NationStates Jolt Archive

A frozen wasteland was all that was there, freezily blasting with icy winds, a tall hooded figure standing quietly amongst the brushless tundra of reigning glaciers and ice-covered valleys. It was a cold world, a world where the frigid temperatures reigned as kings, where the equator barely showed signs of water, the clouds upon the sky nonexistant. Despite it's cloudless sky, a blizzard ready storm prepared itself from upon the horizon - black anvilheads rumbled as lightning crackled violently upon this climatically unstable world. Beside this tall figure stood a smaller, more diminuitive figure, though no less brave in this climate. "It's too damn cold." The smaller figure said, under the mahogany and ragged hood was a somewhat emotionless, droopy eyed young girl, her tiny lips chapped slightly as she applied another thicket of balm upon them, her hands gloved tightly. "Too damn cold." She said, complaining again, the taller figure grumpily groaning.

"Khayla, you may be a new member, and you may be seen as a rare thing by the mistress, but don't forget what you really are in our eyes; a child. You lack the experience to be complaining against orders of the mistress." The taller one said. Under his hood was a doll-like face - not handsome or beautiful, however, but eerily smooth and white, long fine lines running down his eyes and the ends of his lips, smoothly like blood as his left eye was an empty black mass of foreign flesh throbbing around amidst a bale silver pupil. His sclera was completely black, no light shining off it's surface, almost like some organic black hole. His mouth, like his sclera, was a black hole as well - no light touched into it, his tongue even invisible. "You should learn to discipline yourself in the wake of the mistress, child." He stressed, an impetuous sigh coming from Khayla. He sighed as well, evidently tired of the mix-ups.

"Let's get ready then." The taller one said, raising his hand slowly out to arm's length, his fingers locked together before he snapped. Immediately, as his fingers clapped themselves together, from that tiny resounding noise, a large snaking invisible serpent sped it's way through the snowy frost, a large tunnel of ice opening up as a cobblestone road beneath it frozen and preserved perfectly. Bending down, the taller one rang his fingers along the tiles, looking closely as he nodded. "Khayla, can you clarify this?" He asked, as Khayla bent down onto one knee, taking a closer look at the cobblestone roads, her eyes squinting slightly before she nodded. "Ah, I see."

"These are the Totalian remains, alright." Khayla confirmed. "Totalius has a base a here."

"A base here. Truly a devastating opponent to be capable of creating such storms across this satellite." The taller man said appreciatively. "I can understand why the mistress wants him eliminated."

"But is this the right course of action? We are a limited people."

"My people are a limited people. Your people are so far undefined." The taller one spoke back. "Please keep your distinction clear for now."

"Yes, Haroi." Khayla said, closing her eyes in blatant frustration. Why did the Mistress put me with this guy? I understand he is her right hand man, but why should I be stuck with such a boring person? Such a cautious, frank and unexciting man? "Shall I start?"

"No. We need to - " Before he said that, soft footsteps deftly landed on the snowy makeshift hills that rose within the wake of the twisting ice spires, the figure of a skeletal man in a black set of robes looking down with distaste. His eyes were silver white, his nose nonexistant and his face shriveled and corroded beyond repair. He frowned, his scarred face showing distinct wonder as his face was clothed beneath a large set of wraps. " - oh?" Haroi exclaimed in surprise. "Looks like they found us out. Khayla, demonstrate to me what impressed the mistress." Haroi spoke, eager to see as she nodded. Immediately, a jet black claw-like tentacle of simple blackness jetted from her thumb; no shape, no form, save for that of an erratic, twisting serpent. It spun and snaked around, a large rattling noise in the air as it grew heavy and dense, the man looking down unharmed. Crashing into him, the figure blocked it with ease. Haroi's eyebrows rose.

"Oh?" The man said, his hand flashing his cape back to reveal a silver lightsaber, his clawed fingers grabbing it as his arm revealed a long red ribbon cloth tied to his bicep; a Totalian General. "That was an interesting attack. What is it?" He said, looking at his slightly scarred left hand, holding his lightsaber ready. "Interesting attack. Interesting attack - I will have to examine your attack, odd girl." He said, his hand readied, his body twisting forwards as an arc of lightning jettisoned from his fingers, blue death crackling violently as Haroi frowned. Holding his hand out, Haroi swung it away as the lightning arced away harmlessly back towards the General as he leaped out of its way.

"You're quite a fighter. How did you do that?" The General asked. "How did you pull that off? I only one I know who could do that are - "

"Masters of the Force? Yes." Haroi said, smiling. "But I'm outside the Force, aren't I? Otherwise, I would have died. I should have died. But death plays favorites, and he visits those he loves. I, outside the Grace of Death, exist as a wound, a hole in the universe. And from that hole, your attacks can't hurt me."

"Your species can do that?" The General asked.

"No, only me." Haroi said, as the General smiled.

"So I only have to get rid of you, then."

"That, I won't allow." Khayla spoke up, engulfing herself in blackness as hundreds of serpent-like jet black effigies shot out with impunity, crashing into the snow below the General as he leapt up, another swarm meeting him halfway as he swung his lightsaber, the effigies unharmed as they continued, slashing violently into his body as his blood leaped out from him. All he could see was a blood stained hand, before there was darkness.

He was within a small white chamber, a tall black figure coming in as his face was a white skull mask, his eyes red balls of fiery fury as his fingers were metallic claws that clattered upon a hooked lightsaber. Totalius. He stood, surveying the General before frowning. "What was that about?" He asked, as the General looked back in wonder.

"What was what about, milord?" The General asked.

"You've been having nightmares." Totalius spoke up. "What did you see?"

"Two figures, both on Sharauk. They - "

"Enough. We're returning." Totalius said.

"Returning to where?"

"Where to? The capital. Surely you know in what system our capital is, don't you?"

"You mean...Aslamaduun?" The General said.

"Yes...Aslamaduun." Totalius said, before it faded all to blackness.

On Sharauk, Haroi smiled, a thick liquid dripping from his left eye into the General's wound, his body unconscious. "We should tell the mistress where the Totalian Empire's heart is. We should tell her that the best course of action is to go to Aslamaduun."

They disposed of the body through a blanket of flames.

It took only a small time for the two to get back, the quiet home of the leader of the Saliada; Naira the Abomination. She sat upon her own throne, her head to the side as her cheek rested softly upon the back of her hand, her hair softly on the tips of her lips as her sword was dangling lightly at her waist, standing upright and supported by a thin line of wire. She smiled. "So?" She asked, her eyes drooping slightly like Khayla's, her face obviously impatient and bored, her scowl visible. "What's the news?"

"Mistress." Haroi said. "We found the location of the capital of the Totalian Empire. Aslamaduun."

"Aslamaduun? Who said?" Naira asked. She was a striking beauty - not one who tried to look beautiful, but one who was naturally beautiful. Her presence was a strong, unavoidable one, her voice unwavered and hard, straight to the point. She carried a set of fiery eyes and her lips were curled into a sadistic smile as she heard such good news, her long, beautiful hair winding down elegantly. She had the look of a born leader.

"One of his Generals, by his uniform." Haroi explained.

"Alright. Sounds acceptable. You may go." Naira said, as Haroi bowed, his hand gripping Khayla's back, forcing a bow from her as well. Before he walked 2 steps away, Naira chimed up. "Wait, I nearly forgot." This annoyed Haroi, whom viewed Naira as a goddess, to carry such human flaws. "How was Khayla's performance?"

"Exceptional. She is truly a dangerous force to reckon with." Haroi said humbly, before walking off, Khayla following him.

Naira smiled. "Well, Daira, isn't it time for you to start?"

"It seems so."

Open Message to any who may read this.
HELP!...TH-THIS IS AN OPEN AND...TRANSMISSION...FROM T-THE HL-HLEGENTS FROM THE P-PLANET...TOTALIANS HAVE BEEN BOMBARDING OUR PLANET FOR DAYS NOW. IT TOOK US A WHILE, BUT WE'RE FINALLY CAPABLE OF FIGHTING BACK! P-PLEASE, ANYONE WHO CAN, STIRKE THE SYSTEM OF ASLAMADUUN, THEIR HOME SYSTEM. IT'LL BUY US ENOUGH TIME TO ESCAPE. THIS IS FROM THE ROYAL HL-HLEGENTS ARMY. PLEASE, ANYONE! WE CAN PAY! WE HAVE STOCKPILED ENOUGH TO HELP! WE CAN PAY!

It went quiet.

"Ashlak is dead? Who killed him?" Totalius asked, his fingers clattering slightly as his patience was wearing thin. "General Ashlak is killed? By whom?" He asked again, looking closely at the aide as the aide lowered his head in careful shame. "Ashlak was one of my best Generals. For him to have died, surely is a great coincidence, isn't it?" He said, looking at the aide as his eyes lingered to something else. "What were the reports?"

"Two figures, one a small female child, another a taller, gaunt faced man. The small child is to have silver hair with no distinguishing features, the other supposed to have two long lines running down his eyes with another set running along his mouth, like a doll." The aide reported from his files, as Totalius sighed. "What is it, my lord?"

"I'm talking about their abilities. Their abilities. How did they kill Ashlak?" Totalius asked sternly, the aide nodding and apologizing profusely.

"It was the doll man who supposedly killed Ashlak, lord Totalius. He stabbed him."

"With what?"

"..."

"Speak, dear friend." Totalius ordered.

"...his hand." he said.

Totalius' eyes contracted in frustration and surprise, his wrinkles growing amongst his skull-like face, his eyes shimmering as many wondered what laid behind those thoughts. He was surprised, to wonder how a master of the Totalian Empire could be killed by something as odd as a mere hand. "Are you sure about this? Truly sure about this?" Not before long, his eyes contracted even further, biting what's left of his lip in frustration as he finally frowned a frightened, frustrated frown. "Did the doll man drop a clear, thick liquid from his left eye socket into Ashlak's mouth?" Totalius asked desperately, as the aide flipped through the pages, nodding slightly. Totalius slumped back into his chair, his fingers running along his forehead as if to smooth the unsmoothable skin, before a large smile opened up on his face. "So, they're not as fragile as I thought. Looks like an interesting war will unfold, methinks." Totalius chuckled, laughing maniacally. "How long has it been since Ashlak's death?"

"1 hour and 12 minutes." The aide said, looking at the clipboard before Totalius stood up. "No trace of a ship was found?"

"None, lord Totalius."

"Do a full system scan around the Sharauk system in a 0.003 parsec scout sweep. Launch all available scouts, warships and bombardment ships." Totalius ordered. "Send 6 Generals on the scout." Totalius held out, looking at the home planet of Aslamaduun. He smiled beneath that mask. A cloaked ship can easily be measured in their existence by the presence of their ion-engine ratio to the ship. However, a ship that has a zero ion-engine ratio is a small ship, no bigger than a few pods distance. Meaning it's propulsion and hyperspace capabilities are lower than usual. For a ship to jump into hyperspace it needs to be put into a larger ship. Meaning that in a span of 1 and a half hours, it is only capable of reaching 0.003 parsecs away from the planet Sharauk. You're nearby, little Salenders. Nearby, and it won't be long before I crush you. "Salenders, huh?" He said, before a shadow emerged digilently from the darkness, a long black robe billowing softly before a series of swords sheathed in porcelain laid at his waist, his shirt underneath as white as the silver clay wrapped around his blade. His face was doll-like, long lines running down his face like the remains of sorrowful tears. Haroi.

"Totalius the Annihilator." Haroi said, his left eye containing black sclera flesh, his right silver. "So you are the target our Mistress wants destroyed. The one responsible for the death of our people."

Totalius smiled. "So you're here, little Salender. And did I hear Mistress? You're controlled by a woman?"

"What detriment is there to that fact?"

"You're being led by a woman. You fail as a man."

"That fact is unfounded. No such evidence proves that it is detrimental to being led by a woman."

"Your existence is proof."

"That fact is unfounded." Haroi snapped his fingers, the pillars around him smashing up into a pilfering burst of mahogany dust. Totalius smiled, snapping his own fingers as a jet of lightning erupted from the blackness, four lightsaber wielding men coming out as Haroi was struck in the arm, smashed against the wall, a giant crater ensuing from the blast. Getting up, he stood as if nothing had happened, unaffected. Only slight dirt on his robes. "Four Generals?"

"Correct. The council of 12. I have 6 Generals ready to eliminate your friends, four of them here to break you apart, and me." Totalius said cockily, as Haroi sighed. Raising his fingers up to snap, another jet of lightning struck his fingers as they put them back into Haroi's sleeves, forcing hm unable to attack. "You're cut off from that little trick of yours, Salender."

"I am no mere Salender." Haroi said. "I am Haroi, member of the Saliada."

"What's that?"

"Your death, Totalius. I will ensure that." With that, he drew out his sword. He looked at one General. "One." With that, a giant shockwave burst apart the ground, the General bursting into thousands of blood-splattered pieces as his body spray into thickened magenta flesh. He turned his eye towards the second one. "Two." Another burst into pieces.

"Three." Another, yet this one tried to block it with the Force, but to no avail as it ripped through his lightsaber, his Force, his armor and all alike, blasting him into hundreds of pieces like the others. The last tried to launch an initial strike, swinging down as Haroi blocked his lightsaber beam with a single finger, pushing it back harmlessly as he stretched out his sword, another blast of invisible death bursting him apart. "Four."

Totalius was surprised. Four Generals, and unscathed. Haroi turned to him, looking complacently, impatiently, his finger pointed at Totalius. "Five." With that, a blast erupted around Totalius, yet only his arm was lost. Haroi was not surprised.

"I see. Now I see it all. I see it all." Totalius groaned, breathing heavily in pain as his bloodied stump of an arm slowly closed itself, his forearm hanging by a few strands of reddish sinew. "Your arm vibrates your sword at supersonic speeds, making it look like you're not doing anything with your sword at all. However, the sword can also release a small beam of energy from it's tip, no more than a laser normally does. But the trick comes together there; the vibration of your sword with the light bending off itself causing an intensified beam that eventually forms cannon like a powerful 'shockwave' capable of tearing apart anyone who comes in it's way. It's the accumulated concentration of energy upon itself to, as a final product, create a destructive laser. That's why the earlier General could not block; it was not an attack by the Force or from the mind - it was sheer raw destructive energy. How close am I?"

"Expectedly, you're virtually right on." Haroi said. "As expected from someone with your reputation; being able to deduce my ability after only a few glimpses." He shot another, as Totalius moved back, blocking it.

"The more concentrated the space is, the stronger the beam. The more spread out it is, the less energy is being reflected off itself, meaning less is adding up together and forming together. So although I'll more likely get hit, each shot does exponentially less damage. Despite it's look, it's a short ranged attack." Totalius lifted his fingers, a cloud of purple haze shooting out as it smashed into Haroi's sword, his body standing strong as he blocked it easily with a single finger. "Hmm? I have fought your kind before. How come you're not affected?" Totalius asked.

"Cortosis skin." Haroi spoke. "You see, when a Salender matures, they mature completely to the things they are attached to. Meaning not only does their body not change, but also any augmentations placed on their bodies. Cortosis does not wear when it's a part of me. It stays ever so resistant, and my swords stay ever so sharp. Although you do use the Force, to convert it's existence into something of this universe, you need to first convert it to energy. Energy that can be easily nullified by the cortosis covering my fingers. After that, it's all nothing more than force. And I can more than a match for force." He said, firing off another shockwave, forcing Totalius to block, yet another came from behind.

"You're fast!" Totalius said, complimenting him as he held his lightsaber in his hand, the red blade flashing slowly with Haroi looking carefully. He swung down, he dodged, he slashed, his hand smashing up against Totalius' skull mask as Totalius stood back slightly, firing off a jet of lightning, Haroi blocking it quickly and efficiently. Totalius and Haroi stood, looking carefully before Totalius smiled. "You're good, Salender. I never thought much of your species, when they were so weak, but you're a damn good opponent. Enough for me to have to do this." He raised his arm, as it dissolved into a series of black tentacles, disappearing into the blackness before a booming voice rang about the room. Totalius'.

"Care you hear me?" Totalius said, as Haroi nodded. "Good. This is me. I am the ship, and I will get rid of you." Autoguns fired open, the a hornet's nest of golden shots with Haroi dodging them barely before slipping back into the shadows, headed towards the hangar. Within this bleak hallway, Haroi ran as the steel innards of the Totalian ship began to fly at him, screws themselves being violent bullets like a steel grey hailstorm, raining down upon him. His clothes were cut, but he was fine. "Come back, little Salender!" Totalius' voice screamed through the hallway, before Haroi took a ship, fired it up and left the closing hanger.

Several systems away, a fleet moves elegantly across the stars. Two Carriers (http://www.theforce.net/swtc/Pix/books/sw2ij/mc1sw2ij.jpg), Two Battleships (http://swsv.swcombine.com/other/taskforce.jpg), one Destroyer (http://gwiezdne-wojny.pl/grafika/2004/paz/rvd.jpg), two Cruisers (http://www.knightwire.com/images/11_render.gif), and one Medical ship (http://swgb.heavengames.com/eaw/images/units/nebulon_b.jpg), along with 6 patrol ships (http://www.galacticempiredatabank.com/CarrackCruiser.gif). On the bridge of the battleship Deception a message came though:
HELP!...TH-THIS IS AN OPEN AND...TRANSMISSION...FROM T-THE HL-HLEGENTS FROM THE P-PLANET...TOTALIANS HAVE BEEN BOMBARDING OUR PLANET FOR DAYS NOW. IT TOOK US A WHILE, BUT WE'RE FINALLY CAPABLE OF FIGHTING BACK! P-PLEASE, ANYONE WHO CAN, STIRKE THE SYSTEM OF ASLAMADUUN, THEIR HOME SYSTEM. IT'LL BUY US ENOUGH TIME TO ESCAPE. THIS IS FROM THE ROYAL HL-HLEGENTS ARMY. PLEASE, ANYONE! WE CAN PAY! WE HAVE STOCKPILED ENOUGH TO HELP! WE CAN PAY!
The Admiral looked at the contents of the message. "Set hyperspace coordinates for the Aslamaduun system." she said.

"Oh?" Totalius said, looking past his head as he watched carefully upon the sensors, flaring slightly. "Hyperspace rifts are coming out through to the first system. Huh, I damn well hope it's not a damn mercenary fleet." Totalius was livid - four of his Generals have already been dispatched, six still out on their manhunt for the ship, his mind wracking slightly at the stressful problems such once meager beings gave him. He was getting annoyed with such roach-like beings, adamant on survival. "Prepare all cannons, get ready your guns. If they make a move, destroy them." Totalius ordered, his fingers sweeping along. "I can't let a single damn thing escape now, can I?" He groaned, his saber dangling with an unquenched thirst for blood.

Haroi took quite a bit of time before he reached the throne of Naira, her eyes wide awake as she waited patiently for his news. "What is it, Haroi?" She asked, as Haroi nodded. "Hmm? Is Totalius dead?" She asked. He shook his head. "Was it worthwhile?" He nodded. "Very well. What have we gained?"

"The death of four of his Generals." Haroi spoke, as Naira smiled widely. "Totalius is about to make his move. I believe we should retreat immediately and let the flow of time take it's course of action. If we let Totalius be as erratic and violent as he usually is, he will destroy himself."

"I concur." Naira agreed.

The fleet entered realspace at the rim of the system. A message went out, broadcasted to all:
Greetings, we are the Xiscapians. This is the 42ed Exploritory Fleet. We recieved a distress call asking for help. We want answers. If we do not get them within five standered minutes, we will open fire. This is your first and only warning.
"Stupid IWOS code." muttered the Admiral. "We should have attacked them outright." The XO spoke. "But we have no idea what's truely going on." The Admiral's name was Unter. "I heard enough. Somewhere, someone's in very deep trouble. As fellow sentients and servents of Qonn, it is our obligation to help them out."
All thoughout the fleet weapons and shields powered up.

Wreckage spattered itself over the Federation Deflector Shields, Kaptin Graevus smirked, he had been meaning to test out the recent accquisition, although they had enough to keep the vast fleet of Klan Graevus alive they were a meager footnote in the greater Orky Skrapheep Empiha, a wing of Orky Fitaz zoomed past the Red Shaded windows, Graevus suddenly became aware of the vast Bridge, and the hundred or more Orks running errands about it, most of them were attaching things to other things, making the bridge a twisting hulk of wires and metal.
IndentGraevus rubbed his fangs and looked around at the welders, "Rite Boyz! weezis gonna getz aahselfz ah wah!!!" He cried out, causing the abrupt end of the whiring tool noise, each boy on the bridge stared at the Kaptin for a while, "Staatz skannin' fah transmishunz!!!" He screamed at the Rahdo Boyz who nerviously scratched at their arses for a while before shrugging and starting work on the radio.
IndentThere was a sudden, voracious, scratching and whirring which blasted out of PA's and Speakers across the ship, it continued until one of the Rahdo Boyz reached the volume control, he apologised to the bridge crew who gave him a look as if to say that they were going to murder him happily, the whirring slowly stopped and a voice came over, "-EASE, ANYONE WHO CAN, STIRKE THE SYSTEM OF ASLAMADUUN, THEIR HOME SYS-" It ended aprubtly.
IndentGraevus grinned, "Wahm up da Hippadriff, nah need ta tell'um wezis kummin'!" The Fleet outside all seemed to slowly stop their routine patrol as they gathered around the crooked maw of the Battleship Krakka, its twisted smile bestowing a sort of malign happiness on the Orks.

(OOC: Will post arrival soon, I need a break between posts or the quality suffers)

Totalius frowned. "Threaten me?" He said, before a wide smile opened on his lips. "Send a message to anyone who dares to tread into my domain. I have too much on my mind right now to deal with more intruders. Ready the Capitals, shockers prepared." He ordered, as the sound of tapping keys and buttons were heard around him in the background like an orchestra of preluding war.

To those with the distasteful manner of trespassing, state your purpose of existence within my domains. If you do not give a satisfactory answer, or refuse to give me such an answer, I may have to remove your existence from my domain with whatever force is necessary. So, I shall be frank - what is your business in my empire?

The fleet stopped, just inside the system, hovering, battleready.
The following message was sent back:
Allow us to be equally frank. We said in our last message that we recieved a distress call concerning this sector as the home system of the messengers attackers. We want to know what is going on. Call us nosy, meddlers, whatever. If you are unjustly attacking another race there is going to be trouble. You are now down to four minutes. Do not exhast our patience.
A message was sent back, not very far, to a base in another system:
The 42ed has entered the system. Potential hostiles. Ready the Jade, an additional battleship, and two Cruisers for a hyperspace jump if needed. Unter out.

Oh? Perhaps you should take a look at where that transmission originally came from first. Was it an open channel? Then that would make it untraceable, wouldn't it? If a public channel was open, then it would allow it to be traced quite easily, but still let others pick it up. But if they're trying to evade us by using an open channel, why would they send information on where they were or whom they were in their channel? It's an obvious ploy.

"You can't corner me, little Salender." Totalius whispered to himself.

Don't try to play mind games with us. We heard the transmission. Something is going on. We want to know. Three minutes.
"Answer the goddamn question." muttered the Admiral.

Have you ever heard of the Salenders? The abominations of the universe?

"I will catch you, little Salenders." Totalius smiled. "I will make sure they obliterate you."

We have never heard of them. How are they connected to you?
OOC: I need to go. Get some sleep. I'll be on tommorow. Hope those other people show up.

We will talk. Come to my flagship, the Sessnon. I will explain what I know of them.

"Let's see how this turns out." Totalius said.

"And so, the game begins." Naira smiled.

Very well. Be warned: We do not take tricks lightly.
The whole fleet moved to the designated coordinates, ready for the Sessnon.

Gargantuan. That one word described the large beast of a ship that was the Sessnon, a large capital ship of unknown alien design that dwarfed all the other ships around it, them all capital ships whom were still quite large. It was in the shape of a large sharp-shaped vessel, multitudes of guns resting upon it's bale stomach. Large flashes of light could be seen, the twin engines slowly dragging it around as it orbited the planet of Aslamaduun slowly.

Aslamaduun itself, was chaotic. Large swirls of silver methane was visible, covering it's surface as a dazzling display of light upon its skin showed signs of violent storms. The excessive swirling suggested frothing and fearsome hurricanes amidst, as it was the central hive for the wasps that were the Totalians. Here, at Sessnon, the giant hangar, one of many, opened up to allow them in.

The fleet got near it and stayed outside, not entering the hanger. A shuttle, miniscule against the battleship's bulk but atom-sized near the Sessnon, flew into the hanger. It landed and the ramp lowered. A Xiscapian stepped out. He looked about the gigantic hanger, a guard behind him. It's big...but if they turn out to be hostile, well, to use an Alversian saying... He smiled. The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

A thin man stood, his face contorted and twisted into horrific images, his teeth buttoning out painfully, his fingernails long and sharp as his head showed small strands of balding hair. He had a magenta sclerotic pair of eyes, his robes elegant and long, yet it showed that his body was thin and scraggly. At his waist, a dangling set of sabers hung, ready for their taste of blood. As he spoke, he had an icy, cold voice, almost like a somber shiver-filled whisper in a frozen wind. "I will be your guide. Follow me." He ordered plainly, as he began to walk. "If you have questions, ask them now."

The ambassador followed, along with his guard. He spoke, unfazed by the man's apperence or cold demenor. He had met worse diplomats. "What kind of species are you?"

"I was originally a species from a fringe world named Calthoron. My species were called the Calthorii, and we have no special features that distinguished us from the others; no special strength, no inherent ability, nothing. What about you?"

"Well," said the ambassador, put off by the sudden friendliness. "Xiscapians have three special traits and atributes to our names: We are much faster and more agile than a human, we wield katana swords with skill, and we can see in the dark. That's about it."

"Impressive." He said, somewhat tiredly as he rubbed his bloodshot eyes. "I have been up for a while since Lord Ashlak's murder, so forgive my somewhat monotonous attitude." He had finally reached through to the end of the long, black hallway as the steel doors beyond opened up slowly, revealing a dirty, crashed and trashed throne room as pillars around it were laying in ruins. Sitting upon his broken throne, Totalius looked, his head tilted to one end, his cheek resting softly on the back of his hand.

"You must be the intruders. Welcome to my domain. Forgive the mess. Assassins are never so good at hiding their tracks these days."

The ambassadors eyebrows raised. "So there was an assassination here?" he asked, stepping carefully over and around the wreckage. "Or an assassination attempt?"

"Attempt." Totalius said, smiling. "I'm not that easy to kill, as I'm sure the little bastard probably learned his lesson. So, are you curious about the Salender? And how the abomination of the universe came to hate me?"

"Yes, we know nothing of this war that is going on between you. We need to know more before choosing what to do. Tell me everything you know about them, your species, and the war itself."

"A long time ago there existed a planet without a name. The species living on that planet, calling themselves Salender, never understood space travel. They never reached past basic physics, with ideals incredibly crude and barbaric. Now, this initially confuses you, that if such unintelligent beings existed, why am I worried? Because they're limited. They're not unintelligent, simply limited in knowledge. The Salender began to infest upon my ships through some unknown method, but eventually I was forced to go to war against them. Things happen, and now they're nearly extinct. The remainders want revenge. Seven Salender with high intelligence." Totalius warned. "Have you ever been dosed with a Salender's blood?"

The ambasasador shook his head. "No, we've never seen either of your species before." His eyes narrowed. "What exactly did you do to them that made them hate you so much?"

"An attack of insurance." He said calmly. "I destroyed everything within sight. The elimination of all life within the Salender realm. Though, obviously as you can see, they're a very difficult species to kill."

The ambassador stood from the hunk of destroyed fruinature he had been resting on. "You destroyed their entire system!?"

"Well, technically speaking, they only lived on one planet. They didn't really understand the physics of space travel, you see." Totalius shrugged. It was not long before his comment that a warning bell rang along the fallow halls, the sound echoing and reverberating violently before a series of legions rushed through, their sabers held high and their rifles prepared. A state of emergency rushed up before a blast into the wall of the large steel gate smashed around the area into pieces. Standing there, a figure draped in black, his eyes dark and void and his clothes jet black. Totalius smiled. "Speak of the devil; want to try and kill me again?"

"Yes. Though, you have a guest. I am here to escort them from your villainous clutches, Totalius." Haroi spoke, looking at the ambassador. "I will provide protection for you. It was never Totalius' intention to let you leave here alive." He said, as a soldier fired at him, yet it merely bounced off and shot him back in the eye, the soldier collapsing in searing pain.

"Well, technically speaking, they only lived on one planet. They didn't really understand the physics of space travel, you see." Totalius shrugged. It was not long before his comment that a warning bell rang along the fallow halls, the sound echoing and reverberating violently before a series of legions rushed through, their sabers held high and their rifles prepared. A state of emergency rushed up before a blast into the wall of the large steel gate smashed around the area into pieces. Standing there, a figure draped in black, his eyes dark and void and his clothes jet black. Totalius smiled. "Speak of the devil; want to try and kill me again?"

"Yes. Though, you have a guest. I am here to escort them from your villainous clutches, Totalius." Haroi spoke, looking at the ambassador. "I will provide protection for you. It was never Totalius' intention to let you leave here alive." He said, as a soldier fired at him, yet it merely bounced off and shot him back in the eye, the soldier collapsing in searing pain.
OOC: Glad you introduced this, I was having a hard time hating you ICly. :p
IC: The ambassador stood back, pulling a blaster pistol from his belt. His guard pulled the katana from it's sheath and stood in front of him. The ambassador looked from Totalius to the dark figure and back again. "You a world destroyer, a vile murderer of a primitive species who could do little to protect themselves. You will die." He raised the pistol and fired it directly at Totalius's forehead, while the guard struck into a crowd of guards, his katana flashing. Outside the station the fleet opened fire on the station.

"I don't necessarily enjoy being called primitive, you know." Haroi said, snapping his fingers as the pillars around the room began to collapse, the rubble smashing into the guards as the Salender snapped again, the room breaking apart as he cleared a path open for the ambassador and his bodyguard to get to the hangar. From outside, a ship was prepared as Haroi nodded to the open ship. "Get in. My Mistress wants a talk with you."

"Oh, looks like chaos is happening." Totalius said, as the blaster fire went through his head, ripping out through the robes behind him. "It's not that easy to kill a ghost, little beast." Totalius was now burning with anger, fury, his voice horrifically dangerous, his fingers readied as he glided through the air, following them like some vengeful spirit. Outside, the Sessnon was taking relatively little damage considering it's size and sheer power, but it was enough to have called in protection as the hangars opened wide, interceptor ships swarming around it like hornets defending their hive. It was a brilliant display of laser fire, explosions rocking the entire blackness of the void that is space, and in this midst, Haroi planned on opening his exit.

"Get in, quick." Haroi urged to the ambassador, looking back to see how far Totalius was behind them. Not far - not far at all.

The ambassador and his guard ran for their lives. They dove into the ship, sliding on their bellies. In the other hanger the shuttle pilot used the ship's weapons to blast a hole in the hanger door before flying out into the vaccum. The ships stopped their bombardment of the station and concentrated on the fighters. The Carrier's hangers spat out multitudes of fighters, and the battle was on.

It was a spray of light, not long before shield batteries were being set up, entire chunks of the battlefield untouchable due to their high volatility. Within this ship, Haroi frowned, the capital ship firing with frightening precision within their range, forcing him to punch to hyperspace quickly and warp through the blackness of the tunnel before it all came a blur. It became peaceful again. "So how was your impression of the Totalians?" Haroi asked.

The ambassador was shaken. "The bolt just...went though his head. Like it wasn't there!" He shook his head. "I still don't truly understand what's going on."

"Totalius is an energy apparition." Haroi spoke calmly, as if it were nothing new. "He's nothing more than a mass of volatile energy contained within a certain magnetic field. He has little physical body left, but if he did, my Mistress would have killed him long ago. He isn't lying when he said it's that easy to get rid of him. My name is Haroi, a member of the Saliada, and the one who will be your guide and your bodyguard in the upcoming meeting. All eight are ready."

The ambassador nodded. "There will be much to disscuss."

Back at the station all fighters were recalled and the fleet pulled away, jumping into hyperspace.

"I assume Totalius has already smeared my people and my Mistress?" Haroi asked, as the black, calm tunnel of hyperspace was calming, cool, smoothly running. "Well, I can tell you something about him; he won't last long. He bombarded our planet because he did not see us as sophisticated enough to develop space travel." Haroi sighed, looking at the side of his pilot's seat. Taking out a small set of silvery bottles, he placed it gently on the tiny ledge that served as a table. "Totalian hospitality must be horrendous. Since you're guests, I'll do it right." He began to mix the drinks together. "I can't make much, but what would you like?"

The ambassador waved away the offer. "I'm fine. Xiscapians do not hold their liquior very well. Anyway, so what's the true story about you and them?"
OOC: Last post for tonight. Be on tommorow

"Thirty years ago, my people were on the brink of losing all of our resources due to a series of climatic changes revolving around the swelling of our system's star. It's rise in size towards a red giant engulfed four other planets before us, and it's increased size meant a closer and more livid temperature for us to deal with. Unable to comprehend space travel, we seem to be doomed. Until Totalius came." Haroi took a small swig. "Totalius seemed like a god, offering us salvation and escape, but it was not long before he found out about our force negation, our refusal to age and our chemical left eye. He saw us as a threat, and, in one hot summer night, everything on the face of our home was eradicated and destroyed. Only eight survived when we hijacked a surveyor ship coming down to the surface, and it took us to a far off planet, bustling in commerce and prosperity."

"But an idyllic place was fairly dystopic. We became killers, assassins, leaders, all of us respected in the ring of criminal warfare and guerrilla warfare before not long the government attempted to crack down upon us. In response, we formed an alliance to prevent any harm from coming to any of the eight who survived, the leader being my Mistress, Naira the Insipid. We formed the Saliada, and our only purpose now was to exact revenge on those who have given us hell. And our search brings us back to Totalius. I will be honest; the transmission you received was half a lie. The beings who were forming a rebellion against the Totalians existed, but they're nearly killed. My colleague, Iero the Content, spent years fighting the Totalians upon that front. And now, we're taking the battle to the heart of the matter. But, as you see, killing Totalius is more difficult than I ever imagined."

It was not long before a medium sized commerce ship pulled into view, it's design sleek and beautiful, almost like a silver sword drifting in the middle of space. Whoever owned it, they had extremely deep pockets, and it was obvious whom owned it when the hangar doors elegantly and gracefully opened up, a oft wafting breeze flowing gently as the tiny ship docked in it's illustrious hull. It was roomy, spacious, high class, and as Haroi got out, he waited for the ambassador to follow. "My Mistress awaits you in the throne room. Come with me."

The ambassador got out and followed, his guard trailing behind him. "Beautiful ship." he murmered, looking around at it's sleek curves. "The fleet will be here soon, they'll home in by a beacon that was palced on me prior to the meeting."

"Understandable." Haroi said calmly, walking into a large, incense wafting room. In contrast to the bleak, disruptive, heavy air of Totalius' eerie, evil throne room, this room seemed like it belonged to a 17th century ottoman harem. It was laced in colorful silk, the light shining brightly by candle-like effigies floating in the air, hanging television screens and glass panels shining around brilliantly. Beautiful artwork and plush seats of every color was here, seven figures sitting down in a circle as a blank spot was open. Haroi notioned to the blank open seat. "Sit down." He beckoned.

It was an odd collection of people; one of them was tiny girl with drooping, monotonous eyes, sitting straight and properly as her hands were cutely dipped at the small space in her lap, her sleeves too large for her, giving a childish appearance. Beside her was a tall figure in a black shirt and pants, his arms crossed patiently as his hair like a long, powerful silver mane. He had a sharp, handsome face, and upon his adam's apple was a black number, though the skin made it difficult to discern it.

Beyond them was a man draped in black, his head wrapped in a turban-like cloth, long velvet ribbons running down his back as porcelain white swords hung at his waist. Next was a man with one eye covered by a mass of messy hair, his visible eye long and large, almost stretched with his long and wide mouth stretched in a sorrowful frown. Next was a man draped in complete black, his eyes a bale silver white. The last was an attractive and handsome young man with square glasses, his lips slightly curved into a perpetual frown.

Naira sat across at the end, her seat elevated slightly. She was a fiery beauty, her lips tiny but elegant, a passionate red, her hair dark and long, a straight, shining shade with her cheek rested softly on her palm. She smiled appreciatively. "My name is Naira. I am the leader of the Saliada. How do you do?" She asked. "Would you like something to eat first?"

The ambassador bowed low to the group before sitting. " I am in good health. Your assassin saved me. Some meat would be nice." he admitted as his guard withdrew to the door. He looked around at them. "Are you all truely the last of your kind?"

"I'll be back." Haroi said, walking off.

"Their kind. I'm not a pure Salender." Naira said, smiling. "Totalius has launched a fairly dangerous war against us a long time ago, but I plan on getting revenge against Totalius for his crimes against the Salender race."

It was not long before Haroi came back with a small silver tray on a cart, a large waft of steak laid on an ornate silver plate with a small steel fork laid carefully, the grease simmering nicely as the steak wafted a strong, wondrous scent. "This is the only meat we have." Haroi spoke up.

"The Salender are an herbivorous species for the most part. So we don't carry much meat. This is all we'll have." Naira spoke. "So, what would you like to know?"

Normally, Xiscapians just attack their food with all the ferocity of a wild animal, but the ambassador was a diplomat, and he calmly ate the delicous steak with the fork. "I'd like to know what we can do to help you." said the ambassador. "Not so long ago there was a species also bent on our destruction. Because of our allies, they were beat back. Now we'd like to return the favor to the galaxy, least we have bad karma. Besides," said the ambassador though a mouthful of steak, "I think I rather like the Salenders. You can tell much about a person or race by determining who their enemies are."

"That's good." Naira smiled. "I need only one thing; the death of Totalius the Annihilator. With Totalius' death, his entire army will be eradicated, his planets gone and his fleets destroyed." She became almost fervent, like an insane whisper in the dark. "His entire empire is a living, breathing entity. It feeds and breaths and leaves it's waste of chaos in its wake. A moving monster that chews apart systems like nothing. And he, he is the heart that keeps it all together. If he kill him, all will break and crumble - he is the literal heart of the empire." Naira spoke simply.

"Totalius is the only sentient being within such an empire save for his six remaining Generals." Psaura, the black robe covered Salender spoke briskly. "Everything else is connected to Totalius through his mind, so he has the dangerous power of jumping from body to body, seeing and feeling what they feel. Hence, we need to be careful, since his armies are living beings. Much like us."

"However, before talk of any form of help can be assured, a question must be asked." Daira, the Salender with glasses, chimed up. "What are you expecting in return? If it's money, we can pay, so how much?"

The ambassador held up his hands in a defensive posture. "We require no payment. We're doing this because we feel that you deserve our help. The only things we ask is any technology you have so we can reproduce it, and peace between our species." He looked at them. "If we succeed, what will you do? Where will you go?"

"I don't have any technology that is beyond anyone else's. Things we use are usually the technologies of everybody else. As for what to do after Totalius' death is that once the Saliada have finished their original goal for revenge, we will devote ourselves to ensuring the stability of worlds beyond. Economic prosperity is our main goal after vengeance." Naira explained truthfully.

"If and when we do succeed, you are welcome to come live in Xiscapia or one of it's colonies if you like." said the ambassador. "So how do you go about killing this man, Totalius?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Naira admitted truthfully, sighing. "He's not an enemy that I've ever seen before, but Haroi might have an idea."

"None." Haroi chimed up. "It's best to simply cut off all lethal weaponry from him."

"So that's our grand plan; get rid of his weapons, upon which he won't be threat anymore. So our plan is simply to destroy Aslamaduun and the Sessnon. Though obviously we don't have enough firepower nor the manpower to get into the Sessnon, let alone destroy Aslamaduun."

The ambassador nodded. "We can likely breach the Sessnon's walls, get a few teams in, and plant enough explosives to blow the station apart. As for the planet, we can glass it from orbit, or use a black-hole nexus bomb, but neither will work if they have strong defenses around the planet. If they have defenses, we will be forced to land and destroy the defenses before destroying the planet."

"The Totalians are weary from war. Ever since their affiliation with the Zactarn Prime they have been playing as war dogs for the Zactarns. A foul mistake on Totalius' side of judgement." Naira spoke. "However, their technology is far from outdated, and it took years of planning for Haroi to get the chances he got today. We need to be careful."

"Who are the Zactarns?" asked the ambassador.

"Another Empire. They've been fairly inactive as of late, but it's of little consequence." Daira explained. "Our goal, however, isn't to lay waste to places, but rather to eliminate one key figurehead and let it work itself out from there." Naira nodded to that piece of information. "As such, co-operation from your military is needed for this operation to be underway."

The fleet burst into existance near the little ship.
The ambassador nodded. "Alright, they are here. Exactly what will the plan of attack be?"

"I smell Deus Ex Machina." Haroi said, Psaura chuckling slightly.

"Alright, we'll split the entire thing into Seven Teams. My Saliada will each lead a team. We've done extensive research on the Sessnon and the planet of Aslamaduun, and we know that attacking the Sessnon while still in Aslamaduun's defensive grid is plain suicide." Naira skillfully explained. "The Sessnon will take a patrol route to Jharauk in two standard hours. So, we'll get ready to move in two hours. It comprises of three capital ships, four busters, 322 interceptors and and 12 anti-ship squads, squad size unknown. The Sessnon dwarfs the fleet entirely, so it won't be hard to see it, but attacking it may prove difficult because of the busters. Once the Sessnon is taken down, we'll prepare for the second strike against Aslamaduun."

"Each team will immediately board the Sessnon at 7 different spots." Psaura said, standing up as Daira turned on a glass screen, a hologram of the gargantuan Sessnon visible, 7 red triangles flashing on it's surface. "The fuel tunnel, the hangar, the trading bay, the barracks, the autostation and the two ejector hatches. Each of these spots will be fairly heavily guarded, but they'll be the easiest spots to break into." He closed his eyes, before the screen dazzled idly in the center of the room, the smell of incense still strong.

"Well, we have two hours to kill time. Any questions other than this war, friend?" Naira asked, smiling.

"Yes, one last thing." said the ambassador. "What is a buster?"

"Artillery, in a sense. They fire off powerful piercing rounds, though have less protection than normal ships due to their equipment and relative size." Naira explained. "What else? I've got time."

It comprises of three capital ships, four busters, 322 interceptors and and 12 anti-ship squads.The Ambassador thought. "Here is what we have."
3 Battleships
2 Crusiers
2 Carriers
1 Destroyer
1 Medical ship
1 1 Superdestroyer (http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/Upum/Star%20Wars/o-sovereignssd.gif)
10 Patrol ships
325 Fighters (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://eaw.heavengames.com/cpix/units/icons/Pirate_Fighter.png&imgrefurl=http://eaw.heavengames.com/units/&h=64&w=64&sz=7&hl=en&start=7&um=1&tbnid=jUpf9D2TbDmAFM:&tbnh=64&tbnw=64&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpirate%2Bassault%2Bfighter%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DGFRG,GFRG:2007-10,GFRG:en%26sa%3DN) (OOC: It's the Pirate Assualt fighter on that page)
5 Frigates (http://www.galacticempiredatabank.com/StrikeCruiser1a.gif)
"Does the Sessnon hsve any defenses itself? Security systems, A.I., guns, lasers, that kind of thing, on the inside or outside of the ship?"
OOC: Do you think you could provide a pic?

"Daira." Naira said, as the one sporting glasses stood up, his fingers pressing upon the bridge of his nose slightly as he let his glasses slide back up, the light shining malevolently upon them. He took out a small piece of silvery metal, pressing it softly before letting it go, the piece floating in the air before it expanded into a smoke-gray hologram.

"Here we have, and I might add with difficulty, the schematics to the Sessnon." He pointed towards the large long fish-like vessel. "There consists of 78,342 autoturrets within this vessel, and no AI as far as we know. There are approximately 112 basic bombardment guns upon it's belly, with 8 heavy cannons and 4 shield-breaker cannons. It's back stabilizer engines are double the length of it's propulsion engines, and it dwarfs capital ships with ease. The armor is capital class. Most interestingly, the ship is capable of split into 4 separate capital ships, each with a sentient bridge and computer system of its own; a semi AI, if you must." Daira looked towards them. "The Sessnon excels in extreme planetary annihilation, and aerial bombardment. As long as you do not approach from its underbelly, you will be able to avoid its guns."

"Simply put, the guns of the Sessnon are all pointing down." Grhreuu took it further. "Stay either above it, or to it's side, and you'll be at it's blind spots. But no matter what, do not go under it. We can attest to what happens against those who have made that mistake."

"Planets do not last long against it's underbelly, let alone fleets. It itself is a fleet entirely of its own."

OOC:
http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/1756/sessnonlq9.jpg

Sorry about the roughness, I drew it as fast as I could.

"I see. A fatal design flaw, not having weapons on the top or sides. Are all the entry points located on the sides or top? Our fleet will distract them while we land the teams. They'll be our own elite Shadow Ops, born and trained to excell in any enviornment against any enemy. About the inside: How many armed guards and soldiers are there? We'll need to get in and out quick."
OOC: It's a good drawing.

"Well, that's a problem - his doors are all on the bottom as well. His fleet will likely defend it's sides and top, so we'll go for an alternative strategy. We'll use these." Daira flipped to another image, showing a long sleek cartridge-shaped item, nodding appreciatively. "It's a blinding bomb. Now, for ten minutes, it will blind every electronic thing in sight, including yours. So, make sure once this bomb goes off, you're going to be at the hangar doors too far inside for the guns to reach you."

"The insides, are a bit of a problem." Naira said. "Six Generals patrol the inside, Totalius himself making seven. As you've probably seen, that guy can assimilate himself with the ship itself, so he could function as the ship's AI. Now, here's the the hard part - we need to coerce him into becoming one with the ship, and upon that moment, destroy the ship entirely. I doubt it'll kill him, but it will give us the time we need to launch another strike against Aslamaduun effectively. The seven previous locations mentioned must have nothing less in strength than full on cataclysmic destruction."

The ambassador nodded as a few more Xiscapian ships appeared in space. "Lets go. All we need is about two hours prep time, and we'll be ready."

"Very well. What is your total available military force?" Naira asked.

Our total force is:
3 Battleships
2 Crusiers
2 Carriers
1 Destroyer
1 Medical ship
1 Superdestroyer
10 Patrol ships
325 Fighters
5 Frigates
7 Shadow Ops teams
5,000 troops
Total troops: 18,832

"Daira, take the ships and prepare a spearhead assault within two hours. Get in contact with the kitsune admirals and commanders. Haroi, Psaura, take two covert ops teams, Grhreuu, take three - get them briefed on the bridge assault. Tsendora, Iero, command 2500 troops each, prepare for the shield generator take down. Rally at the bridge elevator, and keep additional forces out." Naira stood up, taking her sword into her hand; she stood tall, fearsome, a Valkyrie of blood lust and war, her once cute demeanor disappearing in a flash, a stronger, more powerful woman taking her place. "This operation should not take more than 1.5 hours. If no transmission is sent, retreat immediately." She replied coldly. "I make no guarantee on this mission."

The ambassador bowed. "We will do our best. I will be getting back now, is it alright if our Admiral, Captains, and Commanders use this ship as a meeting place?"

"Alright, but they better hurry. I need to calibrate the Saliada soon."

For about 5 minutes shuttles ran to and from the ship, carrying officers, Commanders, and the like. Men and women poured over battle charts and stats, arguing about attack patterns and troop movements. Battle-sims were run, tests were taken. The sound of pre-war.
OOC: Last post, gotta go. We attack tommorow.

Amidst the bustling, Naira stood upon her throne, looking at them all. "Everyone. This operation is as follows; as long as you are within this operation, you listen to my orders above all else. None take greater priority. For those who do not feel comfortable or do not want to, leave now, before any of you become a hindrance."

Haroi nodded. "The Mistress' words are absolute. Failure to follow them result in the harshest of punishments. You are all forewarned; there is nothing left other than to ensure the success of this mission. Do you understand?" He asked, looking at them all.

At their words every Xiscapian in the room bowed low. "We will not fail you."

"Very well." Naira said, looking at Khayla.

She held up her umbrella, flapping it open as it laid open above her head, a circular shadow cast over her. "I'll ensure that the autoturrets aren't a nuisance." She said, before walking off towards the hangar.

"So, while Khayla ensures our safety once boarding, we have 1 hour left." Haroi said, looking at the admirals. "What do you have planned out?"

A Captain stepped forward. "As far as the space battle goes, the busters and capital ships will be our primary targets. The Cruisers and patrol craft will provide covering fire for the shuttles landing the boarding parties of Shadow Ops. Once inside, the teams will neutralalize any resistance as quickly as possible and place the explosives with a five minute delay. Once placed, i possible, the teams will be escorted to safty. As soon as the Sessnon detonates any resistance will be cleared up and we will make all haste for Aslamaduun. The only part we don't know is how to make Totalis a part of the ship. What would scare him so badly that he would retreat into the Sessnon?"

A loud clanging noise was heard, as Naira stood up, her smile sadistic, her teeth like fangs as her eyes were wide and ghostly white. "Leave that to me. I will scare that relic like he's never been scared before. You've done it before, haven't you, Haroi?" She asked, as Haroi nodded. "I'm not the leader for nothing, you know." With that, she walked off, preparing.

"Yes, mistress." Haroi said, looking back at the admirals and commanders. "Aslamaduun is a cold planet, with summers that are well below 200 degrees celsius. It's an Aslamaduun winter right now, so touching down onto the surface is not recommended for now. We just need to take down Totalius and the Sessnon."

The Captain bowed. "With the Sessnon out of the way, we don't even need to go down there. We can just glass it from orbit."

"I was kind of thinking perhaps the Totalians had technology under their sleeves that could be useful to both of us. It's not like Aslamaduun is a fortress - it's a supply center; albeit a large one." Haroi spoke casually.

"Really? You know, we do have Hazmat troopers that can go down and secure dry docks, warehouses, ammo dumps, supply storage buildings, and the like." The Captain licked his lips. Perhaps there was something to be gained in this after all...

"There's always a net profit to be gained working with us." Psaura said, getting up. "However, we surely hope Haroi can dearly pull off such a task in the first place."

"Your tongue is comfortable where it is, isn't it, Psaura?" Haroi asked pretentiously. "I can cut it off." He said, his fingers clicking together, as Psaura's hand hovered lightly above his sword. Letting his fingers go, Haroi closed his eyes before sighing deeply. "However, I'm not here for this game. I have more important things to do. Commander, how many can you commit to the ground campaign of Aslamaduun in such a short time?"

"I can commit all 5,000 of my men and women soldiers, they're not doing anything or going anywhere."

"Alright. It's not that dangerous of an operation assuming Haroi breaks through properly." Psaura chided slowly, Daira frowning and Haroi emotionless. "I hope this doesn't become another Kaetallia, right, Haroi?"

"It won't." Haroi said, walking off towards the hangar. "I will make sure everything disappears."

"Alright! First two squads come with me!" Psaura yelled.

"Next two, me." Haroi spoke.

"The last three, follow me." Grhreuu spoke without emotion.

7 Squads of Shadow Ops troopers (http://media.teamxbox.com/dailyposts/halo2bios/04odsts.jpg)(5 kitsune to a team) dispatched, two with Psaura, two with Haroi, three with Grhreuu. They were all elite, having been briefed extensivly on their respective missions. They were all armed with the following:
1x Rifle
1x pistol
5x Shurikens
1x combat knife
4x Flash grenades
1x katana
In addition, 2 troopers in each squad carried explosives.

As Psaura, Haroi and Grhreuu eached went to their respective ships, Daira sat comfortably in his own as it slowly flew out of Naira's floating throne, his eyes closed as he waited for it. Slowly, but surely, data flooded onto his screens as he watched the lights around him flicker madly. Soon enough, he cackled, turning on the communications to all the admirals and commanders of the Kitsune. "We'll be going into hyperspace soon enough. The tunnels will close once all are in, so do what you want to do now."

"Weapons, powering up. Shields, powered up. All gunners on stand-by. A.I. online and ready." "Good. Make the jump." the Fleet turned and jumped, per Saliada coordinates.

The Sessnon was not alone. As always, the behemoth of a ship slithered through space with it's wasps, always waiting as it's gun were constantly wary. Immediately, as Haroi's forces made the first break, they appeared upon the white gate at the hangar, Psaura's and Grhreuu's team as well. It took years to meticulously find out where the Sessnon would be, and now they knew. As Daira emerged from his hole, he smiled. "I'm nowhere near smart enough to work on large scale warfare - kitsune commanders, please take my place." Daira sat down idly, the wasps of the angry hive coming forth.

Inside the large ship, Haroi got up carefully, looking around as the darkness encompassed them. "We're in the hangar, so this'll be a difficult - " The alarm pounded loudly, impatiently, Haroi slapping his head in frustration. "Damn it." He whispered, walking slowly in the blackness. "Psaura will give me lip, and Grhreuu probably hasn't opened up communications yet. Very well." Haroi snapped his fingers, explosions rocking all around as the alarms rang even louder. "Alright, smoke this place, and let's - " Once more, fate intervened. Laser fire lined the innards of the broken hangar, enemy gunfire lighting up the battlefield. The hallways glittered with shining rays, Totalian soldiers hiding up amongst the rubble as saber wielding beasts rushed through the heap, headed towards Haroi and the Kitsune accompanying him.

"Squad, spread out!" With the ability to see in the dark, it was easy for the troopers to navigate. They scaled walls, hung from ceilings, crotched behind rubble, lay on the floor, hid behind crates and boxs. None of the troops went down, although one did get hit on the shoulder, which his armor relfected back at the troops. Still, it would leave a bruise. Anyway they spread, firing with accuracy and skill, throwing shurikens and knives though the darkness at the guards. A man with a lightsaber lept at a trooper, the Shadow Ops kitsune went down without a sound. Immediatly three other kitsune rushed him, their katana's already out and engaged.

Space...
Three things happened simultansily. The carriers opened their hangers and spat out small craft, the Medical ship retreated to a safe distance, having no weapons, and every ship with weapons immediatly opened fire on the Sessnon's escort. Heavy Guns and Heavy Ion cannons ripped though space towards the capital ships, while Light Guns, Ion Cannons, AS guns, and blaster turrets focused on the busters and small craft. Missiles swarmed towards the enemy along with the huge amount of fire. The Jades Superlaser began charging, it would fire at the Sessnon (away from where any of the teams were) and hopefully cause massive damage. The huge gun was aiming for the troop barricks, to weaken enemy resistance on-board.

"Oh? A Salender?" A man said, his saber readied, slashing down at Psaura who blocked effortlessly. "I was told to get rid of you."

"Are you the leader?" Psaura asked.

"Soon to be."

"So you're not the leader." Immediately, the man burst in two, Psaura's sword unsheathed as he looked around, dodging down quickly as a series of laser fire jumped over the rubble and shattered like volleys. The man fighting the kitsune covert ops ducked down low as enemy fire hit him, his back scorching and his legs cut, but he continued. Standing up, he swung violently towards the others, his arms rippling with anger as his mind fueled the rage within him. Psaura stood quietly. "Where is your General?"

"Over here." Spoke a long, red robed man, rushing quickly as his saber ejected towards Psaura, blocking it quickly as he counterattacked with a swift slashed. The General leaped over, hit by kitsune fire as his skin quickly healed itself, Psaura frowning. "So, you're stubborn to die?" He asked, turning around, pointing it straight at the General before it's silver edge stretched to an incredible length like a gaping bullet.

Outside at the battle in space, the Sessnon slowly began to rise up, hoping to reveal it's dangerous underbelly as it's turbines swiftly began to spew out noxious fumes from its rear.

The Shadow Ops teams were doing well, only a single casualty, and, if reports were correct, many enemy dead. They began to out-flank the enemy, killing quickly and silently. Renewed fire slammed towards the enemy General in hopes of knocking him off balance so the Salender could finish him.

Space...
The fleet moved in line with the station, avoiding the huge ships underbelly. Fire continued to pound the enemy fleet and station.

The General blocked the fire easily, grabbing the end of Psaura's sword effortlessly as he swung against it, pushing out Psaura to the edge as Psaura frowned beneath his veil. "If I kill you, your army falls here." Psaura reasoned to himself aloud, holding his second sword up. Immediately, it stretched and shot out to an incredible length, impaling the General as Psaura cut through his eyes quickly, blood spraying out gently in a soft shimmering glitter of cherry blood. It was a warm spring shower, to say the least, the sweet stench of death around them. "Let's go." Psaura said to the teams.

Outside in space, interceptors swarmed against the enemy, falling into hyperspace before coming out, appearing a couple hundred meters in different directions, flanking squads pushing against the enemy as they fired their hail storm of lasers. From the Sessnon, a massive chortling noise could be heard before steel fish the size of capital ships emerged from its fin-shaped top, cannons lined along its head, firing long bursts of goldenrod light aimed at the kitsune.

The teams followed the Salender, clearing up the last of the resistance.

Space...
Fighters broke off from their targets to engage the interceptors. The fleet, having moved with the station, hovered above it, the cannons firing harmlessly into space. The capital ships ignored the Sessnon and continued to pound the escort fleet.
OOC: Are you going to RP ground and space losses, or am I free to do that?

Black smoke rose from the darkness of space, a blackness visible as the invisible hands of the reaper made crimson flames jettisoning from the ruins of the Sessnon's barracks and hangar center. Haroi and Grhreuu were doing their jobs, yet in the long black hallway of Psaura's squad, autoturrets had them somewhat pinned down as the violent machines roared and ripped out goldenrod hail-fire in a blizzard of flames. Psaura stood up, expanding the width of his sword to provide a semi-shield as he looked back at the two teams, the thudding of enemy fire audible. "What are you guys planning on doing?" Psaura asked them.

From the outside, the Totalian escort fleet was quickly losing hold, though the twisting voids of hyperspace always showed more coming, and eventually the flowed became visible that more interceptors and fighters arrived than were being killed. Daira sat at his command post, frowning as he sent a signal to the kitsune admirals. "Put the destruction of the Hives immediately. They're the fish-shaped ships that are carrying the ion cannons." Daira told them. "Their transmissions are calling for more reinforcements, and we can't risk Totalius' navies coming from Haquiara."

OOC: You're free to Rp the losses, since the Totalians will lose everything eventually...

"This." said a trooper, rolling out into the fire. His personal shield, a new technology, activated, absorbing fire, which only made it stronger. He took a bolt-launcher and fired a few quick shots, destorying each autoturret in a single shot.

In a seperate part of the ship, a lone Shadow Ops tooper was nearly out of armo. He discarded his weapon and picked up an enemy weapon. To his dismay, it only had a few shots left. He saw a door marked "Weapons". He strode though the door. Inside was 5 troopers. They all turned and leveled their weapons. The trooper dodged and fired the few shots he had. Two men went down. The trooper drew his sword and a few seconds later it was all over. He collected the ammo and rejoined his squad.

Space...
Suddenly the fighters and partol craft peeled off from their attack. MAC rounds, Heavy Gun and Ion cannon fired slammed into the enemy, focusing on the Hives. Most were destroyed. As the enemy tried to fill the gap the Superdestroyer fired it's Superlaser. The huge energy bolt ripped though the enemy fleet, taking out multiple capital ships and fighters in a single shot. As soon as it was past fire resumed and the fighters and patrols dove back into combat against the broken fleet.

As the Totalian Generals were being taken down one by one, Totalius sat quietly, looking at his fleet outside as the hyperspace routes were broken, the ships no longer coming to his aide. He frowned. "Pesky Saliada." He said, standing up before a blast of energy rocked his throne. From here, he turned to find Haroi and Grhreuu, both of them standing quietly as Psaura's squad came into the throne room as well. "Pesky Saliada." His lifted his fingers, as a maelstrom of sapphire lightning lit up the blackness of the chamber.

Space seemed to be victorious. With nothing left, the Sessnon hung harmlessly in space, explosions from within nothing more than little dots of light as it stayed there, foolishly trying to rise in elevation above them, hoping to show it's dangerous underbelly to the enemy. Both sides had lost some, but the Totalians had lost most - they weren't prepared, and it was the meticulous information gathering of the Saliada that made it possible. It was only a matter of time between Totalius would be forced to merge with his ship.

The ships moved with the station, careful to avoid the belly guns. Wounded were rushed off in transports to the nearby but out of range medical ship.

The Sessnon...
Shadow Ops were coldly and effectivly taking out the last of the scattered enemy resistance that was anywhere near the throne room. Three enemy guards ran for it, then went down with laser bolts in their backs. Out of the whole attack only one trooper was killed, and two were wounded, one seriously. Overall, and overwhelming victory. But the fight was not yet over...

Laser fire did nothing but make it harder, as Totalius took off his robes, nothing beneath his flock of velvet silk. Nothing. Yet the pillars broke, the room was heavy, and long purple lines snaked out in every direction as a deep icy cackle was heard throughout the room. Immediately, he laughed as Haroi was smashed into the wall, Psaura's swords blocked easily and Grhreuu putting up somewhat of a fight before Totalius jumped back, unseen. "I knew I shouldn't have underestimated you beasts." Totalius roared in darkness, not before long a familiar figure walked through the smashed gates, her sword drawn.

"Who're you?" The voice rang, before Naira charged, stabbing what seemed to be midair before a rain of black blood filled the air, Totalius moved back as footsteps appeared out of nowhere. It was in a laborious groaning, moaning in pain before long velvet lines emerged, seeping into the ribs of the chamber, the pillars moving like they were monsters of their own. Naira turned to everyone. "Run!" She yelled, as the pillars ran rampant, a sandstorm of dust kicking up. "Send transmissions to your admirals to begin destruction of the Sessnon now!" She yelled to the covert teams as they headed for the hangars. The halls never seemed so small and long.

There was only two teams accompnying them, the other three already had gone back to the hangers. They raced for the hangers, blasting any guards they found out of their way. They reached the hangers and quickly boarded the shuttles. They were all ready for take-off, just waiting to recieve the Salender.

All were on board, save for one; Haroi. He returned back to the throne room, looking around for Totalius before he saw the mass of velvet fury floating around him. Instantly, Haroi unsheathed his sword, a spray of crimson flame engulfing the surrounding areas in a flash of fire. Totalius grimaced, his voice moaning and groaning in pain. "You...you..." Totalius weakly said, as Haroi made no extra moves. "I'm going to get rid of you!"

Instantly, Haroi blocked with ease the velvet the tentacles, incinerating them in a giant explosion as the pillars around him smashed into dust. "What's the password for the Dodecahedron?" He asked, as Totalius frowned. Taking off his glove, Haroi his arm gently, frowning at the extreme pain that ran through his body as the blood touched Totalius, becoming one as his arm turned light velvet shade before returning to normal. "Please, tell me." Haroi offered his blood, and Totalius hesitated slightly before accepting.

Immediately, the ship was laid quiet, barren, and now Totalius did not live within the Sessnon, but rather he became one with Haroi, his wounds healing magnificently. "You are now in the service of Lady Naira, Totalius. Anything you say against her will be a punishable offense on you from me. No objections are allowed. Any actions that put her in harm's way or are detrimental to our goals will be dealt with appropriately. I can break you anytime, Totalius."

Fine. Totalius whispered in the blackest corners of his mind.

The shuttles detatched and raced away from the huge ship, save one. This one still waited for the last man. On the capital ships everyone held their breath. "Do we fire?" "No, wait for it..."

With Haroi finally reaching the Hangar, it was high time for the death of the Sessnon to commence. As the last Saliada drifted off from the clutches of the Totalian capital ship, Naira sat there, quiet. "Destroy the ship. Kitsune Admirals and Commanders, prepare to follow my ship for a course to Aslamaduun. We will take them by surprise."

The shuttle hurried away as the ships opened fire. MAC, Heavy Guns, Ion Cannons, AS fire, and missles all slamed into the already damaged ship. It began to explode internely, killing all those left inside. The hangers were the first to go, then the barricks, the exhast ports, and so on. Finally half the station obliterated itself in a great ball of fire, leaving the other half drifting and broken. The ships followed the Salender ship to Aslamaduun.

"How long till we reach Aslamaduun?" Daira asked Naira in hyperspace.

"A standard week. We're taking open routes, to avoid any more skirmishes with the more dangerous Totalian militaries, like the Hyperkauds. You remember them, don't you?" Naira smiled, as Daira frowned.

"Yes. Perhaps it would be prudent to avoid them." Daira sat down quietly. "The Kitsune?"

"I need a meeting held with the ones in charge. Send a transmission to the Kitsune navy to meet at my throne room. They should know where it is." Naira spoke, and so it was.

I need to talk. My throne room. Immediately. The transmission was sent.

The Admiral, a young Kitsune named Yaomkunti, arrived with her XO and Shadow Ops Commander, as well as the Commander for the 5,000 troops. "We were summoned by a transmission." she said after bowing. "What is so urgent?"

OOC: Mind if I join this thread?

OOC: Mind if I join this thread?

OOC: Sure. Though please telegram me on how you plan on joining.

"Your payment." Naira said, holding up a large engine-like device in her left hand, carrying it like it was paper. She dropped it down onto the throne room floor, a loud clanging noise audible. "The Totalians' self-generator. A payment of good will to your assistance."

Daira spoke this time. "The self-generator is self-explanatory. A ship running on this is capable of hyperspace travel without the need of refueling. What happens it when traveling through hyperspace, it requires a significant amount of opposite force to put a ship back to its normal speed. This engine uses a magnetic turbine that keeps all the parts in one piece, though they do not have any contact with each other. In other words, the Totalian ships are capable of generating an infinite amount of energy within their ships without the need for batteries, fusion cells or any form of finite energy source. Without friction to stop it, the magnetic turbines continually spin, generating more and more energy. The resulting opposite force to keep the magnetic pieces in place also then generating an strongly magnetically influence shock funnel that is harvested through centrifugal force into usable energy."

"I have no use for this." Naira spoke. "I rather enjoy my ship oppose to building a new one based on this engine. Though, I guess you people could use it, considering your military. On another note, how are you planning on attacking Aslamaduun? Have you formulated a means yet?"

OOC: TG Sent

Replied.

Out in one of the more quiet parts of the system, where the asteroids have nothing but the stars for company and where civilisation had yet to land and colonise. Nothing much was happening.

yet.

Almost immediately, a series of ripples seemed to open up in space. After a few moments, a 'V' formation of large Fighters appeared through the gap. After they had cleared the ripple, they were followed by a large and streamlined warship, painted in silver and shaped almost like a dirigible. It was lined on either side with long strings of windows apart from one string. Anybody looking would notice that this string was made of blue-force fields and consisted of a large number of guns. All pointing menacingly out towards open space.

At various points along this axis lay large turrets, sticking out of the ship's hull. These turrets were armed with only a single, short, stubby but large calibar gun. There were 12 of them along the ship's edge.

On the bridge, amongst the bustle of the crew stood a man, tall, fair-haired and seemingly well built. He was staring out to space with a look of extreme sadness. One of the crewmen walked up to him

"Captain?"

The man turned to see a young man, barely out of his teens, standing there in an immaculate Blue uniform. He smiled and nodded

"What is it, Ensign?"

The Ensign took a breath before speaking, shall I contact the Saliadan and alert them to our presence?"

The aging Captain noticed the rest of the fleet emerging behind them, over 100 ships in all, carrying troops for any ground campaign which may unfold before them. He nodded again
"Contact them"

And so the message was relayed from the lead Alversian warship:

To: Leader of Saliada

We are the Alversian Republic and we have been directed here, on advice of
the Xiscapian Emperor, to aide you in the war you are planning to fight.
Please be advised, we have no prior knowledge of your motives nor your
performance and so will need an update upon reaching your position.

Captain Ian Thalin
APS Catalan
Saliada System
Date: 16094500

"Lady Naira, a transmission." Daira said, as Naira looked at the flashing screen upon the throne room's information dock. "From the Alversians."

"Oh? A friend of the Kitsune, you say? Sounds interesting. Perhaps this campaign could be over much quicker than I thought." Naira said, smiling maliciously as she sat down, looking down at Daira's work as Haroi stood quietly, peering about. "Send them a countermessage."

Come to my ship. The docking code is 0-33452-2322563. I have much to discuss.

Dreadnought APS Catalan
Alversian Fleet, Saliada System

"Captain, Sir, they request that you meet with them aboard their ship" the Ensign returned
Captain Thalin watched curiously as the other ships of the fleet spread out on either side of his own. He smiled, he was the first Alversian in 800 years to command a fleet at the rank of Captain. He hadn't recieved that honour by being gullable.

"Reply to their message, Ensign" he said carefullym, as though he was thinking of ever word

To: Leader of Saliada

I wish to know what in advance what will be discussed. Although the
Xiscapians have reason enough to trust you, we do not. At this moment we
would feel more comfortable if you were travel into our own fleet. It is a
much safer place to hold talks as, you must be aware, it will be difficult to
attack either of us in here. Moreover as Commander of this fleet I am
forbidden from leaving this ship in hostile territory accordance with APN Order
22.

Captain Ian Thalin
APS Catalan
Saliada System
Date: 16094500

The Admiral bowed. "This is a great gift, we will use it wisely." she signalled and two guards picked the thing up, straining against it's weight, and carried it off.

The Bridge of the SuperDestoryer Jade...
"Captain, we have a fleet entering system." "Who?" "The Alversians, sir. Right on time. One, ten, twenty-five, one hundred ships." "Alright, this will be much easier."

Only one word was sent to the Alversians. Vengeance. They would have to come to the fleet to know more.

"So, Ms. Kitsune Admiral, what are your plans on dealing with Aslamaduun, and how do you believe we can scour an entire satellite in less than a few days?" Naira asked.

Thalin sighed, he had no intention of disobeying a direct Order from the APN Charter. He would have to think of a solution.

Somewhile later a shuttle, escorted by two XX-30 fighters, dropped out of the Catalan and flew towards the Ship. Once docked a man, not as well built as Thalin but equally as sharp and quick-witted. When it came to the negoitiations with an unknown power, he would be the best.

Grinning he stepped off the ship and saluted
"Flight Officer Alexander Cavourna here. Heard there was a little vengeance in the air"

"If possible, I would have breathed the thing." Haroi said, looking emotionlessly, his doll-like face creepy and eerie. "Come with me, Lady Naira wishes to speak with you."

Only one word was sent to the Alversians. Vengeance. They would have to come to the fleet to know more.

"So, Ms. Kitsune Admiral, what are your plans on dealing with Aslamaduun, and how do you believe we can scour an entire satellite in less than a few days?" Naira asked.
"Aslamaduun is an ice world, correct? We will need a much information as possible before we begin to plan. Normally, under this situation, we would simply glass the planet, but there is valuable technology down there."

"And I shall be glad to speak with her Ladyship" Cavourna said rubbing his hands togather "How many troops have you overall?" he asked on the way.

"And I shall be glad to speak with her Ladyship" Cavourna said rubbing his hands togather "How many troops have you overall?" he asked on the way.

"Including me, seven." Haroi said calmly.

"Aslamaduun is an ice world, correct? We will need a much information as possible before we begin to plan. Normally, under this situation, we would simply glass the planet, but there is valuable technology down there."

"The infinite engine is the tip of the iceberg of Totalian technology. Their old alliances with the Huntaerians will be used to our benefits. Aslamaduun was a former Mechinus planet, a machine race that harvested other machines and created super armies. They later died out due to the times, later to be glassed by Totalius. Now, the once rainy and rainforest lands of Mechinus now is frozen in perpetual nuclear winter. Average temperatures during the summer seasons reach -200 celsius, while winter it becomes intolerable to every army we've sent down now. But, our patience has paid off. It's summer." Naira said, smiling. "And I assume you have suits that can handle super-arctic temperatures?"

The Admiral nodded. "Of course. Ice, magma, the vacuum of space, radiation, pretty much anything you can throw at them. Is there a specific main base or capitol we need to assault? And what about Totaluis? What has become of him?"

Cavourna looked a bit confused "Sorry...seven?" He was looking about "You're fighting a war with seven people?"

The Admiral nodded. "Of course. Ice, magma, the vacuum of space, radiation, pretty much anything you can throw at them. Is there a specific main base or capitol we need to assault? And what about Totaluis? What has become of him?"

"I've found out something interesting about Totalius. And immortality in general." Naira said, smiling evilly. "Haroi is now his vessel, and soon," Naira closed her eyes, before opening again. "So will I."

Cavourna looked a bit confused "Sorry...seven?" He was looking about "You're fighting a war with seven people?"

"Seven. Is there a problem with that number?"

The Admiral was slightly disturbed. "Would not one want to avoid becoming Totalius's "vessal"?"

"No. There are three forms of possession; LO-P, LI-P, and AL-P. LO-P is Lifeless object possession, where a certain form or entity takes over an object that has no life, and thus has a stronger control over it. LI-P is Life imitation possession. AL is Alive possession. Alive possession of a physically living specimen with another physical specimen is nigh impossible. Right now," Naira said, chuckling, "Totalius can't even take over a rat."

"Well..." Cavourna said looking awkward "...how do you fight a massive enemy power with seven people? rather tilts the odds in their favour, don't you think?"

"Easy. We don't. That's why you and your Xiscapian allies are here, aren't you?" Haroi asked back.

"ah, true" Cavourna looked around "so what forces have our allies committed to this venture? Will we be doing must of the grunt work?"

"You can ask them. An admiral is talking to Lady Naira herself. You will be doing mostly grunt work, but then again, all we want out of this is the destruction of everything Totalian. You can take what you want. It doesn't matter to us." Haroi said, as he reached a large door, opening it slowly to reveal the pluming scent of incense.

"whoa!" Cavourna shook his head for a moment until he could get used to the scent. Once he was satisifed he stepped inside and saluted in Alversian Fashion "Flight Lieutenant Alexander Cavourna here to meet with a Lady Naira I think?" he looked around "I can't be certain though"

"Who is he?" Psaura asked, as Daira shrugged. Iero walked towards the man, his tall height dwarfing him magnificently, his long, lanky body hidden under long, flowing panels of black robes.

"What business do you have with her?" Iero asked.

"I was 'requested' he said, squaring up to the man "To meet with her in order to discuss plans for an invasion and about the ENTIRE Alversian war effort" he looked around the bloke's body "So if I may?" he asked politely

"Iero." Naira said sternly, sitting on her glass throne, her eyes piercing strongly and her face contorted in concentration. She, as always, carried a beautiful, wonderful aura to her, before standing up and walking down onto the floor. Snapping her finger, Iero handed Haroi a long white tachi, upon which Haroi turned and walked off, hidden in the blackness of the many shadows that crept along the walls of the large throne room. Iero walked back to his seat, sitting down. "You must be tired." Naira said, smiling. "Are you thirsty?"

"I am a little thirsty" Cavourna admitted, looking around "so what's the story here? Why the whole conflict?"

The Admiral noticed the Alversian delegate. She bowed. "Honorable Alex Cavourna, I assume?"

Cavourna gave a stiff salute in the traditional Alversian fashion and smiled "Admiral" he said in way of greeting before repeating his earlier question "What is this war all about?"

"It comes down to this: Some time ago, a race led by a warrior-ruler named Totaluis came and utterly wiped out the Salander people, leaving a very few survivors. Those, who reside on this ship, seek revenge for the death of their people and the destruction of their planet. We have just, with their assistance, destroyed a Super Station called the Sessnon and captured Totaluis. Now we travel to the homeworld of these people, to caputre technology for incorperation into our society and to destory the planet."

Cavourna looked a little surprised but smiled "A fight for freedom! Just the sort of thing we like! Now when do we strike? How many troops do you have?"

The Admiral smiled back. "Aside from the fleet around us, we have 5,000 ground troops, 7 Shadow Ops teams, 50 LAM, 20 HAM, 5 SuperMechs, and 1Command Mech, as well as 50 Combat Speeders and 15 Tanks. That, combined with our patrols, frigates, fighters, and orbital strike capabilities, is more than enough to take the planet, enhanced by your troops and fighters, should you wish to donate them to the cause."

"Really?" Cavourna pointed at the fleet out of the window "Our Fleet consists of 12 Dreadnoughts, 18 Cruisers and 30 Frigates of various classes as well as the transports. Overall there are 2,000 fighters and over 80,000 troops" He smiled "How many will be needed?"

"That is enough." Haroi said, looking at them talking to each other. "I will provide the preliminary attack, and Iero will eliminate any opposition that will prove to be a challenge against your forces in terms of heavy weaponry." Iero stood up, parting his hair slightly as his eyes surveyed the two closely; upon his left eye, he carried a black sclera and a white iris, his right eye inverted in color.

The Admiral bowed. "I must now give way to Commander Seth." A silver-haired Xiscapian dressed in a Red Commanders dress uniform stepped forward. "Do you have stats of the enemy army, weaponry, and vehicles?"

Cavourna gave a salute and a bow at the appearance of Seth "Commander" he said respectively

Seth nodded and bowed. "Glad to see our friends the Alversians are here to help."
OOC: Shall we keep moving in the Discovery thread?

"The enemy army on Aslamaduun is lightly defended. They consist of sixty eight divisions on the entire planet, each with 440 men per division. Totaling to a measly 29,900 men, it's nothing to be worried about. There are eight radar stations, so we will hit those first. We still have one hour before we reach Aslamaduun, though it's likely that once we do, a sentry fleet will engage us. Your two fleets must aim at getting rid of any radar stations on the planet, while Daira will take care of any sentry fleets. We must make sure that the main fleet on Kel Aziv does not know that Aslamaduun is attacked. Otherwise we will be facing millions of soldiers and ships with technology never seen before. Do you understand the necessity of haste in this mission?"

Seth nodded. "Our ships are quick, with the Alversians help we'll be able to destroy the radar systems in no time. If the enemy soldiers can be pin-pointed, we can easily kill them from orbit. Are there any specific strongholds or government buidlings we need to take out?"

Cavourna thought about the problem for a few moments before talking "Can I make a suggestion? If the Alversian Troops were to land on the opposite side of the city to you, then we may be able to achieve a decisive breakthrough. What do you think?"

"Aslamaduun is a planet. No such cities exist." Naira snapped back coldly.

Cavourna lowered his head "My apologies ma'am, but you must understand that we have just arrived and are completely unaware of the geography of this planet. If you need troops, Alversia will back you"

"How many can you back me up with?" Naira asked.

"Will 45,000 troops be enough for this sort of attack or will more be required?" Cavourna smiled, grimly

"45,000?" Daira said, thinking carefully, before looking at Iero. "What do you think, General?" He asked, as Iero thought carefully.

"I have to check the competency of their military first." Iero quoted, as Psaura sighed.

"I can assure you" Cavourna said coldly "the Alversian Army is highly competant. 45,000 will be more than enough"

Iero closed his eyes, thinking for a fraction of a second, Naira looking at him and smiling. "What is it?" He asked, as she chuckled slightly.

"You're too condescending against them, Iero." Naira spoke, as Iero nodded.

"Forgive me, Mistress." He said, before looking at the Alversian. "Very well. Once we exit hyperspace, we will commence the attack upon Aslamaduun and try to capture it. Questions?"

Seth nodded. "After we have destoryed their fleet, where exactly do our troops go? Is there pre-set coordinates?"

"To Aslamaduun." Haroi said.

"Yes," said Seth, slightly irritated. "But where on the planet? If there's no cities or strongholds, than what is the point of our troops being there?"

"Polar regions upon the planet show activity. We'll be scouting."

Seth nodded. "I see. What is our ETA?"

"How many Alversian Troops will be needed in the initial landing?" Cavourna asked, staring out the window at the Alversian fleet as it drfited lazily before the ship. The troops were anxious to get started "We have a few Dropship Regiments that specialise in Landings

OOC@Xis: You have a TG

"Twenty minutes." Naira said, sighing quickly. "It's going to be a long trip."

"In terms of landing, we'll have to apply a couple ships, not many." Haroi said, as Psaura stood up.

"Only seven will be fine." He said, Haroi closing his eyes walking over to Psaura as he placed his hand on his shoulder, Psaura pushing it away quickly. "Don't you agree, Haroi?"

"No, I don't." Haroi said, his eyes opening, his obsidian black shades looking at Psaura with a deep distaste. Psaura chuckled, his hand on his sword, as Haroi closed his eyes, following the same pattern as well.

"Oh?" Khayla said, looking at them. "Lord Psaura and Haroi are going to go at it, Mistress?" She turned, looking at Naira, who smiled widely, Daira sitting down beside her, smiling as well. Iero only shook his head in disgust.

Cavourna looked from one to the other
"Due to your limited numbers, do you not think it would be better to land with some sort of back-up? The last thing you want is to suffer another casualty with an army waiting in space"

"Don't worry." A broken, dark, deep voice spoke from within the corners of the shadowy room, the bleak void that not even the wafting smell of incense dared to venture. From here, a man draped in black clothing walked out, his sword dangling at his waist as his face was covered by a dark velvet cloth, only two silvery white eyes visible, his hair long and as black as his clothes. "We aren't weak. If needed be, I can take on this mission myself."

Naira looked with surprise. "Tsendora." She gasped, as Khayla and Daira looked as well.

"Lord Tsendora." Khayla said with utmost respect. She bowed her head appreciatively, Tsendora nodding in reply. Daira stood quiet, frozen, still. Almost as if he was frightened at the sheer power such a being had. Something was abnormally wrong with this man, and he stood as if he had the ultimate presence amongst them, unchallenged. Even Naira frowned at his existence.

"Tsendora, don't be cocky." Naira said, as Tsendora nodded slowly.

"Of course, Mistress." Tsendora spoke with a half-hearted, sarcastic tone, before looking at Haroi and Psaura. "You're acting like children. Is this appropriate action for a ranked 8 and ranked 6 Saliada?" He paused. "Perhaps it is."

"Do not make me kill you." Psaura threatened.

"I will fix those words." Haroi said, as they both slashed at Tsendora. Immediately, a long black tongue jettisoned from his black invisible mouth, wrapping around their swords as it held it at bay, his tongue strong and static as if he were some sort of chameleon. Haroi and Psaura frowned, as with a snapping noise both of them had let go, sheathing their swords once more.

Cavourna lept backwards out of his chair and stood a small distance away, his hand on his blaster, just in case "M'lady" he asked, not takig his eyes off the new arrival "may I enquire who this is?"

"Ah, you're not familiar with how us Saliada determine our power, do you?" Naira asked, smiling. "It's a meritocracy. In other words, the strongest rule in terms of ranking power, where 1 is the strongest, and 8 is the weakest." She looked at Haroi and Psaura.

"Yes" Cavourna's eyes darted from person to person in the room "That doesn't answer the question of who this is" he nodded towards Tsendora

"My apologies." He pulled down his collar, revealing a black '3'. "Saliada number 3, Tsendora the Incompetent."

"Aha" Cavourna relaxed slightly although he was still alert "so that would make you the most powerful here?" he asked innocently looking around "Do you need Alversian support during your landing or not?"

"Yes, indeed." Naira said, revealing a long black '1' on the inside of her palm. "And it would be appreciated, yes. Though my husband will be leading the charge, not me."

Seth had been watching the proceedings with some amusment, the rest of the Xiscapians have already left. "Power struggles." he said quietly. "Internal strife and rampant stupidity can tear an army, even a small one, apart faster than any enemy."

"That is the purpose of my existence." Tsendora said, standing up, as the other Saliada looked at him with worry. It was true that those below him in rank feared him, and those above him in rank found him to be extremely dangerous. "I am the police."

"Right, so will the 8th and 11th Dropship Regiments be enough? That is only 1,500 men but as my Xiscapian collegue can verify, they have a unique way of landing I think" Cavourna claimed looking at Seth.

""unique" is hardly the word for it." said Seth, grinning.

"Oh?" Daira said, looking with interest, pushing his glasses up further a bit. "Do tell."

"Well, travel into orbit is normal enough" Cavourna said grinning "But once that is accomplished, the dropships fire up their engines and speed the ground. Normal landing speed is between 600-800mph" he laughed "Our dropships nearly break the sound barrier in descend and the enemy will have no idea what is hitting them until it's too late"

"So you drop directly into the atmosphere?" Daira said, frowning. "With your dropships, wouldn't that generate an incredible amount of heat? You'd be digging deep into the ground for time on end." Naira smiled.

"There's no need to think about it too much, Daira." She said, looking at Psaura. "Get me in contact with Sekaux."

Cavourna thought about those questions
"The ships are designed to withstand a massive amount of heat, so their is no problem there. And the ships come in at an acute angle thereby reducing the damage to only a trench a few inches deep. Believe me, it's a system that works"

"Sekaux has already been contacted." Grhreuu said, walking in, as Psaura turned to the sound of the voice. Immediately, Naira jumped into his arms, smiling brightly as he closed his eyes, almost as if sighing quietly. "Mistress, you're embarrassing yourself." He said, as she regained her composure.

"This is who will be leading the campaign and assisting you. My husband, Grhreuu." Naira said brightly.

"My name is Grhreuu the Cannibal." He said, nodding respectively. "Pleasure to be working with you."

Cavourna looked slightly pale "Grhreuu the...Cannibal?" he seemed rather nervous again.

OOC: Check TGs, Alversia
IC: Seth raised his eyebrows. Among his species, not only was cannibalism outlawed, it was taboo and warrents only exile or execution.

"Don't worry." He said, turning around to get his coat from the rack, a tiny, barely visible '2' on the back of his neck. "I am a Salender. A cannibal eats his own kind. Therefore, I eat Salenders."

"I...see" Cavourna said uneasily. These people had some serious culture clashes with the Alversian tradition but that didn't matter
"Do you wish to accompany one of our ships in the landing or do you have a private transport?"

"Once Sekaux comes, we'll move." Naira spoke, sitting down, leaning back. Upon these oddballs, all these interesting and unique characters, she seemed like a mother of strange children, a queen of freaks.

Seth bowed. "I will ready the troops." He turned on heel and walked out.

"So how much is left, Naira?" Grhreuu asked as her, Naira thinking carefully under her circumstances. Naira shrugged. "Should we tell them the truth?"

"No, they'll find out eventually."

Cavourna stood up "I will prepare the droptroops for the assualt" He bowed to both Naira and the others before departing.

The Commander paced before his crack force of Marines. "We will be assaulting a vital enemy stronghold world. Most of the combat will be in space, but we do expect hostile troops on the ground. Your mission is to locate and wipe out any and all enemy troops or vehicles. However, we want their bases and instalations intact, as they may provide valuable technology. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?" The Marines shouted as one. "Sir, yes, Sir!"
OOC: Don't know if it's relevant, but my forces are 60% male, 40% female, with more females in the Navy and Mechanized Divisions*, and more males in the Shadow Ops and Army. The Marines are a Navy deployment, with vehicles from the Army and Mechanized Division.
Note: When I say Mechanized Division, I mean mechs too, not just tanks, hovercrafts and recon.

"Here we go." Daira said, as they finally arrived at their destination. Aslamaduun.

A giant fist of a planet, it was a gas giant of incredible proportions, smooth hurricane-like clouds running and sprinting across the methane clouds as the crackle of lights suggest dry lightning to dance across the sky. The lack of a nearby star suggests horrifically cold temperatures, whilst only a small sliver of cloudless planet existed, revealing a rocky, mountainous terrain. However, that one sliver of access past the electrical net was protected by a group of capital ships and their minions, drifted about mindlessly in space as they were like silver hornets fluttering amidst their sapphire hive.

No satellites existed; only blackness around this forlorn planet.

Klaxons blared as the fleet entered the system. The troop and drop ships were already prepared and waiting for the space battle to be over so they could fly down to the surface. Admiral Unter stared hungerly at the white planet spinning slowly before them. Her long blue hair fell in front of her face, concealing the burning orange eyes and cruel smile. "Spread the fleet out, but keep two Cruisers and a battleship on hand to protect the Jade." she ordered, referring to the SuperBattleship with the Superlaser. "I want the fleet to assume precoordinated attack pattern, but wait for orders. If hostiles approach our position, eliminate them." She contacted the Salander ship. "Do we attack?"

"Wait. Let us wait until our Alversian friends converge as well."

There was a blinding flash of light as the Alversian fleet entered the system. They were wasting no time and immediately relayed a signal recomending an instant attack.

Flight Deck, APS Warhammer
Alversian Fleet

The men rushed about as they clambered into the small dropships that would propel them to the surface. The noise of the engines, klaxons and other activity was deafening as the troops began to strap themselves in for the ride. A Major came along each ship and talked to the Sergeant in command of that shuttle. The Pilots waited tensly, each staring at the massive red light that hung just above the hangar door.

Suddenly, the light turned amber and the noise increase to almost untolerable levels as the mechanics and engineers departed the flight deck and the doors were closed on the Droptroops inside. Small beads of sweat began to form on the pilots foreheads as they placed on hand on the level beside them.

The Hangar door opened and suddenly, the light turned green. Over 30 levels were slammed back at once and the ships seemed to launch into space

The Alversians were space-borne!

The Fleet fired the second the Alversians entered space, aiming for any capital ships and busters. MAC rounds, Blaster Cannons, turrets, AS fire, Heavy, Light, Heavy Ion, and Ion gun fired forward, speeding towards the opposing fleet. The Carriers and all other ships released their fighters, patrols, drones, HAM, and LAM to combat the interceptors. "Red Leader, standing by." "Blue Leader, standing by." "Green Leader, standing by." "Gray Leader, standing by." "Black Leader, standing by." "Silver Leader, standing by." "White Leader, standing by." The small craft formed up and raced forward, lasers firing. "All squads, your primary targets are the Hive ships, which spit out fighters. The faster these are destroyed, the less enemy small craft you'll have to face." The LAM were very effective against all but the largest ships, able to bypass shields with weapons large enough to damage key points on a Capital ship, but fast and agile enough to dogfight fighters. In the hangers troop carriers, dropships and shuttles were readied for deployment as soon as the all-clear was ordered. 5,000 troops, as well as 50 LAM, 20 HAM, 1 Supermech, 50 Tanks, 100 FAR vehicles, and 10 combat hovercraft for the Commanders. All were specially armored and shielded for the extreme cold of Aslamaduun.
OOC: Can I get exact enemy troop numbers and fleet numbers, inculuding fighters and land vehicles?

The Hive ships undertook a web-like formation, their capital ships stretching to the center of their fleet, a large web of light fighters and interceptor formed around their giant overlords, floating cities drifting endlessly in space as lights flickered around them. The interceptors immediately went into action, zooming and whizzing around maniacally in tentacle-like movements, firing a spray of fire.

The Salender fleet consisted of only that one beautiful ship, though the cloaking and swift manuever allowed them to avoid enemy (and, to be safe, friendly) fire or damage.

OOC: 20 or so thousand troops are on Aslamaduun, including scientists and Totalians. There is no artillery, no tanks, nothing of the sort. It's a purely research base planet, no military defense in existence.

The cockpits of the Alversian dropships glowed red as they pierced the atmosphere of Aslamaduun. In each one, a lone Sergeant bellowed the orders given to him over the whine of the engines and turbulence of flight. At the last moment, each dropship jerked upwards, causing it to skid along the surface of the planet as opposed to digging into a hole.

The roof of each dropship was fired off and the Droptroops poured out of the used ships. As expected, the landing had achieved total surprise and there were no enemy troops to greet them. Instead, the small unit erected MG posts and trenches to defend their position until help could arrive.

The fighters and interceptors screamed into each other, trading laser and missile fire. The Capital ships stayed on the outside of the "Web" firing inward, trying to destroy the Hive ships. The Cruisers AA guns came to life, erecting an excellent point-defense system. Lasers, bullets, and plasma fired at the interceptors, while force fields came up suddenly in front of them, causing them to crash into the field or divert themselves into Xiscapian fire. Dozens of dropships and a few troopships, escorted by fighters and patrols, made their way down to the surface. They landed gently near the Alversians, and began offloading troops and vehicles. In space the SuperBattleship Jade, protected by a Battleship and two Cruisers, began to charge it's Superlaser.

The Totalian fleet here was powerful. It was not a scouting party, nor a rescue party as they have fought before. It was a real fleet, with endless interceptors and enormous cannon shots lunged through space, long crimson tails flying through space, flame-like effigies erected from their burning skin, ripping through anything that could get in their way. Supercannons and anti-ship missiles launched a net of steel that swerved its way towards the enemy, whilst the Hive ships continued to bellow out endless numbers of interceptors. Alone, the interceptors were of little consequence; but it would not be long before numbers began to overrun them.

Meanwhile, upon Aslamaduun, Totalian warriors began to attack the newly entrenched enemy, their swords high in the air, crying loudly and savagely as lightning danced at their fingertips. Rushing towards them, allied troopers from behind carried support fire.

"Attacking with swords?" The Commander of the Droptroops turned to his entrenched men "Infantry!! Preare ARMS!!"

The troops lifted their weapons to their shoulders and readied themselves for the attack, each selecting an individual target

"FIRE AT WILL!!" The advancing troops were met with a wall of laser fire impeneterble due to the high volume and accurate rifles.

Planetside...
The Xiscapians formed into three ranks, the first lined up on the ground, the second kneeling, the third standing, all sighting down their guns. They fired at once, lasers tearing though the enemy. HAT (Heavy Assualt Troopers) and LAM (Light Assault Mechs) used guided missiles and grenades to take out the back lines of enemy troopers with laser support.

Space...
The capital ship shields took a beating, but held. The fighters, however, were not doing so well. One on one, or even two on one, the Xiscapian pilots were far superiour to the Interceptors. However, the increased numbers began to overwhealm the pilots. Patrols shot in, spewing missiles and laser fire at the Hives. The Cruisers defenses went into maximum effort, filling space with lasers and missiles. Fighters flew in squads of two to five, taking potshots at the Hives. At the moment, that was their man goal: Get rid of the fighters.

Within space, the fighters were still holding the web quite well; what parts that were being lost immediately were filled in by the fresh roster of new fighters, their numbers endless as the factory-like hives churned out more and more, long lifelines visible as they connected to each other. It was not long before the Totalians began to adopt a more offensive style of warfare, their cannons erect, their guns prepared, a sheet spray of crimson fog spraying out in a ring of infernal destruction.

The fighters continued to come.

Meanwhile, on Aslamaduun, the Totalians were a hardy breed. Enemy fire certainly did harm them to a degree, but alone it was not enough to break them. Now and then, a splash of enemy fire did take one or two down, but most of them merely shrugged off enemy light fire off with little to no problem, heavy fire being avoided with the impact lessened to a degree. They continued to charge, rank and file soldiers at the back within their own snaking trench, firing out of their holes. Lightning began to arc at their fingertips, a brilliant cerulean crackle jumping around maliciously.

Planet...
"Laser fire haveing limited affect, switching to altrenate."
The LAM charged in, all 50 of them, their energy swords flaring as they slashed into Totalian troops. The Xiscapians drew their swords and waited for the clash should the mechs be unable to stop the flood of enemies. Stationary shields were being erected, they absorbed enemy laser fire. A few Xiscapians were wounded, but the majority of the fire either missed or was absorbed or reflected back.
Space...
More and more fighters fell, a patrol went flaming across space before detonating into one of the Hives. Confused chatter filled the transmission comms:
"He's on me, I can't shake him!"
"Squad 6, go for the Hive at coordinates 006981!"
"I'm on his six, got him!"
"There's too many of them-arrgh!"
"Being*zzmrpt*mobbed, need*krrzmy*assist*chrrr*immedi-"
On the capital ships, gunner unleashed wave after wave of green, blue, yellow, and red light. "Try to sever the Hive connections, cut their links, maybe that will stop them!"
The guns targeted the tiny, thin lines connecting the hives and fired, Ion cannon, MAC round, Heavy Gun, and AA fire all streaking in a kalidascope of colors towards the Hive connections.

The lines began to rupture. The shields that protected the Hive ships began to flicker, and the long blue aura that stretched towards each finger of destruction that webbed towards the enemy began to fizzle from their dazzling image. Dying down, it began to crackle lightly, before nothing was left between them and cold steel, enemy fire puncturing the once indestructible shielding of the Hive, dents beginning to form on its smooth surface, the factories continuing to churn out fighters mercilessly.

Atop their conglomeration, a long cannon was being erected, flashes of light dancing about the tip, preparing itself.

On Aslamaduun, the strongest of the Totalians began to show themselves. Drenched in red ragged robes, their fingers thin, dry, and surprisingly, bare, they pointed carefully as if their phalanix was some sort of barrel of a gun, concentrating before a jolt of electricity arced in midair towards a group of enemy soldiers, a dazzling fang of cerulean thunder chortling with a smell of fire within the air.

The enemy began to falter, fighters going down and Hive ships bursting into flames. The fighters and patrols, though the enemy stood strong, acted like they had them on the run. Two or three Xiscapians would fly into dozens of Totalians, lasers blazing and missiles tracking. The Jade, her Superlaser fully charged, fired at the enemy cannon being constructed, the huge, thick beam of green destruction flying at the cannon at enormous speeds, followed by a volly of MAC rounds and laser fire.

Planet...
Troops suddenly screamed and fell as the dazzling energy hit them, acting like lethal jolts of electricity. Men and women spazzed and fell, their rifles discharging in every direction. The LAM, however, were entirely unaffected, and made a beeline for the Totalians in red, energy swords dripping blood.

Suddenly, dozens of Alversians dropped, most without even making a sound, the rest ignored the dead and continued to fire, several of the big guns from the dropships had been offloaded and were now joining in the fire. The big guns could punch from roof to basement of an Illesian skyscraper, no armour on any species could withstand that.

Space
Once assured that the troops on the ground were safe, the Alversian fleet joined the Xiscapians in their battle with the space defences. The warships discharged their massive Ion cannon and hundred of fighters glided and swooped gracefully through the air and into the enemy fighters.

"Thank the gods, the Alversians are finally here."

On the ground, the troops were carrying something; a series of long, large machines that slowly crawled along the tread-wasted icy wasteland, giant steel-seeming objects that clunked loudly within. Opening a series of pods, they flickered loudly as their batteries began to turn on, turbines rushing and swooping with a thundering, booming noise that filled the already loud battlefield and wailing winds.

Opening, troops began to rush out, an endless supply it seemed as more troops came out of each than assumed, clearly pointing that these machines were no mere personnel carriers. It was as if they were being teleported there. Meanwhile, the enemy LAMs had struck, the Totalian Redrobes holding their own quite well against them, providing a nearly impenetrable swordsmanship defense. Lightning still danced wildly at their fingertips, awaiting for the next strike, before not long an enemy blast ripped apart a group of soldiers upon the front lines, enemy artillery attempting to pin them down. But the troops would not stop coming.

Meanwhile, a lone pod dropped down into the atmosphere of Aslamaduun, landing on the side of the Xiscapians and the Alversians, only a few couple hundred meters away from the enemy front, a dead man's land forming of ice and frozen blood. Getting out, the figure was drenched in a leather-like coat, his face concealed by a hood though his messy and long sable silver hair gave way to whom he was; Grhreuu, wife of Naira of the Saliada. Getting out, he surveyed the situation calmly, looking at the enemy machines spray out fresh troops wildly. "It's Biodata manipulation. They're assimilating biologic data from one machine to another somewhere else in the universe and remaking it using the resources here. In other words, they're faxing soldiers from one end of their empire to this end. If this continues, they'll be forced to fax things such as artillery, mechs and more Redrobes." He looked up, starting to shout loudly.

"Whomever is in charge of the Alversian and Xiscapian troops - lower your amount of fire for a short while!" He yelled. "I will eliminate those machines appropriately or else you may not be able to salvage their technology!"

An Officer heard the Salender though the howling wind and screams and exposions. "Cease fire!" He yelled, his voice crackling though every troopers intercomm. The guns fell silent and the LAM withdrew, having lost three of their own. Finally the Supermech, a hulking, 5-story machine of destruction filled with weaponry, landed. The troops waited, watching the enemy swell in numbers every second, watching for signs of their allie's magic.

Waiting silently, his back began to swell, blood spraying out as a long white, porcelain-like line emerged, before another emerged, and another, and another, a swarm of white long fingers that crashed together violently to from skeletal-like soldiers, crawling with inhumane speeds towards the enemy machines, their armies firing at the massive bone walls that were forming, paving a literal bridge past the dangers of no man's land. Their axes brandished, laser fire bouncing harmlessly against them, lightning untouched, they crushed together and smashed together, Grhreuu standing at the safety behind the trenches.

He watched, his armies growing out of his back, lifting his finger, pointing at the machines that were churning out troops, his finger bursting apart, his flesh torn asunder and his blood spraying everywhere, more skeletal beasts rushing forth, for those smashed only spawned more from the remains, a white army that rivaled the snowy landscape sprayed with blood. Grhreuu frowned, lifting his minion-spawning finger, forcing them to jump up as they smashed down onto the gateway, blocking it closed, cutting off the power lines as he did the same for them. It wasn't long before a splash of fire was all over the scenery, the blizzard still pummeling mercilessly in spite of the flames, disabling all of the machines that were deployed. "Now go." He said.

The Xiscapian troops simply stood for an elapsed time of about 10 seconds after the Salender spoke. Shock and awe were not enough to describe their feelings. Finally one Grunt got back into reality. He hefted his rifle and charged forward, towards the stricken enemy. The Xiscapians attacked carefully, moaking sure not to damage the machines, rather targeting the Totalian soldiers or meeting them in a clash of steel. Snipers and engineers, equipped with sniper rifles and shotguns, did the best against the enemy, their heavy shot tearing though enemy armor. The mechs used their energy swords once more, and the SuperMech and HAM got on the other side of the army, blasting away at the flank which held the soldiers toting laser rifles.
OOC: What of the space battle? I fired my Superlaser and most of my capital ships fired their heavy weapons at that cannon the Totalians were building.

The Alversian troops stared in shock and horror as the enemy army was virtually swept aside. Then the Regimental commander raised his weapon in the air

"FIRE AT WILL!"

The Alversians teamed up into groups of ten, each group based around a heavy cannon, to focus their fire on the surviving enemy. The combined fire of so many heavy weapons would be too much for the enemy armour to handle.

OOC: Sorry, forgot about that...

The enemy fire was fairly intensive, as the shields began to buckle, azure light dancing in a semi-spherical shape, the large hives slowly beginning to shift and crack, asteroid-like chunks floating off into the blackness of space in all directions, some away from the enemy fleet, some towards, the flow of interceptors finally dying down, and whilst they outnumbered the enemy ten to one in terms of light fighters, it seemed it would not be long before the tide would turn. The remaining kept the upper platform of the Hive conglomerate alive, the cannon preparing itself. If such a weapon could only finish in time, then perhaps the tide would not turn.

Meanwhile, upon Aslamaduun the tide has already turned. The Totalians were the only ones who posed a threat, and they were quickly being outnumbered and outgunned against their enemies, though they tried to delay the enemy's advance as soon as possible. The Redrobes, for all their tenacity, held on a defensive line still, fighting off the enemy soldiers with their utmost furor, lightning jumping back and forth between the lines, skeletal beasts of soldiers fighting amongst the apparent living in a dazzling display of lights.

From the left flank, rocket fire was aimed at the mechs, intent on taking them out in one swell blow, long smoky fingers stretching all the way towards them.

With the Hives and capital ships posing little threat now, the fleet turned it's attention to the cannon. Light, Heavy, Ion cannons, AS guns, MAC gun and missiles all shot forward at the cannon. Carth, a fighter pilot, veered away from it. That thing's going to make a big boom if it explodes...

Planet...
What the enemy hadn't counted on was the mech's speed. They saw the missiles and simply moved, their shields flaring it the missile's connected. While one or two missiles woud destroy a mechs shields, only a third missile could destroy it, being impervious to most laser fire and melee weapons. Thus the missile attack was in vain, the troops carrying the launchers being targeted and torn apart either by the mech's cannons or Xiscapian swords.

Dazzling, brilliant light, that was all that encompassed the surrounding space area as it flashed a blinding ray in every direction, heat sparkling wildly around them. The Interceptors continued with mechanical loyalty, fighting to the last man, pushing against their enemies with equal ferocity.

The blizzard gave way to a shining ray of light that shimmered through the blanketing clouds. Long fingers of diamond sky danced through, a watery sheet of bristling wonder visible. Looking up, the Redrobes returned to their attacks, trying to keep the enemy at bay as they fired, slashed and repeated their unpredictable attacks.

With most of the enemy interceptors destroyed, the patrols and most of the Xiscapian fighters went down to the surface, leaving the Cruisers and a few remaining fighters to deal with the enemy fighters. The partols ran bombing runs on the enemy ground troops, while the fighters straffed them, laser fire moving in a straight line thought the enemy and missiles and bombs impacting, throwing troops and blasting snow into the air. The LAM fought as hard as ever, and now the HAM got into the fray. They stood much larger than a man, and were armed with duel blaster cannons and machine guns on their shoulders and knees, made for ripping though heavy armor.
Space...
The Cruiser mercilessly fired their guns, pinpoint targeting interceptors and sending waves of fire at them. A few fighters still pursued the enemy, hunting them down and killing them in a fury of laser or missile fire and a superheated explosion.

The soldiers began to route themselves, retreating as enemy fire bombarded them mercilessly, the mile thick snowbanks jumbling into a spray of feathery white snow, the frost unbearable as they stumbled around. Still at the front, keeping the line, the Redrobes kept their line, their blades cutting through flesh with ease, the feeling of the warmth of blood touching their stretched skin, lightning dancing from their fingertips again.

It was a large illumination of red and blue, a flame of azure and crimson light that arced upon the clouds, dancing upon the skies. Grhreuu frowned. "They shouldn't last that long. Something's wrong." He said.

With the rest of the enemy army in disarray, all fire was concentrated on the Red Robes. Lasers, blaster bolts, shurikens, throwing knives, energy swords, katanas, blaster cannons, machine guns, grenades, missiles, bombs, laser cannons, and laser turrets all fired or sliced or were thrown at the magical enemys, red blood spraying and the dead falling into the snow or being blown apart.

The enemy forces began to dwindle, the corpses smelling strongly of putrid stenches, engulfing the battlefield in a raw, dirty rank that crept along the nostrils of those without protection. Grhreuu, walking through the battlefield, surveyed the deep cut of valley before him; a long series of lights like some malicious finger, before they saw the looming structure of the massive research domes of the Totalians. Ominous, gargantuan, taking days to walk through, he closed his eyes, looking for the Xiscapian leaders. "Who here is the leader?"

An Xiscapian female clad in a white snow suit and toting a blaster rifle, he katana blood-stained and her clothes and skin slick with gore, stepped forward, away from the troops chasing the enemy away. "I am. Commander Dui, at your service."

The Alversians, now confident that success had been achieved, began with the basics of battle. Wounded were evacuated and the dead were buried wherever possible. More troops and heavy armour was starting to land now along with units of the APNAF to provide close air support

Grhreuu's eyes darted to the valley that laid beyond the landscape, the giant mouth of stone that swallowed glaciers as they unwittingly slithered through the massive canyon-like crevices. Fissures were deep, forming a moat-shaped natural barrier, the snow indented at parts to show their locations, but only barely. Below, in the deep valley where water no longer ran, a castle was visible, not atop a hill, but at the bottoms of the pit. It's innards visible, it's smoke stacks black and gloomy, it issued gas with utmost disgust. "How many men can be spared?"

Cavourna stepped forward glancing at the castle "What do you mean 'how many can be spared?"

Drop and troop ships began to land, evacuating the wounded and dead. More fighters screamed overhead, and patrols guarded against enemy attack. Dui looked around. "I'd say we can immediatly spare about 100 troops, 10 LAM, and 10 HAM. The rest need a break, but if we get a few hours rest we can send more. What's in there?"

"Given the terrain," Grhreuu continued to look, his eyes shaking in their sockets, "I don't think a fully fledged force could march down. Additionally, the enemy is likely aware of our presence if the Redrobes could last that long. I think a preliminary strike would serve us best. It might be good to draw them out, then move in."

"Are we talking fighters and patrols doing bombing and strafing runs, or artillery, or both?" A scoop, a small dome structure made of dark green plastic, was placed nearby, and Dui moved herself and Grhreuu and Cavourna inside, where it was warm. She stripped off her snow suit as she talked. "If we bomb the place, we could probably damage it, but to draw the enemy out we'd need something valuable, yet lightly guarded, or even not at all. A soldier willing to be a POW, perhaps. Once the enemy comes out to take this person, we can either strike then, or wait until the POW is inside the castle, then have him or her infiltrate the castle and destroy or disable the defenses, letting us gain access. A third possible option is to get a team in there to capture their Commander. Let them think we're holding him hostage. They'll chase us, and we'll draw them into an ambush, destroying the pursuing army. What say you, Honorable Grhreuu or Commander Cavourna?" She stood before them in her military-issue gray briefs, and then began to pull on battle armor.

"Well" Cavourna said pointing outside the dome "We have a large number of light artillery pieces (http://www.futurefirepower.com/wp-content/photos/nlos_small_.JPG) if you need an artillery bombardment"

"A few soldiers in disguise as prisoners of war would be possible. The need for authenticity would be required, however, so obviously there will be some collateral deaths before they will be willing to take us in." He surveyed the valley once more, his eyes groaning in distaste. "But these are Totalians. They take no prisoners." He frowned. "I believe it would be best to wait in a little while. Soon my fellow Saliada will come, and then no mere fortress will hold out against that."

Dui bowed. "Very well then. So we wait. Commander Cavourna," she said, strapping on the last of her armor, "Do any of you men require shelter or medical attention? All of our "scoops" have been put up and our medics are nearly finished."

Cavourna smiled and shook his head at the Xiscapian's question "We have our own shelters already established and so we will require no aid"

He turned to face Grhreuu and nodded "We shall await for your comrades. may I suggest a bombardment of the fortress anyway, just to keep the pressure up?"

"How smart are your weapons?" Grhreuu said, looking down at the massive structure. "I would prefer that this facility be taken without as much damage done to the treasure within."

"How smart are your weapons?" Grhreuu said, looking down at the massive structure. "I would prefer that this facility be taken without as much damage done to the treasure within."
"One of our missiles can hit something the size of a table accuratly. We can do less percise, but more damaging strikes with our capital ship's cannons from orbit. Concevibly, we could destroy most of a given structure, leaving a few rooms intact and relatively unharmed."

Cavourna thought about it
"Same as the Xiscapians, Rocket fire is VERY accurate but artillery and ion cannon are more powerful and less accurate. Your choice" he shrugged

"Information regarding this facility has not yet reached Daira. We should obviously be careful and refrain from attacking anything lest us take out what otherwise could have been a proper and valuable object."

"So we wait for your fellow Salander (ooc: did I spell that right?) to show up and work their magic. Does anything need to be done in the meantime?"

"I could hardly call it magic. It's quite painful trying to do what I just did, considering my ribs are getting to be a nuisance to retract now." Grhreuu complained monotonously, looking at the research station. "Though, honestly, I'm surprised you guys are willing to help us."

"It's just a figure of speech, actual magic is rare among the galaxies. Revenge is a natural feeling. If we were in your position, we would do the same. We sort of did, once, although we wenen't in nearly a, ah, desperate position as you. Besides, it's not like we're not getting paid for it. But why would you be surprised by our helping you?"

Cavourna put his hand to the radio in his ear and nodding a few times before turning back to the conference
"We have 15 battalions of Light Artillery standing by if you want to put some pressure on the fortress"

"Because the Huntaerians aren't so fond of us at all. And their influence is quite an obstacle for our goals."

Dui nodded. "Right. So how long before your friends come down?"

"It might be a bit." He said, eying the terrain. "Since this time is not precious, how about a little idle chat? I have much to ask about your people and your race in general." He looked up at the frozen thunderheads that loomed above, lightning dancing amongst the soldiers of frozen ice that flew amongst the wailing wintry wind, a gust of chilly screams horridly slashing through the air. A screeching noise was audible in the terrible crackle.

"What is your home planet like?" He asked.

Cavourna turned to Dui and smiled

"You first" he said

Dui rolled her eyes in a mock gesture of digust. "Very well. Xiscapia is 68% water, or something like that. We have three huge continents: Padga, to the north, is cool and wet, with warm rainy summers, lush springs, cool, brisk fall, and cold, dead winter. It is covered in thick forests and crisscrossing streams and rivers. It's mostly flat in the middle and to the east, but to the west there is hills, unbroken until they reach the sea, and to the north are the mighty Alkresh mountains. The eastern most continent, called Forworn, is sparsely populated. To the east is rolling plains and rugged platues. Jungles to the west and south are broken only by occasional rivers. The continent has only three major cities, with a handful of minor towns but countless villages and nomadic villages. To the west is Slipslah, the largest of the continents. About half, the western half, is desert. It has nice coasts and mountains to the far west. To the east and north is fertile farmland. The south holds little for anyone, just a huge amount of unfertile dirt and ragged trees. Most of the cities here are along the coast, with the inner parts of the continent vastly unexplored. This houses most of Xiscapia’s factories, farms, and natural resources. We have two moons, both of which rise at night. Kel has colonies set up on it, and is a mining center, and rich in Guilda crystals, which power most of our technology, as well as silver, gold, and gems. The other, called Regalis, is a molten lava world, dotted only by high strong rocks which were once mountains and many volcanos. It is unihabited." She sighed in relief. "We have colonies on other worlds, but I feel it is time for Cavourna-San to speak of Alversia."

He interjected. "You misunderstand me. I said your race, not the geography of your planet." He looked at them politely, his stare penetrating, unwavering, powerful.

OOC: You said home planet...
IC: Dui frowned thoughtfully and stared into space. "The Xiscapians...we are a peaceful people. We're about as advanced as the rest of the galaxy, whatever that may mean to you. More advanced in some areas than these Totalians, anyway. I don't know if you've noticed, but every Xiscapian carries a katana. We treat this as an extension of your soul, and nearly every Xiscapian, soldier or civilian, carries a katana. Here in the military your sheath color indicates your rank status. Most soldiers have green sheaths, which identifies them as common grunts. Mine is red, which identifies me as a Commander. In our culture you cannot be too loud, or too dirty, or too impolite. Remedies are silence, frequent bathing, and being ignored. Our military is not huge, as we only need a small one for defense and a few exploritory fleets. Our might relies on the fact that our ships are of good quality and our soldiers are well-trained. Back on Xiscapia our Emperor is in his 14th year. His name is Foxfire Rose. When reading our dates, you have to understand that every year in a single Emperors regin is counted. For example, because Emperor Foxfire has been in power for fourteen years, it is The Year of Our Lord 14, and it is currently the Birth of the Death season on or planet, or the beginning of autumn. All Xiscapians are trained from birth to be polite, hospitible, clean, and quiet as much as possible."

"What is your home planet like?" He asked.

OOC: You did say planet

IC:
Cavourna nodded and smiled at a few points in Dui's description and when she had finished, spoke in a nostalgic and quiet voice

"Noble Allies" was all he said, "a more honourable race could not be found from Chronosia to the Void space"

OOC: You said home planet...
IC: Dui frowned thoughtfully and stared into space. "The Xiscapians...we are a peaceful people. We're about as advanced as the rest of the galaxy, whatever that may mean to you. More advanced in some areas than these Totalians, anyway. I don't know if you've noticed, but every Xiscapian carries a katana. We treat this as an extension of your soul, and nearly every Xiscapian, soldier or civilian, carries a katana. Here in the military your sheath color indicates your rank status. Most soldiers have green sheaths, which identifies them as common grunts. Mine is red, which identifies me as a Commander. In our culture you cannot be too loud, or too dirty, or too impolite. Remedies are silence, frequent bathing, and being ignored. Our military is not huge, as we only need a small one for defense and a few exploritory fleets. Our might relies on the fact that our ships are of good quality and our soldiers are well-trained. Back on Xiscapia our Emperor is in his 14th year. His name is Foxfire Rose. When reading our dates, you have to understand that every year in a single Emperors regin is counted. For example, because Emperor Foxfire has been in power for fourteen years, it is The Year of Our Lord 14, and it is currently the Birth of the Death season on or planet, or the beginning of autumn. All Xiscapians are trained from birth to be polite, hospitible, clean, and quiet as much as possible."

OOC: You did say planet

IC:
Cavourna nodded and smiled at a few points in Dui's description and when she had finished, spoke in a nostalgic and quiet voice

"Noble Allies" was all he said, "a more honourable race could not be found from Chronosia to the Void space"

OOC: You guys mistook the fact that he meant the demographics of the home planet. Remember that the Saliada cannot absorb any further long-term information past their maturity stage, so he does mean the race and culture, though he was raised to refer to it under the pretext of geography.

IC:

"Quiet can be misheard as mute, hospitable can be misheard as extravagant, clean can be misheard as sheltered, and polite can be misheard as manipulative. Why is your culture so based around a submissive set of ideals?" He asked them. "What drove your people to believe in those beliefs? It would do little assistance against the brash enemies of the blackness of space, would it not?"

OOC: You guys mistook the fact that he meant the demographics of the home planet. Remember that the Saliada cannot absorb any further long-term information past their maturity stage, so he does mean the race and culture, though he was raised to refer to it under the pretext of geography.

IC:

"Quiet can be misheard as mute, hospitable can be misheard as extravagant, clean can be misheard as sheltered, and polite can be misheard as manipulative. Why is your culture so based around a submissive set of ideals?" He asked them. "What drove your people to believe in those beliefs? It would do little assistance against the brash enemies of the blackness of space, would it not?"
OOC: I forgot about that little part of a Saliada...
IC: "What drives us to this is the fact that if we were not these things, what would we be? The answer is much, much different. Before the advent of space and FTL travel, we were a warlike race, always fighting and killing. Each other, other races, everything we could get at. But upon reaching for the stars we learned one thing very quickly: Diplomacy pays more than combat. We followed our current ideals so as to keep ourselves in check, and theose also made us an entirely more pleasent peoples to deal with. Now, currently, we are no longer as bloodthirsty and warlike as we were. We have fallen into routene, and our ideals are ones that many other races respect. As for our enemies, they are dealt with accordingly. Just because we seem meek does not mean that we always are."

"So you follow these ideals because they are pragmatically more effective than simply conducting war?" He asked, nodding. "This seems to be a logical position to take." He looked up at the sky, as fiery fingers reached down into the mountains far off, his face a perpetual frown as he sighed deeply. "It looks like Daira made a mistake on our location. His incompetency knows no bounds."

"So you follow these ideals because they are pragmatically more effective than simply conducting war?" He asked, nodding. "This seems to be a logical position to take." He looked up at the sky, as fiery fingers reached down into the mountains far off, his face a perpetual frown as he sighed deeply. "It looks like Daira made a mistake on our location. His incompetency knows no bounds."
Dui nodded at his summery. "That is correct." She too looked to the mountains. "I need to know: What is happening over there, and is it possible the Totailian troops will regroup and attack again any time soon?"

"My worries do not linger within the domain of Totalian infantry and rabble. As large as their empire is, they carry very little disciplined forces. Fighting against opponents weaker than yourself tends to create a cocky disposition, and the Totalians are no different from the rest of us; when we win too much, we begin to believe in the myth of our indestructibility. The part is that it works as well." He said, waiting silently. "The attack will begin soon. Espionage is pointless now in this stage in warfare. The Saliada will come soon."

"Then we must prepare. But what is happining in the sky over those mountains? Something one of your friends is doing, correct?"

"I myself do not understand our race. The Saliada are the remainders of the Salender, the only ones who are bloodthirsty enough to have survived. There is something interesting, however, to note. Maturity puts Saliada into a constant biophysical and mental stasis. What that means is that a Salender who has undergone mechanical augmentation will effectively be in that condition for the rest of his existence. In other words," He looked up, at the rumbling thunder, "Daira has hurt his body to its limits, so now he lives in constant discomfort. You can say he is the most bloodthirsty of us all."

Upon his ship, Daira's mouth was wide open, a cannon protruding from his throat, firing off endless bursts of fiery infernos deep into the atmosphere of the planet at random intervals. His eyes were broken into cannon-like shards as well, firing in tandem, a thin and steady line of explosive firepower pummeling down through the clouds with impunity. Naira stood, waiting as her pod was preparing themselves, the rest of the Saliada getting ready too.

Grhreuu turned around. "Is the artillery ready?"

OOC: Directed at Alversia, correct? We have no artillery.

OOC: I have a few dozen Batteries of light artillery

OOC: Yes, at Alversia *shifts eyes*

Cavourna nodded

"twenty-two batteries of six guns each, awaiting your order to fire" he reported happily.

The guns had all been lined up on their targers and were now just waiting for the go-ahead.

"Let's begin." Grhreuu said, looking at the technological haven that stood before them. Immediately, his back began to convulse, blood spraying everywhere in a violent torrent before crackling soldiers emerged from it, their fingers crawling along the ground, their teeth rambling loudly and clicking together like hungry maggots before the feast.

Immediately, enemy cannons rumbled. The Totalians were prepared long before.

"Brace yourselves!" Dui ran out of the scoop, shouting orders. "Omega squad, on point, Gamma squad, get to the frontlines, Delta squad, with me!" The troops began moving out, and the LAM and HAM activated as their pilots scrambled in. Then the planet below them shook. At first Dui thought it was the artillery, but it more felt like the planet had just hit a big BUMP.