NationStates Jolt Archive

Hurtrix and Nova Reginix

While the Greal fleets were battling the Calaverians, there was a uprising in the Greal Empire. It had happened so fast. The humans had rebelled because they were tired of the Techars ruling over them. Ziller Remetrix was killed in a bomb explosion that killed several dozen important Techar officials he was meeting. After a five minute warning to human senators, the congressional building collapsed after a massive explosion that killed all the Techar senators. The top Techar generals, before they were able to gather Techar troops to protect the remaining, each were assassinated. Within hour, the humans, with surprise, had utterly destroyed the Techar government. Normally the Techars had sheer numbers, but this time, the humans somehow barely outnumbered the Techars.

For weeks leading up the the rebellion, the humans secretly cloned themselves to speed up production. New human supersoldiers were created to combat the Black Guard. A hour before the rebellion, everything was ready. Humans were placed in key positions. On board naval ships, most crews were humans or some other type of species. The Remelars and Galaxs joined in with the humans, killing their Techar neighbors. The remaining two Techar senators escaped to a moon, where they were blockaded by a now human navy.

Hurtrix

The Klackon led by Captain Bolvan, jumped from Celestis and was at Hurtrix. The Klackon's crew were mainly Galaxs and humans, with a few Techars. When the fleets jumped into orbit with Hurtrix, they were welcomed by another fleet, which strangely was blockading a nearby moon. Bolvan got on to a shuttle and headed down to the surface. He was shocked to see various buildings destroyed. He asked a human soldier escorting him if Hurtrix was attacked.

"No sir. There....has been some changes since you left." said the human soldier, not even glancing at the buildings.

"What kind of changes?" asked Bolvan puzzled.

"You'll see, sir." replied the human.

Bolvan was led to the Naval Command where there was not a Techar to be found. This surprised Bolvan as he went into a conference room full of humans, with a few Galaxs.

"What is going on here?"

"We have destroyed the Techar government, Captain Bolvan. Ziller Remetrix is dead, along with the Techar congress." responded a human admiral at the other end of the room. "The Techars are finished, and humans will rule once more."

"What about the Techar population? They will rebel if their leaders are dead."

"No-one knows about the Techar government falling, but we are exterminating the Techars in the military. Then we'll turn on the Techar civilian population."

"Alright, what about the Calaverians?"

"They may continue their invasion. I have no idea. The fact is, we're scrapping most of the navy for better high quality ships."

"And the Xiscapians?"

"I am only interested in peace between the two empires. They won't do a thing until we formally announce the Techars have been over-run."

Bolvan finally sat down at his chair, seating next to him was a Galax, and another human, that looked strangely strong.

"Let me introduce you to the Saurons. Our new friends that will help us destroy the Techars." said another admiral. "Anyway, anything else you want to know?"

"What about the planets?"

"We may have to abandon several planets, and keep the Hurtrix-Nova Reginix system and the other system (Laxer, Grux, and New Sparta)."

"Nova Max? What will happen to that planet?"

"We may leave the Berraxs alone. I don't know. I have yet to take that up with the remaining congress." said another admiral, as a neatly dressed human came in, "Captain Bolvan, this is our next President of Greal. Forrest Threx."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. President."

"Thank you." said Forrest, aware of his Gruxian accent.

Nova Reginix

Rumors began spreading around the empire of a human rebellion, but the Techar civilians laughed it off, saying it was silly. Eventually the rumors spread to merchants, who also spread the rumors to their customers.

OOC: Sorry it took me so long to post...
New Sparta...
New Sparta was a Greali world, little more than a vast desert, populated only by various mining company employees and a small government, just under half a million people. The Kitsune Empire knew little of the world, but what they did know was that it was rich in power crystals and slated to be abandoned by the government under new management. A single cloaked scout ship orbited the planet, observing the ground activity. If the Greali pulled out, the kitsune would move in right behind them. If the Greali did not pull out as anticipated, alternative measures would have to be taken.

Warlord class Starbase...
Some three months ago had been the last time the Rebel agent has visited the station, and now she came once again in her standard transport (http://drman.deviantart.com/art/Assault-Transport-37787169). All that was needed was confirmation of the delivery of the promised vessels, and they would finally be underway. The leader of the resistance against the Kitsune Empire descended the ramp with her bodyguard, a Korr, calmly waiting by her shuttle to depart. She was a kitsune with naturally white, short cut tomboyish hair with identically colored fur. Orange eyes flitted around the hanger, looking for some form of greeting. The Xiscapian wore a extremely tight fitting navy blue jumpsuit with a section of armor consisting of a gray breastplate and heavy shoulder pauldrons and short brown leather boots. She knew the commander here, if all went well this could be the last time they would ever see each other, at least for a while. Finally all the plans were falling into place, the climax so close, with only a few loose ends to tie up before her rule would be secured...

Xiscapia, Rio Casa, Palace...
"My Lord."
The Emperor of Xiscapia, Foxfire Rose (http://www.flowerstorm.net/disa/Pictures/Kenshin/anti-kenshin.jpg), turned from his place at the window in the Imperial Hall outside the Imperial Dining Room, yellow eyes appraising the servant knelt before him. "What is it?"
"There is a being calling himself Fatum waiting for you in the Outer Courtyard, Your Majesty. He says he has an appointment with you."
A slight smile crossed the face of the ruler-for-life. "Ah, yes, indeed he does. Send him in."

Outer Courtyard...
Light rain splattered the ground and carefully arranged planets in the outer courtyard, sun invisible behind a solid shade of slate colored sky.
"The Emperor will see you now."
'bout fucking time. The kitsune growled to himself in his mind, striding though the fog-shrouded gates into the inner courtyard, following the servant, his personal bodyguard and underboss Sticks at his side. He, Fatum, was a kitsune who commanded fear and respect, and did not like to be kept waiting. Though he inadvertently displayed his impatience though his body language, he was careful to keep his face impassive and not to speak in complaint. He was, after all, going to meet the Xiscapian who controlled half a dozen star systems, legions of soldiers, a dozen fleets of ships, had a number of professional diplomats, assassins and military commanders at his disposal, and held the hearts and minds of the Xiscapian people.

However, Fatum was not himself unimpressive, either.
The void left when Lord Morga the Muri, Kingpin of the Xiscapian city of Tenfour, had been filled by rivaling gangs and crooked businessmen all seeking a piece of the criminal empire. Fatum had been one of the last people to ever see Morga on Xiscapia, and had entered the city as an unknown. However, he had three major advantages over his competitors: He had taken control of many of the thugs, gangsters and contacts Morga had left behind, Sticks included, he had all the skills of an assassin, and he was intelligent. Leading his own men, he swiftly gained possession of most of Morga's old holdings, ruthlessly crushing opposition and weeding out the disloyal within his own criminal syndicate.

Thus, Fatum was the new Kingpin of Tenfour, probably the most powerful criminal in the Kitsune Empire, his organization accounting two-thirds of all organized crime and a quarter of all crime within Xiscapia. However, he had woken up that morning to find one of his men reporting two Palace officials were waiting outside with a speeder. When the officials were questioned maintained that Fatum had an appointment with the Emperor. Despite not recalling any such agreement, the Black Guard inside the vehicle had gone a long way towards convincing the former assassin otherwise. Now he had been brought here, to meet with the most powerful being in the entire Kitsune Empire, and he didn't know why.

Fatum and Sticks were led into the Imperial Hall, where the Emperor waited alone, clothed in deep blue robes. Turning with a smile as the two bowed, the Emperor bowed slightly and waved them forward. “Come in, my friends, come in. We have much to speak about. Fatum, Kingpin of Tenfour, and his top lieutenant Sticks, am I correct?”
Mute nods from the two Xiscapians.
“May I offer you refreshments?”
Sticks opened his mouth but Fatum cut him off, impatience and irritation obviously having become too much for him to handle. “Look, Your Majesty,” he said the word almost like a curse, “What are we here for? I’ve got business to attend to back home.”

The Emperor sighed. “You know, your predecessor showed much more respect. Very well then. Come over to this window and tell me what you see.”
Fatum warily stepped over to stand beside the Emperor, noticing the Royal kitsune was a good three inches taller than him and gazed out though the glass. “A load of fog.”
The Emperor sighed again in annoyance. “Had the weather been more theatrically accommodating,” he said pointedly, “you would see Rio Casa in all her beauty. Not as large, populated or sprawling as Tenfour, certainly, but elegant in its own right and, of course, the seat of power for the entire Kitsune Empire. Tenfour, as you know, is a major trade center and harbors the largest alien presence of any city in Xiscapia, making it ripe for, ahha, opportunists such as yourselves.”

As he spoke the Emperor slowly walked away from the window into the gloom, an indefinite shape in the darkness, eyes glowing malevolently out. “The last Kingpin was of considerable use to me. We were both rulers, him and I, though of different people and on a different scale, ultimately not unalike. Lord Morga handled his own justice, helping the local police when it suited him and clamping down on some of the more undesirable beings and persons who routinely pass though or scour the city. He kept his operations quiet and unobtrusive; he cleaned up the streets and generally left the citizens and police alone. In return we did not interfere with him and allowed his men free run of the city, to run things as he saw fit. He knew we could remove him and destroy his little syndicate down to the lowest pimp, but we did not, and he knew why. It is because he had and knew his limits, what could and could not be done, where the stick and the carrot lay, so to speak. Now that you have risen to power, I have for you a question: Do you, also, know your limits, my dear Fatum?”

There was a moment of baited silence before Fatum finally bowed his head slightly. “Of course, Your Majesty. I am an expert at not getting in the way. Do not worry for me; I do know where the boundaries are.”
The Emperor smiled, though his eyes stayed as cold as space and as hard as steel. “Excellent. Now, you will accompany me to the Dining Room? I think there is, an, ah, proposition profitable to both parties which should be worked out before the day is done.”

Rio Casa, Xiscapian Imperial Navy (XIN) Headquarters, Grand Admiral’s Office…
“Ma’am?”
“Finish filing the report and strike the name Starfire from the Xiscapian military ship registers, please.”
“At once, Grand Admiral.”
Grand Admiral Krystal leaned forward in her seat as the aide left with the report from Rear Admiral Lintel detailing the battle with some people Krystal had never heard of in a system Krystal had never seen with allies Krystal didn’t know. Xiscapia had not officially been at war since the AIW war, but it had been in many, many conflicts since then, against a myriad of different foes for any reason in the galaxy. And she was still losing good ships and crew to such disputes.

However…
Keying in a secure Holonet channel, Krystal established an uplink to a certain frequency as she had not done for years. Since she had last been in direct contact with the Alversian People’s Navy HQ it had gone under new management, as she understood it. However, she knew, liked, respected and had fought alongside on more than one occasion their current Grand Admiral, despite a certain near-defeat at the Battle of Resistance not so long ago. Her Alversian counterpart was actually younger than Krystal, surprisingly, but no less talented, and Krystal was confident she would handle this newly suggested campaign, partially from Rio Casa and partially fro Illesia, with her usual competence. If the preparations were to be made soon, she would have to affirm it and coordinate it with this person.

Krystal’s orange tail curled around her chair as she waited, ears perked for enhanced audio pickup, hands folded in her lap. When one looked at the kitsune they first noticed two things: The brilliant contrast of her extremely pale, paper-white skin against her pink hair, and the haggard age in her eyes and dark circles under these. The Grand Admiral had been of only nineteen years, two years under full adulthood for Xiscapians, when she had assumed command, and now, a decade later, the strain showed. While it was not as bad as it had been in years past, and not nearly as harsh as her first two years of her stressed leadership, the young Xiscapian still bent under the weight of responsibility. She would never truly be free until she was removed from command, whenever the Emperor and her fellow Commanders in other branches saw fit.
For now, there was only the impending operation.

Alversian People's Navy Headquarters,
Illesia City, Alversia.
8:30PM

"Are you sure these reports are accurate?" The Grand Admiral asked, peering over her desk at the junior Officer. He was young, younger than her anyway and that was saying something. The APN had come a long way since the SASM war that nearly destroyed it yet there were still signs of just how thin the Alversian ranks had been torn. There were still young, fresh faced Recruits enlisting with romance in their eyes. They were in for a shock once they began their training and service. It was not all roses, that was something she had learnt the hard way.

Ashley Reyes had not had an easy life. The result of a union between an Alversian Marine and a Kitsune Doctor had resulted in her sharing the characteristics of both people's. Hence from behind she looked like an average Alversian, with long red hair and a slender waist. However, from in front her yellow, fox-like eyes and sharp canine teeth came to the fore and it was obvious where her heritage lay. Her birth had always caused her troubles. From her birth, to her kidnapping, to her torture it had caused her nothing but pain. Then she had joined the APN and gone from Ensign to Admiral in just three years. She marvelled at how well her life had turned out after all and sometimes, she had to stop and look at her service medals just to convince herself that she truly had come all this way. She was surrounded by people who trusted and respected her, she had a brilliant boyfriend who loved her and a group of friends who would die for her. Even better, when it had come to it, and there was a need to choose a new Grand Admiral, she was the favourite choice of the APN.

Not now though. It seemed like an Empire that Alversia had been keeping an eye on, the Greali Empire was at war with one of Alversia's oldest enemies. The Calaverans. Of course, the Xiscapians now had a hand in the affairs of that people but the policies of the Republic's closest Ally was of no concern to the young Admiral. Her interest right now was on the planet closest to Alversian space, a planet known a Miller. The planet seemed like a good place, it was resource rich, heavily populated and almost exclusively of one race. That meant of course, that it could be possible to pursuade the rebels of this planet to turn to a system of fairness. Not easy in anyway. But possible. This was what was concerning the Admiral now.

She looked out of her large arched windows to see the sun setting a golden colour over the tall buildings of Illesia City and sighed. She wanted to be out in that setting sun, when the coming of darkness melted most of the heat away and left it pleasantly warm. More than warm enough to sit outside her two stories house in Illesia's suburbs and drink with her Boyfriend. Her Aide, Sasha, had left the building. She would already be home. The reponsibility for the Navy was hers and hers alone. Illesia's beauty depended on her decisions, what she made of them and how she reacted to them. This could be a simple exchange mission. It could turn into a bloody war for Alversia. It all depended on her.

So the twenty-five year old looked at the young Ensign and nodded,
"Prepare the Seventh Fleet. Inform Admiral Barton of his orders and make the arrangements needed with Field Marshall O'Leary"

The Ensign nodded, saluted and left without saying a word. It was only when he was outside the office of the Grand Admiral that he breathed a sigh of relief. She was not an imtimidating woman and she certainly was fair with all of her Staff. Even so, there was a strange aura from her, an aura of confidence and authourity that one felt they had to obey. So they did, that was what helped her in her commands.

Ashe looked at the paper work littered on her desk and gave another, frustrated sigh. She could spend all night looking at this information and so miss her boyfriend as he headed out to his work in a bar. Or she could deal with the important stuff and leave the rest to Sasha. After all, that was what assistants were for. Then she heard the buzz that indicated a message coming through from a place that had not contacted the office for a long time, certainly not during her time of command. She leant back in her chair and looked at the flashing light for a moment, smiling. The last time she had seen or heard from the person on the other end, it had been under different circumstances.

Ashe tapped the button that brought an image of Krystal up in front of her. She offered the Kitsune a bow, despite the fact she was sitting,

"Greetings Grand Admiral," She stated with the hint of a smile, "Long time, no see"

Nova Reginix

The announcement that the Techars were overthrown finally came. Techars were threatening to rebel, but sheer force of Saurons and humans forced the Techars to reconsider. Massacres of Techars occurred on every planet. The Berraxs and Galaxs were celebrating the overthrow of the Techars and the Berraxs asked for independence from the Empire. However, things did not go the way they liked. Despite everything, the humans despised Berraxs and were not willing to let them go. To enforce their decision, the 4th Assault Fleet, with their new superfortress, was placed in orbit at Nova Max.

New Sparta

The abandonment was going slow, due to the reluctant mining companies that made so much money from selling crystals, but the planet was worthless, and the power crystals were actually going to run out soon. The 5th and 6th fleets were orbiting around, waiting for the last colonists to leave. They did not notice cloaked ship that was orbiting the planet.

Warlord Class Starbase

Everything was different. The last time the rebels were here, they encountered many Techars, now, there were none, just humans and Saurons. The production of the vessels went smoothly, despite the delaying of a fourth superfortress, which was sitting in Hurtrix, waiting to be equipped with systems and weapons. Rammer was no longer a commander, he was an Admiral. He was now in charge of the Home Fleet. His flagship, the superfortress Concerm was near the station, patrolling it as usual. Rammer quickly went down to the hangers to meet the rebel agent once more. This time, it was the leader of the resistance. He greeted the kitsune immediately.

Miller

The planet was being abandoned slowly due to lack of coordination with the colonists. Eighty seven million people were not in a mood to depart the planet, and there was some resistance. The Fourth Fleet that orbited the planet composed of one battleship, two carriers, one escort carrier, six cruisers, ten frigates, two mine ships, two medical ships, and five police frigates. The police frigates were dispatched to the fleet to help with the abandonment. Thousands of police officers on the surface were trying to speed things along, but there were plenty of problems.

Nova Max

The appearance of the Fourth Assault Fleet at Nova Max was greeted by chaos and the Berraxs. Many of the Berraxs on the surface still wanted independence, and they were not willing to stay in the Empire. Admiral Herlin sat in his office onboard the superfortress, the Vista, looking for a way to end this. The Naval Command and him saw only one way to end the Berrax rebellion. They would have to destroy the planet. But with what? Herlin immediately had an answer. The device.

New Sparta...
The scout remained in orbit for a moment, then slowly powered forward to break atmosphere above the deserts. It would be watching the colonists until they left, invisible, android pilot waiting impassively. It knew the orders it had been given, and it would carry them out as commanded. If all went well, the Kitsune Empire might have a new planet for free. If not, that planet might come at a cost.

Warlord class Starbase...
Yoki bowed. "Greetings Commander, excuse me, Admiral Rammer. I trust the ships for the Rebellion have been completed and are waiting at the pre-arranged coordinates?"

XIN HQ, Grand Admiral's Office...
Krystal rose and bowed back. "Hello to you as well, Grand Admiral Reyes. I have received word that APN forces are preparing for an assault on the Greali planet of Miller. This is some cause for concern for us, our latest Intelligence reports that much of the Greali Empire is in chaos and on many worlds colonists are being forced off. Of course this makes it an ideal time to strike, but, forgive me; none of the forces under your command have ever fought the Greali in battle. We, that is to say, some of my commanders and their men, have, and can provide you with basic information on Greali units and tactics.

Furthermore, we would like to send a small flotilla to serve as a rearguard for your attack, and to help with the pacification on the ground and general keeping of the peace. However, I must admit my motives are not entirely selfless. In as close to forty-eight hours time we will be dispatching forces to take the Greal planet known as Nova Max. The last of the alien group known as the Berrax reside their, and the Greali have long been engaged in a genocidal campaign to wipe them out. The fear is that they will attempt to do so permanently, now that they are withdrawing, and we must stop them from killing off the entire race. So we will be assaulting the forces in orbit over the planet. We would like some Alversian assistance if you have forces to spare and are willing to divert them from their normal operations.

I do not think this will be an easy fight, Grand Admiral. The Greali have occasionally shown themselves to be great cowards, but other times, when they feel they have a chance of winning, they hang on to the very end. Aside from being stubborn, their military is cruel, fanatical, merciless, trained to obey any order without question and they often have the support of the locals. The Berrax, no, but when the Calaverians attacked Pamp many of the native Remelars fought in a militia on the side of the Greali, perhaps believing that continued Greali rule would be better than subjection to the Calaverians. These operations could gain much, entire planets and the lives of millions, maybe billions of people, but there is those same planets and people at stake once we begin the attack."

Illesia

"I see," Ashe had listened quietly to the explaination, taking in all the information that she had been told on the Geali by the Kitsune Grand Admiral. She listened to the proposition and offered a small smile. Although both were young, Krystal had seen many many more battles as a Commander and so the younger Half-Breed would be foolish to pass up the chance to gain valuable data on a people her own forces could be fighting very soon.
The Half-Breed nodded in agreement,
"A good Commander should never pass up the chance to gain intelligence on one of her enemies so I thank you for that Grand Admiral. I understand your concern and we will gladly accept a force of Xiscapian ships to aide us in the liberation of Miller. Our own Sources suggest that the Greali are already withdrawing from the planet and that any resistance from them shall be minimal. The actual occupationa and liberation of the planet is out of my hands," She shrugged, "I can get them there and keep them there but I can't make their job any easier once they hit the soil."

At Krystal's second proposal, Ashe allowed a full smile to cross her face as she listened to the Grand Admiral's request. She nodded once at the request of the Grand Admiral, thinking about tactics and deployments and troops and ships and captains. Her head was swimming with details, such was the curse of the Grand Admiral,
"Well," She said thoughtfully, "We were planning on using the VII Fleet, 21 ships, to escort the Army in and protect orbit. I suppose Admiral Barton could detach a few ships for rear guard duty, for I assume that is what they are for?"

New Sparta...
The scout remained in orbit for a moment, then slowly powered forward to break atmosphere above the deserts. It would be watching the colonists until they left, invisible, android pilot waiting impassively. It knew the orders it had been given, and it would carry them out as commanded. If all went well, the Kitsune Empire might have a new planet for free. If not, that planet might come at a cost.

Warlord class Starbase....
Yoki bowed. "Greetings Commander, excuse me, Admiral Rammer. I trust the ships for the Rebellion have been completed and are waiting at the pre-arranged coordinates?"



Warlord class Starbase

"Yes, they are. The ships will be sent shortly afterwards. We have a bit of a problem with automating them to go to the location." said Rammer, he was very nervous and it only increased when last week, one of his Lieutenants reminded him to...get a wife. Behind Rammer stood a Sauron, looking at the kitsune with no expression, and holding a small computer.

New Sparta

Police were brought in to ensure that the colonists would leave, but some tried to resist with little success. It resulted in a few massacres of colonists attempting to stay on the planet. The Naval fleets orbiting could do little but sit back and wait.

Nova Max, city of Gurg

The city was old, mostly deserted. Many of the homes were destroyed, or showing cracks on the walls. On the streets, a few vehicles were wrecked and many of its parts were looted by nearby Berraxs. The city had been hit by a nuke during the early days, and the city lost a million in its population. Now the city was largely deserted, but became the headquarters of Callin.

Callin walked through the streets with his few bodyguards close by. The rebellion had turned into nothing. The Berrax population had dwindled to an all time low. Now Greal ships were orbiting the planet, reminding Callin of the past. Now with the device seized, they could do nothing but wait for their extinction. A few Greal marine teams still came onto the planet, only to be overwhelmed by Berrax rebels. The marines were normally driven away.

Callin walked into one of the houses, which was his headquarters. Inside, Berraxs were everywhere, working on their computers. There was power, supplied by a Berrax made generator. Normally, the Berraxs would contact all remaining Berrax naval ships that were driven away and in various locations. But this time, the Berraxs would have to leave their homeland. The Berraxs had nothing left, no allies to help them, now the humans were in control. He sighed and looked at the orange sky, praying for help from the remaining Berraxs.

Xiscapia...
Krystal nodded. "Whatever you or your commanders see fit to send them as. It's sensible to send them as a rearguard, it is not your fight and since we will incur minimal losses at Miller, likewise you should have the option of being in the same position. May I ask if you have a timetable for deployment? We can adjust accordingly if needed, though I believe we should attack Miller first and come off strong, rather than taking Nova Max and potentially taking a beating and presenting the enemy with a weakened fleet. They should be able to link up at Miller, we can't risk the Greali getting wind of our operation and bolstering their defenses as a response."

New Sparta...
The scout carefully observed the reactions and massacres of the colonists by the police. Still cloaked it drifted over what had once been a large crowd, now a few dozen bodies splayed out on the ground in pools of blood, being thrown into a pile by stormtroopers. Any Xiscapian pilot would have been sickened, and a few of the more rash ones would have opened fire on the killers, but the android did not possess the capacity for disgust, anger or hatred. It just watched before turning away, it seemed the colonists did not want to abandon their homes, but they had little choice in the matter: Leave or die. The scout continued over the city.

Warlord class Starbase...
Yoki studied the face of the Admiral. Quite possibly his promotion had put him in an exposed position, maybe even now he was being scrutinized by agents of the government. In totalitarian governments there was always secret police to catch and imprison or execute the incompetent, the rebellious, the foolish, the deviant and the weak.
But could it be something else?
When they had first met, Rammer had seen fascinated, even aroused by her. In other visits he had been calm and efficient, but recently he had grown anxious, possibly paranoid, as though he believed someone was watching him. Yoki let her eyes slide over the face of the Sauron, getting nothing but a blank stare in return. A government spy, perhaps?
She smiled. "Very good. Our forces are already there and taking the ships now, soon we will have our force. With you permission I would like to send them to Nova Max, to eradicate the last of the Berrax slime.”
OOC: TG, Greal.

"I agree," Ashe nodded, "The VII Fleet is already prepared for combat and the Army is not far behind. It will only be a fortnight at most before we are prepared to move"

New Sparta...
The scout carefully observed the reactions and massacres of the colonists by the police. Still cloaked it drifted over what had once been a large crowd, now a few dozen bodies splayed out on the ground in pools of blood, being thrown into a pile by stormtroopers. Any Xiscapian pilot would have been sickened, and a few of the more rash ones would have opened fire on the killers, but the android did not possess the capacity for disgust, anger or hatred. It just watched before turning away, it seemed the colonists did not want to abandon their homes, but they had little choice in the matter: Leave or die. The scout continued over the city.

Warlord class Starbase...
Yoki studied the face of the Admiral. Quite possibly his promotion had put him in an exposed position, maybe even now he was being scrutinized by agents of the government. In totalitarian governments there was always secret police to catch and imprison or execute the incompetent, the rebellious, the foolish, the deviant and the weak.
But could it be something else?
When they had first met, Rammer had seen fascinated, even aroused by her. In other visits he had been calm and efficient, but recently he had grown anxious, possibly paranoid, as though he believed someone was watching him. Yoki let her eyes slide over the face of the Sauron, getting nothing but a blank stare in return. A government spy, perhaps?
She smiled. "Very good. Our forces are already there and taking the ships now, soon we will have our force. With you permission I would like to send them to Nova Max, to eradicate the last of the Berrax slime.”
OOC: TG, Greal.

New Sparta

A few more shootings continued, but the police succeeded in intimidating the population in New Sparta. They were the most deadly, and did the government's dirty work around the empire. There was another urgent reason why the colonists would be forced to leave, because the navy would test something on the planet.

Warlord class Starbase

The Sauron in fact, was nothing more then a Lieutenant Colonel, and the right hand man of the Admiral. The Sauron sighed again, realizing the Admiral was nervous again over...a kitsune.
The admiral managed to get some form of control over himself and said,"You may as you please with the Berraxs." then, realizing the Sauron was looking at him, he assumed the Sauron wanted to be introduced,"This is Lieutenant Colonel Welleria. He commands the marines on the Concerm."

Xiscapia...
"Very good," Krystal bowed. "I will have my commanders speak to yours, and we will be ready by then."

New Sparta...
The scout shot back up into orbit, floating among the Greali fleets, watching and waiting. The android made a quick report back to it's base with the data and resumed the recording, taking note of deployments of police on the ground and energy levels and concentrations on the ships.

Warlord class Starbase...
Yoki gave a slight bow. "Greetings, Lieutenant Colonel Welleria." She had never seen such an alien before, but perhaps they were a newly conquered species in the Intergalactic Empire. There didn't seem to be much more left to say...
OOC: I think, with regards to the Miller/Nova Max think, we'll just jump ahead to that time. However, Greal and I will be finishing up this business on the Starbase/New Sparta, so it'll have to wait until that's done, unless either of you have any objections. Anyway, I'm off and probably won't post again until tommorow.

New Sparta

Though the Greal ships could not see the cloaked ship, the cloaked ship ran the risk of hitting other shuttles that were moving around, picking up colonists.

Warlord class Starbase

Rammer didn't known what to say. He did have feelings for Yoki, but he couldn't attempt to try....yet. The Sauron continued his blank stare at Yoki and her bodyguard, who seemed to be doing the same. The silence was unnerving Rammer.

New Sparta...
The scout easily maneuvered around local traffic, scans estimating from the shuttles that at least half the colony had been evacuated. Doubtless the stormtroopers would not be able to find every colonist, but that could be dealt with later. It noted that the Greali ships, the military vessels, seemed to be preparing themselves, not for the jump to lightspeed but for...something else. It moved slightly 'above' the fleet in space, with an excellent view of the planet, and waited.

Warlord class Starbase...
Yoki was staring at Rammer expectantly, obviously thinking he was going to say something. But the human just continued to sweat silently, and that Sauron was beginning to get on her nerves. The Korr matched the gaze, locking eyes with the creature. He didn't like how it was looking at them, something deep inside the huge ape-like sentient distrusted the thing. Finally, Yoki spoke.
"Admiral, you don't look well. I'm sure you have plenty of shore leave accumulated, why don't you come with me aboard my ship for a little, ah, vacation, hm?"

Nova Max...
Eleven Guardian Class Escort Carriers, fifteen Lasom Class Frigates, five Orlin Class Mine Ships, two Grunt Class Troop/Armor transports and twenty Black Dawn Class Corvettes entered the Nova Max system near the planet. The flagship, the Escort Carrier Sum of all Fears, sent a message to the Vista with the Fourth Assault Fleet:

TO: The Admiral of the Fourth Greali Assault Fleet
FROM: Admiral Täuschen, Rebel Fleet
We are the Rebel fleet, here to strengthen the defenses and assist you in wiping out the Berrax. We will move into an ideal tactical formation with our vessels, and our two troop ships will enter low orbit in preparation to land and destroy the Berrax threat.

New Sparta...
The scout easily maneuvered around local traffic, scans estimating from the shuttles that at least half the colony had been evacuated. Doubtless the stormtroopers would not be able to find every colonist, but that could be dealt with later. It noted that the Greali ships, the military vessels, seemed to be preparing themselves, not for the jump to lightspeed but for...something else. It moved slightly 'above' the fleet in space, with an excellent view of the planet, and waited.

Warlord class Starbase...
Yoki was staring at Rammer expectantly, obviously thinking he was going to say something. But the human just continued to sweat silently, and that Sauron was beginning to get on her nerves. The Korr matched the gaze, locking eyes with the creature. He didn't like how it was looking at them, something deep inside the huge ape-like sentient distrusted the thing. Finally, Yoki spoke.
"Admiral, you don't look well. I'm sure you have plenty of shore leave accumulated, why don't you come with me aboard my ship for a little, ah, vacation, hm?"

Nova Max...
Eleven Guardian Class Escort Carriers, fifteen Lasom Class Frigates, five Orlin Class Mine Ships, two Grunt Class Troop/Armor transports and twenty Black Dawn Class Corvettes entered the Nova Max system near the planet. The flagship, the Escort Carrier Sum of all Fears, sent a message to the Vista with the Fourth Assault Fleet:

New Sparta

Greal frigates landed on the planet to speed up the abandonment process. Hundreds of Greal police had to force colonists into the frigates and other large vessels waiting to take them away. About 3/4 of the population was already off the planet.

Warlord class Starbase

That got Rammer's attention, his nervousness seemed to disappear. The Sauron smiled for the first time all day and looked at Yoki as if he was pleased with something.
"Of course, I would like to see things, from your....ummm...the rebellion's point of view."

Nova Max

Admiral Herlin looked at the message from Admiral Täuschen, he responded in a simple message saying that was fine with him as long as they would leave the planet when the naval fleet dropped a "device" on the planet. Herlin did not specify the device to the rebels, not because of distrust, but because if was classified.

New Sparta...
The colony was quickly becoming deserted, with only small outlying settlements and some mining companies left to remove. The scout mantained it's position, taking in everything.
OOC: Nothing's going to change here except your movements and operations, so might I suggest you get on with whatever you're planning for New Sparta?

Warlord class Starbase...
A full grin split Yoki's lips, and her tail flicked to curl around her legs. "Excellent, it is settled then. Shall we leave immediatly, or do you still have things to do here?"

Nova Max...
The Rebel fleet took up flanking positions on the Greali, covering their back and acting as support and rearguard. A mixture of Xiscapians, Alversians, Korr and some various other humans and aliens made up the crews and troops of the vessels, and they waited quietly, doing the things crews did on Greali vessels. The two troop ships kept their positions over the planet, ready to deploy if needed.

New Sparta...
The colony was quickly becoming deserted, with only small outlying settlements and some mining companies left to remove. The scout mantained it's position, taking in everything.
OOC: Nothing's going to change here except your movements and operations, so might I suggest you get on with whatever you're planning for New Sparta?

Warlord class Starbase...
A full grin split Yoki's lips, and her tail flicked to curl around her legs. "Excellent, it is settled then. Shall we leave immediatly, or do you still have things to do here?"

Nova Max...
The Rebel fleet took up flanking positions on the Greali, covering their back and acting as support and rearguard. A mixture of Xiscapians, Alversians, Korr and some various other humans and aliens made up the crews and troops of the vessels, and they waited quietly, doing the things crews did on Greali vessels. The two troop ships kept their positions over the planet, ready to deploy if needed.

New Sparta

Most of the colonists were now off, but a few thousand were still behind. The Greal Naval Command decided to drop the device now. The Greal fleet began jumping away as a modified frigate came forward, aimed the missile the device was on at the planet.

"3....2....1...firing."

The frigate fired the missile at the planet, when the device hit the ground, nothing happened. At first. The planet then suddenly seemed to shake and break into pieces, the frigate had to move away, or risk getting hit by the pieces. After a safe distance away from the planet, the planet exploded, destroying everything on its surface, including the few thousand colonists.

The Captain smiled and was pleased to report the device was a success. The power crystals had also helped along, but they didn't care.

Warlord class Starbase

"I have nothing more to do here." said Rammer, then he turned to the Sauron,"Inform the Naval Command where I am alright?"

"Yes Admiral."

"Good good." He turned back to Yoki, "Shall we get going?"

Nova Max

Callin was aware of the new arrivals, but the strange thing was, why would Greal concentrate all its escort carriers at one location? It made no sense. Callin then went off to order the Berrax ground forces to prepare for some tough ground fighting. Greal transports a few miles away were offloading a reconnaissance force, and Callin wished to stop it.

Remains of New Sparta...
The scout had retreated to a safe distance once the missile had been brought into place, and it watched as the planet shattered and broke apart, the surface completely glassed. It would be useless to the Kitsune Empire as a colony now, so utterly smashed. The android continued recording before turning and jumping into hyperspace, back to Xiscapia.

Warlord class Starbase...
"We shall."
She turned, tail playfully whipping by Rammer's nose, before heading back to the transport. Once she saw Rammer was following she slipped inside, and the ship began to power up. Once he had entered the craft it would close the ramp and take off, exiting the hanger. The bodyguard had been left behind, and now he turned to the Sauron.
"The Commander wished privacy," he rumbled. "I stay here until she return. Help out on base, make records of Rebel operations in Greal space, yes?" His voice was very deep and grave, betraying, despite his broken Common, a solemn mind. He put a huge, leathery hand out. "I Ordor."
OOC: What does a Sauron look like?

Field of Dreams...
Rammer would find himself inside a spacious ship, probably custom made in some private shipyard somewhere. It was quite luxurious, silver, chrome and white panels reflecting off a polished black floor, soft cushions and seats in muted green and soft blue colors made a reception area. The main part was a row of six staterooms, three to a side, with two reception areas immediately behind them, enough to accommodate a dozen human-sized people. Behind these were what seemed to be bathrooms, and beyond that was where the engines and A.I. core was housed. Ahead of the staterooms was a small armory with various weapons, munitions and armor, beside this was two escape pods, and finally there was the cockpit. Between the cockpit and staterooms, near the pods, the deck sounded hollow, probably indicating a storage hold.

Though the reception rooms and bathroom was open, all the other doors were sealed save for one stateroom door that was ajar slightly. There didn't seem to be anyone else aboard, and aside from a hum almost beyond the range of hearing, the ship was dead silent. Rammer's boots would clank and echo loudly on the deck as he walked, there was simply no other sound, and no sign of Yoki. The lights overhead clearly illuminated everything, there were no shadows. There wasn't even the slightest jolt as the ship slipped into hyperspace.

Nova Max...
One troop ship set down outside Gurg, the other still far overhead. It did not open its doors to offload troops, the only sign of life was the swiveling turrets. For a moment it stayed still, then it abruptly rocketed back up into the sky again, apparently satisfied.
OOC: Just a couple more posts here and we'll be ready to rock 'n roll.

Remains of New Sparta...
The scout had retreated to a safe distance once the missile had been brought into place, and it watched as the planet shattered and broke apart, the surface completely glassed. It would be useless to the Kitsune Empire as a colony now, so utterly smashed. The android continued recording before turning and jumping into hyperspace, back to Xiscapia.

Warlord class Starbase...
"We shall."
She turned, tail playfully whipping by Rammer's nose, before heading back to the transport. Once she saw Rammer was following she slipped inside, and the ship began to power up. Once he had entered the craft it would close the ramp and take off, exiting the hanger. The bodyguard had been left behind, and now he turned to the Sauron.
"The Commander wished privacy," he rumbled. "I stay here until she return. Help out on base, make records of Rebel operations in Greal space, yes?" His voice was very deep and grave, betraying, despite his broken Common, a solemn mind. He put a huge, leathery hand out. "I Ordor."
OOC: What does a Sauron look like?

Field of Dreams...
Rammer would find himself inside a spacious ship, probably custom made in some private shipyard somewhere. It was quite luxurious, silver, chrome and white panels reflecting off a polished black floor, soft cushions and seats in muted green and soft blue colors made a reception area. The main part was a row of six staterooms, three to a side, with two reception areas immediately behind them, enough to accommodate a dozen human-sized people. Behind these were what seemed to be bathrooms, and beyond that was where the engines and A.I. core was housed. Ahead of the staterooms was a small armory with various weapons, munitions and armor, beside this was two escape pods, and finally there was the cockpit. Between the cockpit and staterooms, near the pods, the deck sounded hollow, probably indicating a storage hold.

Though the reception rooms and bathroom was open, all the other doors were sealed save for one stateroom door that was ajar slightly. There didn't seem to be anyone else aboard, and aside from a hum almost beyond the range of hearing, the ship was dead silent. Rammer's boots would clank and echo loudly on the deck as he walked, there was simply no other sound, and no sign of Yoki. The lights overhead clearly illuminated everything, there were no shadows. There wasn't even the slightest jolt as the ship slipped into hyperspace.

Nova Max...
One troop ship set down outside Gurg, the other still far overhead. It did not open its doors to offload troops, the only sign of life was the swiveling turrets. For a moment it stayed still, then it abruptly rocketed back up into the sky again, apparently satisfied.
OOC: Just a couple more posts here and we'll be ready to rock 'n roll.

OOC: Like a human, a strange alien like one
IC:
Warlord class Starbase

The Sauron looked at Ordor for a moment then said in a deep quiet voice,"I'm Welleria." The Sauron then led Ordor to the Command Bridge of the starbase where Greal crews were working on communications and other things.

Field of Dreams

Rammer looked around at the luxury and other things. Eventually he realized, where was Yoki? He looked around the room and even search some places. He then returned to where he was, in hopes of finding someone there.

Nova Max

Callin watched the troop ship lift off. Nothing was there. He walked off deeper into the deserted city. A squad of Berrax rebels came out to look for an signs of anything. But this squad was pathetically trained.

Warlord class Starbase...
Ordor looked around the bridge, the expression he wore impossible the read on his alien face. A single nod of the head, and he strode forward. During the next two weeks the Korr would remain unobtrusive, almost reclusive even, rarely involving himself in day-to-day activities and only checking the bridge for communications every so often. No one aboard knew what he was thinking, but perhaps he seemed almost...pleased?

Field of Dreams...
Rammer would eventually find his way to the single open stateroom. A computer terminal sat to the right side, several closets and equipment lockers held things he couldn't even begin to guess at, but most of the cabin was taken up by a single large bed. On the white sheets Yoki was sprawled, armor and clothing in a pile on the floor, legs daintily crossed and a hungry look in her eyes as she stared at Rammer. She was very pale, he noticed, matching her white hair and fur, hair pooling on the bed in a white, silken pile. She rose, pushing herself up with her elbows, nude, and crossed the room to him with a few steps. She seized the Admiral, wrapped her arms around him and brought him close before pulling him back so they both fell onto the bed. She slowly began to remove his clothes, starting with his boots...

Nova Max...
Like Ordor, the Rebel fleet stayed quiet and out of the way, silent and ready. The troop ships continued to circle, only ceasing this activity to go back up to the fleet, presumably for supplies. One got the sense they were waiting with baited breath...

Xiscapia, Space Station Protector...
Grand Admiral Krystal stood in one of the main communications centers on the Space Station, watching though exterior cameras as the Flotilla pulled itself together. The flagship and largest combat vessel was the Destroyer Theory, stationing Flotilla Captain Akai aboard it's sleek bulk. The rest of the Flotilla was forming around it, the Medical Ships Shield and Eye flanking the Destroyer while the massive Carrier Eclipse brought up the rear. Interspersed throughout were five corvettes, to act as missile ships and protect the fleet from enemy small craft. That was the main worry that enemy fighters or gunboats would try to sneak in a hit on the Alversian flank.

If need be, the Flotilla could join in the battle itself directly, but it was not made for fighting capital ships directly. Only the Destroyer could try that, the Carrier's armament was geared towards anti-air defenses and the corvettes didn't have the firepower unless the shields were down. The Flotilla was now joined by the Star Slayer and Asteroid Combat Vessel the Pebble, one an outdated but still menacing battle-wagon, the other the massive, intimidating asteroid with gun batteries dotting it's pockmarked surface. The mile-long asteroid would serve as the station and launch platform for the assault troops, the Isan ship to protect the Flotilla if anything larger than a frigate tried to outflank the Alversians. Both craft would be rendezvousing with the assault force for Nova Max.

Krystal directed a vox at the Flotilla from the Protector:
"Troops, this is your Grand Admiral speaking. You all know the drill, you've run it a thousand times in simulations, for the past two weeks you've breathed, eaten, drank, expelled and spit nothing but battle plans, tactics and strategies. I know when you take the fight to the enemy you will perform honorably, with courage and bravery, you will protect our allies. You've been trained for this, most of you have seen action, and finally the day has come for this endeavor. What I'm here to tell you is," she paused, took a breath, "the Berrax are depending on this success. If Miller is not taken, there can be no immediate launch point for Nova Max, and if there is no launch point, we will not be able to get there fast enough. Go with the knowledge that you saved a race today. For the people! For the Emperor! And for Xiscapia!"

Unheard by her, thousands of kitsune shouted back her last three sentences, voices echoing throughout their vessels. With the Theory in the lead, the Flotilla turned and jumped for the meeting with the Alversians, Miller, the Greali, and ultimately the Berrax. With a flicker of pseudomotion and a flash, the Flotilla was gone. Krystal turned away from the empty space, nodding to a Communications Officer to transmit the message to the Alversians that the kitsune were on their way.

OOC: Greal, no need to respond to the Starbase or Field of Dreams parts, I consider those over until after the Miller battle is.

OOC: Ok :D
IC:

Nova Max

Greal transports then reversed course and landed near Gurg. Intel showed that Callin was in the city. Greal marines offloaded and secured areas quickly, while Black Guards came out as the vanguard and struck the Berrax defensive areas. Nothing more then trenches and a few bunkers surrounded the city, but fighters easily took these out. Callin rushed into one of the buildings in hope of getting to the tunnel quickly before escaping.

Bridge of the Fear

"Captain Goss, unidentified ships have jumped into the system"

"Are they identified yet?"

"Ah.." said the Lieutenant looking at his small computer,"The computer reports they are hostile Kitsune ships, sir. Armed and ready for battle."

Goss swore, Xiscapian ships were far deadlier and more annoying then Calaverians. At least the Greal navy had a chance this time, with all battleships upgraded to Mark II. But that was it.

"Bring up the defensive platforms." Unfortunately Miller then not have many defensive platforms like Pamp or Hurtrix. They numbered about fifty at the most."Call up the remaining ground based fighters." Which numbered forty Mark I Viper class fighters and twenty Mark II Viper Class Fighters.

The Lieutenant nodded and ran off. Alarms sounded around the ship as the fleet readied itself for a bloody battle.

Already moving towards Miller was the Alversian Fleet. This fleet had been on active duty prior to the call from APNHQ to reroute to this location and escort the troop ships that carried members of the Alversian People's Army to Miller. It would be an occupation and peacekeeping force, able to maintain order on the planet while the Alversians worked on the Government model and tried to bring Miller into line with modern galactic political standards. It would not be easy, it never was, but the hope was that Miller's humans would accept the offer that was being laid at their feet. Certainly the very presence of the Alversian fleet chasing off any Greali Occupation forces should be enough to show their good intentions.

The VII Fleet itself consisted of Twenty-one ships under the command of Admiral John Barton. Barton was an old Admiral, aged 51 and he was already looking forward to his retirement. Like the rest of the Alversian Senior Officer corps, his commition had been in decades of fighting from various positions, gaining the experience that would be needed for the great step upwards. He had gone from Ensign, to Lieutenant to Captain to Admiral and now he was as high as he wanted to go. His fleet was good and he was a good commander, he knew that and he knew that his ships were best of the Alversian Navy. Even if he had no way of confirming that, it still sounded good to say to his men and it induced them with a great sense of pride. He was proud of them too, proud of his position and his Twenty-one warships that had been tasked with capturing a planet.

The core of the fleet were it's Capital ships. The Alversian navu had no carriers, dismissing them as pointless when the other ships could carry as many fighters as were needed. Alversia relied on the quality of her pilots rather than the quantity of them, certainly, the Pilots of the APNAF could not remember the last battle they had fought in which they had had an advantage in numbers, it was not something they regreted, just wondered about. The four Capital ships were the Goshawk-Class Dreadnoughts Falcon and Eagle, the former of which was his flagship. The Dreadnoughts were well armed with a variety of phasers, lasers and missles as well as Alversia's new main weapon, the CDPB, or the Crystal Directed Phaser Beam, however, they were simply known as Particle Beams for short. They were also lined with turrets and point defence weapons for their own protection and were as formidable as any space-faring warship could be. The crew for these behemoths though, totalled only 3,000 men, for the Computers were able to contribute to the ship's running. The Falcon and Eagle would be formidable foes for any who faced them.

As would the other two capital ships. These two were slightly smaller and seemingly less well armed. This was misleading. Their armament may have been arranged differently but they were no less formidable than the two Dreadnoughts. Their more streamlined figure though, betrayed their true cause. These were battlecruisers, designed to travel the boundaries of Alversian territory at speed. Fast enough to chase anything down and powerful enough to overwhelm it in battle. The two Battlecruisers at this battle were of seperate classes and so looked different from each other. One was longer and more streamlined, resembling an arrow-head while the other was shorter and more duribly built, the streamlined, Forlorn-Class Battlecruiser Formidable was joined by the Marshall-Class Battlecruiser Lanna. They were a set of powerful warships that complimented the Dreadnoughts accordingly.

The next vessel was a unique class to the APN. In comparison to it's sleek comrades, the vessel looked squat and rather vulgur, the triple nacelles that marked Alversian warships from other civilisations were missing, the Engines nestled at the back of the vessel itself. the Sides of the vessel were lined by banks of phasers three deep as well as many small turrets. This was a response to the fact that Alversian fighters were always outnumbered as well as the presence of missile weapons in space, this was the Iron Cross-Class AA Cruiser, the Iron Duke. She was in the middle of the fleet, a rainbow of types of sizes of the Alversian Navy. Following this were the standard ships of the Alversian Navy, her workhorses, the ships that were commited to more battles and to more engagements than any other type of warships. These were the Cruisers, designed to be fast in battle and still pack a punch. The types that came to the VII Fleet were the Ochre, Violet, Scarlett, Magenta, Rhapsody, Unity, Loyalty and Harmony. These were the joint most numerous vessels in the fleet, the most numerous beings the destroyers. These vessels were the smallest, designed for escort missions and to engage smaller screening forces and fighters in the battle. These were destroyers Panther, Leopard, Pear, Apple, Grapevine, Irritonia, Marlona and Havagoe. This ships were the VII Fleet, a fleet were all occasions and Barton was proud of them all.

"Sir?" The Communications Officer of the Falcon called to Barton. The Admiral turned in time to hear the report of the Xiscapians and gave a nod,
"All men to their posts Captain," Barton stated mildly to his Flag Captain. As the alarms sounded all over the fleet, the Alversians arrived at the edge of the Miller system, to be joined by the Xiscapians and to be engaged by the Greal

Bridge of the XIW Theory...
"Coming into target system...three...two...one...mark."
The calm voice of the Bridge Officer was punctuated by the streamlines of stars solidifying into white bursts on the obsidian colored field, the Flotilla bursting into real space only seconds behind the Alversian fleet. Flotilla Captain Akai was an older kitsune with skin the color of oak wood, iron colored fur and deep orange eyes. When he spoke it was softly but weighted with authority, uttering orders:
"Get me a complete scan of the system, shields up and on maximum, weapons loaded and functioning and small craft hot. Inform the Flotilla to move into flanking positions on the Alversian Fleet, they know the drill."

The Flotilla stayed in formation as it got behind the allied fleet, moving to keep the appropriate speed with their human comrades. The Xiscapian Flotilla was not particularly powerful or intimidating, but it didn't need to be: All that was necessary was accomplishment of the set objective, a minimal loss of Allied and civilian life, and as little battle damage as possible to the planet.
On the bridge of the Theory the Executive Officer, a slender female, spoke:
"Scans show one Concern Class Superfortress, two Striker Class Battleships, three Niller Class Carriers, one Guardian Class Escort Carrier, ten Frimtrix Class Cruisers, ten Lasom Class Frigates, two Orlin Class Mine Ships and two Proformer Class Hospital Ships. Fifty orbital defense platforms are registered as online Estimated fifty to sixty thousand fightercraft spread across the fleet in hangers, sixty coming up from the planet. The Alversian Fleet is moving in to engage now. All weapons in the Flotilla are reported to be functioning normally, and all pilots are at their ships awaiting launch orders."

Akai looked at the viewing screen, which mostly displayed the Alversian Fleet against the backdrop of the planet, with Greali ships here and there, visible at the outer edges. "Instruct all Group Captains to launch on my order and my order only, excepting for the Eighth Wing aboard the Eclipse. The Eighth Wing is to launch immediately to supplement the Alversian fighter squadrons, and we will launch more fighters as needed. The corvettes are to engage and destroy any enemy small craft that nears or enters our formation, and all point-defenses are to be put on maximum power. Inform all Captains and Group Captains to await further orders."

Twelfth Hanger of the XIW Eclipse...
Pilots (http://photobucket.com/mediadetail/?media=http%3A%2F%2Fi183.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fx254%2FMisshka_Filitov%2FMisshka3.jpg&searchTerm=rebel%20pilot&pageOffset=3) were already strapped into their Shuriken (http://images.wikia.com/starwars/images/thumb/6/61/VWing-NEGVV.jpg/250px-VWing-NEGVV.jpg) class fighters, engines on and thrusters idly spewing out waving air. The Group Captain's fighter lifted off, followed by his wingmen, and were quickly followed by the other forty-five starfighters, which soon split off into their seven individual squadrons. The leader checked in:
"This is White Leader, all other squadron leaders report in."
"Green Leader, standing by."
"Blue Leader, standing by."
"Silver Leader, standing by."
"Black Leader, standing by."
"Gray Leader, standing by."
"Orange Leader, standing by."
"All fightercraft, initiate combat systems operation. You have been authorized to seek-and-destroy any and all enemy small craft at the discretion of your Squadron Leader. Keep your links open, we want to be able to work in concert with the Alversians, Intel says we'll be heavily outnumbered. White Leader out."

The fighters flew in their formations into the midst of the Alversian Fleet, heading towards the front where the enemy fighters would be sure to be if they were launched. The Shuriken class was not especially fast, but it was highly maneuverable and well armed, with duel laser cannons placed on the nose and twin Air-to-Air anti-matter missile launchers under the wings. They could also effectively bomb a capital ship, support vessel or ground target, but the explosives were not very powerful and would only do true damage if the shields on their target was down. However, they had proven against several different foes to be effective at dogfighting, and that was the type of action that would occur here today. They were just now passing the APS Iron Duke, the Alversian AA Cruiser.

The Xiscapians eschewed AA vessels, why would you put point-defenses especially on a single ship when every ship had to have point-defenses or risk being torn apart by missiles? Any Xiscapian Fleet, when the ships were put together, formed a nearly impenetrable missile screen by the defenses on all the ships. Said point-defenses were, even now, swiveling towards the distant Greali fleet in anticipation for the missiles, mines or fighters that would surely soon be incoming. The Flotilla was only expecting to combat small craft, support and capital ships wouldn't be getting close, the Alversian Fleet would take care of the large enemy ships. Fighters and patrols, however, could slip though gaps in capital ship defenses and possibly weave their way back to the Xiscapian Flotilla.
If they did, the kitsune were ready for them.

OOC: Wait a second, my superfortress (Along with its fleet) is at Nova Max. Are you at Miller or Nova Max?

OOC: Miller

Bridge of the Fear

The Fourth Fleet quickly sent a small shuttle to jump away and warn the Naval Command that the Alversians and Xiscapians were attacking Miller. The three police frigates on the surface took off quickly and went into AA positions, while the Greal Battleship would take most of the pounding. The two Carriers unleashed nearly five hundred Viper Mark II fighters. Mark II were more heavily armed and faster, but basically the same equipment.

The fifty defensive platforms were divided into two groups. Both would help watch the flanks and keep and unending fire on the enemy fighters. Heavy Defensive Platforms would focus their larger guns on the nearest enemy ship. The Greal ships would not be spread out like other wars, but together to make a massive missile screen. The Fear, along with four cruisers would target the Alversians with its long distance weaponry, while the remaining two cruisers plus ten frigates would hit the Xsicapians. The carriers were instructed to jump away, while on escort carrier stayed to provide more AA fire.

"Open fire Enemy Suppression Batteries." ESBs were another name for AS guns. The whole fleet began firing its AS guns at the approaching fighters.

"Batteries are firing, sir."

"Launch the fighters along Side A." The battleship didn't carry many fighters, and it only launched twenty plus two corvettes and two gunboats that would help provide support. Another twenty drone fighters came out to join their comrades.

"Fire Hell fire missile batteries. Direct them against the Alversian ships." two hundred and sixty Hellfire missiles suddenly came at the Alversian ships at astonishing speed. Mark II upgrades have done them plenty of good. Hellfire missiles were designed mostly to destroy capital ships. One missile would have destroyed a battleship without shields. The Mark II upgrades were to help the missiles break through the shields, and destroyed anything they encounter.

Admiral Barton watched as the missiles were fired and tore towards his fleet. All he did was raise his eyebrows slightly and turn to the Communications Officer again, a Lieutenant Commander. The Officer looked at him expectantly, hands hovering over the keyboard, awaiting the command that would come from the Admiral's mouth. The elder Alversian waited only a moment before uttering the needed command,
"My compliments to Captain McCrawley and ask him if he will bring his Cruiser to bear on those missiles."

"Aye Sir," The Communications Officer was already typing the command to the Iron Duke, the command that would open the Alversian side of the battle. The vessel slowly droned across until it was broadside to the Greali and between the two Dreadnoughts, using their weight and shielding to protect the smaller vessel from the Greali warships.

Aboard the Iron Duke, Captain McCrawley stood and glowered at the missiles that had dared to attack his small command. His crew were silent, awaiting the command that would launch them into action. They were fiercely proud about it, they were to fire the opening shots for the Alversian fleet in the battle. There had been doubts as to what damage the AA Cruisers could do in battle, doubts to their usefulness. Now they were going to prove that the Iron Duke was worth the money paid for her by the APN,
Captain McCrawley, a middle-aged Alversian with a face wisened by war, turned to his Tactical Officer and gave an nod, uttering the words they had wanted since they had sighted the fleet,
"Open fire" He growled in a low voice. The Tactical Officer nodded and pressed the buttons to make it so. The rest of the fleet held it's breath.

It sounded like a standard phaser, the whirring sound getting steadily louder before the flashes of light connected and were flung out into space, aimed by computers to ensure they could not miss. They were joined by dozens of Point Defence lasers, all combining into a rainbow of coloured beams that exploded rather than penetrated the missiles. They were joined by their own missiles, which flew into the centre of the cloud and exploded, scattering shrapnel in all directions to hit as many missiles as possible. The combination of weapons fire from the Iron Duke formed an impeneterable wall of laser fire, that no explosive device could hope to penetrate. The rest of the fleet had watched as the Iron Duke had defended them from the missile attack.

Barton had been impressed, the rest of the fleet had trained their weapons on the missiles in case some broke through the barrier, however, it seemed the lone AA Cruiser was enough to keep them at bay. The Alversian fighters were swirling and whirling around amongst the Alversian fleet, operating on a strictly defensive role for now. They would come into play when the fleets clashed and Captain's would be more occupied by the goliaths approaching them than a few fighters. The bombers would be another matter.

The XX-40's that patrolled amongst the fleets ships were a materpiece of design, quick, well armed and armoured and packing a punch of four lasers in the two delta wings that took up half the hull length. They had two engines and that was what offered the XX-40 it's excellent performance. That, combined with the training and experience of the APNAF Pilots, resulted in a fighter force superior to almost any it could face in combat. Quality over Quantity, that was the APNAF motto.

For now both sides were out of range, watching each other. Neither sides ships or fighters willing to risk flying into the storm of fire that would be directed at them. The Alversian bombers were flying high above the Alversian fleet, out of range, waiting for an oppurtunity to dive down at tremendous speed and hit the Greali with momentum as well as firepower.

Barton sighed and turned to his own Tactical officer, he gave him a nod,
"Prepare to fire the CDPB batteries" he ordered.

The Tactical Officer nodded and tapped threee buttons on his console. This sent the Order down into the hull where the CDPB batteries were based. The method of firing was highly unstable and could not be left in the charge of a computer. Thus, a crew manned the batteries down in the hull of the ship. There were three Batteries on the Goshawk-Class Dreadnoughts, two on the Forlorn-Class Battlecruiser and one on the Marshall-Class Battlecruiser. Now the crews of the Forlorn went into action.

The process started at a conventional phaser bank. Here the beams that would have normally made up a phaser were fired into a crytal found only on Alversia. The crytal magnified the beam's speed by ten and so increased it's hitting power by ten. This was before it had even reached the second crystal, an artificial type manufactured in Illesian Labratories that increased the size of the beam and thus increased it's hitting power again. At this point, the power contained within this weapon was insane and needed to be directed quickly away from the Dreadnought before it ingulfed it from the inside. The weapon needed time to charge fully but when it had, there was virtually nothing that could stand in it's way. As Barton stood on the bridge, listening to the defeaning whine that indicated the CDPB were charging, one at a time. The announcement came over the tannoy system,
"All hands brace for CDPB firing. All hands brace for CDPB firing."

Barton nodded once, the signal to fire. The Tactical Officer quickly tapped the button on his console. Down in the hull, the firing Officer noted the green lights come up on his panel, each light represented a part of the ship that had given it's approval to fire. The other Batteries, the Sensory department, the Communications department, the main sections of the vessel and finally the bridge itself. With that, the Firing Officer tapped the button on his panel and released the beast.
The rounds fired were of such magnatude that the whole Dreadnought rocked back on itself with the recoil of each of the three shots, firing one after the other. This was Alversia's new superweapon, not just able to cut through a planet but obliterate it completely. The weapons took so long to charge though that this would probably be the only time they were fired in this battle. Even so, they would have a devastating effect on the Greali fleet when they hit.

"AA batteries firing!"
"Evasive maneuvers!"
The fighters spiraled out of their formation as the vicious ESB fire tore though the space where they had been. The Greal and Alversian Fleets have been separated by such a gulf of space that there had been plenty of time to observe the guns shooting at them and avoid it. Now the AA Cruiser was moving towards the front of the Alversian Fleet, obviously going to intercept the horde of missiles. The Shuriken class fighters stayed back, they would wait until enemy fighters got close before engaging.

Bridge of the Theory...
"Sir!" One of the Bridge Officers shouted. "Roughly six hundred fighters have been launched, along with two corvettes and two gunboats. Two Cruisers and ten frigates are attempting to go around the Alversians to outflank them!"
Of course, Flotilla Captain Akai couldn't let that happen. "Warn the Alversians, have their outer vessels concentrate any available fire on them as they pass. Order the Star Slayer into position on the Alversian starboard flank and prepare to fire on incoming enemy craft. Prepare our missile batteries for action."

A message was sent to the Alversians warning them of the danger while the bulk of the Star Slayer moved quickly to the Alvo backside, floating out into view of the frigates and cruisers. It opened fire with full force on the lead cruiser, one hundred turbolasers, six plasma cannons and two Heavy Ion Cannon blasts exploding out towards them in a wicked salvo. Twenty nuclear missiles erupted from the ship, fanning out and heading for the Greali vessels, one for each of the frigates and five for both the cruisers. The Theory, meanwhile, shot off her own volley of six hundred anti-matter missiles that weaved though the gap between them and the Alversians and burned their thrusters towards the approaching enemy ships, four hundred going for the frigates while the other two hundred aimed for the second cruiser.

Passion

"Captain! The Xiscapians are firing nuclear missiles."

"Brace for-" he didn't have time to finish. The ship shook so hard that the crew had to hold on to something. The Lieutenant, apparently surviving. "Sergeant Remos reports damage to the hull, sir."

"More missiles approaching!"

"Open fire the ESBs! Report the remaining frigates to do the same."

The cruiser and remaining undamaged frigates formed a impenetrable wall of AA fire, keeping the missiles from passing, but the frigates couldn't cover a wide area, so a heavily damaged frigate was finally destroyed, by anti-matter missiles.

"Inform the Wall to retreat. Now!"

"Sir, the Wall has been destroyed, along with three frigates."

"What the hell happened?"

"The Alversians fired some beam of some sort, and it was devastating."

"Are the Jump drives still good?"

"Yes sir." The jump drives were used to pinpoint the locaiton where the cruiser needed to jump."Why sir?"

"Jump to Nova Max. Its closer, and we can repair there."

"Aye, Aye captain."

The cruiser disappeared in a flash. They had deserted the fleet. The still undamaged battleship's captain could clearly see he was outnumbered. The two carriers returned to grab all the fighters and retreat. The rest of the fleet, with the exception of one heavily damaged frigate, jumped away. The Alversians and Xiscapians were victorious. The heavily damaged frigate still moved around, unable to flee.

Losses: 4 frigates, 1 cruiser, 2 fighters

Barton sighed with relief as the Greali fleet withdrew from the battle and jumped away from the system. All apart from one vessel that could not withdraw apparently. That would be dealt with, for already the Panther and the Havagoe were closing in on her, intent on getting a surrender from the crippled craft rather than allow it to remain in such a dangerous state. Barton turned to his Flag Captain and gave a small nod to show that they had won a victory and with barely any losses at all. The crews of the vessels cheered loudly and the Gunners deep in the Capital Ship hulls grinned at each other tiredly, knowing it was their work that had made the victory so possible.

The weapon was a success. It was a highly secret weapon, never seen outside of an APN Laboratory and never seen in action by anyone before day. It had won the battle for the Alversian Fleet in less than ten minutes. It was a victory by any means yet now the hard part began. The VII Fleet would remain in orbit until the secondary fleet arrived and brought with it the troops needed to occupy the planet for the moment, only for a moment. Barton wondered if the people down on the surface had seen their little skirmish. That was all it had been, a skirmish.

"Retract the fighters and Bombers, Captain," Even Barton felt delighted at what had happened. Almost no losses suffered, a great victory and one that the Alversian People would be delighted to hear about. Now Barton stood in front of a Communicator, facing his Opposite number in the Xiscapian Fleet. He offered a bow and a grin,
"Apologies Flotilla Commander," He laughed, "We were not able to offer you the battle you desired" He knew neither side had wanted casualties and Alversia' losses were negligable, less than a dozen fighters or bombers.

Now the real challenge would begin and Barton was glad his fleet did not have the starring role in that epic.

Miller

They had seen what was going on, and transports had actually carried colonists away during the "battle". But, with the enemy victorious, the colonists plus the remaining Greal troops vowed to drive away any enemy. Underground bases were being build as the battle went on, and Greal troops launched a few factories to build explosives and other weapons. A insurgency would be formed against the new occupiers. A few remaining fighters had landed on the planet, and these were stripped with whatever they had on.

The heavily damaged frigate continued moving around, unable to run. Onboard were a few survivors, that didn't know how to call for help.

As they watched the Alversian fire, combined with that of the Xiscapians and the missiles, had devastated the approaching vessels and apparently intimidated the Greali so much that they had withdrawn from the battle, save the frigate. It had gone without a single Xiscapian casualty and only a few shots fired, and Flotilla Captain Akai grinned widely as the fighters were recalled to the Eclipse. The enemy had barely put up a fight. He turned to find the Alversian transmission incoming and moments later was faced with the visage of Admiral John Barton.

"I am glad the battle we expected did not occur," Akai inclined his head. "All in all, an outstanding victory. I do not think we could have hoped for anything better. With your permission, Admiral, the Pebble will be moving into orbit over Miller to await Alversian troop deployment before sending down our own troops, and we will be taking up positions in case we are needed on the ground. One of our ships will be jumping out to rendezvous with the assault vessels for the attack on Nova Max."

Even as he spoke, the Star Slayer turned and vanished in a flash, bound for Nova Max.
OOC: Is there going to be a Miller ground battle, or pacification, or anything?

Nova Max...
With an unheard roar a mass of ships jumped into the system. The First and Third Assault Fleets had been deployed to take Nova Max, along with several task elements from the Sixth Fleet, and these spread out into a formation of individual battle groups. The First Assault Fleet consisted of two Battleships, the A.I. 1 and the Alversia, two Destroyers, the Krystal and Grass, four Cruisers, the A.I. 3, A.I. 2, A.I. 9, and The Darkness, one Medical Ship, the Silk, and one Carrier, the A.I. 7., commanded by Vice Admiral Bodom. The Third Assault Fleet was identically furnished, with two Battleships, the A.I. 10 and the Punishing One, two Destroyers, the A.I. 5 and the Stone, four Cruisers, the A.I. 4, A.I. 8, A.I. 6 and the Imp, one Medical Ship, the Cloak, and one Carrier, the Dagger, commanded by Vice Admiral Serj. Those craft from the Sixth Fleet included the Korr Destroyer Pain, the Korr Frigate Fist, the Star Slayer, the former Calaverian Observer now named Freedom, and the fearsome shape of a SASM Pathfinder converted to Xiscapian duty, christened the Logic.*

Immediately three things happened: The Medical Ships and Carriers fell back to the rear, the three groups converged on Nova Max, and the Rebel ships turned to meet them. Overall the entire force was being commanded by Admiral Sor from his position on the Dagger, delegated to Vice Admirals Bodom and Serj on their respective flagships, the Alversia and Punishing One, with the third battle group from the Sixth Fleet being controlled by Admiral Murdoc aboard the Logic. The defenses of the planet were not insignificant, and all hoped for a repeat of Miller, but as indicated by the massive amount of firepower, they thought not. A message was sent to the Greali as they approached:
Attention commanders of the Greali Navy. The Kitsune Empire requests that you power down all weapons on your vessels and withdraw away from Nova Max. Failure to do so will result in your destruction.
Short, simple and to the point.
The reply was awaited.

*OOC: Don't freak, Paddy: This is a converted vessel. Meaning that though the Xiscapians captured the vessel (when it went down on the moon and the kitsune got the shield frequencies and whatnot off it) they were not able to replicate the shields due to the damage, and replaced them with their own shields. Same engines, same weapons, same ship, but different shields. So I'm going to need some specs on the Pathfinder.

Bridge of the superfortress Vista

The Xiscapians would notice something amiss. Near the Greal fleet were fifteen escort carriers, and dozens of other ships that looked like a separate fleet. This was the rebel fleet, but the Xiscapians had no way of knowing. Admiral Herlin sent a short message warning that the Xiscapians were in the area.

Reinforced by the remaining ships from the Miller battle, the Greal combined fleet had one superfortress, three battleships, five carriers, two escort carriers, fifteen cruisers, sixteen frigates, four mine ships, four medical ships, and three police frigates that survived the carnage. The superfortress, the Vista was brand new and had never seen action, then again, the Xiscapians had never fought a Greal superfortress. But its crew were a mixture transfered from the smaller Klackon. Herlin had made the Vista the flagship of the fourth assault fleet.

The planet had fewer defensive platforms the Hurtrix or even Pamp due to the war with the Berraxs. Combined, they numbered no more then three hundred. There were no ground based fighters, but the planet had its planetary shield in case the Greal fleet needed to recoup somewhere.

"Admiral Herlin, the Xiscapians have sent us a message."

The Admiral looked at the message and laughed,"Activate the ESBs and the Maulers. Order the carriers to launch the fighters for defensive purposes."

Two hundred thousand AS guns were activated and controlled by the computer. Preparing to mow down any unlucky fighters or missiles that happened to be in the way. Twenty Mauler Superweapons were activated. The Mauler weapons were unstable powerful weapons that could destroy whole fleets if needed. Megabolt cannons were already aiming at the approaching enemy fleet.

As the enemy approached, mines that were laid before by mine ships, were coming at the Xiscapian fleets. Hundreds came at the enemy fleet every second. The Vista began dumping out tens thousands of mines into space to confront the enemy. The Greal fleets began forming defensive formation, sticking together and firing long range weaponry.

The answer was short and simple.

No.

OOC: The Miller battle will be decided by the Alversians.

Barton nodded at the statement from the Xiscapian Flotilla Commander and offered his own grin,
"Very well, We'll detatch the Eagle, Formidable, two of the cruisers and three of the Destroyers to reinforce your own battle at Nova Max. Would you like the services of the Iron Duke as well or shall she stay here with our own fleet?" Even as Barton asked, the remainder of the Alversian fleet had descended into orbit of the planet, hoping that their presence and bulk alone would be enough to surrender before this got even bloodier than it already had. The lone Greali Frigate was taken without a fight.

Meanwhile the IX Fleet had arrived from Alversia. Rear Admiral Davis' flagship was a mere Cruiser, the Vanity and he commanded just seven destroyers and another AA Cruiser. Their duty was to escort the transport ships that were currently carrying the troops of seventeen Alversian Battalions which, combined with the Marines from the fleets, would act as an Occupying and peacekeeping force on the planet's surface. There seemed to be nothing other than a few disjointed and scattered Imperial Enthusiasts on the planet and, as the Droptroops howled towards the surface as fast as their engines could carry them, people were already hanging up banners to greet the new Arrivals as Liberators.

Certainly the presence of a Greali fleet had resulted in some anxious moments for those who feared a planetary bombardment. However, with the removal of that fleet, the people of Miller no longer feared. In fact, most of the major Cities had an Alversian Garrison force by the end of the day. The Greali forces on the planet, without the benefit of air or space support, were not in a position to offer significant resistance and so there were limited losses. Already, the Alversian forces were seeking friends amongst the local people, a small group of informers to tell them of any Guerillas or convert operations in the area.

The Alversians were about to learn that something was happening. No Alversian could walk alone without being shot by a sniper. Even pairs of Alversians were a target for bullets, bombs, and rockets. The remaining Imperial troops recruited a massive loyal group of insurgents and prepared for a long war of attrition. Large mines capable of building war materials were all over the sparsely populated planet. Insurgents had seized materials in a series of quick raids of smuggling. Besides that, the local population aided both sides. Most colonists didn't care, and just wanted to live at their homes peacefully, others wanted to defend their homes form insurgents and even formed a volunteer police force to help the Alversians. Unfortunately, their volunteer police forces were infiltrated by insurgent spies, who occasionally assassinated top Alversian supporter leaders.

If the Greali had been planning an elite undercover operation, they had picked the wrong species to mess with. Already, units of the DGCTA, an elite counter-terrorism unit from Alversia had arrived and were sweeping the planet clean. No Sniper could escape his position without being hit by one of the sentries, the Locals who had been recruited were quickly found by this elite unit as were the mines, for nothing that size xould remain secret for long. Under interrogation, those captured revealled the locations of more materials and men. The Alversians spread across the planet with ease, locating and destroying the Greali Imperial Soldiers rather than the locals. Already, Alversian Aid was coming in from the ships, medical supplies as well as food to help those who did not have their own.

The planet however could not be swept completely clean. There were a few bases and mines left, and they had tunnels that could go anywhere around the planet. Though the Alversians could travel these tunnels, many of the tunnels were rigged with explosives, and would crush the Alversians with the collapsing ground. New recruits weren't told much by the Imperials unless they could trust them. They would know other men, but the problem was, the recruits kept out of sight. The planet was covered with trees and recruits found no trouble hiding there. Three hundred million inhabitants lived on the largest continent, Gangera, while the remaining population lived on two other continents. They were all separated by shallow oceans that were usually three feet deep or so. One day, the former governor was killed in a suicide bomb attack. The supporters of the former governor went to the Alversians, looking for help to stop the small, but dangerous insurgency.

OOC: I thought the population of the entire planet was 80 mil?

OOC: 350 million. Th original pop was 487 million, but the Greal ships evacuated some.

There was a problem with the Greali Insurgency and it was a major one. One thing that a Guerilla campaign needed was the support of the local populace to supply them with food, money and information on local forces. However, the more the Insurgency continued, the more and more support it lost. The visual representation, attacking a people trying to bring aid, lost the support of many while the very fact they were fighting in the name of an Empire that the People had despised and rosen against in the first place did not win them the support of many either.
More and more, the Alversians found themselves being sent tips about Insurgency build up in the local area or if Infiltrators in the Police. More and more peope were demonstrating for democracy and community pressure was being put on those who wished to join the Insurgency. Not only that but the Alversian fleet had spread throughout Miller's orbit and their scanners were finding the forest locations as soon as they were established. Without information, food or money from the locals, who began to inform the Authorities as soon as any Insurgency Units passed close to their towns.

Miller...
"Please do, I have been informed that many, if not all, of the defenders who deserted here went to Nova Max. We're going to need anything we can get. In the meantime, we will begin landing troops."

The Xiscapian fleet generally helped the Alversians with whatever their current operation was, though they mostly stuck to space and the shadows on the planet. The local populace saw little of them, as they mostly ferried supplies and troops to the planet, acted as Intelligence locating Insurgency bases, strongholds and movements, and sent a small force, a company, of XIN Marines down to the planet. The insurgents would find them hardened combat troops, and any militia member proved no match for them. Still, they rotated mostly on guard duty and rarely went out on patrol or seek-and-destroy missions.

Nova Max, Space...
As the eight Alversian vessels jumped in behind the Xiscapian Fleets the mines came. Normally so many would prove a problem, but against the firepower of the combined fleets they were struck down by point-defenses over and over and over, until the space between the fleets was a solid wall of explosions and debris. Finally the Greali had no more mines to send, and the fleet sat relatively unscathed with the exception of some damage to the Freedom, Star Slayer and several of the Destroyers. A message was sent back:
We said long ago that the Greali had signed their death warrant for the murder of our Ambassador. This is the day that revenge will be ours for the atrocities committed. Good day to you.

The combined firepower of the Xiscapian Fleets was unleashed, 84 MAC guns, 34 Heavy Ion Cannons, 624 Heavy Guns, 172 Light Guns, 1040 AS guns, 775 Ion Cannons, a Plasma Ping shot, 654 Turbolaser batteries, 506 plasma cannons and 110 nuclear missiles. The Battleships, Cruisers, Destroyers, the Freedom, Star Slayer, Pain, Fist and Logic all volleyed as one, MAC and Heavies striking the Battleships and Superfortess evenly, the turbolasers and plasma cannons all going for the cruisers and the missiles spreading to the frigates and police ships and every AS gun targeting a fighter. The Plasma Ping went directly to the Vista.

Bridge of the XIW Dagger...
Admiral Sor was second-in-command of Xiscapian Naval forces, actually older than the Grand Admiral herself, and an excellent tactician. Aside from the two Vice Admirals and certain key Alversians, no one knew the trap he had cleverly orchestrad that the Greali had fallen in to. His short, straight brown hair framed a gruff, grizzled face as he stared out at the Greali fleet...and behind them, the Rebel Fleet.
Or so the Greali thought.
"Give the command," he ordered the Communications Officer. The Bridge Officer nodded affirmation and sent the message.
And Sor smiled to himself, softly speaking.
"Die motherfuckers die."

Bridge of the Sum of all Fears...
"We've been ordered to attack."
Admiral Täuschen was not a kitsune prone to impulses or fits of excitement. He was old, very old, if his hair was not naturally silver it would be by now, his fur was almost the same color, and orange eyes, tired and full of horrors locked away showed something approaching sadness. The poor bastards would have no idea what hit them, and the battle would be over before it began. Still, he felt slightly flushed at the idea, knowing that he, Admiral Täuschen, who in the Xiscapian Navy was only a Captain, was instrumental to achieving victory in this battle.

"Open fire," he said quietly. "Show them no mercy."

5,990 AS guns, 3,146 heavy lasers, 5,500 lasers, 270 Heavy Ion cannons, 220 Ion Cannons, 128 Megabolt Cannons, 1,500 Hellfire torpedoes, 250,000 mines, 200 neutron blasters, 100 anti-matter missiles streaked out from the Rebel Fleet...directly into the flanks of the Greali. With no warning, concentrating on the Xiscapian attack to the front, they were totally unprepared, and the assault hit them full force from the rear. The fire was coming from behind and the front now, in the same pattern as the Xiscapian fleet, Heavies and mines on the Battleships and Superfortress, lighter weapons firing on the Cruisers, AS guns on the fighters and the missiles hitting the backs of the frigates. It was clear, now, that the so-called Rebels were no friends of Greal. The overwhelming firepower was enough to devastate a fleet twice the size of the Fourth Assault Fleet.

Nova Max, Ground...
The troop transport landed now, but rather than mismatched, Rebel irregulars came squads of silver-armored Xiscapian shock troops, firing into the Greali Marines from behind and calling for the Berrax rebels to aide them. The troop ships fired their AS guns at the Greali troops as more and more kitsune poured out in their gleaming armor, eight hundred in all in the city, striking the enemy with the element of surprise. The other troop ship kept in the air over the city, ready to give reinforcements if needed.

Warlord class Starbase, hangers…
A Rebel transport landed in the hangers, unexpected but not unwelcome. A ragged band of aliens and humans, little more than pirates, dressed in no uniform and carrying a variety of weapons came out, fifty in all. When confronted by crew of the station they said they were there to see Ordor, their leader, and were escorted to the command bridge. Ordor turned to see them, barring his teeth in a smile. “My friends…” he growled. “Let Glory shine on us Forever.”

It was the code. In an instant the weapons were leveled and guards, officers and technicians alike were blasted, alarms slagged and the doors sealed. Inevitably the others on the station would realize what had happened, but they had a little time now. The diversity of the aliens was a trick, there were only a few kitsune among them, others were human, Chimera, Sangheili, Weequay and Gran. These were not mercenaries, but rather volunteers, handpicked and trained extensively by Ordor himself, for this very task. They were fiercely loyal, fanatical and ruthless: They had to be, it was unlikely any of them would be making it off the starbase alive.

They’d spread out to the consoles and began to take control, charging the single Superlaser on the station. It laboriously turned in space, aimed directly for Nova Reginix. They needed just a little more time for the laser to charge, and then they could strike. But the blast doors would not hold off the other crew members and security forever, and it was possible the station would be destroyed before they could attack. Ordor prayed fervently that that would not happen; if he was going to die he was going to take as many of the enemy with him as he could…

Field of Dreams...
Yoki and Rammer had shared a passionate fortnight together, doing nothing but eating, drinking, making love and amusing themselves in various other ways. Now they lay together in bed, naked, and the wall of the stateroom seemed to disappear. Outside was frozen space, all around them, stars wheeling and glittering around the human and kitsune as they relaxed, entangled, and watched the spectacle. In the distance the fleets around Nova Max could be seen. Even as they watched the Greali missiles were destroyed with distant flashes of light, outshining everything, before diminishing down to nothing.

Then the fire began to come from the Xiscapian fleets, and, suddenly, the Greali were being struck from behind too! Large explosions and brilliant sunbursts of glowing fire stabbed into their eyes, it was such that the Greali fleet couldn’t even be seen for all the concussions and detonations. Rammer sat up in bed, staring in disbelief, but as he turned to Yoki he saw something even more shocking.
She, too, had sat up, sheets falling down to her waist, hair tucked behind her head, breasts exposed. But she held, in a steady, even hand, a tiny holdout blaster pistol, and it was pointed directly at Rammer. There was barely a foot of space between them, but Rammer knew the Xiscapian could probably kill him before he could even touch her.
“Rammer,” she said quietly, eyes glittering, “we need to talk.”

There was a problem with the Greali Insurgency and it was a major one. One thing that a Guerilla campaign needed was the support of the local populace to supply them with food, money and information on local forces. However, the more the Insurgency continued, the more and more support it lost. The visual representation, attacking a people trying to bring aid, lost the support of many while the very fact they were fighting in the name of an Empire that the People had despised and rosen against in the first place did not win them the support of many either.
More and more, the Alversians found themselves being sent tips about Insurgency build up in the local area or if Infiltrators in the Police. More and more peope were demonstrating for democracy and community pressure was being put on those who wished to join the Insurgency. Not only that but the Alversian fleet had spread throughout Miller's orbit and their scanners were finding the forest locations as soon as they were established. Without information, food or money from the locals, who began to inform the Authorities as soon as any Insurgency Units passed close to their towns.

Eventually, the insurgency collapsed, but there were occasional bomb explosions around major cities. A few diehard insurgents were left, and they were in their bases, waiting for "liberation". Meanwhile, people went on with their lives, cooperating with the Alversians, and making some business with that nation.

The eight Alverisan ships that had been dispatched from the Alversian VII Fleet, led by the Dreadnought Eagle and the Battlecruiser Formidable, hung behind the Xiscapian line in the same way that the Kitsune had done with the Alversians in their battle. Their job was to be a mobile reserve, to plug the gaps in the line as they appeared or as they were outflanked. That would be their duty. Leave the bulk of the fighting to the Xiscapians for now. They were glad to be back in action so soon, though against a much more powerful force this time.

Vista

"Brace for impact!"

The nuclear missiles were picked off by the thousands of AS guns firing, but a few of them had still made it through and one of them hit the superfortress in its fourth starboard hanger. Bombs and missiles were set off, killing almost everyone that was there. The shields managed to prevent the missile from devastating most of the superfortress.

"Admiral!"

"Yes?"

"The...rebels are firing at our flank."

What? This must be a mistake. "Are you sure?"

"Yes sir, before the Francis was destroyed."

"Direct all Mauler weapons on the Xiscapian fleet."

"Yes sir."

Quickly, as if it had arose, the superfotress along with the rest of the fleet fired 20 Mauler Superweapons, 300 Heavy Megabolt Cannons, 8,000 Megabolt Cannons, 8,000 Heavy Phasers, 15,000 Heavy Ion Cannons, 200,000 AS (Anti-Ship) Guns, 5,000 Hellfire missiles. Then, the superfortress fired disk missiles at the "rebel fleet". The Maulers were used against the Calaverians with little success, but then again, the Calavaerians had fewer ships then anyone. The remaining 20 Super Lasers were directed at the biggest Alversian warship.

Disk missiles were disk shaped missiles that were designed to penetrate enemy shields that lay carnage onto any ship that stood in its way. Also, Greal designed AS guns were found ineffective against them since they were so thin. Unfortunately, the Greal fleet had only ten thousand of these. Then, two battleships went against the rebel fleet, with a few cruisers and frigates helping.

Besides that, two devices were sitting in the superfortress, ready to be fired at Nova Max.

Black Spider

The Second Assault Fleet waited motionless at Nova Reginix. Admiral Corch stood at the bridge.

"Now's our time boys." said the Admiral, then he nodded to a Lieutenant.

The Lieutenant pressed a small device into the machine in front of him. Then everything seemed to slow.

The Second Assault Fleet jumped, into the Nov Max system. They had jumped right on the flank of the rebel fleet. Though Corch thought they were allies, only after seeing the rebellion ships blast a hole in a battleship, did he realize they were traitors.

"Open fire." The Mauler weapon aimed at one of the rebellion escort carriers and fired. Even if it did survived that blast, it would be ravaged by the thousands of various weapons the Black Spider was firing. Then, a Super Laser fired at another enemy escort carrier.

The battle, to a bystander, would look amazing colorful, ships were fighting each other, missiles exploding, lasers firing, it would be the largest battle Greal has ever been since the Imitator war.

Nova Max

As the battle progressed in the sky, hundreds of Greal fighters were dispatched to destroy everything in front of them. The Greal marines retreated after being hit by the combined rebel-Xiscapian army. Large bombers fire nuclear missiles at every settlement they could fine. Callin went over to the Xiscapian transports to look for their ranking officer.

Warlord class Starbase

"What the hell is going on?"

"Rebels have seized the hangers and are charging the Super Laser."

"Dammit. There's only one way to stop it."

"What's that sir?"

"Remove the crystal."

Greal marines went down to the power areas and carefully removed the crystal. Quickly, power went out in the starbase, only to be replaced by emergency power that barely enough to sent powers to the lights around the starbase, let alone, charge a superlaser. Then, various Greal marines seized several weapon areas to prevent the rebels from using the other various weapons the station had.

The Superfortress, the Concerm, trained its large Mauler weapon on the Hanger. It was to "clean it off" completely. With the shields out, it would be much easier. The Mauler weapon fired, and the hanger was not only destroyed, but obliterated. The rest of the starbase suffered widespread damage, but at least the rebels in the hangers were destroyed.

"Where's Rammer?"

"He....went on board the rebel warship."

"Damn it. Damage control. Replace his files with Werrin"

Field of Dreams

Rammer was stunned by this change. He stared at the pistol that Yoki was holding, though both of them was half naked. He only had one chance. Attempting to knock off the pistol off her hand would be useless. Though he was in the Black Guard, many of those skills he earned were almost gone.
"That was probably one of the smartest cons I have ever seen. Congrats. Now what do you want?"

Bridge of the XIW Dagger...
"Scans indicating moderate to heavy damage on the enemy Superfortress!" shouted a Bridge Officer. The combined strike had rattled the enemy fleet, but they were now making the counterattack on the Xiscapian fleet, firing all weapons. They watched as shields flared and explosions ripped though the First and Third Assault fleets, the Korr frigate Fist being brutally ravaged by the fire, shields failing and hull cracking and beginning to fall apart, escape pods jettisoning, the Xiscapians having lost the majority of their nuclear weapons platforms with the frigate. Meanwhile the Korr Destroyer Pain was reading weak shields, and power had to be diverted from weapons to strengthen them sufficiently to survive the next maelstrom, taking the ship effectively out of action until a balance of power could be achieved. The Battleships and Cruisers were hurt, though the Greali would have to do better than that to achieve any real damage, the Destroyers were definitely weakening.

"Instruct all craft to fire again, have the Freedom dispatch her fighters to help out on the surface and request the Alversians move to block off and engage the new fleet." Sor said, eyes gleaming, a large smile on his face. The Greali were being pounded, this battle would soon be theirs...
Three hundred Shuriken class fighters came out of the Observer, arching their trajectory so they would fly under the enemy fleet, where the least guns were mounted, and get into the atmosphere. The Xiscapian return fire was weaker from their losses, now only 60 MAC guns, 25 Heavy Ion Cannons, 600 Heavy Guns, 140 Light Guns, 1,010 AS guns, 740 Ion Cannons, 600 Turbolaser battery shots, 506 plasma cannons and a mere ten nuclear missiles.

Kiltro...
The Escort Carrier had done well so far, firing all it's weapons with perfect accuracy, the Captain was pleased. But then one of the bridge officers shouted to him:
"Greali fleet arriving on our flank!"
"What? Dispatch all fighters to the surface immediately, and turn us to broadside them!"
"Massive energy sig-"
The Mauler weapon cut the Kiltro in half, smashing the shields and melting away the armor. Most of the crew was incinerated, and those that survived either perished in space or were killed by the follow-up attack of the weapons from the rest of the fleet.

Meanwhile the disk missiles were flashing though the fleet, most being intercepted, but it was difficult for the Greali PDs to get a lock on them. Several of the ships suffered damage, but one frigate in particular was truly hammered. The Heart of Gold took a direct hit to the bridge, and before the auxiliary control could be established the power core ruptured, killing many and further damaging the ship. The survivors were forced to manually reroute all power to the shields, but in doing so the engines were turned off and they began to drift, venting atmosphere. Their course took them directly above one of the Greali Battleships now engaging the Rebels. What few weapons the frigate had left functioning with any power were turned to target and destroy any weapons that might fire up at them to buy the remnants of the crew a little time.

The other ten Escort Carriers released their fighters and sent down the patrols, two thousand fighters and eight patrol craft in all, thirty of the fighters and two of the patrols having been destroyed by enemy fire. These vessels swooped down onto the planet, breaking atmosphere, intent on destroying the enemy small craft, bombing any Greali structures or troops, and providing air support for the inevitable ground battle. They also needed to get down there because they were critical in securing the city and protecting the planet, providing a vital part of the overall plan in protecting the Xiscapians and Berrax troops and fighter craft. The Rebel Fleet fired again into the back of the Fourth Assault Fleet, a only slightly weaker strike than the last time. Surely they would be hurting by now?
OOC: Your losses are?

Nova Max...
About a hundred Grunts were killed or wounded in the air strikes, but the troop carriers and portable SAMs did an effective job of either destroying Greali bombs or downing the bombers themselves before they could drop their payloads. Kitsune moved in squads of five, killing Greali Marines and assisting pinned-down Rebels, spreading though the city to secure all entrances and chokepoints and to reinforce or relieve Berrax strongholds, barricades or ambush points. They proved to be ruthless, silent professionals, working with hand signals and presumably interior communications links, natural hunters locating and eliminating the last of the resistance before the enemy retreated. The Lieutenant Colonel, commander of the soldiers, seemed to Callin just another faceless trooper, but he identified himself as Dawrn. "You're the Berrax Rebel leader," a slight bending of the knees which might have been a bow. "We are honored to assist you in your struggle for freedom."

Warlord class Starbase...
"We've lost all power, sir."
"Thank you for that enlightening statement." Ordor growled. All the lights had gone out, the consoles blank, the room lit only by the faint red glow of emergency lighting. "Alright, we-"
The entire station shook, shuddering, and there was a slight tilt. Mumbled curses and cries of surprise came. Ordor looked out the window of the command structure and saw that the hanger they had entered though was burning, a massive hull ripped into the hull of the starbase, fired from the massive bulk of a nearby Superfortress. Ordor just nodded to himself. So that was that, then: No chance for escape.
More glory to the Kitsune Empire, then.

"Split up into three teams, fifteen men per team, and make for the main power core. You, you, you and you two, with me."
The doors unsealed and the three teams began to take three separate alternate routes to the power core as if they'd been doing so all their lives. Yoki had managed to recreate an accurate model of the basic blueprints of the starbase which Ordor had reinforced on his stay here, and that had passed on to those under his command. The three halls, Hall Alpha, Hall Beta and Hall Delta all led to the main power core: Alpha passed by the barracks and cafeteria, Beta went though the shadowy otherworld of engineering and air ducts, and Delta was a confusing labyrinth of corridors that went past the staterooms of the guests, officers and passengers aboard.

Ordor and his five began to make for the firing control area for most of the station's weapons. The core was the main objective, but if all else failed, well...
He'd have to improvise.

Field of Dreams...
"The freedom of the Berrax, victory for the Kitsune Empire, the destruction and subjection of the Intergalactic Empire of Greal...many things, Rammer." She breathed, gesturing with the pistol. "Up. Off the bed." The Greali was forced up to stand with his back to the window, wearing nothing but his underwear. Yoki was similarly clad in her panties, and she seemed quite unabashed as she stood, still calmly centering the pistol on his chest. "You are a valuable being. But how much, exactly, are you worth? Hmm? Let's find out."

Blaster still pointing at him, she typed into the console next to her. "It was so easy, Admiral. Gain your trust, your money and your ships, that was all I had to do. In truth, I never expected to make it past the first stage. But by the time you sent me that first Escort Carrier, I knew we had you in our pocket, I was ecstatic. But truthfully," she smiled coldly at him, "I never expected to be blessed with anything like this. My top lieutenant in a prime position on the most important starbase in Greal, I the lover of one of the most powerful Admirals in the Greali Navy? It was perfect.

Now all our careful scheming has come full circle. Your fleets will be crushed and the Berrax liberated, and all that which you thought you were giving to aide in our destruction benefited us in carrying out yours. The irony of it all is so delicious I can almost taste it. You have lost Pamp and Miller, you are losing Nova Max, you are being forced to abandon so many of your precious colonies, your government is weak and unstable, your military full of incompetents and fools, your politicians corrupt and concerned more with their own wealth than that of your nation, your people are miserable and dying thousands by the day under the oppression of your stormtroopers and your society has been thrown into chaos and degrades under the turmoil of a xenophobia-fueled revolt. It cannot last, Admiral," A sharp-toothed smile now, "you were..." her tail wrapped around her bare legs, "outfoxed."

Bridge of the Vista

"Incoming!"

The AS guns focused their fire on the ten nuclear missiles. Miraculously, one managed to pass by and slammed into a frigate called the Haven that was also give AA support. Taking direct hit, the Haven exploded and split in half. Admiral Herlin sighed as the enemy found their mark, but this time it was noticeably less. The Maulers had done good. He looked at the computer in front of him calculating losses. The results were three frigates, two cruisers destroyed. One battleship was heavily damaged and could do no more then fire its AA guns. The carriers were also using their AS guns against the rebel fleet on their flank.

"Admiral, enemy fighters are trying to get under the fleet!"

"Release squadrons F." Squadron F made up of five hundred Viper Class Mark II fighters. They flew from the hangers and was on conclusion course with the enemy fighters. A volley of anti-matter torpedoes were fired, then the fighters would fight it out in a desperate dog fighting. Meanwhile, disk missiles were turned from the superfortress and instead a volley of several thousand were fired, almost exhausting the stock. The superfortress still had hundreds of thousands of mines, so two hundred thousand were unleashed unto the rebel fleet. Again, the superfortress used on its weapons on the Xsicapian fleet (20 Mauler Superweapons, 1,000,000 Mines, 300 Heavy Megabolt Cannons, 8000 Megabolt Cannons, 20 Super Lasers, 8,000 Heavy Phasers, 15,000 Heavy Ion Cannons, 200,000 AS (Anti-Ship) Guns, 2,000 Hellfire torpedoes, and 1,000 nuclear missiles).

The Hellburners on the superfortress turned to Nova Max. One shot would kill billions and turn the planet into molten lava. Almost as effective as the device itself. Instead, two thousand more fighters went down to the surface to battle the rebels.

The Black Spider

Admiral Corch watched the devastated enemy frigate, fire its remaining weapons on the battleship Contact. Corch swore silently as he watched one of the enemy weapons hit the battleship. The battleship then trained its Megabolt weapons on the frigate and fired.

"Incoming attac-" He never got a chance to finish the sentence. The superbattleship was hit in multiply areas causing the ship to shake horribly for a few seconds. Corch was knocked down and needed help. Medics helped him get up as he yelled "Fire!"

One of the Mauler weapons was moving then it fired at a escort carrier. The Superlaser laid silent, charging again before laying destruction on the enemy fleet. 10 Heavy Megabolt Cannons, 200 Megabolt Cannons, 1600 Heavy Lasers, 200 Heavy Iron Cannons, 4680 AS (Anti-Ship) Guns, 500 Hellfire torpedoes were fired in all.

Meanwhile, since the rebel fighters were intent on getting to the surface. A thousand fighters dispatched from various carriers went after them and fired missile after missile into the exposed backs of the fighters. Corvettes and patrol vessels were also going after the enemy, firing its long range weaponry.

Nova Max

"Thank you. I would advise that we leave somewhere, the Greal fighters seemed intent on destroying this city, which means they know I'm here." As he spoke, there were various firefights around the area. The enemy troopers for the first time fought the deadly Black Guard. Greal marines continued their struggle for the control of the planet.

Warlord class Starbase

"Lieutenant, come and look at this."

"What?"

"The blast didn't kill all of them."

"How do you know?"

"Because a bunch of them have been seen by our driods."

He cursed silently."Great, now we will have a firefight on our hands. Where are they going?"

"I think here, so they can charge that superlaser. And probably the control of the weapons, but that would be useless until the power is back on."

"Close blast doors, all of them."

"Yes sir."

Blast doors were closed in various areas leading up to the main power area and the weapons control. Meanwhile, fifty Black Guards landed at the other hanger of the starbase. Their mission was simple. Kill the remaining rebels.

Field of Dreams

Rammer then suddenly grabbed his pants and threw it at Yoki. It was a horrible throw, but it served its purpose to distract her and a small pistol fell out and Rammer, grabbed it. The small pistol could only fire ten times before Rammer could hope to reload, but he didn't expect to get off this ship.

Bridge of the XIW Dagger...
The battle was going well, thought Admiral Sor, all things considered. There had not been as much damage inflicted as he had anticipated, but the Greali had been taken completely by surprise, and now they paid the price for it. Being hammered from the front and the back, it would not be long before the fleet was either so heavily damaged they were rendered incapable of fighting back, or they retreated before such could become a reality.
"The Greali are releasing intercepting fighters, thousands of them Admiral!"
"Wait for their next salvo!" ordered Sor. "We can't risk our small craft being caught in the crossfire! When their next volley is fired instruct the fleets to begin targeting and engaging specific vessels so we can destroy their chain of command, let the Hidden Fleet worry about those fighters!”

The Shuriken class fighters found themselves unhindered by AA fire, but enemy starfighters were inbound on their position, as were several hundred missiles. They fired off their own rockets, mostly to provide a screen against the pursuing anti-matter munitions, and kept on course, fleeing the Greali fighters rather than engaging them. The pilots knew they had a job to do, and though twenty-three of their number were destroyed, they cleared the fleet, diving though enemy squadrons, and made it down to the planet. Originally they had been slated to provide air support for the ground troops, but this no longer seemed to be an option, at least for now.

Thundering though the atmosphere they broke into flights, racing to take up positions around the sphere they had been ordered to protect, dodging more enemy fire. Within minutes they had spread themselves evenly, miles apart, across Nova Max, and now activated the special generators their craft had been equipped with. From the first fighter, situated over Gurg, a golden field began to spread, connecting with the next fighter and the next after that, and the next. In seconds the planet was covered in a shimmering golden shield, keeping any matter outside of it, but also trapping all the ships in the atmosphere inside. From Gurg, somewhere among the ruins, a shining spear of bright white light could be seen impaling the first fighter, dancing there with hints of color, greens and blues and reds, trapped in the energy.

The two hundred thousand mines began to swarm towards the Rebel fleet, fired from the Superfortress, but they attracted so much attention the AS guns simply concentrated fire on the mine holding bays and destroyed them the instant they came out, the blast washing across the shields of the very ship that was firing them. But then the Greali began to fire on the Xiscapian fleets, the enemy weapons were truly beginning to take their toll. The Korr Destroyer Pain was crippled; the bow smashed apart, point-defense weapons firing weakly as fires broke out and was desperately fought by the crew. The Star Slayer’s shields weakened, a Hellfire missile sneaked though and smashing into the hull, melting armor and destroying a dozen turbolaser batteries. Finally the XIW Grass lost her shields and retreated, leaving her PDs to protect her while she readied to fire from range.

As the two thousand Rebel fighters and eight patrols tried to make it to the surface they abruptly turned back, flying in the face of the Greali fighters as they fired their missiles and lasers. Almost immediately thirty-two fighters were destroyed, but they outnumbered the Greali and a furious dogfight ensued. The Xiscapian Fleets chose this time to fire, and though the firing with some weapons had been reduced, others were back to full capacity (84 MAC guns, 34 Heavy Ion Cannons, 624 Heavy Guns, 172 Light Guns, 1,000 AS guns, 700 Ion Cannons, 640 Turbolaser batteries, 506 plasma cannons). These were streaking out towards the three Battleships and all the cruisers, evenly spread. As they did so eight corvettes, coming from various Battleships and Destroyers, came out and began to launch volleys of nuclear missiles, thirty-two in all, spreading out among the debris of battle so as to make themselves more difficult targets for enemy AA and hopefully hit Greali ships. After firing these corvettes then spread out in the middle of the fleet, so as not to be wiped out by a single large blast or concentrated volley of missiles.

Heart of Gold…
The crew, or what was left of it, cheered loudly as they made critical hits on the massive Greali Superbattleship, but in the next second a Megabolt shot sheared off the engines, killing more crew and spinning the vessel wildly. By this time only about a hundred people were left, mostly bridge crew, bridge guards and those who were lucky enough to be located near the bow of the frigate when it began to take hits. Roughly twenty of these were kitsune, twenty-two were Alversian or otherwise human, a few scattered aliens, and the rest were Korr. The frigate came closer and closer to the enemy ship, and the Captain, a large Korr, began yelling to his First Officer:
“Activate the self-destruct!” he bawled.
“We can’t!” cried the X.O, a female by the name of Naki. “The system has experienced a massive failure; we can’t control anything except for the blast doors and life support!”
The Captain swore, but the Heart of Gold hit the side of the Black Spider, rolling down off it towards the underside of the ship, well within range of weapons…or tractor beams.

Naki (http://www.bungie.net/images/games/oni/wallpapers/oni_800.jpg) clung to her console as the ship shuddered, now little more than a drifting hulk, fires raging near where the engines used to be uncontrolled. They were passing near a hanger outside, and with a sudden rush of fear she realized they could be captured. Already the Captain was ordering the surviving able-bodied crew to break open the equipment lockers and start getting weapons to fight off the inevitable boarding party. Hurrying over to one of the lockers, Naki picked up a heavy repeating laser gun and some shoulder and chest armor. They knew it was a losing battle, and that they would in all likelihood die here in this slowly disintegrating ship, but it was not the way of the Xiscapians to go peacefully without a fight, and they intended to take some Greali with them.

Outside the mine ship Moonraker was disabled by Ion fire, and then ripped apart by Megabolt cannons and lasers. Yet another frigate, the Promise, exploded violently as the Greali poured on the pain. A third frigate, the Spook, hit by multiple missiles, lost control and collided with a Greali Battleship, all weapons firing. Two corvettes, the Runaway and Cold Blade, turned into fireballs as they were targeted and destroyed by another of the Battleships, never even having a chance. The Rebels kept firing, 5,800 AS guns, 3,120 heavy lasers, 5,100 lasers, 200 Heavy Ion cannons, 180 Ion Cannons, 105 Megabolt Cannons, 1,500 Hellfire torpedoes and 100 anti-matter missiles, aiming for the frigates and cruisers, fighting for their lives.

Nova Max…
“Yes sir,” Dawrn nodded, “right away sir. We’ll set up a defensive barricade so you can retreat into the hills, some of my men will escort you.” From the other troop transport five hundred LAM, Light Assault Mecha, mechanized infantry soldiers, glided out on thrusters, a hundred of them to take up positions in the suburbs of the city. The soldiers themselves hid in buildings, alleys and behind rubble while the mecha were more exposed, standing in the streets, on rooftops and hanging off the sides of walls. Meanwhile about six hundred of the Marines formed a wide defensive ring around the Berrax, rifles and rocket launchers ready, while a hundred of their comrades stayed behind with the mecha. The other four hundred LAM floated above the formation of Berrax and kitsune, ready to destroy any fighter, armor or soldiers that came to harass them.

Warlord class Starbase…
The three teams moved quickly, blowing though the blast doors with shaped charges, opening them by slicing nearby computers, or simply bypassing them for a different route. They met no opposition, and now drew near to the main core and reactor. Elsewhere Ordor and his five men were still far but getting closer to the weapons control room, wary but having seen no enemy Marines or base personnel, moving rapidly though the empty halls. This might just work…

Field of Dreams…
Yoki struggled with the garment for half a second before throwing it away, lunging at Rammer. The pistol was too small and of an unfamiliar design to the Admiral, so by the time he got his finger around the trigger she was on him, wrapping her arms around him, chest pressing against his, and she gave him a kiss directly on the lips. The momentary surprise was all she needed to swipe the weapon away and shove the Greali human to the floor. She stood there, not even having broken a sweat, pistol once again aimed at Rammer. “Nice try,” she breathed huskily. “But you’re going to have to do better than that.” She opened a nearby drawer and withdrew a pair of plasma cuffs, linking Rammer to a bar on the window that continued to show the ongoing battle. “I hope you feel good about yourself on camera…”

A minute later a message went out to all the Greali vessels in the system. It showed Rammer from the waist up with a gun to his head from an unseen person off-screen. Once the vox came up he began to speak in a deadpan voice, obviously being forced to:
“Attention my brothers of Greal. I am Admiral Rammer, and I am being held hostage onboard an Xiscapian vessel. I have been instructed to tell you that if you do not withdraw from Nova Max in no more than five minutes from now I will be executed. Please make the right choice.”
With a flicker it was gone.

The turbo lasers hit the Dreadnought Eagle and made the leviathan rock. Where there had been nothing but black and empty space, there was suddenly a screen of angry blue light, that flashed in protest at the attack from the Greali super lasers before vanishing back into the darkness of space. The Alversians were not using lasers but rather a combination of mass drivers and phasers. The mass drivers were railguns, three of which pointed forward from the bows of the Alversian warship and would fire a projectile of energy at near impossible speeds. The phasers were pretty common and now, beams of energy were flung across the space between the fleets to hit the Greali warships.
"Ma'am!" It was the Formidable's Communications Officer, an Alverisan Kitsune who caught the attention of the Rear-Admiral. She turned to face him while he spoke. She took in the instructions, as requested by her opposite number in the Xiscapian Fleet and looked at her Captain,
"Bring the fleet to bear on that Greali Fleet on our flank. Tear them apart!" She commanded, then watched as the massive warships that made up the Alversian section of the fleet turned and began to smash their heavy weapons fire into the new vessels, while the Destroyers focused on firing DP Missiles and the Cruisers using their slightly lighter weapons to the same effect. Most missile fire was taken out by the ever-reliable Iron Duke, working from her normal position in the fleet to cut down the Greali Missiles as they arrived into range.


The Alversian fighters were hovering above the Alversian fleet, again acting in a defensive role, mostly untroubled by the flak. They spun and rotated above the sprawl of warships, out of range from the Greali AA Fire. They watched as the Imperial fighters were launched and tore into their opposite, Xiscapian fighters. The Alversians would not add to the chaos but wait until an oppurtunity to change the course of the battle came up.

Bridge of the Vista

Admiral Herlin seemed almost amused by the message from Rammer, who was wearing nothing but his underwear. Herlin quickly had a meeting with the other captains while their crew fought.

"What now? Do we pull out?"

"I say we do. First off, we were going to abandon Nova Max, second off, it seems pointless fighting against several different fleets over a small alien species."

"Should we destroy the planet?"

"That won't buy any goodwill from the Xiscapians."

"I don't care about good will from them. They seem intent on destroying the Empire."

"I say we pull out, sir."

The captains voted on it. It was decided. Every ship had already spun up their Jump drives and the three separate fleets disappeared in a blue flash. Leaving behind wreckage of five frigates, three cruisers, and one heavily damaged mine ship.

The battered Greal fleets jumped into Nova Reginix orbit, where more troubles awaited them.

Nova Max

Callin stared at the sky, the Greal ships were leaving. Was it over? Just like that? For fifty years, the Berraxs fought for independence that seemed like it would never come. Tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions, died in the long rebellion. Now the Berrax population was reduced to a mere four hundred million. Callin then turned to the Xiscapian troopers. These are our saviors. "Well, its finally over. I never thought I would live to see this day."

Warlord class Starbase

Little did the groups know, one black spider was following each of the groups. They silently moved in the darkness since the emergency power had nearly run out. The confined halls was a perfect place to wreak havoc on the enemy. Then, at the same time, the Black Spiders attacked the group form behind, firing blasters and a few rockets.

Field of Dreams

Rammer still loved Yoki. He had no idea why. This person had betrayed him and seized him as a hostage. He stared at the Greal fleet jumping away. Now what? Would the war end here? He could not bring himself to ask this question.

Congress Hall, Nova Reginix

The Congress Hall was filled with Senators, coming from every part of the Empire. President Forrest Threx was to give a speech on the recent events. Everyone was stunned by it. Now one Superbattleship along with two fleets were decimated. At Miller and Nova Max, it was a slightly different situation. The fleets at least survived to fight another day. Now, the Navy had just two systems to guard. The Empire was put on war footing. Tens of thousands defensive platforms were put up at the two systems.

President Forrest Threx entered the massive room, there was some applause."Thank you." He continued walking toward the podium where he would give his speech. His speech was recorded and every Communicator set would be able to watch his speech. Billions of families, sat around, eager to watch the President.

"People of Greal, I am sure that all of you have heard of what happened at Pamp, Miller, and Nova Max." He had no expression of his face," Our enemies seem intent on dividing us and destroying this very Empire that we founded four thousand years ago. This is now a crucial time. We must peaceful coexist with other species in the Empire. We must unite if we are to defeat our enemies. No matter what happens, the Empire will make its stand, and survive.

Long live the empire! Thank you everyone." There was a much larger applause. Forrest headed back to the Presidential office, he was escorted by a whole convoy of Black Guards.

Now everyone in the Empire waited, quietly for the next move. Will The Xiscapians strike?

The Xiscapians couldn't beleive their eyes as they watched the Greali retreat, what has caused this to happen? But there was no time to speculate: Work remained to be done. The shield was lowered and several patrols and corvettes moved into the wreckage that marked the destruction of the Greali vessels, flying to assist the battered Rebel fleet. Some of the vessels, such as the Heart of Gold, would have to be scrapped entirely, while others would need a friendly port, space station or starbase at which to make repairs. The Medical Ships Cloak and Silk got into orbit over Nova Max, sending down shuttles with medical teams to tend to the wounded Berrax and kitsune.

Meanwhile the Battleship Alversia moved in on the damaged Mine ship, dispatching drop ships to board and take the enemy vessel. If it was in servicable condition, it would be repaired and incoperated in the fleet. If not, it would either be scrapped and melted down for other uses, or destroyed. The damaged vessels, the Korr Destroyer Pain, Star Slayer and the Heart of Gold were towed into hyperspace as the Third Assault Fleet left, minus the Cloak, back to Xiscapia. Fighters began to return to their ships, and everything began to quiet down as the First Assault Fleet moved into a defensive position around Nova Max.

Bridge of the XIW Dagger...
Admiral Sor grinned as his crew cheered at the victory. Miller and Nova Max had been taken with barely a fight, though losses had occured. The entire campaign, which had been predicted to potentially last days, was over in less than two hours. He suspected that if he was not already second-in-command of the Xiscapian Imperial Navy, this battle would have secured the post for him.
"First Officer, you have the bridge." he nodded to his X.O. as he made his way off the bridge to his quarters to type up a battle report for Grand Admiral Krystal and the analists back at XINHQ.

Connecting...
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Connected to XIN Holonet Channel.

I.D. Code: 804023
Password: ******

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Identity confirmed.
Welcome Admiral Sor.

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Please fill out the form below. Complete all fields. A fleet list, crew list, cargo manifest and conditions of XIN vessels and XIN equipment for the duration of your report must be included.

Fleet list: (encrypted)
Crew list: (encrypted)
Manifest list: (encrypted)
Conditions list: (encrypted)

FULL REPORT

Primary Report:

DATE: Year of our Lord Emperor Foxfire Rose 15, Birth of the Ice Season, ship time 23:00 hours to 25:00 hours

LOCATION: Milky Way galaxy, Quadrant Alpha, Sector 9, System Nova Max, planet Nova Max, Space, orbit and ground.

RESULT: Greali retreat, Xiscapian claim on Nova Max.

BELLIGERENTS:
Hostiles:
Greal:

Greal 4th Fleet:
1x Striker Class Battleship (Fear)
2x Niller Class Carriers (Ghost, Rose)
1x Guardian Class Escort Carrier (Federation)
6x Frimtrix Class Cruisers (Think, Passion, Crystal, Black One, Flight, Wall)
10x Lasom Class Frigates
2x Orlin Class Mine Ships (Seven Bell, Disturbed)
2x Proformer Class Hospital Ships (Important, Turtle)

Greal 2nd Assault Fleet
1x Mobias Class Superbattleship (Black Spider)
3x Striker class Battleships (Contact, Engine, Falcon)
3x Niller Class Carriers (Bash, Iron Hull, Silver Hand)
10x Frimtrix Class Cruisers
10x Lasom Class Frigates
2x Orlin Class Mine Ships (Property, Number One)
2x Proformer Class Hospital Ships (Diller, Month)
Elements of the Nova Max defense force

Allied:
Xiscapia:
First Assault Fleet: (Fleet 5)
2x Battleships (A.I. 1, Alversia)
2x Destroyers (Krystal, Grass)
4x Cruisers (A.I. 3, A.I. 2, A.I. 9, The Darkness)
1x Medical Ship (Silk)
1x Carrier (A.I. 7)

Second Assault Fleet: (Fleet 7)
2x Battleships (A.I. 10, Punishing One)
2x Destroyers (A.I. 5, Stone)
4x Cruisers (A.I. 4, A.I. 8, A.I. 6, Imp)
1x Medical Ship (Cloak)
1x Carrier (Dagger)

Elements of the Sixth Fleet:
Korr Destroyer Pain
Korr frigate Fist
Imperial Isan ship Star Slayer
Observer Freedom
SASM Pathfinder Logic

Hidden Fleet: (Fleet 13)
15x Lasom class Frigates (Promise, Netherworld, Heart of Gold, Mad Max, Quantum of Solace, Fracture, Deer Dance, End Game, Minority Report, Killing Spree, Spook, Inferno, Total Recall, You only live Twice, Never)
11x Guardian class Escort Carriers (Yoki, Juggernaut, Angels Revenge, Dead or Alive, Monk, Sum of All Fears, Deep Chill, Tears of the Sun, Torque, Kiltro, Prophet)
5x Orlin class Mine ships (Thunderball, From Russia with Love, Moonraker, Goldeneye, Live and let Die)
2x Grunt class troop transports
24x Black Dawn class Corvettes (Cold blade, Omega, Alpha, Vanishing Point, Flying Guillotine, Hangman’s Rope, Gauntlet, Blue November, Never, Dune, Runaway, Trouble, Midnight, Siege, Fugitive, Ashes, Dust, Chain Reaction, Ronin, The World is not Enough, Die another Day, Ultimatum, Mortal Kombat, Indomitable)
2,030x Viper class fighters
1,000x Drone fighters
25x Jaxer class Bombers
10x Panther class Scout/Patrol ships

Alversia:
Elements of the VII (7th) Fleet
1x Elegance class Super-Dreadnought (Eagle)
1x Forlorn class Battlecruiser (Formidable)
2x cruisers
3x Destroyers
1x Iron class AA cruiser (Iron Duke)

COMMANDERS:
Surface:
Hostiles:
Greal: Unknown
Allied:
Xiscapia: Lieutenant Colonel Dawrn
Berrax Rebel Leader Callin
Space:
Hostiles:
Greal:
Admiral Herlin
Admiral Corch
Allied:
Xiscapia:
Admiral Sor
Admiral Täuschen
Vice Admiral Bodom
Vice Admiral Serj
Alversia:
Rear Admiral Alonso

CASUALTIES AND LOSSES:
Greal (estimated)
Space:
5x Lasom class Frigates destroyed
3x Niller class Cruisers destroyed
1x Orlin class Mine ship captured
Ground:
200x Marines killed (estimated)
Total casualties: Estimated at 4,500 killed, 75 captured

Xiscapia
Space:
1x Disembowelment class Korr frigate destroyed (Fist)
2x Lasom class Frigates destroyed (Promise, Spook)
1x Guardian class Escort Carrier destroyed (Kiltro)
23x Shuriken class fighters destroyed
32x Viper class fighters destroyed
1x Orlin class mine ship destroyed (Moonraker)
2x Black Dawn class Corvettes destroyed (Runaway, Cold Blade)
Ground:
77x Marines killed, fourteen wounded 92
Total casualties: 4,591 KIA or WIA

Alversia
Space: N/A
Total casualties: No losses incurred


See attached battle report for more details

Exit

Nova Max…
Lieutenant Colonel Dawrn bowed again, lower this time. “We’re glad to help,” he nodded to the shuttles that were now landing and picking up the wounded and dead marine soldiers. “Do any of your people require medical aide? Just send them to the shuttles…”
All the marines were forming ranks to get back on transports and go back to the First Assault Fleet, they would not be occupying Nova Max, or at least their division wouldn’t. What exactly would happen from here would be up to discussion by Callin and a Xiscapian diplomat.

Warlord class Starbase…
Men and aliens alike were struck down by the Black Spiders, but it was too late. As the other three groups fought, Ordor and his men reached the control room. There was a burst of laser fire and one dropped, smoking holes in his back, while another was flung sideways as a rocket hit the wall, sending shrapnel into him. The other three turned and blasted the Black Spider away with their heavy weapons, and Ordor was in. Hurrying over, he was pleased to see that, though not functioning, the main weapons on the Starbase could still be controlled. Taking out crystal of some kind, he inserted it into the side of a console, where it glowed. Power came back, not enough power to fire the Superlaser, but enough for his purposes. Greali WMDs were notoriously unstable, and there sounded a high-pitched whine as the power to the Superlaser increased, coming to dangerous levels, and just as the crystal fractured from the strain there was a great roar and then there was nothing but fire…

Field of Dreams…
Yoki lowered the pistol now, seeming to deflate slightly. Flipping on the safety and sticking the gun into the waistband of her panties, she looked to Rammer. “Admiral,” she said, not unkindly, “I was only doing my job. You have to understand, none of it was personal, not the sex or the death threat. I can’t say I have any feelings for you, not even hatred, despite what you are.” She shrugged. “I don’t know what will happen to you, now. My superiors might decide to release you, back to Greal, but we might keep you locked up. It’s not my decision.”

The Field of Dreams uncloaked and made for the Battleship Alversia, intent on handing over the prisoner. Eventually, after being shuttled around from various ships and holding facilities, Rammer and the seventy-five soldiers captured were sent back to Greal as a gesture of goodwill. The Kitsune Empire, if she committed much of her resources, energy and soldiers, probably could have taken Nova Reginix, but not without a great loss of life. However, they had gotten what they had come for in Nova Max, and though attacking again would probably mean the destruction of an enemy, they had no wish to lose more ships or people to the Greali. If there was to be another fight, the Intergalactic Empire of Greal would have to start it in some way.

The Berrax on New Berrax were transported back to Nova Max, and the Xiscapians provided some assistance with rebuilding. However, after they received enough materials and got basic structures erected, the Berrax proved able to move quickly in the development and construction of more buildings. For a time aide workers and Xiscapian soldiers were stationed there, but the Berrax made a quick recovery, and the kitsune left the planet. However, the Hidden Fleet was kept in orbit to protect the Berrax from future Greali incursions until the Berrax could form their own military again. Finally, after billions of lives lost and years of fighting, Nova Max belonged to her rightful owners: The Berrax.

Rear-Admiral Alonso had done her job and, with a brief signal of congradulations, departed the system to return to Miller, where the APA were establishing themselves and the rest of their seventh Fleet Breathern were housed. On the bridge of the Iron Duke, Captain McCrawley smiled to himself. There had been doubts over the effectiveness of his warship and now the old AA Cruiser had proven herself, able to cover virtually an entire fleet and leave the rest to focus on what they did best, tear the heart out of enemy battle fleets. Alversia's first real war since the Korr war had been short and sharp, more like a skirmish than an actual conflict. nevertheless, Alversia had a brand new protectorate out of it and now she would work towards the independance of that system, to allow it to travel the stars on her own. For now though, the planet was under their protective wing.

Nova Max

Callin nodded to one of the Berraxs, and the berrax led the Xiscapians into one of the last few large buildings that were standing in the city. Inside were thousands of wounded, sitting on the dusty floor. "We didn't have enough medical equipment. Many died." said the Berrax grimly.

Nova Reginix

Admiral Herlin came back from the Vista only to find out some very bad news. The Warlord class Starbase had exploded and killed everyone on board. On the top of that, the debris fell onto civilian districts, killing hundreds. This was not the welcome he expected. The Naval Command understood that he was being attacked by five different enemy fleets. That was not welcomed. Herlin then found himself a new position, Admiral of the Home Fleet. Corch was now in charge of organizing planetary defenses.

Field of Dreams

Rammer nodded grimly and went with the other prisoners being transfered to the Alversia. The other prisoners were mostly marines and they were quiet and emotionless.

OOC: I think it's pretty much done from here, the Berrax are rebuilding and whatnot while one of my fleets protects them, Miller is safe, blah blah blah. It's time to move onto the Danaversian war!

OOC: Alright. Just wondering, what garrison do you have at Nova Max? Including ground forces.

OOC: Mmm, lesse here:
Hidden Fleet (Fleet 13, Nova Max)
12x Lasom class Frigates (Netherworld, Mad Max, Quantum of Solace, Fracture, Deer Dance, End Game, Minority Report, Killing Spree, Inferno, Total Recall, You only live Twice, Never)
10x Guardian class Escort Carriers (Yoki, Juggernaut, Angels Revenge, Dead or Alive, Monk, Sum of All Fears, Deep Chill, Tears of the Sun, Torque, Prophet)
5x Orlin class Mine ships (Thunderball, From Russia with Love, Seven Bell, Goldeneye, Live and let Die)
2x Grunt class troop transports
22x Black Dawn class Corvettes (Omega, Alpha, Vanishing Point, Flying Guillotine, Hangman’s Rope, Gauntlet, Blue November, Never, Dune, Trouble, Midnight, Siege, Fugitive, Ashes, Dust, Chain Reaction, Ronin, The World is not Enough, Die another Day, Ultimatum, Mortal Kombat, Indomitable)
2,000x Viper class fighters
1,000x Drone fighters
25x Jaxer class Bombers
8x Panther class Scout/Patrol ships

I've also got about 2,000 XGA troops on the ground with three military bases, about fifty Light Assault Mecha, ten Heavy Assault Mecha, a Supermech and various tanks and recon vehicles.

can I assume pamp is now a satalite wolrd of calaveras?

OOC: There is fierce underground resistance, much deadlier then Miller.