks.

Attacks closer to the major worlds.

Admiral Koth, commander of the eighth fleet, and lead war planner with Vega gone, toyed with the map in the war room of Citadel Ten as the other Admirals (a total of twelve admirals, including himself, out of the twenty-five in the entire fleet) and a group of Senators that were helping to plan the war watched on

The map was a hologram, appearing out of a table in the middle of the room. Different orbs represented different system, with sticks, the jump node network, connecting them. About twenty of the systems, all huddled together in a corner of the map, represented the Atlantian Federation. Around them were all other sorts of empires and political entities. Elaran, Drovan, Phalanix, Xanthal, various Sol empires that had moved out of their home system, the ESUS, the Republic, and many, many others.

The blue systems moved inward, and became larger as the map zoomed in. Now, only about 6 of the Atlantian systems could be seen, but so could 20 of the former Zoir systems. Those Zoir systems firmly under the control of Atlantis were in a lighter shape of blue. Those not were in a yellowish-tan color. Those who had been the sites of battles between Atlantis and the Demon fleet had “X”s on them, and Im’s last known position had been marked with a red dot.

Koth saw it. So did the other Admirals. The Demons were closing in. They had known this, of course. But the fact that one; could actively see this on a map was bone-chilling.

“We still haven’t gotten any word from Admiral Vega and the Olympia in Xanthal space” Koth said, “Nor from Empress Atlantia in Republic space. And the Elarans are still refusing our hails. And as we speak, Demon forces are crouching in on this system, as well as the other border Atlantian systems” he focused on Turi, as well as Portas…and Argala, one of the three major systems with a population of over a billion.

“And from there it’s only a short flight to our core systems” he focused on Vitar, and the other two major systems; Dopa and the capital system Kora. He looked at the lead Senator, Andromeda.

“Senator, we’ve run out of time. We can’t go picking around slowly anymore. We HAVE to assemble a coalition. Allies, support of any kind”

“What do you propose?” she asked, although she already knew what Koth was going to say. She had been in this business for far too long.

“A priority one alert. A general distress signal to…everyone. In all directions”

“But what if the demons pick it up?” asked one of the Admirals.

“It doesn’t matter” said another Admiral, “Let them come. We’re already on the defensive”

Andromeda nodded. “Very well. We shall return to Cirrus at once, and do as you wish. But Admiral…” she looked at Koth, “Please. Do not let this system, or any other Atlantian system fall”

“I wouldn’t dream of it” Koth smiled. Andromeda nodded, and she and the other four Senators turned and left.

Koth turned to face the other Admirals. “We need to re-allocate our forces. Too many are here, too few are protecting Argala”

…

A message to all space powers:

Several decades ago, a war was fought. A war which decimated worlds. A war between a coalition of Milky Way powers and an armada of enemy warships from a race known only as the demons, from beyond the rim of the galaxy, in the Globular clusters.

This enemy was defeated once, but has now come back with a much larger force, and have begun a war on the people of Atlantis. They have already decimated almost every populated world in what was once known as the Zoir Empire, and are coming for us. After they destroy us, they will come for you as well.

We must come together. A new coalition must be formed, if any of us are to survive. Please, I urge you. I beg you. As a member of a major spacefaring power. As a member of…as a sentient being. Please, help us. We cannot win this war…we cannot survive without your help.

Head Senator Andromeda of the House of Poseidon, Atlantian Imperial Senate

"Dominus, a message has arrived from the city."

His eyes jerked open, the body jumping slighty at the surprise that brought him out of his sleep. Believably, it was still raining hard out, however since it was now the twilight hour when only the watch would be up, you couldn't see the raindrops, or anything for that matter, unless it was during the few seconds that a dash of lightning came from the clouds.

"Who...What is it Clitus?" he said sleepily, sitting up in his bed.

"Command received a transmission from a vessel that recently entered the system. It was from Empress Atlantia of the people of Atlantis. She has requested an audience."

"Gods man, for this you wake me? Surely I didn't need to know she'd be meeting with one of those night hawks who never sleep over there."

"It was with you, specifically, that she requested an audience. And as it was that you were so keen on gaining alliance it would be wise to awaken instead of making her await the sun."

Pompey grumbled and threw off the heavy comforter. Standing up and stretching, he suddenly became aware of the cold bite that comes from being naked at night, and so reached for the robe held out by his servant. "When shall she arrive?"

"She was granted permission to land, and was given directions to come here directly. The driveway has been cleared and is ready for her shuttle to descend."

"Heat up some wine....And start the fire in the study." the General ordered as he made his way to the restroom.

Portas System

Ships started leaping into the system. Much to the relief of the Atlantians, they were Angels, not Demons. There were two problems, though... One was that a full quarter of the ships were under tow and many of the rest were damaged. Even the Trident had deep scars along it's flank and bow. The other was that the Assault Wing seemed to be missing a dozen ships, including the Four Horsemen.

Im's image appeared over the comm channel to the Atlantians. "We intercepted a small fleet heading towards this system. We jumped them while they were still FTL and force them to drop back into realspace. That battle was costly, but they lost three times what we did. The rest of their fleet jumped away... we fell back here for repairs and in case they chose this system to assault next. They will fail, I assure you." The signal cuts out, leaving the Atlantians to watch the Olympians begin to repair their ships without the aid of a shipyard. Within an hour, half the ships that were under tow were operational again.

The Four Horsemen lept into the system soon after, reporting that the intact Demon ships that did not jump away(fifteen) were nothing but debris. These Angels were nothing if not through...

The first Demon War was hard to forget still a little over fifty years later. However the fall of an empire is easily the fastest way to forget something like that.
Now with Phalanix fallen and slowly struggling to rise back up most of those history lessons have long since been forgotten and lost with the elder fleet commanders who died defending what they believed in from those birthed by their own nation. Since then those bonds with allies had fallen to shambles, the original home and birthplace of the empire was gone and they were almost at the verge of invading an ally five years before. Now here they were, the leaders of the Allied Forces listening to this request for help in defeating a monster that they originally thought they had slaughtered five decades before.

"Look at the map you idiot can't you see? If they fall we're next and everyone in the god damned room knows that we will lose," an elderly woman cried out at a younger man.
"Look at our numbers, we barely have enough to keep our boarders protected let alone send out an attack fleet to assist in this war. We will be open and will be slaughtered," the young man replied.
The debate had been going on for what felt like hours between the fleet commanders of the original empire and the augmented troop commanders of the AEN.
"Enough! You're all acting like children, look at it this way. We're still assumed to be dead by most nations and even then most don't even know of us," one of the more youthful members of the council said, "Now look at it, the demons know of us and will come for us to gain their revenge. We must send our help, even if it's only a few ships and a division of troopers."

Only an hour after the orders were sent, along the boarder to the only jump node that linked Phalanix to Atlantian Outcasts a trio of cruisers and one of the few surviving and repaired Fallen Angel class cruisers were waiting for the orders to jump when the message was sent.

A message to the current leadership of Atlantian Outcast:
As it stands both of our powers have been at odds since the incident five years ago, now an evil that we once thought defeated has returned.
Now here we are, we are offering our hand once again to assist in the ending of this threat for if you fall then we are only a short while away from our own deaths.
An expeditionary force is prepared to make the jump into your boarders upon your request.

Citadel Seven, Maldor, Portas System

The Portas system was a lighter populated system compared to the giants of Kora, Dopa, and Argala, or even the medium-sized systems like Turi, Tekara, and Vitar. Only one planet, Maldor (a class O) was populated, by a mere three-hundred million.

Nonetheless, it was to be guarded by a full fleet at all times, as all inhabited systems were since the demon warship in Zoir space had first been found. A full two-hundred ships, the entire 3rd fleet. Im was heartily received by the local defense force, and they began to clear space for them at the Citadel, only to find they were repairing themselves…

Two small Demon scouts drifted through the outer edges of the system, slowly gaining information. The children had moved their forces to the disk, in an attempt to counter them.

Intriguing.

If they could manage to take out the rim fleet here, isolated, they could quickly put an end to the war both here and in the clusters. And the longer the Atlantians (or any place they were targeting at the time, in fact) had allies, the longer it would take to end the war and continue to the next target. A fleet began to gather…

…

Taledonia

Atlantia’s shuttle swooped in from the sky, almost as maneuverable as a fightercraft. It targeted its landing position and moved in, coming to a stop in its flight, and beginning to decend directly, thrusters keeping it from crashing.

As the vessel powered down, a hatch opened in the back, allowing Atlantia to step out. Like before, she wasn’t wearing anything formal, simply “casual” clothing. Which in her case usually meant black. This time she wasn’t even bothering with the tiara. In her hand she carried a trident. She gripped it tightly, she knew most governments would try to refuse her carrying of a weapon.

Heh. They could try.

…

Return message to the Allied Forces of Phalanix:

We accept your help, and welcome you to Atlantian space. Perhaps this fight may once again change our relationship for the better.

The Demon attacks are located mostly in Zoir space at the moment, but seem to be making their way to our space.

--Senator Andromeda

Im Kmmta sat back in his command chair, reaching down to pat Argo on one of his three heads. The hellhound seemed tense... though he always seemed that way after a battle.

"Aristomache, Io... I need information. Where are the Titans going to strike next? What is the size of their fleet inside this galaxy? Is there an actual Titan with them?"

There was a long silence from his first officer and the AI. Io spoke first. "With the current amount of hard data, I can only calculate odds and give my best estimate to you."

"What would you need to give exacts?" Im asked, wondering if he would like the answer... he didn't. Not one bit.

"Information from a Titan computer core." the AI answered.

"We don't have any Stalkers with us. They will come with Hades. Until then, do your best."

"Yes, Commander."

----

An old pale alien, with a thick beard and a receeding hairline, sat on teh bridge of a ship many times more impressive than the Trident.

It was the command and control ship for the Fourth Olympian Fleet and he was none other than Hades.

"ETA?" He asked, low voice carrying with ease.

"Four ship days. Three Terran days." Too long.

Hades thought for a moment. They had to go faster... "Current engine load status?"

There was a pause. "89%. We can increase another five percent before smaller ships start falling behind."

Hades leaned forward in his seat, staring at the two screens in front of him and the holotank. "Increase speed five percent. We have a war to finish!"

Response to the message
The ships will fold into the Trakia system then fold again towards Zoir space. However we highly suggest they work with one of your own fleets as support ships due to the fact that our ships are in short supply.


The order had came at last for the First AFM Expeditionary Force to fold in. Fleet Captain Alexis Brooks, commander of the expeditionary force as well as captain of the AFN Reaper (the Fallen Angel class super cruiser), activated the com system to alert the other three captains.
"The order to advance has been given, prepare for slip space fold in thirty seconds," she transited to the ships and those around alerting them to move out of the fold bubble before it formed.
The three cruisers quickly began to move closer to the Reaper and just seconds after they were in position the bubble began to form. Slowly at first it engulfed the ships in a sickly green bubble before they vanished into the realm of slip space.

A scant two hours later the a 7km space near the jump node began to seal it's self off while the space "bubbled" minutes before the bubble began to form and the ships returned to real space once more.
"All ships this is Fleet Captain Brooks, prepare for the second jump in five minutes, all troop commanders please prepare your forces for possible combat within the next several hours. That is all."

Clitus was waiting under the archway of the door, an un-opened umbrella in his hands. As the shuttle came down infront of him, he opened the defensive barrier and ran over to the opening hatch to shield the Empress from the harsh rain.

"Good evening, miss, the General is waiting for you within his study."

Taledonia

She really didn’t mind the rain, being a marine tended to make you indifferent to the elements. But at any rate, the umbrella was a nice gesture.

Atlantia nodded. “Thank you. Please take me to him”

…

Return Message to Phalanixian Forces:

We advise you jump to the Turi system, a border colony in Atlantian space. There will be able to plan your attack with the other fleets.

…

Outskirts of the Portas System

The dark forces continued to assemble. fifty Scouts (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/scout2.htm), five Nodes (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/node2.htm), and twenty Battlecruisers (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/bcruiser2.htm). As of yet, the main Demon fleet had not yet assembled inside the galaxy. The prior fleet, despite having had destroyed the Zoir, had suffered immense losses at the hands of the Zoir. It would take a bit of time before the main fleet would arrive.

And when they did, none would stand against them. For now though, they would fully assess the Olympian fleet, and/or destroy it.

In defense of the planet (aside from Im’s forces) sat a single Atlantian fleet, the tenth fleet…which was sadly only a recon fleet. Two-hundred ships all of a light cruiser class or under. Im was (for the most part) on his own for the most part.

The fleet began to move in. Silently…

…

“Restoration at 44%”

“Soon. Very soon. An eye for an eye, a weapon for a weapon. An Omega for an Alpha. We must counter every tactic they have. The core shall be ours.”

“Glory to the old ones. Thy will be done.”

Clitus opened the door and held it open, still holding the umbrella above Atlantia's head as she mader her way inside, the slave following behind her and closing the now soaked instrument and placed it on a hook next to the door.

Pompey's country villa was what anyone would expect from a powerful and influencial Senator of the Republic. A large edifice of dressed stone, a wood frame that showed on the inside, but the elegant oak only added to the decor and delight. A baked tile roof that held the color of the red clay it was made from. Large stables sat away from the house, looking out to the medow. A towering wall of stone surrounded the estate, the thick wooden gates keeping all who didn't belong out.

Clitus led Atlantia through the interior of the villa. The maple floors barely showing behind the fancy rugs. The arches and pillars of marble throughout the house, matching the marble that lined the inner walls. Various statues of the Gods could be found in places otherwise left bare, as well as plants of differing sizes. Given, it was rather hard to make out the excellence of everything, as no lights had been lit, with the exception of the lantern that Clitus led with. Opening another door, a flood of orange light projected onto the floor.

Pompey was sitting in a leather armchair in a heavy brown robe, a crystal goblet with red wine in his hands, the amphora that obviously held the wine sitting on the night stand next to him. The crackling fire giving the only light in the room. The General quickly finished taking the sip he had begun as he noticed his guest enter, and stood from his seat, setting his glass on the table behind him.

"My dearest Atlantia, it's been too long."

Tag. I'll post ASAP.

Atlantia glanced around at the outside of the villa before she was led inside. She could almost distinguish the hints of Atlantian style from which the Romans and Greeks had built their styles from (although as Roman was more removed then Greek, it was much harder to tell). It was odd how ancient Atlantian style had been more or less…divided among the ancient powers. The Egyptians took the pyramids and (now defunct) tombs, while the Mesoamericans and Mesopotamians had taken the step-pyramids. The Greeks and Romans had taken the temples and columns, and everyone (including groups like the Norse and Anasazi) had each taken one or two god pantheons.

Very odd, that.

Very ornate, almost gaudy. I wonder if he genuinely likes the style, of if he’s just doing it to impress. She thought to herself, entering the house. The Empress noticed the second person closing the door behind her.

Servants. She made a mental note. Many people of Pompey’s stature would have them of course, but she still found them irksome. More pompous and trouble then they were worth.

Atlantia casually glanced around at the interior as she was led through it, although she couldn’t see everything completely. But what she did see subconsciously caused her left hand to curl up and tighten into a fist in shame and mis-directed anger.

Gods. Many gods. All of them fake. All of them frauds. A month ago, she would have adored the fact that Pompey had so many Olympian statues in his house, but now…after Im’s meeting with her…

She closed her eyes for a second and clenched her teeth before getting ahold of herself. Gods or no gods, faith or no faith. She had a job to do.

Although she still desperately wished they WERE gods, with every fiber of her body that wasn’t already full of seething hatred for what they had paraded themselves around as while allowing whole races to be wiped out.

She stood as Pompey got up.

Joy. Now’s the part where I get to swallow my pride. And he knows. But…how?

Her mind flashed back to the conversation with Im on the Trident. …

Im looks at her. "I strongly urged Pompey to offer you a mutual defense pact and explained what teh Demons had done and that if he ever wanted to do business with you in the future, it would be wise to help ensure you don't get destroyed. I am not sure if I scared him off or not. I hope not... he seemed hopeful that an agreement could be reached."

She blinked. He knows. He knows EXACTLY why I’m here. And now he’s going to be all smug about it. “I told you so” and shit like that.

She formed a small smile, hiding her true emotions.

“Indeed, general. My apologies for not calling ahead”

She looked around the room again. The gods all stared at her, as if waiting for her to make a wrong move. Or a right move. Or something. They glared at her, as if she had forsaken them, or they had willingly forsaken her. Damned her to oblivion.

Atlantia snapped back to attention, noticeably pre-occupied with other thoughts.

“Unfortunatly” she sighed, knowing this was only going to get harder, “This is not a social visit”

The deck bucked under Im, an arc blast erupting from a panel on the wall. "Report!"

After a moment, Io responded. "Titan ships... five hundred of them, Commander. Ten ships have severe damage. Fifteen have been destroyed. The rest are requesting permission to pull out of the system."

"NO! Engage the enemy! Fight!" Im staggered as the ship's deck dipped suddenly.

"That is inadvisable, Commander. We are outnumb-"

Im lurched towards the weapons ststion and began to return fire at the Titans. "Order all ships to engage! Do it or I'll pull your circuts out with my bare hands!"

"Yes, Commander."

The next ten minutes were of hectic fighting as Im manned several stations. As he turned from the command and control station, he flet his face go even paler than normal... Argo lay sprawled on the deck, a ceiling support beam had fallen on him. "No..." The ship was tearing itself apart... they had lost. Worst of all, Im had not been there when his only true friend had needed him. He sank to his knees by the dead hellhound and reached out to touch him...

---

"Commander, your presence is requested on the Bridge." Io's soft voice said.

Im opened his eyes and sat up. He was sweating and his whole body was a shade paler than normal. He had not had such dreams in many years. He shook it off and stood. "On my way."

---

Im strode onto the bridge. "Report."

Aristomache looked up. "The fleet has completed all repairs they can make without the use of a shipyard. The Troy is bound to be with Hades, so that will be a temporary problem."

Im nodded and took his seat. Argo looked up at him and noticed something was off. Im patted him on the head. "Very well. Inform the Atlantians we are ready to repel any invaders to this system."

There was danger afoot. The High Council has sensed a grave threat to the galaxy, aye, to the Universe, and dispatched a small scouting force to discern the actual threat. The task force consisted of of the Heatwave, a Firestorm-class Star Destroyer, designed specifically for ship-to-ship combat and lacking a main hangar bay and about fifteen escorts, ten combat, five noncombat. The Star Destroyer is a newer class, but not quite new enough to get the No-Inertia Vector Engines just coming into service in the Navy. Even so, it boasted enough firepower to give the Empire's Star Destroyers pause, with its devastating beamlaser cannons bristling the port and starboard sides and its main turbolaser, ion cannon and missile tubes sharing space with advanced sensors and shielding generators. As an added bonus, the tower where normally the bridge would be, is merely an observation deck to fool those who know Star Destroyer weaknesses. The real bridge lies at the base of the tower so that if it breaks off, the ship itself can continue fighting.

Captain Masato Ichigo (naming conventions are reversed in Coreworlds, being based on Japanese culture) watched the many screens denoting data as they hurtled through the deep blue of hyperspace. One of the newer crop, the chocolate-haired young man was one of many who studied under the wisdom of Admiral Pellaeon, the Old Man of Space. The captain brushed his navy blue uniform and asked the ETA to the rendzevous point.

"Sir, we'll be a few hours yet. So far, our FTL scanners are detecting nothing out of the ordinary." His Executive Officer replied.

"Very well." The soft-spoken captain nodded.

Several hours later, the small fleet exited hyperspace at the rendzevous and immediately began scanning for any threats. The High Council's orders were characteristically vague, but there was enough to discern that there was a threat to be cataloged.

OOC: Just my entry post into the RP. One of you guys meet up with me and we can get started.

Turi system
A scant few thousand miles from the jump node a beautiful even began to take place.
Slowly sickly green pin pricks of light began to erupt from the fabric of space building up to a massive sickly green bubble that quickly began to shrink back form fitting around one massive ship and three smaller ones before vanishing completely.

"Hold position and alert the Atlantian forces of our arrival," Brooks stated to her bridge crew as she returned to her reading up on the old files on the first encounter with the demon forces.

"This is the First AFM Expeditionary Force requesting directions towards the system you want our forces," was sent and the waiting game began.

((Sorry bout the delay, psych class called me away for a while.))

Portas System

Fifty Scouts. Twenty Battlecruisers. Five Nodes.

The intercept fleet made its way further into the Portas System, under cloak. Their target: Maldor, the moon of Vanderos, the first planet in the system. The location of the Atlantian colony, the Atlantian recon fleet, and Im’s fleet. They would be there within minutes.

The Atlantians would most likely be unable to detect the phase-cloaked vessels quickly approaching them. However, as his ships were more tuned to fight the Demons, Im’s fleet may have been able to pick up slight distortions in space-time. Shadows.

…

Turi System

The Turi system was the furthest colony in Atlantian space, bordering Zoir territory. And with three populated worlds, the home base of Project: Shadow being located here, and the system being the forward base of operations, a large force of over five-hundred ships lay in the system, as well as a ten kilometer tall base orbiting the moon of the third planet.

“This is Citadel Ten to AFM Expeditionary Force. We are sending you the current tactical data and starcharts regarding the situation.”

The map included the four Atlantian systems closest to Zoir space; Turi, Argala (one of three heavily populated Atlantian systems), Portas, and Oblissa (an unpopulated system). “Above” them sat several more systems, all in what had once been Zoir space. A good deal of them were shown to have had battles recently, or had Atlantian forces in them.

The known movements of the Demons were shown, although they seemed to be mostly erratic. Oddly however, one section of the map, further “east” of Atlantian space seemed to be devoid of any Atlantian presence, or any battles what-so-ever. Perhaps the Atlantians simply hadn’t bothered to try and secure those areas…

…

Minerva System

They watched the foreign Star Destroyer move through the system, silently. The other races were in danger of stumbling upon their plan of isolation.

Not yet. It was too early. At first, they were tempted to wait, to see what would happen. Perhaps they were just lost. But as they continued to move in, the darkness became more worried. They would have to eliminate them to protect the plan, and hope they didn’t trigger any other powers into the conflict. Not yet anyway. The creators of this ship would meet their end after.

Two Battlecruisers, under cloak, began to move…

OOC: The Heatwave is inside the area of the map without any Atlantian presence. Phal, if you want you can meet up with them. I don’t want to be the only person people communicate with. Let’s try to get some inter-RPing going.

Pompey seemed rather dissappointed, his face visibly showing it before going back to a cheerful smile. He gestured with his hand for her to sit in the chair opposite his. "Social visit or not, would you care for some hot wine? It calms the spirit at such an unholy hour. Gods, I'm surprised Talean himself even stays awake at this hour, however Gods are superior to us and may not require sleep, who knows these things but the smug priests, eh?" He chuckled and tapped her shoulder as she sat down. Ressuming his seat himself, he took a small sip from his goblet, nodding to the slave that was now filling one for Atlantia.

"So then, if you haven't come to enjoy my merry company, what brings you to the Republic?"

As per the Dominion Accords, we feel obligated to send a minor fleet to aid these beleagured people. No nonhuman creature will wage such war against those who are human, or semi-human, and nor shall we permit the annihilation of such a civilization to come to pass. Captain, you are hereby promoted to Acting Admiral. Take a battlegroup, and move to the Turi System. Inform the Atlanteans of our purpose there, and request their permission to allow us to aid them.

- Tyrant Golheas


Fourteen ships assembled silently in orbit above New Thyan, a minor set of ships, compared to the comings and goings of most ships in the systems. But these fourteen were some of the finest military ships the Starfederation had to offer - and the most powerful.

Admiral Boriial.. It had a nice sound to it. Admiral Mashin Boriial. Of course, he wasn't commanding one of the thousand-ship Scintillating Fleets, but rather, a small, specialised battlegroup.

But what a battlegroup it was. His ship, the Intricate Deception, was the newest battleship of the Starfederation - and the most powerful. The older dreadnoughts could match it blow for blow, but few, if any of the older battleships could.

He stabbed at a small key with his index finger, bringing up a list of the ships in his fleet, their status, shield strength, class, and name.

[READOUT: Battlegroup Tenacity]
Intricate Deception - Customized battleship
Setting Sun - Torrential River-class carrier
Majestic Truth - Elegant Riposte-class cruiser
Playful Spirit - Elegant Riposte-class cruiser
Stalker - Firefly-class destroyer
Slayer - Firefly-class destroyer
Ravener - Firefly-class destroyer
Render - Firefly-class destroyer
Whirling Gestalt - Joyous Servant-class frigate
Ageing Warrior - Joyous Servant-class frigate
Deathly Blow - Joyous Servant-class frigate
Wisdom of Aeons - Joyous Servant-class frigate
Mortality Embodied - Joyous Servant-class frigate
Wavering Faith - Joyous Servant-class frigate
FLEET STATUS:
Shields: 100%
Damage: 0%
Preparation: 100%

Another tap saw the screen shut off. "Well, then. It's may not be a Scintillating Fleet, but, then again, very few things are. Twelve ships should be enough, at the very least, to prove our good faith. Although, with all the strange news I've been hearing lately.. took me almost a week to convince the Tyrant to send this little fleet."

He sighed. "Helm. Take us out."

Cliched, but tried-and-true. The ships began to move gracefully towards a luminalcaster, one of the newer forms of FTL transit. Essentially the same as a normal FTL jump, but with one hell of a lot more grunt behind it. They'd get there a lot faster - and the energy costs would reach the billions, with utter ease.


The world wavered, and rippled, his vision swimming before him - and then the sensation suddenly ceased. "Well, then. We're on the outskirts of the.. Turi System, was it?"

"Yes, Captain. I mean, Admiral."

"Ah. Excellent. Transmit a message, relaying our intent, and reason for such, to the Atlanteans."

"Yessir. Your secretary is working on it presently."

Perhaps it was a touch vain, having a secretary onboard his ship. But it made things so much easier regarding diplomatic exchange - she was a wonder when writing diplomatic notes, something he'd never mastered.

This is Battlegroup Tenacious, a force sent from the Starfederation. In accordance with the recently-signed Dominion Accords (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=515239), we have a self-professed obligation to aid human, and human-esque species in need, against aggressors of any kind. This force is all that could be mustered at the moment. Should you be willing to accept our aid, we would be most willing to give it.

Minerva System

They watched the foreign Star Destroyer move through the system, silently. The other races were in danger of stumbling upon their plan of isolation.

Not yet. It was too early. At first, they were tempted to wait, to see what would happen. Perhaps they were just lost. But as they continued to move in, the darkness became more worried. They would have to eliminate them to protect the plan, and hope they didn’t trigger any other powers into the conflict. Not yet anyway. The creators of this ship would meet their end after.

Two Battlecruisers, under cloak, began to move…

OOC: The Heatwave is inside the area of the map without any Atlantian presence. Phal, if you want you can meet up with them. I don’t want to be the only person people communicate with. Let’s try to get some inter-RPing going.
It is well known to the Coredian Navy that anyone under cloak is certainly doing Sneaky Evil Things That Must. After all, the Huntaer Galactic Empire uses cloak to sneak up on Coredian ships and attack accordingly. So it was no surprise that the more thorough sensors -the gravitational and extradimensional particle/energy (tachyon, quantum, etc) sensors- detected something out there that cannot be seen with normal visible or electromagnetic sensors.

"Coms to bridge, we detected something, mark bearing 125-050. Can't make it out anything but it's there."

"I see." Captain Masato nodded and then frowned. So. There is something out there...well, I suppose there's only one way to deal with this.

He keyed the comms. "Will Jedi Knight Kurosawa Hikaru please come to the bridge?"

On every major capital ship (ie the named ISDs), five members of the Jedi Order (two Knights, two Shinobi, and one Alchemist) are always present, usually to report to the Council but also to help with everything from damage control to planetary research to repelling boarders. On this particular ship, the Jedi Knight in charge of the mission is Hikaru Kurosawa, a thirty year old Jedi Knight, experienced in the ways of the Force.

Two small pops occured within seconds as the Jedi Knight, boasting blond hair, a bushy moustache and beard, and his young elven apprentice Niklas Tomas teleported to the bridge. Teleportation is a fairly new technique within the Order, first discovered by the late Alexander Masaki of the reigning Masaki Clan and nowadays an easy, if challenging technique to learn. Mobility has never been so easy in battle and otherwise!

"I have felt the presence of something in the area as well." The Jedi Knight said as soon as the Captain explained what has transpired. He narrowed his blue eyes. "Something dark."

"Master?" Niklas asked, concerned.

"The Council detected an unknown threat around this area. It appears now that I have reason to believe their fears are not unfounded." The Jedi stroked his beard, glancing at the sensor readings.

"If that's the case, I'd suggest going to general quarters." Captain Ichigo said.

"Do it. It doesn't hurt to prepare for any threat." The Jedi nodded, then he looked out at the stars, almost as if he could discern the threat. "In the meanwhile..."

As general quarters sounded in the Star Destroyer and her escorts (there are fifteen ships in the area. Mostly frigates and cruisers, but five are noncombat ships.) Hikaru closed his eyes and breathed deeper, entering a Jedi trance. His powers expanded to fill the bridge, 'seeing' everything from the racing heart of his young apprentice, to the electrical currents inside the bridge consoles, to the metal in the walls of the bridge and beyond. His ESP reached farther, passed through the hull like a ghost and headed towards the two Battlecruisers. Now, he could begin his Force probe, seeking to discern the true measure of the possible threat they faced, its intentions for the universe at large...

"Commander, I am detecting several small anomalies in the fabric of space... normally this is not worth mentioning, but this time it is." The main screen shifted to a view of a space-time, with the anomalies.

Im watched for several seconds. "Battlestations. All ships report ready status." He saw what Io had seen... while they appeared to be insignificant alone, the group of them were all moving. And in the same direction. Withen thirty seconds, the whole fleet was as ready as they could be.

A tight beam channel opened to the Atlantians. The Titans would know the Trident had contacted them, but not know what was said. "Atlantian fleet... we have company." He cut off the transmission and looked at the helm. "All ships, flank speed."

The whole Olympian fleet surged ahead on an intercept course towards the Titans, a single message being directed to them, on an open channel. Im smiled tightly at the screen. "Hello, you magnificent dark hearted bastards... you really thought your second hand, emission spewing cloaks would get past me? Haha. After the decimating losses you took nine years ago, I'd thought you'd have learned your lesson as to not underestimate the Fourth Fleet. All ships... fire when ready." The image cut out.

"Sir, I have to point out you are enjoying yourself far too much, considering we don't know the size of that fleet. Or if it is actually a fleet at all."

"It's a fleet, Io. And I just threw a rock into a hornet's nest, as my old first officer would say." He looked at teh Archangel, who was opening fire with her two magnetic cannons. Only the Trident had a larger cannon and it only had one. The ancient ship was still a force to be recokened with, when taking into account it's new shields.

Streams of energy, missiles and other projectiles made the darkness between worlds shine in a beautifully deadly light. Not one ship was holding back.

A man stood looking out of a glass window, beautifuly and painstakingly carved out of nano-metal. Incredibly expensive. The man sighed as a aide entered the room, and said, "What is it Max?" The aide gulped and said, "Um, sir, a message arrived. It is general, not specific to you." Johnathan took the message out of the aide's hand and as he read it, his brow furrowed. He looked up at the aide and said. "I want the First and Second Fleets dispatched to Atlantian space. I also want the Eighth Robotic Corp moving into transports by 1800 tomorrow. Also, dispatch a message to Atlantis."

Hello. Per your request, I will be sending troops, ships and aid to you, as well as thirty-five of our best strike teams. Please make good use of them.

First Fleet:
10 Battle Stations
200 DN-2 Dreadnoughts
418 CR-9 Carriers (1000 Drones, 200 Valkries each)
582 SC-3 Cruisers
1,200 DF-3 Frigates
12 CP-5 Construction Platforms
16 HS-13 Hospital Ships

Second Fleet:
10 Battle Stations
100 DN-2 Dreadnoughts
411 CR-9 Carriers (1000 drones, 200 Valkries each)
409 SC-3 Cruisers
1,500 DF-3 Frigates
15 CP-5 Construction Platforms

Eighth Rob. Corp
100,000 RI-3 Robotic Infantry
10,000 RT-7 Robotic Tanks
12,000 RA-2 Robotic Artillary
10,000 TT-4 Troop Transports

Taledonia

Superior to us…

Atlantia glanced at one of the statues. Superior. If only Pompey knew the truth. The horrible, awful truth.

“Yes…superior…” she seemed to trail off for a second, as she stared at the statue. She snapped back, as if shaking off a bad memory. “My apologies for this being such a late visit. But I have pressing…issues that I must speak to you about.”

She nodded slightly to the slave as she was given the glass, still thinking the slave was a servant. Then she sat down, holding the glass with both hands over her lap. She sighed, quickly thinking over how to put the words right.

“General…when you asked for an alliance…I declined. I…was wrong” she seemed to have a slight problem saying that. “General Pompey…what exactly did Im Kmmta tell you?” the Empress looked Pompey directly in the eyes, with a look that told him that he would know exactly which conversation she was talking about.

…

Citadel Ten, Turi System

“Another signal coming in”

“Is it the Phalanxians?”

“No, they’re still looking over the star charts, I’m guessing. It’s another small fleet of ships, apparently from someplace called the “Starfederation”. Still getting a lock on their position…they seem to be on the outskirts of the system.”

Commander Ikari grumbled. In his early 300’s, the elderly Atlantian was getting tiresome of his job. When he had taken his post here a year ago, he had hoped for this outer colony to be a quiet one. And at the time, it was known for being the “dead end” of Atlantian space. A small colony world on the fringes of Atlantian territory, next to a dormant allied empire. And for a time, it had been a good thing.

…Then everything went to hell. It had all begun with the immigration. Suddenly, Zoir and a collective of other races that the Zoir had ruled over began moving in en-mass. Something about a war, but no one had really payed attention. All that was known was that the Zoir empire had somehow imploded upon itself.

Then came a time-displacement refugee named Seth, who had been caught in a temporal vortex caused by a monstrous galactic landmark known simply as “The Galactic Maelstrom”. Two large black holes orbiting each other, spinning through the void of space and ripping apart anything they came close to…including each other.

And then? Then came the Atlantian expeditions and invasion fleets to Zoir space to help calm the raging pirate fleets, renegade Ascendancy forces, and Zoir warlords, in an attempt to stem the flow of immigration. That was when they found the Demon warship adrift in a Zoir system. A ship they had taken back to Citadel Ten for study.

And now? Now his base was surrounded by a full five-hundred Atlantian vessels, and allied and neutral fleets were warping in by the handful, as this system had become the forward base for the conflict.

The Gods hated him, Ikari knew. He just knew. It was the only logical explanation. He had somehow pissed off a God.

“Patching in the message now, commander” said his new communications officer, Lt. Rajin. Rajin wasn’t new to the station, he had been there longer then Ikari, a full two years. However, he was much younger, and had only recently been promoted.

A small green hologram of the starbase’s AI, Oberon, smirked as he stood on the main table in ops. “You have mail!”

“This is Battlegroup Tenacious, a force sent from the Starfederation. In accordance with the recently-signed Dominion Accords, we have a self-professed obligation to aid human, and human-esque species in need, against aggressors of any kind. This force is all that could be mustered at the moment. Should you be willing to accept our aid, we would be most willing to give it.”

“Human and Human…esque. May the Gods bless this Terran-centric universe we live in!” the AI said in a heavy sarcastic tone. The Ops crew simply rolled their eyes.

“Lt, send a reply message” the commander said, “Lt. Shar, get me a summary of those Dominion Accords”

“Yes sir”

“Battlegroup Tenacious, this is Atlantian Starbase Citadel Ten. We thank you for any aid you can muster. We are now sending you a tactical map of the current situation.

After this, a second message was sent out to both the Phalanxian and the Starfederation forces in the system.

“We are sending both of your fleets all unclassified information we have on the Demon forces. Perhaps we should set up a meeting? As both your forces are minor here, we could set up a joint effort.

…

Minerva System

Hikaru’s mind would find the Demon battleships, silently approaching his fleet. They were dark, yet warm. As if they shone brilliantly, like angels. Like miniature suns, which were completely dark. Like fallen angels.

Demons.

And yet, while they were dark, they weren’t necessarily evil. They were tasked, ordered to comply with certain commands. Their actions did not have evil intentions, even if the actions could indeed be classified by others as “evil”.

Probing deeper, Hikaru would find possibly more then he would want too. These creatures were ancient. And their masters were even more ancient. Countless species across the galactic disk, altered for certain purposes. Ancient wars between child and parent. Schisms which could still be felt today for why the universe was the way it was. Soldiers of light, armies of darkness.

Beings, fallen angels, tossed out of their heaven, the core of the galaxy, and forced to live in the abyss of the void.

Thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, billions of years of history, all in the blink of an eye. Ages coming and going.

And suddenly, the minds locked on. They knew they were being watched.

…

The two Demon Battlecruisers (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/bcruiser2.htm) decloaked, as they came right ontop of the fleet, tiny in comparison to the Star Destroyer. Both opened fire with a powerful barrage of Energized Tachyon Pulse Cannons, designed to fly right through most types of shielding. Mixed in with this attack would be Polyphasic Disintegration Torpedoes, who also could pass through most types of shielding. However, in addition, these torpedoes, upon impact, would destabilize the molecular structure of the hull.

The ships would be difficult to directly lock onto, as if they were truly shadows, as they looked to be. And in addition, their maneuverability was insanely high, as if they had negligible mass.

Despite all this, two small battlecruisers couldn’t hope to beat an entire taskforce of ships. But this was all that was available at the moment, and it would hope to test these people’s forces, to see how much of a threat they represented. They knew these people had some form of…powers, already. Psychics of a sort, yet not. They would require further investigation.

…

Portas System

The Demon fleet decloaked as the larger Olympian fleet opened fire on them. They split into three groups of ships. The larger Nodes and some of the battlecruisers stayed in front, returning fire with their own weapons head-on. The remaining battlecruisers led the scouts into two flanking groups, to swarm around the sides of Im’s fleet and pick off the weaker targets, like bloodthirsty lions.

Like the forces fighting in the Minerva system, the ships here didn’t have a high chance of winning, especially not when going toe to toe with a bigger fleet with ships just as powerful as they. If anything, this was to get visual confirmation on the Olympian ships no longer fighting in the clusters.

…And to give the Olympian commander of the fleet a possible big head, so that he or she would eventually underestimate them.

…

Return Message to the Imperium of GruntsandElites:

“We thank you for your assistance, and are supplying your forces with tactical maps and information on the Demon forces.

—Imperial Senate

The Senate was indeed grateful. By far the largest contribution of forces to the fight since Im Kmmta had arrived with an “Angel” fleet in tow.

…

Tartarus, Omega Centauri Globular Cluster

The age of the system was incredibly ancient. A population II star, one that had been burning since near the initial creation of the galaxy, and surrounded on all sides by stars just as ancient as it. One would have thought that planets couldn’t exist in the depths of the Globular Clusters, with hundreds of stars packed in a small amount of light-years. But what one did not realize is that, with so many stars, space tended to…stretch. The age old example with the piece of fabric simulating the space-time continuum would apply. The fabric would intent slightly with a regular star, more-so with a neutron star, and most so with a black hole. Now imagine hundreds upon thousands of incredibly ancient red-giant stars with a handful of main-sequence blue giants mixed in for good measure. Compacted into a small space…yet a space that had extended itself, and was larger on the inside then it was on the outside.

And in the center of it all sat one of the most ancient systems of them all. Tartarus, the deepest realm of the underworld. The stronghold for one of the oldest races of the galaxy.

He glanced out his window. Ancient stars, which he had gazed upon for millions of years. A prison wall, shutting him and his brothers and sisters off from the universe. But that time was over now. The Olympians were hurting. He knew this. They all knew this. And now…they had a chance to finally turn the tide. In a short while, his fleet would leave for the disk, to cut a clear path to the core, removing the races living in the disk. The failed children of the children.

“Hyperion” a voice said, as a figure walked into the dim room. Only the starlight from nearby stars lit the room, like a dozen Terran moons. The hallway they stood in was pale grey, and without much else other then the series of windows.

“Oceanus” Hyperion replied, nodding to the fellow Titan. He was dressed in full armor, a dark and sinister shape and format as the Demon ships, with light not reflecting off of it, yet with color…moving color.

Oceanus on the other hand was dressed in navy-colored robes, as was the traditional color of his chosen element. “I came to wish you well on your quest”

“Thank you, my friend” Hyperion replied, “I wish I could have you at my side. This proves to be a momentous occasion”

“Sadly, I am needed here, just in case. But I think even you can handle the failed experiments of the children” the ocean Titan smirked. Both made a small chuckle.

“I promise you, I will not fail. This time…finally, we have our chance. The other Pantheons have promised not to interfere this time”

“Indeed. The Olympians stand alone” Oceanus took a look out the window. “And their forces are stretched. We…we might finally be able to go home again. How I’ve missed it”

“We all have. We all have” Hyperion nodded, “…I have some…interesting cargo I’m taking with me”

“Oh?”

“An Atlantian. They call him… “Seth”, so I’m told. His memories altered to serve us…and with some interesting powers at his disposal. We can use him.”

The two Titans stood silent, looking out to the starry sky. They said nothing more, simply waiting for their time.

The giants were returning to the playground.

…

OOC: http://vv8.jetc.org/main2.html

Go to “Tech”, and then the stuff listed under “Sernaix”. That’s what I’m using for the Titan/Demon fleets.

Minerva System

Hikaru’s mind would find the Demon battleships, silently approaching his fleet. They were dark, yet warm. As if they shone brilliantly, like angels. Like miniature suns, which were completely dark. Like fallen angels.

Demons.

And yet, while they were dark, they weren’t necessarily evil. They were tasked, ordered to comply with certain commands. Their actions did not have evil intentions, even if the actions could indeed be classified by others as “evil”.

Probing deeper, Hikaru would find possibly more then he would want too. These creatures were ancient. And their masters were even more ancient. Countless species across the galactic disk, altered for certain purposes. Ancient wars between child and parent. Schisms which could still be felt today for why the universe was the way it was. Soldiers of light, armies of darkness.

Beings, fallen angels, tossed out of their heaven, the core of the galaxy, and forced to live in the abyss of the void.

Thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, billions of years of history, all in the blink of an eye. Ages coming and going.

And suddenly, the minds locked on. They knew they were being watched.
Hikaru blanched at the magnitude of the threat that he sensed. He sensed a complex web of histories, a web of powers and civilizations older than even the Galactic Republic of old. He sensed that the Enemy was not overall evil, although some of the things they have done would be considered evil, but still, he sensed that the Fallen Angels, if that's what they were, had intentions that are not exactly noble either for the galaxy and the universe at large.

If that was the case, then they had to be stopped before billions more innocents died when the Fallen Angels hatched their plans. After all, it is the grass that suffers when elephants fight.

Then he sensed that they knew he was there and quickly withdrew from his psychic probe, having learned all he could learn at this moment. But before he could report to the Captain on his findings, the ship suddenly shook.

The Fallen Ones have attacked!

…

The two Demon Battlecruisers decloaked, as they came right ontop of the fleet, tiny in comparison to the Star Destroyer. Both opened fire with a powerful barrage of Energized Tachyon Pulse Cannons, designed to fly right through most types of shielding. Mixed in with this attack would be Polyphasic Disintegration Torpedoes, who also could pass through most types of shielding. However, in addition, these torpedoes, upon impact, would destabilize the molecular structure of the hull.

The ships would be difficult to directly lock onto, as if they were truly shadows, as they looked to be. And in addition, their maneuverability was insanely high, as if they had negligible mass.

Despite all this, two small battlecruisers couldn’t hope to beat an entire taskforce of ships. But this was all that was available at the moment, and it would hope to test these people’s forces, to see how much of a threat they represented. They knew these people had some form of…powers, already. Psychics of a sort, yet not. They would require further investigation.
The shields of a Star Destroyer were considerable, capable of handling several hours of bombardment from an enemy fleet before collapsing. The weapons of the enemy proved considerable, as even as the massive shields deflected some of the energies and torpedoes involved, the energy and torpedoes caused damage, mainly hull pockets here and there. Neutronium-plated hulls resisted all manner of molecular disruption, but the enemy's unique torpedoes caused more trouble than expected, with hull breaches and explosions reported all over. Oddly enough, though the exact mechanism was unknown, the torpedoes caused damage similar to the Coredians' own Quantum Shattermissiles.

That thought passed fleetingly through the Captain's mind as he unnecessarily ordered the fleet to return fire. Though the enemy was hard to track even with computer-assisted gunners firing, the sheer volume of magnetic-jacketed plasma streams of green-blue turbolaser death from the Star Destroyer and her escorts, followed closely by blue ionized globs of ion cannon bolts and quick streams of concussion missiles and proton torpedoes meant that the enemy would be hard-pressed to escape unscathed even if they're as quick as the fighters pouring out to join the attack. That's not all, for beamlasers made of composite turbolasers (think those LAAT ball cannons but larger, capital-scale) sliced through the black sky like hot knives through butter, intent on doubling the damage done by the rest of the weapons. And if that was enough, there were more surprises waiting if the normal weapons of the fleet were not enough to do the work...

OOC: I would like to apologize in advance if gruntsandelites ruins this RP with his wank fleets of doom.

His eyes trailed off to the side and his eyebrows lowered and grew closer, a look of deep thought comming over him. He took another small sip, then looked back up at Atlantia.

"Well, I believe he mentioned something about an extra-galactic race known as 'The Demons' had come once, and nearly destroyed your entire civilisation, as well as others known as the....oh what were they called....The Zerg? No that wasn't it...Zhun....Zulu....Zor....oh, Zoir! Yes, Zoir, that's the one. Dear me." He chuckled at his absentmindedness. "He also said that these 'Demons' were spotted returning, and that if you were to survive you would need help. However, since you turned down alliance I didn't feel the need to be annoying, so I did not press the matter."

"Horsemen, split and engage the flanking groups. Split half the heavies and half the lights and engage as well. Do not let them surround us." Im's voice was calm, authoritative and everything the crew expected. "All other ships, attack the group charging us. If any one of those groups is destroyed, you are free to attack targets of oppertunity."

The Olympian ships split in near perfect formations, which then grew erratic and uniform and erratic seemingly at random and at the same time. Harder for the enemy to track.

Several of teh badly wounded ships did not survive the inital attack, but one managed to fly itself headlong into a Demon ship, hoping to take it out. The Trident shook under the enemy fire. "Dammit, what are those Atlantians doing? shining their engines for a parade? Get them here and get them here now!"

"Yes, Commander."

As the Trident rotated in a giant barrel roll, ramming smaller demon ships as it did so, firing in several directions at once, a message went out to the Atlantians. The Fourth Olympian Fleet would like to cordially invite you to join the battle to save this system from being utterly devestated.

They had numbers on their sides and battle hardened crews. Their ships were all damaged though, so thsi was far from an easy fight. Im had teh Trident engage one of the flanking groups, firing hundreds of plasma weapons and the single giant magnetic cannon, which flung over a hundred car sized spheres at the enemy. They had turned the weapon into a gigantic shotgun. Im hoped it would be enough.

Kora System, Atlantian space

Subspace. A dimension well known, but rarely used for usual FTL travel. A few nations utilised it's obvious benefits, but many did not. Subspace however, was not without it's problems. It's sensitive nature, the lack of stable nodes, and the general method of forming safe portals had created many headaches for many Engineers and scientists, including those in Outer Heaven MK II.

As far as most were concerned, there was only one stable Jump Node to the Kora system. With this in mind, it wouldn't be a stretch of imagination to say that the Altantians were...surprised when a previously unstable Jump Node opened up thousands of kilometers in-system, near to the primary planet of the system.

After a few moments, a large gold coloured ship emerged into the system, flanked by two smaller ships. The large, four kilometer Destroyer was a sight to behold indeed, very identical to an Orion Class Destroyer found within the GTVA, if a bit larger. While bristing with a large amount of weapons, and shield systems fully active, the ship, nor it's escorts seemed to have any hostile motives. They merely held their position, sensors actively scanning the surrounding space.

_________________________________________________________________

Admiral Vargo, Commander of the 4th Fleet, kept his gaze on the viewscreen in front of him, watching the real-time events of the system, as well as reading many scan analysis' littering the outskirts of the image. Steepling his fingers, Vargo's face was impassive. With a fair amount of straight black hair, striking red eyes and blue skin, Vargo was indeed a sight to behold to those that had never encountered a Chiss. Seeming to come to a decision, Vargo looked down to the crew pits around his chair, and found the Officer he was looking for.

"Ensign L'vance, I believe it's time we made our intention's known. Open a broadcast channel to everything in the system."

_________________________________________________________________

After a few moments of tense silence, a message burst forth throughout the Kora System, accessible to anyone with communication's equipment. While the language was alien, once translated, a message along these lines was recieved:

[To any military ships in the Kora System, this is Admiral Vargo, Commander of the 4th Fleet. The Glorious Empire of Dos Volodis recieved a call for help, and I have been dispatched in response. I am not willing however, to state any other intentions over this open broadcast, but be assured that we are friendly.]

Ships sped forward, moving in haphazard formation - a Starfederation battlecruiser was a fleet unto itself, the other ships served primarily as fire support, logistical support, and served to delay elements of enemy fleets whilst the main capital ships dealt with the problems they faced.

It was a simple way of organising fleets, but one that summarised the Starfederation mindset - don't build much, but when you do build something, make it able to scour an entire planet of life whilst holding off half a navy.

Understood, Atlantean forces. We thank you for the tactical update. Should you wish it, we could set up a holoconference, without the tiresome need for physical contact.

Skimming forward, they moved to a reasonably safe distance from the Atlantean fleet - there could be no sudden betrayals from that distance, but it also made them close enough to support the Atlanteans should they come under fire.

OOC: 1010102. Hey, yeah. You have any intention of posting at all? Ever? Or are you just going to keep posting pointless OOC posts attacking posters in this thread and bringing in rivalries that have no point here, all the while continuing to refuse to read five measly pages that would explain everything about this thread?

Either read the five damn pages in “The Lies of Gods”, get off Gruntsandelites’s case, and post something worthwhile, or get the hell out of my thread. Your choice.

Thank you, and have a nice day.

IC:

Minerva System

One of the Battlecruiser’s left side was blown clean off by a barrage of plasma and missile fire. A massive flash of light and radiation exploded from the blast epicenter, like a miniature supernova. It tumbled around, spiraling out of control…right on a collision course for one of the ships.

The other battlecrusier veered off, suffering minor wounds on its hull (which had already begun to “heal”, for the lack of a better term). It jumped to warp, putting a quick end to the engagement, and leaving the fleet to contend with the out of control demon ship.

The ships would have dealt more damage then what one would expect from ships of their size, as if they had been like capital ships. One could only wonder what a fleet of them could do. …Or if there were even larger ships…

…

Taledonia

Atlantia nodded solemnly, knowing where to start. “This galaxy has…a long and twisted history. Wars, species, empires rising and falling…the creation and destruction of whole systems. Horrible lies which have penetrated whole societies and accepted as truth for much of their recorded history. I, myself, am from a prior generation, a prior age. So are my people. So are…were, the Zoir” she mentioned herself casually, with no explanation.

“I suppose I should elaborate on what Im told you. He was…a little vague” she said, “A little over twelve and a half thousand standard Terran years ago…as Earth was engulphed in its last major ice age, our homeworld was destroyed by a species known as the Zoir. We fled, some of us eventually reaching Earth and settling on a large island chain in the mid-atlantic…a chain who’s remains you now call the Azores”

She took a sip from her glass, the first one she had taken, and continued.

“We, as well as a coalition of other races, had been fighting the Zoir, who were on an imperialistic streak, fighting to sustain their fleets”

This tactic would speak much to Pompey, considering the Roman Empire’s need to continuously expand to sustain itself.

“They were building this fleet to…ironicly, defend everyone. A while before, the Zoir, we, and many others fought another race of beings…one that had been around for millions…possibly billions of years. They are the demons that Im mentioned”

Atlantia’s hands wrapped themselves around the glass slightly tighter then before.

“They come from the Globular clusters on the outskirts of the galaxy…exiled from their home in the core. The…the angels, the people who are Im’s superiors, are from the core. These two sides have been duking it out for eons…the demons occasionally send fleets into the disk in an effort to wipe the younger races out, to keep the angels busy”

A complete and total fabrication. A lie, a massive distortion of the truth. Atlantia’s morals lay in shambles, and the blame rested on the gods silently mocking her from across the room.

She sighed, as if this was painful for her.

“Im understated them. They do mean to destroy us…but they also mean to destroy everyone else. The Zoir…were always the traditional first line of defense. The best equipped to deal with them”

She looked down.

“About a month ago, shortly after our meeting…Atlantian patrols in Zoir space found a demon warship adrift. ….Every world so far discovered that had been listed as life supporting…has been razed and rendered uninhabitable”

She looked at Pompey, directly in the eyes. Her face was haunted.

“Four billion people, Pompey. Four billion, and not one of them got a word out”

Irony. The destroyers had become the destroyed.

…

Portas System

Explosions erupted across the battlefield as Olympian and Titan forces duked it out in a blaze of fire.

One of the Battlecruisers exploded into shards as an out-of-control Olympian vessel rammed into it. Other smaller scout ships fell victim to the Trident’s own ramming actions. The smaller vessels didn’t stand a chance against the larger Trident…although several of them together could punch a good-sized dent in its hull.

The two larger nodes moved in, flying right into the middle of the Olympian fleet, and opening fire in all directions.

As this was happening, the Trident got a return message from the Atlantian fleet “defending” Portas.

“Trident, we’re only a recon fleet! We don’t have enough firepower to risk it…and what if it’s a trap? They could be waiting for us to leave the planet!”

Highly reluctant, but with a valid point. At any rate, some Atlantians weren’t as…enthusiastic of fighting this war as others. Perhaps it was a newer admiral…

…

Kora System

Cirrus. The new homeworld of Atlantis. The bastion of peace, of hope, of salvation for the Atlantian people. A testament to the fact that one COULD start over, no matter how many times things fell apart.

…So why the hell was it that strange and unidentified ships INSISTED on warping, sliding, jumping, skiing, pogo-sticking, or whatever the hell kind of drive they were using into deep orbit of this world on a semi-monthly basis?

Well…not EXACTLY unidentified. The records indicated it was a Klonor-style ship.

The vast sphere of orbital defense platforms covering the planet came to life, locking all weapons on the intruders. The fleet locked weapons as well, as did Citadel One, the ten kilometer starbase.

A few seconds of tense silence followed. But before the Atlantians could issue a demand, the response came.

[To any military ships in the Kora System, this is Admiral Vargo, Commander of the 4th Fleet. The Glorious Empire of Dos Volodis recieved a call for help, and I have been dispatched in response. I am not willing however, to state any other intentions over this open broadcast, but be assured that we are friendly.]

A few more seconds of silence…but the weapon platforms seemingly deactivated.

A response in standard came:

“This is Citadel One, home port for the Atlantian fleet in this sector. We acknowlage your offer to help. However…next time, please refrain from jumping into our home system unannounced.”

-Citadel One

A second message followed shortly after.

“What sort of intentions? Do you wish to meet with someone?”

-Citadel One

…

Turi System

“Do you think we can support a holoconference, sir?” asked Rajin, still manning the communications station in ops of Citadel Ten.

“Gee, I. don’t. know.” Came the irritated response from the holographic representation of Oberon on the ops main table. “Maybe if you hold hands, sing, and wish REALLY HARD”

“Ok…let me REPHRASE” said Rajin, “Do you think the Phalanxians can support a holoconference? I’m not certain their non-military tech is up to par with ours”

“Ask them” replied Ikari, “And send a message to the Starfederation informing them of the situation”

“Yes sir”

“Lt. Ovinal” said Ikari, to his science officer, “Get me options on alternate modes of communication we can use to interface with the Phalanxians if they don’t have holo-technology. That includes viewscreen alterations”

“Yes sir”

Two messages were sent out. One to the Starfederation fleet,

“A holoconference would be ideal. However, please give us a moment while we confirm on weather or not the Phalanxians need to adjust their communication methods to compensate”

And one to the Phalanxian fleet,

“We are setting up a holoconference with the other fleet in this system. Do you have holo-technology, or another form of communication that you could alter to communicate with us?”

…

The Void

Two Habitats (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/habitat2.htm). Four-hundred Dreadnoughts (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/dread2.htm). Another Two-hundred Nodes (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/node2.htm). And each Node had Four Battlecruisers (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/bcruiser2.htm), twelve Scouts (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/scout2.htm), and hundreds of Corsairs (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/corsair2.htm) docked with it. A massive armada…but only a sampling of the Titan’s power.

But it would be enough for the second wave…at least for now.

Deep within the center Habitat, the flagship of the fleet, the Hand of Vengeance, Hyperion moved silently down the ever-changing halls of his ship. He approached his destination, a small room with a cylinder, and two demons.

He couldn’t see the demons exactly…they liked to keep themselves hidden. They were…there, yet not there. Not quite cloaking, and much more then camouflage. He knew where they were though, and what they were doing. And that was enough.

“How is our patient?” he asked, moving into the room.

“Still asleep…he shall awaken when we need him. His life signs are at optimum…and we have given him our powers, in addition to his own”

“Excelent” Hyperion placed his hand on the glass of the cylinder, over the chest of the body. Above his hand sat the face of a young Atlantian male…

“You shall be our Avatar”

"Ma'am, we're getting a message from Citadel Ten, I'm putting it on the speakers now," the ship's AI, Basatan, stated before using the holo-emitters to take the shape of a rather large and demonic looking crab.*

“We are setting up a holoconference with the other fleet in this system. Do you have holo-technology, or another form of communication that you could alter to communicate with us?”


"Just let them know that we're more than able to support a holo-conference," Brooks said before once again burying her nose in the star charts.

"Yes we are more than capable of supporting a holo-conference and are ready whenever for one."




((*Points if you get the reference.))

Lock alarms had be going for a few moments, but after the transmission was recieved, they halted, regardless of whether they were still locked on or not. The weaponry the Atlantians were using had dis-engaged somewhat.

A response in standard came:

“This is Citadel One, home port for the Atlantian fleet in this sector. We acknowlage your offer to help. However…next time, please refrain from jumping into our home system unannounced.”

A second message followed shortly after.

“What sort of intentions? Do you wish to meet with someone?”

Vargo sighed. Maybe this nation simply assumed he opened up on any ship not Atlantian? Pressing a button on his arm-rest, he opened a live channel to the large Spacestation, allowing himself a small smile. It was rare that he encountered...well, anything larger and better armed than his ship. Then again, he'd never seen much action outside the borders of Dos Volodis.

Clearing his throat, Vargo spoke in basic, "I wish to communicate with the person in charge with fending off these Great Destroyers. Preferably with haste, in our experience, Great Destroyers don't tend to mess around with formalities before destroying everything in sight."

Im Kmmta himself appeared on the screen, smoke whisping around the bridge. "Atlantian... if you do not engage the enemy immediatly, I will order my fleet to attack YOUR fleet after we are finished with the Demons. And believe me.... you would find us as dangerous a foe as the Demons." The image cut out as Im's ship was rocked with fire from the Nodes.

The Trident turned broadside and returned fire with everything it had, along with several heavy cruisers. The fleet was losing light cruisers and frigates, but was managing to keep many of the larger ships.

The Archangel fired one of it's shells into one of the nodes and suddenly turned belly up and rotated around to face the Atlantian fleet, firing it's other magnetic cannon. The sphere tears through space, blowing past the Atlantian ships by mere hundreds of meters and ripping into the atmosphere of the planet. Thirty percent of it manages to survive re-entry and land in one of the planet's oceans. The point had been made, though. Im Kmmta was not a being to make angry.

A heavy cruiser uses the Trident as a shield and as the larger ship breaks off an attack run, it flys itself directly at the engines of the larger ship, hoping their sacrifice would cost the enemy power and manueverability. The Trident, meanwhile, had several small hull breaches and was circling the battle, shields recharging. The ship was tough, but not invincible.

"Well, then. Lady Minerva, could you please simulate a conference room? Early Victorian furniture. We're not in combat, so you can devote as much as your energies to the reassembling and sustaining of your molecular formations as you like."

The AI, named H022-JJ77NBF6, although Boriial preferred to call her Lady Minerva - a title she thoroughly enjoyed, although she had not yet told him that, and did not plan to, began the construction of a Victorian-era conference room. Soldiers far from home desired comfort, and the Starfederation was not about to throw them into a war without it.

It did not reassemble such a room atom by atom - rather, it compressed air into the shapes it desired using a molecular stasis field, and then projected a hologram over the entire thing. Each captain and admiral had their own small fancies, and, no doubt, Admiral Boriial had always wanted to conduct negotiations inside a Victorian-era room.

The lights dimmed, and the chairs grew, becoming more elaborate, carved, with cushions bearing strange devices on them, a table in the middle a work of fabulous art. Paintings of long-dead monarchs adorned the walls, and a faint musty smell came over the room. Dust particles shimmered in what little light there was, and Boriial sat back with a satisfied sigh.

No doubt the rooms of the others would look somewhat different - but for now, he had the comfort of somewhere that felt oddly familiar, despite the age it was from.

He held a cigar up to his lips, breathing in the heavy smoke that came from it. It was, of course, merely decorative - the contamination of atmosphere aboard a ship was a crime in the Starfederation navy, and, at its worst, could see you thrown in the brig and discharged. He set it aside, and, the third fleet's avatar appearing - a crab of all things, and began to speak.

"Gentlemen. And gentlewomen, and gentlemachines, should you be such. I would elaborate into the various sexes of other nonhuman species, but it's hardly necessary. As it stands, the tactical update in this system has told us much, as well as all of the data on these.. demons, that we've been sent. Essentially, it merely confirms what we already suspected. The Dominion Accords are a set of accords signed in order to allow us to bypass legal banalities when assisting non-aggressor human, or human-esque races - in morality, not biology, and send what we can."

He took a breath. The cigar had evaporated, a tiny tornado-shape of smoke spinning gently in the centre of the table. Minerva showing off again, he thought. "In essence, we're rather interested in making sure you're not obliterated by a race that seems rather intent on doing just that. As it stands, the Starfederation is having some rather troubling internal affairs, and so our fleets cannot be sent. However, I was sent, with one of our capital ships, in order to investigate the situation further, and deliver what aid I can."

"Well, then, my friends. What stories do we all have to tell?"

Cirrus System

The commander of the base, who’s face would appear on Vargo’s screen, nodded with a diplomatic smile. Atlantians were humanoid creatures, characterized by their tanned skin, and complete lack of pigment in their hair, meaning it was completely white. There were…other things that separated them from other species, but it wasn’t as visibly noticeable.

He was a youngish commander, looking to be about 30 in Terran standards (although probably much older considering he was an Atlantian).

“Acknowledged. Our Empress and head Admirals are out of the system. Now patching you through to the Senate”

The image switched to one of a middle-aged woman, somewhere in her 50’s by Terran standards.

“This is Senator Andromeda, head of the Imperial Senate of Atlantis. What can I do for you?”

Interesting. Blue skin. …Elarians? She thought to herself, looking to see if his ears were pointed or not. …Elarians not hailing from Elara, and with a Kolnor ship? Probably just a coincidence.

…

Portas System

The Atlantian fleet watched as the Archangel’s attack flew towards their planet. They opened fire, but the attack flew past far too quickly for them to get a decent shot.

“We…see your point, Im Ktmma. Moving in to assist”

Half of the Atlantian scout fleet reluctantly moved out from the planet, into the battle, all weapons blazing. Red beams of Orcalic energy, plasma weapons, and a hail of missiles. Many of them, as they moved in closer, seemed to become engulphed in fireballs. They glowed like miniature suns, slamming into the out-laying demon ships in the battle, and “burning” through the hull (really, more of just releasing the photons that made up the ship).

ESG’s were a wonderful thing.

None of the Atlantian ships were above the class of a light cruiser, as it was only a scout fleet. But a hundred vessels would still be a well-welcomed reinforcement.

As this was happening, two of the battlecruisers moved to intercept the Trident…

…

Turi System

Admiral Koth made his way into the holodeck of Citadel Ten, at a rather quick pace. Opening the door, he stepped inside. If only the commander had given him some advance warning…

“Computer, holoconference mode. Connect to current holoconference in progress with Starfederation and Phalanxian ships. Authorization code alpha-gamma-pi-omega. Set personal holographic display to that of…the Odin’s conference lounge”

The Odin, his ship. An Asgard class battlecruiser. The holographic display changed to that of a rectangle room, with a large window spanning one wall, two doors on the corners of the opposing side, and a long table with chairs in the center. As those appeared, so did the Starfederation Admiral and…a giant alien crab.

The middle-aged Admiral cocked his eyebrow in slight amusement, before turning his attention to the other Admiral’s words.

Dominion Accords. Interesting…if not just a little vague.

“From what we can tell…” he started, after the other Admiral had finished. What he was about to say was a complete fabrication of the truth. He knew WAY more then he was going to say, and WAY more when what he wanted to know. “…The Demons are an extragalactic threat, from the Globular clusters in orbit around the Galaxy. Of course, you probably already know this.” He was referencing the demon war from about fifty years ago, “We are just their current target…Computer, map layout. Zoir territory”

A holographic map appeared in mid-air. This option would be offered to the other two “delegates”, so to speak. Atlantian space was “south-west” of Zoir space, which was the main interest of the map.

“To make this short and sweet…about fifty years ago, a Demon fleet attempted to eradicate life from this galaxy. A coalition of forces was assembled to beat them back. We won”

He paused.

“Now they’re back. About a month ago, we found a derelict Demon craft in Zoir space…with every known inhabited world razed to the ground and rendered uninhabitable. The Zoir Empire had a population of around four billion. Now the remains are estimated to be around a few million”

He paused again, to see if anyone wanted to interject.

OOC: I would like to apologize in advance if gruntsandelites ruins this RP with his wank fleets of doom.

OOc: I crappified my fleet. The frigates are a lot weaker now. Most of my other ships stayed about the same.

“This is Senator Andromeda, head of the Imperial Senate of Atlantis. What can I do for you?”

Vargo held his gaze intently on the screen for a moment, his red eyes sharp and piercing to most. Behind his eyes, Andromeda could probably see, or at least, detect the cogs in his mind moving, mulitple calculations, thoughts, outcomes passing through his mind all at once, and forming into a large picture. He then smiled, a stark contrast to his eyes, which were still as sharp as knives. Flattening his white Fleet Admiral Uniform, he leaned in slightly towards the viewscreen.

"Senator Andromeda, this is Admiral Vargo, Commander of the 4th Fleet. My Nation recieved a distress call very recently from your Nation. I am here, as a Representative and Negotiator for my Nation, but also as Commander of the Ultionis obviam Everto Fleet. You ask what you can do for me. Tell me what you can about this threat, and give me any co-ordinates that would contain a Demon Ship, and not any that you've of course captured. I also would like a location that can serve as host to my Fleet, preferably somewhere where I can co-ordinate with your Fleet Commanders."

Vargo sat back, and awaited the Senator's response. His face still remained pleasant, but his eyes were still calculating, sharp and most of all powerful.

[OOC: 101001 or whatthehellever and Grunts... take your personal problems out of the thread. It has no bearing on what is happening. If Grunts godmods and becomes a prick, he'll be ejected from the RP. Until then, he can stay. As for you, binary-boy, you've done nothing but OOC posts and I can assure you that your presence is not welcomed. Good day.

And before anyone says anything about this post, I can assure you... I would not be controlling the Demons if I did not know AO was okay with it.]

Turi System

Ships seemed to appear from nowhere, more and more arriving every second, for nearly a minute. When the number stopped increasing, space had become crowded by nearly two thousand five hundred ships, all with weapons online and shields up. Thankfully, they all read as Olympian or unidentified. No Demons were present. Ironically this unexpected arrival was the only fleet that they knew was going to arrive here.

The largest ship was obviously a mobile shipyard, meant to service many capital ships at once. The others were all ships like Im's small fleet, but on a grander scale. Battleships, heavy cruisers, battlecruisers, light cruisers, frigates, carriers, assault ships, five gigantic cargo ships... And at the center was a ship unlike any they had seen before, well armed for it's battleship sized hull, but designed for command and control. A transmission was sent to Citidal Ten, the planet, the Fleet and anyone else in system...

An older gentleman, balding but with a beard that would cover six heads fully and a muscular body that was all but impossible, stood slowly. He bore a very slight resemblence to the crew around him, who were all Im's species. Beside him sat a three headed hellhound, whose appearence brought up only one thought: Cerberus. The man patted the human sized dog on one of it's heads and stepped forward. "This is the Guardian of Tartarus, flagship of the Fourth Olympian Fleet, contacting the fleet defending the Turi system." He paused, for effect no doubt. "My name is Hades, Lord of the Underworld. I am here to personally oversee the end of this war... I will not have such creatures as these 'Demons' harming the society that we spent so long building." Despite the intital reaction to reject such claims as impossible, 'Hades' looked almost exactly as he was portayed in many ancient artworks, he had Cerberus at his side, he commanded a fleet that called itself 'Olympian' and he looked 100% convinced that what he was saying was the absolute truth.

He went on, his low baritone almost demanding people listen. His crew seemed unaffected though. Probably used to it. "Many of you have believed the Gods to be myths. Or that we have abandoned you long ago. We have not, but have been observing... What we have observed makes us proud. The threat you now face has forced me to come her myself, though you may be a bit disappointed that I cannot end this war with a simple wave of my hand or shouted order." he sighs. "These Demons are creatures that are able to defy even Our collective will. That alone would make them an annoyance.... a dark thorn in our side. That they wish to destroy the work that we have done makes them a threat that must be extinguished. Long ago, the Gods walked with great armies into battle armed with spears and swords and chariots. Now I ride into battle with you in great ships that can do what no archer could dream of doing."

He pauses again and smiles a bit... an odd thing to see someone claiming to be Hades doing. "You have grown as a people into a society that is self sufficent... you have no great need of the Gods assistance in normal times, which is why we stayed away for the most part, giving small little pieces of advice here and there, in ways that are most unobtrusive. Why? One must let their children learn and grow on their own at some point... and that is what we did with you. But this threat is too great, we must step in again and make sure that you have the chance to continue to learn and grow into a society that would make even the Gods take pause and smile in admiration and pride. That is the destiny that We have invisioned for you... but we must stop the Demons for such things to be able to happen."

Hades chuckled a bit. "I know what stories have been told about me... that Hades has become a synonym of 'evil' and 'darkness' becuase I rule the Underworld. I am not the Satan that Terrans fear. I am not evil... I am neutral, neither heroic nor vile. Do not fear me, nor the other Gods. The Atlantians are our chosen people, for you are the ones that have worshipped us the longest and the ones that believe the most. You will be able to tell your children and grand children that the Gods are real... and that when they look at your republic, they are pleased and are proud that they helped shape such a society."

So much for calling the Olympian fleet 'Angels' and leaving it at that. Nooooooo.... ego-maniacal aliens with God fixations have to put on a show. Well, at least he didn't blow the entire lid off the war. He kept quiet about the Titans and hopefully improved morale, by revealing half the truth.

---------

Portas System

Im Kmmta was not a happy man. His ship was being rocked by fire from two battlecruisers, his fleet was becoming damaged to points that were worrying, those Nodes were still operational and the only bright spot in his day was seeing the Atlantian scout fleet. That made him scowl more. "We're supposed to be saving them, not the other way around."

As hiw weapons officer was hauled away, dead, Im took the controls and began to return fire, while still remaining in command of the fleet. He thanked the scientists that made him fro the good work they did on his enhanced mind. "All ships, report if you can. If you can't respond... do your best. We'll make it." Reports flooded in of damage from half the fleet... the other half were not so lucky. A full quarter of his fleet was debris and another was on it's way. The ship bucked with another hit. He ran to the helm and tapped in a course. "Execute at my command. Don't question, just trust me." He got back to the weapons station. "Helm... NOW!"

In space, the battleship defied every law known to science, it seemed... it pulled sharply up, came to almost a complete stop as all of the foward momentum was transfered to the 'climb' and rolled over while 'balanced' on one it's powerful engines. Even in space, one couls see that this was likely to be bad for the ship's frame. It's bow came down to face one of the battlecruisers and opened fire with every weapon it had.

Im watched as the Demon battlecruiser tried to evade, but speed counted in space too... so did inertia. The ship was slammed hard, decks boiling away. It started to drift as the magnetic cannon fired a shell... and tunneled through the striken battlecruiser to midship. It was not likely to be a threat any longer. The other battlecruiser was a different story. It was coming down on the Trident and was firing every thing it had at the battleship, which was still trying to get moving again.

Im rolled the ship to keep the strongest shields facing the cruiser. He wasn't sure how to get out of this, until he saw the Archangel gracefully barrel roll over the Trident and fire both magnetic cannons. The old, heavily armoed ship was the only ship in his fleet that had sustained only 'moderate armor damage'. With ten layers of shields and weapons from nearly every fleet in this quarter of the galaxy on it's hull, it was a force even Im didn't want to be against. The Archangel absorbed a good amount of the fire that the Trident was about to recieve and shrugged it off. By the time the Archangel was spinning back down into the battle proper, the Trident was up to speed again and the otehr battlecruiser was not as battle efficent as it could have been, with several hardpoints missing and a sizable dent in it's armor, the shell still imbedded in it. The Trident wasn't lucky either, with deep slices in its hull.

Im looked over the battle as ten of his heavy cruisers massed fire on one of the nodes.... plasma so bright it hurt to watch, mixed with shells, missiles, disrupting beams from the Four Horsemen, who were all damaged but far from out of the fight. He knew they had orders from Hades to leave the system if they stood no chance of surviving. Those four ships were the most valuable weapons the Fourth Fleet had. If they could take out that Node... this battle would be well on it's way to being over. Well, so long as a Habitat didn't appear. If that happened, this system was on it's own.

Minerva System

One of the Battlecruiser’s left side was blown clean off by a barrage of plasma and missile fire. A massive flash of light and radiation exploded from the blast epicenter, like a miniature supernova. It tumbled around, spiraling out of control…right on a collision course for one of the ships.

The other battlecrusier veered off, suffering minor wounds on its hull (which had already begun to “heal”, for the lack of a better term). It jumped to warp, putting a quick end to the engagement, and leaving the fleet to contend with the out of control demon ship.

The ships would have dealt more damage then what one would expect from ships of their size, as if they had been like capital ships. One could only wonder what a fleet of them could do. …Or if there were even larger ships…
"Sir! We've got hull breaches in several of the forward sections and a fire just broke out in the hangar bay!" A damage-report officer reported over a howling hurricane. In the background, the unique crackle of alchemic energy could be heard and the wind lessened. "Uh, scratch the hull breach in section 31. Major Eagles has just closed the breach there."

The Captain acknowledged the latest reports when he heard that the Nebulon-B2 frigate is frantically trying to get out of the way of the stricken enemy ship. The engines of the frigate ignited, and it rolled out of the way of the ship, but the demon ship clipped one of the 'wings' that made an upside down 'V', instantly killing many a crewmember.

Captain Ichigo Masato frowned as he heard the extend of the damage reports. The fleet lost two of its Corvettes and one of the Victory Star Destroyers was heavily damaged. Even the Heatwave recieved a fair share of battle scars. This is more damage than I had expected from ships of their size. I wouldn't want to find out if these enemies have bigger ships...It's clear that the military will have to send more ships here if we're going to do any good.

"Sir, what should we do about that ship that just crashed into the Redoubt?" The XO asked. "Should we try to capture it for the folks back home?"

"Hmm. Perhaps...yes." The Captain nodded. "We'll need to learn more about this foe. Turn on the tractor beams so that it doesn't float away, and ready a boarding party."

"Yes, sir." The XO turned to his subordinates, and not a second later, the Star Destroyer and two heavy cruiser escorts snagged the crippled enemy ship with tractor beams.

"Hikaru? I would like you to lead the parties." The Captain ordered.

"All right." The Jedi nodded and left the bridge for the Marine barracks. Niklas, excited at being party to a possible fight, followed right after.

The fire in the hangar bay had been contained by the time Hikaru selected three teams of Marines to board the ship. One team will be lead by him and his apprentice. The other two teams will be lead by ninja Chuunins Walker and Trivette*. Chuunin is a rank equivalent to Knight. Major James Eagles, the alchemist, will stay on board to help with the damage control. Alchemists are jointly controlled by the military and the Jedi Order, so it's not uncommon for them to have the starting rank of Major.

The plan was to board at three different locations to ensure that any enemies would be surrounded by the Coredian Marines packing heat and eliminated before they could intiate any self-destruct device.

(You can pick the locations)

The assault shuttles lifted off from the hangar bay and entered space, followed by a squadron of fighters whos job would be to eliminate any weapons emplacements that attack the shuttles. The shuttles cruised swiftly, moving closer and closer to the hull of the enemy ship...

OOC: *Cookie for reference! :D

Ic: In the fleet's center were several very large warships, known as BattleStations. Each one contained several AI minds. The one in command however, the one most would be dealing with, was Admiral Herzer* of the Charles Talbot. A grizzled veteran who decided to have his brain Positroned, he was in command of the first and second fleet.
Once they received the information and the message, Herzer began pouring over it.
He thought on several strategies, and decided on one.

Once they dropped out of WarpSpace, Admiral Herzer immediately began issuing orders over the Positronic Field.
Frigates! Form Battlegroups of five and engage individual targets. If you lose more than three in your battlegroup, withdraw to coordinates Coordinates scrambled for reforming into new battle groups.
Cruisers, engage in SlipSpace tactics, you know the drill.
Carriers, release all fighters and drones, then drop into SlipSpace and stay there until the battle is over.
Dreadnaughts and BattleStations, form up into Alpha Strike groups and attack.

Frigates grouped up and started attacking the Demonic Warships, falling one after another, but falling back and regrouping when the heat became to great.
Cruisers would drop out of SlipSpace, fire all weapons, enter SlipSpace and reload, and repeat.
Carriers quickly released the Valkry Fighters and drones, which swarmed about the Demonic ships. Drones, when they had depleted their very limited ammunition, would charge into the enemy ships and explode with the power of a nuclear bomb, due to their generators.
The dreadnaughts and BattleStations would form up into groups and attack, starting with Plasma Torpedoes from long range, moving to Dimensional Cutters and Rippers, then into Fusion Nukes, and finally, at close range, Graviton hellbores.

OOc: Plasma torpedoes, are, well, plasma torpedoes. Dimensional Cutters and Rippers basically rip holes in the dimensional fabric, releasing large amounts of energy which cause much damage, some of it skipping shields. Fusion nukes use fusion and basically become a mini-sun and then die out. Graviton hellbores fire incredibly dense material; so dense it warps space, shedding anti-missile fire, and hitting the ships, severely damaging the armor. The weakness of Graviton hellbores, however, was that they basically bounced off shields.

NOTE: My shields are stronger than normal shields and resist phased weapons (ones that would skip normal shields). My ships WarpCrystal armor supplies a smaller, secondary shield in case the first fails. Also note that my ships are smaller in size than normal, to account for there being so many ships.

*Kudos to those who get the reference

"Sir, there is something I think you should see."

"Now what could that be, Private? Your diary?"

"No sir, we decoded that message and..."

"....Dear sweet mother of God....Contact SICON HQ on the double! They need to know this and send a message to the President!"

***

The Atlanteans call for help had been lost amongst the infinite pathways of the galaxy, slowing down the already slow ripples as it made it's way through the galaxy. However, in due time, it reached many ears, some answering the call and sending aid, while others ignored it. Many were unable to decipher it or were unable to receive it. Fortunately for them, their message was received by another nation. The Terran Federation, a fast-growing young nation which was still slightly scarred from the horrific Bug War it had fought three decades ago, had received the message. A patrol group on the edge of Federation space had received the message and quickly relayed it to SICON headquarters on Earth. And all hell had broken loose. Sky Marshal Vaire, leader of SICON, and of the entire Federation military, sat in his chair, facing an oaken table, with eight more seats around the table. He wore a dark green shirt and pants, with his rank clearly displayed on his front, along with all his campaign medals. His head was hung low, eyes hidden. At the table was Rachel Stahura, the woman in charge of Intel until Sara Westman came back, Fleet Admiral Harper, who was in command of the entire Federal fleet, and General Jack Higgins of the Mobile Infantry, who commanded all the land forces at the Federations disposal. They all sat, waiting anxiously for him to begin. Vaire raised his head, his eyes open, a clear determination within them. "I have called you here today, because we have a matter of urgency to consider, one which would require the Archon's attention. However, since we cannot do so at this time, I have enacted Article G, Section-02 of the Constitution concerning the office of the President, and I will be acting in his stead. Any problems with that?" They all looked at each other, before looking back, not saying a word. "Good, then let's begin. Rachel, you may begin." Stroking some of her brown locks behind her ear, the Intel representative stood up, walking over to the far wall, which had a large, blank screen and turned to face them.

"Sirs, at 0800 hours today, Patrol Group Alpha Zero managed to catch a faint transmission that was echoing from an unknown region of space. At first, they had a hard time translating it, as it was too faint for us to hear and there was some strange howling in the background, some sort of spatial interference. When they finally managed to clean it up, a process of non-stop work for two hours, they managed to get us this." Turning, she tapped a key on the screen behind her, causing it to activate. A voice echoed from the speakers:

A message to all space powers:

Several decades ago, a war was fought. A war which decimated worlds. A war between a coalition of Milky Way powers and an armada of enemy warships from a race known only as the demons, from beyond the rim of the galaxy, in the Globular clusters.

This enemy was defeated once, but has now come back with a much larger force, and have begun a war on the people of Atlantis. They have already decimated almost every populated world in what was once known as the Zoir Empire, and are coming for us. After they destroy us, they will come for you as well.

We must come together. A new coalition must be formed, if any of us are to survive. Please, I urge you. I beg you. As a member of a major spacefaring power. As a member of…as a sentient being. Please, help us. We cannot win this war…we cannot survive without your help.

Head Senator Andromeda of the House of Poseidon, Atlantian Imperial Senate

Tapping the key again to stop it, she turned to the stunned faces of Harper and Higgins. "There you have it, another race, apparently human if the voice wavepattern test results are to be believed, calling for help. Alpha Zero quickly sent this to us, and we informed SICON. The rest history." The room was quiet, long seconds ticking by, before the Fleet Admiral turned to the Sky Marshal.

"Sir, what will our course of action be?" Jack interceded.

"Wait a moment here, how do we know this isn't a trap by someone blasted aliens who copied human speech patterns?" Vaire turned his baleful gaze on him.

"I say it is. The test results ran a little too quickly for it to be a copy. Besides, if they are human, maybe we can convince them to join us, double our territory. Their technology could be far ahead of us, and we can have them owe us through this. Besides, the citizenry has been getting antsy, no wars has gotten them into the frame of mind that change is needed in the Federation. Some even want to institute a draft." The eyes of all the other members went flat. "Yes, as you can tell, we need something to occupy their minds, and this is the perfect medium to do so. Fleet Admiral Harper, I want you to get a Task Force together and ready it to head for the coordinates Intel has managed to locate, Jack, get some of your M.I. boys, together. We are heading into a nice, little war. Gear up the Federation, I want this conflict to be done right people! The fleet has to be ready a week from now! Dismissed!" They all nodded and stood up, leaving the room. Rachel glanced at Vaire.

"You said I should remain behind, sir?" The Sky Marshal nodded.

"Yes, I want for a major Intel detachment to go with the fleet, along with some Psi Korps. I want any technology you can find, information on their nations, and if there are any aliens, let me know. We have to make sure the humans are kept safe." She nodded gravely. He smiled. "Good, dismissed." She turned and walked out, as Vaire stared at the screen, his eyes lost in thought.
***

A week later....

A week later, and a massive undertaking was underway. The "Task Force" that the Sky Marshal had requested, was a full warfleet. What made up of the fleet was a combination of raw firepower and human might. There were thirty Valley Forge-class frigates (http://ca.geocities.com/arnabisthebest/tv/starshiptroopers.jpg), twenty-three Rodger Young-class cruisers (http://www.vfxhq.com/1997/stills/starship/mini/fleet1.gif), seventeen Warlock-class destroyers (http://www.shipschematics.net/b5/images/earthforce/destroyer_warlock.jpg), seven Dragon-class battlecruisers (http://files.turbosquid.com/Preview/Content_on_12_14_2003_23_15_13/pic1.jpg30106d40-2363-467f-a646-f705c3d428de.jpgLarge.jpg), thirty-two Zeus-class dreadnaughts (http://www.classic-space.com/plugins/autogallery/Gallery/BigShips/1g.jpg), and last but not least, four of the Federations most powerful ships, the Titan-class Carriers (http://www.classic-space.com/plugins/autogallery/Gallery/BigShips/11.jpg). This warfleet was going to be the first wave of the Federation's aid package and they had a lot of distance to cover, so they wanted to make it count. Not to be outdone, the Mobile Infantry mobilized five thousand companies of Mobile Infantry, over one million men. All strong men, who were able to tear through a squadron of tanks with just their Powered suits. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/TFMI.gif/612px-TFMI.gif) Fleet Admiral Harper and General Higgins were being sent along with the taskforce, due to the immense warning these Atlanteans had given them about these demons. Aboard the lead Carrier, Harper's flagship, simple known as Cronus, he stood watching the status of the Fleet and the people on board.

"What is the situation with the boarding? I want to get going with this expedition!" His second-in-command, Captain Prewitt twitched.

"Well sir, Intel is loading aboard their people, around three companies of their Psi Korps, along with Rachel and her command staff." Harper raised an eyebrow. Intel? What were those bastards doing now? Whatever.

"Very well, prep the Fleet. Once they are aboard, Task Force Thor is leaving." And he was true to his word, for an half hour later, the Fleet had jumped, heading towards Kora.
***

Just outside the space above Kora

A large flash blew outward from a single point, and Task Force Thor appeared in the Kora system. Harper sat in his chair, glancing at the main screen. "Report, Fleet status?"

"Sir, Task Force Thor is all taken care of, no problems from the transition into subspace. All captains reporting green status." Prewitt replied.

"Very well then, Captain. Have the fleet go to Alert Status. If we need to get into combat in a hurry, I don't want to have to wait and have us be sitting ducks!"

The Captain nodded. "It will be done, sir." The Fleet Admiral then turned to another officer.

"Lieutenant Deimos, open a channel, system-wide transmission. I know there is a planet down there, but I want to be sure." She nodded and her fingers played over the keys.

"Channel open, Admiral."

He took a deep breath and then sat up. "This is Fleet Admiral Harper of Task Force Thor. We have come here to aid you in your fight against the Demons, a courtesy from the Terran Federation. We ask permission to enter your space, and would like to know where we may best be served to aid you."

A simple shrug and an uninterested half frown were all that was illustrated at the thought of four billion dead. "What a shame, such wanton destruction for no apparent reason. But to be blunt, why exactly are you telling me this?"

A simple shrug and an uninterested half frown were all that was illustrated at the thought of four billion dead. "What a shame, such wanton destruction for no apparent reason. But to be blunt, why exactly are you telling me this?"

OOC: After that long wait... you give AO this? There are no names in this, no points of referance to who your character is talking to... I feel insulted on AO's behalf.

(OOC: Yes, I know, and I appologise, however I'm a little pressed lately, and creativity isn't coming fast enough. I promise, however, that my next post shall be of previous quality, not this n00bishness.)

OOC: Hey Crimm? I appreciate the enthusiasm on your part, but please…don’t burn my bridges for me. Especially when I’m STANDING on said bridges. :p

And speaking of burning bridges…Grunts, you have one chance. I left you a TG last night with the questions I have about your post. I want either *satisfactory* answers to them or for you to um…well, ignore your own post and start over. And I highly *doubt* you can give me the answers I want for that post.

Also:

*kicks Phal and HT into posting, but posts anyway because he’s waited long enough, and because Dos is in turn kicking him to post*

Oh:

http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/2722/mapdg0.gif

“Core Systems” and “Colony Systems” are under direct control of the Imperial Federation. “Protectorate Systems” and “Prohibited Systems” are former Zoir territory, and are basically my “wild west”. Pirates, Ascendancy Rebels, Zoir Warlords, Dying colonies, and Demon fleets abound. Have at thee.

………

IC:

Cirrus

Senator Andromeda grimaced for a brief moment, thinking. “I’m…sorry, I cannot give you known locations of Demon ships. They don’t keep fleets in systems for very long after the fight”

She sighed, thoughts still visibly shifting through her mind.

“We DO have reports of a battle going on in the Portas system, three jump nodes and about 4 lightyears from here, on the other end of our cluster. But by the time you’d reach it, the battle would probably be winding down”

She folded her hands.

“However, our main forward base for the conflict is in the Turi system, where we have already redirected other allied fleets to meet up with. I’m sending a starchart to you, so that you may find directions”

…

Kora System

As this was happening, another fleet was decending upon Cirrus, only it was still outside the system. It sent a message.

"This is Fleet Admiral Harper of Task Force Thor. We have come here to aid you in your fight against the Demons, a courtesy from the Terran Federation. We ask permission to enter your space, and would like to know where we may best be served to aid you."

A message from Citadel One, the ten kilometer starbase in orbit around Cirrus, replied. It was both an audio and a visual transmission, for both nations with and without viewscreens.

On the viewscreen, an Atlantian male, seemingly in his 30’s (well, by Terran standards at least) stood. His skin was tanned, much like a Terran from the middle-east, while his hair was snow-white, and shoulder-length. Other then the hair though, he looked completely human…although Atlantians had many other things that set them apart from other Humanoid species. They just weren’t as immediately noticeable. Like the long-lifespans. Or the third gender. Or the second heart. Or the fang-like teeth structures in the back of the mouth, behind the molars. Or the lack of an appendix.

Then again, lots of Terrans lacked appendixes, so one might assume that really didn’t count.

“Permission Granted, Task Force Thor. We are sending you a starchart of the surrounding area. Our main forward base is in the Turi system…many allied Fleets are already stationed there. We thank you for your assistance.

…

Turi System

The fleet warped in. The BIG fleet. The really BIG fleet. A fleet that equaled in number to HALF of Atlantis’s entire military…and was much bigger and more impressive in size.

“Uh…Commander…” Rajin stifled a laugh, “Two-thousand five hundred ships just warped in. And we have an incoming system-wide hail”

The elder commander put his face inside the palms of his hands, in defeat. He sighed. “…put it through, Lt.”

The hail, nay, the SPEECH came through. The gods were officially sitting in front of Citadel Ten, and broadcasting loud and clear. And by the end of it, no one was laughing. In fact, all through the system, thousands of Atlantians were now praying.

They were saved.

However, on the bridge of Citadel Ten, Commander Ikari was simply dumbstruck. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Oh for the love of the gods…”

“Yeah…yeah. That’d sort of be the whole idea behind it, wouldn’t it?” said Lt. Shar, who was sitting completely still.

“You know…we should probably send a reply” said Rajin.

Shar nodded absentmindedly, “Yeah…we should, shouldn’t we?”

But the question was…what DO you say to a god? Citadel Ten sat quiet, as the Atlantian fleet in the system moved back, giving the Olympian fleet room to move in.

Finally however, after several minutes, a text response was sent back to Hades. No doubt because no one was really brave enough to talk to the lord of the dead directly.

We humbly honor your presence, Lord Hades, and thank you.

Short. Very short. But…what else DO you say to a god without prior notification?

…

Portas System

Weapons fire came over the Node ship in all directions. At first, it simply tried to avoid the attacks, but to no avail. Then, it tried to absorb the attacks. But not enough of the weaponry was photonic, and there was too much of it. The hull began to glow, turning white-hot in color as it seemed to utter an unearthly sound…a scream almost. Pain.

The Node blew apart, light flying everywhere like a miniature supernova as the Photonium structure broke down. As this happened, the other Node began to move out of the way of the heavy cruisers, in an attempt to regroup.

The tables of the battle were turning.

On the other side of the battlefield, the Atlantian ships continued their pseudo-kamikaze and swarm tactics, using their small bodies and maneuverability to their advantage. While not *as* maneuverable as the near-massless Demon ships, they could still hold their own in dodging.

Sustaining hits they were delivered through…that was the hard part. These were smaller classes of ships, not meant for taking on full fleets. And while the element of “cavalry” had been on their side when they first entered the battle, now that advantage had been neutralized as the Demon ships were fully aware of who was attacking them. And now the Atlantians were dealing with moderate losses.

The two sides swam like schools of fish, or oversized fightercraft, opening fire with their respective weapons, and dodging those weapons. It was literally a dogfight on starship levels.

Of the two Battlecruisers pursuing the Trident, one had been neutralized, and the other heavily damaged by the Archangel. It veered off, trying to escape—only to be hit dead-on by an Atlantian light cruiser who happened to have its Expanding Sphere Generator on full burn. In its weakened state, the hull of the Demon vessel couldn’t withstand the impact of the energy, and the Light Cruiser ripped through its hull in an offensive-shielding maneuver. As it cleared the explosion, two Scoutships followed, ripping through the Light Cruiser and then flying ahead of it as it exploded. Shards of silver metal flew everywhere.

…

Minerva System

The three shuttles would head for the side of the ship that had been ripped open, the only visible entrance to the ship. No firefight would come from the vessel as they approached.

As they landed inside the ship, the first thing the people would notice was well, the ship. How it LOOKED. It was black, like the outside of the ship…only with bits of blue, as opposed to the amber color on the outside. However, like the amber, it seemed to…move. As if it was shimmering…or just plain moving. It was hard to explain.

There would be no obvious entrance deeper inside the ship other then the chambers they were in. But…the three small isolated chambers couldn’t be the only inside portions of the ship. That would be absurd.

…

Taledonia

He still doesn’t get it, does he?

Atlantia frowned, still holding her glass tightly with both hands. She looked away from Pompey, thinking of how to word her next few sentences wisely.

“Pompey…general…” she looked back at him. “The Zoir were the first line of defense against the Demon armada. With them wiped out…” she tailed off, then decided to switch tactics somewhat. A more…direct tactic. “General, the Demons aren’t coming. The Demons are here. They’ve begun targeting us now. And when we’re gone, they’ll start targeting others. Our allies from the last war. Xanthal, Phalanix…then everyone else. That is their intent, Pompey. To eradicate everyone and everything from our galaxy. They lost last time because forces assembled against them. But this time…their thinking it out. Targeting nations one or two at a time. Keeping us isolated”

She paused. Now came the really hard part.

“I said I was wrong before…about not accepting the alliance offer. But…” she swallowed, “I…I came to…ask for your help. Your assistance. To beat this enemy, a coalition of forces must be assembled, and quickly. I know this…this is a lot to ask, especially since under normal circumstances I rejected your offer…”

She trailed off again. Yeah…she knew right then this wasn’t going to work. She readied herself for the inevitable decline to join the war…

…

Zoir

Usually, the Demons would just eradicate life on a populated world and render it uninhabitable, then move on. They would leave the system intact.

But the Zoir home system was a different story. They had utterly *destroyed* it. The star had been forcibly collapsed into a neutron star, and every world large enough for its gravity to shape it into a sphere had been blown apart. Not rendered uninhabitable.

Blown APART. Exploded. Kaboom.

It was a testament to the Demon’s fury. The annoyance they felt to the Zoir, for continuity getting in the way of their orders. Well, no more. Now the Zoir numbered probably somewhere in the few millions. They were a dying race. Ironic, really.

At any rate, the system wasn’t totally deserted. Five sentient beings were busy in an asteroid field of what had once been Zoir Prime. Two of them were busy on an actual piece of rock…the other three were busy on a small blue vessel (http://www.rangercentral.com/images/ship2.jpg) inside the field.

“We found the capital. Well…what’s left of it. Moving in to investigate”

“Acknowledged, Alpha and Beta. And good luck.”

“Thanks. This is like looking for a needle in a haystack”

A humanoid figure dressed up in a spandex-like black armor with thicker parts for the helmet, chestplate, and shin/wrist guards turned off his wrist communicator. Other then black and silver, the only other real noticeable color on his armor was red, on his helmet and small parts of his chestplate.

Next to him stood another figure dressed up just like him, only with blue instead of red.

“One hell of a haystack” she said, looking off towards one of the bigger buildings still standing in the city ruins. Above them, asteroids…other parts of the planet, and stars moved…almost disorientating, as one would normally have stationary stars in the sky.

“This place gives me the creeps” she said.

“A place like this will do that” the red one replied, “Come on, let’s find what we’re looking for and get out of here”

The two moved down the remains of a large street towards the large building. They weren’t sure what it was…but it was more impressive then a lot of the other ruins, and big. Therefore, one would surmise it was important. And where an important building was, maybe one would find a log of just how a Demon fleet managed to implode a star.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

Ok, they really didn’t have much of a chance.

A rather loud boom made everything else silent, the heavens still showing their anger as the deadly storm raged outside. A formidable lightshow of yellow streaks appearing and dissappearing. This was what Pompey's eyes turned to. This was what he lingered on for awhile, taking in the beauty that was power, for it was that which he now held. Power. Power over these proud Atlantians. He tilted the goblet back and downed the hot liquid, slapping his lips together as he finished to show his enjoyement. He set the glass down on the end table, and watched the slave who was ever present, hiding in the shadows of the room, fill it back up with the heated red wine.

"How was it then...Atlantis stands alone? Was that not what you said? And now, my Lady, you have come to me, seeking my aid which you previously refused. It was rather insulting you turning down an offer of friendship from the Republic, especially infront of that mercenary...Im? Now, it may just be the wine, but.....I believe the Republic can spare some ships and men to help save your people from obliteration....for a price."

[OOC: Sorry...]

As Im watched teh Node turn into photonic slag, he heard Io speak up. "Commander, Fleetlord Hades has arrived in Atlantian space... and has announced that the Lord of teh Underworld is going to personally oversee the end to this war."

Im sighed and rubbed at his neck. "Atlantia is going to try and kill him. I can see it now. Send an acknowledgement and a message that we will be arriving in the Turi system within four hours, with heavy damage."

Four hours would give them ample time to finish the fight, make immediate repairs and then leap for Turi. His thoughts came back to the battle quickly...

He stepped away from the weapons console as an officer stepepd up to it. "Status reports from all ships... heavy cruisers start clearing out the smaller ships. I want the Four Horsemen, Archangel, Gates of Mitnal and Ajax to form up on us. We're taking that other Node ourselves."

What transpired over the next thirty seconds was a thing of odd beauty... the eight ships came together in a pair of diamond formations, in twin archs, approaching from opposite directions, two of the Horsemen in each. They came from above and below, pouring plasma, disrupting beams magnetic shells and missiles.

Whether they killed the ship or not, the eight ships shot past the Node and colided with many Demon 'fighters' along the way, shields easily smashing the small craft.

-----

Hades retook his seat and rubbed behind Cerberus' ears and patted the side of one of it's necks, getting the great beast to pant happily like any otehr dog. He knew this was still being transmitted and was making it a point to give them a very strong image... he could tame even Cerberus.

He looked offscreen as the text only message came in. "Humbly is correct... you do not even grace me with visual communication?" Annoyance slipped into his voice for an instant, then faded. "I would speak to the Admirals that my most faithful commander, Im Kmmta, met with when he was last on your station..." a pause. "If they happen to be off gallantly leading thier forces, no matter... assemble the next highest ranking officers and transport them to my flagship. Oh and... please, do not ask me any questions like 'why do the Gods let bad things happen to good people?' If I get asked that once more, I will show the one foolish enough to do so what bad things a God can inflict. We're Gods, yes... but even we do not have the time to micro-manage the lives and fates of billions of intelligent beings."

As he speaks, his ship approaches Citidal 10 with an escort of ten heavy cruisers and a battleship. The Olympians took no chances... not with the Demons embroiled in combat with his most skilled officer, a fleet he was unfamiliar with in system and the Atlantians themselves. One could never tell what true believers would do, if they thought him to be a being only posing as Hades.

He finaly signals that the transmission end and looks at Cerberus. "We've still got it." The hellhound made a huffing noise of agreement.

Fleet Admiral Harper looked at the screen, and the Atlantean who spoke to him. He looked fairly human, at least the voice recorders said he was, and being only a transmission, they couldn't scan him. So, he decided to treat him as a human. Visibly relaxing, he nodded. "Very well, thank you. Before we leave, I would like to ask, if it's possible to get any data on these Demons, so we can understand them and better aid you in battle. Unless, we can get that information at Turi." The Fleet Admiral leaned back, waiting for his answer. Slightly away from the screen, enough so as not to be seen, Rachel was watching, her eyes intently gazing at the screen. A group of Intel operatives were behind her, typing away at a computer. They were scanning everything on a quiet, encrypted frequency, trying to get all the data they could on their technology. Turning to the man beside her, she quietly asked him.

"John, what do you sense?" The psychic focused his mind for a moment, concentrating, his eyes closed. After a moment, he shook his head.

"Nothing to worry about, ma'am. They seem truthful and honest." Rachel sighed and looked back at the screen. Harper turned to the Captain.

"Have the M.I. go into ready mode, I want them ready to deploy at anytime I want them in five minutes."

"Sending order, sir."

"And have the Fleet prepare itself for another jump, a short one this time." The Admiral then turned back to the screen, waiting.

Vargo smiled, and nodded.

"Thank you Senator. I look forward to this new...Alliance, and the situations and complexities it will no doubt throw upon us."

Not elabourating any further, Vargo killed the link, and smiled. It was time. Tapping a few buttons on his armrest, he prepared to send off a transmission.

__________________________________________________________________________

Unknown system, Deep Space

A group of ships lay in wait in deep orbit over two binary stars. Everything powered down to minor levels, the Fleet would be near invisible in the wake of the Binary Stars, only discoverable by a determined foe who knew what he was looking for. After a few moments however, all ships powered up, revealing the fleet in all it's glory. Six Orion Class Destroyers, Twelve Kimogo Carriers, Fifteen Leviathan Cruisers, Ten Deimos Corvettes, Twelve Aeolus Cruisers and Twenty Cobra Gunships were an impressive spectacle to behold together, but likely this fleet would be spread out in time.

On the Bridge of the Krios, Captain Debla activated his viewscreen, and watched as Admiral Vargo came on screen. There was a fair amount of interference in the transmission, but what needed to get through got through. Vargo's eyes narrowed for a second, before he spoke, his voice booming through speakers in every ship in the Fleet.

[This is Admiral Vargo. Contact has been made with the Atlantians, and the outcome has been favourable. All ships, gear up and head out. Operation Skyblaze has initiated. May Liquidus smile on our bounties.]

The Viewscreen switching to Deep Space, Debla sighed.

"Tactical, order all ships to slave to our Nav systems. Then plot a course to the Turi system, and jump."

__________________________________________________________________________

A few moments after the last of the fleet jumped into Subspace, an Argo Transport powered up, along with two Squadrons of Hercules Mark II's. On board the Argo, Captain Astares watched his viewscreen as the 'Targetting data', hidden in Vargo's transmission was decoded. After a few moments, numbers, equations and vectors were shifted and words put in place.

[Start. Operation Backstab authorised. Proceed to co-ordinates 22/11/3085/3824/294753/53 by 15/26/3956/8362/203785/26. Send progress to the Rahu. End.]

Nodding, Astares' fingers danced over the buttons in his arm rest. The co-ordinates were transmitted to the Hercs, and hitting a few more buttons, the Argo shuddered. Seconds later, both the Argo and the Fighters disappeared into Subspace.

__________________________________________________________________________

Ensign L'Vance glanced in Vargo's direction, before bringing up a small screen on her console. Entering a few commands, the screen flashed an [Affirmative]. She allowed herself a small smile. The transmission had gone through, and Vargo was none the wiser. And now an Argo Transport was on it's way, grasping the imaginary torch that would lead the Serpantian Rebels to victory.

They'll never know what hit them.

Quickly opening another screen, L'Vance quickly created another message, which was encrypted and sent (As Navigational Vectoring data) to the GTD Rahu:

[Start. Transmission through, Backstab in progress. Domiste, prepare Rahu and other ships for the second phase. Astares will transmit to Rahu. Initiate Phase 2 if confirmation transmission is sent. Viper out. End.]

Closing down all the screens, L'Vance watched Vargo as he gave the order to jump. A few moments later, the ship shuddered, and the Serpantian Flare entered Subspace, leaving the Cirrus System behind. The next stop: Turi, staging ground and deception point...

__________________________________________________________________________

Portas System, Atlantian Space

On the very outskirts of the system, the Argo and it's escorts dropped out of Subspace, and immediately initiated their Sensor Scramblers. Any Sensor sweeps over these ships would merely register some minor Electromagnetic interference, which could be caused by many thousands of phenomenon. Watching the battle on the viewscreen, Astares whistled.

"My, look at that. The Atlantians appear to be winning, unless they happen to be the black ones...I wonder what the sensors read..."

Astares tapped a few buttons into his armrest console. It took a few moments, but the sensors were able to get a fix on the Demon ships, even if the readings were hazy, mere blobs of similar size. Astares cursed.

"Massless ships? These Destroyers are going to be hard to trace indeed...hopefully their FTL will be much easier to track."

Tapping in a few commands, Astares watched as the viewscreen changed into a Node. He watched as Sensors did a strong sweep of the vessel, trying to look for any tell-tale properties that would set it apart from anything else. There were a few things, but they were small and hard to track. Hitting a few more commands into his armest, he watched as the display on the viewscreen faded. The advanced AI on-board would try and sift through the data taken, and create a sensor sweep that would detect Demon ships, but it would take time. Sighing, Astares allowed himself to slump a little.

"And now we wait..."

OOC: Alrighty then, over to you AO. And Astares is being recorded, which is why he seems to be speaking to himself.

OOc: Are we fighting the demons right now? I'm sorry, I may have missunderstood everything, but isn't there a battle going on?

If there isn't, I'm sorry and I'll start over.

If there is, my post is incredibly obvious.

Also, this is GAE speaking, I have to post as United Law for now. Technical difficulties with the sign-in.

[OOC: There is a battle going on in the Portas system between the Demons and an Olympian fleet under Im Kmmta and an Atlantian fleet. That's the only battle going on at the moment.

This RP is happening in about four or five solar systems, I think.]

OOC: The problem is is that you shouldn't know where the demon fleets are. You shouldn't have a fleet just jump in and assume there's a demon battlefleet there. I'll be the judge of that.

Hell, you didn't even TELL us which system you were in.

On another note. Phal, Hyper, Core? Where are you guys? I need you to post.

OCC: Well I am at Kora right now, heading to Turi.

OOC: Ack! Gomen! *bows* Sorry!

Minerva System

The three shuttles would head for the side of the ship that had been ripped open, the only visible entrance to the ship. No firefight would come from the vessel as they approached.

As they landed inside the ship, the first thing the people would notice was well, the ship. How it LOOKED. It was black, like the outside of the ship…only with bits of blue, as opposed to the amber color on the outside. However, like the amber, it seemed to…move. As if it was shimmering…or just plain moving. It was hard to explain.

There would be no obvious entrance deeper inside the ship other then the chambers they were in. But…the three small isolated chambers couldn’t be the only inside portions of the ship. That would be absurd.
"This is is the weirdest ship ever." Niklas said, clad in a space suit.

"Indeed. Even the Chronosians do not have this strange...shimmering." Hikaru said, running a hand along the wall. He would have to wait until the alchemist arrived on the ship to get a preliminary diagnosis, but the material was unlike any he had felt before.

"There's no obvious entryway, sir." One of the marines said, his helmet silvery black.

"I see. Then we'll just have to make one." Reaching out into the Force, Hikaru searched for an opening or hallway on the other side of the wall, intending to use his lightsaber to cut through it.

OOC: It'd be interesting to detail the feel of the material, as well as it's chemical, physical, and magical/dimensional properties.

Ic: In the fleet's center were several very large warships, known as BattleStations. Each one contained several AI minds. The one in command however, the one most would be dealing with, was Admiral Herzer* of the Charles Talbot. A grizzled veteran who decided to have his brain Positroned, he was in command of the first and second fleet.
Once they received the information and the message, Herzer began pouring over it.
He thought on several strategies, and decided on one.

Once they dropped out of WarpSpace, Admiral Herzer immediately began issuing orders over the Positronic Field.
Frigates! Form Battlegroups of five and engage individual targets. If you lose more than three in your battlegroup, withdraw to coordinates Coordinates scrambled for reforming into new battle groups.
Cruisers, engage in SlipSpace tactics, you know the drill.
Carriers, release all fighters and drones, then drop into SlipSpace and stay there until the battle is over.
Dreadnaughts and BattleStations, form up into Alpha Strike groups and attack.

Frigates grouped up and started attacking the Demonic Warships, falling one after another, but falling back and regrouping when the heat became to great.
Cruisers would drop out of SlipSpace, fire all weapons, enter SlipSpace and reload, and repeat.
Carriers quickly released the Valkry Fighters and drones, which swarmed about the Demonic ships. Drones, when they had depleted their very limited ammunition, would charge into the enemy ships and explode with the power of a nuclear bomb, due to their generators.
The dreadnaughts and BattleStations would form up into groups and attack, starting with Plasma Torpedoes from long range, moving to Dimensional Cutters and Rippers, then into Fusion Nukes, and finally, at close range, Graviton hellbores.

OOc: Plasma torpedoes, are, well, plasma torpedoes. Dimensional Cutters and Rippers basically rip holes in the dimensional fabric, releasing large amounts of energy which cause much damage, some of it skipping shields. Fusion nukes use fusion and basically become a mini-sun and then die out. Graviton hellbores fire incredibly dense material; so dense it warps space, shedding anti-missile fire, and hitting the ships, severely damaging the armor. The weakness of Graviton hellbores, however, was that they basically bounced off shields.

NOTE: My shields are stronger than normal shields and resist phased weapons (ones that would skip normal shields). My ships WarpCrystal armor supplies a smaller, secondary shield in case the first fails. Also note that my ships are smaller in size than normal, to account for there being so many ships.

*Kudos to those who get the reference

OOC: I get it. It just means that at some point in the future I find an excuse to shank you in the face ICly. Also, that's a horrible idea for a weapon, as dense things suck IN, not distort AROUND. Yay gravity.

IC:

And so it was that in time the Solari became aware of the Demonic threat. And in time they dispatched a fleet, complete with a Superdreadnought, to deal with things. In fact, it arrived just a short time after the Telrosii ships arrived in Turi, and proceeded to try and get ahold of them, since they had no clue exactly who was in the system with them.

Umm... Who the hell are you, and are we, yaknow, gonna have to curbstomp all over you?

Hades looked at his comm officer. "What is a 'curb stomp'?"

"No referance, Fleetlord."

He sighed and nodded. "Send a response..."

-----

Hades appears on screen. "I am Hades. That fleet of two and a half thousand ships sitting mid-system are mine. I would suggest you refrain from 'curb stomping', whatever that means in your bastardized dialect of Galactic Standard. The restults could be... embarassing."

Hades looked at his comm officer. "What is a 'curb stomp'?"

"No referance, Fleetlord."

He sighed and nodded. "Send a response..."

-----

Hades appears on screen. "I am Hades. That fleet of two and a half thousand ships sitting mid-system are mine. I would suggest you refrain from 'curb stomping', whatever that means in your bastardized dialect of Galactic Standard. The restults could be... embarassing."

OOC: *brutal kick to the jaw* Since when are you Telros? On the other hand... May I assume this is a fleet that's going to be unreasonably hostile?

IC:

Well aren't we all high and mighty then. Just makes a target rich environment for us. We tend to not be embarrassed by victories though, so... The choice is yours, pursue a course of hostility towards a qualitatively superior foe, or shut your yap, and give me some straight answers. What is your purpose, who do you serve, and why should I fear you?

OOC:

Ok, first order of buisness (and I'm sorry for making this post, two OOC only posts of mine in a row. At any rate, sorry for the long wait for a new post, but you're going to have to wait till Saturday. I've been down with the flu most of this week, and well, Friday is NEVER a good day for me to post. Seriously.

So...yeah. My humblest apologies for the waiting. I am NOT going to let this RP die, even if I'm the only one still posting on it, and I am NOT going to let it continusiously fall apart over OOC posts. Consider this my last OOC post until I get the next 4-5 pager up.

ANYWAY, NEXT ORDER OF BUISNESS.

*straps on DAS BOOT*

*Gives Solarin League a brutal kick to the balls, right out of the thread*

And stay out.

Seriously. I don't like your tone, your belligerence and self-superiority, the half-assed quality of your posts, your apperent disregard to read anything that's already been posted (or the threads you were supposed to read beforehand. And if you have, it sure doesn't show it), or really....you know what? Your name irks me too. I dunno why.

Seriously. Get out of my thread, and stop screwing up everything. No more posty for you. You are officially ignored out of my story. Good day to you sir.

[OOC: I am so glad Part II won't be open to every yokel that comes by...

And if any one of you that are part of the story still have questions about the RP, feel free to IM me at crimmond@hotmail.com

I'll answer any and all questions regarding the RP as it stands now and be very vague about where it is going, so as to keep the suspense going. That way this OOC stuff can stay off this thread.]

(( OCC: Extremely sorry for my rather lengthy delay in posting. You know how school, illnesses, and letting nurses take a good bit of your blood can delay a post. And yes thank god Part 2 will be closed. ))

IC:
Turi System:
Holo-Conference
Basatan clicked his claws and started to speak, "Well sir I'd like to remind you of the diminished capabilities of the Phalanixian fleet. Unlike fifty years ago we don't have a massive fleet that is in pristine shape. Now all we have a ships that are still being refitted in civilian ship yards and enough scrap metal to make a new planetoid."

Back on the AFN Reaper's bridge.
"Ma'am just to let you know a rather large number of ships have entered the system and could easily obliterate us. Oh and i saved a bunch..," was all Basatan managed to say before he noticed Brooks twitch slightly, an obvious sign of anger. "Anyways just sit back and hope we don't die."

Taledonia

“Her” people? Atlantia’s eyes narrowed. He still didn’t understand the dire threat of the situation, did he?

Politicians. She thought to herself bitterly.

“What…price, did you have in mind?” she asked, a tenseness in her voice. The situation was sort of like shooting yourself in the foot, so to speak. And she just *knew* this was going to get worse before it got better. A lot worse.

Her mind ran through a list of possible extortions Pompey might try on her. Territory, supplies, money…then the tougher possibilities. Forced to join the Republic, subjugation, or even…

She shook the private thought from her mind. Surly he wouldn’t ask something *THAT* barbaric.

…

Portas System

The remaining node began to implode, before lighting up in a miniature supernova, much like the other one before it. Without the leading ships, the Demon lines (such as they were) began to break down in the face of the Olympian fleet. The smaller fighters and scouts stood no chance against them, and were mowed down as the Horsemen and their escorts closed in.

Realizing the battle was lost, several of the ships turned about and promptly warped out of the system, towards the Minti system, out in Zoir space, giving a certain Argo class vessel the direction it needed…

…

Cirrus, Kora System

The Atlantian commander on the screen nodded, “We are now preparing to send you all available information on the Demon threat”

Well…available in the sense that it wasn’t *highly classified* or *just plain under wraps*. The information sent would cover the first war between them and the Zoir, several thousand years ago, as well as the war a half-century ago. Also included would be basics about their hull composition (Photonium), and known weapons and classes of vessel, as well as known tactics.

As for the scan of the Atlantian ships, it would yield fairly advanced technology. Hull-hugging energy shields, multiple types of energy and disposable weaponry, and a certain weapon type which a computer would be unable to directly determine if it was energy-based or not. Of course, this was only the obvious. The fleet’s special toys were more hidden until needed.

Brief scans of the engines would reveal both jumpnode-based FTL drives, as well as low-tech warp drives. Odd that engines development would be so backwards compared with the rest of the vessels.

As this was happening, several ship AI’s would pick up on the scan. And rather then telling their commanders, would instead return fire with their own low-level scans on the Telrosian ships.

…

Demon Battlecruiser, Minerva System

EVERYTHING was an opening. EVERYTHING was a barrier. All at once, all at the same time. The passageway would be determined by where you wanted to go. Or where they wanted you to go. Until that time, it was solid.

The wall was smooth, yet almost “fuzzy”, or staticy…and was faintly warm, as if bathed by light…even though it was not.

Photonium is a marvelous type of matter. It is not a standard element, as it is not created from atoms. Rather, only one type of sub-atomic particle is used: Photons. Light. Thanks to a thin layer inside the hull of the ship that is at absolute zero, the photons collected cool down and are “frozen” in place, creating a semi-stable type of matter that is almost massless, allowing the ship to seemingly defy Newton physics.

…

Turi System

Another brief moment of silence occurred as the fleet continued to try and bring up the courage to speak with Hades. Finally, the image of an older Atlantian appeared.

“This is Commander Ikari, of this station” the commander said, noticeably nervous as he spoke, “One of the Admirals that Im Ktmma spoke to is indeed on this station. He is currently in a holo-conference with two other fleet commanders in the system. If you have compatible systems, you may be able to hook up…” he trailed off, hoping that Hades would take that option instead of choosing to have a meeting with himself.

…

Holoconference

Koth nodded solemnly, knowing full well that the Phalanixian civil war had cost them far more then the Atlantian civil war had cost his people. Odd that both had occurred around the same time…but Koth would ponder that later. His mind raced, trying to find a suitable use for the remnants of the Phalanixian forces.

Then it came to him, like a train comes to you. Why hadn’t he thought of it earlier?

“You still have troops, don’t you? If I remember correctly, Phalanix is known for its land forces. We’ll need them for capturing demon vessels or possibly defending ships or instillations…especially with our own army defunct”

A confident smile passed over Pompey's face, and he let Atlantia take in his coming arrogance for awhile as he took a large drink of wine. And then he paused, the smile dissappearing from his face, the general seemingly lost in thought suddenly, or perhaps suffering from a stroke? No, his eyes darted back and forth slowly as he thought to himself. He could make demands about making the Atlantian people a client kingdom to the Republic, or make them even join the ranks. He could ask for huge sums of money, ressources, territory, and slaves. She was in a desperate situation, but the past meeting had proven she had pride, why attempt to debase her fruitlessly when you could save a bunch of time and find middle ground immeadiatly.

"Full alliance with the Republic, as well as rights of passage for Republican military personel through Atlantian space. The right for Republican citizens to set up businesses and other facilities within your territory for economic perposes. Technological information, both civilian and military, as well as historical records and any other information, regardless of how insignificant, you may possess so we may update and expand our archives."

It was reasonable he thought, not going too far, but still giving advantage to the Republic, the perfect offer. He stumbled back into thought once again. "And one more thing," a friendly smile forming, and a glint of infatuation in his eyes, "You will stay the night as my personal guest, I shall have a room made up for you, and tomorrow night you shall accompany me to the Taleanalia, the great festival in honor of Talean, King of the Gods and master of energy."

Kora System

Harper looked at the screen with the Captain, as the information on the Demons scrolled in, a vast amount of wealth that could be used to radically change their battle tactics and increase the chances their forces had of surviving and winning. Once the information was given to the A.I. who distributed it all over fleet, the Fleet Admiral nodded at the Atlantean. "Very well, thank you for the information. We will now head to the Turi system, to better aid your case. May God watch over you." He then saluted and cut off the channel, and turned to the Captain. "Set a course for the Turi system. I want to be there as soon as possible." The Captain saluted and then walked over to the navigation station, barking out orders as the bridge crew began to muster. The fleet turned away from the planet, rather quickly despite their size, and began moving away from the planet. They needed time to synchronize their launch and exit vectors and ensure no crashes when they arrived. Flash drives were powerful but they needed precision. As the Fleet prepared to jump again, Rachel and her team logged the info on the Atlanteans technology, gleefully readying the schematics for the shields and everything else to be sent to the Sky Marshal. Their personal A.I.'s noticed the intrusion of the Atlanteans A.I.'s and they enacted the countermeasure for this exact situation.

They let them scan their ships, but the A.I's fed the scanners false info, old schematics and technology from a decade ago. They would see they had plasma rockets, the M.I. suits but they could not get any readings on them, only that they existed, the hard metal plating, the energy-ablative metal hull of the ships and the obvious laser, railgun and missile batteries. The A.I's nudged them away from the flash drives; that was one secret they refused to give up. A voice sounded over the fleet channel.

"All ships, prepare for jump. Five....four...three..two..one..MARK!" The entire fleet vanished in an instant, heading towards Turi.

Turi System

Almost a second later, they reappeared, right in the Turi system and fairly close to the allied fleets. Opening a channel to the fleets and the station they were clustered around, a message was sent. "This is Task Force Alpha, of the Terran Federation. We have arrived to help in your war against the Demons. Just tell us what you need and we will see what we can do." Harper gazed at all the fleets and whistled.

"These demons must either be really powerful or have a lot of ships, cause this is the largest gathering of ships ever seen since the Bug War." The Captain nodded in agreement.

Turi

Hades appraised the man on the screen. "Commander, I told you not to fear me. I am here to assist you, not make you one of those I lord over. My wrath will fall on the Demons. I choose... the holo-conferance. According to Im Kmmta, our holographics technology is not so different from yours." At that, the signal cut out again.

After a brief amount of time for the comm officer to rig up a relay for the conferance, Hades sat in his office and plugged a neural probe into the dataport near the base of his skull.

The image of Hades appears a few feet away from the table, complete with his beard down to his waist, waist high walking staff and an... achiton? (Greek toga, for those that don't know)

He looks over the group. "I am Hades, Lord of the Underworld and Fleetlord of the Olympian Fourth Fleet, which is currently sitting at the mid-way point between Primary and Oort cloud of this system. Forgive this interupption, but I believe I have more knowledge about the Demons than all of you put together. Capturing a Demon ship... that would prove a difficult thing to do, if it has an AI. The ship itself would fight you, creating corridors and removing others, sending you all over the ship, except where you need to go. The crew would fight hard, as well. It can be done, but it would be ill-advised to do such operations commonly. You would get a good amount of information, but operating the ship would be quite difficult if you did not know what you were doing."

---

Portas

"Fleet, commence mop-up and repairs. I want to be out of this system and I want out of here now." Im nodded at the comm officer, who switched him over to the Atlantians. "Atlantian fleet, congratulations... you just became heros of Atlantis. We shall be departing this system soon for much needed repairs at Turi. Another fleet will arrive soon after to take our place.... in case they attack again. If they do... don't bother fighting this time, they'll come in force."

Im's ego had boosted, but his mind was sharp... he knew the Titans. He knew that he was only victorious because of superior tactics. After nearly an hour, the last Demon ship was taken out or had fled. "All ships, including Horsemen, jump for Turi."

The ragged fleet, several of their number under tow, was only half the sze they were before the battle. Im wondered what the Atlantians would think of a Fleet under Hades command coming out of battle as a shadow of it's former self... then realized he didn't care. He just wanted to get his ships repaired and back on the line to fight.

Demon Battlecruiser, Minerva System

EVERYTHING was an opening. EVERYTHING was a barrier. All at once, all at the same time. The passageway would be determined by where you wanted to go. Or where they wanted you to go. Until that time, it was solid.

The wall was smooth, yet almost “fuzzy”, or staticy…and was faintly warm, as if bathed by light…even though it was not.

Photonium is a marvelous type of matter. It is not a standard element, as it is not created from atoms. Rather, only one type of sub-atomic particle is used: Photons. Light. Thanks to a thin layer inside the hull of the ship that is at absolute zero, the photons collected cool down and are “frozen” in place, creating a semi-stable type of matter that is almost massless, allowing the ship to seemingly defy Newton physics.
"Strange. It's like...frozen light or something." Niklas stated as he ran his hand over the hull.

"Quite. Technology like this is beyond our own." Hikaru nodded.

"Hmph. I don't suppose this wall would have an opening to get us to the bridge or something?" Walker asked. (Walker is one of the ninjas leading a Marine team. Trivette's the other ninja.)

Suddenly, a part of the wall seemed to shimmer, creating a passageway deeper into the ship. (Or however you want to put it)

"Voice-activated? Cool." Niklas grinned.

"Either that or I'm getting the feeling someone's watching us. In any case, there's nothing left to do but go onwards." The Jedi Knight said.

The small crowd entered the passageway, prepared for anything...

Astares watched as the Demon ships lost the battle. Granted they fought with fury and with powerful weaponry, but even so, the combined forces of the Atlantians and the Olypians had pushed the Demons back. Watching as several Demon ships turned about, Astares steepled his fingers, and watched as the ships entered Warp.

"Warp travel? This is a lot easier than I expected of Destroyers like the Demons. Even the Shivans used something a little less...obvious."

Tapping a few commands into his armrest console, Astares watched as the viewscreen drew lines over the screen, drawing up vectors, following warp trails, until a system appeared in the top right hand corner. Astares cocked an eyebrow.

"That's fairly near to an inhabited system...excellent. Perhaps Backstab will proceed quicker than originally thought..."

Grinning, he tapped in a few commands, and opened an encrypted channel to his escort.

[Jump vectors have been fed into your Nav Computers. Initiate Subspace Drives.]

Silently bracing himself, Astares watched as a blue Portal filled the viewscreen. The ship shook a little, and then the Argo and it's escorts were on their way to the Minti System...

___________________________________________________________

Turi System

Vargo smiled as the Serpantian Flare shuddered, and the blue tunnel on the viewscreen resolved into a white light, and then real space. Moments later, the other seventy five ships dropped into real space, and quickly formed up behind the Serpantian Flare. Tapping a few commands into his armrest console, a systemwide channel was opened. Clearing his throat, Vargo smiled.

[To all ships in the area, this is Admiral Vargo, leader of the Ultionis obviam Everto fleet from the Glorious Empire of Dos Volodis. We are here to assist Atlantian Forces in the face of the Demon threat. My ships are ready and eager to do battle, and with this in mind, I request permission to dock with the Citadel station, so I may begin co-ordinating as soon as possible.]

___________________________________________________________

Minti System

Fifty kilometers behind the nearest Demon vessel, several Subspace Portals appeared briefly, before the DVT Argo and it's escorts dropped into real space. Without hesitation, Astares opened an encrypted communication with the Argo escorts.

[Keep within five kilometers of the Argo. Keep shields up but do not target any ships unless you are directly threatened, and by that I mean being shot at.]

Looking at the viewscreen, Astares bit his lip. This was the crucial bit. Either he died and failed the Rebellion, or he succeeded and guaranteed the safety of Dos Volodis. Quickly, he opened up a full spectrum multi-frequency channel, or in non-jargon, a completely and utterly open transmission. Clearing his throat, Astares closed his eyes, before opening his mouth.

[Demon vessels, this is Captain Astares of the DVT Argo. Do not open fire. Repeat, do not open fire, we are not aligned with the Altantian Forces. We wish for an audience with anyone in authority in this sector.]

Turi System
Holo-Conference

Basatan clicked his claw in agreement before speaking, "Yes the best use for our forces is either support or boarding actions, however in the event we must take a planet with ground forces I highly suggest leaving that job to our forces."
Of course just as his finished stating this Hades made his appearance and his little speech on the demons.
"Ah sounds like something a Demon squad might be up for, nasty troopers. Then again being fused to your armor and will do that to you. Anyways I'm sure boarding actions will not occur as often as the troopers would hope."

OOC: First off, a brief apology is in order. My internet went phut, and then a brief argument between my parents and I about something that inevitably turned out to be an unwitting younger sibling's fault lengthened that to a fair bit of absence. One contrite apology later from damn near everyone else in the house, I'm back, baby. So, yeah. Sorry about that.


IC: Boriial raised a single, sculpted eyebrow. Making a good impression with alien races was something he'd never been particularly good at - which was why a full complement of diplomats had been issued with the ship, from AI subroutines, to a personal coach! It couldn't be said that the government at home trusted his judgement for this sort of thing, when it came to foreign affairs.

Of course, when it came to the actual battles, and whatnot, he was superb. Which tended to excuse his lack of tact. Which was why, no matter what he did, his frantically-working AI, Minerva, was editing it, and sending an entirely different image through to the holoconference. The man had some charisma, it was true.. but he'd just as likely crack a poor joke about the death of the Zoir as discuss the problems the Atlanteans had.

"Fascinating. Although I'm not much of a man for niceties, I can see the situation you're in isn't particularly good. No doubt, should I garner some first-hand information, I'd be able to convince the pencil-pushers at home to increase our support greatly. Now, to the meat of the matter. Where are we most needed?"

He took a breath, overriding whatever the people on the other end of the conference were about to say. "Although my frigates, and cruisers, and whatnot are not much superior to the average, I have two ships of note. The Setting Sun, my carrier, is, at present, almost empty of gunships and fighters, with a tiny complement of a few thousand, but she does have the capabilities to manufacture more at absolutely staggering speeds. Given an asteroid belt, the Sun can maintain a small front all by herself."

"And, of course, my ship, the Intricate Deception. One of the few battleships we have in service. The dreadnoughts of the navy are larger and more powerful, but those we have can be counted on one hand. Essentially, the rest of my fleet can serve as decent fire support and logistical support, whilst the Deception can get into the thick of things."

A pause. "That's essentially all I have to say."

The speech was somewhat halting - Minerva found it a bit difficult not to censor it - but he was trying rather hard. When he started slipping up, then she'd start slipping those slip-ups out of his speeches.

Taledonia

Atlantia ignored the pompous smile, and began to go over the demands in her head as Pompey recited them, quickly trying to find loopholes wherever she could find them. She got a few of course, thanks to Pompey’s wording. No doubt because he was becoming over-confident.

Excellent.

The full alliance…could be done. No true loss there. As for rights of passage…well, they would be lightly escorted, and restricted to personnel *only*. No big guns.

The business demand would be (thankfully) less black and white. Atlantia had no power there, that was one of the Senate’s concerns. And inwardly, she agreed with the pseudo-socialist practices of the Senate over large multi-system-spanning corporations and monopolies.

And then came the technological and historical demand. Something that would seemingly give The Republic the advantage over Atlantis.

…Or would it? Atlantia hid a smile inside of her. Yes…he would get his technology. But he had worded it so it could be interpreted that he only wanted *all* of the historical information. He would get that.

However, she would only give him the technology she *wanted* to give him, and he wouldn’t know any better. The basics, of course. Orichalcum-based weaponry. Pompey would undoubtedly have fun trying to find enough of the rare metal outside of Atlantian (or former Atlantian) space. The older weapons of the fleet…more basic weapons, like plasma cannons, disruptor cannons, missile batteries, and older shield technologies. She would even allow something impressive like deployable Ablative Armor to slip through…although like the Orichalcum weaponry, it was configured to work with the alloy Adamantine. Pompey would of course need replicators on the ship’s hull to deploy the armor.

Bio-technology of course. The Anubites, were of course, a project of war.

She would *happen* to skip the more recent projects, dealing with ancient Atlantian, Zoir, and even…Demon technology. Projects Destiny, Taskforce, and Gateway would simply *not* exist. And of course, the Morning Star would remain confidential. All historical references to it would be…reworded.

Atlantia nodded slowly, not revealing her intentions. It was easy to play the part of submissive in this case, she *was* in that part. She gave what she would reluctantly.

Then came the last demand. The personal one.

Great. she thought to herself, seeing the look in his eyes. Just…great. Gods, gods, and more gods. And a general who seemingly has a crush. Just…great. She simply hoped these gods were less fakes then the ones she had come to know.

“Alright” she said, in a whisper. “I will…agree to most of your terms. However…I have no jurisdiction over economic matters. That is a matter of the Senate. They will also need to ratify a full-on alliance along with myself”

Ahh, the welcome bureaucracy of a democratic system.

She took another small sip.

“Our…economic status is different from many capitalist nations, General. We do not allow corporations to spread full-on beyond a planet without certain restrictions. Not unless it is a small colony world, or a collection of small colony worlds. And we do not allow monopolies. We keep a very, very close eye on our economy.”

…

Demon Battlecruiser, Minerva System

They were curious. Very curious beings. Poking where they shouldn’t, looking where they shouldn’t. But yet…

One of them felt different. As if he was part of something bigger. Connected to the universe somehow…

A Jedi.

They smiled. How…quaint. They would not kill them. Not yet, but rather, lead them on…they had never yet been able to study a Jedi or a Sith up close. This would prove to be an interesting and invaluable experiment. Especially if what scout reports indicated were true, and many nations *did* field these types in combat often…

The passageway was twisted and long, and yet fairly wide. All through it was the same, a moving, shimmering blue and black “hull”, on the floor, walls, and ceiling. If one wasn’t careful, it could make one very dizzy.

Every so often, the group would find another smaller passageway on the walls. Some of them would close, and others would open. And sometimes…one could almost see something else move. Like a shadow…but, not…

Hikaru was right. They were being watched…

…

Turi System

Two more fleets had just entered the system, both of them from the Kora system. And just as Hades had cut communication, they were signaling Citadel Ten.

Commander Ikari simply tapped his fingers against his chair’s armrest, annoyed. Gods, Demons, random fleets, immigrants from untold places, time displaced refugees….

MAKE IT STOP.

He was SO going to beg for retirement. If this was what the fleet wanted, then BY THE GODS, he was retiring. To Tartarus with this. He just wanted some peace and quiet.

“Send a message inviting them to the holo-conference” he said to his crew, to no one in particular. “If they don’t have holo-technology, then send them information on how to configure their viewscreens to intercept the chat messages”

The crew glanced at Oberon, the AI.

“…What?” he asked, after realizing they were all staring at him.

Rajin motioned for Oberon to get to work. “Go on, automatic return hail for all incoming ships”

“Oh SURE, just because *YOU* get bored with answering hails…” he muttered to himself, before getting to work.

To incoming fleets:

A Holo-conference has been initiated in port 123.532.7424. If you do not have suitable holographic technology to support this meeting, you have been sent instructions on how to convert your viewscreen into a compatable device with which to use to send and receive messages in the chat.

Please use this conference to help coordinate your fleet movements, and have a nice day.

…

Holo-Conference

Koth nodded in agreement to Basatan’s assessment. He wasn’t too fond of land warfare any—

Another figure appeared in the room.

“Who in the—” Ah jeeze. he thought to himself as he realized it was Hades. Great. The Cavalry’s arrived. Koth knew his place. He would act as if Hades was truly a god. Inwardly, however, he wished someone *else* had been informed of the truth, and not him.

Koth turned his attention to Boriial, listening to his short lecture. He then looked back at the holographic map he had set up. Where to send them?

“To be honest, we don’t know *where* you would serve best, Admiral. We havn’t been able to detect where they are massing their forces. They jump in and out of systems quickly.”

Portas had reports of fighting, but there was an Olympian fleet there. Turi was of course heavily guarded, and no real offensive had been yet planned. Where could they go? They didn’t KNOW where the demons were.

Oh, DUH. He looked back at Hades.

“You say you know a lot about demons. Where would they be basing their operations here?”

Little did Koth know, of course, that they *didn’t*. The main fleet was still on it’s way…but sure enough, it would be there soon.

A small wrist device on Koth beeped, indicating there was a chance *more* would be joining the conference. Well, that would be good, more people to coordinate with.

Instant Messaging programs were awesome.

…

Minti System

The Demon vessels warped into the system, badly damaged and few in number. Only a dozen or so had managed to escape the combined Atlantian and Olympian forces.

That was when they sensed them.

Beings who hailed from the disk.

And they seemed to be…hailing. How amusing. Not aligned with the Atlantians. Not aligned with the current target. So their people would live an extra cycle or two. It was obvious these beings did not know the true nature of this war. Not that they intended to share it, of course. Otherwise they would simply join forces, and then all would be lost. The races needed to be weak, isolated.

Which was why both the Atlantian and Phalanixian civil wars had been staged by them. To weaken. To isolate.

To destroy.

The Demons thought to themselves. This could actually help them. Play the different races off each other, and then destroy them. Or let them destroy each other. Either way, it was a win-win situation.

The decision was made to make contact. A text message was sent.

You are children of the children. Why do you wish to speak?

…

The Void

The fleet neared the edge of the disk. Very soon, it would be time.

Hyperion sat in his command seat on The Hand of Vengeance, as his forces continued to make their way into the disk…closer and closer to the core, their home. Their true home.

Sir.

“Yes?” asked Hyperion, as a figure approached him.

We receive news from the disk. Some…wish to contact us. Wish to make friends with us.

“Indeed. See what they want. But remember…in the end, we will spare no one. It is their right to die, for being abominations”

Indeed, your honor. We shall

…

Zoir

Without much gravity on the planetoids that had once made up the Zoir homeworld, many of the pieces of the city were free to move about in “mid-air” (not that there was any air left, of course). This made searching for things even more difficult. And the task had been so far nigh-on impossible.

“Maybe we should head back” Beta said, glancing at her stats on her wrist module. “I’m running low on energy. I’ll be out of air soon.”

Alpha glanced around, annoyed. Not once trace of evidence. Not one trace of—

“Sid, you there?” Beta asked.

“Don’t call me that when on patrol, Beta” Alpha replied.

She grunted, annoyed at Sid now. “ALPHA. We need to head back”

“I know…I know. I just keep thinking it’s hiding in plain sight. Like…I keep overlooking it”

“I told you we should have brought Se--Epsilon along. Her powers would have helped us” she said.

Alpha nodded. Sel’s psychic powers were invaluable to the team. “We’ll bring her next time. Come on, we’d better get back to the ship” he pressed his wrist device. “Alpha to Megaship, come in”

“Megaship here. What’s your status, Alpha leader?”

“We’re returning to the ship. Prepare for our arrival. Mission was a failure…we need Epsilon with us”

“Understood, Alpha leader. Preparing for your return. Gamma out.”

Alpha shut off the link and nodded to Beta, who nodded back. Both began heading off towards their skyriders…

Harper sat in his chair, playing with a pipe, eyes lost in thought. This situation was most unusual. A massive warfleet was sent to aid a race they barely knew anything about, aside that they were human, kinda, which made all the difference. But, this seemed rather strange. The Sky Marshal must be intent on getting the Terran Federation a firm seat in galactic politics. Sighing, he played with the pipe some more, until the Captain arrived. "Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the Atlanteans." He nodded.

"Put it through." The Captain nodded to the communications officer, who activated the message.

To incoming fleets:

A Holo-conference has been initiated in port 123.532.7424. If you do not have suitable holographic technology to support this meeting, you have been sent instructions on how to convert your viewscreen into a compatible device with which to use to send and receive messages in the chat.

Please use this conference to help coordinate your fleet movements, and have a nice day.

The Admiral raised an eyebrow. "Well, they are certainly....interesting people. Alright, connect the main screen to that channel and reroute the holomap generator to the system. Use the backup one for the map."

"Aye sir." They spent a few minutes setting up the machines to work together in one setting. After some last minute adjustments, they fired it up and Harper popped into view in the holo conference.

"My apologies, gents, but we had to work around somethings, as we didn't want to delay things by setting up our hologenerator, and everything else. Now, would someone mind filling me in on the details?"

Demon Battlecruiser, Minerva System

They were curious. Very curious beings. Poking where they shouldn’t, looking where they shouldn’t. But yet…

One of them felt different. As if he was part of something bigger. Connected to the universe somehow…

A Jedi.

They smiled. How…quaint. They would not kill them. Not yet, but rather, lead them on…they had never yet been able to study a Jedi or a Sith up close. This would prove to be an interesting and invaluable experiment. Especially if what scout reports indicated were true, and many nations *did* field these types in combat often…

The passageway was twisted and long, and yet fairly wide. All through it was the same, a moving, shimmering blue and black “hull”, on the floor, walls, and ceiling. If one wasn’t careful, it could make one very dizzy.

Every so often, the group would find another smaller passageway on the walls. Some of them would close, and others would open. And sometimes…one could almost see something else move. Like a shadow…but, not…

Hikaru was right. They were being watched…
"Master, you see that?" Niklas has just seen something flit in and out of his vision.

"The crew, perhaps?" Hikaru mused, mostly to himself.

"Probably." A soldier replied, keeping his rifle at ready.

The Coredians continued to travel down the passageway, wary of the "doors" that open and close seemingly without a cue. The only hope was that the enemy wasn't leading them into some kind of trap, although that's a rather distinct possiblity on a hostile ship...

Holo-conferance

Hades watched the group and walked slowly around the table. "Know a lot about the Demons, boy? Hahaha... I have been studying them from Tartarus for longer than you have been alive. I know that their main base of operations is not so far from my own. There is a war being waged there, as well. Other Olympians are overseeing that. I know not where they operate from in this galaxy, but that it is most likely a system that no one would want to go to, between here and the galactic rim. They may also be in between systems." He looks at the map. "Their tactics show... flaws. Flaws that should not be there. Their forces are too small and do not recieve significant reinforcements. Two options: The main force wishes you to believe that they are not in the galaxy yet, or they really are not inside the galaxy yet. Either way, we have not much time before a main thrust occurs. They are not so stupid as to continue such mutually damaging attacks."

He stops talking and his eyes glaze, as if he was not concentrating on the conferance for a moment. "Im Kmmta reports victory in Portas, but half his fleet has been destroyed. The rest are moderatly and severely damaged, including his flagship... Save for the Archangel. Apparently the ten layers of shields it carries work well enough to shrug off the Demon weapons. A testament to my hull design, as well." His design? "They are en-route to this system for repairs."

Turi System, Serpantian Flare/Holo-conference

To incoming fleets:

A Holo-conference has been initiated in port 123.532.7424. If you do not have suitable holographic technology to support this meeting, you have been sent instructions on how to convert your viewscreen into a compatable device with which to use to send and receive messages in the chat.

Please use this conference to help coordinate your fleet movements, and have a nice day.

Vargo raised an eyebrow, then smirked. While slightly insulted that he hadn't been sent a direct reply, it certainly contained the right information. Turning to L'Vance, he cleared his throat.

"Ensign, if you'd be so kind?"

L'Vance nodded, trying to look as...normal as possible. Tapping a few commands into her console, she smiled as multiple 'spikes' popped out of the floor, walls and the ceiling. A few moments later, the entire Bridge was emerged in the conference. Vargo looked around, and smiled, his red eyes sharp and piercing.

"Greetings, I'm the commander of the Ultionis obviam Everto Fleet. What have I missed?"

________________________________________________________

Minti System


You are children of the children. Why do you wish to speak?

Astares watched as the message flashed onto the viewscreen, translated into Aurabesh. Raising an eyebrow, he began to type numerous commands into his armrest console. About half a minute later, a text message, sent in the recieved language, was recieved by the Demon ship:

[We wish to speak to someone of authority because we represent a...movement inside the Nation of Dos Volodis. Our Nation has encountered it's fair share of Great Destroyers, repelling all, mostly at great cost. I can speak for the movement I represtent: The Serpantian Rebellion, when I say that we are tired of being made accountable for the mistakes made by greedy and corruptable Politicians, and facing annihalation. Because of this, we have decided it might be worth aligning ourselves with the Great Destroyers for once.

Our Nation has sent a sizeable Fleet against you, and with the reports we are recieving, there is a chance you could lose this battle on your own. However, even as I speak, Rogue elements of the Fleet are waiting to join your Forces. We also have agents on many other ships, ready to sabotage any Allied efforts. However, while our Military is strong and full of itself, our Politicians are easy to sway with the right muscle. If we sabotage the Alliance's efforts, beat our own Forces and show them that aligning with you is the right thing to do, they will, and we will help you in your quest to rid the Galaxy of those you see fit. All we ask is that in the process our Nation is spared.]

Sitting back, Astares waited, a calm look over his face. There were two outcomes to this. Either he would live, or he would die. Simple.

OOC: My apologies for the crap post. I’m a little pressed for time at the moment.

IC:

Demon Battlecruiser, Minerva System

They watched. Studied. Monitored.

Strike.

The test had begun. As the group of Coredians entered another room, several non-bodies attacked. One could not see them directly, especially not with the dark interior of the vessel. But one could see their movements, if one looked hard enough. But by that point, one was already in very real danger. In essence, they were ghosts.

A number of them, an amount unknownst to the attacked, struck the boarding party with large talons and claws, striking at quick speeds. Now they would study just how powerful a Jedi truly was.

…

Minti System

There was silence. No message came from the Demon ships, yet they did not move or destroy. For several minutes, they let the crew of the Argo sit.

Finally, the response came. This time, a visual. The figure on the viewscreen was a Seraph, a majestic angeletic figure with six glorious wings, ceremonial white robes, and a long golden staff with an ornate sword blade at the end. His/her face was obscured by light, which shown on the rest of his/her body, in an aura of white light. When s/he spoke, it was a unison of voices.

“You are enlightened ones. …Very well. You shall be our messengers.”

In reality, they had been in communication with Hyperion's forces, and been instructed to ally...or pretend to. Internal strife, politics. Anything, everything that could be used against these people will be used.

That was the order.

…

Holo-Conference, Turi System

Koth sighed as the battle reports came in through Hades. Yet *another* pyrrhic victory, and this time at the hands of the Olympians.

As this happened, two more figures popped into the conference, taking the number in the chat up to six. He bowed slightly at them, hoping that they would be a bit more of talkers then the Phalanxians or the Starfederation.

“Admiral Koth of the Imperial Eighth Fleet” he said to them before filling them in. “We were just discussing the current layout of our forces” he nodded to the holographic map of Atlantian space, “And the possibility of boarding and capturing a demon vessel for study, and for information on their forces locations”

(OOC: I'm sorry, AO, but my part in this RP up till now is getting a bit boring, being able to only post a short paragraph about a horny old man negotiating a deal. So, if we could skip ahead one or two days then we could have the Republic fleet beginning to depart to aid you? Might be more exciting.)

Demon Battlecruiser, Minerva System

They watched. Studied. Monitored.

Strike.

The test had begun. As the group of Coredians entered another room, several non-bodies attacked. One could not see them directly, especially not with the dark interior of the vessel. But one could see their movements, if one looked hard enough. But by that point, one was already in very real danger. In essence, they were ghosts.

A number of them, an amount unknownst to the attacked, struck the boarding party with large talons and claws, striking at quick speeds. Now they would study just how powerful a Jedi truly was.
Most laymen don't know the secret of the Jedi's speed. Many assume it is inhumanly fast reflexes, or perhaps something to do with the Force. Though both are true, that wasn't even the half of it. The Jedi possess the ability to see occurrences before they occur, precognition. In combat, it works out to be a very accurate 'danger sense'. So when the demon-creatures attacked, Hikaru and Niklas already had their lightsabers out and were sweeping them in swift, deadly arcs, cleaving limbs and slicing bodies into smoking chunks of meat. A microsecond later, the two Chuunin-level Shinobi followed, also unleashing their lightsabers and throwing deadly kunai knives and shuriken when the opportunity presents itself. A second later, the Marine Corps' instincts and built-in HUDs flared and blaster bolts spewed out of their rifles, each one capable of making large holes in duracrete. By the time the next five second rolled around, the battle was in full swing, with the Marines covering the Jedi and Shinobi, and the Coredians made sure that the Demons understood what it meant to fight the best their country has ever produced.

So far, little in the way of powers and heavier weapons were actually needed, but that could change at a moment's notice...

Turi System

Ships of varying sizes, all leaving varying sized trails of leaking liquids and gases behind them, began to appear. All registered as Olympian and all of them, save the Archangel, registered damage requiring the services of the immense mobile shipyard that sat in the center of the equally immense fleet.

Im Kmmta appeared on an open channel that was obviously aimed at the Atlantians in particular. "It took some doing, but with the assistance of an Atlantian scout fleet which only took moderate damage, the galaxy has one less Demon fleet to worry about." That would boost morale... Atlantian ships didn't fare well in battle with Demons, usually. And certainly not scout fleets.

As Im's transmission cut out, nearly two hundred ships(mostly cruisers and other ships of unknown class that were probably bombardment frigates, but headed by a sister ship of the Trident) broke off and jumped away, probably to Portas, in case the system comes under another attack.

------

Holo-Conferance

Beside Hades, the figure of Im Kmmta appears, though the commander seems to have developed a rip in his tunic and a sliced forehead(though the blood is milky, rather than the red most of them were probably used to). If the commander of a battleship looked that way, one could only wonder what the crew of the smaller ships looked like... and try not to think about those crews that never returned from Portas.

Unlike Hades, Im did not inspire confidence or instill fear. He just looked drained and, in the eyes, angry. "Portas stands intact, as does it's defense fleet. We were lucky..."

Hades looks at him. "You were better. Your ships, tactics and numbers allowed you to win the day. You are to be commended, Shiplord."

Im turned that angry glare on Hades... even if he was an alien pretending to be a God, that took courage. "If the Nodes had survived another three minutes, I would not be here, Portas would be getting decimated from orbit and you would be getting this report from my former first officer on board the Archangel." Anger rose in his voice, requiring even more courage.

Hades glared back at him and spoke softly. "You are not working very hard to instill confidence in our new allies at the moment, Kmmta."

"I do not intend to do any such thing, Fleetlord. I intend to tell them exactly what our situation is: Bad. So much so that you had to come here personally. So much so that half of my crews will never see their homes again, something that has not happened in nearly twenty-five years under my command. We can win this war, Hades... but only if your ego does not cloud your judgement." Im's image wavers and vanishes, leaving Hades standing there, quite obviously furious at his insubbordinate subbordinate.

Hades turns and looks at the others, both 'in' the room and on flat screens. "If he were not so valuable in the field..." he growled to no one in particular and then changed the subject back to the briefing. "Let us get on with this."

Turi Holo-Conference

"Yes that would be a good idea we don't have time to doddle, well you flesh bags don't," Basatan stated (the last part under his breath), still clicking his claws every time he spoke.
"Also I was referring to the Phalanixian special forces unit known as the Demons, best to not make assumptions on what an AI is stating,As it stands the best we can offer is marine forces for boarding and or keeping order on the ground as well as ships that can act as mobile command posts aside from the our space fold systems to quickly remove wounded ships from the battlefield in a rather effective manner that would not require the use of jump nodes like the Atlantian fleet uses."

A brilliant craft, engineered to perfection, the pinnacle of old Taledonian technology and equipment; the Defiance rested its mighty bulk in the midst of a small fleet of Taledonian craft above the waterworld of Taledonia. The battlefleet of the province's private legion, Primigenia. Fifteen starships, something most would look upon with disinterest, but a ferocious force none-the-less. It was on the bridge of the Defiance that General Pompey stood, peering restlessly out the observation windows. He turned to the Atlantian craft that would lead them to where they would be needed most once again, and swore under his breath.

"What's taking those Himmelskians so damn long? Gods, they probably got drunk and jumped to the wrong system."

(OOC: Hokay, so, I shall let me boy know that it's his time to jump into zee RP. So, yeah, w00t.)

Holo-Conference

Vargo looked at Hades for a moment, giving him a look that betrayed nothing, but a lack of...well, respect or fear shown probably meant he didn't know who Hades was, or cared.

"Mr...Fleetlord. I wish to make an observation. While blatant insubordination isn't acceptable, you should listen to your subordinates too. If he his not happy with his situation, you should settle his mind. The last thing I want is to send my men into battle with a bunch of pissed off mourners. If we are to take on these 'Great Destroyers', we must face them with cool collected tact, as well with a united front. Dissent will only lead to a bloody defeat."

Turning to Koth, he nodded.

"I apologise for my blatantness, but my nation's ancestors have faced oblivion time and time again. If we are to help you in this endeavour, we need to be honest with each other, and we need to work seamlessly."

Clearing his throat, he looked around the room.

"We have a tough time ahead of us, I know this without even meeting this enemy. Losses have been taken, battles have been lost and won, but if there's one thing I know: This isn't the worst of it. Some of you will know this, some of you won't.

"However, you wish to board a Demon vessel? I must admit...this uneases me. Our ancestors attempted this in the thick of our first full on invasion by the 'Great Destroyers', and they failed. It will not be an easy job, and likely we will waste manpower doing such a thing. If you so wish to take a Demon ship now Koth, I will only help you, but I advise you to at least wait until we have faced what surprises the Demons have left to throw at us, and I think they still hold many.

"As for fleet deployment, I suggest we create multi-nation battle groups and exchange programs. This will help unify us and build trust. With our pilots flying in mixed groups, they will learn to live, fight and die by one another, and come closer because of this. Having mixed battle groups will also help us get at ease with one another, and with mixed ships, we can play off our strengths and weaknesses."

Vargo's eyes sharpened, and then he took a breath. He'd just said a lot, some of it without even thinking it through thoroughly enough. Hopefully his message would get through though...

_________________________________________________________________

Minti System

Astares cocked an eyebrow.

"We may, but our first message would be very...violent. We control about a sixth of the Fleet sent by our Nation. If we give the word, the ships will jump to whatever co-ordinates we give them, while attempting to sabotague the rest of the Fleet in the process."

He paused for a second, before shaking his head.

"However, because we are willing to unite, does not mean we are bowing at your feet and licking your toes so to speak. We will work together, make plans, and if this is to happen, I want to speak to you, or someone of authority, in person, on your ship. If this Alliance is to work, we need to be sure of each other, we need to unify. I have ideas for this, but likely you won't be interested just yet, but once you see what we're made of, maybe you will."

Astares held his gaze firmly on the viewscreen. Just because he was still alive meant little. At any point, the Demons could tire and blow him out of time and space, or interrogate him to near death. They could do anything, races like these weren't predictable, their genocidal tendencies aside. But like it or not, the Rebellion needed this Alliance.

"Hoo, boy."

The holoconference shut off momentarily, Boriial looked at his crewmembers with more than a touch of consternation. The strategical overlay.. didn't look good. Nor did the fact that these 'demons' had managed to annihilate an entire race. And quite a powerful one at that.

It was time, he decided, for a brief message back home.

Well, Golheas. Things are looking prettty fucking bad down here. Seriously. Just from looking at the strategical map, I can say these poor bastards are outnumbered, outgunned, and, from what I've garnered, probably outindustrialized, too. None of these things is particularly good, ne?

So, here's my request. I want the Talent For Destruction, the Faded Glory, and the Ragefire en route as soon as you get this. Oh, and some escorts, as well. Quadrupling our commitment can hardly be a bad thing, especially in a situation like this.

He hit the send button, before Minerva had a chance to edit it. An audible "shit" was heard over the ship's speakers.

It was not too long before a message came streaming through the endlessly curiously pathways of other dimensions, popping up on Boriial's screen.

We see no need to give you extra forces, especially considering that you have not engaged in combat yet. No doubt you are exaggerating the situation, in order to make things easier for yourself. Admiral Boriial, you are walking on thin ice with your tone. Show some respect.

Furthermore, I will require an accounting of your actions whilst in Atlantean space. I do not wish for your diplomatic ineptitude to ruin relations with another people.

In truth;
Tyrant Golheas

That being finished, Boriial turned back on the holoconference.

"Well.. I sent off a request for a few reinforcements. From what little we've garnered in intelligence reports, we're probably one of the more powerful nations represented here. Of course, the Tyrant didn't want to send them. So, looks like you'll just have to make do with the pleasure of my company, for the time being."

If Minerva was in possession of a body, she would've hit her head against something nearby. And hard. Oh, yes. Very hard. He was a good commander, she reminded herself. Of course, he'd just managed to divulge months worth of work from agents placed in trading organizations around the galaxy, that they had such reports, and he'd also managed to disparage the strength of the other fleets here!

"Bravo, you idiot."

The voice, this time, was audible, filtering through to Boriial, but not into the holoconference.

"What?!"

"Let me filter your words. I think it's better that way. I'm not sure what happened. No doubt you switched over to a message form that cut me out of the loop. Ah.. you've set it to 'direct message'. Let's change that. 'filtered message', coming right up. Certainly better for our credit on the international stage."

"..fine."

The conference continuing, the seemingly open and offensive remark followed up quickly by a superb apology, and the plain manner of speaking quickly replaced by an educated, urbane one. Yes, it was easy enough to catch, but, hopefully, everyone else there would have other things on their minds..

Hades glared at Vargo. "Im Kmmta is one of the most skilled commanders I have and he loves his crews as if they were his own family. That gives him strength, not weakness. He will mourn their loss while his ships are repaired, but when he returns to battle, he will bejust as deadly as he always is."

He taps in commands to the floating map and brings up closer maps of several solar systems, quickly, looks over each one for a few seconds, moves to another, then begins to look opver what information the Atlantians have on the Clusters the Demons spring from. Pitiful...

He returns the view to it's regional map and looks at the Atlantians with an appraising stare, as if wondering how they beat the last demon attack. By then this Vargo had moved on and was talking about integration and one of the others was claiming to be stronger than most present. "The Olympian fleet will not integrate or 'exchange' crews with any of you. The Fourth Fleet is most likely strong enough to do battle with this Demon invasion force head on and survive..." 'Barely', is the unsaid finish to that statement. "You are not here to assist us in the war. You are here to assis them." Motions to the Atlantians. "Space is a very large place and while my fleet can take on a Demon fleet and win, we cannot watch every sector for enemy movement. The Atlantians need more ships than we can provide. Many more. They need them or several billion people on several worlds, perhaps even teh Atlantian homeworld, will die within one of their months. This is not a battle of land, politics or anything of the sort you newcomers have seen before. This is of all of your very survivals. These demons mean to wipe out ALL life in this galaxy. Every last planet that harbors intelligent life will be decimated, unless stopped here and now, while they are managable."

"We will fight alongside you and most likely take the point and the brunt of combat when the Enemy is large, as our ships were made to fight Demons first and foremost. In exchange for sparing your forces from situations they are not built for, against ships they have never seen before, I do not think my rejection of your offer is out of line."

Fleet Admiral Harper watched as Imm chewed out this "Hades" about losing his men and not to let his ego get the best of him. Things were certainly looking hot, with all the tempers and tensions running high. Hades? What the hell kind of name was that? Was he trying to pretend he was the Greek god of the Underworld? That took some major ego right there. Sighing to himself and shaking his head, he returned to the conversation, in time to hear Vargo's proposal. His eyes went flat. "Two things. One, I will be able to spare some men for this boarding of a Demon vessel, but only a few are trained for this kind of thing, so don't expect much. Second of all, my fleet stays together. All one big fleet, no siphoning of my ships elsewhere into other fleets. If I need to split it, I will do so and choose who to command it. If you want to be in the same sector that I am, fine. But we can save the diplomatic learning and unifying for after we win this war." The obvious "if we do" was left unsaid.

Then came the comment by Boriial, and a twitch appeared on his forehead. "Mr....Boriial, it is nice to know you are confident but considering that this is our first encounter with any of you, then I highly doubt you know of the Federation's capabilities, much more every nation here. So, refrain from saying things such as that, thank you. Apology accepted." Then he turned back to the rest of the table, rubbing his temple, regathering his thoughts.

"Alright, so, who is going to be assigned to capture this Demon ship and who and where is everyone else going for guard duty?"

"What's taking those Himmelskians so damn long? Gods, they probably got drunk and jumped to the wrong system."

Grand Magus Felrand Strond blinked his steeley grey eyes rapidly as the his Einherjer-Class starcruiser, Fenrir entered the meet-point of the Taledonians and Atlantians. The rest of the fleet followed close behind. The Himmelskians had brought their entire fleet, including the warcruisers of his fellow Maguses. He had one of the pilots signal the rest of the fleet to hold positions until futher orders, then turned to the message window, and opened a comm-link with the Taledonian ship Defiance.

"Hail, General Pompey." Began Felrand, in his strong voice, with hints of the rough Himmelskian native accent. "I apologise for our lateness. I hope we have not kept you waiting too long."

OOC: No, I'm not dead, I just got swamped in midterms. Luckally, the last one's tomorrow, giving me a break. But right now I gotta study, and can't take the time to make a 5 page post.

I'll make it up to you tomorrow though! Extra-long! With plot development! It'll be a super-post!

Pompey frowned and eyed the arriving fleet. The Republic didn't like tardiness, or failure, however it was to be expected; these were a new people to the Republic, and their military had yet to be assimilated into the mighty legions and fleets of the Republic, giving them form, order, and discipline. It would all come in time, and regardless of the un-professional way they were starting off, they would gain much battle experience first hand, and they were the only soldiers the Senate had given him. Perhaps being nice would be in his interests, else a mutiny were to come.

"Open a channel to both the Himmelsk fleet and the Atlantian guide." He ordered.

"Better late than never, I suppose. The fleet is assembled, Empress Atlantia, we are ready to depart. Please transmit the co-ordinates to wherever you want us to go to all our vessels, and we shall be underway."

J-463, inner Perseus arm

Zoir space was huge. A visible section of the galaxy, when looked at from afar, stretching from parts of the Sagittarius arm, through the Orion arm (although by-passing Sol’s local neighborhood), and taking up a good portion of the outer Perseus arm, was in ancient times, all part of the Zoir Empire. Nowdays, many of the ancient holdings had been indeed settled by new empires.

However, what had been modern Imperial Zoir territory had taken up a much smaller (but still respectable) amount of space, only filling up parts of the Orion and inner Perseus arms. And a few months ago, everything had been wiped clean.

Not that this system needed to be wiped. J-463, located on the opposite side of Zoir space from Sol, Atlantis, and the rest of the Orion arm, was a dead system, barren and lifeless even before the Demon onslaught. It was a class three red giant, well into its final stages of life. Three planets sat in-system, a testament to the younger days of the parent star. Just as the asteroid belt inside the orbits of the planets was the testament of the remains of a planet that had not survived the giant star.

The inner two were rocky. One was apparently always dead, a class B hunk of rock. However, the second planet out, although dead, hosted the ancient fossilized remains of a civilization, long forgotten, its people long gone. The plant cover that would have hid the ruins had died off long ago, leaving only lichen and small hardy insects to populate the ground. The shallow lakes that had once been massive oceans were home to small amounts of hardy sea creatures.

Far beyond those two planets sat a minor gas giant, no bigger then Neptune. It was green in color, with no rings, although it was home to two moons and several smaller irregular satellites.

And it was in this desolate abandoned system that thousands of ships dropped out of transwarp into…as well as two asteroid-sized craft, each measuring out to be about twenty-five kilometers in both length and height. They were black, almost invisible against the dark sky if it weren’t for the shimmering of the hull. Their talons stretched out like a hungry hand, ready to devour the lesser races. And in the center of both sat something glowing and purple. Ominous indeed.

Thousands of much smaller Dreadnoughts and Nodes swarmed around them. Each Node had a small fleet of Battlecruisers, Scouts, and Corsairs attached to it, as if it was designed to be a fleet carrier. And no doubt the two large planetoid ships housed even more.

The Demons had come to the Milky Way Galaxy.

On one of the planetoid-sized craft, the Hand of Vengeance, a Titan viewed the giant red star, unaffected by the light that would have decimated a lesser species’s eyes. He stood up out of his chair.

“This shall serve as our foreward base. We do not wish to get too close to the enemy too soon. Nor do we wish to use a well-known system. Records indicate that this particular star ceased to be relevant over five-hundred million cycles ago”

To the unaided eye, one would think Hyperion was alone, talking to himself on the dark, empty, cold bridge. But Hyperion knew he was not.

“What is the status of the Atlantian Federation?” he asked, still looking out the window. “Have the surviving wave one fleets reported in?”

They report grave news. A coalition is forming. We shall be forced to attack multiple targets.

“No” replied Hyperion, “No. We shall not. Not all hope is yet lost…if we continue to attack only Atlantian instillations, the coalition may decide it is not worth their time, giving us the chance to wipe out at least one more species before a coalition fully forms to stop us”

What shall we do?

Hyperion thought to himself for a moment. “I want…I want an example made. I want a major Atlantian system razed. I want as much damage to moral as possible.”

And Fleedlord Hades?

“Ignore the Olympians for a time. If they attack…return fire. But we shall deal with Hades and the rest of the children in due time. For now…send the Waking Judgment and a defense fleet to…” he pressed a small device on the black photonium battle armor on his wrist, and a holographic display of a map of the galaxy appeared before him. He mentally zoomed in on Atlantian space, which was now updated with new scout reports.

“There. The Tekara system. Seven hundred million souls, and on the complete other side of the Turi system, where they have forces massing”

Your will is law.

He chuckled. “Of course it is”

Silently, one of the two planetoid ships moved off, taking with it a fourth of the fleet.

Those who approach us wish to make a deal. They wish to speak with a figure of authority.

“Do they?” the Titan chuckled again, “Very well. Put them through. If they are persistent enough, then perhaps we shall give them a more earnest appearance.”

…

Minti System

The Seraph-like creature on the screen stood silent, not replying for several seconds. Not exactly the kind of creature you’d expect when called “Demon”, but perhaps history was never written in an objective stance. Or perhaps evil was seductive. Or perhaps a combination of the two.

When it finally did speak, it was with the same unison of voices.

“No one of requested authority is on this vessel. You require to speak with him. He is coming. He requests to speak with you. We will put him through.”

The viewscreen changed again, this time to a man. He had long silver hair, and a full beard. His entire body beneath the head was covered in a kind of black shimmering armor…the same as the rest of the “bridge”, such as it was….and the same as the hull of a Demon ship. He was standing, with a large staff in his right hand.

“I am Hyperion. Titan, and bringer of light. You wished to speak with me?”

…

Demon Battlecruiser, Minerva System

They fight with much enthusiasm.

The near-invisible creatures continued to come from all directions, in increasing fury. It was almost as if the creatures were…multiplying. Meaty chunks could be seen for a moment as they flew, before vanishing once again, and landing in an unknowing spot. The lightsabers would have considerable less effect then usual, but still able to pack a punch. It was if it was harder to cut through…whatever they were cutting through.

Begin Phase Two.

Not just talons now. No…now the ship’s walls began to contort, extending into turret formations, which then began to fire rapid blasts of energy at the opposing boarding party. Many of the phantom creatures began targeting the marines, who they considered to be the weaker of the bunch. Take out the weaker links, and the stronger links would follow…

…

Orbit of Taledonia

A waterworld. Not much different then Cirrus, and also quite beautiful. She wondered if Cirrus was still in one piece.

That was when Pompey’s face replaced the view. She jumped slightly, as if she had been caught in a quickly deepening train of thought. The Empress nodded quickly.

“Understood, General. My Admirals confirm that they’ve round up some allied forces, and they’re currently massing in the Turi system. I’m sending coordinates…now”

Sure enough, the maps on the Himmelsk and Taledonian vessels would soon indicate a star on the far edge of a small star cluster of about twenty stars, sitting on the edge of the Orion arm facing away from the core.

“I’ll meet you there. My engines are outfitted for a different form of FTL travel then yours”

With that, the signal cut out, and the small silver and blue craft made off, going to warp at warp 2, to the nearest Jump Node point. From there she would take the node network back to Atlantian space.

…

Holo-Conference, Turi System

Koth rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He could feel the beginnings of a headache coming on. Too many leaders, too many conflicting plans…

Too much penis waving. Besides. His ship was even more awesome then theirs. But that was beside the point.

The Telrosian Admiral, however, had asked a very good question. Who *was* going to infiltrate the demon ship? And who WAS going to go where?

“Guard duty will be difficult.” he said. “The main force hasn’t shown itself yet…the attacks are random. You’d have to spread your forces out in order to cover every system. Once we can pinpoint the staging grounds of this invasion, we can get a better hold of who goes where. Of course…”

He looked around the room, glancing at all of them. “If you do stay, and defend…there *is* a chance they will alter their strategy and attack multiple countries before they intended to. This will both leave you slighly at a disadvantage, and leave them more spread out"

"Gaurd your important systems well and garrison your less important ones strategically. They will strike for your heart, Atlantian. I trust that there is a sizable fleet gaurding your colony worlds? Those are the targets that I would choose, if I wished to break the spirit of the Atlantian people..." Hades paused and looked at Koth, his eyes finishing that statement along the lines of 'among other things'.

"I will begin dividing and deploying my fleet strategically among your colony worlds. Scout fleets along the rim worlds and perhaps a scout fleet in your Core worlds, just in case."

He pauses again and looks at the map. "We may have to sacrifice the distant colonies... perhaps even one of the main colony worlds... cut off a finger to save the arm from the same fate." he ignored the reaction that Koth would undoubtedly be having as he spoke about such things as if planning a battle strategy. "If we had to, we could alter the primary so that it emits radiation harmful to the Demons for a short while, by introducing enough of a new element to it's surface. Of course, that would also cause mass sickness on the planet, but not sterilization. The magnetic field of the planet would deflect most of it and the rest would become lightshows in the upper atmosphere."

Harper listened to Koth carefully, and was about to reply when Hades put in his two cents. Harper felt new respect for the Olympian; his ego may be the size of two galaxies, but he knew war, that much was certain. Leaning forward, he entered into the conversation again. "Understood, Admiral. I would simply like to know what system my fleet is going to be sent to, so I can get things going. The more time we spend talking, the more time the Demons have to rally and deliver a fatal strike. Hades, you bring up good points, but those decisions are not mine to make, so I will leave Koth to speak." The Fleet Admiral leaned back, thinking.

Demon Battlecruiser, Minerva System

They fight with much enthusiasm.

The near-invisible creatures continued to come from all directions, in increasing fury. It was almost as if the creatures were…multiplying. Meaty chunks could be seen for a moment as they flew, before vanishing once again, and landing in an unknowing spot. The lightsabers would have considerable less effect then usual, but still able to pack a punch. It was if it was harder to cut through…whatever they were cutting through.
Hikaru scowled as he felt more resistance from the enemy cutting them up, like they were trying to adapt to the lightsabers. He could see, though that with more effort, he could keep up with the adapting. Not to mention he decided to pour some Force energy into the blade to give a little added mystical punch. He vaguely noted with pride that Niklas did the same thing and the Shinobi pouring Chakra -their own supernatural energy source- into their blades for the same reason.

A wall of demonic enemies advanced and Hikaru took the opportunity to throw them back wth a shove of telekinetic force hard enough to feel like speeders slamming into them, never missing a beat with his lightsaber.

Begin Phase Two.

Not just talons now. No…now the ship’s walls began to contort, extending into turret formations, which then began to fire rapid blasts of energy at the opposing boarding party. Many of the phantom creatures began targeting the marines, who they considered to be the weaker of the bunch. Take out the weaker links, and the stronger links would follow…
Marines began to fall, their chests holed with the energy bursts. The surprise attack had caught them off guard, but only for a moment since a second later, the energy bolts bounced off shimmering blue shields built into the Marine armor. A relatively new addition to the armor, the shield has proved itself in trials and skirmishes with Imperial entites. Now it would protect the Marines as well in this battle. The Jedi and Shinobi also had personal shields on them for enemy weapons, but it was for redundancy as their lightsabers deflected many of the bolts coming for them, some of them into enemy ranks.

The Coredians were nothing if not prepared. Now, let's see if they can manage to force their way to a vital location!

Holo-conference

Vargo blinked. All Volodian Senior Officers had been put through Political Training, seeing as in the past it'd always been military personnel that had made contact with new species. Vargo had gone through extensive training, allowing him to turn any annoyance or displeasure into a simple, innocent movement. The blink represented moderate annoyance.

How can they NOT care about unification? Do they not realise, or rather, care, that the Demons will probably pry into any weakness available, be it a weaker fleet or the tiniest dislike between two factions? Perhaps not, they probably haven't faced Great Destroyers before...they better learn quick.

Keeping a straight face, Vargo listened to Hades and rubbed his tongue across the roof of his mouth (His lips closed). This represented minor displeasure with a fair amount of thoughfulness.

"If I may cut in again? Considering past experience with what seems to be a similar race, I volunteer a detachment of Marines to take on the boarding operation. They've been trained for exactly this sort of operation. They won't fail."

Vargo said the last sentence as strongly as possible, as if there were no question in his mind that the Marines wouldn't succeed. Granted, boarding a vessel like a Shivan Destroyer wasn't exactly the same as the Demons, but it was unlikely that anything worse could be thrown at them during the boarding. And if there was...well, at least there was no chance of the Demons boarding any allied ships. Clearing his throat, Vargo continued.

"I also have an idea. Hades, you said to Koth that some of the distant Atlantian colonies may have to be sacrificed. While I do not disagree, losing millions of people in a bid to save your inner-rim and core worlds may bring down morale, and make it seem as if the politicians are merely trying to save their own hides."

Vargo glanced around the room, and focused on Koth.

"I believe that I have a strategy that will save most, if not all civilian lives on the distant worlds. All I'd require is either a world in your space to relocate your civilians to, or instead, your permission for us to temporarily take care of your civilians until this blows over or you find a suitable planet/settlement for them to live in."

Minti System

“I am Hyperion. Titan, and bringer of light. You wished to speak with me?”

Astares blinked. Hyperion was not what he expected. He expected something less...human, something more overtly evil. Even so, Hyperion seemed to be in charge.

"Indeed. I am Captain Astares, and I represent a rebel movement inside our own Nation: The Serpantian Rebels. I'm not sure what your subordinates have told you, but to sum it up in very basic terms we wish to join you, and help you rid the galaxy of any nations you see fit to destroy, if you spare our own Nation. Right now, a fairly strong fleet from our Nation has joined the Atlantians and their coalition, but many ships inside this Fleet are loyal to us, and are ready to break away from the coalition in the most destructive manner possible, and join your forces. We also have spies and saboteurs on other ships in the Fleet, who will hamper Allied operations as much as possible until whatever major confrontation you have planned comes to be.

"Our Nation was born from a bunch of outcasts, banished from Earth to a hellish prison to suffer and die. These outcasts led a massive rebellion which spawned an Empire. This Empire was dismantled shortly after the fourth return of the Great Destroyers, the Shivans. I can safely say this: Everyone that is with the Serpantian Rebels is tired of the corrupt politicians ruling our Nation. Poisoning the people, only thinking of their own hides, and constantly bringing us closer and closer to oblivion. We figure it's time to join you Hyperion, and time to show our people the light."

Hades paused and looked over the man who was speaking to him. He sighed and looked up at the cieling as if searching for a higher power's insight... odd thing for a God to do. He looks back at Vargo. "Let me explain this to you all in detail... the Demons have been a threat to this galaxy for as long as any of your histories. When the last Demon War was fought, I was commanding ships notunlike those that I command today into battle. I have been battling the Demons since your ancestors were learning to cook meat, in some cases. When the Atlantians were searching for a new homeworld."

He sighs and calls up an image of the Large Magellanic Cloud, an irregular dwarf galaxy near the Milky Way. "You still do not understand. When I say I am Hades... I mean... I am Hades! Lord of Tartarus. Ruler of the Dead. I have been trying as hard as I can to rid my miniature galaxy of these damned Demons for eons. I and the other Olympians can only manage a stalemate with them, much to our eternal annoyance. With the defeat of this invasion force, they will be weakened. Enough that a fleet from here, inside the galaxy, can travel across the Great Void to the Tartarus Clusters and fight the Demons on their own ground, which is only a two week journey, with halfway decent super-luminous engines." Two weeks to travel 168,000 lightyears? "They will be finally extinguished from the universe and your descendants will be able to sleep in peace. That is all for naught if we cannot stop them here, though. We must work together, I agree. To do otherwise is to invite certain death. I will not be integrating my crews with yours, though."

Holo-conference
"Well then right now we should be moving forces into position," Basatan interjected, "Look at it this way while you meat bags fight and play the 'I have the larger penis' they can be preparing to move. We should start moving into positions."
"Also I'd like to point out that with all odds your marines will fail and suffer a horrid death, we only faced a small force fifty years ago and then had a difficult time fighting them, now disabling one or boarding one mid flight will with all odds be as hard as winning that confrontation fought back then," he continued, obviously directing the comment at Vargo.

a 201 ship strong crusade fleet exited the warp com the telros

Harper clenched his teeth in an effort to not scream out in anger and throttle the lots of them. Taking a deep breath, he let it out. He ignored Hades' comments, who was still on his pedestal, acting as if he was a god. The Admiral personally didn't have any beliefs, he simply did his job and enjoyed life. Anyone who claimed they were a god deserved to be put in the looney bin. "Alright, Hades, we get the picture, you say you are a god, and all this stuff. We get that you are fighting the demons, good for you. But, personally, I don't believe one word that you are a god. As I am sure some of us here would agree to that. So, let's drop the subject, it's irrelevant. And Basatan, I am in full agreement. I just want to deploy my damn fleet, so I can get to the business of doing a fucking war! We did not come out to dilly-dally and use up precious military resources in order to find out whether or not we believe you are a god. Let's get a boarding force together, assign fleet deployments, and get to it. Jesus, by now the Demons could be invading in four different directions and we would be caught with our pants down. Let's get started people, unless anyone has anything else to suggest, aside from Admiral Vargo," He nodded in respect. ", then I suggest we shut up and do something about this. Actions speak louder than words, gentleman." Finished with his rant, he turned to Vargo.

"I would be willing to let you use a world to transport to, temporarily, if need be." One of his bridge crew waved at him, and he cut off his side of the link, so no one could hear him but he could hear them.

"Sir, Sephirothian ships have entered the system and are currently contacting us. They are the same ones that Captain Virandi has contacted at that station." Harper raised an eyebrow.

"I see. Alright, send our reply."

Greetings. May I ask what brings on this occasion? Harper was going back to the holopanel, when his second in command pulled him on his arm.

"Sir, I just received a message from SICON, Priority One. It's urgent." The Fleet Admiral stared and then ran to the communications panel and typed in his activation code. The face of Sky Marshal Vaire appeared. Harper saluted. "Vaire! I mean, sir! What is the situation?" The Sky Marshal merely replied.

"War. I need you to send some of your forces back home, so we can strengthen our defenses. I may even need to call you back out of there. The numbers I need reassigned are being transmitted to you now. I cannot tell you much more over this channel. Just know that we are being called upon by allies and we are fulfilling our duty. Sky Marshal Vaire out." The Admiral was stunned. War, now? And he would have to lose significant amounts of his fleet. He sighed. But orders were orders.

"Send the redeployment orders to the ships specified. I am going to go back to the meeting." Twenty corvettes, 11 cruisers, 12 heavy destroyers, four battlecruisers, twenty-six dreadnaughts and three carriers shifted and moved away from the fleet. Activating their flash drives, they vanished in a flash of light, returning home.

[QUOTE=fleet comand . the war call us here to arms noble allys strength in the macine sprirt[/QUOTE]

the crusade fleet formed up

[OOC: Sephrioth, if you are trying to be funny, you have failed. You may leave now.]

OOC: Nothing fancy tonight, sadly. Just a bare-bones thing to hold you over till spring break next week, when I can dish out the awesome. Also, as I've now put on the first post, I'm cutting off the openness of this RP, as we're getting too big. The exception to this is Xanthal, who's been part of this RP from the start, just in a different thread. He'll be posting in this one before the end. If someone has a *really* good reason for joining...eh, TG me.

IC:

Minerva System

They come prepared. The fighting styles are…evocative…especially the ones with the light.

They were impressed with the swords of light, which were actually dealing damage to them…which meant it was much more then a blade of photons. And the handling…impressive.

The shielding didn’t impress them at all, it was a generic defensive tool. But the light…they could deflect enemy shots. Evidently, they were powerful. The information processed would be sent back to the home systems. They would probably elevate the threat level of these people, possibly putting them higher on the strike list.

Phase three.

The attacks all but stopped…and the doors to the room closed soon after. A moment of silence, and then the floor, the ceiling, and each wall began to close in, growing into each other and causing the room to slowly fade out of existence.

…

Minti System

Hyperion seemed to consider the words of Astares for a moment. Weather it was because he genuinely wanted to gain an ally, or merely cause more chaos and destruction though…that was the question.

He searched his mental database for Shivans. A few entries. He’d have to consult the ship’s database when he had a moment…perhaps he would have to meet up with another powerful species before hitting the core.

“Your actions are noble, and are to be commended, captain” the Titan finally said, “We only wish to destroy the pawns of those who live in the core, so that we may strike at the core of this galaxy. Otherwise they will cause nothing but strife and misfortune for your people and everyone else who rightfully inhabit this galaxy”

A half-lie. Well, three fourths of a lie.

…

Turi Holo-conference

Koth blinked. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Willingly sacrificing millions of people? He looked at the map…moving everyone from the so-called “outer” worlds would be difficult indeed. The two outermost Atlantian colonies, Turi and Tekara, were both major colony systems with populations nearing a billion. The other four colony systems were smaller, but still in the population of hundreds of millions. The problem was that Atlantian space had no real “frontier” that could be retreated from easily. Everything was built up.

“Uh...” he struggled to come up with a satisfactory answer to everyone, “We can move people from the Keloda, Lazon, Portas, and Gree systems, their populations are smaller. But Turi, Tekara, and the four core systems must stay in place, they’re populations are too large to move as well.”

He looked at Harper. “We have space on our own worlds to move our civilians. Thank you for your offer, but I must decline. I feel our people would feel much more at ease inside our own territories. We can re-direct them to any one of our other worlds. We…could use assistance in moving them, however. Billions of people are not easy to move.”

The remaining six systems lit up. Turi, Tekara, and Vitar all hosted populations over 500 million, but under a billion. Kora and Dopa hosted populations of about a billion. And Argala hosted a population of over two billion. It was odd how they were laid out, with Turi and Tekara on opposite ends of Atlantian space, and far away from the four core systems.

Koth was starting to seem a little more confident in this strategy now. With four of the systems no longer populated, he could concentrate his forces in the remaining systems. He ignored Hades’s suggestion of radiation poisoning, hoping the idea would get lost in the conversation.

Hades's image stands motionless for a short while. One may not notice it at first, but soon the static that breaks the image up once or twice might gain some attention. A moment after the last bit of static, he moves, as if nothing had happened. Either an uplink problem or he had paused transmission.

Beside him, Im Kmmta appeared again, this time in a properly groomed uniform and a small bandage on his forehead. hades' nods to him and vanishes, leaving Im to look at the group. He sighs. "Forgive the Fleetlord's absense from the rest of this briefing, he must distribute orders to his battlegroups. I am the only Group Commander to not have a pending assignment, due to the damage we sustained in the last battle." Compared to the near overwealming presence of Hades, Im seemed like a whisper in an opera. He also looked very, very tired.

"I have been monitoring the goings on and I find the population movement to be a wise precausion... if a public relations nightmare. I have also been hearing broad plans for boarding Demon ships..." He sighs again and taps a control on his 'control pad'. "Io... bring up data on Project Cerberus. Subject: Argo."

The holo-map vanishes and a realisting hologram of a Cerberus appears, armored hide, vicious fangs, powerful tail and muscles that all combine to scream 'do not fuck with me'. "This is Argo, a Generation Fifteen Cerberus. He is what your marines and boarding parties are not: A killing machine designed for two things... striking fear into the core of any enemies and to slaughter Demons. He has boarded three Demon ships and survived, while nearly two hundred Demons did not. He is the most deadly thing in this solar system at the moment... save for Cerberus himself, who is at the side of Hades. Designed to have three minds that all work together to develop battleplans 'on the fly' and to act as redundancy, should one had be taken out. He will be getting many more kills by the end of ther war, I think."

Im switches the image back to the map. "We also have Stalker Teams. Stealthy and deadly even in the nude, in full battle gear and with a small visable light and heat stealth field generator, they are near about impossible to get rid of, unless they wish to go. I am suggesting that the Olympian fleet handle these missions, as we... we know what we are doing. We have been on their ships. We know how to navigate their ships, which is a very hard thing to do. We know how to access their computers without raising alarms... most of the time. We know how to read their language. These are things that you do not know how to do and to properly train your personell for such tasks would be difficult. If the intent to to capture a ship, then your forces would be much more likely to succeed. To get in and out without being noticed, however... please leave such missions to the Demon experts."

[Orbit of Taledonia]

Felrand Strond glanced briefly at a navigation screen as the coordinates sent from the Atlantian Empress flashed into view. He nodded in satisfaction, and turned to one of his battle-brothers onboard the ship.

"Jarl Vikernes, send these out to all ships in the Himmelsk fleet, then on my command, make the jump to the system."

Jarl Varg Vikernes bowed his head before replying.

"Yes, Grand Magus Felrond." He turned to pilot and relayed the order. "Whenever you're ready, Sir."

Felrond's left ear buzzed as one of the three lesser maguses of the fleet contacted him through his direct line.

"The edge of the Orion?" Came the sagely voice of Magus Blot Regnaruss. "Been some time since I was around those parts. I guess our first mission with the Republic will be more interesting than I thought."

Felrand grinned slightly before replying with a simple "Maybe, my old friend." He looked back at the blue and green and brown sphere that was Taledonia, suddenly thinking of his own homeworld of Himmelsk.

"Make the jump, Jarl Vikernes."

The main bulk of the Republican fleet had exited the system, leaving but the Supreme Commander of the forces the Senate had donated to the Atlantian cause. The co-ordinates received had already been imputted into the navicomputers, but the order to jump was being saved for a later time. A questioning stare was being directed at the general who stood still, his eyes fixated on a blank part of space, the area where the Himmelsk fleet had just exited.

"....Sir?" asked the Admiral timidly, "Shall we follow?"

Pompey did not stir, nor even make a motion that would suggest he had heard the inquiry. "Hmm? Oh....Shall we follow? Yes, I believe we shall. Give the fleet the command. Remember, we are to arrive behind the Atlantian and Himmelskian lines. We are not to engage unless those 'Demons' get too close."

The Admiral saluted smartly, then wheeled and went about his orders. Pompey turned back to the window. The black of space, filled with the various shipyards, starships themselves, and other things that littered the area around the planet. Large warfleets hung in orbit, stationed there thanks to the Magister Militum's plans for the defence of the Republic in the event of an invasion from the Empire. In the blink of an eye, black turned to white, the various mechanisms now erased from existance, everything a blurr of the harsh white light that was dimming and turning to a lighter blue. They would arrive soon.

Minerva System

They come prepared. The fighting styles are…evocative…especially the ones with the light.

They were impressed with the swords of light, which were actually dealing damage to them…which meant it was much more then a blade of photons. And the handling…impressive.

The shielding didn’t impress them at all, it was a generic defensive tool. But the light…they could deflect enemy shots. Evidently, they were powerful. The information processed would be sent back to the home systems. They would probably elevate the threat level of these people, possibly putting them higher on the strike list.

Phase three.

The attacks all but stopped…and the doors to the room closed soon after. A moment of silence, and then the floor, the ceiling, and each wall began to close in, growing into each other and causing the room to slowly fade out of existence.
"The room's closing in!" Niklas yelled.

"I know, I know!" Hikaru gritted his teeth, his mind racing as to how he's going to get out of this predicament.

OOC: *shrug* I guess I’ve waited long enough. I do hope that everyone’s not dropping off though…

IC:

Minerva System

The walls continued to close in, and the standing room was quickly becoming minute. But what could they do? Could…could something possibly cut through the mysterious material that made up the hull?

Turi System

Koth looked around at the other members of the conference. Well, rather, their avatars. Who knew how many of them were “real”, so to speak. He knew damn well the Phalanxian avatar wasn’t a real one. Still, everyone else seemed to be putting on very humanoid appearances. He wondered how many were embellished though…Im definitely wasn’t.

No one was speaking up after Im finished. Wondering why, he turned his attention back to Im, and his mind quickly raced to find something to reply with. He glanced back at the Phalanxian…crab, trying to decide if he wanted to actually capture another demon ship, or merely get in and out with information. Stealth would reduce the loss of life, but capturing a new demon ship, well…the old one they had was a fine specimen, but what did the new ones hold? Then again, letting *others* do the job for them would damage chances of gaining a monopoly over the newer technologies.

Finally, he nodded at Im. “Understood. We’ll probably need both types of missions, of course. Stealth more often then not, to get the tactical information we need, but we would like to acquire a newer Demon ship specimen”

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the system, a jump node portal formed, and a small Atlantian vessel emerged. The Empress had returned.

…

Tekara System

Another standard day at Citadel Nine, in orbit around Zalkon, the second planet out of three in the system, and a standard class-M world. It hosted two moons, one of them a class-O water world. The planet itself was called home by 400 million people, the larger of the two populated worlds in the system, with the other planet being the third planet, the class-M Thalamas, with 200 million.

In addition to the Citadel, a sphere of defense turrets orbited the planet, as well as all two-hundred ships of the Atlantian twentieth fleet, all on standby. This system was considered to be one of the larger colonies, and would be protected at all costs.

The Commander of Citadel Nine, Commander Reth, was a middle-aged man, nearing Admiral Vega’s age. A man with a short temper, but also quick to think and act. At times it seemed he could almost guess something before it happened. Which was probably why he managed to grab his coffee cup the ensign had dropped as he was handing it to him before it even hit the ground.

“I’m terribly sorry sir” the ensign said, looking nervous. The commander merely look a sip from his cup, an annoyed glare on his face as the ensign backed off from the Commander’s chair in Ops. He turned his attention to another officer, who was at the science station. “Lt, are you still working on those anomalous readings?”

“yes sir. I…can’t figure it out” he swiveled his chair around, and faced his commander. “They’ve vanished now, but about an hour ago we were getting some sort of transwarp vortex in our Kuiper Belt. Maybe we should send a ship out…”

“Contact outposts sixteen and seventeen” the commander replied, looking at another officer at the communication station, “have them send a ship, their closer”

“I would if I could, but they seem to be having transmission difficulties”

Reth arched his eyebrow. “What…kind of difficulties?”

“I just can’t get anything through, like the subspace receiver is down”

“…How long has it been like that?”

The Lt. shrugged, “I dunno…maybe an hour?”

Reth’s eyes opened wide in realization. “And you didn’t bother to TELL anyone?!”

“Uh…I figured they’d sort out technical difficulties out by themselves…I don’t get why…”

“Shut up” the commander cut him off, “Just shut up and contact Citadel One, tell them we have a serious problem. NOW”

A moment of silence as the Lt. fiddled with the controls.

“…Sir, I can’t get anything out”

Silence.

“Sir…” the science officer spoke up, “I’m…getting more transwarp readings. And…and they’re only a few-hundred kilometers away”

Reth’s face went pale. “Oh gods”

Seconds later, hundreds upon hundreds of Demon ships warped in ontop of the vastly outnumbered Atlantian defense fleet…carrying with them a massive twenty-five kilometer *base* ship.

The Atlantians never stood a chance.

(OOC: Just a question, where are we gonna be popping up?)

Minerva System

The walls continued to close in, and the standing room was quickly becoming minute. But what could they do? Could…could something possibly cut through the mysterious material that made up the hull?
There has to be something we could do, or we're all gonna get a little thinner... Hikaru thought as the room steadily grew smaller and smaller.

Niklas decided to try burning his way through the hull and pushed his lightsaber towards what he thought is a weaker part of the wall. He poured in as much of the Force as he could manage to make the lightsaber stronger. "Master, help me out here!"

With nothing to lose, Hikaru helped his young apprentice and stuck his lightsaber into the same general area and shoved his own powers into the blade as well, followed by the two ninjas. The Marines were helpless, since grenades would kill them and they weren't sure if their blasters could do it. Nevertheless, they had to help the Jedi however they can and turned their blasters to the highest setting they could manage -Disintegrate- and squeezed the trigger as long as they could, forming not so much bolts as streams of energy that poured into the same wall until their power packs ran out, then they switched to another one. The sheer amount of energy put out by everyone, coupled with the increasing pressure from the moving walls, also raised the room temperature significantly. Perhaps the frozen light could get unfrozen somehow with all that energy...

(OOC: Just a question, where are we gonna be popping up?)

OOC: Turi system, same as the Empress, where the holoconference is taking place.

(OOC: Hokay. Also, this is a placeholder for my next post. Too tired to do one tonight.)

Holo-Conferance

Im nodded. "That can be arranged easily. There will be many broken hulls to salvage, in addition to a few captured ships. We have been talking in length with broad strokes. It is time that we determine who goes where. The Demons will attack again and will attack soon."

----

Turi System

The Olympian fleet began spreading itself out, with the exception of a pocket of ships around the largest 'ship' in the system. The massive mobile shipyard was alive with activity as Im's fleet was repaired.

Some of the Olympian ships(in two hundred ship groups) lept out of the system, heading for the colony worlds, by their headings. Shame that none of them were pointed at Tekara...

Harper rubbed his temples, holding his temper at bay. "Please, can just someone ask me where they would like my fleet to go. I would just like to begin my part of this little party. I am tired of talking, I think we have done enough. The game plan is to defend what places we can while a force goes to capture a demon ship, so as to find out more about them. So, as many of my men are anxious to know, which system do you want us to guard?" He then finished speaking, waiting for a reply. He was tired of these politics, tired of Hades's antics, and tired of talking. He was a military man, not a politician. Harper just wanted to get his job done and go home. The war at home worried him and the faster this was over, the better.

Minerva System

Highly ineffective, but just as enough bullets could eventually pierce through stone walls, so did the combined forces from the blasters and lightsabers force their way through the photonic hull of the Demon vessel.

Unknownst to the boarding party, Demon vessels were color-coded for a reason. The toughest form of Photonium was naturally “colored” green (colored in the loosest sense, as the hull was still very black). Green was normally reserved for the outer hulls of the larger fleet vessels, such as the Habitat class and parts of the Dreadnought class that needed further protecting. Below green on the density scale was yellow or amber, usually built for the medium class vessels, such as the Node and Battlecruiser classes. Then there were the grey hulls, the least-tough of the outer hulls, but easier to create and mass-produce, so smaller Corsair and Scout classes were outfitted with them.

Finally, there were the blue hulls. Meant for interior ship construction, the blue hulls were by far the weakest of the bunch, and were about as weak as you could make photonium without risking it to be unstable. It was this malleability that allowed it to move seemingly at will.

And sure enough, the wall began to break, light bursting forth from the wounds in the skin of the vessel. But where would the team go? Certainly, they could cut their way back to their ship if they could remember which direction it was in, but the mission would be a failure. Or they could attempt to storm the bridge…wherever it was, although that was most likely to be suicide.
…

Holo-Conference

Koth glanced at the map again.

“Well…” he seemed to be stalling, not sure who to send where. “Perhaps—”

“Admiral Koth” came a young man’s voice.

“Yes?” he replied.

“Sir, we’ve lost contact with Citadel Nine and Outposts Sixteen and Seventeen in the Tekara system, and we’ve just lost contact with Outpost Thirteen in the Takar system. At first we thought it was just a glitch, but…”

Koth’s face became slightly haunted, and everyone could see it. And everyone who knew anything *knew* what had just happened. On the map, Tekara was one of the three “medium” sized systems, and one of the two major colony worlds. Next to it, the uninhabited Takar system was Atlantis’s sole jump node to the Sol system, as well as one of Atlantis’s largest shipyard complexes.

Perfect tactical maneuvering.

“Sir, we’ve received no word from the twentieth or twenty-first fleets, who were stationed in the Tekara system. We’ve sent in a few patrols, but they’ve yet to arrive on the scene”

Four-hundred ships. Both of them “Offensive” fleets, containing many of the larger Leviathan and Titan class dreadnoughts and carriers.

“Thank you, Lt. That will be all” he said, closing the link. He looked at everyone else in the holographic room.

“I believe they will attempt to hit a core system soon…probably one near a major jump node intersection” he pointed to the Dopa system, “That will cut us off further from Sol, split our core worlds, and cut us off from Elarian space. They know this. Unless Im has any objections, I would rate sending most of your forces there to wait for the inevitable attack. There we will display a show of united force, a coalition, just like last time.’

“…Except for you” he turned to Vargo. “You said you can help evacuate. Well, sooner rather then later” The four remaining colony worlds (sans Turi) lit up again, “The worlds in these systems need to be evacuated to our core systems as soon as possible, ESPECIALLY this one” he pointed to Keloda, the closest system to the two who had just ceased communication.

“Are there any objections?”

Harper listened to Koth stalling, his temper rising. They had been speaking too long, they needed to get defenses set up and at the ready for when the Demons cam around again. He opened his mouth to speak, when a message came in and revealed for all the dire situation. Just as Harper had predicted and had been trying to go for to prevent.

The Demons had stuck and struck hard. Tactical information rolled in on the screen and his face became pained. The systems being hit were big systems, one being a main population center and the other a main shipyard, and one of their jump nodes. The Fleet Admiral looked at Koth in time to hear his plan. A show of unity? The Demons, as he read about them at least, would just be glad to be rid of all of the "younger" races. However, he had an assignment, one which his fleet had been dying to start. Nodding, he saluted. "Very well. If there isn't anything else, I will head to the Dopa system. We must make a stand there and stop these vile beasts."

"Io... inform the Fleetlord that the Demons are attacking the Tekara system."

"Yes, Commander."

Im looked at Koth. "The Fleetlord will most likely send..." He paused as his electronic pad beeped, showing four ships had left the system. "The Four Horsemen. They are faster than Atlantian ships, but with the distance, they will probably arrive at the same time or a bit later than your force. The Olympian fleet is going to be spreading out to cover the systems that must be protected."

As he spoke, the Olympian fleet began leaping away in an astonishing display of uniformity. Soon only Im's fleet, the immense shipyard and it's protecive force and Hades' flagship remained in system. The Fleetlord had deployed even his own command, choosing to remain in system for the moment, for reasons of command and control. Three hundred of those ships were jumping for Tekara, to meet the enemy.

Im sighed. "There is nothing more to be gained from this meeting. We know what must be done. Deploy your forces around major population centers. Fight well. This war will mean the death of all Demons or the death of all other life in this galaxy. We can win. I know this. Strength and honor."

Im's image wavered and vanished.

-----

He stepped onto the bridge and nodded at Aristomache, his first officer. She moved to teh communications station. "We have a single Atlantian ship heading in system... it's Empress Atlantia's ship."

"Open a channel..." once he saw the small light that said he was being broadcast, he nodded his head. "Empress... it is good to see you again. The war has begun in earnest while you were away. My fleet suffered severe damage protecting an outlying colony world and I regret to inform you that contact with Tekara has been lost. We have deployed two Olympian fleets to repel them..." After a moment's pause, he changed the subject. "You should also know that Fleetlord Hades is in system."

Minerva System

Highly ineffective, but just as enough bullets could eventually pierce through stone walls, so did the combined forces from the blasters and lightsabers force their way through the photonic hull of the Demon vessel.

Unknownst to the boarding party, Demon vessels were color-coded for a reason. The toughest form of Photonium was naturally “colored” green (colored in the loosest sense, as the hull was still very black). Green was normally reserved for the outer hulls of the larger fleet vessels, such as the Habitat class and parts of the Dreadnought class that needed further protecting. Below green on the density scale was yellow or amber, usually built for the medium class vessels, such as the Node and Battlecruiser classes. Then there were the grey hulls, the least-tough of the outer hulls, but easier to create and mass-produce, so smaller Corsair and Scout classes were outfitted with them

Finally, there were the blue hulls. Meant for interior ship construction, the blue hulls were by far the weakest of the bunch, and were about as weak as you could make photonium without risking it to be unstable. It was this malleability that allowed it to move seemingly at will.

And sure enough, the wall began to break, light bursting forth from the wounds in the skin of the vessel. But where would the team go? Certainly, they could cut their way back to their ship if they could remember which direction it was in, but the mission would be a failure. Or they could attempt to storm the bridge…wherever it was, although that was most likely to be suicide.
"What should we do now?" Niklas asked.

"Maybe we should head back and write this ship off." A Marine suggested.

"Maybe." Walker said, scowling through his mask. "Unless we know anyone who can manipulate these light-based walls, we're stuck."

"Hmm." Hikaru thought about it. "Let's go back to the ship."

"Why? There's someone who can do just that?"

"I don't know." Hikaru said, although he had a very good idea. "But if anyone could, it's a member of the Royal Family, or the elves."

Trivette groaned. "Do we always have to bring them out on every little excursion?"

"No, but they at least need to know of this threat. And I doubt very much that this is a little excursion." Hikaru pointed out. "Let's go."

Reaching out with the Force, Hikaru went probing for the shuttle and the Marines and Jedi started following him towards said shuttle, breaking down walls as they needed. To the enemy, it would seem as if the Coredians have decided to leave with their tails tucked beneath their legs, but in truth, they are more determined than ever to breach the ship all the way to its interior...

Harper nodded. "Very well, may God watch over us." The connection was cut and he turned to face the bridge crew. "Ready the fleet, have us all ready to jump as soon as possible." The crew responded and the reduced Federation fleet turned and began to head out to a rendezvous point, all the while their flash drives were powering up. The reports from the ships came in, stating they were ready and all systems were go. Harper sat down in his chair and gazed at the countdowns of the fleet. When they reached zero, the fleet jumped out in a flash of light and were gone, heading for the Dopa system.

OOC: Deepest apologies, I was going to post earlier this week, but I was suddenly slapped round the face with a MASSIVE physics assignment that I only just finished. However, more work is on the way...but two weeks absence is too much, I'll stick with this as much as I can :)

IC: “I believe they will attempt to hit a core system soon…probably one near a major jump node intersection” he pointed to the Dopa system, “That will cut us off further from Sol, split our core worlds, and cut us off from Elarian space. They know this. Unless Im has any objections, I would rate sending most of your forces there to wait for the inevitable attack. There we will display a show of united force, a coalition, just like last time.’

“…Except for you” he turned to Vargo. “You said you can help evacuate. Well, sooner rather then later” The four remaining colony worlds (sans Turi) lit up again, “The worlds in these systems need to be evacuated to our core systems as soon as possible, ESPECIALLY this one” he pointed to Keloda, the closest system to the two who had just ceased communication.

“Are there any objections?”

Vargo nodded at Koth. He had wanted to speak up at a couple of points, but now the opportunity had gone, lost until another time.

No matter...I have a war to win.

"I'll deploy my ships now. However, I'll send a sixth of my Fleet to aid in your defense. We do not require more than four Orions for the evacuation. However Koth, I need you to send me some co-ordinates either now, or when we are in transit to these four systems. When we evacuate, your people will literally appear in that location. Make sure the location can hold the numbers we'll be transporting."

Eyes sharpening, Vargo looked around at those still in the conference.

"I wish you all luck with the upcoming battles. You should all by now have recieved the Serpantian Flare's beacon ID. Feel free to send us a transmission if you want us, no matter how minor. We are here to see this war won, and we will do everything possible to see this objective complete at as little cost as possible."

Nodding at Koth, Vargo and the Bridge of the Flare stuttered, and then went out.

_________________________________________________________________

Minti System

“Your actions are noble, and are to be commended, captain” the Titan finally said, “We only wish to destroy the pawns of those who live in the core, so that we may strike at the core of this galaxy. Otherwise they will cause nothing but strife and misfortune for your people and everyone else who rightfully inhabit this galaxy.”

Astares allowed himself a smile, and nodded.

"Of course, the Rebellion thought as much. So the question remains Hyperion, what now? The Rebellion is ready to move into ac-"

He paused in mid-sentence. Something morphed out of his chair and became an eye-piece, which slotted into his right eye briefly, a data stream beaming directly into a small reciever on the base of his brain in view of the retina. The eye-piece retracted, and Astares chuckled.

"Ah, it seems you have already begun to move. Altantian Forces are already mobilising into their Core Systems. It appears that our Forces are also mobilising, but it is yet to be decided where to. Olympian Forces are also moving to attack your fleet at Tekara and defend the outlying systems. The Four Horsemen are the ones attacking your Tekara Forces."

Whether Astares was holding back or not Hyperion would be unable to tell. Some of the information was vague, either the information he was being fed was vague, or he was only telling so much.

I expected more from Viper...intriguing, maybe Vargo does know already of the Rebellion presence? Either way, I've given them all I know, that should further the Alliance enough.

"Anyway...as I said, we are ready to move on your order. However, you'd be best advised to wait first, it's probable that most of the Rebellion Forces will be part of the Defensive Fleet in the Core. If timed right, our Forces can punch throught the Unified Defense and to whatever location you send us to. As I'm sure you understand, a backstab in the middle of a battle will surely doom the Atlantian Forces."

Sitting back, Astares watched Hyperion, awaiting his response.

OOC: Fleet mobilisation will come once you've replied AO :)

Turi System

She was pretty damn proud of herself. Not one, but *two* allied fleets (even if, technically, they were both from the same political entity), and only a minimal amount had been given up during the dealings. Of course, she knew that if he had really wanted to, Pompey could have just as easily asked for much more…she wondered why he did not. Was he just inexperienced, or was he planning something else? Atlantia doubted that he genuinely just wanted to form an alliance, no one was completely altruistic, it was impossible.

So…why?

She chased the thought from her mind as Im’s face appeared on her personal transport’s viewscreen. The faint smile of her victory faded as Im’s synopsis of the situation brought her up to speed. She had passed by the Tekara system not to long ago…that was just slightly unsettling.

"You should also know that Fleetlord Hades is in system."

Her eyes visibly narrowed. “I’m coming aboard”

With that, the link shut off as her small vessel docked with Citadel Ten…

…

Koth terminated his link in the holodeck, letting the convoluted simulation vanish before his eyes back into a collection of various simulation machines lining the walls.

Sighing, he rubbed the bridge of his nose before pressing a small device on his wrist and bringing it to his mouth. “Admiral Koth to Ops, get me command. We need to prepare evacuation procedures. And do it fast, I have allied evacuation ships waiting for needed coordinates.”
…

Dopa System

The third most-heavily populated system in Atlantian space, the Dopa system had also been the site of a massive battle during the civil war a half-decade ago, and still showed massive scars from that fight.

There were three planets in the system. The innermost, Rolka, was a class F volcanic world with no moons. The second planet was Allos, boasting a population of a billion people, making it one of the top four populated planets in the cluster. It was in turn orbited by two dead moons and the starbase of the system, Citadel Three, as well as a complex of shipyards.

The furthest out planet was a gas giant, Meridian, with one moon…the biggest scar from the battle. Druoda had at one point been a class M moon with several hundred million people living on it…until Atlantian Ascendancy forces had used a doomsday weapon known as the “Morning Star” in a last act of desperation. Now Druoda was labeled a class “Z”, a planet particularly hostile to life.

Around Allos sat the sixth, seventh, and sixteenth Atlantian fleets, and portions of the eighth and nineteenth fleets were on their way to re-enforce the position. Virtually all surviving Atlantian fleets had been recalled to the core systems, leaving only small battlegroups to defend the colonial systems until they could be evacuated….with the notable exception of Turi, of course. That system was still heavily guarded by a thousand-ship strong armada.

And yet, despite the thousands of ships now located in the heart of Atlantian space, within only a handful of systems, and tight as a wall, it still only gave off the impression of animals cornered in a cage. Already, fleet was being faced with the possibility of having lost a fifth of its forces in just a few days. The ninth fleet had been decimated in one of the opening battles of the war, the tenth had taken a beating at Portas. The twentieth and twenty-first fleets were presumed destroyed at Tekara, although reports from scout forces had yet to come in. Detachments of almost every remaining fleet had been battered during scouting maneuvers in Zoir space.

In addition to just the numbers that had been lost, one had to look at *which* fleets had been lost. The twentieth and twenty-first fleets had been part of the fifth armada, one of two offensive armadas. Those two fleets had consisted of many of Atlantis’s more powerful vessels. The ninth fleet had been a “support” fleet for the second armada, one of two defensive armadas. Virtually, the only armada that had not been hit hard yet was the third armada, which was labeled as a “supply” armada, full of fleets who’s primary tasks were scouting, supplying, and transporting.

Not a comforting thought. Nor was the fact that Atlantis was now cut off from Sol, as well as Hope Shipyards, located deep in Sol’s Kuiper Belt.

But still, the fleet stood at the ready, as they prepared themselves for the next wave that had engulphed Tekara…

…

Minti System

Hyperion simply sat back and allowed Astares to continue his verbal essay as long as he needed to. He just continued to spew out facts at whim. Probably just a show of good faith, but still reckless. Unless he was intentionally trying to throw Hyperion off-balance of course, and still held some sort of card up his sleeve. If he was, then he was trying entirely too hard and it was working entirely too well.

Intriguing. But of course Hyperion remembered the rule about not underestimating.

He pondered for a few moments. A map, unseen to Astares as it was on Hyperion’s control console on his armrest, showed the current known movements. The Atlantians and their allies were retreating to the core systems, just as Astares had said. Many of them, as Hyperion had predicted, were apparently congregating at Dopa.

Which of course raised a very interesting question. Move around Dopa and strike another major target, such as the Kora system, and destroy the capital of Atlantis…or hit Dopa and wipe out the entire defending force. Both options would cripple the Atlantians both in moral and physically.

The Titan allowed himself a grin. “Indeed. I like your…” what was the right word… “Enthusiasm. And your perception. Very well…we shall wait before making the next strike. How much time do you think it shall take?”

Hyperion was of course cautious. No doubt, he could just as easily be a Trojan Horse rather then a betrayer, and could just be sending him into a trap. But still, Hyperion would play this out for awhile longer, until he could determine Astares’s agenda…one way or the other.

…

Minerva System

They run. Retreat. The Jedi and their allies are…resourceful, but still just as any other being of the disk, weak. Let them run, and tell of the fate that awaits all.

Sure enough, the trip back was almost uninterrupted, sans the moving walls that needed cutting through.

And on the outskirts of the system, a small blue-hulled vessel dropped out of warp, having seemingly detected the battle. It moved towards the group of ships and the downed Demon vessel on full impulse power, under cloak.

[Turi System]

Again, Grand Magus Felrand Strong lurched and blinked his eyes rapidly as the flash of the jump faded from his eyes. He scanned his location, and waited for the remainder of ihs fleet to join him. After taking a few moments to glimpse at the stars and systems, he knew that they had made it to the Turi system correctly, and immediately set upon organizing the fleet.

Felrand Strond fet a rather dizzy effect as the situation poured over him: the entire Himmelsk fleet, and a group of other Republic ships had just entered a new system with a fleet of Atlantian ships who were under the command of their nations Empress, and they were expected to fight. When? Who knows. Who? Some sort of demons. But Felrand didn't become leader of Himmelsk military operations by being confused all the time. He immediately set about contacting the Empress's ship to make his first personal greeting, and hear from the Atlantian leader what exactly the hell was going on. The mopped his brow, and checked his hair and teeth in a window quickly before making the comm-link.

"Your grace," He began in a smooth, polite yet powerful tone, "My name is Felrand Strond, Grand Magus, and military commander of the Republician Himmelsk fleet. It is an honour to be aquainted with one such as yourself. Now, If I may be so bold as to ask, what exactly did you have planned for my men and I?"

Minerva System

They run. Retreat. The Jedi and their allies are…resourceful, but still just as any other being of the disk, weak. Let them run, and tell of the fate that awaits all.

Sure enough, the trip back was almost uninterrupted, sans the moving walls that needed cutting through.

And on the outskirts of the system, a small blue-hulled vessel dropped out of warp, having seemingly detected the battle. It moved towards the group of ships and the downed Demon vessel on full impulse power, under cloak.
The Jedi task force swiftly headed back to the Star Destroyer. As soon as they entered the hangar bay...

"So, how did it go?" James Eagles, the alchemist asked.

"Tough. I'll tell you at the debriefing." Hikaru sighed.

"Is that so? Well, I'm looking forward to it."

"Oh, don't worry. It's going to be quite interesting. Quite interesting indeed."

Meanwhile, a sensor operator detected something extremely faint at the edge of his sensors. "Captain. I just got something, but it just disappeared. Bearing 125, mark 25."

"Someone just cloaked." The Captain noted. "Keep an eye on that. We don't want any surprises."

Especially not from Huntaer, although why they would come out here is anyone's guess.

"Yes sir. I'll keep watch."

"Good. Carry on."

=====

Some time later...

With powerful tractor beams deployed onto the Demon ship to prevent its escape, the debriefing concluded.

"So, these creatures have the ability to manipulate light to such a degree that they make walls, weapons and even booby traps out of their ships. This is interesting..." Captain Masato said.

"Yes, Captain. It's why I figure we should get some reinforcements and push all the way to the bridge." Hikaru said. "If there's anyone who can manipulate light, we should have their assistance."

James Eagles rose an eyebrow. "You know, there's one person who could do that. Actually two that I know."

"Who?" Niklas asked.

Eagles smiled. "The Headmaster of the Order, Armas Elendil ("I knew it! Elves have all the luck!" Trivette grumbled.) and the Jedi Light Alchemist, Jacob Masaki. One of those two would potentially help out in this situation."

"So if that's all, we should send for reinforcements plus ask if one of those two would like to come out and see to these Demons for themselves." The Captain said. "Very well, I'll send in the report, but don't get your hopes up."

"Thank you, Captain." Hikaru nodded.

"Hey, don't thank me. We're all just doing our jobs."

30 Minutes later...

A flash of reversion to realspace occured as the Republic-class Star Destroyer Equivalent Exchange arrived insystem, along with several escorts and a battalion of Marines in an assault cruiser, increasing the size of the Coredian contiguent significantly.

"Equivalent Exchange to Heatwave, the package has been delivered." A youngish voice said over the hyperwaves.

"Excellent. Deliver the package to our doorstep and let's unwrap it." Captain Masato replied and dropped the shields for a moment. Suddenly, a distinct *pop* occurred on the bridge, revealing a young man with a dirty blond ponytail and a blue cloak (as opposed to standard brown). The shields were raised again.

"Well, if it isn't the Jedi Light Alchemist himself." The Captain smiled. "Jacob, welcome to the Heatwave."

"Thank you. Where's Knight Hikaru?" Jacob asked.

"Right here, Knight Masaki." The Jedi Knight waved to his side, with the young apprentice sitting restlessly on a chair, waving his small legs back and forth.

"Ah. Good, I've read your report coming here. I still can't believe that a race would be that potent." Jacob shook his head.

"Heh. You think you had it bad. I almost got flattened." Hikaru chuckled. "Shall we go to the briefing room to plan our next course of action."

Jacob nodded. "Lead the way."

OOC: Your turn, Atlantis!

Turi System

Two shuttles departed the two flagships, heading for the Citidal. Both dock at adjacent ports and the two Olympian officers step into the corridor, both in the standard uniform, though Hades' physique was impressive and his height equally so, while remaining practical. "This way, Fleetlord." He says, walking towards the lifts. He drew some stares, being a commander that had survived numerous engagements with the Demons. Hades drew a different reaction. Some stares, but mostly bowed heads.

That seemed to annoy the Olympian. "You need not bow to me, Atlantians... this is a time of war and duty comes before all else. Do that well and I shall be more than pleased with you all."

They entered the lift and were swept away from the hanger areas. "Citidal AI... inform the Empress that the Fleetlord and myself wich to meet with herself and only those I have briefed personally. No others should be in attendance." He looked at Hades, who nodded approval.

When the two stepped into the conferance room, Im looked around to see if his request had been carried out. Satisfied, he bowed his head at Atlantia. "It is good to see you again, Empress. This is Fleetlord Hades, commander of the Fourth Olympian Fleet and current commander of all Olympian forces inside the Milky Way."

Hades eyed the Empress and then the others, but said nothing yet.

Turi system

As Atlantia’s ship docked with the Citadel, her sensors detected the incoming Republic fleet. Well…most of it. Pompey’s forces were apparently delayed. She hoped a certain something hadn’t intercepted them.

The leader of the fleet was now hailing her. Damnit…she was already preoccupied with Hades’s arrival, and wished to meet with him and Im. The commander, Felrand Strond, was inquisitive (and well within his right) about the situation. Atlantia had been hoping to get back before the holo-conference command had told her about was over, so the Republic military leaders would be able to get the information they needed at the same time as everyone else.

“My apologies, commander” she replied, “It seems we arrived too late to participate in the holo-conference. I shall have Admiral Koth brief you immediately, as he is more aware of the situation then myself currently. If you will excuse me…I have some…”things” I must take care of immedietly. My apologies.”

As she was speaking, Atlantia was also busy sending a message to Admiral Koth. When she was done, she severed her own link, and the Republic fleet would only have to wait a few seconds for Koth to reply.

…

Koth closed his link to command. The message had been delivered, and accepted with minimal opposition. The smaller colony worlds would be evacuated for the remainder of the war, and preparations were being set up. Already, the Dos Volodis fleet was being sent the coordinates for the evacuee position.

Finally. A moment of peace and—his communicator beeped.

Damnit.

He looked down at the wrist-mounted device. Odd…not an audio message, but a text one. The text would appear on a small holographic screen popping up from the communicator. …it was Empress Atlantia. Why hadn’t anyone informed him she had arrived. He *was* the senior officer in the system, after all. As he read the message, he sighed. It was time to brief *another* fleet.

Moving over to a console on the wall in the station’s hallway, he entered his activation code, and signaled the Republic fleet.

“This is Admiral Koth of the eighth fleet. I am sending you all information we have on the demons, as I have for every other fleet. It contains previous encounters, known technology and tactics, last known ship and fleet positions, and…well, that’s about it. We don’t have much. I also request you move your forces to the Dopa system, that is where the alliance fleet is building up its forces in anticipation for an attack. The coordinates are as follows”

…

Atlantia made her way to the conference room, fists clenched. A god was onboard this station. The lord of the under—

No. Not a god. An alien. One who had tricked her and trillions of her people over the course of thousands upon thousands of years. She took a deep breath, as she entered the room, hoping that “Hades” had at least kept his mouth shut. A few seconds later, both Im and Hades entered the room. She smiled at Im, and only glanced at Hades.

“Im” she nodded. “What exactly has happened to Tekara?”

…

Minerva System

“We are approaching battle site”

“Thank you, Deca” Sid said to the ship’s AI as he rounded one of the computer consoles and moved up to his captain’s seat. Not that Sid was a captain, but he *was* in control of this ship.

Task Force Alpha. Recently renamed the “Styx Squad” in anticipation of more teams like theirs, the five beings onboard this ship represented decades of research, years of planning, and months of training. They were *the* best special ops team special ops team in Atlantis.

Well, so they thought anyway. That little incident in Gholgoth didn’t count.

Sid, like the rest of the crew, looked to only be in his mid-twenties (going by Terran standards, of course. In reality, the crew was much older). His white hair was cut short, in the style of a standard military cut. Sid slumped down in his chair. Despite *looking* like a military professional, he didn’t act as such.

“So…what’s going on?” he asked Deca, “Do sensors pick up anything?”

A small, green hologram appeared on the computer console in front of him. “Yes. I am detecting a small battlegroup of unknown vessels…and a demon ship. The fighting seems to have stopped”

Sid’s ears perked. A demon ship…not firing at another ship? Could it be that someone had managed to ally with the demons?.

“What is our status?” asked Sid.

“Currently cloaked, about two-hundred kilometers away”

“Keep it that way” Sid replied, “And get me visual. I want to know what we’re dealing with”

Turi System

Im was about to speak, when Hades(rightly so as Fleetlord), answered instead. "The system has been assaulted, most likely. This is the strike at the heart of your Republic. If it suceeds... it would be a blow to morale that your forces may not recover from. I have dispatched a small scout force and two attack wings to the system, to engage whatever is there. They shall be driven off."

"Unless they have overwealming numbers or-"

"Or nothing, Kmmta. They will be driven off, Shiplord. I have stated as much to the Atlantian people when I arrived in system."

Im gaped. "You... what?!"

"Watch your tone, Shiplord. I announced that Hades had arrived to oversee the end of this war that threatens the civilization that I helped create." He looked... smug.

Minerva System

“We are approaching battle site”

“Thank you, Deca” Sid said to the ship’s AI as he rounded one of the computer consoles and moved up to his captain’s seat. Not that Sid was a captain, but he *was* in control of this ship.

Task Force Alpha. Recently renamed the “Styx Squad” in anticipation of more teams like theirs, the five beings onboard this ship represented decades of research, years of planning, and months of training. They were *the* best special ops team special ops team in Atlantis.

Well, so they thought anyway. That little incident in Gholgoth didn’t count.

Sid, like the rest of the crew, looked to only be in his mid-twenties (going by Terran standards, of course. In reality, the crew was much older). His white hair was cut short, in the style of a standard military cut. Sid slumped down in his chair. Despite *looking* like a military professional, he didn’t act as such.

“So…what’s going on?” he asked Deca, “Do sensors pick up anything?”

A small, green hologram appeared on the computer console in front of him. “Yes. I am detecting a small battlegroup of unknown vessels…and a demon ship. The fighting seems to have stopped”

Sid’s ears perked. A demon ship…not firing at another ship? Could it be that someone had managed to ally with the demons?.

“What is our status?” asked Sid.

“Currently cloaked, about two-hundred kilometers away”

“Keep it that way” Sid replied, “And get me visual. I want to know what we’re dealing with”
You would notice two large capital ships and at least twelve smaller ships.

The capital ships:
The Republic-class Star Destroyer (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Republic-class_Star_Destroyer) Equivalent Exchange and the mark III class Star Destroyer Heatwave. The mark III is like the mark II, only more powerful. Aside from the normal weapons, the Republic SD has three ball-turret beamlaser cannons on each side, while the ISDIII has four. The smaller ships include 3 Nebulon-B2 frigates (the fourth one has been taken home for repairs), 4 Strike Cruisers, and 5 Wolfpacks and one Acclamator-class Assault Cruiser. The crew of each SD is no more than 8000 + about 1250 Marines. Anyone that has special abilities could determine that there's at least several Jedi and Shinobi on every ship.

There is also a number of fighters flying CAP patrol.

Soon, several shuttles went out from the Acclamator and met up with one shuttle from the Heatwave. The Coredians were returning, and they brought reinforcements this time around!

"All right. You know the plan." Jacob Masaki said to his troops. "We're to take this ship at all costs so that we can learn more about our foe. Make sure all blasters are at Disruptor level so that if you get stuck, you can fight your way back out. Understood?"

Murmurs of assent came over the airwaves.

Then, the shuttles headed back to the first spot and the Marines piled out, blasters at the ready, followed by the Jedi and Shinobi. Jacob Masaki was surprised as soon as he stepped onto the Demon Ship floor. It's indeed solid light, treated at or around absolute zero temperatures. Interesting. I can't think of anyone who's actually made something like this. Sure, there's the Wall of Light spell, but that's different...yet similar in some ways.

Jacob ran his hand along the wall and focused on the light within. He began to form a door. At least I can still manipulate it. Still, it's going to be a fight. I can feel the resistance.

As several marines stayed behind to protect the shuttles, the rest of the team passed through the doorway...

Turi System
The Phalanixian battle group was the last to move out and then only half left Turi.
Of the four the AFN Reaper and the AFN Nightfall (a cannon class Mk. 4 super cruiser) slowly began to fold out towards the Dopa system and the rest of the fleet.

On board the Reaper Basatan began a long winded recap of the holo-conference as well as specify what positions the Reaper and Nightfall should take up once the return to normal space in Dopa.

((Crappy post due to writers block))

The Titan allowed himself a grin. “Indeed. I like your…” what was the right word… “Enthusiasm. And your perception. Very well…we shall wait before making the next strike. How much time do you think it shall take?”

Astares smiled. He didn't know how big or small a victory he had just scored, but the Demons hadn't blown him out of space, and they were actually LISTENING to him. Either they were very clever, or his verbal essay had convinced them. Astares wasn't stupid however, he'd been drilled like everyone else. Destroyers destroy, no two ways about it. They can be all out or subtle. Thinking briefly, he nodded.

"It shouldn't take too long...as far as I know, a surprisingly large number of our Rebel controlled vessels are being moved with the Allies to the system they're planning to defend, the rest are on another operation, fairly spread out but still useful.

"My personal suggestion? Wait until you're ready to strike. Once you make a move, our vessels will make their move, and I can assure you, we will punch a fairly large hole in that fleet. I imagine the Atlantians wouldn't expect a backstab from a Nation they expect to be at the same...risk as they are."

Waiting for Hyperion to respond, Astares began tapping numerous commands into his armchair console. After a few moments, a secure-band message was sent out to the Serpantian Flare and OHD Rahu, detectable and decypherable only with the right equipment. The message read as follows:

Start. Contact made and successfully continued.
Contact is with a leader-type called 'Hyperion'.
Rebel Fleet at Dopa will be advised of any new information.
Re-transmit before and following.
Alliance has seemingly been forged.
Plan is mostly drawn up, looks like we will backstab.
Once word is given, Rahu will lead an assault through the Allied Defence Fleet at Dopa.
Goal: Cripple as many Alliance and Dos Volodian ships as possible.
Goal: As many rebel ships as possible make it out and to a given location.
Other Rebel Ships: Cripple Dos Volodian escorts if possible.
Main Goal otherwise: Escape as intact as possible.
Once fleet is gathered, new orders will be given.
Undercovers, make no move unless authorised specifically.
END.

OOC: I hate my life sometimes. Really. Just when you think you're in the clear everything comes down on you...anyway, I'll continue my post tomorrow, following the recieving of the message and subsequent deployments.

(OOC Funfact: Did you know “Perseus” isn’t recorded in the Microsoft Word spellcheck database? It doesn’t recognize it as a word. That’s fucking *incredible*)

IC:

Minti System

“Very well. We shall leave you to your dealings. Expect the strike to come soon, and hard.”

Hyperion somewhat abruptly cut off communication with Astares, and the demon vessels in-system seemingly jumped to some form of warp speed…

…

System J-465, inner Perseus arm

Cutting off communication with the rebel leader, Hyperion sat back in his chair, apparently in thought. His hands were placed together at the fingertips, in a tent formation as he looked up at the ceiling of his bridge.

What is your order, grand one?

A moment passed, as the Titan thought about his next move. Things were becoming…interesting. He liked interesting, it brought about possibilities. And games with possibilities and risks were fun.

“Get me Oceanus” he said at last, “And prepare our fleet, we shall strike the “Dopa” system within the hour.”

Wasn’t the plan to strike Kora? Cirrus, the capital? The heart?

Hyperion chuckled. “Yes…it was. Until now. We can rip out their still beating heart at any time. But this…this is a chance we may not see again. For you see…if these people are genuine, the entire rules of the game might have just changed”

How, may we ask?

“Aside from the sheer destruction to the enemy’s moral when we smash into their heavy defenses and crush them as their lines fall apart? The entire strategy of the war may very well now change. With an ally or two…we can keep at least a couple races from allying against us before their time has come…and it shall give us an extra couple of fleets at our disposal. And as they fight each other…their forces shall weaken. Now. Send a message to the invasion fleet. Tell them of developments, and have them prepare. Dopa falls by the end of the next cycle”

We have received reports of Atlantian scouts entering the Takar system. Shall we dispose of them?

“Most of them, yes. Let one or two…escape, heavily damaged of course. We want to strike fear.”

Of course, your holiness. And Oceanus is on the line

“Excellent. Put him on”

…

Minerva System

Sid pondered the arrangement of forces. The Demon ship was damaged, he could tell by its shape…a good deal of one side had been ripped off, and it was now being…towed? It was odd to see a demon ship crippled as such.

“Hmm…” he muttered, watching the viewscreen. “Triangle ships”

Deca corrected him. “I believe they are called Star Destroyers. They are often utilized by third-rate Imperial states, and despite their size, armaments, and fearsome look…are fairly weak and slow, making them easy cannon fodder”

“…And what about larger space powers? Are any second or first rate powers known to use them?” asked Sid, pondering his next move.

“A few, but not as many. Usually their Star Destroyers are better built.”

“Hmm…” Sid leaned forward out of his chair, thinking. “…so have we stumbled upon Mr. Imperial nobody, or a genuine threat?”

“I can’t perform more detailed scans while cloaked, I’m sorry” said Deca. “…wait. I am detecting shuttles heading towards the demon vessel. I think they’re trying to board it”

Sid stood up and stretched for a second. “Alert the rest of the team. Decloak us, and move us in. Slow, but steady. I don’t want to surprise anyone into first shot”

The holographic representation of Deca nodded, then vanished, as a small blue and silver vessel (http://www.supersentai.com/database/1997_megaranger/images/mega-mc-megaship.jpg) decloaked about two-hundred kilometers away from the other ships. It was a mere fifty-five meters in length, with a vague resemblance to a Defiant class destroyer, except with two large appendages below the main body of the ship. It slowly approached the fleet…

…

Onboard the demon ship, all was still. For the moment, at least. The demons were surprised. They were back.

Even more surprising…they had someone who could manipulate the ship.

No. This could not happen. This *would* not happen. The experiment was over. These…disk-dwellers…would *NOT* come any further inside. This mockery would end here.

The ship came alive. Walls began moving and closing, as phantom shapes began lunging at the troops once more, in an even greater frenzy then before. Yet this time, it seemed the strategy was different. They were not aiming for the weaker kinks in the armor, rather…they were aiming for the light-bender. The demons were aiming for the jugular, rather then a weaker links.

…

Turi system

This war was moving too fast…they were striking before her forces had a chance to fight back. Atlantia bit her lip as she raced the facts through her mind. The alliance forces would have to act quickly to keep other systems had begun.

Amusing, wasn’t it? As much planning that had gone in to preparing for this war, all her plans were now falling apart. So much for the brushfires in Zoir space.

Her train of thought came crashing to a halt, however, as her mind tried to wrap itself around what Hades was now saying.

“Wait” she squinted her eyes shut as she put up her hands in a “stop” expression. “Wait. Are…” she seemed to be chuckling, as if she found it to be a bad joke. “Are you telling me…you are having my people worship you as a deity?!” her expression suddenly changed from one of sarcastic humor to that of annoyance which was quickly turning into anger.

OOC: Prepare. They’re coming, and it’ll be within the next few posts. And by “next few”, I mean, within my next three posts.

Minerva System

Sid pondered the arrangement of forces. The Demon ship was damaged, he could tell by its shape…a good deal of one side had been ripped off, and it was now being…towed? It was odd to see a demon ship crippled as such.

“Hmm…” he muttered, watching the viewscreen. “Triangle ships”

Deca corrected him. “I believe they are called Star Destroyers. They are often utilized by third-rate Imperial states, and despite their size, armaments, and fearsome look…are fairly weak and slow, making them easy cannon fodder”

“…And what about larger space powers? Are any second or first rate powers known to use them?” asked Sid, pondering his next move.

“A few, but not as many. Usually their Star Destroyers are better built.”

“Hmm…” Sid leaned forward out of his chair, thinking. “…so have we stumbled upon Mr. Imperial nobody, or a genuine threat?”

“I can’t perform more detailed scans while cloaked, I’m sorry” said Deca. “…wait. I am detecting shuttles heading towards the demon vessel. I think they’re trying to board it”

Sid stood up and stretched for a second. “Alert the rest of the team. Decloak us, and move us in. Slow, but steady. I don’t want to surprise anyone into first shot”

The holographic representation of Deca nodded, then vanished, as a small blue and silver vessel decloaked about two-hundred kilometers away from the other ships. It was a mere fifty-five meters in length, with a vague resemblance to a Defiant class destroyer, except with two large appendages below the main body of the ship. It slowly approached the fleet…
OOC: Oh no. You did not just diss the Star Destroyer! :p

IC: "Oh, hello there. Sir, the ship I've been tracking, it just decloaked at pointblank range." The sensor operator aboard the Hellfire reported. "It appears to be similar to a Defiant-class light assault ship, but I'm detecting more power than one of it's size could normally handle, aside from other minor difference."

"Interesting. Hail the ship." Captain Masato ordered.

"Unknown craft, this is the Star Destroyer Hellfire of the Coredian Interstellar Defense Force. Please state your business here."

…

Onboard the demon ship, all was still. For the moment, at least. The demons were surprised. They were back.

Even more surprising…they had someone who could manipulate the ship.

No. This could not happen. This *would* not happen. The experiment was over. These…disk-dwellers…would *NOT* come any further inside. This mockery would end here.

The ship came alive. Walls began moving and closing, as phantom shapes began lunging at the troops once more, in an even greater frenzy then before. Yet this time, it seemed the strategy was different. They were not aiming for the weaker kinks in the armor, rather…they were aiming for the light-bender. The demons were aiming for the jugular, rather then a weaker links.
OOC: Light-bender. Never thought of Jacob that way. Interesting.

IC:
Jacob sensed the sudden movements...and smiled even as the others started retaliating with blaster and lightsaber. "It appears my presence has unnerved these people. Well..."

Jacob raised one of his arms, and focused. The walls fought his powers as he sought to transform the walls into useless shafts of light. He reached deeper into the ship, his mind searching for the bridge while his body went into motion, the mastery of the defensive form Soresu keeping the enemies at bay with rapid sweeps of his lightsaber. This was the power of not just a Jedi Knight, but a Master and a Masaki at that, member of the ruling family in Coreworlds. The soldiers and even the two Jedi and two Shinobi were awed by the power Jacob rarely likes to display, but they had other things to worry about, like the monsters and the walls. Hacking and shooting at the monsters, they fought to ensure that Jacob would survive this battle as he dealt with the walls. Several men fell to the monsters in the battle...

Minti System

Astares sat there for a moment, watching as the viewscreen emptied itself of Demon ships and just became the deep void of space.

What had he done?

Bowing his head forward, he ran over things in his mind.

"I don't believe this still...we're allying with Destroyers. How can w..."

He sighed. Indeed, how could he understand? No matter what government, movement, or order you belonged to, you were always a pawn of some kind, a piece being played in some elaborate game of chess where the rules and the enemy always changed. One moment your goal was the White Queen, the next it was the Black Knight on your right.

"But what's done is done. I've played my role command. Do what you must, and send me orders..."

Shutting down the recording link, Astares sent off some final information to the Rebellion. After sending off a docking order to his escorts, he stood, and made his way off the Bridge. He'd done his duty to his people, now he'd do his duty to his stomach.

_________________________________________________________________

Dopa System

While only a bare sixth of the total Dos Volodian Fleet, Defence Group one was still a sight to behold. Arranged in a spear-like formation, each ship had unloaded it's full compliment of Fighters, Bombers and other small ships, making the Fleet look all the more intimidating and battle ready. The only irony would be that the spear wouldn't be aimed at the right foe.

The DVD Rahu comprised the tip of the spear, it's full compliment of Fighters and Bombers spread out, creating a fair chunk of the head, the rest being filled in by Fighters and Bombers from a Kimogo Carrier. The Carrier, along with three Leviathan Cruisers, four Cobra Gunships, two Deimos Corvettes and two Aeolus Cruisers, formed the shaft of the spear, along with their Fighter and Bomber compliments. Of course, for tactical purposes, the ships were spread out slightly, and the spear was pretty three dimensional, and the formation was special, one used rarely by the Volodians, but to great effect.

On board the Rahu, Line-Captain Domiste watched as the Allied Fleet moved into their positions, awaiting a possible attack on Dopa, an attack that would likely succeed, or fail by a small margin.

And of course...we will be the ones responsible for the losses the Atlantians and others incur.

Smirking, Domiste couldn't help but feel sorry for his crew. Here they sat, ready to put their lives on the line for a cause that was long ago compromised. They would soon discover the price of their allegiance, and the cost of their blind faith. Looking at his armchair console, he saw a small button flashing. Pressing it, a small tendril shot out of his chair and formed an eyepiece around his right eye. Immediately, data flooded into his mind, or more correctly, Astares' last message flooded into his mind. Once the transfer was complete, Domiste nodded as the eyepiece became chair again.

"As I expected..."

Glancing around, he tapped a few commands into his armchair console, and Astares' message was redistributed throughout the Fleet. Any Rebel vessel would receive it, and the ones that weren't Rebel wouldn't be able to decode the miscellaneous targeting data. At least, not in time...

_________________________________________________________________

Keloda System

"Subspace Jump complete. All other Battlegroups report a successful jump with no local resistance."

L'Vance turned and looked at Vargo, who was gazing intently at a planet on the view-screen. For a moment, Vargo was silent, before nodding.

"Alright. Signal the other Battlegroups to begin deployment, we need to get these people out safe as soon as we can. The Orion Destroyers are tasked with the evacuation; they should make Portals in major cities across the Planet. We're aiming to have everyone out before two hours if possible, and be sure to send a transmission down to the planets identifying our intentions! Meanwhile, all other ships are to deploy Fighters and assume a defensive ring around the Orions. I don't want to lose a single ship during this operation."

L'Vance nodded, and proceeded to send out the appropriate message to the other Battlegroups, each tasked to another system. The Tactical Officer took his cue, and began to redirect the Serpantian Flare alongside the Krios, another Orion Class Destroyer. After a few moments, a transmission was sent down to the Atlantian Planets across all four systems, identifying the Fleets in orbit and their intentions, and soon after, multiple Subspace Portals were formed inside large population centres, readily pressurised with a breathable atmosphere.

While this was happening, L'Vance eyed a small flashing screen on her Console. Bringing it up, she scanned over it, grinned, and dismissed it quickly. So it had begun.

Such a shame...so many pointless deaths will happen, but it's all in the name of a good cause.

Vargo however, was just a little too quick for L'Vance. While he couldn't see the message, he knew that the message wasn't an Official one: A specific tone would have gone off informing everyone. So L'Vance must have her own agenda.

So the rumours are true. The Rebellion is inside this Fleet. But how to prove her treachery? It can't be a personal message; the screen frame wasn't the right colour...it was blank, almost as if the message was embedded as a group of commands. Interesting...

Quickly drawing his eyes to the view-screen, he allowed himself a small curse under his breath. Suddenly things had become all the more complex, and he had a sneaking suspicion that something big was going to happen, something that was now out of his hands. He only hoped it wasn't as big an event as he suspected...

OOC: Just saw that people are also posting positions inside the Fleet at Dopa. My Fleet sits slap bang in the middle

A flash flared in the system and the Federation fleet appeared instantly, their ships zooming into full size once more as they disengaged their flash drives and arrived in the Dopa System. Harper sat in his command chair, gazing at the screens as they refreshed themselves, now reflecting the stars in the system they had arrived in. Information from the passive scanners were pouring in, and the positions of the Allied fleets appeared on the combat screens. The Fleet Admiral took in the information for a few moments. They were situated on the far right of the Allied line, and would participate in any flanking attacks or defending the flanks. "All fighters deploy, and activate the ablative armor, and the Aegis systems. I want this fleet ready for battle at any moment." The fleet shifted, opening itself to accommodate the influx of the thirty-three squadrons, which spread itself amongst the fleet. The ships grew shinier and changed shapes slightly as the ablative armor moved into position and came online, and scans would detect blue fields of energy around the dreadnaughts, their Aegis shield systems online. All was ready, and Harper sat in his chair.

"Let them come, we shall show them how humanity deals with their foes."

Dopa System
The two Phalanixian ships sat at the back of the main fleet, obviously due to the lack of numbers that their nation could offer up at the time (though this was rectified by the use of one of their more powerful ships).
While outside they looked calm inside it was a flurry of activity.
"All gun crews penetrator rounds must be loaded into the Fallen Angel's within the next half hour, please check all plasma tanks and prepare the shielding systems around them, also any marine forces prepare for possible boarding action. Demon troopers and Elites please stand by for further orders," Brooks transmitted within the small battle group (dubbed Battle Group Duct Tape by the marines).

Turi System

Hades nodded. "Of couse, Atlantia. I thought it was best to reveal who and what I am to them, to rally Atlantis and give the fleets a much needed morale boost. Now, as I was sa-" Whatever Hades had planned on saying next was cut off as Im Kmmta's knee drove itself into the Fleetlord's gut, knocking the wind from him. As Hades staggered and hunched over, Im stuck him on the back on the neck with a hard chop that sent him to the floor.

"You egotistical, power hungry, pompus fool! You may well have destroyed everything that I have set out to d-" Now it was Im's words that were cut off, as he was thrown into a wall.

Hades stood up slowly. "I will strip you of your rank, shiplord. I will destroy your career, your reputation... your life." He glared at his subordinate, who had also gotten back to his feet.

"My life? You created me to kill the bastard children of the Titans. I've done that. I know that they must all die and that I will do my best to make that happen. I also know that when this war is over, the species' used in this war will be exterminated. You will have no more use for us, after all. We're fodder for the fucking flames of war to you!" Im spat at him. "No more!"

Shock passed over Hades' eyes as Im drew his side arm and fired. A neat little hole formed in the front of Hades's forehead and the back of his skull exploded with a sharp, sickening pop.

Im lowered his weapon, looked at Atlantia and motioned towards the view of space, specifically Hades' flagship, as he keyed his electronic pad. "Io... Black King." He watched silently as Hades' flagship was rocked by fire from his own escorts and several other ships and became a hulk of burning slag in moments. The escape pods that managed to launch were all destroyed. The Olympian ships knew exactly where to strike their own ships, obviously... the flagship hadn't even gotten a shot off in defense.

Im spoke into the electronic padd. "Atlantian colony, fleet and all other forces in system... this is Fleetlord Im Kmmta. Hades is dead, by my own hand. He was a false god and a pompus fool. I do not know if the Gods the Atlantians observe really exist, but I know that the man that spoke to you days ago and now lays before me in a pool of his own blood was not one of them."

He looked at Atlantia for a long moment, then went on. "The Olympian Fleet are led by those that stylize themselves as the Olympian Gods. They are not. They are all as mortal as you or I, though they have powers that can seem very godlike at times. The Enemy you call the Demons is, in actuality, led by alies that say they are the Titan Gods. They are also lying, when they say that. Both sides wished to use such lies to control you. I cannot sit idly by anymore and watch such lies. There shall be nothing but truth between us from this moment on. Fleetlord Kmmta out."

He sighed and looked at the corpse before him, then at Atlantia. "I wish that what I had just said was true. These aliens were your Gods, long ago. Now, though... now they are merely walking cancers that must be removed from the universe."

Minerva System

"Unknown craft, this is the Star Destroyer Hellfire of the Coredian Interstellar Defense Force. Please state your business here."

Coredian Interstellar Defense Force. Coredians? It didn't ring any particular bells in Sid's mind, but he made a mental note to have Deca check the databases later.

He pressed a small button on the device on his wrist. Instantly, a spandex-like black suit enveloped his body from head to toe, with silver and gray armor on top of it. A red and black helmet covered his entire head, giving off no indication of who he was or what species he was from, only that he was humanoid. Then, and only then, he responded.

"We were just about to ask you the same thing. Such as, why you are hanging around a Demon battleship"

A bluff. Well, not a bluff exactly, but definitely a play for dominance.

...

The others were nearing the bridge. They were becoming worried. Very worried. They would have to purge the database. Self-destruct was out of the question...it had quite ironically become damaged in the fight. So the best they could do would be to purge the database...and simply continue fighting until they were all dead...

...

Turi System

Atlantia glanced at the dead corpse. If she had any remaining faith in her old beliefs, they had just been destroyed utterly and entirly. Olympians were immortal...they couldn't be killed by mortals. She was shaking slightly...only visible enough when she stood perfectly still. She gulped.

"What do you intend to do now?" she asked, looking back at Im. "I highly doubt that killing the lord of the underworld will go without consequences"

...

Unknown

"You're late"

The figure looked at the direction the voice had come from. Hidden fully in a white cloak with a hood, he nodded slowly and responded in a deep voice. "My apologies. I had to make sure I wasn't being followed"

The white hooded figure approached the other man, in a black cloak and hood. The room...or rather, the chamber, was large, but empty. A rotunda of sorts, who's only light came from the small doors at each cardinal direction, and a hole at the very tip of the dome of the rotunda ceiling. But what could be seen on the walls depicted various mythological deeds, from Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Norse mythology. Pillars split up the different sceans, and held up the edges of the rotunda.

"I trust you've informed your subordinates" the black one said, as the white one approached him.

"Indeed" replied the white one, "Now...can you tell me what this is all about?"

"Not completely. Not yet" the black one said, calmly. "You know enough to know the stakes in this game"

The white one nodded. "Then I shall wait" the two turned to face one of the murals on the wall. On it, Prometheus was giving fire to a mortal.

"Tell me," said the black one, "...how are you progressing?"

The white one chuckled, as his left hand rose up to the hight of his shoulder. A hand extended from the sleeve, as he opened the hand, and light shone forth.

The black one nodded. "Excellent. Then it shall soon be time"

...

Dopa System

Allos. The single populated world in the Dopa system, and home to a billion souls, was currently being guarded by over three Atlantian fleets and several allied fleets, all spread out to prepare for the inevitable Demon onslaught.

In charge of Atlantian forces was the sixteenth fleet. In charge of that fleet was the AIV Scylla, a Titan class mobile base. The largest vessels in the Atlantian fleet, the seldom-seen Titans were over six kilometers in length. Onboard the Scylla, things were hectic. People running left and right, preparing for the inevitable attack that would surly come any minute.

And indeed, it did. Suddenly, seven hundred dark vessels of varying sizes warped into the system, all a few thousand kilometers away from the planet.

It was on.

(OOC: I was gonna get into the whole red alert thing this post, but...eh. I'll do it next post after everyone else)

Turi System

The heap that was once the fleet's flagship was dragged onto a course that would take it outside of the solar system and was left to drift on it's way.

----

Im looked at Atlantia and didn't answer for a few moments. "The fate of my people is sealed either way. Ours and six other species of the eight that serve the Olympians. I intend to do what I have stated I intend to do. Wipe this galaxy clean of every single Demon and Titan. Only I've added every Olympian to that list as well. The others will come for me, but I am quite sure that they will only have a handful of crews truely loyal to them. There has been a resentment growing in the fleets for generations. Hades' attempt to reinstate God Rule was the last straw. Ironically, it may serve your goal of killing that worship system in the long run."

Im turned and left without another word, returning to his flagship soon after. There was much to do. Recall the fleet from the already attacked system, as Im knew that by now, the devestation there was irreversable and try to predict which would be attacked next.

There were three fleets deployed besides the two he was ordering recalled. One was heading towards Dopa, a scout sized fleet towards Cirrus and the third ordered to jump from system to system, leaving behind beacons that would alert them if any Demons arrived after they left.

Minerva System

"Unknown craft, this is the Star Destroyer Hellfire of the Coredian Interstellar Defense Force. Please state your business here."

Coredian Interstellar Defense Force. Coredians? It didn't ring any particular bells in Sid's mind, but he made a mental note to have Deca check the databases later.

He pressed a small button on the device on his wrist. Instantly, a spandex-like black suit enveloped his body from head to toe, with silver and gray armor on top of it. A red and black helmet covered his entire head, giving off no indication of who he was or what species he was from, only that he was humanoid. Then, and only then, he responded.

"We were just about to ask you the same thing. Such as, why you are hanging around a Demon battleship"

A bluff. Well, not a bluff exactly, but definitely a play for dominance.
The Captain was nonplussed by the humanoid...thing that appeared on screen. Still, it could be any species. "Ah, we were just passing through when it attacked us, but we defeated the ship. As we speak, my troops have boarded the ship and is attempting to take it to discern the identity of our newest foes."


...

The others were nearing the bridge. They were becoming worried. Very worried. They would have to purge the database. Self-destruct was out of the question...it had quite ironically become damaged in the fight. So the best they could do would be to purge the database...and simply continue fighting until they were all dead...
"We're getting close! Don't let up for an instant!" Jacob ordered as yet another wall crumbled under his powers.

"Hai!" The soldiers and Jedi replied with a shout as they barraged their enemies with all sorts of weapons and powers.

Jacob then found the final wall before reaching the bridge and instead of just crumbling them, he decided that as the wall falls, he would blast the bridge with shards of light to cut down the enemy within. Hopefully, he could leave the 'captain' alive for interrogation, but if not, then they'll just have to figure out the ship themselves. After the wall crumbled, flashbangs were thrown in to decimate the enemy further, but hopefully leave any computer equipment and enemies intact...

OOC: I kinda hate to do this, but I have a feeling one or two of the other players in this will be sighing with relief. The semester ends in a little over two weeks for me, which of course means finals.

That's right. I have little choice to put this little adventure on hold. I figure no one will really complain too much, as it's been moving really slowly anyway. No, I am not canceling this RP. It is simply going on hiatus. Dammit Crimmond, stop looking at me with angry eyes.

If anyone has any objections or comments, don't hesitate to TG me. I'll TG everyone still involved to start it back up say...mid-May (which, ironically, is my 4th NS anniversary), unless someone wants me to hold off even longer.

And for the record, I think I'll list who I assume is still playing. Let me know if I missed someone.

-Me
-Crimmond
-Dos Volodis
-Phalanix
-Coreworlds
-Telros (?)
-Xanthal (pending on a related thread)
-Elara (pending)

I'll assume just about everyone else has dropped off. Which, I guess in the end just makes it all the easier to plan on my part.

OOC: I am still here, just got distracted and lost the thread due to my computer deleting my favorites list. I will be still playing but since my nation has changed since then, I just wanted to make it my intention to have this fleet be destroyed in a good ole fashioned battle to the finish or something like that. Wherever you want it AO, its yours. When you get back anyways.

No, I am not canceling this RP. It is simply going on hiatus. Dammit Crimmond, stop looking at me with angry eyes.

OOC: I resent your implication....

Not that the implication was untrue, but still.

(OOC: Ok, back in the saddle. Let's kill some shit.)

IC:

Turi system

Left to her own devices after Im left, the Empress sat down in one of the chairs nearest to the window. The starry sky was noticeably more open now--most of the fleets that had been here had left by now, and even the Atlantian fleets were beginning to move out to more "important" systems. Some to help at Dopa...others to move for Cirrus, and await the endgame.

In her head, lines from the final book of the Shural, the holy scriptures, ran through her head. Of the fall of gods and man and the burning of existence. Ragnarok.

Emotionally and physically drained (and sporting a nice case of jet lag), Atlantia fell into a dreamless sleep...as the computer panel near her blinked silently on and off, indicating the ongoing battle in the Dopa system, and the rising reports of casualties.

...

Dopa System

Beams of light streaked across the sky, bouncing off the hulls of a thousand vessels as they danced around one another. Leading the charge on the Atlantian lines was the sixteenth fleet, with the sixth and seventh defense fleets holding up the back--revetivly near the handful of Phalanxian ships.

Wave after wave of Demon ships flew in, cutting away at the sides of the defending fleet, hoping to create weak links. Smaller scouts began weaving in and out between the defending ships in small swarms, targeting what they considered to be the weaker parts of the larger vessels. They seemed to focus on the Atlantian and Telros ships, with only a few heading for the Phalanxian forces. And oddly...the Volodis forces didn't seem to be getting hit much at all. Not that anyone really paid attention to it, they were more worried about saving their own hulls.

The order was given, and the smaller Atlantian ships and wings of fighters broke rank, moving into attack formation to seek out and counter the smaller demon scout swarms.

As this was happening, a Node (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/node2.htm) class demon ship, carrying several Scouts (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/scout2.htm) with it caught sight of the Phalanix ships, and began to move in, detaching its load so that the smaller ships could soften them up, before the large one brought in its load.

...

Minerva System

Failure.

They had fully underestimated these strange people. They were not like normal humans or Terrans, they had...powers. Fortunately, they had managed to wipe the computer clean just in time.

They lunged forward as the wall fell, nearly completely unaffected by the shards of light. As before, the bodies could not be fully seen--only distortions and the occasional limb or claw or horn as they attacked. That added with the darkened hull and the light and flash bag attacks from the attacking soldiers only added to the creepy disorientating "look" of the demonic soldiers.

...

Sid was a little impressed. They had managed to capture a live one...and had the balls to board it. He wasn't sure if that was stupidity, or bravery...but he was impressed nonetheless.

But they didn't know. That would explain it.

"You've just stumbled upon what we like to call a "Demon" ship, captain, an advanced species of beings from beyond the galactic disk--from the globular clusters. Their only goal is to wipe us out"

Minerva System

Failure.

They had fully underestimated these strange people. They were not like normal humans or Terrans, they had...powers. Fortunately, they had managed to wipe the computer clean just in time.

They lunged forward as the wall fell, nearly completely unaffected by the shards of light. As before, the bodies could not be fully seen--only distortions and the occasional limb or claw or horn as they attacked. That added with the darkened hull and the light and flash bag attacks from the attacking soldiers only added to the creepy disorientating "look" of the demonic soldiers.
Jacob Masaki and his crack band of Marines and Jedi burst through the makeshift door with guns and lightsabers blazing, burning plasma holes or cuts into the enemy. Men fell, screaming as their bodies were torn by the dark foes, putting a bit of fear into the Marines and the Jedi apprentice Niklas.

After all, they were indeed fighting things akin to the demons of the Coredian underworld. Still, the combined firepower of the crack Marines and the skill of the Jedi and shinobi meant that for all intents and purposes, the ship would definitely be captured. As they fought through the dark bridge, Jacob sought out the leader or captain of the Demons, ostenibly to capture him for interrogation, but also to see just how strong these things could be...

...

Sid was a little impressed. They had managed to capture a live one...and had the balls to board it. He wasn't sure if that was stupidity, or bravery...but he was impressed nonetheless.

But they didn't know. That would explain it.

"You've just stumbled upon what we like to call a "Demon" ship, captain, an advanced species of beings from beyond the galactic disk--from the globular clusters. Their only goal is to wipe us out"
Captain Makoto groaned. "Another wipe-out-all-humans race? They're a dime a dozen these days. Please, let us meet face to face so you can tell me more."

Harper stood on the bridge of the only remaining Carrier, the TFS Defiant. His fleet of thirty seven ships took up the far right of the fleet and he had them on Red Alert. Pilots were already at their squadrons and all the command crews were at their posts. All they had to do was wait. And they were not disappointed.

The alarms blared, covering the room in blood-red light and the tactical map activated, showing blue flashes of Demon ships warping in. "Sir, incoming Demon ships. Computer reads seven hundred ships. They are accelerating quickly into the killzone." Fleet Admiral Harper swung his chair around to face the tactical map and the fleet.

"Alright people, lets set the table. Order the fleet to follow the Atlantean fleet into the fray. All tactical bomber squadrons are to be launched. All speed ahead and once we are in range, get me some firing solutions. On the double!" The Federation fleet rocked forward into the fray, playing a game of chicken with the incoming Demon forces. They had no idea that the Terran Federation no longer existed, having been consumed by a resurgence of the Bug Forces, which had quickly overrun their nation and killed every human. They were the last of their once proud nation.

"Sir, Demon Scouts are making runs at the fleet. Computer is tracking multiple energy weapon signatures heading our way!"

Harper grimaced. "Have the dreadnaughts cover us and prepare the fleet for impact. Have the tactical bombers start their anti-fighter and missile duties, and have the PD systems blow to hell any who get past." The first two waves of weapons fire from the Scouts slammed into the Federation fleet, causing severe damage on three corvettes, causing one to lose power and drift in space, tumbling slowly from the impact of the weapons. The rest of the fleet took the hits with minimal damage, their ablative armor sufficing to hold it off.

They had lost their window, however. Hundreds of tactical bombers swept forward to engage the Scouts, firing their twin laser cannons and letting loose with hails of anti-fighter missiles. Explosions punctuated the space around the fleet as the Demon and Federation fighters engaged one another.

"This is Alpha Squadron, engaging three enemy squadrons, vector 042. Request Beta and Gamma for backup."

"Roger Alpha, lets roast us some turkey."

"Amen to that."

All while this was going on, any Scouts that got within range of the fleet were met with a hail of hellfire in the forming of particle beam point defense systems, sending beams of energy blasting through space to annihilate them.

Meanwhile, the fleet was in range of the Demon capital ships that were coming to engage them. "Sir, firing solutions have been calculated by the A.I. Ready to fire on your mark." The screen showed the seven remaining corvettes targeting four ships, the twelve cruisers targeting five more, the three battlecruisers targeting one of the more powerful Demon ships, and the carrier, along with six dreadnaughts targeting the most powerful ships that they knew the Demons had, at least from the Atlantean intelligence.

"Fire." Railguns rocked back, laser cannons let loose their fiery energy and missile pods smoked as they dealt their payload. A wave of explosives, shells and energy slammed their way into the enemy fleet. "Ready for the next salvo!" Harper hoped he could get more salvos off before the fleet disintegrated into ship by ship fighting.

OOC: AO, I didn't know what types were attacking me and how much there was, so feel free to say who got hit and all that.

OOC: AO, I didn't know what types were attacking me and how much there was, so feel free to say who got hit and all that.

OOC: o_o AUGH! >_< I knew I forgot something! My apologies. :/

IC:

Minerva System

Alas, the captain would not be found, if even there *was* a captain. The fierce battle, combined with the fact that it was already hard to spot a "demon" assured the fact that the captain would be missing, for he had probably already given his life for the battle.

When the smoke cleared and the battle was won, there would not be one demon left alive on the bridge. Elsewhere, yes...and they would be coming soon for retaliation. However, for now the bridge belonged to the Coredians.

...

Sid nodded. "Prepare your fighter bay. I'll be there shortly". With that, the red helmeted figure got up and the connection was cut.

"Deca, have Sel and Trok meet me in the docking bay. Inform Xolin and Coros where we went"

"Acknowledged" the small green hologram responded, as Sid moved around the bridge to exit the door in the back.

A few moments later, three small "bikes" left the side of the small vessel, each one carrying a suited figure. The lead figure was in black with traces of red--the figure the captain had just spoken to. The other two were of similar makeup, just with traces of yellow and green rather then red. They made their way to the Heatwave...

...

Dopa System

Like a magnificent lightshow, the battle progressed as the main forces of the Demon fleet smashed into the Atlantian and allied fleets.

The Federation forces seemed to hold their own fairly well for their size, having opped to use more "physical" weapons then phasers and other forms of light weaponry, and the point defense systems only assisted this. Indeed, in the opening salvos, the scouts seemed to receive their share of casualties, despite their maneuverability.

The dogfighting continued, both on the fighter and the scout level, as the main ships neared. Four Dreadnoughts (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/Dread.htm), assisted by eight Nodes (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/node.htm)...which oddly didn't seem like much...until the nodes unleashed their payload. Each Node seemed to...fall apart, with four Battlecruisers (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/bcruiser.htm) and twelve Scouts (http://vv8.jetc.org/tech/corsair.htm)seperating from the main spine of the vessels. The opening Federation salvos struck against their hulls as they poured forward, inflicting moderate damage on the smaller Scouts and Battlecruisers, who had moved in front of the larger classes.

But this was where the good luck for the defending forces loosened. Two of the Nodes fired a massive greenish yellow beam from their front, aimed for two of the Federation cruisers. It was a Kep'Tak'nel, a powerful weapon made of anti-photons who's sole function was to be an opening heavy hitter, designed to take out opposing ships quickly with one or two hits. They were mostly only good for larger ships and early in the battle, due to their slow targeting and slow (ten minute) charge times.

But, it was clear the other nodes were charged and ready to go at any time. They continued to close in, as one of the Node's hull was breached by the offending fire.

The surviving smaller Battlecruisers and their Scout escorts opened fire with more powerful then standard versions of Phasers, as well as a type of torpedo.

Polyphasic Disintegration Torpedoes were designed to pass through shields using a form of phase cloak, which would then decloak as the explosives...well, exploded, on the hull of the ship.

The larger 2 km Dreadnoughts would remain in the back for now, allowing the smaller ships to fight it out. Who knew what they were preparing for...

As this was occuring, the main portion of the Atlantian front had become a ship-to-ship meelee fight, with ranks breaking down on both sides--exactly as Demons liked to fight. Meanwhile, a handful of the Demon ships had even made it back behind the fleets--only to be obliterated by the orbital defense turrets lying in wait.

"Transition in three... two... one..." The Olympian fleet lept into hell. Several transmissions jumped between the command ship, the Archangel, and several other ships.

"Nodes! There's EIGHT Nodes in system and a lot of other ships. They're engaging the defense fleet."

"All ships... engage the enemy. Let's show these bastards what we're made of!"

The Archangel makes a ballsy move and starts heading towards the Nodes on it's own. It fires one round from each of the immense magnetic cannons as it lines up, engines bright as it powers it's way in, though still a long way off.

The rest of the force, which consisted of a Hammer Group of heavy cruisers and frigates, powered towards the Atlantian forces, still out of weapons range.

A transmission came to all ships, regardless of the side, from the Archangel. Im's old crew still commanded the gunship, Amelia Ransom in the command chair. "Hello, you photon humping bastards! Let's see how you do against crews that have experience trashing your ships."

"There goes one. Yeeeha!"

"Dammit, can't shake 'em. Persistent basta-" A brilliant flash lit up space in a fiery explosion as one fighter was taken down by a Demon fighter.

"Mayday mayday, I am under heavy fire, requesting assistance. I repeat M-" Another destroyed, annihilated by a Scout defense arrays.

"Sonuva bitch, he killed Carl. Comere you little bitch..."

"AGH-"

The intersquadron radios were overloaded with reports of enemy kills, requests for assistance and the last words of dead pilots. So far, the squadrons were holding their own. but at a heavy price, as superior Demon numbers and technology proved to be more than the Federation could handle. The good luck they had, as good as it was, had come to an end. However, they continued to fight. Several squadrons flew over Scouts and the surviving battleships, unloading their nuclear missile payloads onto the ships. Many were downed but many more, by luck and sheer determination, made it through the hail of fire, to drop their loads. Then they veered away, returning to the combat, slamming into the enemy fighters from behind.

On the Defiant....

"Sir, we are reading four Demon Dreadnaughts and eight Nodes. They are on a direct course towards us. The volley should be hitting them in ten seconds." Harper watched, gripping his chair. He hoped to God that the volley did enough damage to put the battle on a good footing for his forces. Right now his forces were the smallest and weakest force there. With no shield technology and relatively old technology compared to the others, it made sense for the Demons to attack them, to try and burst through the line to the planet. He was going to prove them wrong, however.

"Alright, as soon as the targeting computer has a lock on the enemy, fire again. I want them to be hurt and hurt badly." He was not given the chance, however, as they watched in horror as thirty-two Battlecruisers and forty-eight Scouts detached from the Nodes and began heading towards them.

"Salvo impact on enemy fleet in three...two...one..." They watched as the missiles, lasers and railgun shells slammed into the enemy fleet but only caused moderate damage overall. Harper clenched his teeth and bit back a curse. This was not going well. "Sir! Energy buildup detected on two of the enemy Nodes. They are firing at the cruisers." The Admiral could do nothing but watch helplessly as the beams slammed into the TFS Relentless and Shadow, and watch as the beams tore through the hulls, melting through the ablative armor and shooting through the ship, breaching the core, causing both to erupt in a massive explosion, which sent shockwaves through the fleet and annihilated fighters on both sides who were engaging around the doomed cruisers. The fleet tilted a little from the shockwave and fighters were sent spinning, some to impact with the fleet, even more lives lost.

"Let loose with the salvo and then break to engage. Have the corvettes, cruisers and destroyers engage the battlecruisers and Scouts. The Battlecruisers, Dreadnaughts and ourselves will engage the enemy Nodes."

"Yes sir!"

One last salvo blasted out before the fleet began to disperse, moving to engage. The enemy Phaser blasts slammed into four more Corvettes, inflicting damage all across the hulls of them. They survived, however, and the nine corvettes returned fire, blasting railguns shells and missiles all over the Scouts. The cruisers and destroyers were moderately damaged by the beams, thanks to their ablative armor. It wouldn't last much longer, though. The torpedoes then slammed into them and caused large explosions, taking out another cruiser and three corvettes. Their ships were dropping like flies. They retaliated by the destroyers and cruisers firing their own salvos at the enemy. The Defiant, its dreadnaught escorts and the BC's moved forward, and aiming at the eight Nodes, unleashed a hail of shells, lasers and missiles. The battle was in full swing and the Federation, for all its might, was struggling under the dark power of the Demon fleet.

"Sweet fuck!" Brooks cried out as the firing started, having not seen such a battle start since the civil war and the final battle that ended it, "I want the battle group to keep near the rear and help deal with any ships that break through the main defenses, route power into the sheilds and I want the Nightfall to prep her canons."
"Where's a Peace class when you need it eh?" Basatan sarcastically commented as he began to transmit the battle plan to the Nightfall.
"Just shut up and keep us alive, I'm giving you command of both ship's point defenses as well as emergency thrusters, you need to get us the hell out of a spot do it and tell me later."


((Sorry for the late post, school, work, ect. School letting out post more.))

Minerva System

Alas, the captain would not be found, if even there *was* a captain. The fierce battle, combined with the fact that it was already hard to spot a "demon" assured the fact that the captain would be missing, for he had probably already given his life for the battle.

When the smoke cleared and the battle was won, there would not be one demon left alive on the bridge. Elsewhere, yes...and they would be coming soon for retaliation. However, for now the bridge belonged to the Coredians.
Jacob sighed as he sensed no more hostile presences in the area. He collected energy in the palm of the hand and created a brilliant light that permeated the dark gloom. "Niklas. Head back to the shuttles and get to the Heatwave. Tell them that we have captured the ship's bridge and request the tow ship among the fleet to begin salvage procedures."

"Yes, Master." The boy was glad to be away from the carnage of battle and sped off for the shuttle, followed by some Marines.

...

Sid nodded. "Prepare your fighter bay. I'll be there shortly". With that, the red helmeted figure got up and the connection was cut.

"Deca, have Sel and Trok meet me in the docking bay. Inform Xolin and Coros where we went"

"Acknowledged" the small green hologram responded, as Sid moved around the bridge to exit the door in the back.

A few moments later, three small "bikes" left the side of the small vessel, each one carrying a suited figure. The lead figure was in black with traces of red--the figure the captain had just spoken to. The other two were of similar makeup, just with traces of yellow and green rather then red. They made their way to the Heatwave...
The underbelly of the Star Destroyer opened wide, allowing the small vessal to head into the main hangar bay.

OOC:

Phal, Core, don't reply to dead threads because you couldn't post a month ago ;)

http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=529664

Atlantis fell.