NationStates Jolt Archive

"War is mainly a catalogue of blunders." - Sir Winston Churchill
"Human nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared with the men of this, we shall have as weak and as strong, as silly and as wise, as bad and as good."
- Abraham Lincoln
"The Greatest glory consists not in never dying but in rising when we fall"
-Confucius
"And 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...we're on the air."
The reporter adjusted to the camera. "Today Xiscapia and her ally, Alversian, was rocked by a series of terrorist attacks. Following the attempted assassination of Head Admiral Krystal and the kidnapping of the Empress, several colonies have been destroyed by a force calling itself the "Society for the Advancment of Social Medicine", or SASM. Thousands of colonists and soldiers have been killed in the attacks..."

Xiscapian System, Xiscapia, Rio Casa, Emperor's Palace, Imperial Chambers...
The Emperor paced nerviously, his deep red robes swirling behind him. Foxfire Rose was not a kitsune easily frightened, or intimidated. But right now that was exactly how he felt. He stopped for a moment and stared out over the Capitol. It was six 'oclock at night, and raining heavily. The SASM, Society for the Advancement of Social Medicine, as they called themselves, had struck. Again and again and again. HOME, the North Calaveran starbase holding the last of their people, and under guard by Xis-Alvo fleets, had been destroyed, along with almost all the Task Force guarding it. Swept aside like it wasnt even there. Three colonies had been hit by the SASM already, the defenders killed, the colonists killed, the colony turned into burning rubble by SASM guns. They were an old race, one which haunted Alversian nightmares for centuries. Long ago they had been thought to have been defeated. But this was not the case. They had resurfaced, suddenly, starting with an attack and destruction of an Alversian Dreadnought. Then the ship, Pathfinders as they were called, rejoined a massive fleet which was even now picking out colonies for annilhilation. A servant appeared, in that disturbing way the servants of the Palace tend to do. He was out of breath, panting as if he'd been running. "My Lord! Reports from the Wuin system indicate that it's been attacked!" The Emperor tore himself out of his thoughts and focused on the servant. "What forces are stationed there?" The servant responded, "Only the light defenses, but the Alversians and our own military have sent reinforcments." The Emperor gave a worried nod. "Good. Keep me informed." The servant vanished, just, like the Emperor feared, Xiscapia would. Unless the SASM was stopped. Unless they could find a way.
OOC: I gtg now, but I will continue later tommorow.

APS Callaghan, Wuin System

"Reroute emergeancy power to the main shields!" The Captain called from his burning bridge, "Continue targeting the main vessel"

"Aye, Sir" An Ensign typed a few commands into the console in front of her "No effect, Sir"

Just outside the bridge, one of the Pathfinders loomed onimously, it's shields keep flickering as it was repeatedly pounded by phaser blasts from all directions. However, it seemed unaffected.

"They've beamed more colonists from the surface. 10,000 more" Another Ensign called. Then the ship shuddered violently

"Try to counter their beam freqeuncy" The Captain ordered

"Beam countered! The Colonists have been scattered for now"

"Direct hit to our Port Engine! Core is destabilising!" An Ensign called "Shall I give the order to abandon ship?"

"What's the point? Any escape pods will be dissected as soon as they leave this ship" The Captain remarked bitterly, "No. This ship has been our home for many years. I won't just abandon it now"

"Of course, Sir" The surviving crew nodded in approval and appreciation before returning to their stations. Then a massive tremble went through the ship, throwing the entire crew off their feet

"Report!" The Captain demanded

"The Icarus has exploded off our port bow! Our sheilds are weakening" The Tactical Officer called

"One of the Pathfinders is focusing on us with all weaponry. This is it" The Ensign swallowed "What will they think of us? In the future, Sir?" She asked nervously

"We did our duty for People and Planet, Ensign, We did our duty for People and Planet. We did our du..."

An explosion ripped through the bridge of the ship, followed by a series of explosions the whole way along the ship before it split into two seperate pieces of burning debris. The rest of the Alversian fleet was starting to fall to pieces themselves. The Pathfinders were beaming the colonists off the planet at will, there was nothing the navy could do stop it.

There was no warning. None at all. Where there had been only cold space, there was now an Xiscapian Fleet. A dozen ships of varying shapes and sizes. Four Battleships, two Destroyers, a captured Calaveran Observer, a asteroid moving under it's own power by massive engines, a Korr Battleship, a Korr Destroyer, a alien Cruiser captured long ago, and the hulking monster SuperBattleship, Gloom Walker. Immediatly three different weapons fired on the nearest Pathfiner: The Gloom Walker's Superlaser, the Observer's (named the Freedom) Superlaser, and the alien Cruiser's (named Rock) largest plasma cannon. Two green beams of lights and a roaring ball of blue plasma slammed toward the Pathfinder. The rest of the fleet spread out, no two ships within miles of each other. No Pathfinder was going to kill two ships with one stone. The fleet was crewed by Xiscapians, with loyal Korr sailors on the Korr ships and some Alverisans on the asteroid ship. Each ship fired it's weapons on the next closest ship, hoping to overwhelm it. There were no special weapons, except for the asteroid's mining lasers, which were incredibly powerful.

One of the Pathfinders eruptted into flames, unfortuneatly, almost immediately twenty more Pathfinders had surrounded the Xiscapians and were now pounding their ships with their own weapons. One of the Pathfinders located the frequency of the Superbattleship and fired her own powerful beam straight at her.

The beam would bypass the shields of the Superbattleship as it had bypassed the Dreadnought's. The others were starting to close the ring while the others in the fleet were beaming the Civilians onboard from the surface. They would be turned into troops and pushed out into the frontlines of the war.

One of the Pathfinders eruptted into flames, unfortuneatly, almost immediately twenty more Pathfinders had surrounded the Xiscapians and were now pounding their ships with their own weapons. One of the Pathfinders located the frequency of the Superbattleship and fired her own powerful beam straight at her.

The beam would bypass the shields of the Superbattleship as it had bypassed the Dreadnought's. The others were starting to close the ring while the others in the fleet were beaming the Civilians onboard from the surface. They would be turned into troops and pushed out into the frontlines of the war.
"Disrupt their beams." ordered the Captain of the asteroid Pebble. "Disrupting now..." said one of the Bridge Officers. "Done. I've created a beam wave across space that will stop their beaming for several minutes."
The Superbattleship was hit by the beam, but it didn't even rock. The ship was massive, and even a Pathfinder beam couldn't shake it. It's regular guns began firing back, Ion and MAC and energy beams. All the ships continued to fire. Their shields were taking damage, but the main tactic was to fill the enemy with fire so they would be too distracted to locate and bypass the shields. Also in place was some hastily created jammers, which scrambled the shields frequency, making them harder to slide around. The Destroyers took the most damage, shields flaring. On the Bridge of the Battleship Jumper the Captain looked grim. "Continue firing. Do not let up."

MAC and energy weapons were pointless, they simply bounced off the shields as the Alversian weapons had. Instead, the Pathfinders began to focus on the Superbattleship. A few minutes later and another 20 Pathfinders had joined the battle, they continued to pour their own weapons fire into the Xiscapian fleet. The ion cannons were inflicting damage but, as the correct frequency had not been located, damage caused was minimal.

The shield frequency of the Superbattleship had already been located and so, fifteen of the Pathfinders targeted their main beams on the warship. Even more Pathfinders were on their way. Many, many more. The Xiscapians had certainly gained their attention.

The Xiscapians had not expected so many ships. Starting out with even 20 vs. 12 they had been hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned, but 12 vs. 39 was simply overkill. The battle was already lost, and everyone knew it. Elsewhere in the system, closer to the planet and safe only in their undetectablility, were five colony ships. They were beaming up the colonists as fast as they could, escorted by no ships. Even while the beams transported thousands of colonists at a time, thousands more still stayed on the surface, awaiting pick-up. This is what the Xiscapian Fleet was there for: The rescue of the colonists, rather than the defeat of the enemy fleet. The ships were being pounded relentlessly by Pathfinder guns, and the only reason the entire fleet was not so much debries in space was that their tactics appeared to be working, preventing the Pathfinder's from reading their shields. The Superbattleship, like the fleet buying time for the colonists, bought time for the fleet to escape. The miles long SuperCapital was being hit almost constantly by Pathfinder beam weapons. To the Xiscapians, the Pathfinders were particularly destructive not because they were especally powerful, but because of their ability to bypass shields to strike at armor, and the incredible endurance of Pathfinder shields. No weapons tested, save ramming or Superlaser, had been proven to penetrate them. There was a certain degree of effectiveness when Ion cannons were used, but the damage done was not enough to make any difference. The fleet, one by one, with offline or quickly weakening shields, withdrew. At the colony the ships exposed themselves as they began to jump away. Several thousand colonists were still left on the ground. There was a massive explosion as the colony where the colonists had gathered was obliterated by a bomb. The SASM would be getting no Xiscapians or Alversians to dissect today. Finally only the Superbattleship was left. It's mission was done, having distracted the Pathfinders long enough to allow both the rest of the fleet and the colony ships to jump away. It fired it's Superlaser at a somewhat weakened Pathfinder one last time before being annihilated in a flash of fire. Only it's strong, thick armor and massive bulk had allowed it to even survive this long.

The targeted Pathfinder erupted into flames as it was hit by the Superlaser, but if didn't matter. The Colony ships had been traced by their warp signature and now the SASM was aware of their locations. The SASM had been travelling space for millenia, they were experts of warfare. Very few of the races they had fought survived to tell anyone the secrets needed to win. Only Alversia retained those secrets but they were now gone, lost in some database back at APNHQ. Ironically, their best hope of survival lay in the ancient ships of the Pre C-Class Fleet. Ships like the P and B - Class Dreadnoughts that were 120 and 190 years old respectively. The SASM hadnot changed in 400 years, neither had their weaknesses. Only their enemies had changed and it was proving to be their doom.

SASM losses at Battle of Wuin

2 x Pathfinders (25,000 Bioroids)

Head Admiral Krystal angerly stalked the bridge of her flagship, Pride of the Empire. The enemy had been engaged by an extremely powerful fleet, which included a Superbattleship, the only one of it's kind and Xiscapia's most powerful warship. Even outnumbered and outgunned so badly, left to it's own, it should have been to destroy a dozen enemy ships before being destroyed. Instead, it had destroyed exactly one. Krystal had thought there couldn't be that many SASM Pathfinder's in existance, because there seemed to be no colonies or planets held by the SASM. Apparently, this was not the case. The way they got soldiers was evident, though dissection and insertion, but where their ships came from was less obvious. Unless they had a hundreds of years old dock somewhere with hundreds of Pathfinders. The thought made Krystal shudder. These people were monsters, no mercy and all cruelty for crueltys sake. And in the possession of powerful technology, the likes of which Xiscapia had never seen, and the Alversians only once, hundreds of years ago. Now the crucial information needed for defeating the Bioroids, Pathfinders, and SASM was hidden deep in some Alversian database somewhere. It was all a matter of finding it. Unfortunatly, that was easier said than done. And while humans, kitsune, and A.I. looked, people died, either in firey explosions on starships or on the operating tables of the SASM.

The Pride of Empire recieved a transmission from the APNHQ which was transmitting updates of the war to all Military Personnel in an attempt to warn them of activity in their areas. The information was not good. Far from it.

TO: All Allied Vessels

Battle update for the 2nd SASM War has been announced. The SASM has
breached Sector 234038 of Alversian Space. Two Colonies have fallen.
Losses are below:
2 x Super-Dreadnoughts (10,000 Dead)
7 x Dreadnoughts (31,500 Dead)
4 x Battlecruisers (16,000 Dead)
6 x Cruisers (21,000 Dead)
10 x Destroyers (20,000 Dead)

98,500 Military Personnel Killed
44,000 Civilians Dissected

Last reports indicate that the SASM are moving towards Sector 234904,
this is the border between Alversian and Xiscapian space. All military
vessels in the area are to go to red alert and all civilian vessels are
advised to evacuate

APNHQ

Flotilla Commander Dervish, the new Alversian Attache to Xiscapia, came onto the bridge and saluted, then he looked grim

"Heard the news?" He asked sadly

OOC: TG Xis

Krystal nodded solemnly. "It was never even meant to be a counterattack. It was purely a rescue operation, to get the civilians out of there. Now the SASM controls the crossroads between the Alversian Peoples Republic and the Xiscapian Empire," The pink haired, green eyed kitsune hammered her fist on the bunkhead. "They're too powerful. They've destroyed our best, largest, most powerful ship, and lost only two doing it. If that fleet had stayed in the system any longer, they would have been destroyed. It seems only suicide bombings and Superlasers destroy these things." Krystal said bitterly. "On the ground we could take them. But why would they ever need to fight on the ground? They just get over a planet, beam up what they need, and fly away. The only thing that works is massive amounts of firepower."
OOC: Responded

Dervish nodded soberly,
"I'm afraid even super firepwer isn't enough. Their fleets are huge, their firepower is immense. Their protection is undefeatable." He shook his head sombrely
"What's the point in destroying a Pathfinder when they only have to beam to a colony to replace the losses? However, APNHQ has developed a plan"

He took a deep breath and continued

"If, at their next destination, we are able to erect a particle storm over the colony, they won't be able to beam people up. In those circumstances, they will land to disable the colony by direct assualt. It is, at the moment, our only opton. We can't go on like this. So far 190 ships have been destroyed and over 1 million Alversians killed or dissected. We have to defeat them soon or there will be no Civilisation left"

He then swallowed hard and turned to show a young Woman wearing an APN uniform. He long blonde hair seemed to gleam on the ship's bridge and she was fidgeting nervously. Her eyes were read where she had obviously been crying

"This is Samantha Bennett" Dervish whispered "She is Rear-Admiral Bennett's last surviving child. Her twin was killed on the Demanded in Sector 346293. She wanted to see you"

OOC: Another TG

OOC: Responded.
IC:
Krystal nodded. "Do it. Give us the technology or help us impliment it. Their next target, if they move against the Xiscapians, us, will be the Cholk system." she whispered to him, then saluted. "Come to my office." she said to the women kindly. Once situated in Krystal's large and fancy office, Krystal leaned across the desk. "I'm sorry for the loss of your father...he was a good man. He died doing his duty, and he never shrank from it, even when all seemed lost."

Dervish nodded and moved off with one of the Engineers to begin downloading the needed information.

Samantha followed Krystal into her office and stood at ease while she talked. Then once Krystal mentioned her father, she started to shake slightly

"I am the only Bennett left" She admitted, tears starting to run down her face "Darren died a few weeks ago, Jennifer a few days ago and Father just a few hours ago. I am alone" She looked up sadly, "I am alone" She repeated.

"You are not alone," said Krystal softly, "not while there is still good men and women and kitsune around with you. Your people can be your family. It is no replacement, I know that. But it is enough. Your father was widely respected and so will you be. They don't call it a "bloodline" for nothing."

OOC: The SASM are only a temporary thing, don't panic over it.

Samantha nodded gratefully
"Father always spoke very highly of you" She said as she wiped a tear away "I think I will be able to get through this. But first, I need to get back to my ship, the Demon Within. We are moving out to engage the Pathfinders in the morning. Hopefully it will go well" She saluted, turned and left, a little more spring in her step.

Krystal nodded mutely as the women left her office. She wondered why the Alversians were bothering to engage the SASM again. Obviously, with nearly two hundred destroyed ships and over a million dead Alversians, they weren't getting anywhere. Perhaps the most infuriating thing about the SASM is that their ships were crewed by Biodroids. The only organic part of these was the brain, and even that was altered to become more machine-like and obey any command the Server, their coordinater, gave them. It had been explained to her by an Alversian that the Server was not a central computer- Rather it was a self-contained network, stationed aboard every SASM ship. This meant it was impossible to intimidate the Biodroids, or even threaten or frighten them. They weren't programmed for it. As troops in combat they were deadly effective, but not particularly durable or strong, at least that is what was reported. They could be struck down by blaster fire or grenades like any other being. That was a small comfort, anyway. Krystal stood up and exited her office to Flotilla Commander Dervish, who was busy uploading data about particle storms. To engage the enemy on the ground was the Xiscapian's strong point. Hand-to-hand they were very, very good at what they did. "How is it going?" asked Krystal, watching the blue screen as data rushed past it at a blurring, eye watering speed.

Dervish gave an encouraging nod, then he went mutely back to his work. However, he paused when a new battle report came through. Devastated, he leant back in his chair and started to sob quietly to himself.

"We have lost Roscopi" He annouced quietly "87 ships destroyed, 300,000 personnel killed. 4 million Civilians dissected" He shook his head again "We are running out of ships and crew! We can't keep this up forever. The sooner we can draw them into a battle, the quicker this can end!"

"How?" pressed Krystal, "We've fought and lost so many battle already. Even our mightiest weapons are proving to be not enough to stem the tide. How do you plan to defeat them? So far all the Xiscapians have done is buy for time, so as few civilians are killed as possible and as few ships lost. The SASM seem to be targeting the Alversians. Is this because they remember you?"

Dervish shrugged
"In all likely hood. We are the logical targets for the meantime. I doubt it will stay that way though. You have a lot of people who would look good as Bioroids in their eyes. The good news is that we are starting to assemble a fleet of C-1 Class Dreadnoughts with Ion Cannons as their main weapons. As soon as we can find the shield frequencies and redevelop the rotating shield technology, we can face them as equals instead of recieving a smashing everytime we meet"

Dervish typed a few more items into one of the consoles

"The Fleet will be ready in four days. Task Force Omega. It will be biggest fleet we have assembled since the days of the last SASM war. We will engage them and we will win!"

Dervish was pinning all his hopes on this one strike. All of the Alversia was placing her hope in this. Already the SASM was breathing down the neck of Alversia herself and soon they would be conquered. This really was the last chance for them

"If you give us your techniques for improving our current Ion technology and rotating shield technology, we can help speed things up. We need to be there, when you go in for battle." Krystal touched him on the shoulder and looked into his eyes. "We, the Xiscapian people, owe you. A lot. You saved us from vitual genocide during the Korr war. We want to repay that debt. We want to be there, even if it is only to repel the invaders back from whatever hell they came from. Do you understand, Commander?"

Dervish saw the passion in her eyes and nodded grimly. He turned to the console and began to type commands rapidly into it's system. Once he was finished he turned to Krystal and smiled
"When that first probe reached our frontiers there was no hesitation in rushing to your aid. It is the greatest decision we have ever made. Our fleets shall do battle togather. Our flags will fly togather for eternity. Today we meet as allies. Tomorrow we shall fight as brothers"

He gave a smile and put his hand on her shoulder

"Our fleet assembles at Sector 200164. There we shall destroy this menace once and for all"

OOC: Hmm, do I sense a line stolen from a movie?
IC:
Krystal put her hand on his opposite sholder, permitting him to relax and balance against her, a somewhat ackward position.
"Through fighting we gain Freedom
Through freedom we gain Liberty
Through Liberty we gain Loyalty
Through Loyalty we Persevere."
She grinned. "And trusting you lot was the wisest choice we ever made. We'll be there Commander, I promise you."
Already the data was being sent back to Xiscapia. It would be jumped on by a team of scientists and techs to get it from the screen to paper to reality in as short a time span as possible. Better weapons, shields impervious to scrambling. When the time came, they would be ready. And just in case, Krystal had one last ace up her sleeve, so to speak, in the form of two mercenaries on a crashed Pathfinder in a lonely system many hundreds of lightyears from here.

OOC: Well it may be the same, but I thought of it as I wrote it

IC:
Dervish smiled
As they stood there, at least a thousand ships of all sizes and classes were being assembled to fight this menace. They knew the amount of Pathfinders they would face would be crippling, but even so. This was the final stand of the Alversian People's Navy. If they were defeated, there was no chance of victory. There was just enough time for the captured Pathfinder to return to Xiscapia and for them to find the frequency of the impeneterable SASM shields. That small piece of data was what this battle would ride on.

The Xiscapian fleet was assembling at Xiscapia. Every ship. The Xiscapian fleet was very small when compared with most, a hundred and twenty ships at most. But they were very durable, powerful ships, from the Carriers and Battleships down to the fighters and drones. They were there to be fitted for the new technology, and then?
They would go and destroy the SASM to the last Biodroid, and repay the debt they had owed Alversia for so long.

Sector 200164

Already, the Alversian Navy had been assembled. The bulk of the People's Fleet, Alversia's last hope had gathered at the Sector. Nearly 2,000 ships of all sizes had been assembled. From the massive Strato-Dreadnoughts to the smallest A-Class Destroyers, every single one of the 6.3 Million Alversians were prepared to fight to the death. From the lowest Rating to the Highest Admiral, all desired revenge for the damage the SASM had done. The fleet had been fitted with Ion Cannon and rotating shielding, but that wouldn't matter if they couldn't find the SASM shield frequencies. This was just one long suicide mission.

The flagship of the whole operation was the Strato-Dreadnought APS Light of Hope

As rapidly as possible the rotating shield technology and enhanced ion cannons were installed on all ships. At least if they could not beat the SASM, they would not be helplessly struck down any longer. Now all the hopes rested on the captured Pathfinder which would be coming into Xiscapia soon. Any hour now. Once it was there crews would board the ship and begin ripping out and applying the shield frequencies. Because speed was needed or all would be lost, the techs and scientists would be deployed under guard even as the ship was cleared of Biodroids. Once this once done, only the actual battle would remain to be fought.
OOC: What does a Pathfinder look like?

OOC:This (http://www.strekschematics.utvinternet.com/shipgallery/shipgallery1/jembattle.jpg)

The Alversians awaited nervously for the Xiscapians and SASM to arrive at the Sector into which Alversia had poured almost an entire generation. No one had any idea how many Pathfinders there were in existance although it was likely to be absolutely massive. Bigger than their fleet anyway. All ships were on permenant Red Alert and crews stood to their stations in anticipation. Even though they knew they had been butchered up to this point, they were professionals and the who of Alversia was looking them to protect their future.

Alversian Fleet
20 x Strato-Dreadnoughts
40 x Super-Dreadnoughts
400 x Dreadnoughts
300 x Battlecruisers
500 x Cruisers
700 x Destroyers
1,960 Warships
6,480,000 Alversians

OOC: Oh yeah, I remember now.
IC:
Xiscapia's Fleet totaled at this:
SuperDestroyer: Jade (Flagship)
Destroyers: Fallen Hero, Spike, Resolve, Unshakable, Shatterpoint, Revenge, Servant, Warrior, Triple Zero, Destiny, Dark Saber, Night, Starfire, Inescapable, Krystal, Grass, Stone, A.I. 5(18)
Battleships: Wrath, Fear, Pride of the Empire, Deception, Shadow Hunter, Splinter in the Minds Eye, Vision, Foxfire, Qonn, Alversia, Order, Smoke, Ice, Pocky, Master, Sky, A.I. 1, A.1. 10(18)
Cruisers: Peace, Sly, Red Light, Oath, Valor, Dark Star, Blue Flame, Rendezvous, Contact, Speed, Legacy, Luck, Stand Alone, Specter, Smite, Xiscapia, Sudden Death, Final, Water, Earth, Air, Fire, Wood, Lord, A.I. 2, A.I. 3, A.I. 4 (28)
Carriers: Saber, Honor, Omnipresent, Ghost, Eclipse, Unifier, Exile, Tempest, Ritual, Strong, Harmony, Xeno, A.I. 7, Dagger(14)
Medical: Chrystal Moon, Chrystal Star, Enlightenment, Forewarned, Spirit, Silver Song, Shield, Passion, Healer, Protector, Thought, Dream, Eye, Gem, Silk, Cloak(14)
"Salvage Fleet" (Fleet 6)
1 Korr Destroyer (Pain)
2 Korr Battleships (Fury, Rage)
5 Korr Frigates (Fist, Glory, Doom, Death, Destruction)
1 Imperial Isan ship (Star Slayer)
1 North Calaveran ship (Freedom)
1 Alien ship (Rock)
1 Infected ship (Pure)
1 Xiscapian mining ship (Starrider)
1 Combat Asteriod ship (Pebble)
Mechanized Fleet:
5 Command Mechs
15 Supermechs
100 HAM
100 LAM
Total Ships (including Medical, Super, and Command Mechs): 127
The Medical ships were kept out of action, left to tend to the wounded and transport the dead after the battles victory...or defeat. Every ship in the fleet had been given rotating shields, and all ships had at least one enhanced Ion Cannon. With the exception of the Korr ships, which were captained and crewed by loyal Korr, the Xiscapian Fleet was entirely crewed by Xiscapians. This was everything the Xiscapians had. All of it. If the battle was lost, the Xiscapians would go down with the Alversians. If it was won, their moment of trumph would be shared. What the fleet did not have in numbers, it made up for it quality. Each ship is amazingly durable and powerful. The question was: Would it be enough?

The Xiscapians added little in terms of numbers to the Alversian fleet but it certainly added quality. The Alversians had concentrated pretty much every main battleship they had into this fleet. Rumours were widespread that the Pathfinder fleet was in the thousands, but hopefully that was just be rumour.

OOC: Who is the Commander of the Xiscapian fleet?

OOC: Krystal. (duh!)
IC:
Alversian Class Superdestroyer Jade...
There was a *bing* noise at the console on the Bridge. The Communications Officer frowned and clicked it. It was a short message, from the "APS Star Snake":
SASM SHIELD CODE 2.59
He stared at it for a moment, uncomprehending. Then he gave a loud shout, startling those in the dead silence of the bridge. The Head Admiral herself gave a start, thinking the SASM attack had come at last. "Admiral! Admiral!" The Communications Officer was too excited to mantain his military disposition. "Ma'am, we've just been sent the Pathfinder shield codes! They're 2.59!" There was a loud cheer from the Bridge Officers and Marines on the bridge. Krystal smiled. "You know what to do, transmit it to all ships."
ATTENTION ALL ALVO-XIS SHIPS:
PATHFINDER SHIELD CODES ARE 2.59. REPEAT, PATHFINDER SHIELD CODES ARE 2.59. IMPLIMENT CODES IMMEDIATLY TO COINCIDE WITH ALL WEAPONS.

APS Light of Alversia

At the same time the Xiscapians were being given their code, a similiar message was being sent to Grand Admiral Noah Hanlon, the Commander of the Fleet. The Communications Officer sat on the bridge, staring at his console. Then he recieved the message and leapt up in delight.

"Sir! Sir! We have it! The SASM frequency is 2.59!"

The rest of the Bridge Crew started to cheer and punch the air, Grand Admiral Hanlon turned to the Communications Officer

"Get on the fleet! Tell them! NOW!" He ordered

The Communications Officer gave a delighted salute and turned back to his console. Grand Admiral Hanlon permitted himself a small smile.

Meanwhile, across thousands of ships, Engineers rushed around their powerplants and tweaked them to the shield frequency of the SASM ships. There was an air of hope now, this battle was going to be ine to remember. And now they could win.

OOC: BTW It's Ashley Reyes (That's Ashe's real name)

Bridge, APS Light of Alversia

Grand Admiral Hanlon nodded to his Communications Officer who sent a message throughout the fleet

"All vessels stand down, ship is friendly, repeat, ship is friendly"

Weapons throughout the ship powered down as the Star Snake approached.

TO: APS Star Snake

Please dock in the Light of Alversia, Hangar 12

Quite suddenly the sensors on hundreds of ships blared as a starship appeared before them. Almost instantly hundreds of blaster cannons, Heavy guns, Ion Cannons, MAC cannons, missile lauchers, phasers, AS guns and turrets were locked onto the little ship. It was about the size of a freighter, colored silver, with four engines at the back and a little strip of yellow light showing where the cockpit was. A message went out:
This is the APS Star Snake, here for the transport of Captain Alexander Cavourna and First Officer Ashley Reyes to the APS Light of Alversia.
It was obviously not SASM.
EDIT: Damn TW!

Quite suddenly the sensors on hundreds of ships blared as a starship appeared before them. Almost instantly hundreds of blaster cannons, Heavy guns, Ion Cannons, MAC cannons, missile lauchers, phasers, AS guns and turrets were locked onto the little ship. It was about the size of a freighter, colored silver, with four engines at the back and a little strip of yellow light showing where the cockpit was. A message went out:

It was obviously not SASM.
EDIT: Damn TW!

Soon, Cavourna and Ashe were on board the ship along with Sasha, Kartosh and Skyler. They were instantly brought to the conference room, where Grand Admiral Hanlon sat along with Admiral Krystal (OOC: Say they were in a meeting?) and about a dozen other high ranking officers of various branches in both armed forces.

Cavourna gave a firm salute, even though his uniform was completely shredded. As was Ashe's. She was a little more nervous. These were the most powerful people on Alversia and Xiscapia right here. They were all staring at them.

"I assume your mission was successful with regards to the Pathfinder?" Hanlon asked Kartosh in a conversation tone. The dozen sets of eyes twisted to stare at him.

Soon, Cavourna and Ashe were on board the ship along with Sasha, Kartosh and Skyler. They were instantly brought to the conference room, where Grand Admiral Hanlon sat along with Admiral Krystal (OOC: Say they were in a meeting?) and about a dozen other high ranking officers of various branches in both armed forces.

Cavourna gave a firm salute, even though his uniform was completely shredded. As was Ashe's. She was a little more nervous. These were the most powerful people on Alversia and Xiscapia right here. They were all staring at them.

"I assume your mission was successful with regards to the Pathfinder?" Hanlon asked Kartosh in a conversation tone. The dozen sets of eyes twisted to stare at him.
Kartosh was sweating under the gaze of so many Xiscapiana and Alversian Captains, Admirals, and so many other people of power. These are the same people he had been trying to avoid for years. And now here he was. What a strange universe I live in. he mused.
"Ah, erm, yes," Kartosh coughed into his sleeve. "Obviously. You recieved the data, didn't you? And the collection fleet is already transporting the Pathfinder back to Xiscapia."
Krystal too was staring at the high-ranking Alversians and the two Xiscapian mercenaries. They look like they've been though a war! When she first saw the ship she had thought, No...seriously? It can't be! The Star Snake? The little ship had evaded capture by Xiscapian, Alversian, Korr and Danaversian military and customs for so long that Krystal had doubted anyone would ever catch them. And here they were, flying right into the most massive war fleet assembled in hundreds of years, carrying a Captain and First Officer? She was going to be very interested in hearing the story that led up to all this. But at the moment Krystal had bigger fish to fry.
OOC: Take this as a "pause." I'll be back in minutes.

OOC: Fair enough

"Glad to hear it, Captain Kartosh" Hanlon said in his deep voice, "I understand your vessel was made part of the Alversian People's Auxiliary Fleet?"

He laughed as the expression of surprise on Krystal's face "An old order that can be used at a moments notice. We can convert any volunteer vessel into a military vessel in time of dire need. I think this qualifies as a dire moment"

He turned back to the small group and bore into each of them with an interested stare
"As it stands, Captain" He said to Cavourna "You are the only Captain to have fought a Pathfinder in this war and survive. How do you suggest we proceed with this battle?"

"God sir...I mean...this is the biggest fleet I have ever seen...I can..." Cavourna stopped, temporarily stunned by the pressure being brought onto him by so many people in power. However, after a few moments of breathing he had regained his composure and his confidence.

"First thing's first Sir, I would change who is command of this fleet. We need someone who has experience of fighting the SASM and knows how they think"

"Mmmm...Interesting. Who would you suggest? Yourself?"

"No, Sir. Not all, I am far from the most qualified in this room to take command of such a burden. But I know one who could"

"Really? Who?" There was no shortage of command talent in the room

"Her" He took a step back and placed a shoulder on Ashe's shoulder.

A deadly silence filled the room as the Commanders stared at Ashe and Cavourna in disbelief. She herself seemed equally as horrified and shrank away from the scornful gaze of so many superiors

"No" It was Hanlon who said it, "By the love of the Gods, Cavourna, no. She is a Lieutenant Commander, not even 30 yet and you want us to put her in charge of the biggest fleet we have ever assembled? Why?"

"Because, Grand Admiral, She is the closest thing we have to an expert on the SASM. She has gone the furthest to becoming a Bioroids and lived to tell the tale. And, although forced against her will, her tactics destroyed at least a dozen Alversian military vessels"

"Ah yes, about that" Hanlon said darkly, "You do realise charges will be brought against you for your actions?" He said to Ashe

Ashe, seemed to gain confidence and stepped forward
"I understand, Grand Admiral, and I realise that my choices up until now have been far from brilliant. But I assure you, I will not let you down if you put me in command of this fleet! I know what I'm doing! Trust me! Please" She said the last word pleadingly

The other Admirals looked around at each other, as if having a silent discussion. Several agonising seconds passed. The Hanlon slowly started to nod his head

"You realise what is at stake here?" He asked Ashe in a quiet voice

She nodded viciously, "Of course Sir! I am ready for this"

Hanlon, nodded in approval "What do you need Admiral?"

"The fleet is in fine order, Sir but I want only three things" She said

"Name your price" He said

"First of all, I want to take command from the Light of Hope" She asked

"Strange but reasonable, carry on"

"I want this man, Alexander Cavourna to be my Flag Captain"

"Good choice, what's the third demand?"

"I want this girl" She turned to Sasha, "To be my First Officer"

There was an outcry from around the table

"Her!"
"She's a wanted criminal!"
"She deserves jail not one of the highest positions in the fleet!"
"Why her!"

"Because, Sasha is one of the only ones who can detect the SASM apart from myself. She has displayed a remarkable courage during the past few days. I believe she possesses a geniune guilt over what she has done. You are giving me this chance to prove myself, why not her too?" Ashe said firmly, gaining in confidence.

Hanlon gave a puzzled nod and turned to Sasha
"Well? What do you think?" He asked her "And what will the Star Snake do now? He asked Kartosh "You are technically part of the Alversian Navy, what do you want to do?"

"NO!"
Sor stood straight up, his chair tipping backwards to crash to the floor. He pointed a trembeling finger at Sasha, who winced under his angry gaze.
"This mere girl," he spat, looking straight at her, "was a Calaveran! Are you all so quick to forget? She ruthlessly murdered dozens of innocent civilians!" he looked around at the other Admirals and Commanders now, "How do we know we can trust her? She could easily betray us all here. There's too much at stake." "SOR!" thundered Krystal. It was the first time anyone had heard her raise her voice, and indeed the first time she had raised her voice at anyone since she was but a kit. Everyone in the room jumped, not the least Sor. "The Admiral, as I would be to remind you of her new rank, trusts her. If she was a true Calaveran, she would have stupidly betrayed us long before now, and gotten herself killed by either our own forces or the SASM by now," she looked at Ashe. "If Sasha is good enough for her, she's good enough for me." Sor visably shrank, righting his chair and sitting down. Never had the Head Admiral showed such anger against him or anyone else. There was a moment of silence. And then another. Finally Sasha spoke softly. "I will do the best of my ability to help command this fleet and destroy the SASM. They nearly killed me and my...significant other." she wisely did not mention Blackwater. It was an unholy union, them being together. There was yet again several seconds of silence. Then Kartosh cleared his throat loudly, looking at Hanlon. "Grand Admiral, I would much perfer to sit this one out. Normally, I would never stick my neck out for anyone if it didn't have some kind of profit in it for me. And technically, it does. If the SASM wins and kills you all, who's going to pay me? Besides, I love Xiscapia and Alversia just as much as anyone in this room, and I wouldn't want to see their destruction at the guns of the SASM." He spoke regularly, in his average voice, which carried to everyone in the room. Sor was sweating in his seat under Krystal's intense gaze, although she had heard every word said. First traitor Calaverans...now pirates and mercenaries! What's next? A rouge Biodroid? He thought wildly. The upcoming battle had him on edge of course, but he was always one of the most vocal and vigilant against smugglers, mercenaries and the Calaverans.

There was an awkward silence as all the Admirals waited for Krystal's anger to subside. It was true she really burst out like that, but the situation demanded it. These two girls may be their only hope.

Hanlon nodded again and turned back to Ashe
"Admiral Reyes, you have your orders. Your objective is to stop the Pathfinder fleet by any and all means necessary. Are you up to the challenge?"

She nodded fiercly "I am ,Sir. I won't let you or the people down" She had her contacts out, so her Xiscapian eyes burned bright with passion for all in the room to see.

"Dismissed" Hanlon indicated. Ashe and Cavourna saluted befire turning and departing from the room.

"I hope we haven't made a big mistake, Admiral" Hanlon said, turning to Krystal, "This situation demands ability. And you"

He turned back to Kartosh and Skyler

"As I have said, we could really use your help. But this is not the sort of battle I can force you to join. If you wish to be there, then you will be welcomed. If not, then none of this would have been possible without your help and we have to thank you"

APS Light of Hope

"Well, well, well. You an Admiral. Who'd a thought it?" Cavourna said to Ashe as he walked along the bridge of the Light if Hope. The ship that now flew the flag of the newly Promoted Admiral Reyes.

Ashe was pacing along her bridge, looking over all the equipment and the crew that had assembled for inspection. She was trembling with the nerves of what she was about to do and she was breathing very deeply.

All three were wearing brand new APN uniforms. Ashe was wearing the illustrious uniform of an Alversian Admiral. Cavourna had his traditional Captain's uniform, except with a small symbol to show he was the Flag Captain of the fleet, and Sasha was wearing the uniform of the First Officer, she looked rather good in it.

"Do you feel ready?" Ashe turned to Sasha.

A Virus frigate scouted out the Alversian/Xscipian fleet that had built up, already the infected were begging to funnel ships and troops to this battle area, for they would tear apart the winner of the battle, if there was any. The only thing that could be heard from the Virus was the voice, that would echo throught space and into whatever it wished, it low-pitched speech would wake up anyone.

" We recognize your independence and power...you are...impressive creatures, I once trusted you, but I dont think I can forgive.....Sheeplsy"

A Virus frigate scouted out the Alversian/Xscipian fleet that had built up, already the infected were begging to funnel ships and troops to this battle area, for they would tear apart the winner of the battle, if there was any. The only thing that could be heard from the Virus was the voice, that would echo throught space and into whatever it wished, it low-pitched speech would wake up anyone.

" We recognize your independence and power...you are...impressive creatures, I once trusted you, but I dont think I can forgive.....Sheeplsy"

OOC: I think that RPing Blackwater would be better for this battle than the Infected, it will make the thing go so much easier.

OOC: I think that RPing Blackwater would be better for this battle than the Infected, it will make the thing go so much easier.

OCC: Alright

Blackwater awoke and came back to reality "Where am I" was all he could get out at the moment.

OCC: Alright

Blackwater awoke and came back to reality "Where am I" was all he could get out at the moment.

"Relax, Sir. You're on board the Strato-Dreadnought Light of Hope. We are about to engage the SASM with the rest of the Grand Fleet"

Medics swarmed over the man, scanning him intensively to see if he had inherited the same abilities as Ashe and Sasha. After a few moments, they stopped satisfied and turned to Blackwater

"It seems you were lucky. The conversion process was not anywhere near as advanced as the other two"

Two Marines came into the room

"We have been told to keep you here until you have recovered, this battle will take a lot out of you and I want you fully fit for duty before I release you into chaos" The Doctor stated firmly.

There was an awkward silence as all the Admirals waited for Krystal's anger to subside. It was true she really burst out like that, but the situation demanded it. These two girls may be their only hope.

Hanlon nodded again and turned back to Ashe
"Admiral Reyes, you have your orders. Your objective is to stop the Pathfinder fleet by any and all means necessary. Are you up to the challenge?"

She nodded fiercly "I am ,Sir. I won't let you or the people down" She had her contacts out, so her Xiscapian eyes burned bright with passion for all in the room to see.

"Dismissed" Hanlon indicated. Ashe and Cavourna saluted befire turning and departing from the room.

"I hope we haven't made a big mistake, Admiral" Hanlon said, turning to Krystal, "This situation demands ability. And you"

He turned back to Kartosh and Skyler

"As I have said, we could really use your help. But this is not the sort of battle I can force you to join. If you wish to be there, then you will be welcomed. If not, then none of this would have been possible without your help and we have to thank you"

APS Light of Hope

"Well, well, well. You an Admiral. Who'd a thought it?" Cavourna said to Ashe as he walked along the bridge of the Light if Hope. The ship that now flew the flag of the newly Promoted Admiral Reyes.

Ashe was pacing along her bridge, looking over all the equipment and the crew that had assembled for inspection. She was trembling with the nerves of what she was about to do and she was breathing very deeply.

All three were wearing brand new APN uniforms. Ashe was wearing the illustrious uniform of an Alversian Admiral. Cavourna had his traditional Captain's uniform, except with a small symbol to show he was the Flag Captain of the fleet, and Sasha was wearing the uniform of the First Officer, she looked rather good in it.

"Do you feel ready?" Ashe turned to Sasha.
APS Light of Alversia...
Kartosh shrugged. "As I said, if all of you die no one will be left to pay me, and the SASM would catch up with me sooner or later. We'll fight." Skyler beside him nodded, and they both turned to leave. Skyler stopped and turned around to Hanlon. "If I may make a request Admiral," she said softly, walking toward him to whisper in his ear so that none of the others could hear, "There is a Calaveran aboard the Light of Hope by the name of Blackwater. I would appreciate it if he was to remain alive by any means possible during the battle. He is...not actually essential, nor special in any way. But he, as an poet once said "Holds the keys to Sasha's heart." They are lovers, and the effects on Sasha would be vastly negative if he were to die." She lowered herself, having to put herself slightly on tiptoe to level her mouth with the tall Alversian's ear. She gave him a meaningful nod and left with Kartosh. Krystal had been observing them curiously, but had other things to worry about. She strode up to Hanlon. "What do you think of them, Admiral, Ashe, Sasha, Cavourna, Kartosh and Skyler?"
Light of Hope...
Sasha flashed Ashe a weak grin. "As ready as I'll ever be." her green katana hung at her waist, retrived from the SASM Pathfinder during the assault. In the pit of the Halfbreed's stomach she felt cold and hurting. If she helped win this battle, she would be cleared of all charges, and probably Blackwater as well. If they lost...multiple worlds, thousands of ships, and trillions of people would die. No sweat...just keep calm. Right. Only the future of two nations is resting on your shoulders...

APS Light of Alversia

"Thank you" Grand Admiral Hanlon stood up and offered his hand to Kartosh, "We'll need all the help we can get"

He turned to Skyler
"As for the Calaveran, don't worry. He's on the Light of Hope now recieving medical attention. I don't know what part he has to play in this battle but I can assure that he will remain safe"

"Well" The Grand Admiral looked around at the other Admirals, "I think we have dealt with all the main issues. Ladies and Gentlemen. To your ships"

The other Admirals saluted and began to file out of the room to return to their own ships

APS Light of Hope

If Sasha thought she was feeling nervous it was nothing to what was running through Ashe's head. The entire fleet was looking to her for guidance. They would be relying on expertise she didn't even know she had. Over 6 million Alversians were under her direct command.
'Funny how the world works' She thought

Then she stopped smiling as a message fired through from the SASM

ALVO-XISCAPIAN FLEET ASSEMBLED. WEAPONS ARMED

ASSEMBLE PATHFINDERS AT SECTOR GAMMA DELTA 12 90 ALPHA BETA

ORDER CONFIRMED. ORDER IMPLEMENTED

ORDERS OF ALPHA ALPHA ALPHA 0001

ORDER CONFIRMED. ORDER IMPLEMENTED

Ashe turned to one of the bridge crew
"How far away is Sector 230304?"

"About eight lightyears Ma'am" The Ensign replied once she had brought a map up"

"Tell all vessels to set a course for that sector" Ashe ordered, starting to pace up and down her bridge

"Ma'am! Should we really do that? I mean..."

"You heard the Admiral! She gave you an order now obey it!" Cavourna snapped from behind her

"Yes, Captain" The Ensign took a deep breath and broadcast the message throughout the fleet

"Ashe, really, what are you doing?" Cavourna asked her in a hushed voice

"We are going to catch the SASM with their trousers down" Ashe replied with a mischievious grin, "All ships to Battlestations! Red Alert and prepare for action!"

The crew started to bustle about at Ashe's orders.

Ashe smiled, she was enjoying being in command.

"Set course for Sector 230304."
"Yes, Head Admiral."
"The fleet is conforming?"
"They are."
"Good. Jump on my mark."
The Xiscapian fleet, a fleet within the Alversian fleet, turned carefully, wary of not banging into each other or Alversian ships. They pointed in the direction of their destination, the last ship the Carrier Exile thrusting it's bulk, narrowly missing though a series of percise calculations a Alversian Frigate.
"Set coordinates."
Coordinates set."
"Activate hyperdrives."
"Activating."
"3...2...1...MARK!"
"Firing hyperdrive."
The Xiscapin fleet vanished.
OOC: What exactly does Sasha do in her position in the battle? Relay orders from Ashe to the crew?

OOC: She's the Light of Hope's First Officer, she does pretty much relay orders from Ashe to the crew. In the Alversian system, the Flag Captain is the Admiral's link to the rest of the fleet while the First Officer effectively takes command of the ship.

As the ships headed towards Sector 230304, the scanners started to go haywire.

"Officer of the watch!" The Ensign cried out

"What is it?" Ashe turned to the console and starred at it. Cavourna went with her. When he saw the screen he swallowed hard
"How many?" He asked

The Scanning Ensign shook his head slowly
"500...1,500...at least 2,500 Pathfinders" He replied

"That means over 34 million Bioroids. Everything they have" Cavourna stated slowly as the numbers began to sink in.

Ashe swallowed hard as well, "Captain, order the ships into attack positons, shields up, weapons powered. We go in hard and we go in fast"

"Yes, Admiral" Cavourna tipped his hat and turned to relay the orders to the fleet. Then he was interuptted by a loud buzzing.

"Admiral...we're being...hailed" One of the Ensigns frowned.

"What? By who?" Ashe wheeled on the spot to look at the console

"The SASM Fleet. They want to talk"

"What! No, no, no, no, this isn't right. The SASM dissect and destroy. They don't talk" Cavourna was quickly shaking his head.

"Onscreen" Ashe ordered, equally as puzzled as Cavourna

The image of a Bioroid appeared, unlike the others, it appeared to be smiling

"Lieutenant Commander Reyes, or should I say Admiral Reyes. Long time no see" The Bioroid turned to look at Sasha, "I see my latest guinea pig has become a Lieutenant Commander. I didn't know the APN was in the mood of employing genocidal Half-Breeds"

Ashe nearly passed out as she recognised the Bioroid

"Doctor Olsen, you survived"

"Do not use that name! I am Omega One and from now on this sector is SASM"

"Not if I can help it, 'Omega'. You underestimate our fleet"

Then Ashe's head, and Sasha's filled with buzzing and the sound of an echoey mechanical voice

"I DON'T THINK SO.

I CAN SEE YOUR ENTIRE BATTLE PLAN. IT'S LAID OUT LIKE AN ESSAY IN YOUR MIND. DO YOU TWO NOT UNDERSTAND? YOU ARE BIOROIDS. I OWN YOU"

Ashe looked over at Sasha fearfully

"It's not true" She said slowly, "It's not true"

"What are you on about Ashe?" Cavourna looked confused and a little frightened.

Blackwater stood up " I need to get to the Freedom, I am probably the best person to command that ship, is this possible?" he said to the nearest Xscipian.

Blackwater stood up " I need to get to the Freedom, I am probably the best person to command that ship, is this possible?" he said to the nearest Xscipian.

OOC: Xiscapian? The Light of Hope is an Alversian warship

"The Freedom? Sir, there is no ship known as the Freedom. None that I know of anyway" The Alversian medic frowned as they scanned Blackwater for any signs of permenant damage. He seemed fine, but even so, they needed to keep him under survelliance for a while at least.

OOC: Xiscapian? The Light of Hope is an Alversian warship

"The Freedom? Sir, there is no ship known as the Freedom. None that I know of anyway" The Alversian medic frowned as they scanned Blackwater for any signs of permenant damage. He seemed fine, but even so, they needed to keep him under survelliance for a while at least.

Blackwater winced his eyes for a second " Oh your not Xscipian, your Alversian. Well, how did i get here."

"Simple, Sir. You were captured and held on a Pathfinder Battleship for a while. However, a mission to salvage on the ships meant you and Lieutenant Commander Sasha were rescued. Now you are on the Flagship of the Alvo-Xiscapian Fleet, heading into battle with the entire SASM Fleet"

The Medic tried to keep it brief as there were various physical and physological tests being conducted on Blackwater to ensure that he was indeed fine. It had been a traumatic event even though he seemed to have escaped the same problem as Ashe and Sasha.

"Simple, Sir. You were captured and held on a Pathfinder Battleship for a while. However, a mission to salvage on the ships meant you and Lieutenant Commander Sasha were rescued. Now you are on the Flagship of the Alvo-Xiscapian Fleet, heading into battle with the entire SASM Fleet"

The Medic tried to keep it brief as there were various physical and physological tests being conducted on Blackwater to ensure that he was indeed fine. It had been a traumatic event even though he seemed to have escaped the same problem as Ashe and Sasha.

Blackwater's eyes became as wide as dinner plates " My head, the SASM put something in my head!"

Blackwater sat down " Well, maybe I should get back to home, I dont know if im THAT important to this battle."

Blackwater's eyes became as wide as dinner plates " My head, the SASM put something in my head!"

"Indeed, Sir. An MCC. Don't worry though, we have removed it and the wound has healed perfectly. You won't be under their influence anymore, Sir" The Medics went back to scanning the Calaveran. It didn't seem appropiate to tell him he was, in fact, the last of his kind in the known universe.
"Hold still, Sir. I need to check your cerebral cortex to see if there is any recurring damage"

Kane turned around and walked away, in shock as he sat in a corner.

Blackwater sat down " Well, maybe I should get back to home, I dont know if im THAT important to this battle."

"Sir, I'm not sure how to tell you this" The Medics and Marines started to shuffle about awkwardly, "HOME has been destroyed. It was the first target of the SASM, the defending fleet was anniliated and most of the population was dissected. We don't know the fate of any leaders. I am truly sorry" The young Medic finished sincerely. He too had suffered losses in this war.

Blackwater walked over and layed back onto the table, staring at the ceiling.

Kane turned around and walked away, in shock as he sat in a corner.

"Sir? We need to finish the checkup" Two of the Marines walked over to Blackwater in order to convince to return to the medical table
"I understand your losses. I really do. But we need to focus on the present and see you are out of danger" The young Medic was firm but gentle at the same time.

Light of Hope...
Sasha looked as scared as Ashe. Her eyes, human, Alversian gray ones, burned in defiance, however. "They don't own us," she said quietly. "They never owned us." She heard Cavourna, but his voice was muted, soft and indistinct under the voice of the Doctor, or, as he was now known, 'Omega One'. "Our battle plan has been compromised," she said loudly. "We must attack now."

Light of Hope...
Sasha looked as scared as Ashe. Her eyes, human, Alversian gray ones, burned in defiance, however. "They don't own us," she said quietly. "They never owned us." She heard Cavourna, but his voice was muted, soft and indistinct under the voice of the Doctor, or, as he was now known, 'Omega One'. "Our battle plan has been compromised," she said loudly. "We must attack now."

Light of Hope

Ashe looked terrified for a few seconds before nodding and turning to Cavourna
"Order all ships to attack! I want the Crespe to come up..."

"...OUR LEFT FLANK? GOOD STRATEGY, ADMIRAL. I HAVE ALREADY DISPATCHED TWO PATHFINDERS TO COMPENSATE. NOW. WHAT ABOUT THE RIGHT FLANK? OH, THE LIGHT OF ALVERSIA? ANOTHER GOOD CHOICE. PATHFINDERS BEING SENT TO TAKE IT OUT"

Ase breathed deeply in pure, unbridled terror. Omega One was countering her strategies as soon as she thought of them. The result would be chaos, carnage. The Alversians and Xiscapians may have evened the odds but they were still heavily outnumbered and the Pathfinders were no less formidable in terms of firepower.

"DON'T FORGET WHO YOU ARE. YOU ARE BIOROIDS. YOUR PLACE IS HERE. WITH US. WHY RESIST IT? WHY FIGHT THE INEVITABLE?"

"Cavourna...help...he can see into my head" Ashe clutched her head and dropped to her knees "He knows everything"

"What! Ensign! Find a way to scramble that signal! NOW!" He barked. The Ensign flinched and began to type into her console.

Outside, the Alvo-Xiscapian fleet had broken ranks and was heading at full power into the heart of the SASM fleet. It too was breaking up as the Pathfinders rushed to meet their enemies. The result would be an almighty clash in the center of Sector 230304.

Krystal curled her lip in a distincly human gesture as the two fleets clashed together. Whatever was going on in the Light of Hope, it wasn't working. The last thing you do when attacking a force that equals you in firepower and exceeds you in numbers is rush in head-on. It creates the oppertunity for the enemy to close the gap behind you and surround you on all sides. "All ships, you are now under the Command of your respective Admirals. Good luck, and may the Force be with us," she paused just as the two fleets met. "For the people! For the Emperor! And for Xiscapia!" Her voice was echoed thoughout the various ships of the Xiscapian Fleet. She now assumed command of her own fleet. "Battle group, form up. Don't allow multiple Pathfinders to target you at once. Focus your fire on a single ship. The Alversians will take care of the destruction." There was the murmers of affirmatives that her fleet had gotten the message. The Head Admiral finally took command of her own ship, her X.O. already anticipating and shouting out orders: "Gun decks two and three, target the Pathfinder at point 38903, open fire. Reduce engine power to 80%, divert power to the port deflector shield. Gun decks one and four, target the Pathfinder at point 6161816. Fire at will. Top guns, target any visable Pathfinders. Bottom turrets, start preping." This was all said at lightning fast speed to the A.I., who transmitted to the crew. The ship rumbled as the top, starboard, and port guns opened fire.
Light of Hope...
Sasha was no less terrified as Ashe. Her response was not so dramatic, which was to cling to the closest computer terminal for dear life. The voice was mainly focused on Ashe, but at any time it could turn it's terrible will to her.

"Man those Ion Batteries! Pathfinder coming up on our left. PREPARE TO BROADSIDE!!" It was an order Cavourna thought he would never give, broadside weapons having been eliminated from service long before he joined.

Down on the Alversian gundecks, five of them on the Strato-Dreadnought, ion rounds were loaded and weapons laid onto their target. The noise was defeaning as thousands of men called out orders or confirmed them. Piercing alarms rang out every few moments.

"Steady...Steady" Cavourna muttered under is breath, until the Pathfinder was along side and firing it's own weapons at the Light of Hope. The bridge trembled with the impact, "Status!" Cavourna demanded.

"Shields at 80% and holding" was the reply from the Tactical Officer, "Shall I return fire?"

"Not yet!" Cavourna hissed as the big ship droned past slowly, pouring fire into both the Light of Hope on one flank and the Crespe on the other.

"FIRE ALL BATTERIES!!" Cavourna bellowed.

Down on the gundeck, there was silence as the order was relayed into the Commander's comm links, the order was like an echo as each battery recieved it.

"No.1 Battery...Fire!"
"No.3 Battery...Fire!"
"No.5 Battery...Fire!"
"No.7 Battery...Fire!"

All along the deck there was an almighty roar as gun after gun emptied it's load into the flank of the Pathfinder. At first it seemed it's shields would hold. Then small explosions started to rip out from under the silver armour. The Crespe loaded another broadside in from her flank and the Pathfinder turned away, coughing fire from every opening.

"Well done men! Reload!" Cavourna called into his comm link.

Then the Ensign looked up, grinning broadly
"Beam scattered Sir! The SASM link has been temporarily severed"

"Ashe! Ashe! Sasha! Get up! The Fleet needs you!" Cavourna urged the cowering Half-Breeds.

Ashe stood up and dusted herself off.
"Set course 126.3, I want the Crespe on our right flank and the Light of Alversia on our left. Prepare for a bumpy ride" She ordered in a determined voice as another Pathfinder came into view
"Lieutenant Commander Sasha! Prepare to fire!" She ordered.

Light of Hope...
"Prepare to fire!" Sasha shouted into her comm. "Reload, fast, get the guns calibrated again!"
Pride of the Empire...
"Firing..."
"Sensors register a hit. Two, three, eight, ten...Pathfinder down."
The Pathfinder's internal structure collapsed, the ship imploding onto itself in a flash of fire and bright explosions all over the hull. Biodroids were thrown into space to be torn apart by laser fire or drift away into the void. Some of the other ships were beginning to take damage. Krystal's fleet had cut a swath of destruction though the heart of the fleet, with the Hope and it's ships at the port of the fleet. The Xiscapian fleet spead out, giving them the maximum amount of visiblity to locate, target, and fire upon enemy Pathfinders. The Pathfinders were so thick you could shoot anywhere and be sure to hit one, but the Xiscapians were military. They did have some pride, after all. Weapons systems, bridges and engines were targeted, leaving the Pathfinders either defenseless, commandless or immobilized.

"Lieutenant Commander. You may fire when ready" Ashe said in a grim but satisified voice. Then an explosion threw everyone off their feet
"Report!" Ashe demanded
"We've lost the Crespe on our right flank! The Demon Within is coming across to take over" Cavourna reported.

Another Pathfinder in front was engulfed in flames but as soon as it had vanished, another appeared. Four volleys later and the Dreadnought slightly in front and below the Light of Hope seemed to tear itself in half, fire billowing from both ends

"Captain! What was that ship!" Ashe demanded

"The Celeste, Ma'am" Cavourna answered.

"What was that Pathfinder?"

"I think it's...Alpha Alpha Alpha 01. Their flagship" Cavourna swallowed. As did Ashe.

"Right, order the Light of Alversia to spin across her right bow, try to distract her fire. The Demon Within is to go underneath her and try to hit her weakpoints. We'll go over and take out the bridge"

"Yes, Ma'am" Cavourna grinned as the orders were relayed and the two warships on the Light of Hope's flanks split off and headed for their respective positions.

"I'm coming, Omega you bastard. You had better believe I'm coming" Ashe said, a little louder than she would have liked.

Space was filled with nothing but ion rounds, energy beams, buring ships and still active Pathfinders, Deadnoughts and Battleships as far as scanners could see. It was a battle of epic proportions.

Indeed it was. The Xiscapians had lost a few ships by this point, but the safty was in numbers. Specifically, there were more Alversian ships to shoot at than Xiscapian ones. The Carriers all jumped out, their Admirals realising they would be worse than useless. Any small craft sent out would be torn apart by enemy and friendly fire before it could attack anything. Krystal's fleet was taking a hammering, but there was a brilliant explosion and two Pathfinders burst in flames at the same time. "X.O.," Krystal shouted, "what the hell was that?" The X.O. picked himself up off the deck and pointed at the ship now coming across above them. "That's the Korr Battleship, Rage. They've, uh, they've ionized their nukes..." Krystal grinned. "It's brilliant! Of course, Korr Battleships only hold, what, two nuclear warheads? But it works." There was the firce roaring of loyal Korr soldiers and sailors over the comms as they celebrated their victory.

Suddenly the Pride of the Empire lurched, throwing the bridge crew off their feet. The port and top deflector shields took a beating, the port because of vicious SASM fire and the top because the Rage had just been split into two by SASM fire. Four Pathfinders ganged up on the Pride, focusing their attention on it. Which is why they didn't notice the white sphere behind them until it was too late. The Observer Freedom fired it's Superlaser, utterly destroying one Pathfinder and damaging the other three. As one of the SASM ships turned to face the Observer it was struck by fire from a nearby Alversian Dreadnought. An Xiscapian Cruiser swooped in and finished off the stricken ship, blowing it apart in a firey explosion and further damaging the other two Pathfinders. The Pride of the Empire and her fleet fired on the remaining Pathfinders, eventually destroying them. Elsewhere, however, the battle was more of a struggle. A Xiscapian Destroyer was cut off from it's fleet and pummeled repetedly by two Pathfinders, blowing it up before the Destroyer could do much more than weaken their shields. It was avenged, however, when what seemed to be an asteroid moving under it's own power literally rammed straight though both ships, casting their debries thoughout the chaotic battle. The asteroid was the Pebble, and it's Captain was having a lot of fun with it. Standing alone, surronded by no less than eight Pathfinders, was the Jade. She fired her Superlaser, catching one by surprise and destroying it. The others fired, but the enormous Superdestroyer simply absorbed the fire and dished it back out in the form of energy blasts, ion cannons, MAC rounds and missiles. The battle was actually more of a draw. The Pathfinders could not penetrate the strong shields and thick armor of the Jade, but the Jade was having a hard time destroying the Pathfinders without her Superlaser, which took a full five minutes to cool down and another five to charge before it could be fired again. The battle was going fairly well, as long as the Allied ships did not allow themselves to become isolated and destroyed, and kept up heavy fire on the SASM.
OOC: Boarding parties? And how about RPing the SASM a little?

bump-

OOC: Fine, but SASM Communicate via telepathic-like links

The Light of Hope fired another volley from her recently installed ion broadside cannon into AAA01, however, this one seemed to be heavily shielded against ALL weapons, including ion cannon. It also appeared to have much larger and heavy batteries of weapons than the standard Pathfinders. It was a SuperPathfinder.

There was a flash and a tremble on the bridge of the flagship as another ship was ripped to pieces by AAA01.
"What ship was that?" Ashe demanded from her bridge#

Cavourna waited until he had recieved the answer from an Ensign before responding "The Demon Within, Ma'am"

Ashe sighed and turned back to the battle in hand
"Where's the 6th Dreadnought Squadron?" She demanded
"About three thousand miles from our position, Ma'am"

"Tell them to come in hot on a bearing of .23 Starboard!"

"Aye, Ma'am!" Cavourna turned to relay her orders as another explosion threw the entire bridge crew through the air.

"Report!" Ashe called as she struggled to her feet

"Ma'am! SASM Boarding Parties on Decks 21 through 32!" One of the Ensigns called panicing

"Lieutenant Commander Sasha! Take command of the defences from the frontline! Report to me every fifteen minutes if possible!"
Sasha saluted and led a dozen Marines from the bridge to join the battle

Deck 28, APS Light of Hope

"Marines! Volley! Fi..." The Marine Sergeant was cut down as he tried to give the command to fire, but his terrified Marines didn't need more than a hint. One burst of fire and several dozen Bioroids twisted and collapsed without a whisper. The Marines and Crewmen on the other hand were screaming as they were hit by the fire from the Bioroids lasers.

Turrets were appearing out of the ground and the ceiling, pounding the Bioroids with powerful blasters, taking out several as they fought. The Alversians gave ground slowly, throwing EMP grenades as they withdrew. The screams of the Alversians, the noises of blasters and greandes coupled with the Bioroid cries of "ANNILIATE!" filled the corridors of the Strato-Dreadnought.

Space

More Alversian warships burst into flames and disintergrated in a variety of ways as they were overcome by SASM fire. However, there were notably more burning Pathfinder wrecks than there were Alvo-Xiscapian.

In one part of the battle, a Pathfinder was engulfed in fire as it sucumbed to the combined broadsides of two Dreadnoughts, one on either side. Elsewhere, a Destroyer was struggling against a looming Pathfinder closing in for the kill.

However, the Pathfinder did not notice the pair of cruisers that darted up behind her. One by one, they raked her engines with vicious broadsides before heading off to find another target. The Pathfinder seemed to sink slowly as flames and explosions worked their way up the hull. The crippled Destroyer limped off to find a safer part of the warzone to recover.

Around all this carnage there was one Pathfinder droning on looking for a target, then it found one. The communications of the Pathfinder was interrupted by frequent updates of the battle

~TARGET IDENTIFIED AT .93 TERRAHUTZ

~SET COURSE TO INTERCEPT

~PATHFINDER ALPHA BETA BETA 12193 HAS BEEN DESTROYED

~ORDER CONFIRMED. COMMAND IMPLEMENTED

~VESSEL IDENTIFIED AS APAS STAR SNAKE

~PREPARE FOR ANNILIATION

~ORDER CONFIRMED. ORDER IMPLEMENTED

OOC: Ever heard of a band called Children of Bodem?
IC:
Light of Hope, Deck 28...
As the Alversian Dreadnought trembled and shook under more enemy fire, Sasha led her small task force of Marines to the breached airlock. The Alversians were slowly being forced back, taking down at least two Biodroids for every Alversian dead, but it didn't seem to matter. The Biodroids kep coming. The hall Sasha's troops were coming down exited midway into the battle, between Biodroid and Alversian fire. Smoke from destroyed turrets, Biodroids and computer terminals filled the hall, and the explosions, fire, screams of the wounded and dying echoed though the hall, mixing with the eerie sound of Biodroid orders. Half a dozen shapes appeared at the mouth of the hall, looking like walking skeletons with red eyes. Sasha leveled her rifle. "Squad! Fire at will!"
APS Star Snake...
Pathfinder beams laced past the ship as yet another huge Pathfinder fell prey to the Star Snake's powerful weaponry. Skyler shouted from the back turret. "Pathfinder! Bearing down on our six!" Kartosh twisted the controls around...to head directly for the Pathfinder. "ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!" screamed Skyler. "YAAHOOO!" yelled Kartosh in answer, grinning from ears to ears. He flicked a switch, tapped some keys, and pressed a button, and the Star Snake accelerated abruptly, firing a ionized proton torpedo directly at the opposing Pathfinder's bridge.

Blackwater got up " I need to go to the armory, are we done her?" he said as he turned to the medic.

OOC: Never in my Life, BTW TG

Light of Hope

"Admiral!" It was Cavourna who spoke up, "We can't defeat them in battle like this! They outnumber us too much"

Ashe nodded in agreement as her flagship and the SASM Pathfinder traded broadsides,
"Tell, Sasha to get back up here, We need to launch a little raid of our own!"

"What? Ashe what are you planning?" Cavourna looked worried

"If that is the SASM flagship, it might hold their central processor and server. If we can destroy it now, it may end this battle right here, right now"

"What! Ashe, that is suicide! You can't possibly expect to get in and complete that mission with just two people" Cavourna countered

"I know, that is why I'm going to contact a few old friends" Ashe grinned and turned to her comm device.

Deck 28, APS Light of Hope

incredibly, the amount of Bioroids filling the corridors seemed to be decreasing as the Alversian Marines poured a never ending sea of fire into the tiny corridors. The area was saturated with EMP grenades and rapid fire from various turrets as well. It seemed, for once, the bioroids were being forced back.

Space

The Pathfinder, erupted into flames as it's bridge was hit. The explosion triggered a chain reaction that saw the entire warship erupt into pieces.

Then the message from Ashe came through

TO: APAS Star Snake

Request immediate assistance at bearings .148 Starboard. Need support for
boarding of Pathfinder Alpha Alpha Alpha 01, the SASM Flagship. Report
when ready

Admiral Ashley Reyes
APS Light of Hope

OOC: The Star Snake doesn't have the prefix APS, that stands for Alversian People's Ship. It has the prefix APAS, which stands for Alversian People's Auxiliary Ship

Blackwater got up " I need to go to the armory, are we done her?" he said as he turned to the medic.

The Medic smiled as the ship shuddered again and a long line of Marines ran through the centre of the Medical Bay to join the battle, shouting commands at each other and leaving a dull thudding noise as they ran down the corridor

"Yes, Sir. Fit and ready to report for duty" He saluted "Good luck"

Blackwater ran down the hallway and into the armory, he heard the sounds of battle. The armory was still in good shape, he grabbed a blaster and a new armor suit, his was taken it seemed.

OOC: Never in my Life, BTW TG

Light of Hope

"Admiral!" It was Cavourna who spoke up, "We can't defeat them in battle like this! They outnumber us too much"

Ashe nodded in agreement as her flagship and the SASM Pathfinder traded broadsides,
"Tell, Sasha to get back up here, We need to launch a little raid of our own!"

"What? Ashe what are you planning?" Cavourna looked worried

"If that is the SASM flagship, it might hold their central processor and server. If we can destroy it now, it may end this battle right here, right now"

"What! Ashe, that is suicide! You can't possibly expect to get in and complete that mission with just two people" Cavourna countered

"I know, that is why I'm going to contact a few old friends" Ashe grinned and turned to her comm device.

Deck 28, APS Light of Hope

incredibly, the amount of Bioroids filling the corridors seemed to be decreasing as the Alversian Marines poured a never ending sea of fire into the tiny corridors. The area was saturated with EMP grenades and rapid fire from various turrets as well. It seemed, for once, the bioroids were being forced back.

Space

The Pathfinder, erupted into flames as it's bridge was hit. The explosion triggered a chain reaction that saw the entire warship erupt into pieces.

Then the message from Ashe came through

TO: APAS Star Snake

Request immediate assistance at bearings .148 Starboard. Need support for
boarding of Pathfinder Alpha Alpha Alpha 01, the SASM Flagship. Report
when ready

Admiral Ashley Reyes
APS Light of Hope

OOC: The Star Snake doesn't have the prefix APS, that stands for Alversian People's Ship. It has the prefix APAS, which stands for Alversian People's Auxiliary Ship
Light of Hope, Deck 28...
The Biodroids were falling back under the vicious fire from the Marines and turrets. Biodroid after Biodroid exploded or fell as blaster shots impacted and tore them apart. Sasha was right in the thick of it, exacting her vengence on the shock troops of the SASM. Her comm in her helmet dinged. "You are needed on the bridge." "Roger that, I'm coming ASAP." Sasha said into it. She drilled a last shot into the head of a retreating Biodroid and turned back down the corridor. "Keep up the good work." she clapped several of the Marines and crew on the back as she headed for the bridge.
APAS Star Snake...
OOC: Thanks for clearing that up.
IC:
Kartosh groaned as he read the message, one eye on flying. "Didn't we just do this?" Skyler looked over his shoulder. "Damn." she muttered.
TO: APS Light of Hope:
How much will you pay us?
They may be mercenaries with hearts of gold. Well, not exactly. Hearts of bronze is more like it. But they would rescue downed troops and the like. However, they were chiefly Mercenaries and Smugglers. They had some pride.

Blackwater entered the bridge to see Sasha, he ran up to her and gave a large hug and kiss.

Bridge, APS Light of Hope

Ashe waited until Sasha was back on the bridge before she began discussing her rather ambitious plan.

"Right, first thing's first. That is the most important Pathfinder out of the full 2,500 that are here. It seems that Dr Olsen, aka Omega One, has set himself up as the commander of the SASM. Because of that, we can assume that he is the lynchpin of this entire operation. Knock out his ship and we stand a chance of defeating the entire fleet. Secondly, we have discovered that our transporters have the ability to pierce their shields. That means we can beam over to their ship and plant an EMP bomb in the Server. It should be enough to defeat the SASM. What do you think?" She asked nervously

"What do I think? I think you left a bit of your brain behind on that Pathfinder" Cavourna replied gruffly, "What you're proposing is suicide. Complete and utter suicide. I can't let you do that"

"As I remember, Captain, I outrank you and I am telling you that I am going on this mission. If this fails, then those voices will never stop...for either of us. We need to do this"

Cavourna threw his hands up in the air
"Fine! If this is how you want it to end then so be it. I'll command the fleet in your absence. Good luck"

Meanwhile a message was sent back to the APAS Star Snake

TO: APAS Star Snake
200,000 upon accepting the mission, 800,000 upon completion

Deck 28, APS Light of Hope

The Marines and Crew, encouraged by Sasha and the retreat of the Bioroids, began to press forward, shouting victoriously and bellowing challenges to the emotionless drones at the end of the hall. However, a loud buzzing indicated more reinforcements for the SASM. The battle evened out again as the Alversians were driven to a halt.

Blackwater got up " I need to go to the armory, are we done her?" he said as he turned to the medic.

OOC: I thought he's taken a gun and gone to Deck 28?

OOC: I thought he's taken a gun and gone to Deck 28?

no, i never said that.

no, i never said that.

OOC: You didn't say anything, that was the problem. How am I supposed to know where he's going? I was planning on having Blackwater taking command of the Marines fighting the boarding parties. But that's been kicked in the teeth now, hasn't it?

Bridge, APS Light of Hope

Ashe waited until Sasha was back on the bridge before she began discussing her rather ambitious plan.

"Right, first thing's first. That is the most important Pathfinder out of the full 2,500 that are here. It seems that Dr Olsen, aka Omega One, has set himself up as the commander of the SASM. Because of that, we can assume that he is the lynchpin of this entire operation. Knock out his ship and we stand a chance of defeating the entire fleet. Secondly, we have discovered that our transporters have the ability to pierce their shields. That means we can beam over to their ship and plant an EMP bomb in the Server. It should be enough to defeat the SASM. What do you think?" She asked nervously

"What do I think? I think you left a bit of your brain behind on that Pathfinder" Cavourna replied gruffly, "What you're proposing is suicide. Complete and utter suicide. I can't let you do that"

"As I remember, Captain, I outrank you and I am telling you that I am going on this mission. If this fails, then those voices will never stop...for either of us. We need to do this"

Cavourna threw his hands up in the air
"Fine! If this is how you want it to end then so be it. I'll command the fleet in your absence. Good luck"

Meanwhile a message was sent back to the APAS Star Snake

TO: APAS Star Snake
200,000 upon accepting the mission, 800,000 upon completion

Deck 28, APS Light of Hope

The Marines and Crew, encouraged by Sasha and the retreat of the Bioroids, began to press forward, shouting victoriously and bellowing challenges to the emotionless drones at the end of the hall. However, a loud buzzing indicated more reinforcements for the SASM. The battle evened out again as the Alversians were driven to a halt.
Light of Hope, Bridge...
"Quite frankly, if we succeed the voices stop, because we've destroyed them. If we fail, the voices will stop because we're dead-" She was practically tackled by Blackwater from behind. After pulling herself out of his embrace she looked embaressed. "It will work, Captain," she informed Cavourna, "because they will not be expecting such. A huge boarding party, yes, but not only two soldiers. And not us, certainly."
APAS Star Snake...
TO: APS Light of Hope
Done. We'll be there.
The Star Snake wheeled around from the destroyed Pathfinder and shot to the SASM Flagship, skirting it to come near the APS Light of Hope. Kartosh set the ship on intelligent autopilot (i.e., shoot anything that comes near, avoid enemy shots) and prepared his probably stolen beaming transporter. Both he and Skyler had once again loaded themselves down with weapons. "If we live though this, we'll be rich and famous." said Kartosh. "If we don't live though this," said Skyler dryly, "we'll be dead and famous." Kartosh laughed and sent another message.
TO: APS Light of Hope
Ready when you are.

OOC: You didn't say anything, that was the problem. How am I supposed to know where he's going? I was planning on having Blackwater taking command of the Marines fighting the boarding parties. But that's been kicked in the teeth now, hasn't it?

OCC:not really, he can get down there

TO: APAS Star Snake

Ready. Go now, See you there

A buzzing later and the two half-Breeds were onboard the Pathfinder, each was armed with a type of EMP shotgun, designed specifically for fighting the Bioroids. Surprisingly, it seemed the Server was unable to detect the partially dissected Half-Breeds onboard their own ship. Not that bothered them much. It allowed them to move about without detection for a while anyway.

When they were safely onboard, Ashe sent a message to the Star Snake

We're on Deck Gamma, Section 23. We await you'r arrival

But, as they remained there, a faint, echoey whispering could be heard

"ASHE...ASHE......ASHE..."

"SASHA...SASHA......SASHA..."


APS Light of Hope

Cavourna sighed and turned to Blackwater
"How do you feel about repelling a bunch of Bioroids from 28 decks below?" He asked as his bridge shuddered again

TO: APAS Star Snake

Ready. Go now, See you there

A buzzing later and the two half-Breeds were onboard the Pathfinder, each was armed with a type of EMP shotgun, designed specifically for fighting the Bioroids. Surprisingly, it seemed the Server was unable to detect the partially dissected Half-Breeds onboard their own ship. Not that bothered them much. It allowed them to move about without detection for a while anyway.

When they were safely onboard, Ashe sent a message to the Star Snake

We're on Deck Gamma, Section 23. We await you'r arrival

But, as they remained there, a faint, echoey whispering could be heard

"ASHE...ASHE......ASHE..."

"SASHA...SASHA......SASHA..."


APS Light of Hope

Cavourna sighed and turned to Blackwater
"How do you feel about repelling a bunch of Bioroids from 28 decks below?" He asked as his bridge shuddered again
Pathfinder Flagship...
Sasha winced as she heard the voices. "They know we're here." she whispered, terrified.
Pathfinder Flagship, Section 23, Deck Gamma...
Two Biodroids stood guard at the end of the corridor, not far from Ashe and Sasha, but not aware of them either. There was a flash of light above their heads. The first Biodroid looked up. "ANNILATE-" Kartosh landed on top of it, his blade sticking out between it's eyes as it crumpled to the floor. Skyler landed rather more gracefully behind the second one and blew it in half with a super powered, heavy duty shotgun. "I told you we should have sprung for a new beamer." she muttered, dusting herself off. Kartosh climbed off the fallen Biodroids, bruises forming from his rough landing. "You know how expensive those things are. Besides, it got us here, didn't it?" Skyler looked around. "This could be another ship entirely. Even if we are on the right ship, we could be anywhere on it."
OOC: Gotta go.

TO: APAS Star Snake

Ready. Go now, See you there

A buzzing later and the two half-Breeds were onboard the Pathfinder, each was armed with a type of EMP shotgun, designed specifically for fighting the Bioroids. Surprisingly, it seemed the Server was unable to detect the partially dissected Half-Breeds onboard their own ship. Not that bothered them much. It allowed them to move about without detection for a while anyway.

When they were safely onboard, Ashe sent a message to the Star Snake

We're on Deck Gamma, Section 23. We await you'r arrival

But, as they remained there, a faint, echoey whispering could be heard

"ASHE...ASHE......ASHE..."

"SASHA...SASHA......SASHA..."


APS Light of Hope

Cavourna sighed and turned to Blackwater
"How do you feel about repelling a bunch of Bioroids from 28 decks below?" He asked as his bridge shuddered again

Blackwater grinned " Of course" he said as he ran out of the bridge towards deck 28, his blaster strapped to his chest.

"No, we haven't much time. Let's go" Ashe nodded in greeting to Kartosh and Skyler, "Glad you could join us. The Server is down he..."

A voice interupted her thoughts and her speech (OOC: Assume Sasha can hear this as well)

"MUCH TIME? YOU HAVE NO TIME AT ALL LASSES. I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE UP TO. ALL OF YOU. DO YOU NOT REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE? YOU ARE MINE"

"No, We're not" Ashe replied fearfully, but nothing to what she heard next

'Why not?' It was her own mind replying 'Why do you not want to be a Bioroid?'

'They're animals, they kill and destroy and dissect. They're monsters!'

'The Alversians have killed, the Xiscapians have destroyed and the Calaverans dissected. You don't think of them as monsters?

'No...that's different, they're trying to protect freedom'

'And what? How many free people's have fallen to the Society? To other, less desirable Empires?'

'Thousands...but that doesn't matter. As free people they have a choice...'

'To what? Live or die? Why would any race want that choice? As part of the Society they are strong'

'They are conquered!'

'You think? How many Bioroid uprisings have there been? How many SAMS Civil Wars? None. Why? The SASM is a perfect state. Classless, without peers and without fear. Why wouldn't you want to be a part of such a collective? A place where you would be accepted

'I...I don't know'

Ashe had remained stationary while this internal battle raged. So had Sasha. Unfortunately, Ashe had suffered more of the process than Sasha and she was more vulnerable to the manipulative voice in her head. The one telling her the SASM were the logical choice.

Deck 28, APS Light of Hope

The Alversian Marines continued to fight viciously as they defended every inch of their ship. The Bioroids were marching in ranks, and perfect step. Each volley brought down several more Bioroids, leaving gaps in the neverending column of SASM infantry

Skyler and Kartosh glanced at each other as Ashe continued her monologue, seemingly speaking to someone, but there was only empty air in front of her. Sasha had a better idea of what was going on, but she was helpless to do anything about it. Or was she? She spoke "at" the voice, the terrible voice that made her cower in fear every time she heard it.
"It's called individuality. Maybe you've heard of it. What you have created is not a perfect government, it is a totalistic society. You exist only to gather information, and to kill anyone you come across. For what cause? Free, true people live to love, to experience, to have hopes and joys and laughter. You? You are nothing. You live only to fulfill what you are told to to. You have no purpose."

Skyler and Kartosh glanced at each other as Ashe continued her monologue, seemingly speaking to someone, but there was only empty air in front of her. Sasha had a better idea of what was going on, but she was helpless to do anything about it. Or was she? She spoke "at" the voice, the terrible voice that made her cower in fear every time she heard it.
"It's called individuality. Maybe you've heard of it. What you have created is not a perfect government, it is a totalistic society. You exist only to gather information, and to kill anyone you come across. For what cause? Free, true people live to love, to experience, to have hopes and joys and laughter. You? You are nothing. You live only to fulfill what you are told to to. You have no purpose."

'No purpose? Us? What about you? You are not Alversian and have no freedom in your blood, but you are not Xiscapian and have no honour. We've seen into your memories'

Images of Sasha's massacre on the colony came flooding back, the screams, the roars and cries for help.

'If we were there, they would all be alive now, adding to our knowledge and perfection. We can give a civilisation in months what would take millenia to accomplish'

'You kill them. You dissect and kill them. They cease to be free as soon as that happens'

'Freedom is so overrated. It leds to war, famine, guilt, crime and degradation of a species. Within our Society, you are at peace. And you said all we do is take orders? Where are you now? Who put you in that uniform. Who ordered you come to this ship?If I remember correctly, it certainly wasn't you'

"I was put here of my own will. I came because I wanted to. I could have refused. With the Biodroids, you cannot refuse. There is no choice, only orders and carrying out the orders. Civilization is all those things you mentioned. It is also, however, about love and peace, hope and joy. Pleasure and Pain, Light and Dark, Good and Evil all co-exist together. Your 'perfect society' has no good, and, within itself, no evil. Exterior of it, much evil is done. But there is no good anywhere with you. My crimes, as they are, are my shame. I did the kind of thing you, and your kind do, and that makes me sick. I, unlike you, am sentiant enough to repent as best I can for my tresspasses. As to my mixed parentage, as you so foolish as to not have closly studied those you have captured? Alversians are known for their love of freedom. Xiscapians have loyalty to honor. It also works the other way. Alversians have honor, Xiscapians love freedom. I am both. Who says I cannot do both?"

'You can try and kid yourself all you want, but deep down, you know where you belong'

"Sasha's right, we're not Bioroids"

'Oh but you are. The process has already begun, soon you will march amongst our ranks as one of us. You will have achieved perfection. Instead, you chose to remain in that pathetic rotten carcess? Ashley knows what we're talking about don't you?'

"Y-yes" Ashe was more vulnerable than Sasha to the persuasions of her own mind and it was a battle she was starting to lose, she shook her head quickly
"Get to the Server! It should be in the centre of the ship, once you've found it, detonate an EMP bomb right next to it. That should be enough to permenantly disable it..."

Ashe started to groan in pain as the dissected part of her mind started to reach out,

"Then...g-get to the sh-sh-shield generator. Blow another b-b-b-bomb next to it and that ensure it's de-de-destruc..."

However, at this point, she screamed in pain and dropped to her knees, writhing about on the floor. Then, as quickly as it had come, Ashe stopped moving and stood up. Instead of her fiery fox-like eyes, there were only silver, souless pupils

"You will be anniliated" She said in her own voice "Alert! Alert! Hostile Variables in Section 23, Deck Gamma! All Bioroids to threat, repeat all Bioroids to threat"

An alarm rang out as the trespassers were finally detected, Sasha and all. Bioroids from all over the ship turned and started to move down towards the deck.

Ashe seemed to regain her composure for a few seconds and looked at the others with a terrified glance

"Run! Damn it run!" then she coughed up blood and the bioroid in her was back "You will be anniliated!"

There was no time for questions or hesitations. Kartosh and Skyler took off down the hall, running as fast as they could. They has no maps to guide them, but they progressivly moved deeper into the ship. Kartosh's EMP gun was out and ready, as well as Skyler's destructive shotgun. Sasha stood with Ashe, EMP gun strapped to her back, half croutched in a defensive posture. She circled the poor Halfbreed, watching her switch from Ashe to Biodroid and back again. She would stumble backwards and lurch forwards as the Biodroid orders conflicted with the human part of her brain. Sasha wasn't sure wether she should try and take Ashe out or run or try and hold off the Biodroids. What she didn't know was that Ashe was an expert in unarmed combat, having inherited some agility and percision from the Xiscapian part of her, while the Alversian part gave her light weight, height and strength. This made her a doubly dangerious opponet, with all the skills of a Xiscapian and an Alversian, and military grade training to boot. She had once, briefly, fought Skyler to a stop in a sword duel with Kartosh firing on her. Sasha was simular, but in her the genes jammed and curropted. She was too light weight, meaning she could be easily picked up or thrown during a fight, and she wasn't nearly as fast as a Xiscapian, lagging behind her peers often. The relative weakness of an Xiscapian in comparison to an Alversian meshed together to form nothing useful, only a inherited light weight and loss of speed from her Alversian father and a physical weakness from her Xiscapian mother. In short, the odds were stacked against her should in come down to a one-on-one hand-to-hand fight.

Bioroids began to amass in the corridors leading to the centre of the ship. By now, the Server had realised that something was seriously wrong and had diverted virtually every Bioroid not on the Light of Hope or piloting the warship to the centre of the vessel. Depending on where they were on the ship, it would take time for the entire force of AAA01's crew to assemble.

Section 23, Deck Gamma

Ashe was starting to tear herself apart as the two part of her fought for control. She couldn't stay the same for more than a few seconds at a time. Every few seconds, she would convulse violently as muscles recieved conflicting orders with moments of each other. It was obvious she was in pain, if not by the screaming then by the obvious damage she was inflicting on herself. It was obvious that if the Bioroid part of her took control then Sasha was dead.

"S-Sasha?" It seemed Ashe had regained control of herself, for the moment anyway, "Wh-Why are you here? Why are you staying with me?"

She sounded timid, frightened. All the presence she had built up as an Admiral had gone competely, she was more like a frightened child.

"I-I can't control it...him. He knows everything about me" She whispered

Skyler and Kartosh edged along a wall as three Biodroids trooped past. Once they were out of sight the two Xiscapians ran for it, thought some blast doors, up a ramp and into a control room. Beyond the control room was a heavily guarded set of black blast doors. Some two dozen Biodroids were already assembled, and every few seconds another one would join, swelling the ranks. Skyler took out and assembled a portable grenade laucher, while Kartosh hefted his EMP cannon. He smashed the glass window, drawing the attention of the Biodroids. Then there was an deafening explosion and Biodroid parts went everywhere. Kartosh fired though the smoke to knock out any still active Biodroids.
Section 23, Deck Gamma...
"I have to make sure you don't kill yourself, or get killed by Biodroids, or come after Kartosh and Skyler and try and stop them." Sasha replied. She didn't know what else to say. Ashe didn't seemed to be a threat...now. But if the Biodroid took control, Sasha, perhaps Kartosh and Skyler, maybe the entire fleet, and then entire worlds and people were doomed. No pressure...

The Bioroids turned to engage the two Xiscapians, true there were dozens of Bioroids laying wrecked in the room but more were joining and these ones were heavily armed, it was like a neverending stream of Bioroids entering the room via the eight connecting doors
"ANNILIATE!" Each one of the Bioroids cried in unison.

Section 23, Deck Gamma

Ashe gave a small smile, replaced almost instantly by a flash of pain and a small dispairing cry
"I-I can't control it. The voices, millions of voices talking as one. Every single one with a different phrase or statement in a different way" She looked around timidly, "He's trying to get control. Olsen, he knows I'm here"

Then she threw herself backwards against the wall, screaming and writhing in pain
"Voices! Too many voices! No! Sasha! He-help me!" She twisted to the ground, convulsing violently and in unbearable pain. Pain that Sasha was faintly aware of due to their Bioroid connection although it would be nothing to what Ashe was feeling.

bump

The Bioroids turned to engage the two Xiscapians, true there were dozens of Bioroids laying wrecked in the room but more were joining and these ones were heavily armed, it was like a neverending stream of Bioroids entering the room via the eight connecting doors
"ANNILIATE!" Each one of the Bioroids cried in unison.

Section 23, Deck Gamma

Ashe gave a small smile, replaced almost instantly by a flash of pain and a small dispairing cry
"I-I can't control it. The voices, millions of voices talking as one. Every single one with a different phrase or statement in a different way" She looked around timidly, "He's trying to get control. Olsen, he knows I'm here"

Then she threw herself backwards against the wall, screaming and writhing in pain
"Voices! Too many voices! No! Sasha! He-help me!" She twisted to the ground, convulsing violently and in unbearable pain. Pain that Sasha was faintly aware of due to their Bioroid connection although it would be nothing to what Ashe was feeling.
"Fuck," said Kartosh as he fired repeatedly into the mass of Biodroids, "we're cornered." Skyler only grunted as she loaded another grenade and fired it off, the explosive smashing Biodroids apart in a firey explosion. But for every Biodroid that fell from explosion or EMP, another took it's place. They shouted together in their sinister robotic voices: "ANNILIATE!" "Go fuck yourselves!" screamed Kartosh, his EMP shot hitting a Biodroid in the face and causing it to fall to the floor and trip up the one behind it, creating a small pile-up.
Section 23, Gamma Deck...
Sasha grimaced, her pain was a mere aching annoyance. "What can I do?" she cried, helpless to help her friend. She grabbed Ashe and tried to hold her still, to stop her from spazziming any more so as not to injure herself.
Space...
There was a great blue-white flash of light as the Ion cannon fired, smashing into the opposing Pathfinder. An explosion errupted from the armored hull, but it wasn't enough. A Carrier had been isolated from it's squadren, and ganged up on by three Pathfinders. With only AS guns and Ion cannons to defend itself, the Carrier could do only minimal damage to the SASM ships. Between it and it's escort was another four Pathfinders. The two Cruisers and Battleship fought valiently to save it, but ultimitly they could not get though in time. The Carrier's shields failed, huge chunks of armor being blown off. On the bridge dozens of alarms and klaxons were going off. The Captain and the Bridge Officers stood helpless as the ship fell apart around them. The ship rocked as it's starboard engines vaporized, gutting the back on the ship. Fighters, LAM, HAM, shuttles, drop ships, patrols and corvettes fled the dying ship, to take their chances amoung the Capital ship battle. The Carrier's port engines fired weakly, and the ship was sent into a death spiral, twisting and rolling it's massive bulk in the void. A Pathfinder got too close, excited and moving in for the kill. It turned slowly to try and manuver away from the hulking wall of scortched metal coming to crush it. The Captain stared out the windows. "If anyone has anything they think will help..." he said finally. There was silence. His Bridge Crew either stared out the windows or at him or at each other. Space...Pathfinder...space...ships, laser fire...space...Pathfinder...ships...Pathfinder so close now. The Captain nodded his head sadly. "It's been an honor serving with you, ladies and gentlemen." Then the ship curved towards the Pathfinder...and the Pathfinder moved out of the way, so fast for a ship of it's size. The Captain stared at the engines of the great SASM ship, horrified and furious that his crippled ship had not been able to settle justice with the enemy. "Son of a-" The Pathfinder's guns fired and the Carrier was obliterated in gigantic explosion which barely harmed the Pathfinder. It now turned it's attention to hunting the fighters and other small craft that had fled the Carrier. It's guns fired, and three fighters were hit. Two were destroyed in firey explosions, but one was hit in the starboard engine. The pilot, Cild, grimaced as he tried to remotely repair the engine while avoiding more fire. There was a rumble and the ship tore from his carefully manuvered grasp into an uncontrolled spin. He grapped the controls, but they shook too hard, the fighter loosing all functions. The ship fired forward at terrifying speeds, breaking the sound barrier quickly, if there had been any sound in space. He was headed directly for the Pathfinder that had destroyed his Carrier. "AAAAGGGRGHH!"
Pathfinder...
ENEMY FIGHTER APPROACHING BRIDGE FROM POINT 09284
SHIELDS STRENGTHENED TO 8%
NEGATIVE, FIGHTER BYPASSED SHIELDS
FORWARD FIREPOWER INTENSIFIED
COLLUSION IMMINENT

More Bioroids were blown into the air but more were arriving. Due to a rich harvest at the colonies, the vessel had a total Bioroid complement of over 30,000. They continued to press forward.

Deck Gamma, Section 23

Ashe was still struggling against the inner Bioroid. Winning one moment, then losing the next. It was her close proximity to the Server itself, the heart of the Bioroid Armies. The closer she got to it, the more danger it would be to her. For now it seemed that Ashe was in control.

"Y-you can help me" She gasped between deep breaths "By g-getting as far a-a-away from me as you ca..."

Then her pupils dileted into a familiar grey tone and all pain in her voice was gone
"You will be anniliated!" She shouted as she threw Sasha into the corridor wall.

APS Light of Hope

"FIRE! Concentrate on non-essential systems!" Cavourna cried as a console exploded on the bridge, a damage control team was there in moments though and the damage was quickly contained.

"Sir, We should target their main systems! Try to destory them!" An Ensign suggested

"Not while our people are aboard! Once their back, I'll blow the thing into another dimension!" Cavourna promised as the Strato-Dreadnought rocked again.

"Sir, we may not hold up that long" The Ensign stated as he typed into the contro panel in front of him, "Rotating Shields down to 50%"

"Evasive manourvers!" Cavourna ordered "Tell the Light of Alversia to cut across our stern and provide covering fire"

"Yes, Sir"


Space

APS Cretan

"Steady...steady" The Captain said underneath his breath as a Pathfinder appeared directly in front his Dreadnought. The space surrounding his own was filled with the burning debris of Alversian warships, of Pathfinders and of laser fire.

"Too late!" His First Officer cried as the Pathfinder began to fire it's beam cannons

"Fi..." The Captain shouted as his bridge erupted into flames around him. The bow of APS Cretan seemed to disintergrate in space in a mass of fire and debris, however as it twisted away to burn, it brought the broadsides into view of the Pathfinder.

"Fire!" An Officer shouted as explosions started to rip through the deck. The guns fired in volley, only just keeping ahead of the explosions that threw men and guns around like ragdolls. However, they were hitting their target and after a few moments it too was engulfed in a ball of fire. There was no one left to cheer aboard the Cretan as it's entire gundeck blew out, leaving a hollow shell in the middle of space.

APS Dimencus

"Fire!" The First Officer shouted desperately.

The ship shuddered as the broadside guns fired into the hull of the passing Pathfinder, they were joined by two other Cruisers of their squadron and soon the entire Pathfinder seemed to be in flames.

"How's the Captain?" The young Girl asked

"He's dead! You're in command now!" Was the reply from the Ship's CMO

"Right, I want the Desecretion on our left and the Dilutation on our right! We're going to broadside these Fuckers like never before!"

The crew cheered in delight as they pressed forward through the wreckage to engage another Pathfinder, this one saw them coming and began to fire its own weapons in their direction.

An explosion rocked the ship, "Ma'am! We've lost the Desecretion!"

Another explosion, this time the bow of an Alversian D-Class Cruiser loomed into view with the word Dilutation written across her bows.

The newly-promoted Captain swallowed hard and stared straight ahead, then an explosion tore from her thoughts as the Dimencus fell apart.

Elsewhere the other ships of the fleet were doing well, the Strato-Dreadnought APS Light of Peace was engaged by two Pathfinders, one on each side. She was taking a terrible pounding but giving back as good as she got.

One by one, the two Pathfinders exploded and the badly damaged Strato-Dreadnought moved off to find another opponent.

"There's...too many of them!" yelled Skyler. "I'm down to my last grenade!" she tossed the grenade up from it's pack, caught it, kissed it and loaded it. There was the characteristic thunk noise and the grenade smashed into the advancing Biodroids, blowing them to pieces and sending bits a pieces everywhere. Kartosh lifted his gun and...click. "Damn it!" he tossed the EMP gun aside. Skyler got out her super shotgun and blasted at the gleaming horde. Kartosh crotched behind her as she kept them at bay, placing a little force generator on his katana. He pressed the button and and a glowing red transparent sheet spread over the blade of his sword. "Die muthafuckas die!" He charged them directly, his energy-hardened blade crushing skulls and cleaving limbs as Skyler sought out those away from Kartosh and blasted them.
Deck Gamma, Section 23...
Sasha hit the wall hard, sliding down into a heap. In seconds she was back on her feet, hands out in fists. "Let's go."
Space...
The hull of the Pathfinder ruptured as the ion fire strike rented the armor apart. The crew on the Pride of the Emperor was too tired even to cheer. Space battles were usually short and brutal, not drawn out affairs. But huge fleets usually didn't usually engage each other like this. Burning, blackened husks of capital ships, mostly SASM or Alversian, drifted though space, absorbing more fire until they broke apart or exploded into atoms. The Xiscapians had lost about a dozen ships so far, mostly because they had been cornered by multiple Pathfinders.
"Report."
"Head Admiral, shields are down to sixty percent. We've closed off decks four and five because we're leaking atmosphere. Our port engine has lost half power, we're using the artifical gravity to compensate, so you may feel a little bit of- Ah, there it is."
Suddenly the bridge crew was floating. Each person strapped themselves to their assigned position so as not to drift away. "How are the rest of our forces doing?" demanded Krystal. "Right now," answered her X.O., "we're surronded by destroyed ships in a kind of protective bubble. We're safe from enemy fire as long as the bits stay in place, and there drifting even now. Our forces are scattered, but they've taken up with Alversian forces. The SASM have lost a significant amount of ships, but so have the Alversians. A strike team assembled from the Alversians and our mercenaries have penetrated the flagship and are attempting to shut down the Server. Once that has been done, the SASM will lose communications and the Biodroids will shut down. If that happens, the battle will end. Right now all we can do is keep destroying Pathfinders and try not to get killed."
"Professionally compiled, X.O. Mantain our position and blast the first Pathfinder that shows itself."

The Bioroids did not show the slightest reaction to the appearance of the Xiscapian weapons. Instead they marched over their fallen comrades and attempted to engage the two Mercenaries in hand to hand combat. All the while they called out in the same voice:
"ANNILIATE!"

Even though there were many of them laying on the ground in ruins more and more approached through the doors. Then the server spoke
"WE ARE THE SASM. YOU WILL BE DISSECTED. ALL HOSTILE VARIABLES WILL BE ANNILIATED"

Deck Gamma, Section 23

Ashe wasn't there to respond. It wasn't her behind those grey, soulless eyes. She went into her traditional fighting posture and prepared for a fight.
"You will be dissected" She said in a monotonous voice, "All hostile elements will be anniliated" She threw a quick punch, using her Xiscapian reflexes to get in first.

APS Light of Hope

"Commander? Report!" Cavourna ordered from his burning bridge. Another volley shuddered the damaged bridge as the Strato-Dreadnought launched another round into the Alpha Pathfinder. Both ships were suffering badly although it was obvious this ship was a unique design amongst the Pathfinders. It was absorbing the bulk of the fire from the two Strato-Dreadnoughts engaging it. It was dishing out heavy damage herself and both Strato-Dreadnoughts were on fire.

"Sir, most of the 2nd, 5th and 12th Dreadnought Squadrons have been virtually destroyed. The 304th Cruiser Squadron has been wiped out. Many of the others are suffering damage but it seems the Pathfinder ranks are thinning at last" The Communications Officer reported.

"Very good Commander, relay for the fleet to keep it up, try to provide back-up to damaged ships. Good luck" Cavourna relayed the order.

Then the bridge went into total darkness

"Ensign? What the hell was that?" Cavourna asked in a patient voice.

"We took a hit to the powergrid. Sir. Rerouting power now"

The lights flickered back on, "Very good Ensign" Cavourna turned back to his battle.

Space

The Captain watched in horror as a Dreadnought nearby was split in two horizontally. All along the gundeck, the ship was torn apart leaving the upper superstructure floating in space away from the lower hull.

"Commander, fire full broadside on my mark" He ordered as the offending Pathfinder moved away, "Fire!"

The Camolet's guns fired a full broadside as the Pathfinder passed. Armour flew out from the various piercings made by the shots. The Pathfinder twisted away and exploded, throwing bits of armour and Bioroid into space.

The battle was still even. The Alversians had not suffered as heavily as the now vulnerable Pathfinders but losses were crippling nonetheless. No soon had a damaged ship finished off an opponent to find another, fresh one waiting ahead. That battle was always one-sided. It was a neverending loop.

However it seemed the SASM were suffering equally as heavily as the Alliance and now the battle would soon be ended.

"I said fuck off!" Kartosh screamed, a wide sweep of his sword ripping though a multitude of Biodroids, parts flying, weapons clattering to the deck and limbs bouncing. Skyler was right in the middle of them too, shifting left and right, never in the same place for more than three seconds. "There's no way though! There's too much mass!"
A message went outfrom the Pathfinder to the APS Light of Freedom:
We can't make it though, Ashe and Sasha are held up. Give the order, do whatever you have to to destroy the Server.
Long live the Xiscapian Empire!
Long live the Alversian Republic!
Long live the Allies!
Deck Gamma, Section 23...
The punch landed on Sasha's stomach, lifting her off her feet with the force. She stumbled back, gasping for air, her hands clutching her bruised stomach. She recovered and feinted left, kicking high at Ashe's face with her right leg.
Space...
"Battery one...fire."
A pause.
"Battery two fire."
"Bettery three, fire."
Battery four and five, fire."
It worked. The Pathfinder stopped short of the deadly Cruiser's beams, and began to back from it's intended target, the exposed flank of an Alversian Dreadnought that was busy pounding a Pathfinder. The Pathfinder turned towards the Cruiser that dare distract it from it's mission, only to be obliterated seconds later by the combined beams of an Alversian StratoDreadnought and an Xiscapian Battleship. The Captain shook his fist. "And stay dead, ye mangy bastards!" The Pathfinders were slowly but surely thinning, and the dead Biodroids nearly outnumbered the living. The Xiscapians, heavily outnumbered and outgunned, relied on cunning, speed, and their Alversian allies to help them defeat the Pathfinders. Tricks, traps, percise shots designed to leave vital ship systems destoryed or offline: All these were used. Three troop carriers filled with a hundred SBAU attatched to a Pathfinder at the outskirts of the battle. Armored soldiers poured though, simply taking apart anything they found in their way, planting explosives as they made their way to the bridge. SBAU are known for their stubborness and enduarance, fighting for hours to take a ship. High powered energy shotguns, laser rifles, EMP cannons and energized swords, knives, and shurikens were all used to deftly disassemble any Biodroids that stood in their way.

APS Light of Hope

Cavourna sighed, this was not going well. But even one Pathfinder escaping this battle would be enough. There had to be 100% Casualties or the sacrafices of so many Alversians and Xiscapians would have been in vain. Slowly he turned to the Tactical Officer
"Target essential systems. Fire at will." He whispered

The Tactical Officer gave a grim nod and, within moments, the fire of the Strato-Dreadnoughts had shifted to the bridge, the engines, the shield generators, the reactors. The Pathfinder seemed to have finally cracked and small columns of sparkling red flames fired up from between the gaps in the armour. Bits of Bioroid filled the gap as well and it was soon clear that the Pathfinder was losing altitude.

Then an explosion threw everyone on the bridge to the ground. Some smashed painfully of computer consoles, being fried to death as soon as they touched the shorted out machines. The bridge was plunged into darkness and only when the red emergency lighting had come on could Cavourna see the scale of the carnage wreeked upon his ship.

At least half of the bridge was smshed beyond recognition, the rest was only just operational with bleeding or dead crew sitting at their posts. Some were typing, some were not.

"W-w-what happened?" Cavourna coughed between the beaths of fumes he was absorbing into his lungs

"We took a h-h-hit to the Port Stern, We are listing heavily. Casualties are severe. Captain, " The Tactical Officer looked up from his console, "It's time to go"

"No! We stay until the others are out. That's an order!" Cavourna demanded, his face smothered in dust and debris.

"Aye, Captain"

Deck Gamma, Section 23

Ashe had such an advantage over Sasha is was quite unbelievable. A standard, Alversian/Xiscapian fight would be even. Xiscapians had speed and reflexes but Alversians had strength and elegance. Sasha had none of the advantages compared to Ashe. And Ashe's mental strength was augmented further by the Server, forever feeding her information or tactics.

In response to Sasha's attack, she simply grabbed the leg and swung her hard towards the wall again. As long as her eyes remained that dull grey, she was a Bioroid in all but appearance.

Kartosh and Skyler's position

A great explosion threw everyone off their feet. When the two Mercenaries stood up again, they would find an empty hall. One of the Light of Alversia's shots had gained a lucky hit on the Flagship and cleared most of the Bioroids from the area. More were on the way of course but there were precious minutes to be gained from the shot.

bump-

Deck Gamma, Section 23
Sasha was put of balance, spinning wildly towards the wall like a out-of-control ballerina. She corrected herself, swiftly bringing her leg down, evening out the weight distribution and retaking her center of gravity. The comparison between an Xiscapian and Alversian showed a little here, except Ashe was all of both and Sasha was almost none of either. The classic strength vs. speed would be the debate. If the fast but weaker fighter, the Xiscapian, could end the match quickly, he or she would win. A natural tendency towards the martial arts combined with training would soon incapitate a opponet with a rain of blows. However, if the battle was lasting, strength would win over speed. The simple fact was, the Xiscapian would get tired it his or her Alversian opponet would not fall. During the entire battle all an Alversian would have to do is land one or two strong, firm blows on the Xiscapian and the kitsune would either be immoblized or knocked to the floor. Sasha has the benifit of neither Alversian strength or Xiscapian speed, nor the help of centuries of combat observation pouring though her brain. She was scared, confused, tired and hurt. Ashe was none of these. Sasha realized this in the time in took for her to get her balance. There was no way she could win. She lowered into a defensive posture and waited for the attack.
Kartosh and Skyler's position...
Skyler got up and hauled Kartosh to his feet. "Com'on. We don't have any time left." They ran though the now-shattered blast doors inside a huge room. The walls were grey, and the room was pitch dark. Fortunatly both kitsune mercs had night vision. They stared at the Server, which pulsed slowly, like a misshappen, overgrown brain. It was electronic, of course, machinery and metal. Tiny red lines of what seemed to be code crazily criss-crossed the structure, from the bottom to the three story high top. For a moment all they could do was stare at it in awe and a little fear. Kartosh was first to snap out of it, shaking his head. "We've got to plant that bomb." he took of his pack and began to assemble the EMP bomb.

Deck Gamma, Section 23

Ashe used her Xiscapian speed and Alversian strength to her advantage and brought a rain of blows down on Sasha, attacks she could not block even if she had been able to. After a dozen rapid punches, Ashe threw her head forward and connected with Sasha's in a face-splitting headbutt, an Alversian favourite.

When Sasha was on the ground (OOC: Taking liberties with damage here), Ashe began to move forward, drawing her katana as she walked
"You will be anniliated" She claimed in a monotonious voice

Server

At this proximity to the Server, even those without a link would feel the effects of the powerful system. It would their own voices, like their conscience, exploiting their weaknesses and slowly wearing away resistance. The Xiscapians would have no choice but to listen to their own minds work against them.

"What are you doing?" a part of Kartosh and Skyler asked each other mentally.

OOC: Nah, really? ;)
IC:
Sasha scrambled back, drawing her own sword. She was dark with bruises, a black eye rapidly forming around her left, gray, Alversian eye. Another bruise ached and turned yellow on her arm, and she felt another dozen begin to hurt and color strangly. She held her katana shakily, the blade wavering this way and that. In her head she saw the terrified faces of those whose lives this sword had taken, whose blood it had spilled. She could not have been in a worst condition.
Server...
Skyler just growled softly to herself and ignored the voice. She was good at that. Kartosh had a little more trouble concentrating, however:
"What are you doing?"
He spoke to himself, silently.
What the fuck does it look like I'm doing? Killing this...thing. So shut up. I'm getting paid here!
They each put together a different part of the little purple colored sphere. In the end it would be detonated remoutly. Not that it needed to, it's only damage was to electronics, but it didn't hurt to be safe.

Deck Gamma, Section 23

Unlike Sasha, Ashe's grip on her katana was perfectly straight. She wasn't shaky at all, in fact, she showed no emotions whatsoever. Her pupils were still a dull grey. Impervious to the shuddering of the ship or the fear of her First Officer below her. Already the Server was downloading information that would ensure a brief and successful duel. Ashe raised her sword and quickly brought it down.

Server
"Getting paid? Really? I see no money in front of either of you. You are being played as a pawn by the Inferior races. They intend to cheat you of everything you deserve"

The power of one's own voice when arguing a point cannot be overestimated. And the Server could be very persuasive. The amount of people it had convinced to join the ranks of Bioroids was stunning and the number increased continiously.

Sasha brought her sword up as Ashe brought her sword down, blocking the blow that would have sliced her in half. She kicked at Ashe's stomach, trying to hold her sword in place. Sword-to-sword combat, she would be doomed.
Server...
We've been paid and we will be paid. Do you think I am so stupid that I can not recognize my own thoughts from yours? Of course the Xiscapians and Alversians would love to cheat me. But that's my job, to make sure I make a profit in the end. Pawn or not, as long as I'm alive and wealthy at the end, I don't care. I don't see you, so don't pretend you're there.

Deck Gamma, Section 23

Ashe was left reeling by the kick, but only for a few seconds. Almost immediately, she was back on the attack, moving at Sasha with long, clean calculated strokes with her own sword. The Server was still relaying her information about Sasha and her fighting techniques. She could not win this fight.

Server

"Really? Not that it matters because so long as I am in your head, I can make sure you do not plant that bomb"

The Server sent a high-pitched shriek into Kartosh's head, almost unhearable, it was agony to someone with standard hearing, much less a more sensitive Xiscapian. All the while, Bioroids were getting closer and at their head was Omega One himself, the SASM leader.

OOC: How does the Server have information about Sasha and her fighting techniques? It's never seen her in combat.
IC:
Sasha sloppily blocked, backpedaling to avoid the deadly sword slashes. She ducked and made a swipe at Ashe's ankles, hoping to make her fall.
Server...
"Arr, arrggh!" Kartosh fell to the side from his kneeling position, blood beginning to run out of his top ears. He held them shut, as if he could block out the noises from his own head. "Kartosh!" cried Skyler as he writhed on the floor, groaning. "Don't...stop...bomb!" he snarled though the pain. Skyler got the message and continued with the bomb as Kartosh fought the pain as best he could.

OOC: aha, when she was intergrated within the SASM, it learned everything about her. It knows everything about every race and individual ever dissected. Creepy, eh?

Deck Gamma, Section 23

Ashe twisted the katana through her fingers, deflecting Sasha's attack with ease. Quick as lightning her weapon was back up to arm height and she was back on the attack, the Server was providing her with encouragement and information with each passing second. She aimed a quick kick at the side of Sasha's head.

Then her pupils flashed from dull grey to their traditional orange before reverting to grey again.

Server

The Pathfinder shuddered again

"Too late. You have failed"

One of the doors to the several began to vibrate, several mounds appeared on the smooth surface. Outside, hundreds of Bioroids smashed on the door in an attempt to break through. Even the blastdoors on a Pathfinder could not resist the strength of a dozen Bioroids.

OOC: Server loading, please wait.
(six hundred years later)
Server download capacity...1%
:p
IC:
The high kick was on a sure path for Sasha's head, but when Ashe's eyes changed color the kick altered it's trajectory by less than an inch. But it was enough. Ashe's foot went too high, hitting Sasha's top right ear, disfiguring it and blood dripping onto Sasha's head. Sasha twisted instinctivly away, but she did not go for the opening before her. She had seen the flash in Ashe's eyes, and she could not kill her while Ashe was still inside and fighting.
Server...
Kartosh bared his teeth in pain. That's...what I said...to your mother...last night...bitch. Skyler screwed a final part in and rolled the little bomb up to bumb against the Server. She lifted the detonator high, smiling.
OOC: Gotta go.

OOC: lol

Deck Gamma, Section 23

Ashe had shown she was still inside and now she started to fight back. The Server's encouragement was ignored and it's tactics were discarded. Ashe tried desperately to fight herself for control of her body. She fell to her knees again and dropped her katana. The internal struggle was shown through her eyes. Continiously flickering between grey and orange, virtually with every blink. The Bioroid in her was still too powerful and when Ashe stood up again it was the Bioroid in charge.
"You will be anniliated" She said, picking up her katana again.

Server

The door to the room started to peel away as the Bioroid hordes started to make their way into the room to rescue their Server. One word could be heard from the central processor

"No"

Sasha backed away. Words were useless now. It's been too long. They're surely dead. We're all going to die. she dispaired, dropping to her knees, her katana clattering to the deck.
Server...
"Ah, but yes." Skyler said, and pressed the button.

Server

The Server gave a brief scream as it erupted into flame and was scattered to the four corners of the room. Suddenly, the banging from outside the door stopped. The Bioroids now lacked the orders needed to continue the fight. Or so they thought. Omega One, still operational stepped forward
"BEGIN DOWNLOAD TO BIOROID HOST OMEGA ONE" He ordered, the ruined Server started to download the information it still retained into Omega himself. He would become the new Server.

Deck Gamma, Section 23

Ashe raised her katana, ready for the final blow. However, once she had the weapon over her head, she paused. The expression on her face changed from one of robotic neutrailty to one of fear. Her pupils dileted back to their traditional orange
"Sasha?" She whispered in fear "What happened?"
She dropped her katana and leant down beside the other half-breed.

Space

Across the vast expanse of space, Captains watched with open mouths as the Pathfinders stopped firing and started to drift in space. Although, having said that, they weren't going to waste this oppurtunity. Thousands of Alversian guns fired as one into each Pathfinder, the shields were down as well. That allowed the Alversians to use their more powerful phase cannons against the Pathfinders and they struck home with devastating effect. One burst was enough to destroy a Pathfinder.

On the Light of Hope, standing on what looked like a bombsite, Cavourna watched the burning Pathfinder Flagship and shook his head, they had stopped firing for now, waiting until the word came through that the little attack team had successfully left Alpha Alpha Alpha 0001.

"Come on" He said to himself under his breath "Come on"

"Don't you wish." Kartosh raised his blaster pistol and drilled Omega 1 though the head at close range. Skyler was already running for the door, and Kartosh wisely followed her.
Deck Gamma, Section 23...
Sasha gave a heavy sigh of relief. "The Biodroid took control of you, I thought I was going to die." There was a beeping noise and Kartosh's voice came though. "Stay where you are, do not move! We've shut down the Server, we need to get off this ship before the fleet opens fire!"
Space...
The Xiscapians joined to destroying the helpless Pathfinders, wiping them out with their Heavy Ion cannons. Crew cheered and swore in happiness as their enemy was obliterated in flames and destruction.

Alpha Alpha Alpha 0001 still had one ace up her sleeve, as did all Pathfinders. One by one, the Servers in each one started to explode, tearing the Pathfinders apart from the inside out, the entire SASM fleet started to blow, one by one. Hundreds at once.

Deck Gamma, Section 23

"Oh my lord" Ashe embraced Sasha in a tight hug, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I could have killed you" tears started to fall from her cheeks

Then several explosions rocked the ship and Ashe stood up
"Kartosh? I think it's time to go" She said over the comm system, then she contacted Cavourna
"Light of Hope? Four to beam aboard. Wait for my orders"

"Aye, Admiral" It was Cavourna's relieved voice on the other end.

OOC: Wait, are they exploding all at once or one at a time?
Deck Gamma, Section 23...
Kartosh and Skyler came flying down the hall. "We've got to get out, NOW!" screamed Kartosh. They couple skidded to a halt in front of the two Halfbreeds. Sasha just patted Ashe on the back. "It's not your fault. It wasn't you."
Pride of the Empire, bridge...
"Head Admiral! The Pathfinders have started to self-destruct!"
"I have eyes, X.O. I can see that."
"Erm, yes Head Admiral."
"They must have destroyed the main Server. If the fleet is encompassed by the Pathfinders while they are exploding, we'll all die. Command the fleet to move into clear space. The Alversians will follow."
Space...
The Star Snake zoomed away, on autopilot, hidden from sight by the bulk of a Xiscapian Battleship.

OOC: A dozen at a time

A small buzzing later and all four were back on what was left of the Light of Hope's bridge. Ashe looked around in surprise
"What happened to this ship?" She asked

"Long Story, no time" Cavourna replied "The Pathfinders are blowing and we need to get out of the way. The Xiscapians are already withdrawing, I suggest we follow them"

"Make it so, Captain. Move the full fleet out by at least 500,000 kilometers"

"Aye, Admiral"

Ashe turned and watched as the Pathfinders continued to explode, being abandoned by the withdrawing Alversian fleet. Some were mere ruins of ships while others still looked fresh.

Ashe walked to the edge of the bridge and watched the fleet withdraw, there were notably fewer ships than had entered the battle in the first place, but it didn't matter. Soon the explosions were finished and all that remained were the ruins of the SASM fleet and the casualties of the Alvo-Xiscapian fleet.

"Relay me through to the Pride of Empire" Ashe ordered

"Link established" One of the surviving Ensigns reported.

"Admiral Krystal, this is Admiral Reyes of the APPS Light of Hope. It appears we have triumphed. What is the status of your fleet?"

"Message incoming," called the Communications Officer. "It's from the Light of Hope." "Patch it though." said Krystal.
"Admiral Krystal, this is Admiral Reyes of the APPS Light of Hope. It appears we have triumphed. What is the status of your fleet?"
Admiral Reyes, this is Head Admiral Krystal. The Xiscapian fleet has survived mostly intact. Our Medical ships are jumping in now to take on the wounded. If you have wounded and don't have the space, please shuttle them over. We've lost roughly twenty percent of our total fleet, that is an estimate because casualty reports are still incoming. Many of our other ships are heavily damaged, and none got though without at least light battle damage, except for the Medical ships. What about your fleet?
Battle Losses: (Ships in bold destroyed. Ships in italics moderatly to heavily damaged)
SuperDestroyer: Jade (Flagship)
Destroyers: Fallen Hero, Spike, Resolve, Unshakable, Shatterpoint, Revenge, Servant, Warrior, Triple Zero, Destiny, Dark Saber, Night, Starfire, Inescapable, Krystal, Grass, Stone, A.I. 5(18)
Battleships: Wrath, Fear, Pride of the Empire, Deception, Shadow Hunter, Splinter in the Minds Eye, Vision, Foxfire, Qonn, Alversia, Order, Smoke, Ice, Pocky, Master, Sky, A.I. 1, A.1. 10(18)
Cruisers: Peace, Sly, Red Light, Oath, Valor, Dark Star, Blue Flame, Rendezvous, Contact, Speed, Legacy, Luck, Stand Alone, Specter, Smite, Xiscapia, Sudden Death, Final, Water, Earth, Air, Fire, Wood, Lord, A.I. 2, A.I. 3, A.I. 4 (28)
Carriers: Saber, Honor, Omnipresent, Ghost, Eclipse, Unifier, Exile, Tempest, Ritual, Strong, Harmony, Xeno, A.I. 7, Dagger(14)
Medical: Chrystal Moon, Chrystal Star, Enlightenment, Forewarned, Spirit, Silver Song, Shield, Passion, Healer, Protector, Thought, Dream, Eye, Gem, Silk, Cloak(14)
"Salvage Fleet" (Fleet 6)
1 Korr Destroyer (Pain)
2 Korr Battleships (Fury, Rage)
5 Korr Frigates (Fist, Glory, Doom, Death, Destruction)
1 Imperial Isan ship (Star Slayer)
1 North Calaveran ship (Freedom)
1 Alien ship (Rock)
1 Infected ship (Pure)
1 Xiscapian mining ship (Starrider)
1 Combat Asteriod ship (Pebble)
Mechanized Fleet:
5 Command Mechs (-3)
15 Supermechs (-11)
100 HAM (-143)
100 LAM (-11)
Ships destroyed (including Super and Command Mechs: 31
Troops Losses: Unknown, estimated at over 30,000

The Medical Ships were massed at the back on the fleet. Shuttles, drop ships, and troop carriers transported the wounded and the dead to them. On every ship the medical bay was at least a quarter full, and on many of the larger ships they were overflowing with wounded. Xiscapians who had been badly burned, lost or broken limbs, lost or damaged eyes or ears or noses, internal bleeding and damage, concussions and bruises and cuts were being transported to the fully staffed and equipped Medical ships, where they would recieve the best care the Navy had to offer.

Ash grimanced as she saw the Xiscapian losses coming in, they were heavy but so were Alversian losses, they were coming in now.

Strato-Dreadnoughts:
4 Destroyed, 4 Damaged (46,000 Alversians Killed)
Super-Dreadnoughts
9 Destroyed, 6 Damaged (66,000 Alversians Killed)
Dreadnoughts
75 Destroyed, 80 Damaged (577,500 Alversians Killed)
Battlecruisers
100 Destroyed, 110 Damaged (675,000 Alversians Killed)
Cruisers
110 Destroyed, 200 Damaged (785,000 Alversians Killed)
Destroyers
200 Destroyed, 400 Damaged (1,000,000 Alversians Killed)
TOTAL SHIPS DESTROYED: 498 Warships
TOTAL SHIPS DAMAGED: 800
ALVERSIAN LOSSES: 3,149,500 KILLED

The losses for Alversia were severe. Over a thousand ships had been destroyed or damaged and 3 million killed was a hell of a lot. Nearly half the fleet. That didn't include the 1.5 million wounded as well. On the other hand, the SASM had lost all 2,500 Pathfinders and over 45,000,000 Bioroids had been destroyed. Ashe could relax again, the voices in her head were gone.

Now what was needed was to bring the battered fleet back to Alversia. Many of the damaged ships were very badly damaged and had to be slowly guided back to safety.

She sent a message back to Krystal

TO: Admiral Krystal
Thank you for your kind offer but we have all the aid we need with the fleet. I suggest you return and secure your own space. Any Bioroid garrisons left in the Wuin System will have deactivared by now.

Thank you for all your help and the Sacrafice of your men and women will always be remembered

Admiral Ashley Reyes

When the message was sent, Ashe turned to Kartosh and Skyler
"Thank you, for all your help. We couldn't have won this war without your contribution. As for payment, that we can discuss" She smiled and indicated that they should join her in what remained of the Admiral's Office. Cavourna went with her
"Lieutenant Commander Sasha, you have the bridge"

TO: Admiral Krystal
Thank you for your kind offer but we have all the aid we need with the fleet. I suggest you return and secure your own space. Any Bioroid garrisons left in the Wuin System will have deactivared by now.

Thank you for all your help and the Sacrifice of your men and women will always be remembered

Admiral Ashley Reyes
Krystal shook her head as she saw the Alversian battle losses. The Xiscapians believed in a small force to get things done, with small numbers of troops or ships to carry out large scale operations. Thus they never had so much death and destruction as the Alversians did. The closest they'd ever came was in the final battle of the Korr war, where they lost well over a million spacers in the battle for orbit. As the Medical ships took on the wounded, some of the ships jumped for Xiscapia. Many were badly damaged, with armor torn off and holes in the hull. On most ships some systems were offline, and in a few all power had to be diverted to life support because it was too badly damaged. The ships left in fours and fives, often a couple ships supporting another warship by tractor beam between them. The forces were clearing out to go home. A small task force would be sent to what was left of the Wuin colony, to dispose of the deactivated Biodroids and help rebuild. "X.O., how soon can we be under way?" she asked. "Right now. Head Admiral, the Cruiser Stand Alone is requesting assistance. It's engines were knocked out by laser fire and it needs help getting home." "X.O., set a course for that ship. Pick it up by tractor beam and then jump."
Light of Hope, bridge...
"Aye, Captain." Sasha sank into the Captain's chair, exhasted. She felt like she needed to sleep for a week. Outside the bridge windows one could not see the stars in the distance, for all the wreckage floating around.
Light of Hope, Captain's Office...
Kartosh staggered inside and fell to his knees. Alarmed, Skyler helped him to his feet. "Can we," Kartosh groaned, interrupting himself, "get a medic in here, please? I can barely hear anything, and my left leg in numb." Skyler was unhurt, so she helped the scruffy mercenary into a nearby chair. "What did you want to talk to us about?"

bump-im here XD

Ashe looked at Kartosh, concerned and within moments a Medic arrived in the office. He looked dishevelled and exhuasted, evidence of the massive influx of casualties that had swamped the Medical Bay of the Strato-Dreadnought.

As the Medic began to scan Kartosh for any signs of injury, Ashe began to speak again
"The main thing I need to talk to you about is decommission, technically, the Star Snake is still a part of the APN and that needs to be addressed. The normal fee for joining the APNRF is around 50,000 Sedar so that will be sent to you as soon as possible. Then we have to discuss the big one"

Ashe leant back on her chair "Would you prefer cash or another method of payment?"

"Wire the cash to our account." Kartosh may have been in a lot of pain, but his head was still clear. He handed over a little white business card with the information printed on it. "What's this 'big thing'?" asked Skyler. Kartosh was glaring at the medic as he scanned him. "Hey! What are you doing? Don't point it there! I think I'd know if I was hurt in that place. Gods." he shook his head.

"I was referring to the mass amount of money owed to you by the People's Republic. First of all, there's the million Sedar for rescueing me from Olsen's Pathfinder, then the other million for destroying Alpha One. That means we owe you 2,050,000 Sedar. A lot of money you agree?"

The Medic finished his scans and saluted to Ashe and Cavourna before continuing with his report.

"I'm afraid you have suffered some major damage to your inner ear and Cochlear nucleus. There is also evidence of trauma on the Inferior colliculi. The damage can be repaired of course but your hearing will never be the same as it was. You will be plagued by periods of temporary deafness or extreme migranes"

Ashe looked at the Medic then at Kartosh in shock

"Any way to avoid these problems?"

"Only by a set of medication that has to be taken constantly throughout the rest of your life. I am sorry"

Ashe looked back at Kartosh
"How did this happen?"

Kartosh grimaced. "It was the Server. When we got in close it invaded our minds. When we were almost finished with the bomb it did...something. I don't know, something like a high-pitched whisle. It just kept going, on and one until the bomb detonated." There was dried blood on the top of his head and sides, around all four of his ears. "As to the cash, well, that's a lot of money. And the Xiscapian government owes us another ten million unions for taking that other Pathfinder." he grinned, despite the bad news. He was a millionaire.

The Medic nodded in understanding
"A sub-level auditory burst, they used to use them all the time to defeat races with a more sensitive sense of hearing. The blood can be cleaned away easily enough but I'm afriad your inner ear will require extensive operations to repair and the longer you delay it the worse the effects will be"

Ashe looked at the Medic "How long before you can have a table prepared?"

"Not for a while. Not on this ship. Over 2,100 crew are already in the Med Bay and all other ships are equally as full. We will need to stop of at a nearby colony to try to stop the damage"

Ashe looked at Kartosh
"What do you want to do?" She asked him.

Cavourna just stood in the background, watching the engagement. A message then came through for the Admiral and, as her second in command, Cavourna left the office to recieve the message.

Kartosh shrugged. "I'd like to retain my hearing, thanks. Even if I lose it, I can have cloned or biological parts put in to replace them. If we could make way to the nearest colony with a medical station, that would be apprechiated." he nodded. "So...about the cash. I know it's a lot, but why can't you just transfer it? Or..." realization dawned on his face, but Skyler got to it first. "You can't pay us, can you?" she said sadly.

"No, not at all. We have enough money to pay you buy as you have said, it is a lot of money and the last thing we need is to lose it. The money will be wired to your account immediately" Ashe was honest, Alversia kept her bargains.

Then Cavourna arrived, looking rather happy but upset at the same time

"The Grand Admiral has been killed in action, it seems you are the favourite to take his place"

Ashe was stunned for a new seconds before snapping back into action
"Divert course to the nearest colony, Maximum Warp! Have a Medical Crew standby for immediate surgery" She was starting to go red, "That's an order"

"Aye, Admiral" Cavourna saluted and left the room again, along with the Medic.

Ashe looked back at the fleet as it seperated and headed back to Alversia

"All that's left is to decommission the Star Snake. Unless you like being part of APNRF?" She smiled

Kartosh actually laughed. "The APNRF? With the Star Snake? We'll take the decommission, thanks. I'm interested to see how you are going to cut though the sea of red tape that awaits you when you try to pay us. Several million credits do not simply vanish without notice. As to you being the Grand Admiral, I think you'd do well." Kartosh smiled.
OOC: Whoops, never mind. False alarm. :P

"In that case, APAS Star Snake will be decommissioned upon return to Alversia. As for Grand Admiral..." Ashe gave an embarrassed shrug, "...there are more experienced and better qualified people than me to take the position"

"Actually, you have just led the fleet through one of Alversia's biggest threats. There are few people that are better qualified than you to led the People's Navy. As for your previous crimes..." It was Cavourna who had returned to the office, "...you and Sasha have been forgiven all your crimes by the People's Court. You are now free women"

Ashe lowered her head in shame "I don't deserve this" She said in sorrow, "I helped kill and dissect thousands. How do I deserve this?"

"Because you saved billions" Cavourna replied firmly, "When history judges you, it will remember this moment. Not your crimes"

"I don't deserve this" Ashe repeated

Skyler coughed very quietly. "Not to darken your moment, but while Ashe may have been forgiven, and Sasha of her crimes against the Alversians, Sasha's fate ultimatly rests in the hands of the Xiscapian Courts. The sentence of her and the Calaverans are in their power. My reliable sources indicate that an investigation is being made into seeing if the colonists were influenced by the SASM or even controlled by them. Of course," Skyler shrugged, "it could just be evil people."

"Indeed, her fate rests with the Xiscapian courts but officially Alversia will take no action against her or the Admiral here. As for the colony, I think it is safe to say the colonists were merely in the queue for the Bioroid factory. You might have done them a favour" Cavourna conceded before withdrawing from the office

"It seems we are coming up on the colony. Do you need anything before you leave? Apparently, this operation could take some time" Ashe picked up sadly.

"Just that Skyler gets a place to sleep and my ship is taken care of." Kartosh growled, smiling. Skyler nodded solemnly. "We'll have to wait and see what happens." The door opened and Sasha stepped inside, looking hesitant. "Uh...Admiral, there's a message here. From Xiscapia. Rio Casa. The Palace," she swallowed hard. "It's a face-to-face." she referred to a meeting made by two people on comms who could see each other.

"Very well" Ashe said in reply to Kartosh's requests. Then a group of three Medics entered the room
"Time to move, Sir" One said politely, Kartosh was still an Officer in the APN, even if it was the RF.

Upon Sasha's statement, Ashe swallowed hard, nervously and nodded her head slowly, upon this, a small screen in her desk unfolded itself and the screen flickered into life.

Colony Surface

In the small city on the surface, the various hospitals and clinics were packed out as the Light of Hope took the opperunity to unload a few of their own wounded to the better equipped and infinatly more stable hospitals.

One of these, Trinity Hospital was awaiting the arrival of Captain Kartosh of the APNRF.

Kartosh looked around, Skyler at his side. Alversians were everywhere, walking, running, shuffling, limping, being rolled in wheelchairs or on stretchers. The air was filled with speech:
"He's going under, get a defibrillator over here!"
"Life signs critical...hold on."
A screaming man was rolled by, his leg a mangled mass of red flesh.
"Oh, ah, ahh, ohmygod, my legs, arrgh!"
"Get some painkiller!"
"You're going to be okay, just fine."
More people, more situations:
"There you go, you're fine now."
"Thanks Doc, I owe you one. If you're ever in Illesia, I'll buy ya a drink."
Kartosh just looked around at it all. He had never been to a military hospital before. Military prison, yes. Hospital, no. He looked to his guard. 'Where are we going?"
Ashe's Office...
Sasha quietly excused herself. A face appeared on the screen. Handsome, light, with orange fur and yellow eyes. Red hair, red robes, a black katana at his side, the Emperor of Xiscapia faced the Alversian Admiral. "Greetings, Admiral Ashe. May I congradulate you on your victory against the Society for the Advancment of Social Medicine." he bowed.

Trinity Hospital

"Through here, Sir" The Guard brought him through to a bright and clean operating theatre. In here, there was no noise from outside at all, it was drowned out by the walls.
The Doctors, Surgeons and Nurses gave a salute as Kartosh entered
"I'm Doctor Marsh, and I'll be performing your surgery, Sir" One of male doctors stated from behind a face mask.

APS Light of Hope

"I-I mean, We-Thank you, My Lord" Ashe stuttered, bowing lowl in reply, the Xiscapian in her came out and she lost all confidence in the face of the most important Xiscapian alive.
"Your people were of great assistance and many gave their lives in our defense. Thank you" She stammered, going red in the face

"Right. If you slip and cut something vital, I'm going to dock your pay for a month." Kartosh joked. Skyler moved to the window, behind the glass. She wasn't allowed inside.
Office...
"Thank you, you give much credit to our brave little Navy." the Emperor nodded. "I do have some business to discuss. Several things. Firstly, I would like you to tell me about this Sasha person. She has caused quite a stir here and already the people are demanding her execution."

Trinity Hospital

"I'll do my best, Sir" Dr Marsh joked back and allowed Kartosh to settle down on the bed. After a few moments, he was put into a coma and the Alversian slowly got to work with a regenerator.

APS Light of Hope, Office

"Lieutenant Commander Sasha? I believe she is one of the finest officers we have in the APN at the moment. She was previously under the influence of an Alvo-Xiscapian Rebel movement and fell in love with one of the Calaverans also assosiated with the movement. However, we now know that the Rebellion was being used as a cover by the SASM, taking random members at will and dissecting them to add to it's numbers. However, when the SASM discovered she was an Alvo-Xiscapian half-breed they sent her to one of their colonies in an attempt to dissect her. When she got there, she and a dozen Calaverans destroyed the colony and wiped out the population. However, we now believe the colony was already waiting to be dissected and thathad they not destroyed it we would have faced many more Bioroids."

"I know she regrets what has happened and she has proven her skill and dedication to both our ideals and your own many times over during the past few weeks. I beleive she has suffered enough for her crimes...my lord" Ashe finished awkwardly, even though she was an Admiral it was still the ruler of an entire people she was talking to here.

Skyler lay on the bench, asleep. She was curled up there because she couldn't bare to leave, with Kartosh in the condition that he was. She had gotten some food from the cafiteria and eaten it here, then finally gotten some well-deserved rest. She was still waiting on news from the doctors.
APS Light of Hope, Office...
The Emperor listened to Ashe without intteruption. At the end he nodded, sighing. "All of what you have said is true, Admiral, and my intelligence confirms it. It will be another thing, however, to convice the Xiscapian people. Especially about the Calaveran. I still remember it when the doctor who was aboard the Lenin was executed..." he shook his head. "I will use my power with the Courts to see about pardoning Sasha. My second question is this: I believe you have two mercenaries with you, of Xiscapian origin. What part did they play in the battle?"

Trinity Hospital

"Ma'am? Ma'am" It was Doctor Marsh, speaking gently to try and wake Skyler up, when she was awake. Doctor Marsh was able to report of the operation to the Mercenary

"The Operation was a success. However, by what measure it has been a success will have to determined at a later date as Captain Kartosh is currently recoupering in one of the wards. Most of the damage has been repaired although his hearing will never be the same again, I'm afraid. Would you like to see him?" She finished gently

APS Light of Hope, Office...

"Yes, Kartosh and Skyler of the Star Snake. In my opinion, they have played a pivotal role thoughout this Second SASM war. It was they who drove a Pathfinder to ground and allowed it to be captured. By the same measure it was they who managed to destroy the Main Server of the SASM, effectively destroying their fleet. I believe that victory would not have been possible without their intervention, even if it did cost" She gave a nervous smile, "I'm glad you will do what you can for Sasha, I feel she deserves a second chance after the suffering she had endured"

"Well that's good to hear," murmered Skyler. "Take me to him."
APS Light of Hope, Office...
The Emperor nodded. "Too many lives have been lost in this conflict already, not to mention the ships, equipment, and colonies that have been damaged or destroyed. My last regard to you is a special request of mine," The Emperor looked at Ashe seriously. "Did you speak with Rear-Admiral Bennett, before he died? Or Head Admiral Krystal? About a incident which occured some time ago on the edge of extragalactic space?"

Trinity Hospital

Kartosh was in one of the more quiet wards, away from the screaming and chaos of the military wounded. He seemed to be fine apart from the bandages around his head. Two machines were also hooked up to his head and both were beeping in rythm.

"Like I said, the true extent of the damage will have to be determined at a later date" Doctor Marsh stated again as she shut the door, "He is only asleep so you may talk to him as you wish"

APS Light of Hope Office

Ashe shook her head
"I'm afraid I was unable to speak to Rear-Admiral Bennett before his death. That is a severe tragedy for that family. All his children were killed in the war as well" Ashe lowered her head slightly, "Is theree a threat in that area of space?"

As soon as the Doctor left Kartosh cracked open as eye. "Only asleep. Right," his voice was raspy and gutteral from the screaming and shouting he had done before the battle. "These machines are really annoying." Skyler put a hand on his chest. "It's good to hear you are still you. How are you feeling?" Kartosh shrugged in his bed. "I've been better. My ears still hurt, but aside from that I'm fine. Now all we can do is wait for the results. I hope that if it's too badly damaged I can get it replaced. A deaf mercenary isn't of much use to anyone."
APS Light of Hope Office
The Emperor shook his head. "An unknown ship was discovered in that quadrent, and one of our mechs picked up a parasitic, symbiote organism. It took over the mech's crew and caused it to crash into the unknown ship, which led to the accidental collision between the Battleship Specter and the APS Catalan Dreadnought. The organism was destroyed but a sample was found on the mech, and taken back to Xiscapia for analysis. There the nature of the organism was found, and a antidote was made. We call it the Imitators. Since then we've lost contact with one of our outer Anibet gas producing colonies. As far as we know, the SASM has not attacked it. A solar flare from the colonie's sun occured, blocking out communications for several days. During this time a cargo ship crashed on one of the colonies, killing the pilot and spilling an unknown man into the colonie's lap, or so our probes report. A Cruiser arrived when the Colony sent out a call for reinforcments. The Captain met the colonie's Commander, where he was discreetly analyzed. He was found to have the same cellular make up as an organism the Imitator cells have once they've infected an organism. Apparently the entire colony of eighty thousand Alversians and Xiscapians have either been killed or turned into Imitators. The Cruiser has blockaded the planet, and the antidote is on it's way. But the Cruiser does not have the manpower or delivery system to spread the antidote. The antidote must be spread manually, by insertion teams, to kill the Imitator virus. We do not have the ships or troops to spare, other than what the Cruiser has to offer. If you and Sasha can take this colony back with any forces at all, it will clear her name."

OOC: The Dreadnought was the Catalan

Trinity Hospital

Doctor Marsh reentered the room as Skyler and Kartosh were talking. As they were talking, she began to scan Kartosh again
"It seems most of the damage has been repaired but you will suffer side effects for the rest of your life. One of which will be migranes from time to time as well as periods where you will lose most of your hearing. It is irreverserable and the chances of being able to clone a replacement are slim" She finished sombrely.

APS Light of Hope, Office

Ashe frowned
"Our fleet has been pretty badly hit by this battle, but I should say we could divert one of the ships left behind to protect Alversia. What do we need to do once we hit the colony? Physically inject each Imitator or is there a way to get the antidote airborne?" Ashe was thinking hard about this, "Would a Dreadnought and a Battlecruiser be sufficient? We're stretched pretty thin at the moment but we'll do what we can, My Lord" Ashe finished

Both mercenaries grimaced at the bad news. "And there's no chance of a mechanical replacement, or at least a medicine to help the problem?" asked Skyler.
APS Light of Hope, Office...
The Emperor nodded. "Only one ship will be required, as the Cruiser simply lacks the capacity. I know the People's Fleet has been hit hard, but we have a smaller Navy, and simply cannot spare any of our ships, as most of them have been badly damaged or destroyed. The antidote is a kind of a gray-colored paste. What you will need to do is simply spread a much of it as possible over a wide area. It kills Imitator infected organisms on contact, but is entirely harmless to humans or kitsune. All it has to do is touch a Imitator to destroy it. However, due to the highly violtile nature of the antidote, it cannot be dropped from fighters or bombers without significant damage to everything around it, and we are trying to take the colony intact. Biohazard troopers from the Cruiser will help you and instruct your men on the use of the antidote. Once you arrive you will be briefed by the Captain of the Cruiser. Ashe," he looked very tired and sad now, "I would never have asked if this was not a most serious threat. I don't know how this thing got here, or who sent it, but I do know that if even a single Imitator cell were to get onto Xiscapia or Alversia or any other world inhabited by sentiant life, that world would be doomed."
OOC: Is the "Mirror, Mirror..." thread dead?

Trinity Hospital

"Medicines, yes. Mechanical replacements, no. The damage done is solely unique to you. Never have I seen anything like the carnage inflicted on your auditory systems, I had to make up the medical procedures as I went along during the operation. The results were positive but any long term cures are not currently in existance. I can give you various antidotes for the migranes or loss of hearing but they will only temporarily stop it. If it happens, you will have to grin and bear it"

APS Light of Hope, Office

"Defeat one Species-destroying race only to find another waiting for you when you return" Ashe observed dryly, "We will of course help, a Dreadnought can be sent immediately. They will be briefed by the Cruiser's Captain then descend to the surface to finish off the rest of the imitators. Can the antidote be adapted to be fired from a gun? Or will this devolve down into a brawl?" She asked, it seemed another threat had been growing along their borders the entire time and they hadn't realised, 'tunnel vision' She thought to herself, "My Lord, do you mind if I bring in Lieutenant Commander Sasha to hear the rest of this briefing?" She asked

Kartosh frowned. "You made it up as you went along while you operated? And I still came out okay? That's credit to you, Doctor. Now how often will I need to take this medication?"
APS Light of Hope, Office...
"Of course. Bring the Lieutenant Commander in. This concerns her as much as you. Now, the antidote has been modified specifically so it may be fired from a gun. Have you ever played paintball?" he smiled.

Trinity Hospital

Doctor Marsh gave a small smile at Kartosh's small compliment before letting it slip and continuing to talk
"The Medication will have to be taken as the symptoms rear their heads. You can't take it beforehand or after. For example, the medication for the migranes can only be taken when you get the migrane. Same with the hearing difficulties. As for the rest of the time, you'll have to grin and bear it"

APS Light of Hope, Office

Ashe leant on her intercom, "Captain, please send in Lieutenant Commander Sasha" She turned her attention back to the Emperor and grinned
"I have dabbled in the game once or twice. It seems strange to go into action with a paintball gun though. Any chance of a few antidote grenades or mortar rounds?"

Kartosh nodded. "Alright. I don't expect I'll be doing a lot of fighting anymore, but you never know. I'd better keep a stock on hand at all times. Will you mail it to me, or do I need a perscription to pick it up at an office or pharmacy?"
APS Light of Hope, Office...
"As of right now there are no exploding grenades avaliable, but the game of paintball does utilize grenades which burst when thrown hard enough. We'll have weapons which fire the antidote made, but the antidote was only completed recently, and the matter is urgent. The cargo ship has several large tanks of the antidote, along with some two hundred paintball guns, several hundred thousand rounds and several hundred grenades. Do your forces have Biohazard suits or space suits that can be used in the attack? All the Imitator has to do is touch you to infect you, and once a person is infected there is no way of telling unless the Imitator chooses to reveal itself." Sasha entered the office, giving only a glance to the monitor before doing a double-take at seeing the Emperor. "You wanted to see me, Admiral?" she asked, her eyes rivited on the Emperor.

Trinity Hospital

"Ordinarily, We would send it to your address but, from what I've been told, you don't have one. To that end, I can give you a perscripton and you will be able to stock up regularily from any Alversian hospital. I'm afraid that is the best I can do" Doctor Marsh answered.

APS Light of Hope, Office

"Lieutenant Commander. It seems we have been given a new mission by the Emperor himself." She turned back to the screen, "The Marines have Space/Bio-Hazard suits as standard issue so they should be able to hit the colony without concern. The Dreadnought is on it's way to our position as we speak. We'll rendezvous with the Cruiser over the colony in about two days"
She turned to Sasha and quickly explained everything discussed so far.

Kartosh nodded. "Alright. How long do I have to stay here, now that you've analyzed the damage and perscribed medication? Or do you have more tests to run?"
APS Light of Hope, Office...
Sasha listened intently. "So...I have not proven myself. Yet. Admiral, I respectfully request permission to lead our forces into combat." The Emperor looked on passivly, watching the two. They really are quite extraordinary creatures, he thought. I saw this coming, but I never could have predicted this.

Trinity Hospital

"I would prefer for you to remain here for a few days for observation but of course you are at liberty to leave immediately if you wish. Whatever your choice it would be better if you were to appear at an Alversian Hospital every four months to ensure our repairs are holding up" Doctor Marsh explained calmly, it was first time she had dealt with Mercenaries.

APS Light of Hope, Office

Ashe nodded at Sasha's request, "Very well, Lieutenant Commander. You will lead the detatchment of Alversian Marines down to the surface. But I will accompany you as a subordinate. In my opinion you have proven yourself many times over, but it is not my decision. The Dreadnought will be here in about 45 minutes. Then it will be a 49 hour journey to the colony. After that, it'll be down to you and the other Marines"
Ashe turned back to the Emperor, "Is there anything else we should be aware of, then My Lord?"

Kartosh sighed. "I'd like to get out of here, but I'll stay. As to checking in, I can't promise it, but I'll try."
APS Light of Hope, Office...
The Emperor shook his head. "That is all. In my opinion you have both proved yourselves heros of the People's Republic and the Kitsune Empire, but this is the sealing evidence. Good luck of your mission." He bowed and cut the link.

Trinity Hospital

Doctor Marsh smiled, "In that case, I'll leave you to rest and be back later this evening to check up on you." She left the room, shutting the door behind her.

APS Light of Hope Office

Ashe gave a bow as well before the Emperor cut the link, then she turned to Sasha in disbelief, "I think we have just recieved a mission from the Emperor himself" She said in a rather strange voice, "And it appears to be against Alversians and Xiscapians. Funny galaxy, isn't it?"

OOC: Dunno, skip forward a few days?, in both areas (Just say the Dreadnought has arrived and we are enroute to the colony?

Skyler got up from the bed where she had been sitting. "Do you want me to get you anything? I'm going out for a while." she said. "Nah, I'm alright. See you when you get back." Kartosh waved, and flopped back down on his bed. He closed his eyes and slipped away into sleep once more.
OOC: Now what?
APS Light of Hope Office...
"Indeed, we live in interesting times." Sasha nodded. "What do you mean 'against the Xiscapians and Alversians', though?"

OOC: Dunno, skip forward a few days?, in both areas (Just say the Dreadnought has arrived and we are enroute to the colony?
OOC: K...
Kartosh breathed deeply as he stepped outside the hospital for the first time in two and a half days. The air smelled fresh and clean, though the sun was obscured by a thin layer of clouds. Skyler walked next to him, working on a datapad. "According to my calculations," she said to him, "the Alversians have paid their price of 2,050,000 Sedar...and the Xiscapians paid their 10,000,000 for the downing of the Pathfinder...plus the money we have saved, 429,501 credits...minus medical expenses, repairing and rearming, several hundred thousand credits of backtaxes, another hundred thousand for the loan...leaves us with...11,649,200 credits left to our names." "Life is good." said Kartosh, grinning widely.
OOC:
Continue the assault part of the thread in Laying the Fondation.

OOC: K...
Kartosh breathed deeply as he stepped outside the hospital for the first time in two and a half days. The air smelled fresh and clean, though the sun was obscured by a thin layer of clouds. Skyler walked next to him, working on a datapad. "According to my calculations," she said to him, "the Alversians have paid their price of 2,050,000 Sedar...and the Xiscapians paid their 10,000,000 for the downing of the Pathfinder...plus the money we have saved, 429,501 credits...minus medical expenses, repairing and rearming, several hundred thousand credits of backtaxes, another hundred thousand for the loan...leaves us with...11,649,200 credits left to our names." "Life is good." said Kartosh, grinning widely.
OOC:
Continue the assault part of the thread in Laying the Fondation.

OOC: Fair enough

By this time all the ships from the armada had made it back. Most were docked down at the planet's extensive docks, being repaired and rearmed. Soldiers and spacers were slowly coming back. Some in good health, many wounded in some form. Scars and burns, replaced limbs, the phsycological trauma of seeing your buddy being blown apart next to you, the horror of your love dying in your arms, helpless. Families, devistated by the mother or father or sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandfather, grandmother, cousin or friend who would not be coming back. This was how is was, post-battle. There was a flash of light and a Alversian Dreadnought appeared near the planet.
Rio Casa, Palace...
The Emperor stood in the courtyard alone, waiting silently. At the doors back to the Palace two Black Guards stood stiffly, unmoving, staring straight ahead. Inside servants and cooks were hurridly running around, preparing for the guest of honor who was to arrive soon. The Alversian PM was coming.
Dockyards, Tenfour...
The ship slowly slide into place in it's bearth. The test-firing on the engines had gone well, and the ship was fully prepared for combat once again. The Battleship A.I. 10, part of the 5th Fleet, was a marvel of Xiscapian computer skills and engineering. The ship was almost entirely automated, carrying only a skeleton crew of 300, mostly techs to keep the ship running, a tenth of what a normal Battleship was crewed. The A.I. which inhabited it was amazingly smart, good at tactics and could preform manuvers no kitsune crew could ever pull off. Indeed, this ship had barely been scratched during the battle. It's counterpart, A.I. 9, a Cruiser, rested beside it. Likewise, it had taken little damage, and only a few of it's 100-kitsune crew had been wounded and none killed during the battle. The ship was primed, but no one, save for a few techs working out the tweaks and a couple of bored Marines, was on it. So no one noticed the kitsune in a workers uniform climb though an unguarded airlock and walk into the depths of the ship.
Zartacla...
Jassonne sighed softly as he viewed the file of the newest prisoner:
NAME: Adrian Colloy
SPECIES: Alversian
SEX: Male
AGE: 36
HEIGHT: 5,10
WEIGHT: 183 pounds
CRIMES: Murder (17x) Incitment to rebel, theft of property (10x), gunrunning (20x), possession and dealing in illegal drugs (5x), Rape (2x), High Treason (1x)
SENTENCE: Execution
WANTED BY: Xiscapia, Alversia, Danaversia
NOTES: Subject prone to violence. Upon insertion in maximum security prison on Alversia, subject promptly killed two cell mates and attempted escape. Recommand isolation. Approach with extreme cation.
Jassonne was the Head Warden at the Zartacla maximum security prison on Regalis. He had held the position for nearly ten years now, and never had a prisoner escaped. A few had tried, of course, but they had all been killed in their attempt. Most of those here were slated for either exile, life imprisonment, or execution. Their crimes were usually the most heavy: Slavery, Mass Murder, Rape, Treason. Looks like Adrian had done three of the four worst crimes. There was a mix of sentiants here: Citizens gone wrong, illegal businessmen and women, pirates and slavers, crime kingpins and the like. Many offworlders in this prison had been gangsters, mob bosses, or drug kingpins moving to Xiscapia because it was far from the Core. Distance = Safety they reasoned. Then they tried their first crime and were quickly either killed or arrested by the police. Many ended up here. Xiscapia had no tolerance for criminals.

OOC: TG Xis

Outside the palace, a small motorcade pulled up. Amongst the eight hovercars were three heavily armed Police-vessels and three identical Limo's designed to fool any assassin in case he tried to destroy the car. Inside was the most important man on Alversia and now the most important in the Alversian Sector.

Out stepped Alversian Prime Minister Aiden Mallon, grinning away at the sight of his old friend. He was flanked by four Democratic Guards, all were staring straight ahead, emotionless. However, had a threat presented itself, the Democratic Guards would have instantly turned on it and neutralised it in the blink of an eye.

"Emperor" Mallon began by offering a low bow to his opposite number.

Zartacla

Escorted by no fewer than a dozen Wardens, Adrian Connolly allowed himself to be escorted into the Prison. He checked out the various installations and patrolling Guards with his eagle like eyes, one of which was heavily scarred from previous battles. He was also grinning evilly

"Prime Minister," The Emperor gave an equally low bow back, "I trust the day finds you in good health? Come, walk with me."
Zartacla...
A guard (http://spacetoy.deviantart.com/art/trooper-31156045) stepped forward. "Adrian Colloy? Cell 298, isolation."

A quick flick of his wrist and the Prime Minister's Guard's escort peeled away, allowing him to walk with the Emperor (OOC: Foxfire?) in private
"It does, it does. It has been a stressful few weeks but things are starting to look up. How about yourself?"

Mallon had only been Prime Minister for three years and he was due to remain in Office for at least another three. But he had experience from his years in politics, he had long grey hair and was well into his 90's, making him old even by Alversian standards.

Zartacla

Connolly spat on the ground, "That's me. So keen to get rid of me, are ye? You and me one on one, you without that stupid helmet and we'll see who's the tough guy"

OOC: Aye.
IC:
"I am in fine health. My mind, I'm afraid, is fraying at the edges from worry. First there is the Forerunner ship and the collision, then the Imitators, then Krystal's attempted assassination by unknown rebels, then the SASM show up and start destroying colonies. Next thing I know the whole fleet's been deployed to engage them, we've lost contact with yet another colony, and my citizens are screaming for blood. Finally we win with twenty percent losses and find out that one of our outer colonies has been taken by a Infected-like race known as the Imitators, and I'm in the middle trying to clear Sasha's name for her crimes. On a final note we are still searching for the Empress, the Infected have showed up again and the XNHQ owes two mercenaries some ten million credits." He shook his head. "It's almost funny, really. Like some kind of gods are playing with my life."
Zartacla...
The guard ignored the man and pointed down the row of cells. "Go down a level, towards the end of the cell block." As the criminal and his guards passed the prisoners, male and female, human and not, jeered at them from behind their force field cells.

Mallon nodded in sympathy, the stress of leadership could be extreme, especially in times of war
"I know what you are talking about. My people are trying to come to terms with the losses to the SASM, We're not certain but at the moment we're estimating at least 25 million losses either killed or dissected, then the Danaversians have started to get a bit grouchy on our borders. Who would want the job?" He smiled

Zartacla

Most of the Alversian inmates who were jeering were silenced with one swift glance from Connolly. He was one of the most feared men to have ever lived in Alversian History. Not only for the ruthlessness with which he tried to destory the People's Republic but also the charisma and tactical flair he had shown on numerous occassions. He was a terrifying presence if ever there was one. It was made worse by the presence of many former ANLA members within the prison.

The Emperor nodded grimly. "No one. Our work is never down." he brightened. "However, I do have some rather interesting guests here at the Palace, and I was overjoyed to hear our victory was assured over the SASM." The Emperor was well aware of his two guards shadowing him. He was never alone, not really. The Emperor was always being watched, by biological or mechanical eyes, wether he was meeting with people, eating, bathing, walking the grounds, writing reports, responding to letters or even making love to his wife, he was never alone. His loyal servants and guards were always on call.
Zartacla...
OOC: ANLA?
IC:
At the end of the cell block there was an empty cell. The Alversian man was roughly shoved inside, and the force field came down, covering the door in a solid red field. The guard nodded, turned, and walked away.

"True, true" Mallon was aware of the Emperor's guard, the same way the Democratic Guards would appear within the blink of eye were he threatened
"The SASM has been defeated and now we must try to move on, I'm afraid the Navy will take months to rebuild itself after the war"

Zartacla

OOC: ANLA: - Alversian National Liberation Army (Rebel Movement)

Connolly sat down in his cell and started to meditate, he had started it after the Sanagrin Massacre ten years ago, since then he found it helped him relax during stressful moments and this was starting to look like one of those moments.

"Indeed. We have so many old enemies. The Korr and the Danaversians of older times, and now the Calaverans and SASM. Formerly the Korr, Calaverans, and SASM, of course." he paused. "So these two women, mere girls actually, have been drawing a lot of fire from the public: Ashe and Sasha. Halfbreeds, Sasha is a murderer with a criminal record and a history of associating with the Rebel movement, and Ashe was tramuatized at a young age and is now part Biodroid. The press is having a field day. The only good thing is that no one seems to know where they are."
Dockyards, Tenfour...
Two techs stood over the A.I. mainframe after having done a check-up on it:
"So, what's up with you?"
"I dunno man. Seems like the galaxy gets crazier every day."
"I know, right? All these Biodroids and weird-ass creatures running around..."
"Yeah."
A pause.
"So how's the wife?"
"She's though her fourth month. A little swelling. It might be a boy, it's too early to tell."
"Sounds like she's doing better than your favorite Alversian football team."
"Oh shut up. The Hounds are doing great this season."
"You wish-"
The first Xiscapian's throat suddenly tore apart in a spray of blood as a shuriken spun across it. The kistune twitched and fell, his blood pooling around him. The other tech jumped back, only to be hit by a silenced blaster bolt. He tumbled to the deck, a burned hole in his chest, dead. The worker came out of the shadows and dragged the two kitsune into a nearby supply closet. On the bridge a tech kneeled over a control panel. The assassin stepped softly behind him. "Oh, Jink," said the tech without turning around, "did you get those parts I ordered-" his voice was cut off as the assassin broke his neck with a well-placed kick. On the Cruiser a second worker, having encountered no one, began to start the systems for lift-off.
Zartacla...
All was quiet, or as quiet as it ever got in the prison. The guards patrolled along their routes, bored as they always were. No one, not a guard or fellow inmate, so much as glanced at Adrian.

Palace Grounds

Mallon grimaced as Foxfire brought up the subject of the two Half-breeds, a sensitive subject at the best of times
"I know, Admiral Reyes' appointment has raised some eyebrows back on Alversia. The promotion of such a young and inexperienced Officer is virtually unheard of. In our Armed Services we prefer seniority and experience over talent. Hanlon's last decision really was a big one. Now the Navy debates over who to take over him. It will be a tough one, no doubt. It doesn't help that Ashe and Sasha are now both Commissioned Naval Officers, bound by our laws and freedoms. By the way, where did you send the two Half-Breeds? The Admiral said something about a mission, then she nicked a Dreadnought and left"

Zartacla
OOC: Does Mr Connolly have a way to escape or is he going to be rescued?

Connolly watched each Guard with interest, giving the unnatural smile that had unnerved an entire species and haunted the faces of Captains across the system.

The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "They were sent to that colony I mentioned before, the one that was taken over by the Imitators. We've developed an antidote to destroy them, should be a cake walk." By this point they had entered a shady copse of high leafy trees. The area dimmed even further as the skies became more overcast.
OOC: I gotta go, but TG.
OOC2: And Adrian will be rescued.
Shipyards...
The people on the ship having been eliminated, the assassin stood on the bridge, powering up the ship. One of the best things about A.I. ships is that they can be flown by a single person. He began to power the ship up.

Palace Grounds

Compared to Illesia at this time of year, Rio Casa was pleasant. He always enjoyed visiting it and now it seemed he had something of extreme importance to discuss
"Emperor" Mallon was careful to use Foxfire's proper title, "there is a great deal of talk amongst the Senate on Alversia about the nature of the people's Republic. Our losses in the SASM war and the renewed Danaversian aggression has led for some on Alversia and on the other systems within the area to demand a new Federation. One led by Alversia of course, but emcompassing all the smaller species and peoples we protect, nearly a dozen of them into one large entity. But this amounts to nothing less than an empire in my opinion. What do you think about the possibility of an Alversian Federation?"

"I do not," said the Emperor slowly, "see any real problems, as long as the Federation keeps most of the Republic's old ways. A Federation is fine, it will give you more control over the people you protect. But beware of becoming an Empire, least you grow too oppressive. But who am I to preach to the choir, nay, a alter boy preaching to the priest?" he smiled at the ancient Alversian. "As long as you keep the people out of the Federation who do not want in, allow them their freedom, there should not be any problems. It will be much larger, and therefore much more difficult to run, however."

"The Federation would mean the desolution of the People's Republic, though. Our Senate would be removed and a new Supreme Council put in it's place to represent all Races within the Federation. Militaries would also join. However, it would be our ideals and our peope who would take primary command of all major functions. Does that not make us an Empire in all but name?"

Mallon had thought long and hard about this. A dozen species were ready to adopt the ideas and beliefs of his own People in order to better fit in, but that would mean massive changes for all involved. The Species in question already had Alversian Garrisons to protect them, why not bring the rest of the people under control? Trezan Baxtor had fought to defeat one Empire and Adrian Cavourna, another. Would he be the PM to undo the work of a millenium?

"Prime Minister, think of your current holdings. How is combining them under your roof, so to speak, any different from what you are doing now? The Supreme Council is merely the Senate with fewer people and a different name. You are already the protector of a number of worlds and peoples, and I am sure they are greateful to you for that. Should they call for it, and there is enough support for it, I say you should do it. Such a change would serve only to further unify your people. However, there is one thing I do not understand: Why is there only Alversians taking command of primary functions? What has brought this about?"

"It would be mostly Alversians taking command of the primary functions as it has been Alversians running them for most of the time. In the future? The other members of the Federation willl branch out and take control of the various aspects within the Federation. For now, though, Alversians will have to run various institutions like the Armed Services for the sake of effeciency"

The Emperor shrugged. "I foresee no problems. Then again, I have been wrong before. You seem to be against the decision. Take us, the Xiscapian people and government, for an example. We are an empire in that we have colonies. On Korrilia, as I'm sure you have heard, terraforming is nearly complete. The North Calaverans wanted to repopulate their planet, but I fear, after the SASM attack, they have become extinct. Therefore we will take it also. We also have numerious shared colonies, as well as the Cholk system and holdings on Old Xiscapia. I have not just kitsune, but many Alversians in my empire as well, by birth and citizenship. They have not complained because my government is run exclusivly by kitsune. We have many offworlders who settle here as well. They do not complain either. As long as your rule justly and do not overextend yourself, my friend, you will be fine."
Regalis, Surface...
Outside the station it was hell. Bubbling molten lava covered most areas, and as it was the Zartacla station itself was set on the top of a moutain. The moon had a atmosphere, but it was soo choked with ash and noxious gases that it would be lethal to breath even a few breathes without an alternative air source. From here, right out of the lava, rose a shape. It was a Light Assault Mech, one of the almost human sized battle mechs designed by the Xiscapians during the final days of the Korr War. Once fully out of the lava, molten rock dripping off it, the mech stepped forward onto actual land. Near it was a box shape with two thin cylinders sticking out of it. This was an automated AS gun, manufactured to destroy enemy small craft. Slowly and deliberately the mech activated it's energy sword and slashed the gun into sparking, smoking pieces. These fell to be incinerated in the firey lava below. The mech turned and stomped off. It still had nineteen more to destroy.
Zartacla, Communications/Early Warning systems room...
From this room over a dozen things were controlled. The AS guns could be commanded to fire at a target or controlled remotely, the gun turrets inside the prison likewise, the cells opened or shut, the security cameras pointed one way or another, and the scanners and sensors...disabled. It was all controlled by a single kitsune guard in front of a bank of glowing monitors and system readouts. Suddenly one of the red buttons flared to life, showing red against the row of dark lights. The guard stared at it. The red light indicated that AS gun 17 was offline. This happened from time to time, from exposure to the extreme temperatures or because the parts grew rusted. He sighed and reached to call for a repair team when another button blinked to life. And then another. Openmouthed, the guard watched as guns went down all across the board. They were under attack! He stood and reached for the large green button centered in the middle of the control panel that would put the prison of high alert. His hand never made it to his target. A sword blade was sticking out of his chest, his still beating heart dripping blood and fluids onto the floor. He stared dumbly at it for a few seconds, then the blade withdrew with a wet splatter and he fell from life. Behind him a second kitsune sheathed his sword. He wore the distinctive light tan/brown suit of a tech with the oversized gray helmet. He stepped over the guard's body and began typing at the controls. Soon all the autoturrets were disabled, the sensors and scanners disabled and the cameras shut off. Now there was only one thing left to do. He looked to the button to unlock the cells and cursed silently inside his helmet. It required a passkey to press the button. He searched the guard's armor and found it quickly, hidden snuggly in the crook of his helmet. He took the flat piece of plastic out and slid it into the lock over the button, and the lock disengaged and flipped open. Smile unseen, the tech reached out to press it.

"Perhaps, but the People's Republic has stood for over a millenia, I would not want to jeopardise it now. It is true that the Alversian Federation will be stronger as a result but, even so, I still have my doubts"

OOC: Previous post revised, nothing you need to respond to, but you'll want to read it.
IC:
The Emperor nodded. "I understand. Perhaps it is a problem for you successor to address."
Outside the Palace walls, but still terrifying close, there was a single gunshot. Six tough-looking Alversians and Xiscapians, thugs from the look of them, had pistols and assault rifles and were shooting at the police guarding the first checkpoint enterence to the Palace. One policeman went down, a hole in his armor over his stomach from a shot at close range. The other policemen guarding quickly returned fire, but they were outnumbered.
Zartacla...
Suddenly all the force fields over the cells vanished, leaving the way clear for all the prisoners. Adrian was on Level 4, Cell Block 4, cell 298, meaning her was only two cells away from the turbolift leading upward. Each level was manned by fifteen guards and a single Warden. The Warden's office was at the front, near the turbolifts. The fifteen guards were spread out all over the place, and for that moment all they could do was stare in shock and growing horror at the prisoners. There was a guard standing in front of Adrian's cell. There was one hundred prisoners for each level. And only fifteen guards and a Warden. There was three other levels below level four, all set up the same way. Level Three was storage, and contained food, water, spare parts and replacements for the equipment at the prison. This level was entirely unmanned except for a single Black Guard. Every level had one Black Guard on it, and was the Xiscapian equivilent of the Alversian Democratic Guards. They were an elite branch of the military, derived from the Shadow Ops pool, and were some of the best fighters on Xiscapia. It would take much more than a hundred prisoners to defeat them. Even now the Guard on level four was going for the alarm at the turbolift by the Wardens office. Level two was the barracks, and held twenty off-duty guards, eight civilian pilots, ten military pilots and the Chief Warden, Jassonne. The first level consisted entirely of a hanger, which held five LAM, two corvettes, and eight transports. To get to the hanger Adrian would have to fight though dozens of guards and hundreds of other prisoners to get away. Fortunatly for him the tech was already waiting in the hanger in a trasport for him. The LAM had been sabotaged, and the corvettes were also manned to be an escort for the transports with their prisoner cargo.

Mallon was about to nod, when suddenly the gunfight broke out. Within the blink of an eye, the two Guards were beside the PM, their own weapons drawn. Mallon shook his head
"The Emperor's guards can protect me! You two get out there and help the Police!"
Without a flicker or a protest, the two Guards were at the front of the palace, their first shot brought down on the of the attackers while the rest of the Alversians scrambled over tables and fired in blind panic. They knew who they were facing.

Zartacla

Connolly walked casually and calmly from his cell and headed for the hangar. He noted with approval that the former members of the ANLA were forming a protective ring around him. As he walked to the hangar he saw various wardens overwhelmed and their weapons passed to his bodyguards.
Without a weapon, Adrian Connolly headed towards the waiting shuttle.

The Emperor had suddenly croutched in a defensive posture, his right hand around the hilt of his katana upon hearing the first gunshot. His Black Guards suddenly appeared behind the gunmen. The Xiscapians screamed in terror and fired their whole clips at the armored men who had just walked beside them. The Guards took the bullets full to their armor, not even denting it, and proceeded to neatly gut the attackers. The Emperor watched in silence when suddenly a force field spread around his and Mallon. Instead of the standered blue or red, it was a soft yellow, looking like the Emperor and the PM had been emcoumpassed by a giant soap bubble. A figure dropped from the trees overhead into the bubble, landing on it's feet. Features in shadow, it drew a wickidly curved katana from it's sheath and stepped into the light. The kitsune was very pale, with black hair and black fur. His yellow eyes burned out from under his dark bangs as he stared at the Emperor, blade pointed at him. The Emperor already had his blade out. But nothing happened, other than the Guards noticing and came running, pounding and firing uselessly on the bubble.
Zartacla...
While it was organized chaos around Adrian, elsewhere it was pure chaos. Guards fought prisoners who fought their fellow prisoners. Adrian was not free yet. Jassonne, flanked by a surviving Black Guard, stepped in front of the gizzled Alversian and his guard. He held a heavy blaster pistol, pointed at Adrian. "Halt." On the lower levels the Black Guards were brutally slaughtering the unarmed prisoners, but the fourth, third, and second levels belonged to the Alversian National Liberation Army. The first level, the hanger, was where Jassonne, the guard, and several pilots had retreated to.

Mallon stared at the bubble and the Assassin and then gave a small smile
"Very clever, young man...apologies, kitsume, I meant. You planned all this? Well done. Then he put his blaster away. Mallon was an old man, too old to fight someone in their Prime. He would be next to useless in any engagement, apart from to die.

Meanwhile, the Guards continued to fire on the many gunmen how had assembled, not as stealthy as their Black Guard counterparts, they relied on their stunning accuracy as two more gunmen fell, the others were starting to withdraw although the Guards would follow them all the way to ensure no one else was hurt, as where their orders from the PM himself.

Zartacla

Adrian simply looked up at Jassonne and his small band and gave a small tutting smile. He then gave a small nod and instantly disappeared from view as the hundred or so, Prisoners who were escorting him, charged screaming forward. About fifty of that group headed straight for the Black Guard. No matter how good he was, he couldn't kill 50 people within seconds.

The kitsune growled deep in his throat. "You will both die. No one can escape us. Cut off the head and the body withers and crumbles on itself." The Emperor's voice was perfectly calm, but his eyes burned with fury. "From whom do you come?" The assassin laughed. "The people right under your nose that you don't even know exist. The Rebellion, you fool. We," the kitsune paced the inside of the bubble, "have grown tired of you regime over us. You are foolish and weak. We had the Calaverans at our feet! We had a possible alliance with the Chronosians! We could have aided the Novan Divine One to full glory!" he was in rage now. "Did you kill the Calaverans? Did you side with Chaos? Did you help the Divine One? No! You spared the Calaveran's lives and protected them. You left the Chronosians, and you helped murder the Divine One! We are tired of being pacifists. So much of the galaxy could be under our control, we could have thousands of ships, whole kingdoms could lay at our feet...and what do you do with this power? You help the weak, aid the poor, kill the strong and lay waste to Chaos! Under our control, the Xiscapian people will spread, crushing all in our path! And you are the first obstacle on our road to glory."
Zartacla...
The Guard unsheathed his sword and drove into the mob, sword biting though flesh, sending limbs and entire bodies flying. Jassonne hit a button on his wrist and dove for the airlock. The hanger doors began to open, letting in ash and toxic gas. In seconds all inside the hanger and not in the airlock or on a ship would be dead. The ship's lowered their ramps and prisoners fled up them, leaving the Guard's smashed body behind. Jassonne could only watch in anger and frusteration as hundreds of prisoners escaped. His actions, however, prevented the rest of the prisoners from escaping. However, by his calculations, at least two hundred prisoners had escaped, maybe more.
Shipyards...
The two ships rumbled and lifted away from their berths, engines firing. The flames blew huge charred hole in the wall behind them, and workers, techs, and Marines ran about helplessly. The two ships crashed though the closed dock doors and rose into the sky. In orbit they met with the corvettes and transport ships. The only thing that could have stopped them was the Protector, and it was orbiting Rio Casa many hundreds of miles away.

OOC: Erm, did you or did you not notice the armed assassin that just dropped in? You might want to read my post a little more carefully and edit your post. I'll have an IC response once you've decided.

OOC: EDITED, I wasn't paying attention

"Hmmm, interesting proposition. May I trouble you for a name?" Mallon asked politely, "I would like to have the name of my killer before I go to my final resting place" He sat on the ground, "And it sounds like you have some issues with the world, son."

Zartacla

As Adrian and a few of his most loyal supporters started to relax in the shuttle, Connolly turned to the Pilot and grinned
"Long time, no see. What kept you?"

"My name is Zargon, and you will be my slave in the next life!" the kitsune spat. "I have issues, as you put it, with weak people running strong governments. I have no quarrel with the Xiscapian people. Who I do have a problem with is the Imperial Family, the military, and everything else that stands for justice and pacificistism. In the wild, the strong eat the weak, that is how it goes. That is how it goes in the rest of the galaxy. That is the way it was meant to be. But I tire of talking with you, and now you will die." The Emperor stepped in front of Mallon. "You are misguided. Please, lay down your weapon and surrender." Zargon laughed. "Surrender? To you? Dishonor in the highest! I will kill you both, even if I forfit my own life, I will be recieved as a hero in the next life." He attacked, skillfully using his blade to batter at the Emperor's sword. "Stay back!" shouted the Emperor to Mallon as he and the assassin dueled. The assassin's strikes were quick and powerful: Four strikes a second, six, eight, ten! The pair's swords were nearly invisible and their faces showed total concentration.
Zartacla...
The Pilot laughed. "Damned guards gave us some trouble, but we got though. Now we have that much more manpower, a number of new ships, and soon..." his grin showed from beneath his helmet visor. "The Emperor and the Prime Minister will be dead and a new age will be ushered in. With us, the Rebellion, at the head. Or, as we like to think of our selves, the Social Reformests." This was what the Rebels called themselves.

Mallon stood back and allowed the Emperor to handle their attacker. He knew and had seen enough of Foxfire's skills to know that he would be only be a hinderance to try and interfere. He was beyond the age he could engage young people like Zargon and Foxfire. Having said that, it didn't mean that the information he had provided had not been useful. So there was a Xiscapian Revolution? That could mean there was an Alversian Revolution as well. The ARA were the most obvious candidates, but there was a chance that, god forbid, the ANLA had managed to regain some of it's composure. That would be a disaster for both nations.

Zartacla

"Social Reformers," Connolly gave one of his dangerous laughs, "Obviously the ANLA has aligned with the Reformers in my absence? Why is that? What do these Reformers offer us that we couldn't achieve on our own?" When Connolly was in one of these dangerous moods, then many people were liable to die.

Mallon stood back and allowed the Emperor to handle their attacker. He knew and had seen enough of Foxfire's skills to know that he would be only be a hinderance to try and interfere. He was beyond the age he could engage young people like Zargon and Foxfire. Having said that, it didn't mean that the information he had provided had not been useful. So there was a Xiscapian Revolution? That could mean there was an Alversian Revolution as well. The ARA were the most obvious candidates, but there was a chance that, god forbid, the ANLA had managed to regain some of it's composure. That would be a disaster for both nations.

Zartacla

"Social Reformers," Connolly gave one of his dangerous laughs, "Obviously the ANLA has aligned with the Reformers in my absence? Why is that? What do these Reformers offer us that we couldn't achieve on our own?" When Connolly was in one of these dangerous moods, then many people were liable to die.
There was a lull in the combat, when Foxfire and Zargon had both stood their ground at opposite ends of the bubble and were now moving along the inside, totally concentrated on each other. "Why does your master hide and send lackys after me? Is he too scared to show himself?" taunted the Emperor. Zargon spat on the ground. "He is too busy to be bothered with the likes of you. You are merely a hinderence to be destroyed on our path of glorious revolution!" he swung his sword high above his head and ran at Foxfire. This was the last mistake he ever made. As he brought the sword down to cleave the Emperor in two Foxfire kneeled and swiftly stabbed forward, his pointed blade punching though his assailants stomach and sending him flying back admist a spray of blood. Zargon's sword fell to the ground before Foxfire and the kitsune himself lay dying slowly on the grass, bleeding out. Stomach wounds were incredibly painful. The Emperor pulled a blaster out from within his robes and coldly shot the Zargon though his head, killing him. It seemed like a ruthless act of cruelty, but was actually a kindness in ending the would-be assassin's suffering. In the meantime the gunmen had all been killed and the Black Guards had wheeled out what looked like a portable laser cannon. They fired a stream of white light at the bubble, which quickly dissapated. The Guards rushed in to make sure the assassin was dead and the Emperor and the PM were okay. Foxfire suddenly heard a voice inside his mind. Danger, Emperor... He looked and saw the urn placed on the pedestal not far from where he stood. The Urn of Jyran. His eyes widened. "Everybody get down!" he dropped to the grass, dragging the Prime Minister and the Democratic Guard next to him to their stomachs. There was a deafening explosion and a wave of heat rolled over them. The assassin's body had exploded, the result of a bomb placed inside. Foxfire now saw the urn had been shattered by the explosive, cut into two neat sections.
Ship...
The pilot was ignorant of the Alversian's mood swings and continued. "Troops, ships, firepower, planning...everything you don't have." he said snidely.

"My apologies, Emperor, but it seems Xiscapians have an inbred sense that death is never the end of a fight"
Mallon looked around at the carnage
"And I believe that someone wants your Empire to themselves"

Ship

In a split second, the Pilot was disarmed and surrounded by blasters, Adrian gave a long dangerous laugh
"When has any of that mattered? All this firepower, planning and ships have failed in the past. What makes you so bloody sure this ragtag of a rebellion will defeat the People's Army? Or the Xiscapian Army?"
He spat on the ground near the Kitsune pilot
"Confident will be your downfall"

"Yes, well," the Emperor rose and dusted himself off, "death is not always defeat, you are correct." He surveyed the crater when the assassin's body had been seconds before and the scorched grass around it. Black and Democratic Guards were picking themselves up, dazed from the sudden blast. There was the sound of sirens as police vehicles and ambulences drew closer, and the Black Guards formed a protectic ring around the Emperor. "I must address my people." said the Emperor grimly to Mallon. "I suggest you do the same."
Ship...
Fortunatly for all those aboard the ship was already in hyperspace, so could not crash. The pilot was sweating, but he laughed back at the Alversian, keeping a brave front. "Because your rebellions were foolish and weak, motivated by greed and cause. We take our confidence from a higher power. That of Chaos." he grinned darkly. "You Alversians are a godless bunch. You don't know the power of religon, of belief and force that comes not from physical strength or technology, but from the Dark side of the Force and from the Warp. We won't fail because we cannot. We are too powerful in Chaos to fall."

"I agree, it is time the people knew that a new threat grows on the horizon. I will talk with them immediately."

Like the Black Guards, the four Democratic Guards formed a ring around the Prime Minister and began to force him towards the waiting car.

"I'll talk to you again!" He called over their shoulders.

Ship

"Really?"

Adrian walked calmly over to the Xiscapian Pilot and picked up his katana. He pulled it from it's sheath and run his finger over the sharp edge, leaving a small trail of blood. Then he stuck the blade to the Xiscapian's throat and pressed just hard enough to get a small pool of blood.

"You think that Chaos can destroy a Dreadnought? Defeat a Regiment of the People? Shoot down an XX-30? How about taking down the shields of a colony? Answer me!" He hissed through his teeth, pressing a little harder.

The Emperor nodded and extracted himself from the Guards to get inside the Palace. There were Guards everywhere.
"Sir, are you alright-"
"I'm fine."
"You must stop! You could be wounded!"
"I am not. I must speak to the public. They have a right to know."
"But my Lord!"
"Enough. I am fine. Concentrate on helping the police wounded in the gun battle."
He knew that they were feeling humiliated, what with their failure to prevent the kidnapping of the Empress and now the attempted assassination of the Emperor. All on Palace grounds. The Emperor swept past them several floors up to his balcony overlooking Rio Casa, from where he made speeches. Already a crowd had gathered in the plaza below, and the citizens were being surronded by a number of police and Black Guards. Two Black Guards were behind him on either side, standing with their rifles pointing towards the sky, their experssion unknowable behind their black visored helmets. The Emperor put his hands on the balcony edge and rested against it, looking out at the low, dank skyline of Rio Casa. About five minutes passed before all the people had been situated and the cameras were looking at him. The Emperor's speech would be broadcasted not merely around the world, but on the moons and planets and even, after the Prime Minister's, on Alversia worlds. During this time he recieved reports via his neural implant about the prison breakout and the highjacking of the two A.I. ships. Finally it was all ready. The Emperor took a deep breath and began.
Ship...
The pilot grunted and spoke with raspy speech as his own blade pressed against his neck. "Chaos...can do all things...nothing can stand...before it's fury. Do not be...too proud of the things your people have created. They are...insignificant compared to the power...of the...Warp." Blood ran down his throat and he struggled to speak without cutting himself.

The Prime Minister, further from home than the Emperor, had no choice but to broadcast his message across Alversian and Allied Space. He knew that Billions would be watching this with every interest. It was such a pity he had to tell them this had happened. Their hopes for peace had been so high...

"Sir? We're ready in 3...2...1..."

Mallon faced the cameras and, without so much as a word of prepartion, he began to speak to his people...

Ship

Adrian gave a smile
"You really are willing to die for this Chaos? You've got guts kid, I'll give you that"
He removed the katana
"Guts will led you towards the machine gun, but that's as far as that will go. To walk away again, you need tactics. And tactics you lack"

He gave an evil smile

"And tactics are my speciality"

"People of Xiscapia, and those in the People's Republic who may be watching. You already know of the events which have rocked Xiscapia and Alversia both: The contact and destruction of the SASM, the assassination attempt on Head Admiral Krystal, the collusion between the APS Catalan and the Battleship Specter, the kidnapping of my wife, the Empress...the list goes on. Today we have three more to add: There was a breakout today at the Zartacla maximum security prison, and over two hundred prisoners have escaped. Two classified military vessals have been stolen from their docks, and mere minutes ago I and the Alversian Prime Minister were nearly killed by an assassin. We live in troubled times, my friends and comrades. There is no doubt of that. I regret to inform you that we have now discovered the identity of our mysterious attackers: There is an Xiscapian Rebellion." he waited a moment for the words to sink in. The assembled crowd gasped and he knew all across Allied space similiar reactions were happening. "They call themselves the Social Reformests. Their mission is to destroy our government and military though terrorist acts before waging total war and taking Xiscapia for their own. Even now they surely prepare. But," his voice rose now, "take heart! We prepare as well. Did we fall at the dawn of our time, when the Danaversians attacked? No! Did we fall during the Korr Wars? No! Did we fall to the Calaverans, to the Infected, to the SASM? NO! We fought, as we always did, and we won! Our enemies had everything: Superior technology, cunning, stealth, numbers, powers beyond anything we could concieve. But did we back down? Did we roll over and die? Did we allow the attackers to take us? NO! We fought back, no matter how outnumbered or outgunned we were, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed! And how are we paid? Though victory! What I come to say before you today is to name our aggressor and his past trespasses against us. I come to you during a time when all seems lost, when we have been attacked at all sides. Never, even in the darkest of nights, have we faultered, have we given up. I urge you to carry on our glorious tradition, and fight the enemy! Never give up hope! I think that the words of the Alversian Prime Minister during the Korr Wars, John Valour, fit this situation: 'If an Ally stands on the brink of peril, death and destruction, then let them know Alversia is beside them in the darkness. That was the way of the people. That was the way of the state. That was the way of Freedom.' And it is. This is not just a message for Alversians. This is a message for all free people. To stand together, even in the face of darkness. And finally, let us not forget our national motto:
"Through fighting we gain Freedom
Through freedom we gain Liberty
Through Liberty we gain Loyalty
Through Loyalty we Persevere."
And the end all those assembled in the plaza echoed the message as the Emperor said it, and after he finished speaking there was a great noise from the crowd. They stamped their feet and screamed and roared challenges and cheered, letting it all out. The Emperor waited for it all to quiet. Once it did he spoke, seemingly softly after the high-strung speech.
"And so this is what I say to you: Will you cower at home, helpless and weak while our enemies bombard around you? Or will you come, and meet them on the battlefield, and fight for Honor? Will you fight for the Alliance? For Freedom and Peace and Justice? For these are what we fight for, what we have always fought for, and what we always will fight for. Thank you." He bowed low and once again a cheer came up from the Xiscapians and Alversians in the square below. The Emperor turned and stepped back into the room, smiling lightly.
Ship...
The pilot fell onto all fours, tenderly rubbing his neck and spitting out blood and saliva onto the deck. "Of course you are," he choked out. "Why do you think we rescued you?"

Then it was Mallon's turn:

"People of Alversia. Comrades. Brothers. In these dark times we often look to that which matters most to gain the strength to carry on. The one shining beacon throughout our lives has been our Freedom. Our homes. There are those who desire the destruction of Alversian freedom. They have thrown themselves against our walls and time and time again we have repelled them. The Photenicans back in the early days, the Republican Army, the Danaversians and even the SASM. Through our strength and will we persevered and now I sit before you, with a new challenge. A threat grows, a great threat that will destroy the Republic and everything we have ever fought for. The Traitors of the Republican Army and the National Liberation Army desire nothing more than to place you all under their thumb. Alversia's children have suffered in these past few decades. Millions of sons and daughters, husbands and wives, uncles and aunts, cousins and friends gave their lives to defend us from the threat of dissection and anniliation. I ask you now, will we allow their legacy to fade into the darkness? Will we be the ones to see the golden gates of the Senate fall? Will it be us that bend to a new leader and proclaim him ruler of Alversia? I will not. I inform you of this because I plan to resist these attacks by the Enemy and am prepared to give my life if I have to, like so many before me. And I think it is one of our most cherished sayings that sums up what we must do
We stand togather for honour and freedom
We fight to the last for freedom and honour
It is an honour to die for freedom
Ladies and Gentlemen. Good luck"

With that, the transmission ended and people across the Alversian system digested the words of the Prime Minister in a variety of ways. Some sat back and thought long and hard about the commitment needed. Millions grabbed their coats and ran to the factories, to the shipyards. Even more marched right to their local barracks and demanded the Red Medallion. Alversia was mobilised, her people armed with courage and heart. They would not fall to the Rebels that easily.

Ship

"I know" Adrian said as he sat back down in his seat and cleaned the katana with his sleeve, "How far from the base now? Who is command of this little enterprise?"

The Emperor entered the room and sat in his white seat in front of a holo projector. Slowly, one by one, others entered the room. Dom, General of the entire Xiscapian Grand Army, bowed and sat across the room. Holly, Commander of the Xiscapian Mechanized Forces, quietly took a seat near the Emperor. Durc, Commander of the Shadow Ops, walked in and sat next to the Emperor, silently observing his comrades. Robs, Commander of Space Station Protector, Admiral Sor in Krystal's place and Chief Ambassador Vanadict came as well and took their places. Only then did the holo flare to life. "Connecting to Alversian uplink..." said the A.I. softly.
Ship...
"We are still far from the base. Several days. By "Command", it depends on what you mean. Currently Supreme Commander Vila is at the top, but the real Leader is Locke. He's away somewhere, but he'll be back by the time we get there."

OOC: Who's the link?

Ship

"Vila? The Pirate Lord? By God you lot are in trouble. Wasn't she last floating about with a few old wrecks she called a fleet? Pulling away at the first sign of a warship? Who else is in this 'mighty' rebellion? And, as for Locke, never heard of him. I suppose he is quite the bigshot?"

Adrian gave a hoarse laugh and continued to play with the pilot's katana while his men cleaned and checked their weapons.

OOC: The Alversian military leaders in general, as well as Mallon.
IC:
Ship...
"Vila is one of the best fighters I've ever known. And who wouldn't run from an Alversian battle fleet when all you've got is a far outdated, obsolete ships with a pirate crew? Fortunatly, thanks to the Hutt gangster supplying the mercenaries and pirates, we have great ships now. They look like patrols but have as much power as a Battleship. And Locke...I don't think that's his real name. No one seems to know who he was, but he had influence, where ever he came from. He's constructed the whole thing, engineered the Rebellion, made the deals and alliances, gotten the troops and weapons. The plan that got you out of prison was desinged by him, specifically to get you. Apparently he think's you will be an asset. Make sure you're not a liability. The last liabilities got left on an Xis-Alvo planet to be taken to Xiscapia and executed."

OOC: Aha...

There were many senior Alversians who flickered into life in that room
Admiral Thompson representing the APN
Air Marshal Joans representing the APNAF
Field Marshall Smith for the APA
Air Field Marshall Sanchez of the APAAF
Admiral Reynolds of the DMZ Forces

And finally, the Commander in Chief himself, Mallon. He was smiling as ever
"Well then, shall we get on with it?" He asked politely

Ship
OOC: Calling Connolly a liability :eek:

The first mistake the Kitsume made was trying to give Adrian an order. The second was trying to threaten him. Both made an impression. With unnatural speed, Connolly grabbed the Pilot by the back of the head and smashed his face into the console with all of his brute Alversian strength

He then kicked the Kitsume from his seat and aimed a hard boot into his ribcage. After hearing the crack, he placed the katana back at the Xiscapian's throat
"If you dare so much as mutter the word 'liability' in my presence again, I will ensure you are dropped on a Xis-Alvo planet minus your arms, legs and head. Do I make myself clear?"

The Emperor nodded. "Admiral's, Air Marshall, Field Marshall, Air Field Marshall, Commander-in-Chief. Welcome." He spread his hand to encompass those actually in the room. "Head Admiral Krystal of the Xiscapian Navy, Commander Holly of the Mechanized Division, Commander Durc of the Shadow Ops, Admiral Sor, General Dom of the XGA, Commander Robs of the Protector and Chief Ambassador Vanadict. Now that we're all aquinted, let's get down to business. Has your intelligence found anything on the Rebels or those associtated with them?" the question was directed at Mallon.
Ship...
The Xiscapian's face was bruised and bloodied, a rib was broken, his neck was bloody and he was generally bruised and hurt all over. He mumbled something that might have been an affirmative, spitting out blood and a broken tooth. "Yeah..."

"Yes, We believe that the ARA and the ANLA have formed an alliance with your own rebel groups and have begun to plot for a takeover of both worlds. The Calaverans were a part of it until the SASM war, now they have been removed completely from the picture. Actual numbers and equipment is a bit sketchy as far as we are concerned but hopefully we will be able to discover more. How about you?" Mallon asked

Ship

"Good" Adrian propped the Pilot back into his seat and kept fiddling with the katana sword, "Keep going. Get us there as fast as possible"

Krystal frowned. "The Calaverans? They must have made this alliance long before the construction of HOME was completed. Very well for them, all the Observers we know of have been destroyed, except maybe a few still in the Rebellion and the Freedom. This Rebellion has cost lives already, but I do not think they will be much of a threat in space, as long as we can get those A.I. ships back." Dom nodded in agreement. "Mere Rebels will not be able to stand against our firepower."
Ship...
The pilot dragged himself back into his seat, wincing. He pressed a couple of buttons and there was a rumble as the ship accelerated. "Is there a medic on this ship..."

"Nevertheless" it was Admiral Reynolds who spoke, "Confidence breeds arrogance and arrogance breeds mistakes. We cannot underestimate them at this point"

"True, true," It was Field Marshall Smith who spoke, "They are still dangerous on land and that is where this campaign will be won or lost"

Ship

At Adrian's nod, one of the Convicts scuttled up to the Pilot and started to clean and repair his wounds, Adrian didn't even bother watching and instead continued to play with the sword
"Where did you get this?" He asked calmly.

"All the best pilots are overconfident." said Krystal. Dom looked curiously at Field Marshall Smith. "How do you figure this? So far as know, the Rebels have no home planet. Even if they do, what is stopping us from glassing it out of existance? Unless they actually make planetfall on Xiscapia or Alversia or one of our colonies, then I see no reason for a ground battle to ever occur."
Ship...
The pilot almost laughed, but caught himself just in time. "Like every other Xiscapian. It was forged together with my family. It's sheath, the blade and hilt and decor, all made by them and me. It is mine."

Smith turned and looked at Dom through veteran eyes. The eyes of a man who's seen it all
"How thickly can you stretch your defences across all your colonies and still maintain a strong protection for Xiscapia? If I recall correctly, they have stolen two of your most modern battleships, would these not possess a threat to one of the outer colonies?

Ship

Adrian ran the katana through his fingers over and over again
"Fascinating, fascinating. I may have one of these made myself, quite an elegant weapon. Far more so than the Wielder himself"

Dom stared right back. He was no green trainee, a seasoned General from the days of the Korr Wars. "And these ships can be met and destroyed in space. Ground units will not need to come into the picture unless the Rebels manage to bypass our space defenses and land. As for Xiscapia-" Robs spoke up. "The Protector has been here for decades. It has always served Xiscapia well, and only one was an enemy able to land. We do not need massive fleets of dozens of ships to protect our holdings. One of our Cruisers holds as much firepower as any of your Dreadnoughts." Now Holly spoke for the first time. "Do not forget: We have extensive mechanized defenses. A dozen LAM can take an entire battlecruiser quite easily. Same with ground forces. Unless you have similar mechs or powerful missiles, our mechs are very hard to destroy."
Ship...
The kitsune ignored the implied insult. "A katana is nearly worthless if it is not forged by hand, from the soul. Factory made is made by robots, or careless workers, and has no soul and no power."

Reynolds stepped in
"Excuse me, Commanders but what is at stake here is not how powerful your fleet is in comparison to ours. Both are formidable and both will be difficult to bypass, but those who fail to prepare, prepare to fail. We need to think of every possible outcome, including a few of them bypassing our ships and hitting the surface of a colony."

Air Field Marshall Joans nodded in agreement
"We need to be ready for every outcome, even if it is impossible"

Ship

"Soul and power mean nothing to me, I want something I can use to sever limbs and this does the job nicely" Adrian stared straight ahead, "How far now until our mighty 'Armada'?"

The Emperor spoke. "I agree. Defenses have already been set up on all of our remaining colonies in such an event, Dom was arguing the point that they would ever be needed at all. Now, onto more important matters. We have learned that the Rebels are in a large part being funded by a Hutt gangster named Jorga. He is a powerful crimelord who recides on a Rim planet that we have no been able to pinpoint yet. No one seems to know why he is giving financial aid to the Rebellion, but Hutts never do anything if they cannot profit from it. We suspect that he has supplied an amount of Mercenaries and Privateers as well, so we can expect as such."
Ship...
"Two days, now. This transport was not made for long hauls, it has a restroom, but very little food or water. All the space was cleared to pack as many prisoners in as possible." the pilot looked longingly at his sword, but he didn't bring it up. Not if the man flew into another one of his rages and decided to kill him this time. Besides, he could always forge another one...

"Hmmm, Hutt Pilots have a formidable reputation. It may pose some challenge to gain superiority over them, especially if they are flying the latest fighters, which I suspect they will be" It was the quiet Air Field Marshall Joans suggestion, "And there is also the risk of Danaversian interference"

"Yes, We suspect that Danaversian ships have been breaching the DMZ and heading for Rebel space, two Battleships may not fighten you, but does a Shoal of Barracuda? The latest classes are technical marvels, so we believe" Field Marshall Smith admitted sadly

"Indeed, the technical gap between our fleets is shortening, the next war may be costly" Reynolds concurred.

Ship

Adrian noticed the stare but he ignored it, he liked this sword and it would save him trying to get one for himself. Then he took stock of that the Pilot had said of the ship
"Get us there within 36 hours then, and make all our sufferings a little less painful"

The Emperor coughed quietly. "So far as I know, Hutts do not pilot ships, and certainly not fighters at that. The forces are made up of Gran, Humans, Rodians, Weequey, Angolish, and other species. But the Danaversians? What could they gain from such? Unless there are other factors that we are not aware of, it would be quite foolish to invest in the Rebellion."
Ship...
"I'll try, but she's already groaning under the strain." said the pilot doubtfully. "You know what's left after an accident in hyperspace? Nothing."
OOC: I'll be off for about an hour.

"What I meant by that, My Lord, was that ships flying the emblem of the Hutts tend to be rather vicious in space combat" Joans clarified calmly, "However, I still think we will be able to match them"

"As for the Danaversians, the fact this Rebellion will target us is enough for the them. They desire nothing more than our destruction and a redrawing of all spacial maps to show that Alversia is a part of their empire," Reynolds explained bitterly, "They aren't among the Universe's great thinkers, the Danaversians and this Rebellion is short term enough for them to throw everything behind it. That is besides the point that they now outnumber us in terms of ships after the SASM war and the chance to split us on two fronts will be too much of a temptation, I fear."

Next to speak was Smith,
"You know that we cannot focus everything on this Rebellion, don't you? We no longer have the resources to man the DMZ and to deal with threats outside our direct space. Most of the Alversia's orbit is already under the command of the Custom's Fleet. We have few ships to spare for a rebellion."

OOC: Fair enough, but you an hour usually means three (Unless my clocks are VERY slow :p)

Ship

"I don't care about that Pilot. Death loses all flavour when you've faced it a few thousand times. SO just get us there or the rebellion will be over by the time we reach it"

"Of course," This was from Krystal. "You have taken terrible losses in the SASM battle. Our fleets and troops will do their best to hunt down and destroy the Rebellion while you rebuild and recover." The Emperor nodded. "Our first link will be to track down this Hutt crimelord. He will led us to the Rebellion, which will led us to the leader. The Rebellion is shaky at best, and should the leaders be killed it will splinter into warring factions. However, this will not be an easy task. We will accept your help where ever you may lend it."
Ship...
"Aye, sir." The pilot pushed the final lever and the ship gave a terrible groan. "There you are. Thirty-six hours."

"Hmmm, perhaps a Task Fleet from the DMZ, Admiral?" Mallon asked the Reynolds hologram, it frowned

"Perhaps. It depends on weither or not the Danaversians cut their border-running tactics or if we need everything to counter them. On the other hand it should be possible to take a few ships from each sector. I'll make a report on what I can spare."

"A wise plan from the Admiral" Joans spoke up again, "From what our sources tell us, the various groups within the Rebellion are deeply mistrustful of each other and will not work well togather as a unit. We may also have been helped by the release of Adrian Connolly."

"How did you figure that one out, Air Marshal?" Thompson asked with amusement.

"Because," Joans explained, "Adrian Connolly has an agenda the size of a Dreadnought and the ego the size of a planet. I cannot really see him and the Commander of the ARA getting on, can you? Plus there's this Vila character. I doubt she will want to listen to Connolly any moer than he will want to listen to her."

"Good point, Air Marshall, well made. If you will excuse me, Ladies, Kitsume and Gentlemen, I need to see what forces I can scrape togather for our Task Force. I will report back momentarily"

Reynolds' hologram fizzed out, leaving a small gap
"First things, first. Any way of capturing this Hutt so we can see exactly what he has given the Rebellion?" Mallon asked.

"Hutts are tricky creatures. It will not be easy to get though, as most Hutts have a small military force made up of mercenaries and loyal servants to guard them. Jorga owns most of the planet, which is a, ah, pleasure world. It is not a major tourist industry, but it attracts the rich, which makes it quite profitable." said Durc, Commander of the Shadow Ops, in charge of Intelligence. "I do not recommand a fleet appearing in his space, as this will just make him run or hide, and will not further our goal. A small team to enter his stronghold and "persuade" him to give up information would be better suited. We may not even need to go to him, if we can find the information electronically."
The Emperor spoke.
"Vila, we now know, is not the leader of the Rebellion. She is merely in charge until the true leader returns from where ever he or she is, a second-in-command. Killing her would cause disruption, but it would not achieve the desired result of tearing the Rebellion apart."

"It will be difficult to get through his defences at all, Hutts are not welcoming by nature" Smith replied to Durc, "A small team would be under considerable risk while attempting to perform this mission"

"As for the leader of the Rebellion," Mallon spoke up, "The leader is ineffective if his Lieutenants do not agree. One thing we know for certain that Hanlon and Connolly will not get along and I doubt Vila will get on with either of them. It all depends on the situation. If they are winning, they will act like happy Allies. If they are under pressure, then we may see cracks appear."

"It is out there and it is real, I agree, Emperor" Mallon nodded thoughtfully before turning to the Commander of Shadow Ops
"And we do need someone who is able to blend into the background. Do you have any ideas?"

"Dangerious, yes, but I believe that our technology is superior to anything Jorga or his guards possess. All it would take is a few Shadow Ops or Commandos. You are correct, however. His fortress is exceedingly well guarded and little goes on on the planet that we does not know of. What we need is someone going there who would not look out of place."
The Emperor nodded. "I agree. All we need to do is keep the pressure on them and they will either break and run or fracture into their own factions, as I stated before. Nevertheless, the threat is out there, and very real."
OOC: TG

"It is out there and it is real, I agree, Emperor" Mallon nodded thoughtfully before turning to the Commander of Shadow Ops
"And we do need someone who is able to blend into the background. Do you have any ideas?"
Durc thought for a moment, scrolling though lists. Privateers, mercenaries under government pay, Xiscapian Shadow Ops deployed as pirates...then he came to a conclusion. "There is one...but to use them would be risky. Plus we have already used them once, and I doubt they would enjoy being intruded on again." It took little brains to figure out who he was talking about, after the events of the SASM battle, everyone knew the identity of those who destroyed the Server.

There was not even the smallest sign of hesitation amongst the Alversian Senior Officers with regards to who they were talking about, but a little hesiation about asking them again
"That will be difficult. Unless you have forgotten, they left the last war filthy rich. I don't think they will be so easily persuaded back into active duty. Not without persuason from a few old friends in the outer colonies and one in the Home Fleet. What do you think?" Mallon asked.

The Emperor spoke. "They have proven a valuable asset in the past, this is true. But if we must call on their services again, we will do as we have to. We do not lack funds to pay them with, although after this point I do hope they will retire. If this keeps up Xiscapia will be broke within the decade." he smiled.

"So it seems, the entire treasury will be in their pockets soon. However, if we are going to pay them a hell of a lot of money, I would like a few Alversians to accompany them. Maybe a few familiar friends?" Mallon smiled

"As I understand it," the Emperor raised his eyebrows, "someone has sent them on a mission to a outer colonie to erradicate a certain new menace. Even so, any world which gets Alversian or Xiscapian visitors, and Jorga's world does, would surely know the names Sasha and Ashe by now. Even with extensive reconstruction it would still be possible to tell though scans or DNA tests their indentities. Besides, now that at least Ashe has been declared a hero of the Empire and the Republic, her death would be a harsh blemish on the war. No, I think we are better sending the two mercenaries in alone."

"It was not the Admiral, I was referring to" Mallon conceded, "I was thinking more of her Flag Captain. Maybe we could find a use for Alexander Cavourna in this little escapade? He does have extensive knowledge of the underworld and he is not well known enough to be picked out from a crowd"

"Indeed? I see. This could work." the Emperor nodded his head. "Yes. I will contact them as soon as possible and arrange the details."
The servants heard this and in minutes the call was on it's way.
Apartment, Rio Casa...
Kartosh sighed deeply and gravitated to the warmest place on his bed: Skyler's naked body. The days were steadly getting colder as the Death Season took it's hold on Xiscapia. The leaves were falling from the trees, already dead, and the sky became a permanent shade of gray. A bitter wind whistled though the streets, howling past Death Seasons, or as the Alversians called it, Fall. The Xiscapians had thought this rather stupid. "Fall? What Falls?" they demanded. The Alversians patiently explained that Fall was called so because the leaves fell from the trees during that time. The response was a puzzled shrug from most Xiscapians. "So? Leaves fall in Fire Season, Ice Season, and Life Season too." Exhasperated, the Alversians gave up.

It was late in the afternoon by this time, nearing evening. The two Xiscapian mercenaries were curled up with each other in bed, Skyler asleep and Kartosh dozing. After the whole deal with the SASM and Kartosh's exceedingly expensive medical treatments, it was time for a rest. After all, the two had between them over ten million credits, making them very, very rich. They had not actually done anything with the money yet, but there were plans. Plans which were soon to be curtailed. The comm unit beeped softly. Kartosh didn't hear it. There was another beep. Skyler stirred quietly and rolled over. Kartosh opened his eyes. The unit beeped a third time. Half asleep, the well built mercenary dragged himself out of bed and stepped over to the comm unit.

"lo." "Mr. Kartosh?" Kartosh grunted. "Hold on." He could barely hear the man on the other end, his ears ringing. Kartosh staggered out of the bedroom, wincing as his joints eased into position. His hearing had been badly damaged by the Server in a last-ditch attempt to save itself. He and Skyler still bore scars and bruises, but they would heal in time. Only Kartosh had been permenently damaged. He looked around the dingy apartment for a moment. The place was half below ground level, partially underground. It had five rooms: A bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, a tiny living room and an office. It was Kartosh's and Skyler's home in Rio Casa, rarely used and chosen because of it's cheap rent. It could not be said to be located in the slums, because there were no slums in Rio Casa, but it was certainly a tad seedy. The place was gray: The air, the walls, the frunitue, everything. The only lights that worked were the office and bathroom lights, and the microwave in the kitchen, as well as the comm unit in the bedroom. Thus it was always dim. Everything was covered in dust and grime, from no cleanings for a long time. The place was not actually dirty, just poorly mantained. It was also nearly bare, with few personal items. Kartosh walked into the bathroom and, without turning on the light, unscrewed a bottle and popped two tiny white pills into his mouth. He tossed the bottle back onto the sink and swallowed. He closed his eyes for a few moments and felt his acute hearing return. He sighed and stomped back to the comm unit. "Whatdayawant?"
"Um, this is Mr. Kartosh?"
"Yeah."
"The Xiscapian Naval Headquarters would like to-"
"What? No!"
"But sir, if you would just listen-"
"No. Look, who is this?"
"I am a public relations official with the Palace."
"No, what is your name."
"My name?"
"Yes."
"Well, my name is Officer Inbis."
"Officer Inbis, lemme tell ya something: I've been though shit this past week. My ship crashed landed on some godsforsaken ice rock in the middle of nowhere. I am hunted down and nearly taken to prison by Alversians. I am narrowly able to convince them of my government job. So from that point I am almost killed about a hundred times over, I do things I would have before dimissed as impossible, I lost most of my hearing, I became filthy stinking rich, and you know what I'm doing? I'm at home, with my girl, in bed. I deserve it. So no, I don't feel like going on anymore fool adventures!"
"But sir, the Palace is offering-"
"Let me get this though your head: I don't care. They could be offering ownership of the entire Empire and Republic combined and I'd still tell them to go fuck themselves!"
"Mr. Kartosh, please be reasonable."
There was the buzz of a dial tone.
Kartosh grunted, placed the comm back in it's reciever, and ripped the cord out of the wall. Then he went back to bed.
Palace, Imperial Chambers...
The Emperor seemed to stare into space for a moment. "It seems that Mr. Kartosh dosen't want to accept our offer. He said, and I quote 'They could be offering ownership of the entire Empire and Republic combined and I'd still tell them to go fuck themselves.'" The Emperor shrugged. "Can anyone tell me where Flag Captain Alexander Cavourna is? I think he may have to have a word with the mercenaries. Our goals and first step to crushing the Rebellion depend upon these sullen mercs."

Mallon gave a small laugh at the Mercenaries reluctance
"I have to admit, I would not like to take up a new offer after my last one left me with physical scars. Captain Cavourna is currently on Shore Leave in Illesia. He will be recalled immediately. The Republic cannot wait."

Smith nodded, "I'll get right on it"

South Passage, Illesia City, Alversia

"C'mon Son! Pass the ball!" Cavourna shouted desperately from the stands as his son feinted passing and managed to beat his marker. They were at a Junior Football game and Alexander's son, Ian, was playing as Captain of one of the sides. They were down by a goal and a point and it seemed that Ian was started to come into form.

"Look out the left! Look out the left! Timmy's free! Look at him...for the love of god!" He shouted in frustration as Ian used his strength to push past a challenger and launch the ball high into the air towards the goal. It slipped easily and seemlessly through the posts. One of the men by the posts raised a white flag to signal that a point had been scored.

"That boy of yours is one hell of a player" One of the other Fathers complemented him.

Cavourna, wearing civilian clothes for the first time in weeks, sighed and nodded
"He's good, but he's not infallible. He needs to learn there's a reason why fourteen other people play on his team too."

After the match, Cavvourna collected his son and headed for their home, just a few hundred meters away. Ian babbled on exitedly about school, his mates and other general things. Ian adored his father and rarely ever got to see him. Captain Cavourna had a lot to do with the APN.

Soon they had arrived at home and, standing at the door was Natalie Cavourna, Alex's wife. With one hand, she gave her son a kiss and the other took his filthy kit to wash. Then, as Ian ran into the house, she and Alex exchanged an affectionate kiss.

"Well, how was it?"

"They won by a point"

"Very good. Did Ian play well?"

"Excellent as ever, can't say his teammates will agree though. He didn't let them do much"

"Ah Alex, he has to learn about teamwork. It will take time for him to learn that"

"I know, I know" Alex walked into the house, exchanged a few pleasantries with the Maid Robot washing the floor of the kitchen.

The Cavourna House (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/graphics/2006/11/14/pdream214.jpg)

Then the phone rang and Natalie went through to answer it. Alex walked into the living room and sat down in one of the large chairs, relaxing. he was planning to visit one of his old friends from the Academy later for a game of golf. A friendly match that he would undoubtedly turn into a competition. He always did.

Then he heard Natalie's voice
"Alex dear? It's for you"

Sighing, he picked himself up and accepted the phone from his wife. She moved off to help their son with his Homework, and he answered the phone

"Yes, Alexander Cavourna here"

"Captain Cavourna?"

"Yes," Alex's heart sank. He knew who it was, "Who is calling?"

"This is Lieutenant Davros from APNHQ. You are being recalled from Shore Leave for a vital mission essential to the protection of the Republic. Be here in one hour. No more." The phone went dead.

Half an hour later, his bags packed, Cavourna was in his car (http://www.softpedia.com/screenshots/Sport-Concept-Cars_3.png) heading into the centre of Illesia and the home of the APN. A rather brief and bitter goodbye to his son and wife had not been a pleasant experience for him. It never was. The whole damn Republic better be falling apart for this.

APN Headquarters, Illesia City, Alversia (http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/thumb/2/21/300px-Mk01n101.jpg)

"I don't understand, Sir. Why me?" Cavourna asked as he walked through the gardens of the APNHQ, with a very important and old friend alongside him.

Reynolds sighed softly and turned to Cavourna
"Your knowledge of the Underworld is essential to this mission. There isn'y another in the fleet who knows what you know about the Hutts and their operations. You understand the seriousness of the situation?"

"Of course, Sir, but I fail to see why I should go. Am I to go alone/"

"Of course not, Alex. It's just that the first part of your mission is to persuade the rest of your group to join. They are rather...reluctant to put themselves forward for planet and people again, y'know"

Alex moved slightly to allow two jogging Ensigns to pass, then he let slip a small smile
"Kartosh and Skyler. They don't want to help you?"

"The Emperor has tried and failed to get them aboard. We're hoping a friendly face will be more persuasive"

"Maybe someone else? Admiral Reyes perhaps? Or Lieutenant Commander Sasha?"

"Considered and rejected. One, they are both on active duty in the outer colonies. Two, both are too well known to bring into the underworld and both are in considerably more danger if they are caught rather than you. An Admiral fetches an excellent price these days."

Reynolds and Cavourna turned a corner and headed for the main building itself. Various soldiers walked about, confereing, laughing or analysising. The area was a rainbow of the various colours from the different services that made up the Alversian Armed Services.

"Very well, I see I don't have a choice in this. Where am I heading for this, Sir?" Cavourna asked

"To Rio Casa. You know where their apartment is don't you?"

"I do, Sir"

"Very well. Don't forget, Alex. This mission is vital to the protection of both the Xiscapian Empire and the Alversian Republic. Failure is not an option."

"Of course not, Sir"

"Then good luck Old Friend"

Rio Casa, Kartosh and Skyler's apartment

Cavourna sighed nervously and adjusted his Captain's uniform for the sixth time since arriving on the surface. Alversian Servicemen walked about Rio Casa all the time and so he had attracted no attention. On the other hand, he expected no warm welcome from the owners of the door he was about ring.

He walked forward and rapped politely on the door.

After Cavourna knocked there was nearly a full thirty seconds of silence. Finally the door opened. Kartosh stood there, bare chested, wearing a pair of black jeans. He was barefoot, and didn't look so good. In fact, it looked as though he had just woken up. He stared at Cavourna though yellow eyes for a moment. "No," he said. "No, no, oh no." he grumbled and turned around to the darkness of his apartment, leaving the Alversian at the door but the door open. Cavourna heard Kartosh call out: "Skyler, put something on. We've got company."

With raised eyebrows, Cavourna entered the apartment, wrinkling his nose as usual when entering. Then he gave a small smile
"Not the warmest of greetings, Mr Kartosh. How are you these days?" Then he noticed Skyler, "Nice to see you again, Ma'am" He gave a small bow.

Cavourna gave small nod and sat down in the chair at the table. Then he stopped smiling for a moment,
"In all honesty. I think you know why I am here, don't you?"
However, upon spotting the coffee he rubbed his hands togather
"Excellent! I've been travelling for three days now to get here as soon as possible. I was on Shore Leave Y'know. The first time I've seen my Family in five months and I get a week with them. The joys of the APN" He sighed.

Skyler blushed, as at the moment she was wearing only her underware. She fixed this problem, throwing on some clothes from the floor. Not that she would have cared normally, but there was something about Cavourna which made one want to stand up straight and salute. Kartosh grumbled some more at Cavourna's inquiry. "Not so hot. Just trying to sleep off the old wounds and relax for a while. Give me another day or so and I'll be back to my old self." He looked suspiciously at Cavourna as he brewed a pot of coffee. The mercenary knew Alversians liked coffee, so he had a pot on hand. "Why are you here, Cavourna?" Skyler sat down at the rickity wooden table, inviting Cavourna to take a seat as well.

"Are you aware of all the facts pertaining to this mission?"

He asked, as he took a sip of coffee, feeling the caffeine run through his blood and giving him a new breath of life. Rio Casa coffee was as good as anything found on Alversia and a very profitable export business was run between the two planets.

"What did the Emperor tell you?" He asked, curiously, "How's the hearing, By the way?" He added on.

Cavourna gave small nod and sat down in the chair at the table. Then he stopped smiling for a moment,
"In all honesty. I think you know why I am here, don't you?"
However, upon spotting the coffee he rubbed his hands togather
"Excellent! I've been travelling for three days now to get here as soon as possible. I was on Shore Leave Y'know. The first time I've seen my Family in five months and I get a week with them. The joys of the APN" He sighed.
Skyler rose and handed Cavourna a cup of Rio Casa coffee. Before contact with the Alversians the Xiscapians had found the coffee bean planet in abundence in certain parts of the world. The caffine, however, merely tasted bitter and lent none of it's effects to Xiscapian the Alversians so loved. So it was phased out to make room for food crops. Now, however, the coffee industry was big, although it catered almost entirely to Alversian customers. Skyler sat back down and so did Kartosh. "Sorry about your family." said Kartosh. "There's a reason why I dropped out of service..." Skyler nodded. "We know why you're hear, Cavourna. And the answer is still no."

"Are you aware of all the facts pertaining to this mission?"

He asked, as he took a sip of coffee, feeling the caffeine run through his blood and giving him a new breath of life. Rio Casa coffee was as good as anything found on Alversia and a very profitable export business was run between the two planets.

"What did the Emperor tell you?" He asked, curiously, "How's the hearing, By the way?" He added on.
"Hearings better, I suppose. I still have to take those damn pills, and if I don't or I go too long without I lose almost all my hearing. It wasn't the Emperor who called, of course, it was one of his lackys. I didn't stop to hear it, I just told him no and hung up. Why? What's the mission about?"

"Hearings better, I suppose. I still have to take those damn pills, and if I don't or I go too long without I lose almost all my hearing. It wasn't the Emperor who called, of course, it was one of his lackys. I didn't stop to hear it, I just told him no and hung up. Why? What's the mission about?"

"You didn't even hear what the mission was about? Fine then," Cavourna took a deep breath before continuing,
"It seems that the Rebels group that the SASM were hiding in has made it's first moves. Not only has it tried to kill both the Emperor of Xiscapia and the Prime Minister of Alversia, they have also managed to comendeer two modern Battleships of the Xiscapian Navy. They also attacked a Prison colony and rescued an extremely dangerous Alversian. Namely Adrian Connolly of the ANLA. One of the most dangerous men alive. We need to find out who the main leader is though and to do that, we need to 'talk' with their Supplier. A mission that both the APN and the XN feel you are perfectly suited for."

Cavourna lowered his voice

"This mission is vital to the survival of the People's Republic and the Kitsume Empire. We are not strong enough to repel an attack from the Rebels and the Danaversian Empire. Not after the SASM war. We desperatly need your help" He finished desperately.

"You didn't even hear what the mission was about? Fine then," Cavourna took a deep breath before continuing,
"It seems that the Rebels group that the SASM were hiding in has made it's first moves. Not only has it tried to kill both the Emperor of Xiscapia and the Prime Minister of Alversia, they have also managed to comendeer two modern Battleships of the Xiscapian Navy. They also attacked a Prison colony and rescued an extremely dangerous Alversian. Namely Adrian Connolly of the ANLA. One of the most dangerous men alive. We need to find out who the main leader is though and to do that, we need to 'talk' with their Supplier. A mission that both the APN and the XN feel you are perfectly suited for."

Cavourna lowered his voice

"This mission is vital to the survival of the People's Republic and the Kitsume Empire. We are not strong enough to repel an attack from the Rebels and the Danaversian Empire. Not after the SASM war. We desperatly need your help" He finished desperately.
"And what," asked Kartosh, leaning back in his chair, stroking his chin stubble thoughtfully, "are they offering for such a mission? Also, who is the Supplier?"

"And what," asked Kartosh, leaning back in his chair, stroking his chin stubble thoughtfully, "are they offering for such a mission? Also, who is the Supplier?"

" I don't know about either, all I know is that the Supplier is a Hutt and that the money reward for such a mission will be considerable. Your talents are in much demand" He smiled, "It seems that deserting the Navy has been rather profitable for you"

" I don't know about either, all I know is that the Supplier is a Hutt and that the money reward for such a mission will be considerable. Your talents are in much demand" He smiled, "It seems that deserting the Navy has been rather profitable for you"
"Much more profitable than staying. A Hutt, huh? I know a few. Don't really like any of them much, although they seem to love the services we provide. When it comes time to pay, they try to lower the original price or even kill you. Slimy bastards." he shook his head. "Alright. Fine. Just...give me a day. Give us a day. We're still recovering from the battle, okay?" he looked at Cavourna. "Why you? Why did they send you?"

"Much more profitable than staying. A Hutt, huh? I know a few. Don't really like any of them much, although they seem to love the services we provide. When it comes time to pay, they try to lower the original price or even kill you. Slimy bastards." he shook his head. "Alright. Fine. Just...give me a day. Give us a day. We're still recovering from the battle, okay?" he looked at Cavourna. "Why you? Why did they send you?"

Cavourna gave a mischievious grin
"Remember when myself and Ashe encountered you at that Crime Lord's Mansion? We were out there on behalf of the Alversian Navy in an attempt to gain more information about the Hutts and their operations in that area. As Admiral Ashe is on active duty elsewhere, I am the logical choice to accompany you on such a mission. I do have contacts in the underworld as well y'know. But not as Alexander Cavourna, rather as 'Adrian Cantona'. As for a day. Fine. I'll meet you at the Star Snake's berth in exactly 24 hours. I'll see myself out, thanks for the coffee"

And with that, he got up and exited the apartment. Glad to be out in the fresh air and light of the city. He sighed in relief and walked along the street towards his hotel.

Kartosh just nodded vaugly as the Alversian left. "The government has caught up to us once again. I just hope this mission will go better and shorter than the last once." he murmered. Skyler put her hands on his shoulders and massaged gently. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."
The next day, 6:40 PM local time, Star Snake's berth...
Kartosh and Skyler, now fully dressed and looking significantly more alert and cleaner than the night before, stood at the docking berth for the Star Snake. Kartosh absentmindedly clicked his heels together as he waited, a habit picked up in the Army and one he had never really gotten rid of. Skyler leaned casually against a wall, reviewing the ship's maifest on a datapad.

Star Snake Berth

Adrian Cavourna stepped out of the APN Car and walked up the berth in which the Star Snake was docked. Unlike their previous meeting, Cavourna had removed his clean and tidy Captain's Uniform and wore more casual clothes with a Danaversian blaster in the holster at his belt
"Ready to go?" Cavourna asked happily, "Glad to see you made it"

"Yep. XNHQ said they'd be sending a information packet once we got into orbit with details on our mission. We've restocked since the battle, shiny new state-of-the-art weaponry. You'll like it." They entered the Star Snake, which looked exactly the same as the last time Cavourna had entered it. Kartosh yanked open the equipment locker to reveal a large number of new weapons, including handheld phasers, shuriken shooters, Tenloss matter disrupter sniper rifles, repeating rifles, portable laser turrets and a amount of other guns and weapons. Skyler was busy powering the ship up. Kartosh spread his hand over the assortment. "Pick one, anyone."

Cavourna nodded, impressed with the selection, and picked up one of the phaser weapons. He caressed it carefully, running his fingers over every button and checking the sights carefully
"Where did you get this?" He asked, "It's too elegant to be Danaversian"

Cavourna nodded, impressed with the selection, and picked up one of the phaser weapons. He caressed it carefully, running his fingers over every button and checking the sights carefully
"Where did you get this?" He asked, "It's too elegant to be Danaversian"
"Fresh out of an Alversian experimental weapons lab someplace. Very powerful, it's like a tiny laser cannon. It works like a blaster. The downside is it eats up ammo very quickly and can only be fired in a single shot, rather than bursts or a controlled beam." The Star Snake lifted off away from the planet to settle into orbit.

"I know what a Phaser is, Kartosh" Cavourna replied calmly, "They were the main weapons on our ships after all. What I was asking was how in the hell did you get it? This hasn't even been issued to Test Battalions yet" Then he turned Skyler
"Any chance of take-off soon? We don't have time on our side"

"Er...well..." Kartosh figited. "I have a friend in the weapons testing department, see, and it was a little gift after he heard I lost my hearing..."
Skyler grinned. "We're already in orbit, Flag Captain. We've made modifications to this ship, the engines are so quiet that you don't even know you're moving." There was a *bing* noise from the panel. Skyler looked it over. "Ahah, our information packet, right on time." She opened the file.
Operation: Slicer
Current Mission Objective: Locate and eliminate Rebellion Supplier, discover identity of Rebel Leader
Current Mission Personnal: Flag Captain Alexander Cavourna, private contractors Pilot Skyler and Captain Kartosh
(coordinates enclosed)
Jorga the Hutt is a suspected supplier of the Rebellion with credits, troops, ships and information. He runs a small criminal empire on the pleasure world of Dons, where he can be located most of the time. Dons capital city, Kingsten, in where Jorga's palace may be found. It is heavily guarded by a number of troops, ships, and automated defenses. Your mission objective is to eliminate Jorga and discover the identity of the Rebel leader. Payment will consist of half a million (500,000) credits on completion. You are authorized to use any means neccisary, outside of the murder of civilians, to achieve your objective.
(Guard and ship numbers and type enclosed)

"I am impressed Skyler, this has some investment in it. Has it not, the ex APAS craft?" He walked over to the main console and started to type into it
"Any sign of that intel we need?" He asked

Once he had read the information, he gave a small whistle
"Jorga the Hutt. he's well known for having a small fleet of ex-Customs ships upgraded with more modern weapons. This should be fun" Then he frowned, "Other than that, I don't know much about him. He always prefers to use middlemen rather than get his own hands dirty"

He looked at Kartosh
"Any plans?" He asked

IC:
Kartosh nodded. "We have frequented his world in the past, both for relaxation and work. He won't be expecting us, rumor has it among the underworld that we died during the SASM battle. Nevertheless, he'll be somewhat friendly, as we've worked for him before. We gain enterence to the Palace under the guise of looking for more work. I suggest we hack the computers to find out the Rebel leader's name before we go and assassinate Jorga. After all, there's going to be a lot of chaos after his assassination. Something to keep in mind: Hutts are very hard to kill. They are nearly impossible to poison, can take blaster bolts to the head ans survive, and are actually fairly strong. They're real advantage lies in their mind. They're clever, crafty and sly, and won't think twice about killing an allie if they think it would further their own interests."

OCC: Are the SASM dead?

IC:
Kartosh nodded. "We have frequented his world in the past, both for relaxation and work. He won't be expecting us, rumor has it among the underworld that we died during the SASM battle. Nevertheless, he'll be somewhat friendly, as we've worked for him before. We gain enterence to the Palace under the guise of looking for more work. I suggest we hack the computers to find out the Rebel leader's name before we go and assassinate Jorga. After all, there's going to be a lot of chaos after his assassination. Something to keep in mind: Hutts are very hard to kill. They are nearly impossible to poison, can take blaster bolts to the head ans survive, and are actually fairly strong. They're real advantage lies in their mind. They're clever, crafty and sly, and won't think twice about killing an allie if they think it would further their own interests."

Cavourna listened then nodded
"Adrian Cantona built something of a reputation while in the Underworld as a man who can get the job done. I think he'll be pleased to see all three of us. And as for killing him, about using your new toy here" He lifted the Phaser rifle, "How able will a directed-energy beam to be pierce his thick skin?" He asked, smiling

"Quite frankly, it will turn him into so much charred biological matter." Kartosh grinned at the thought. There was a whisper of sound. "Entering hyperspace." said Skyler. "It will take us about three hours to reach our destination."
OOC:
Yes, NC, the SASM are dead.
Whatever happened to Blackwater?
I can see this happening to Kash (http://www.funkysmell.com/Comics/fsc21_darth_vader.jpg)

OCC: the pics to small to see, and Blackwater is in a escape shuttle, hes been living off of its supplies for awhile now.

"Quite frankly, it will turn him into so much charred biological matter." Kartosh grinned at the thought. There was a whisper of sound. "Entering hyperspace." said Skyler. "It will take us about three hours to reach our destination."
OOC:
Yes, NC, the SASM are dead.
Whatever happened to Blackwater?
I can see this happening to Kash (http://www.funkysmell.com/Comics/fsc21_darth_vader.jpg)

"Three hours? That'll give me time to test out our new toy here" He smiled as he lifted the weapon, "The sooner we complete this mission, the sooner we can go home"

"Three hours? That'll give me time to test out our new toy here" He smiled as he lifted the weapon, "The sooner we complete this mission, the sooner we can go home"
Kartosh raised his eyebrows. "Cetainly not. Where would you test it? If you fired it in here we'd all die. It's unloaded, anyhow."
OOC: What is Blackwater's current location?