NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: If anybody was supposed to be involved in this but appears to have a distinct lack of a part, point it out to me and CW. We'll check as to whether it was intentional. :D

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FORMER TENETIAN MILITARY STAGING WORLD OF TANTIS


General Achaedus strode through the halls of the liberated castle with indecipherable purpose, hit footsteps resounding through the corridor like thunderclaps. Every so often the sound of his feet striking the floor shifted in pitch so slightly that to more human ears the switch would have been imperceptible. Morphic crystal mimicries of the previously damaged stonework were an almost perfect approximation of the real thing, but an approximation none the less. Entirely floors had been collapsed in the fighting, but Achaedus thought it a crime for such a marvelous piece of architecture to be torn down like some discarded piece of undesired history.

He clenched a small datacube in his hand as he rounded a corner and descended a twisting staircase like a remarkably loud ghost, at once being remarkably graceful and clomping forth like an angry horse. Even now the file's contents coursed through his mind in a torrent, keeping them fresh in the General's mind as he turned again and descended the grand staircase to the main entry area. Reaching the ground floor, he wheeled about and approached a trio of human guards chatting amongst themselves about the latest scores of the local blitzball league, now that it had been re-legalized.

The three of them were in civilian outfits, the Godulans ensuring that instead of obtrusive uniforms they would wear Kythonized clothing that would enable them to function as moving security cameras in addition to their job as keepers of the peace. It worked marvelously for the most part, as most of the guards were former prisoners at the slave camp, and while they were quite happy to conduct a little bit of turnabout against their former tormentors, the Godulans came down hard on anybody who tried to take advantage of their position for purposes of revenge or 'untoward activities'. It weeded out the few remaining Tenetian insurgents with remarkable efficiency, and kept things as fair as the Godulans could manage.

Though there were still some blind spots.

"Mister Ikari," Achaedus stated as he approached, slowing his pace to something less confrontational to the point that anybody watching from elsewhere would have assumed he had been walking that way the entire time.

One of the guards turned in surprise, knowing the voice of the Godulan Expeditionary Commander quite well. All three of them straightened up, the other two looking at each other in some confusion. "What can I do for you, sir?" asked the guard now indicated as Mister Ikari.

"You can try to come up with an excuse," Achaedus said, showing the datacube in his hand.

Ikari's eyes grew wide in shock and confusion, then darkened slightly.

"Now we know what happens when you go out of town on weekends," Achaedus continued.

In the blink of an eye, Ikari whipped his blaster rifle around to bring down the Godulan standing before him. Even faster, however, the general's hand snapped out and grabbed hold of Ikari's forehead and pulsed with a momentary surge of energy. The guard squeaked some kind of combination of a terrified shriek and a giggle before falling to his knees and finally onto his back, spasming with a stupefied grin on his face.

The other two did not even bother to ask questions. They simply looked down at the twitching form of their former comrade with shock and rage.

"The insurgents you assisted are no more," Achaedus announced, knowing that his victim's temporarily overwhelmed mind couldn't hear him. "Whatever hold they had on you is released with their passing. How they managed to bring one of the prisoners from the No Mercy block into their fold I neither understand nor care, for now you must pay the penalties for more legitimate crimes."

Another Godulan stepped up and heaved Ikari over his shoulder, turning to walk away while the other two guards looked on in understanding.

"Was that what we heard about this morning? The Vornskr Seven?"

"The ones who blew up the hospital, right?"

"Indeed," Achaedus replied. "He gave them the passcodes they needed to bypass security protocols. We think they were offering up some promise to reunite him with his wife and daughter, but they are still on Tenetia and if he were to return to that world now he would be committing suicide, to say nothing of ending the life of his loved ones. Silver tongues and sharpened knives the seven were, and we made them pay for what they did to the maternity ward."

"Made 'em feel it, huh?"

"Worse," Achaedus replied before turning. "We made them relive it through the eyes of their victims. They died a hundred deaths each. Some of the victims took a long time to die."

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Achaedus sat back in his chair and looked out at the rebuilt city before him. There wasn't much damage from the actual Godulan assault with the assistance of one Coredian vessel, since most of the fighting was between the two fleets above, but the insurgency that had gone on since had been aggravatingly persistent, though the Godulans were pleased to say that the most inflammatory of the cells was now dealt with. Already three of the remaining cells had surrendered, and the last two had for all intents and purposes melted into the darkness, their will to fight shattered along with the dying minds of the Vornskr Seven. Anybody who tried to pick a fight now would be brought down not by the Godulans but by angry former-dissidents who wanted revenge but had been tempered enough by Godulan oversight to be incredibly calculating in their pursuit of such goals.

The Godulan general was perfectly fine with that.

A voice buzzed into his mind, disrupting his somewhat-satisfied reverie.

Good afternoon Achaedus. I hear you penned those babykillers in the deadbook with cursive and dotted the I's with hearts, to say nothing of a right masterful job of illumination.

I did take some time with the calligraphy, yes.

Achaedus allowed a smile to creep across his face.

General Majestatus, I would assume that you have not come here simply to compliment me on the poetic nature of my particular brand of justice.

You are correct. You have been preoccupied with your duties, so missing the memo is understandable.

Well, out with it. What is going on?

We have reason to believe that the Farstars confederacy has managed to steal the Galaxy Gun.

The smile went away instantaneously, replaced by an honestly-unintended look of shock. Achaedus very nearly fell back on his desk.

What? How? How do we know?

They expressed knowledge of its location, and now there appears to be a rather significant fight brewing between the Imperials and the Farstars Republic.

Where did this happen?

A meeting with some other anti-Imperial entities that have a good heart but very little in the way of foresight. Shin'Raxis is presently keeping tabs on them in order to ensure that they do not do anything ill-advised.

Wasn't he the one we had at the Fedral's meeting? We all remember how THAT one went.

Indeed. We placed tighter controls on him this time around. In any event, the individual known as 'Daneh' entered the room and rather quickly left it again after pointing out a couple choice gems of information, whether intentionally or by accident. We offered our assistance, hence why *I* am the one bringing you this news, but they stated that sending such overt assistance would only cause the Imperials to send more forces. While we have no doubt that we could turn a great many of the Imperials' ships into free-floating blobs of molten slag, relations with the Farstars remains cool, and we would prefer to avoid giving them a reason to shoot at us.

Sooooo...

General Lear feels that if we cannot assist them directly, then we must open up a second front. The timetable is moved forward. If you haven't finished up preparations, double-time it and prepare for a new arrival in about thirty minutes. Operation Emerald Dawn is a go.

What do you mean 'if I haven't finished up preparations'? We've been WAITING for the Coredians to get their act together.

We already sent an envoy to their door with notice that they need to get their collective rears in gear. This time tomorrow... we go with them or without them. For better or for worse.

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Daniel Masaki was sitting in his office, sighing at the sheer amount of paperwork mounded upon his desk along with slight confusion as to why he had all this crap in PAPER. Oy, but being the leader of such a phenomenally strained people was such a... strain.

His intercom beeped for his attention and the secretary chimed in, somewhat confused.

"Master Masaki, a Godulan Envoy is here to speak with you-- hey! MISTER MASAKI! YOU. TANTIS. THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN."

The voice of Naberius was unmistakable as apparently the Godulan 'ambassador' had usurped control of the intercom. The device clicked back off, and almost immediately after the door opened up, the secretary's voice howling in the background for security. The Godulan held a datapad out for Masaki to take with a grim glare.

"The Farstars pulled something big, Vader's dogs are on the move, and the time for us to jab a sharp stick in their ass is now."

Daniel Masaki was sitting in his office, sighing at the sheer amount of paperwork mounded upon his desk along with slight confusion as to why he had all this crap in PAPER. Oy, but being the leader of such a phenomenally strained people was such a... strain.

His intercom beeped for his attention and the secretary chimed in, somewhat confused.

"Master Masaki, a Godulan Envoy is here to speak with you-- hey! MISTER MASAKI! YOU. TANTIS. THINGS ARE GONNA HAPPEN."

The voice of Naberius was unmistakable as apparently the Godulan 'ambassador' had usurped control of the intercom. The device clicked back off, and almost immediately after the door opened up, the secretary's voice howling in the background for security. The Godulan held a datapad out for Masaki to take with a grim glare.

"The Farstars pulled something big, Vader's dogs are on the move, and the time for us to jab a sharp stick in their ass is now."
"Did they, now?" I mumbled dully, having to deal with hours of paperwork by the time the ex-Ninja arrived. He stuck the datapad in my hand and I read it with bleary eyes.

"Whiskey Tango Foxtrot!"

I sat up with renewed energy, reading about the Farstars somehow doing something that's really pissed off the Empire, and the Star Destroyers are beginning to move like they're speeders. "Well, this puts a new spin on things. I suppose we'll have to move quickly then, if you're moving swiftly."

I moved outside, spotting my secretary. "Scieszka! Cancel all appointments for today and have the Council prep an emergency meeting! And alert the Dornalians, Woodians and Huntarian Alliance that I want them to be ready to talk immediately!"

"What's going on?"

"We have a golden opportunity, Scieszka, and we're not going to waste it!" I grinned a little crazily at her.

"Huh?" Question marks appeared over her head as she wondered what got me so riled up.

=====

As the Council prepared for the Emperor's emergency meeting, FLASH traffic went out to the various allies of an emergency meeting with the Council. Soon, we will be discussing the movements of the Empire and hopefully allow for this to be the perfect timing to invade and take Tenetia once and for all...

Admiral Nomura had been sitting about in country for a while, sighing and generally acting pissy at his subordinates. Like the great Admiral Spoor, he had been bored to death, without a fight and without a war. And, like the Doctor named House whom he looked like, he was quite grouchy.

"Well then...this is great. Nothing to do but sit around and play with myself." He sighed and mumbled various expletives.

Then, the Coredian message came in, requesting a meeting. Nomura lept up and smiled, saying, "Oh snap!" Rubbing his hands together, he said, "About time prettyboy got his shit together. I'm coming in person."

With that, Nomura got into a Gagarin shuttle with a bodyguard, and sent a message to Danny M.

"Sup? I'm coming in to speak to you in person. Figured I wouldn't let technology get in the way."

Admiral Nomura looked at the vessel, and sighed. The fact was he could recognize the new vessel as an Immortal II, if only because the Woodian transponder and the rumors of a "Woodian Super-ISD" from the military journals caused him to put two and two together. He then sent a ping to the Immortal II class vessel, saying, "Attention Woodian vessel. I dunno what you're trying to do, but if you're here for the meeting, it might be good to tell us Dornalians who you are. Whenever I see a big black ISD looking ships, it makes me nervous."

"Aff," Admiral Makaryk acknowledged, before looking into the holoprojector apparatus. "Good day, Admiral Nomura. I apologize for the transponder--legally this ship is still only known by its registration number. This is the Immortal-II project prototype. A shame that its test runs were...shall we say...interrupted by this meeting."

Admiral Nomura sighed and said, in his curmudgeonly way, "Okay, okay. Well, that's what launching then, shakedown cruises and commissioning are for Admiral. Try them. They won't cost your precious budget a penny more than you're used to, and it wouldn't cause me to reach for the panic button so much."

He then replied snippily, as he informed the rest of his crew it was just friendlies arriving in country, "Where's the rest of your posse?"

-----

The reply began filtering through the vessel, eventually working its way onboard.....

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Chicago, Illinois, Earth SSR

In the various Acolyte temples, word of a renewed jihad against the Tenetians spread in a top secret memo, transmitted by permission of San Diego via the Chaplaincy Corps to the leaders of the varied PA temples for distribution to call up volunteers, if said Sensei wished to raise a coterie. It would eventually reach the Temple of Northern Chicago, where one Adrian O'Shaughnessy was based. He had answered the call-up, and was sitting in his study, preparing his lightsaber, his M1 Railpistol, and his favorite thing to bring on a trip--one volume of the collected stories and novels of Raymond Chandler, the 20th Century's greatest pulp detective novelist.

He knew this was something big....but what?

tag

"This ship class was designed with its own point-defense capacity. Therefore, escorts are theoretically unnecessary," Admiral Makaryk replied. "Though this summons did interrupt the shakedown...at least we know the hyperdrive works. Would it be possible to enlist a few of your torpedoes in testing our point-defense while we wait for the others?"

Admiral Nomura nodded and replied, "I don't suppose why not." He then wondered why these Point Defenses would make the use of escorts unneeded. Wasn't it always the case ships needed one another? These Woodians had everything assbackwards. Maybe a spread of torps would knock some sense into them.

"When do I begin?"

Caught up in this whole mess, having been summoned by the Woodian military, had been one Colonel Keith Allaire, who upon receiving the message that his leave was cancelled, dutifully returned to the Chicago North Temple to inform Sensei Adrian O'Shaughnessy that he was not certain he could now teach the classes that he had been scheduled to teach. Upon reaching aforesaid Temple, and witnessing Sensei preparing his weapons, he knew.

"I got called back. I sense it is for the same reason you are preparing your weapons now. Quiaff? May as well hitch a ride on your ship...I have had a good six hours or so to read How to Harness One's Electrifying Soul, by the way. Might come in handy..."

Adrian replied simply with, "Acknowledged, Colonel. You may board my vessel. I will also enlist several good men to come with me. There are rumors that several big figures are coming in order to assist. You know one of them."

He then got up and said, "As for your readings, good. Study is always essential. We will have time to practice on the trip, and an opportunity for on-the-job training."

"Is the CIWS suite online?" Admiral Makaryk asked his weapons officer, from his own spot on the bridge. He could have wandered off to check on it himself, but walking off the hologram projection might be construed as rude to the other Admiral. The theory went that, in the event of an incursion of torpedoes or missiles, or to a lesser extent, kinetic rounds, the ship's sensors would flag them and the Close-In Weapons System would automatically orient the rapid-swiveling pulse laser turrets to fire at and intercept the incoming physical weapons fire.

Nomura witnessed Makaryk turning a key into some console, from which he had full view of the bridge, and a very simple-looking joystick pop out. Admiral Makaryk closed his hand around the joystick, and made a couple of arm twitches in one direction to bring his ship to face Nomura's, for maximum point-defense coverage. When the black wedge was almost in alignment, Admiral Makaryk made a couple of countervailing twitches to prevent the ship from slowly spinning about its axis for all eternity.

Ah, yes, the ancient technology of vector thrusters. Nomura might recognize them if he was at all familiar with early spaceflight--and Admiral Makaryk was obviously well-trained and experienced in their use.

The Admiral knew full well that he would not have the luxury of taking forever to perfectly position his ship in the midst of the battle--unless the ship was cloaked. However, the entire point-defense system needed testing, not just half of it.

When Admiral Makaryk contented himself with his ship's position, he spoke a single word into the holographic projection. One that Nomura knew all too well. "Mark."

Admiral Nomura nodded and then issued the order. He knew all of what Makaryk was doing--it was standard issue for People's Navy officer cadets to learn. The order was given to his ever irritable Ship's AI, Gracie.

"Grace, target the Woodian vessel, we're going to do some tests. Fire six waves of torpedoes, each one deadlier than the last. I wanna show these pennypinchers that they should spend more time testing and less time holding Inquisitions."

Gracie sighed and said, "Yes. Sir."

At that, torpedoes began to fly at the Immortal II...

"When are we going to be picked up?" Colonel Allaire asked his senior. It was not a question borne out of reckless glee-lust. The tone of voice used strongly suggested to Adrian that if it would take any length of time to assemble those to be picked up, Keith could find productive uses of his time while he waited...

Adrian said, "We're going to be picked up in half an hour." Adrian was matter of fact as well, and busy examining his equipment, himself treating this business with all the seriousness it demanded. "Why?"

\

Gracie might start getting nervous about allowing the heaviest torpedoes to detonate in such close proximity to her, after evaluating the first few waves...

Gracie, sure enough, replied, "Admiral, I'm getting a lot of crap flying around...."

Nomura cussedly replied, "Fuck it. Those damn People's Hammer Mark II Torpedoes are shielded and we have a shitton of armor on that fucking Mao Zedong Mark IV and you know it, you skank. NOW FIRE!"

Gracie's virtual avatar said, "To be frank.....I think they proved their point...and we do have a battle to fight soon. What if we hurt them?"

Nomura milled it over. Space crap never stopped torpedo fire beforehand....but then again, Gracie had a point. He then sighed and replied, "Stand down."

He then replied to Makaryk, "You boys proved your point. You're not pansies."

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"Thought I would get something. Dunno if I would need it or not, but I might. I will be back in a few minutes." Keith by now figured he had been to and from O'Hare enough times to teleport there without ending up on a runway as an aircraft had to abort its landing because he was in the way.

With that, he teleported to his ship, boarded it, and went to its cargo hold. Inside was his battle armor (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=12465746&postcount=105) (cf. subsequent posts too), which he carefully packed into his backpack, not knowing whether or not he would need it. It was better to be prepared than not to be. He also threw in a couple of the spare Acolyte patches he had had made--he could figure out a way to affix them to the regulation shoulder location later. This kind of battle armor was not exactly standard uniform material; it was custom-made.

He hefted the packed backpack on his back, teleported back home to grab his naginita, and then back to the Temple, all within about fifteen or twenty minutes.

"Just needed to get something. Best to be prepared," he greeted Adrian.

Adrian nodded. "Personal armor. We have Nembutsu armor, you know. Lighter, less clumsy, but just as protective. Also amplifies Force abilities. Then again, to each their own."

"The second-to-last of the shakedown tests may be considered successful, then," Admiral Makaryk replied. "The Kearney-Fuchida auxillary FTL takes a substantial length of time to charge, so we cannot test that yet."

Nomura nodded and said, "You boys still on Kearney-Fuchida, even for reserves? Puh-leeze. Go for the gold, and get Bosun Jump or Colonial Fold. Once you go Bosun, you never go back."

Keith shrugged. "Fifty-five kilos is not clumsy. Hell, a good chunk of that is artificial myomer muscle linked to my neurohelmet. The effect is something like Force Speed, without having to tap the Force for it. I am actually faster and more flexible in this stuff, than I am unarmored. Meaning more concentration for other things. Also has built-in weapons and whatnot. What does the other armor you mentioned do, exactly?"

Adrian nodded and said, "If you insist. The Nembutsu is a suit of armor about twenty five pounds comprised of a powered armor section set and a kind of powered chainmail, both based on the Shield Steel armor used by the Armed Forces, a powered steel plate that produces an energy shield when energized." He then proceeded to begin strapping it on, the *shring-shring* of the armor showing itself. "It's a suit of armor meant for maximum mobility and protection, developed for close combat. Stops most ballistic and energy rounds, and bladed and energy melee assaults. Also, impregnated with the crystals harvested from a rare lifeform found on Hajarra that conduct the Force, amplifying one's energies."

He then provided Keith with an entry on the Nembutsu in the Arsenal of Freedom catalog (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13387037&postcount=4).

At that, he heard a buzzing.

"Right. Time to go."

With that, Keith was led by Adrian--stuff acquired--to the roof, where several
of his followers, similarly dressed in Nembutsu armor, were. Then, they boarded the shuttle...and then were whisked to the Coredian front after a layover in New Leningrad, to Nomura's vessel itself, the massive Mao Zedong Mark IV battleship.

"Not licensed. The only technology licensing agreements between our respective nations that currently stand can be summarized by 'BattleMechs for Replicators.' "

Nomura looked at Makaryk with a nod and said, in his snappy manner, "Well, when you're not too busy washing your dollar bills, bring it up at the next diplomatic summit. We'd be happy to license them for you."

He then leaned in and said, "Now, do we need to do anything else?"

Keith looked at the entry in the catalog, as he boarded the shuttle. "Hmm. Your version does not appear compatible with neurohelmets. Which is required should BattleMechs be tactically advantageous for me to pilot. My armor is designed for that. Additionally, this armor is capable of projecting ranged combat or close combat, and I like that flexibility. Besides, it is nothing to slouch at--it is itself only a quarter to an eighth of the weight of a Clan Elemental Suit. Might order me some Nembutsu to test it under different conditions, however..."

Adrian nodded as he boarded, and as he left, replied, "To each his own, I suppose." He then said, turning to Keith, "Now, I notice you've been reading one of those entries I've given you. Would you care for a practice session concerning Force Lightning? Theory is one thing, but fact is another. I deal with facts."

Naberius, still standing in Daniel Masaki's main office while meeting preparations were as yet underway. Somehow, through some perturbation of the quantum mechanics of bureaucracy, papers and stamps were flying around in an alarmy frenzy of activity, with people moving in and out constantly, sometimes even through the door. All the while, the Avatar kept a keen eye on a visual feed from ground control, shown with the transmissions between the two vessels.

In particular, the fact that they were shooting at each other in some sort of competitive extent caused him to raise a peremptory eyebrow and turn back to the phenomenally harried Masaki Patriarch.

"I'd say they are getting along famously, wouldn't you? Such courtesy. Such etiquette. It's like some kind of ballet."

"Sure. Despite the cultural taboo involved with Woodians, I could use the skill responsibly. I have used Force Crush for my geology classes on White Diamond without becoming a Fallen One, after all."

"Good. Follow me."

Adrian then led the Woodian to a spare room, and then set up a dummy with a target sign. He spoke whilst doing so, simply but matter of factly.

"Right. Force Lightning requires energy, lots of it. It can be draining. It takes mental discipline to use, unless one becomes addicted to it. So, ensure you have the right state of mind. No malice, no passions."

He then pointed to the dummy and said, "Right. Now, imagine yourself as a storm cloud, working stray electrons and energies to the point of becoming one massive static electric collection, and a bolt of lightning is emerging out from you to the dummy in a manner akin to a punch of some sort. Strike the dummy with a bolt of lightning."

Adrian nodded and replied, "Good, good. A bolt of moderate strength, the dummy is melted, and if it were a real man, he'd be hurt like if he were electrocuted. Now, try it a couple of more times to get it down pat. Don't be afraid to focus a little harder and put more energy into it, as long as you don't put too much. Once you're done, we can set up multiple targets."

"Yeah. I gotta get used to it," Keith admitted. He noted that he had slagged a little bit of the dummy. "What do you want me to do, completely destroy it?" he asked, as he focused his attention harder, and delivered a sustained attack with higher voltage and heat, which, with intense concentration and Force-channeling, he kept up for a full minute.

Adrian nodded, and said, "Sure. I have more." With that last blast, the dummy exploded in a shower of goo, and the matenance crew ran in to do cleanup. Then, Adrian placed three more dummies out in front, and said, "Good, good. Now that's what I call power. Now, take a breather, focus yourself so you don't lose your way, and now try hitting multiple targets."

"Umm, oops," Keith said sheepishly, slightly embarrassed. "Junko gave me Sensei Second WHY?"

Adrian shrugged. "Well, I meant for you to attack the cones in a spread pattern, all at once. Chain Lightning is a bit more difficult, and I think it's best we simply start with a spread for now. If that doesn't work, we go back."

The dummies were relatively damaged, and to Keith's credit, the collateral damage was less than he thought. However, people were frightened and one said, "Fuck you, buddy!" before he stormed out.

Adrian then sighed and said, "Right. When you're ready, project your energies in a controlled spread, focusing on the three dummies."

"Ohhhhh. You mean, area-of-effect like. OK. I personally prefer precision, myself, but meh."

After taking another minute, he attacked the dummies again, pouring Force energy into his strike. This time, however, he allowed the stream of lightning to deviate and fork apart into a contained cone that encompassed all three dummies. "Feels diffused," Keith muttered, even though he put more power into it than in his previous attempts.

"Well, I could sense you're more of a precision man. However, given that sometimes you'll have to fight multiple enemies and you may not have time to use Chain Lightning, there is some utility in using a shotgunlike dispersion method. Hence, the method you just practiced. And believe me..."

Looking at the melted dummies, "....it works rather well. Now, I will set up some new dummies, and then, you can try Chain Lightning."

Sure enough, Adrian put up some new dummies.

"Yeah, I usually create an oxygen-sucking firestorm when I have too many enemies and too little time," Keith mused. "Kinda feel sorry for the people who I am making clean this shit up."

However, he cleared his mind, again, before sending another blast at the first dummy that had replaced the ones he had just destroyed. He kept frying it for a second or so, to build up charge to send to the next, managing to hold the chain o'doom together so far. This time, he only screwed up in a minor way, with some of the lightning dispersing somewhat beyond the third dummy, as he added the third dummy to the chain. However, most of the lightning still hit the last target in a relatively controlled cone. Especially compared to the first attempt at chaining. "I will have to practice this more when the opportunity presents itself," he mused. "However, it would also behoove me to learn how to redirect a Force Lightning attack against me, if my feelings about the future are clear. Right now I could either absorb such an attack or ground it, but not gather the opponent's energy into my hand and shoot it back at him, or a third, less expecting, target."

"Right." Adrian then stepped back and said, rubbing his hands together. "Now, I want you to hold out your hand. When I say mark, I will I will unleash a small lighning bolt your way. I want you to imagine absorbing it, and then dissipating its energy before reforming it and sending it back the way it was. You can add more, but then it gets complicated and steers into new territory entirely."

Adrian raised his hand, and then, sure enough, said, "Mark," and then unleashed a small bolt of lightning. If it hit Keith, it would feel like a punch, but it would hurt well enough.

Adrian's lightning attack stopped as it cackled around Keith's palm, prevented by an invisible Force Barrier from singing his skin, though the hairs on his arm did manage to stand up on end. With a slight bit of concentration, Keith reformed the electricity into something resembling a small, blue, bouncy ball, and the electricity stopped cackling around his hand.

"Backatcha." He released it, though he did not feel like adding to it at the moment.

Playing catch, Adrian caught the bolt and nodded, saying, "Good. You got the basics. Now, let's up the power some. Same rules, on my call of "Mark" I'll throw a bolt, you catch."

On the cry of "Mark," Adrian threw a medium strength Force Lightning bolt, one that would give Keith a nasty series of burns and goodly amounts of pain if he missed. If that was successfully intercepted and redirected--and only if--Keith would then, upon yet another call of mark be thrown a rather intimidating thunderbolt, one that caused the room to shake for a bit as its power was sustained for a bit longer than usual.

Keith decided he did not want to try that again for the next round, however...

Adrian then absorbed the hits, merely remarking, "Good. Do you feel you need any more practice?" Adrian looked him over and noted, "It seemed like you knew what you were doing there, so I am inclined to ask."

"I sense I will have plenty of chances to practice soon enough," Keith replied. "No point in going into battle drained and whatnot."

Adrian nodded and pulled out a bottle of some kind of Sports Drink from a nearby satchel of goods. Tossing it to Keith, he said, "Drink up. You deserve that much. Rest up, meditate, get into character. We need you focused."

Naberius, still standing in Daniel Masaki's main office while meeting preparations were as yet underway. Somehow, through some perturbation of the quantum mechanics of bureaucracy, papers and stamps were flying around in an alarmy frenzy of activity, with people moving in and out constantly, sometimes even through the door. All the while, the Avatar kept a keen eye on a visual feed from ground control, shown with the transmissions between the two vessels.

In particular, the fact that they were shooting at each other in some sort of competitive extent caused him to raise a peremptory eyebrow and turn back to the phenomenally harried Masaki Patriarch.

"I'd say they are getting along famously, wouldn't you? Such courtesy. Such etiquette. It's like some kind of ballet."
"Yeah. Might make my Navy boys nervous, though..." I mused. "Well, time to get down to business. The Huntarian Alliance is fashionably late as always, so we'll go on without them for now."

--Time passes enough to get all available parties sorted--

The Council, the guests and I were seated together in a War Room, with a map of the galaxy glowing on one of the walls. It was appropriate atmosphere for our next course of action, although a bit dramatic if you ask me.

"Godulan Intelligence sources have indicated that the Farstars Confederacy and the Galactic Empire are once again at war. The reason for that is that the Confederacy has managed to make off with none other than the Galaxy Gun." I said, pausing for appropriate reaction.

"Now, let us review this evidence. Naberius, will you do the honors please?"

Makaryk and Nomura nodded. At this, Nomura raised his hand and said, "Wait a damn minute. You're telling me that the fucking Farstars Confederacy stole the Mother of all BFGs, and are currently holding the Galactic Empire hostage?"

He then leaned back and said, "Well. Somebody flush out my ears with vodka and coke. 'Cause I think I heard the opportunity for an asskicking come again."

Makaryk merely smiled, and nodded. Something told the Woodian he'd be in for more hijinks from Nomura and the rest.

"Well, we only received information from our sources. Don't start the music just yet." I smiled.

"Well, we only received information from our sources. Don't start the music just yet." I smiled.

"Just as well. My singing voice has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction. I'd be hardly inclined to do something to harm your Honored Personage--no offense of course," Nomura said in retort. "Still, I'd be comfy once I hear what Mr. Naberius has to offer. I don't like ambiguity."

Naberius tapped the table for attention after he finally managed to get himself properly set up for his portion of the presentation. He passed one to Makaryk and Nomura, and activated a small holodisplay he had set up at the center of the conference table, though in actuality it looked more like a clump of crystal. Displayed was a picture of the envoy from the Farstars Confederacy, though the startlingly clear image of the woman was presently paused.

"The conclusion relies somewhat on speculation, but it mostly involved putting two and two together to make one gargantuan SNAFU.

"Some time ago we were rather illicitly invited to a meeting with the intent to create an organization dedicated to challenging the Galactic Empire. Nominally it was to be a mutual defense pact but the majority of those present seemed eager to wreak havoc and destruction upon the Imperials. We recognized their plots and manipulations to be relatively simplistic little plans and attempted to introduce some guidance, however they seemed to take some umbrage at the fact that our representative was levitating and not using his mouth to speak. One of them even tried to show our representative what he must have thought to be some well of phenomenal cosmic power but really it all seemed like insipid dickwaving. It went on in this manner until the entity known as Daneh, we never did get her last name, of the Farstars Confederacy arrived at the meeting and listened in on some of the plotting and planning. When the subject turned towards the Galaxy Gun, she mentioned this particular little tidbit:"

The holoprojector began to play, and Daneh's image spoke.

"Byss is an Imperial Fortress system. Its only inhabitants are the Clone Troopers of the Empire . There are no civilians in the system who have legitimate business. Unless you have access to the clones built on Kamino there is simply no way to infiltrate the Galaxy Gun in Byss."

The image paused again, and Naberius continued. "This did not draw our notice immediately. Approximately thirty seconds after the statement, our analysts demanded Shin'Raxis to inquire about whether her declaration that the Galaxy Gun was at Byss was factual. We are uncertain whether she was just tossing out an example, but we were not able to ask the question before she stated this:"

The holoprojector began again:

"Gentlebeings, I have been recalled to Mon Calamari due to an emergency. The Empire it appears has resumed hostilities against the Republic. I wish you luck in your own fights against the Empire, I must go see to our own."

And again the image paused. "Our intelligence sources have confirmed that there are Imperial Strike forces trying to romp about in some sort of surreptitious manner. It is somewhat akin to trying to sneak a herd of rhinoceri through a marketplace. It draws attention. Smuggler contacts and whatnot are in a bit of a tizzy at the heightened alertness levels all over the place.

"The only things we really have to work with are Daneh's comment about the location of the Galaxy Gun and a rather sudden upswing in the applied douchebaggery of the Imperial Fleet. We do know however that if it were just a simple terrorist attack, the Imperials would trumpet the 'injustice' of the incident with some gusto. We have noted no such thing. These forces are on the move, but most of all they seem to be on the move quietly. This suggests that something has taken place with two ramifications: One, it is highly embarassing, and two, it is of sufficient strategic magnitude that they are willing to provoke a war on a moment's notice. Had it been a mere attack, they would have howled about it like a terrorist strike. This suggests that something was taken from under the Imperials' noses, and it pisses them OFF.

"That being said, we offered our assistance to the Farstars after she announced that the Imperials were prepping for some form of assault, but our offer was rebuffed. To present greater military strength against the Imperials would only force them to put forth more weapons of their own, which would lead to a greater likelihood of collateral damage. While we do not believe this to be the sole reason our assistance was denied... *cough arrogant buggers cough*... we feel that at least it was a decent excuse. That being said, despite our strained relations, we had options of our own to provide assistance in a more indirect fashion."

The holodisplay shifted to a picture of Tenetia and expanded to include additonal images such as Star Destroyers, Golan Platforms, and randomized other forms of Imperial Military Hardware.

"A second front will be opened. When a combined strike force of a Godulan Slaughterstar and a prototypical Coredian Battleship managed to wrest control of a world of critical importance from the Tenetians, we had access not only to their ship construction facilities, but to a large population of former dissidents and political prisoners, and their entire Classified Information Database. We have ship schematics, Hyperspace Lane information, and best of all programming linquistics for a concerted strike upon Tenetia. In turn, they know we have all of this information and that one day soon, we will come knocking on their doorstep.

"The initiative is ours, however. If we attack now, while the Empire is romping about trying to hunt down its wayward supergun, or even if they are simply just romping about because Palpatine has gone completely off the deep end and feels like making the entire Imperial Navy play 'Musical Star Systems' for a month, we will be able to strike when the potential for Imperial reinforcement is at its lowest. While they might still be able to acquire some assistance in the event of a major strike, they will have a significantly harder time in getting assistance of a degree fully suited towards repulsing an attack. And doing so would draw further resources away from any fight with the Republic."

Naberius leaned forward and put forward his right fist, clenched with confidence. "The time to strike, is now. Whether intentional or not, the Farstars have provided us an optimal window of opportunity to bring down the fires of righteous wrath upon the Queen Bitch and her wayward flock, and thereby open up a second front in a larger war altogether."

OOC: I was unaware of my invitation up until something like yesterday.

IC:
"A good solid plan as always presented by the Godulans, but I'd still advise caution." Came the voice of Supreme Councilor Jorrus followed by Major General Verneal and Fleet Admiral Craimorn who wore their Tactical Dreadnought Armor. "We apologize for our late arrival. We were held up with important military matters."

General Verneal spoke up, "knowing the Empire as we do, you do realize that striking on a scale as grand as this will require retaliation correct? I believe we can win this, even without the Alliances help. We only advise caution for a retaliation of an scale of epic proportions."

Naberius gave Verneal a wry smile.

"Right now, it would appear that the 'Retaliation of Epic Scale' is being directed against the Farstars."

The ex-Imperial frowned, "I fail to see how that retains to your invasion plan. I'm concerned that we'll be faced with something far more grand than that." Verneal looked down at a datapad he had in his hand, "according to our reports, I assume you're referring to the fact that the Farstars have captured the Galaxy Gun. No, that's just one individual instigation which the Empire will retaliate against them. I mean that they will launch a second retaliation due to the Tenetian invasion. And I'm not talking about an immediate retaliation either."

Admiral Craimorn's mechanical eye swerved to face Nebarius, "what we fear, my friend, is an even greater retaliation at hand. See, while the Farstars have already captured the Galaxy Gun and I'm sure an retaliation is already underway, I fear we can expect something else to happen. Something in the long run. While we can expect immediate BIG BADDA BOOM's from the Imperials in general, the Huntarians are much more sly than that. And cowardly in some cases. I assume that all of us here has seen this holo-tape one of our scouts picked up before they were destroyed almost 2 or so years ago yes?" The Admiral played back the holo-vid on his portable projector (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13153139&postcount=352). "With weapons like these, the Empire doesn't even have to send ships in to fight. Let the massive energy wave do the work for them. Sure, they don't have any planets to capture, but the very thought of being obliterated like that would scare anyone into total submission, except maybe our Godulan friend here." Craimorn turned to the Dornalian, "the Galaxy Gun isn't exactly the biggest thing to focus on. Sometimes, we gotta worry about the less expensive ones which generally slip the public's eye."

Nomura nodded at the presence of the Huntarian Alliance men. He could be seen nodding and talking as Naberius spoke, and then, as he was about to talk, Makaryk made his speech. At this, Nomura facepalmed, and sighed. Makaryk's timing was bad, and to the Dornalian, a symbol of how Woodians always had to ask about the bullets cost, even as they were shooting said bullets.

"Ah, crap. Remind me to bring my HoloNet Porn stash the next time this happens," he mumbled to himself as he shook his head. He then snippily asked Makaryk, looking at him with some small irritation, "Tell me Admiral--as a kid, were you one of those nerds who tattled on people for fun?"

Naberius smirked somewhat at Verneals commentary regarding the Huntarian Imperials' supposed superweapon, but swiftly returned to a more serious expression as he began his reply.

"The key consideration about the present situation is that the supposed 'Retaliation of Epic Magnitude' will be lessened in strength, both in the immediate sense and in the purported long run. If the Imperials do decide to reinforce, they will be weakening the backbone of the other fight taking place. This will enable us to tax their resources more effectively than if we sat on our collective hindquarters and quacked a lot about how many weapons of colossal devastation they might have in their arsenal.

"Honestly, sir. If they have these weapons, why haven't they simply staged an assault on your worlds already? Why have they not simply traipsed in and lobbed a suncrusher at you? Or at us?" --He chuckled momentarily at some inner joke-- "Or at any of those assembled here? In all likelihood they are not as concerned about their own casualties as we might be, so suicide runs are certainly more of an option for them. Why have they not done it already? This question remains unanswered, and truth be told we do not expect an answer. If they decide to toss something of that truly wasteful nature at any of us, they will do so whether we punch them in the face or not. You value your life, we understand that. But a life lived in fear is not a true life.

"To know something is to have power over it. We know of it, we can anticipate it, we can counter it. If the Imperials decide to wait a couple years before tossing such a thing out, what position will they be in over that expanse of a couple years? Perhaps we will have captured their supply of suncrushers. Perhaps we will have turned the Death Star into an amusing crescent. Our moves are not without consideration of the ancilliary superweapons that the Imperials might bring to bear. We are moving because of a situation that may well have been caused by the theft of one of their superweapons. We do not expect you to throw everything that you possibly have into this measure. By all means, protect yourself and your people. But do not let this opportunity pass."

Then he gave a slight nod and the stare of his emerald eyes upon Verneal intensified. "Or you can hide, willing to allow the wielders of such heinous devices their trifles, until the day they decide to just drop the damn things on your head anyway. We would understand, and would hold nothing against you for doing so."

He then turned to Makaryk after his query and Nomura's response.

"Let it be known. We are the ones who put this initiative forward. We are prepared to initiate this action even without the support of the Coredians. We are prepared to fail if the situation takes that path. Our choice in target remains Tenetia because we have already struck a decisive blow against them, have acquired an optimal foothold, and have acquired a font of intelligence and tactical data that while outdated in some respects remains of high value. Tenetia is a logical target not because the Masakis have unfinished business with the queen bitch. It is because it is the most vulnerable target we have. Had we more time, we might have been able to initiate actions against the Huntarian Imperials or the Thrashians. We might still, if circumstance presents an opportunity.

"Our obligations require us to act in support of the Farstars. We will present a united initiative, even if it is just the Godulans who do so. Let not little quibbles or fear deter any of us."

Naberius smirked somewhat at Verneals commentary regarding the Huntarian Imperials' supposed superweapon, but swiftly returned to a more serious expression as he began his reply.

"The key consideration about the present situation is that the supposed 'Retaliation of Epic Magnitude' will be lessened in strength, both in the immediate sense and in the purported long run. If the Imperials do decide to reinforce, they will be weakening the backbone of the other fight taking place. This will enable us to tax their resources more effectively than if we sat on our collective hindquarters and quacked a lot about how many weapons of colossal devastation they might have in their arsenal.

"Honestly, sir. If they have these weapons, why haven't they simply staged an assault on your worlds already? Why have they not simply traipsed in and lobbed a suncrusher at you? Or at us?" --He chuckled momentarily at some inner joke-- "Or at any of those assembled here? In all likelihood they are not as concerned about their own casualties as we might be, so suicide runs are certainly more of an option for them. Why have they not done it already? This question remains unanswered, and truth be told we do not expect an answer. If they decide to toss something of that truly wasteful nature at any of us, they will do so whether we punch them in the face or not. You value your life, we understand that. But a life lived in fear is not a true life.

Verneal growled, "easy for you to say when you're protected by your high-tech Kython weapons which make the Empire think twice while we're protected by naught but a band of out of date ships..." He glanced at Daniel, "to Huntarian standards at least."


"To know something is to have power over it. We know of it, we can anticipate it, we can counter it. If the Imperials decide to wait a couple years before tossing such a thing out, what position will they be in over that expanse of a couple years? Perhaps we will have captured their supply of suncrushers. Perhaps we will have turned the Death Star into an amusing crescent. Our moves are not without consideration of the ancilliary superweapons that the Imperials might bring to bear. We are moving because of a situation that may well have been caused by the theft of one of their superweapons. We do not expect you to throw everything that you possibly have into this measure. By all means, protect yourself and your people. But do not let this opportunity pass."

Then he gave a slight nod and the stare of his emerald eyes upon Verneal intensified. "Or you can hide, willing to allow the wielders of such heinous devices their trifles, until the day they decide to just drop the damn things on your head anyway. We would understand, and would hold nothing against you for doing so."

Verneal's face at this point was a bright red and started to walk up to Nebarius, "why you arrogant son of a---"

"---Friend." Jorrus held up his hand and interrupted Verneal and glared at him. "Verneal is just concerned that something else might happen in general. The Malkir Council is behind this invasion fully and is willing to help lead a land assault against Tenetia itself. However, we can't spare very many ships for this operation. Our troops, however, are at your disposal and we'll send in a squadron or two of Malkir warriors."

Naberius bowed towards Jorrus, unperturbed by Verneal's interrupted advance though he kept his 'eyes' on the commander's approach until he was halted.

"We understand that you have other obligations to attend to. We do not expect anyone here to leave themselves open to an attack, nor do we expect anyone to fully discount the fact that they do have weapons of such destructive potential. Your support is gracious indeed, especially considering that we do indeed all live under the shadow of such weapons."

He turned to Verneal for a moment. "All of us."

He turned back to Jorrus and continued: "We have some ideas to assist in maximizing the strength of your spaceborne forces and indeed the might of all of those who choose to assist. You might not be able to field a vast number of ships, but we can guarantee that the Tenetians will know the bite of your weapons and tremble. We have no doubt also that all of our forces will find fierce resistance on the ground, but we will make them understand for the first time in a long time that none of us are to be trifled with."

Listening to all the hubub and ruckus so far, Makaryk simply replied with, "I asked Daniel. Not you, Mr. Naberius." His stare then focused on Daniel Masaki, eager for a reply. Danny would recognize it as a Classic Woodian Muckracking Stare. Which meant one way or another, Makaryk was gonna get a question answered.

Nomura then laughed and said, as Makaryk sighed, "Touchy today, ain't we?" He then forcused on the plan at hand, ignoring Makaryk's inevitable glare.

"Fortunately, we of the Workers State can take it and give it. Jay-Are-Triple-See in San Diego, Earth, has informed me that despite recent developments, we have plenty of folks to guard us in the event of retaliatory strikes. Plus, there's that terraforming job we did on Konoha, which should tell you how good we can put Humpty Dumpties back together, should they fall to something like a sudden case of being holocausted."

He then raised his hand and said in his eccentric manner, "But, moving on--enough waving my e-peen. The idea is that we in the Workers State are very behind this. In fact, at Jurai we beat the Tenetians trying to give the People's Navy units a reacharound--so we're prepared for them, they know Dornalian Steel."

Getting up, he looked at the map Naberius brought and said, "Nice map....hmm...." He then asked Naberius, "Can you zoom back out to the strategic level map? I got an idea to really make this fun. Ever heard of Deep Operations?"

Throughout the banter and so on, I was formulating my next reply when Makaryk had to pull that card.

I sighed. "Admiral...if I only wanted a propaganda victory, I wouldn't have asked the Woodian nation to assist us. What is expected to come out of this is a true victory, one that will ensure that the Empire is weakened. It is my understanding that Tenetia is a strategic world to the Empire, almost on par with the other Core worlds."

"I invited you here because the Woodians do indeed have a stake in the war. If I recall, you did declare war on the Huntarian Empire, and it's a staunch ally of Tenetia. It goes down, the Huntarians lose a major trading and defense partner and would be weakened. If it was just the usual internal civil war, Godular and New Dornalia alone would be enough to back me up and you wouldn't be needed. Hell, Admiral Pellaeon can probably plan an invasion strategy that wouldn't require any more than token allied forces. But unfortunately, Lady Nightshade is backed by the Galactic Empire and that means I need all the help I can get. I need your help in this, Admiral. You know we must work together."

"Let us use this as a way to mend the relations between our two nations. What do you say?"

"Let it be known. We are the ones who put this initiative forward. We are prepared to initiate this action even without the support of the Coredians. We are prepared to fail if the situation takes that path. Our choice in target remains Tenetia because we have already struck a decisive blow against them, have acquired an optimal foothold, and have acquired a font of intelligence and tactical data that while outdated in some respects remains of high value. Tenetia is a logical target not because the Masakis have unfinished business with the queen bitch. It is because it is the most vulnerable target we have. Had we more time, we might have been able to initiate actions against the Huntarian Imperials or the Thrashians. We might still, if circumstance presents an opportunity.

"Our obligations require us to act in support of the Farstars. We will present a united initiative, even if it is just the Godulans who do so. Let not little quibbles or fear deter any of us."
Meanwhile, the Council moved in to chat with their fellows.

"<The plan appears sound. If time permitted, then we would indeed have thought about launching a strike against other powers, but the Tenetians, quite apart from being a Coredian world, is simply the easiest and most valuable target we can launch against on short notice.>" Lowbacca nodded. "<And as the Emperor and many others had pointed out, it is also a strategic Imperial world, strategic enough to make it an inviting target. Do tell of your idea, Admiral Nomura.>"

OOC: Credit to Armchair General and its article on Mikhail Tukachevsky for providing the basics on Deep Battle Doctrine.

IC:

Nomura then began fiddling with the map as he spoke. His voice was occasionally punctuated by funny sound effects, especially when describing the use of tanks, planes and jeeps.

"Now, a very wise man long ago--grab a glass of warm milk kids, 'cause this story's gonna take a bit--named Mikhail Tukachevsky once proposed a good idea about how to wage wars. He was later shot and killed by Joseph Stalin, but that's beside the point.

Now, Mr. Tukachevsky was a man who saw manuever war as the key to war in the future.

Well, this is where he came up with Deep Ops--or Deep Battle."

Zooming on a strategic level map of Tenetia, Nomura began talking matter of factly, using a stylus to draw imaginary lines of attack on the map. "Basically, to attack Tenetia, I suggest you use several fast-moving coordinated offensives across a broad front that keep moving to fix the Queen Bitch in place. Tukachevsky understood this to be a key part of his strategy, since it's all about quick strokes to trap the enemy and crush him--and scare the shit out of him.

You use a first-echelon force, say large formations of lighter vessels, plus carriers with fighter screens--cause I know you boys love fighters--backed with fire support from Artillery Star Destroyers and whatever the Godulan Kythons can provide to make initial assaults. All angles now, this is space. Three Dimensions, et cetera. Then, then you use second-echelon forces, mainly the Big Bads of the battlefield, say the Malkir, Woodian, bigger Kythons or bigger Dornalian Formations, to puncture the enemy at certain points."

He then jabbed the map with a flourish and said, "BAM! Rush in through said point, run in, mess with his things along with the rest of the navy."

Nomura then called up pictures of FTLi units, cloaked vessels, and commando units from the New Dornalian People's Navy archives as he said, "All the while, you keep pushing at him across a broad front, and use other support weapons to hamper his attempt to reply. Things like FTLi, cloaked raiders, mines, et cetera."

Nomura then finished by saying, "This forces Tenetian units to spread out their resources to deal with multiple inbound threats at once moving swiftly to kill. Eventually, you busy them so much with your movement and resources that when you make that killing blow, they're going to be overstretched.

That's a general overview. Now, what I need is critiques, and maybe some details on how Tenetia's stellar geography and what forces they command looks like, so we can make this, oh, I dunno, work."

Naberius listened intently to Nomura's offered stratagems, following along with each point and tactic with remarkable attentiveness, then seemed to consider the words for a moment before replying.

"We have had some time to construct battle plans and make preparations for the strike already, and your suggestions do not fall far from the mark. We are somewhat loathe to discuss the finer points of our intended attack plan until we know the basic numbers of the forces being allocated. Though you have suggested a large-scale commitment for this endeavour, and the Huntarians have been gracious enough to provide us with significant ground forces and what ships they can spare, we still have yet to know both the Coredian and the Woodian resources to be dedicated to this conflict."

"Ah, yes, the battle plans. I've sent my spies out to check out the latest in Tenetian forces. They should be reporting back right...about...now!" I grinned and pressed a fancy red button.

"Dragon One, this is Mouse One. We have taken the cheese. Repeat, we have taken the cheese." Someone named Mouse One reported.

"Very good, Mouse One. Deliver the cheese immediately." I ordered.

"Sir, yes sir." The table began to hum a tune, before the top dissolved and turned into a Battle Map, and started laying out the forces arrayed around the Tenetian System.

I whistled at the amount of forces arrayed over Tenetia. "Looks like she went on a shopping spree. We have our work cut out for us, whatever we plan."

There were six fleets arrayed over Tenetia in various defensive positions. Each one had a Super Star Destroyer in command, and I noted that their paint had a shiny coating to it. It looked like she was building up for something big.

Here's how the Tenetian Navy is distributed:

Fleet #1 was scattered all over the outer borders of the system to act as a tripwire for any enemy forces incoming.

Fleet #2 appeared to be in charge of the shipyards and mining colonies dotted around the system.

Fleets #3 and #4 made most of the middle layers of defenses, and appeared to be in charge of sheparding the minefields. They also had some task forces and mines above and below the elliptic, knowing that it's possible that an enemy would use those areas as staging points.

#5 and #6 seemed to be in charge of the defense of Tenetia itself. Her flagship, the Ravager was part of this force and it's likely the stolen Megalodon will be there too, if Admiral Basque decided to seek asylum with Tenetia. They will be the most difficult to fight, since they're backed up with the Golan orbitial defenses, which appeared to be a mix of SSD-sized Golan Vs and smaller IIIs and IIs, as well as the Black Star Fortress and two World Devastators. There were also superlaser stations dotted across the system, but I'm sure Godular's void shield defenses could protect us from them. Of course, that meant our own superlaser offensives are limited...but oh well.

I began to lay out the strategy. "We've always had an invasion plan for Tenetia, banking on several factors. We know there's a high possibility that the Empire will send reinforcements within thirty minutes of her screaming for help. We know there's likely to be Imperial garrisons protecting the system. We also know there's a likelihood of the Empire willing to destroy Tenetia rather than let it go if it seems like we should win. We also know that it'd be very hard to hold Tenetia, so our major plan is basically to knock Tenetia out of the war, permanently and use it as a bargaining chip at the peace table, should the Empire and Coredia decide to do so. So, here are the tentative phases.

Phase One: Blitzkrieg. Godular will be in charge that. Basically, we hit hard, fast and unrelenting. Shipyards, orbitial stations, ships, fighters, everything that has a weapon has got to go in this system, and quickly."

"Master Masaki, what of those who wave the white flag, as it were?" Master Tilton asked. He was wondering if I would issue a 'no prisoners' clause.

I thought about it. "We'll have to ensure that they aren't a threat. Ion cannon surrendering ships and pick up escape pods if it's feasable. Otherwise, we'll have to deal with any prisoners after the battle."

In essence, destroy as many enemies as you can, disable the ones who are willing to surrender and sort 'em out after the smoke clears. I turned back to the plan.

"Phase Two: We'll have to destroy the planetary shield grid and any orbitial defenses. Following that, we'll send in the ground forces. New Dornalia and Evil Woody Thoughts will be in charge of the initial phases with heavy support from the rest of us, but be warned, the ground elements may have Sith involved, as well as heavy anti-air artillery. I expect heavy casualties to occur here."

"Phase three. Once we have secured landing zones, we'll start marching on the cities. As Tenetia is a strategic world, we can expect at least five Imperial Legions as well as ten planetary defense divisions. As a Sith stronghold, we expect the majority of Lady Nightshade's Dark Side adepts to participate in the battle, so we'll need to make heavy use of our own Force Adepts to counter them. We can expect the heaviest fighting to fall around the Imperial Citadel, Lady Nightshade's seat of power right here."

I pointed to a palace-city on the northern hemisphere, surrounded by hills as well as artificial defenses. It will be a tough nut to crack.

"Taking the Citadel will not be enough. Intelligence sources have indicated that the Empire has a facility underneath the citadel that, if activated, will destroy the planet to prevent it from falling into our hands. We'll need to ensure that this does not happen and I will be accepting volunteers to do that."

"Phase Four: After we have destroyed Tenetia's capability to wage war, I recommend we blockade the planet to ensure that it stays that way for as long as we're capable of until we manage to get the Empire kicking and screaming onto the peace table."

"Are there any questions, ideas, comments, whatever?"

Nomura could only look at the battle plan with a strange look. It was clear Danny didn't intend to use his Deep Battle strategy, but rather had his own plan in the works. Well, to be honest, Naberius had warned him as such that they had already concocted some plans to smash Tenetia into submission before the enemy could react, but there was still something offputting about having a perfectly good suggestion tabled at the drop of a hat. Nonetheless, Danny's plan made sense, and it was just general enough that his comments on Tukachevsky could be included in its execution.

Snarkily, he replied, "Oo...tough room on my strategy. Not knockin' yours, but mine was pretty sensible too." He then continued to wag his finger at the holoimage of the citadel and Tenetia itself.

"Fortunately, my plans are readily adaptable, and so is Soviet military theory. When our little blitzkreig comes to Tenetia, I propose surrounding Tenetia itself and imposing a battle line that cuts it off from easy reinforcment by smashing any ships nearby and surrounding it. That much we can agree on. Then, we overwhelm the orbital defenses with massed fire and attack runs from our vessels in what's basically a smaller scale version of what I proposed for my earlier plan, with a front echelon of ships making an initial assault to hold down the defenses while your heavy artillery and second echelon delivers the killing blow. Only, it involves total orbital dominance instead of systemwide dominance, and it requires a force to watch our backs as we break Tenetia's defenses. It's basically what the martial arts geeks call a 'ground and pound.'

Said dominance then enables us to make massive drops of men and materiel onto the ground, backed by orbital fire on major military installations and raiders dropped deep into enemy lines. I would normally use teleporters, and so would the Huntarians. But that's besides the point. And besides, if you wanted to simplify things, we could just use brute force from the cannons, and forego the commando portion entirely. But the commando part makes it cooler, and it gives them a reason to get their paychecks at the end of the day. Plus it might be better for taking that underground bunker with the self-destruct button you were mentioning...."

From Colonel to General. I will have to congratulate Keith on his promotion later, although I'm sure he'll be modest about it.

Snarkily, he replied, "Oo...tough room on my strategy. Not knockin' yours, but mine was pretty sensible too." He then continued to wag his finger at the holoimage of the citadel and Tenetia itself.
"Eh, I'm not putting down your strategy or anything. Hell, we could accomodate it somewhere. We're still brainstorming, after all."

"Three super star destroyers?" Naberius asked, allowing an eyebrow to raise in an expression of moderate surprise, "no... four... from the sound of things you consider your Immortal II some sort of pocket Hercules. We must say that we are surprised, and quite pleased mind you, at such a significant commitment... particularly given how you had presented the impression that you were thinking about minimizing your people's involvement. No doubt, with the contributions of the others gathered here we will be able to smash not only the Tenetian system defenses but also a vast number of any reinforcements that might attempt to poke their nose into our collective business.

"Now that we have a basic notion of the alliance forces, we feel that we can begin detailing our Battlefield Conditions."

Naberius' holoprojector shifted again, zooming out to cover the entire table with a representation of the entire Tenetian system while retaining some pertinent images on the periphery. The hologram swiftly updated with the information provided by the Coredian intelligence teams, and also incorporated a listing of Targets-Of-Interest, such as shipyards and other major infrastructure centers.

"As we said, we have some ideas about how to go about this assault, and we were loathe to discuss battle plans until we had properly elucidated upon the primary points of our intended Battlefield Preparations. Rest assured, much of what Misters Nomura and Masaki have stated has already been involved in the concoction of our own battle plan, and we have also made some changes to incorporate some points from both suggestions."

The hologram shifted again, adding the image of what appeared to be some form of large torpedo.

"No doubt, those of you who have ventured into Godulan systems have noted large amounts of 'irregularity' in Godulan Space. This is due to a form of hypermatter that we imported from an alternative universe with a 'Altered Physical Ruleset'. The material behaves strangely in our universe, creating a great number of strange effects when properly energized. We say the phrase properly energized, because we tend to use a rather obvious power source for this effect."

The star represented in the Tenetia system blinked momentarily, and various statistics began to list for all to read. Zooming in closer for a moment, it presented a representation of a torpedo materializing a short distance from the star and plunging into it. Almost immediately, the star's color began to shift from a typical orange to a distinctly unnatural shade of orange-ish magenta. The representation zoomed back out to show a widening sphere of effect around the star and eventually engulfing the entire system.

"This hypermatter does not blow stars up. It turns them into giant engines for our own special form of Faster Than Light interdiction. Like any engine however, it needs fuel, so this effect will fade, given time... though it is unlikely that we will still be in conflict two weeks after the fight has been joined. If such were to actually be the case, we would be in sufficient trouble that losing the star's 'enhancement' would be a minor consideration.

"Stage 1, as has already been demonstrated, is to target the star with a condensed supply of the material previously discussed, providing an enhanced but temporary effect that causes initiation of FTL travel not so much to be disrupted but... randomized, both in terms of direction and magnitude. When a vessel attempts to jump to hyperspace, initiate spacefold, enter the warp, and so on, the initial entry is randomized in what we call 'the cosmological sense'.

"Generally, if a vessel tries to jump while under the effect of this field, the only thing it can say for certain is that it is still on the right side of the universe it intended to travel. Any vessel attempting to jump around in this system after we have introduced our disruption effect will essentially be removed from the battle for however long it might take them to get back... anywhere from a few minutes to several hundred years. However..."

The representation modified again, drawing some emphasis to the planets in the system, or more specifically their respective dark sides.

"The effect of this field is based on something resembling line of sight. We know not why this only applies to planetoids and such, because we have attempted to have a ship jump from behind a larger vessel... and when the ship returned from its intended one-light-year-jump-turned-two-thousand-and-forty-six-light-year-jump we realized that this effect seems to pass straight through artificial constructs.

"Given also that this field only affects Initiation of transit, not the transit itself, our vessels could concievably jump relatively far into the system, wreak havoc, then move behind a planet and make another FTL jump elsewhere without difficulty. Amusingly enough, because of the disruption effect itself, attempting to send faster-than-light communications will be rendered somewhat hindered, as it would be like trying to shoot a squirt-gun through a waterfall. The medium is disrupted, thereby any signals would face significant signal degradation.

"Stage 1 will occur shortly before we make our way to the system, giving the field time to have a sufficiently wide area of effect and also letting them marinate in fear at their impending doom. They might attempt to call for help at first, but they will likely realize that the effect prevents them from doing so. They will send couriers. No doubt thousands of years from now our distant descendants may stumble upon the wrecks of these unfortunate souls several dozen galaxies away. We will arrive generally unhindered. We have attempted to employ other forms of Interdiction while this field is in effect, but it would seem that the range of the effect is severely reduced while the star is putting out the disruption. If we are to be any judge, we would say that the FTL interdiction fields would likely be strongest only around planets with major resources around them and also Tenetia itself. This field will also reduce the likelihood of the Imperials employing the Galaxy Gun to rob us of our prize, if our idea about it having been stolen is proven incorrect. A torpedo fired from the galaxy gun would require one last in-system course correction before jumping back into hyperspace. This would mean it would be caught in the disruption field... and sent packing into the Virgo Cluster.

"Stage 2 will occur shortly after our arrival. We will fire another torpedo into the star, creating an enhanced effect that will begin to disrupt sensor readings. Sensors will only operate at short-to-medium range, with longer range considerations essentially disrupted beyond any trace of resolution. This seems to be true for almost all forms of sensor scanning, though we do have one or two methods of scanning that do not rely on conventional techniques."

"Now that conditions will have been established that essentially make the Tenetians deaf, dumb, and blind. We shall continue onto our particular combat plan."

The representation now showed several lines of entry, focusing first on the two outer planets.

"Each force will command its own assault vector. We will not try to enmesh one fighting unit within another, though in the case of the huntarians it might become necessary to do so in order to maximize force effectiveness. We do not wish to have people stepping on others' toes. Presenting a unified fighting force would require months of training and very likely more disclosure than any of us are comfortable with, considering how tense relations are between some of those gathered here today. You all know how you can fight, and how to best maximize the strength of your forces. We will not dictate such things to anyone.

"We shall begin with objective one. As Mister Masaki has already stated, one of the fleets appears to be spread out around the system periphery. System peripheries are incomprehensibly large. It would be a simple matter for even a token force to smash through the line without much trouble. However, the Super Star Destroyer in the fleet will require special attention. We shall do the honors in this case, as the fleet will likely have moved since this information has been provided and we will require a quick and decisive strike to bring it down. No doubt a pair of tachyonic red rain torpedos and a javelin will put an end to the outermost representative of Tenetian might.

"The first objective is to secure the outer planets and their shipyards. This will involve us in hostilities with yet another fleet. All forces will converge on these two worlds and deal with the fleet as necessary. Even if the planets are reinforced, we should still be more than sufficient to terminate the fleet with minimal losses. We will also make an effort to terminate any Tenetian Interdiction generators while in that neck of the woods, as we will need them gone in order for the second objective to commence.

"Shortly before we begin operations in pursuit of objective two, we will saturate these mine fields with additional red rain torpedos in order to disrupt as many mines as possible, and also seek to seriously inconvenience the fleets involved in keeping the central system under wraps. If these fleets should happen to begin moving towards our positions at objective 1, we will once again be properly situated to annihilate them piecemeal.

"At this point, the Woodians will move in to conduct the greater share of the fighting, while long range bombardments of Tenetia prime itself will initiate with more Red Rain Torpedos and Javelins aimed at targets of tactical importance. They will be assisted in their fight against the two central fleets by the Dornalians and the Huntarians, though we suspect the Woodian forces will be robust enough to take on the spread out enemy fleets with sufficient decisiveness.

"While this occurs, the rest of us will begin an assault on Tenetia itself commencing our pursuit of objective 3, using our position at objective 1 we will attack the final target from the side opposite wherever the majority of the fighting in the center of the system is taking place. This will likely draw down the full fury of the two fleets defending Tenetia itself towards our side of the planet, leaving it open for the Woodians, Dornalians, and Huntarians to hit from the other side with a relative lack of opposition. Bring down the shields and commence full ground assault, then move to assist those forces involved with the other two fleets by conducting a pincer move around the planet. Destroy the remaining fleets, and then focus full efforts on the ground invasion while the fleets focus their attention either on orbital support or the interception of any enemy fleets that might arrive to reinforce the Tenetians."

While Naberius spoke, the battle lines became colored and registered little information packets to demonstrate who belonged to what line. Whenever a 'battle' was concluded, the vicinity surrounding that battle was indicated by a green box that stated "Objective 1 Secured" and the like with martial red lettering.

"As we have previously stated, there will be sensor and communications disruption beyond the range of half an astronomical unit or so. With the permission of those gathered here, we will place Godulan Eidolons on the major ships of each fleet, with the intent of providing your forces with something resembling nominal communications capacity and also relaying sensor information from our psi-scanners. This should enable a degree of coordination far in excess of our enemies.

"This scenario is of course the most optimistic projection, as we suspect that there will be some reinforcements. We have contingency plans at the ready that will be called up as necessary, depending on the magnitude of the reinforcements and also the time they actually arrive."

The representation shifted again, to show a planetary view. "The ground battle should be focused first and foremost on terminating the citadel and the hypermatter bomb likely contained within. This might be a job for whatever special forces we can bring to muster. Though the location of the bomb is not mentioned in our archive at Tantis, we do have some basic data that should allow us to make projections and also conduct proper insertions without too much trouble. Other forces should aim towards attacking other cities in order to accomplish secondary objectives and also draw away as many defending forces from the citadel as possible.

"If our effort at the Citadel is successful, we will have disabled the hypermatter bomb and essentially taken the planet. Mop up any remaining forces, give Lady Nightshade the old heave-ho, and begin planning for any opportunities that might have arisen in the event the Imperials overcommit in an effort to challenge our claim."

The holoprojection came to something of a stop, standing idle at the final conclusion of the battle, and Naberius looked around at the others.

"Any questions?"

"The First Assault Galaxy, for those of you not familiar with it, consists of the following..." Admiral Makaryk whipped out a combination datapad/holoprojector to display just what the unit contained, because it was a shit-ton easier than reciting it. However, the list of the forces contained therein numbered no fewer than three hundred BattleMechs, their respective MechWarriors, and went so far as to include a full Star of BattleMechs piloted by those Woodians trained as Jedi. "We wish to spearhead the assault on the seat of government. I believe that Galaxy Commander Allaire possesses a skill set well versed to dealing with that underground facility. And I will need to speak with the Clans, as they seem eager to blow stuff up for money and resources..."
"Then Keith shall lead the attack on the Citadel and do his best to take down the WMD." I nodded. "If the Clans wish to attend this show, they'll have to be quick, considering we're going to move as soon as we end this discussion."

=====

Nothing like a Godulan plan to seamlessly assimilate the plans of others. It's no wonder that they're one of the best races out there. Still, I noticed right away a few potential issues. As did a few other military-minded fellows.

"Now this plan looks good, so far. However, it's not like the Imperials won't have countermeasures to jamming protocols. Both the Empire and us train intensively in sub-par conditions like this." Grand Admiral Pellaeon spoke up for the first time. "Deaf, maybe, Blind, no. The Empire are masters of visual targeting and there's the matter of the Force. Lady Nightshade is a known master of telepathic combat and would likely use techniques to overcome this setback."

"Battle meditation." I nodded. "She will also have minions to enhance those powers."

"Yes. I would not allow anyone to underestimate the Empire, least of all people with wunderweapons." Pellaeon glanced meaningfully at Naberius with that comment. "This will be a knuckle-down dragged-out brawl no matter how we'll play it. We have many advantages here, but so will the Empire. Still, the fleet is at your disposal, Lord Masaki."

"Are there any more concerns to air out?" He asked the crowd.

Naberius turned to Masaki first, a slight grin permitted to materialize on his face. "Indeed. We are aware of their 'Battle Meditation' capacity. This is why we intend to have Godulan Eidolons stationed on major vessels in order to properly coordinate forces while the greater extent of the disruption field continues. Our projections took into account the fact that in closer ranges they would be able to fight as well as the forces presented here would be capable. The sensor disruption primarily affects readings outside of weapons range.

"Right now, there is little we can do about the Battle Meditation apart from having our Eidolons assist allied fleets in formulating optimal combat targets. As you have noticed we have a substantial number of blueprints for various Tenetian vessels. These have surprising tactical value as it has given us some insight into vulnerabilities of many of the enemy's vessels. We can also feed sensor information and function as a non-disrupted communications system throughout the battle.

"We shall counter Nightshade's Battle Meditation with a version of our own."

Then, turning to Makaryk, Naberius made a short response.

"The Huntarians have stated that they will provide a task force of sorts in our assistance, but that the majority of their aid would come in the form of ground troops. For the Dornalians, we assume that their support will be... quite significant. You should be in no danger of 'going it alone'. The battle plan also takes into account that the Tenetians might actually behave 'intelligently'. No sane individual would leave one side of the planet undefended against enemy assault. If the Tenetians attempt to keep their forces on one side to combat our forces, they leave themselves open to getting stabbed in the back. If they spread out, they get crushed in a pincer move."

Then he nodded slightly and sat down.

"If Admiral Makaryk requires some time to make proper arrangements such that we will have further support in the attack, we would advocate for a temporary pause to the proceedings. If anybody requires further information from us we will remain here to answer. Is Mister Masaki in favor? This is his conference room after all."

"If Admiral Makaryk requires some time to make proper arrangements such that we will have further support in the attack, we would advocate for a temporary pause to the proceedings. If anybody requires further information from us we will remain here to answer. Is Mister Masaki in favor? This is his conference room after all."
"I'm in favor of a recess. This meeting shall be adjourned for an hour, if that's acceptable to everyone." I said.

Jorrus nodded, "it is agreed with us. We have a request which we shall like to plan out during this recess. Daniel, I'd like to request to talk to you in private during this recess."

Shortly before the called recess, on a planet far far away:

The two Godulan Eidolons stepped into the office of one Doctor Kar, having departed from their latest inspection of the new troopers' stellar progress. The Godulans had not thought of the concept of employing genetically modified soldiers with their own form of enhancement, and the results were nothing short of spectacular. It did not gall either of them to think that these soldiers were superior in overall capabilities than the own special forces.

"Doctor Kar. Please pardon the intrusion," Zodiac, the smaller of the two began. "There is something we wish to discuss."

Antares, the larger and disturbingly santa-like Eidolon continued: "We believe that your soldiers have progressed to a point where the only true gauge of their capabilities will be in actual combat. It would just so happen that a situation has arisen that might have need of your soldiers'... unique capabilities."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back on Issus:

Naberius turned to Admiral Makaryk as he prepared to depart. "Mister Makaryk. If we could have a moment of your time, we have a request to make in regards to Mister Allaire's mission into the Citadel."

Doctor Kar sat in his office in the top-secret military installation which had seen the rise of a new chapter of M'Lekk'Torr, the Telrosian chapter. They had been given much aid by the Godulans, specifically the two now standing in front of him. With their help, they had made the death rate of those being possessed by the M'Lekk'Torr as low as their current technology could make it go. Which was only a handful. Good men and women, but they were a needed sacrifice. Now they had an entire force of three hundred men and woman, genetically modified to be immune to Force trickery and abilities, and trained in all forms of close combat, firearms, and in the art of the voidsword. Lightsaber combat had been inserted into the training regiment, so they could pick up a lightsaber and fight with it, if the occasion called for it. The training had been quickly mastered by soldiers whose every attribute was increased at least tenfold. So, when Antares and Zodiac walked in, speaking of a conflict that their soldiers could be tested in, he could only agree. After all, training only did so much, they needed actual combat experience with their new abilities.

Kar set down the packet of papers he had been reading and signing, paying the "bills" so to speak, when the Godulans entered. Listening to their proposal, he nodded. "I agree. The brass have been itching to test them against something, but there isn't any conflict within our borders significant enough. Sure, the various nations that make up our alliance-state of sorts have bickerings, there are rebels and pirates, but they are able to be dealt with by our special forces. They need to fight Jedi, Sith, or any Force user-equivalent to test the success of this program." He pushed his glasses up his nose, as he looked at them knowingly. "I take it this conflict has such an opportunity. And it must be a big one, if the Godulans are asking the United Nations of Telros for soldiers, as small as it may be."

"There is such potential," Zodiac replied. "We have recently begun preparations for an attack on a major Imperial stronghold world. While we are not asking you to fight the war for us, we believe there to be a particular form of 'failsafe measure' that the Imperials tend to employ upon their major worlds. This 'failsafe' essentially annihilates every trace of life upon the surface of that world. Our allies are uncertain as to the location of the device, but its location and termination are paramount in the acquisition of the world in question. We do not wish for civilian casualties, and if the device activates... the losses would be atrocious."

Antares continued without missing a beat, once again demonstrating the slightly disturbing penchant for both Eidolons finishing each other's sentences. "The citadel that this device is contained within will be heavily guarded by Sith. It will likely also have many conventional forces. While we would be sending Eidolons in support of an allied effort to contain the problem, we believe that the M'Lekk'Torr troops here have one thing that none of the others will be able to reproduce."

"The ability to walk through walls would prove eminently useful in bypassing a large number of potential barriers in the pursuit of our joint mission."

Jorrus nodded, "it is agreed with us. We have a request which we shall like to plan out during this recess. Daniel, I'd like to request to talk to you in private during this recess."
"Very well." I said, then led Jorrus to a private area so we can talk. "So what is it?"

Jorrus cleared his throat, "it would appear to me that there's been a rather... Lax concern for the Sith and Kirtir Warriors on the ground. No doubt Nightshade and her Kirtir Allies would have them use some form of battle meditation on her troops, giving them the confidence they might need to win the war."

Jorrus cleared his throat, "it would appear to me that there's been a rather... Lax concern for the Sith and Kirtir Warriors on the ground. No doubt Nightshade and her Kirtir Allies would have them use some form of battle meditation on her troops, giving them the confidence they might need to win the war."
"Yeah. I guess it's because there's a 'mook' mentality going on around here. Still, they do need to be distracted and kept from setting their will against us." I replied.

Naberius' eyes rolled for a moment.

"Admiral Makaryk, it is our hope to speak to you before you issue the orders to Mister Allaire so that you can incorporate a small pickup while they remain in that particular locale. We shall provide particulars on the pickup as necessary, but the basics are that we need around three hundred soldiers brought in from a project we have been conducting. They have abilities that might prove useful in disabling the failsafe bomb."

Naberius produced a small datapad with relevant information on what coordinates to go, landing protocols, how to get in touch with a pair of Godulan Eidolons known as Zodiac and Antares, and... navigation protocols for traversing a 'Time Crash'. Handing it to Makaryk, he bowed graciously and returned to the conference room.

"Quite the request..."

IlKhan Mason Roshak sat in his chambers, reading this little note as it was directly relayed to him from White Diamond within thirty seconds of its transmission. As he looked over the intel, he noted each of the possible ways that this could go, taking less than two whole minutes to go over the entirety of the information. Once finished, he inserted the intelligence information into his own personal station near where he was sitting and began transmitting it, along with dispatch orders, to the nearby Hyper-Pulse Generator station, directing the transmission to Magicus Mundus.

----------------------------------

Less than a minute later, the halls of Ostia, capital of Magicus Mundus, were abuzz as the transmission itself was relayed directly to the Empress of the planet, Arika Vespertatia.

"This is quite the plan," she stated, observing the intelligence as quickly as the ilKhan had. She then looked down at the subordinate who had relayed the orders to her. "Very well. Inform Colonel Ayase that she is to mobilize the 5th Ariadne Mage Knight Division immediately. They are to report to Strana Mechty via teleportation magic as soon as they are ready. They must be ready within two hours."

"Yes, milady!" With that, the subordinate bowed curtly, and quickly went about his job.

----------------------------------

"これはそれのように種類の集りの性交であることを行っている見える."

Yue scratched her head in irritation, slowly going over the orders. She was currently off-duty, wearing her Magi robes and normal civilian clothes underneath. She was speaking in her native tongue, Japanese.

"Yue-chan, should we really be getting involved in all of this?" Yue's best friend, Nodoka Miyzaki, was sitting beside her, reading the briefing and orders from the Empress. She looked a little perturbed by the information they had been sent.

"What choice do I have?" Yue sighed in exasperation as she turned off the screen and leaned back into her chair, switching to English. "I am a servant of the House of Vespertatia. I have to follow orders, no matter how much I don't like them."

"Auuu~!" Nodoka looked down at her lap, crestfallen at her friend's answer. "I guess you are right..."

Yue sighed, standing from her chair and grabbing a notepad and a quill. Nodoka was quick to follow her friend as Yue quickly wrote down a string of orders on the notepad, pushing a door open with her foot to walk out to her secretary's office, and then placed the notepad on the desk in front of her secretary.

"New orders," Yue stated curtly. "Relay them to the Company Commanders. We're moving out in one hour."

----------------------------------

Within a half hour, a message was relayed back to White Diamond, short and to the point.

Expect our forces in nineteen standard hours.

Seyla.

((OOC Note: It took me awhile to get this post finished because I'm having issues with writer's block. No complaints, please.))

Clan space was in turmoil.

Ships were passing through hyperspace lanes in a frenzy as the news of a new war was spread amongst the individual Clans. Galaxies worth of Warriors were all bidding for the chance to be the first to engage the Empire, and this was taking up precious time. They had only one day to prepare the necessary forces to send to the battle, and they had learned that the ilKhan had promised that the Clans would be at the rendezvous in nineteen hours. Two hours had already passed, and still the Clans had not even begun to organize.

----------------------------------

Strana Mechty: t-minus sixteen hours fifteen minutes...

By this point, the Fifth Ariadne Mage Knight Division had already arrived at the Clan rally point, and Colonel Ayase Yue was busy discussing the intelligence data with the Clan command officers who were to be participating in the coming operation. Several of them had been pulled from the reserves for the Expansion campaign simply because the remaining commanders were either freebirth or were simply too low of rank to be considered for this operation.

"The Federation is quite bold." A tall, dark-skinned man looked over the holographic display of the Tenetia System with the Imperial force composition laid out. The hologram, which was animated, portrayed the possible movements of the Imperial fleets for the assembled commanders.

"Aff," agreed a smaller, oriental woman who was just taller than Yue. "These freebirths are really...how do they term it? Baking their pie and attempting to eat it as well?"

Yue shook her head at the woman's attempt to be amusing. "Be that as it may, we are going to have to be careful with these Imperials. We have yet to encounter them in actual combat."

"I concur." Another man, about mid-height between the other two Clan commanders, was busy reading the possible force composition of the Imperial Fleets and Planetary Defense Forces. "We will have to be very careful if we are to succeed in this campaign. We can not simply rely on our usual tactics. Strategy must go before honor in this battle."

Yue and the other two commanders nodded in agreement.

"However, I have noticed something quite interesting about the possible force composition," he continued. "The Coredians indicate that their former ship, the Megalodon, may actually be a part of the primary Tenetia Orbital Defense Fleets. If such is the case, we should attempt to recapture this ship and return it to the Coredians. If we are to succeed, we may be able to use this as a bargaining chip in the future."

"Agreed," stated the other male.

"As do I," seconded the female Clanner.

"Then allow me to provide the necessary forces needed to breach the ships shields," Yue said. "My Knights can provide barrier spells that will open up the shields temporarily to allow boarding craft to pass through unharmed. You may then offload your Warriors onto the ship and proceed to take it by force."

"A sound plan, Magi Colonel Yue Ayase," stated the second man. "I shall provide the boarding forces."

And so, they talked on...

Outside Daniel Masaki’s Private Area

Special Agent Erica Hunt stood patiently outside where the emperor of the Coreworlds was conducting a working lunch while she waited to be admitted. She wore an unmarked uniform of the Free Worlds Navy, a green tunic above gray trousers with knee high glossy black boots. Her uniform was unmarked showing no indication or rank or identification, she was after all intelligence operative. However being on an allied planet it was considered a common courtesy to wear an officially recognized uniform. For security reasons though even if Daniel Masaki himself ran her name through the security channels in the Free Worlds he would find that she did not officially exist.

When she was able to approach the Cordian emperor she noticed there was present a Huntarian Jedi Master with him. That would be acceptable to what she had to tell Daniel Masaki after all it dealt with a member of his Jedi Council as well as a member of the Raven Council of the Ossus Order.

“Emperor Masaki” She greeted him before she jumped right into what had taken her across half the Galaxy to tell him. “I have been ordered to inform you about the situation that is developing in the Ishthir system. Two hours ago our listening post on the planet detected the arrival of the Galaxy Gun. They immediately communicated this information to Fleet High Command. Roughly thirty minutes later the Death Squadron led by Darth Vader’s flagship entered the system and established a cordon around the Galaxy Gun and subsequently sent over boarding parties led by the Sith Lord himself. What is truly remarkable is that these boarding parties themselves were defeated, even Vader himself retreated back to his flagship.”

“I must warn you sir that my superiors believe that the Galaxy Gun was captured by an elite force comprised of former marines and their leader, Jedi Master Hawkins. We believe that he orchestrated his “Death” on Jurai so that he could finally pursue the enemies he’s deemed a particular threat to the Free Worlds and those whom he wants justice served to. I need not tell you that your own sister is one of those enemies.”

“Admiral Stayr Nan'kav has taken elements of our Northern Fleet into the system in an attempt to destroy the Galaxy Gun before it can flee the system. However his taskforce was not intended to stand off the tonnage represented by the Death Squadron, the main combatants of his fleet is represented in a division of Bothan Assault Cruisers. But his force would be overwhelmed in a slugging match with such heavy opposition. We have dispatched a Task Group from Mon Calamari but it will be some time before they will reach the system.”

“It is my regret to inform you sir that as of this moment a state of war now exists once again between the Free Worlds League and the Galactic Empire. The uneasy truce that has held for more then a decade has been shattered by one rogue Jedi, and all of us will suffer because of it.”

Nomura began assessing the amount of forces he had as he adjourned for the hour. His stubborn personality appreciated the depth of the planning the Godulans had, and the Coredian planning as well to a slightly lesser extent. It made sense....high speed and tying the enemy down was evidently in their strategy. He just wished these people would embrace the idea of a broad front, which would to him would make more sense than a few simple thrusts that could easily be defeated by the Imperials. Then again, given the level of committment of the Woodians were willing to put in and the limited resources the Coredians and Huntarian Alliance could muster, he had to be realistic about having others fight a Dornalian-style war. He just was worried about whether the others could sustain their thrusts.

However, as he spoke to his superiors in San Diego, it became obvious that the New Dornalians had the capacity. Along with his present forces, it became obvious that two more Battlegroups would be authorized for intervention in Tenetia. On a secure comm network, he nodded and accepted the extra reinforcements, before hneading to the conference room.

Catching up to Naberius, he walked up to him and whispered, snarky as usual, "You know, that strategy of yours actually seems like it has a snowball's chance in hell of winning. Only, I'm just wondering if these thrusts are going to be coordinated and mutually supporting as we push into Tenetia. I'd hate to be busy on my side, then have to deal with someone's sloppy seconds."

Naberius nodded at Nomura's assessment with a smile. "Indeed. That is, in fact, a portion of our contingency planning. As we would be employing the Superluminary disruption effect to make jumping into hyperspace or any other kind of interstellar travel infeasible, having everything spread out would make things even more difficult to wrangle because it would take significantly longer to consolidate our own forces in the event somebody pokes us in the ass while we close the noose.

"In each battle that we engage in from the beginning of the campaign, we intend not only to blitzkrieg the enemy fleet, but to do it one or two fleets at a time and in the form of a pincer maneuver. It is hoped in these measures that none of us will need to deal with anything too much since we will all essentially be shooting at the same thing.

"Also, you will be notified by one of our Eidolons stationed on your vessel the moment we sense that something is going unfavorably for our side. Having a clear picture of the battlefield is one of the primary steps in controlling it, after all."

As they stepped back into the conference room, the holoprojector automatically restored the representation of Tenetia. Only this time, it showed something strange. A new battle line had appeared, with an identifier tag registering it as an Imperial fleet of substantial strength. Almost immediately, symbols indicating long range strikes erupted around the enemy fleet as an allied force broke off from the planned battle course and moved to intercept.

"The forces are not meant so much to be mutually supporting but as independent forces that can break off with relative alacrity and intercept an enemy force as it arrives. Depending on where the incursion takes place a different force might be deemed the proper interceptor. As you will note, we will be making HEAVY use of Long Arm of the Law for this operation, likely causing a substantial depletion in our reserves of long-range munitions, to say nothing of the possibility of drawing our reserve Slaughterstar into the fight.

"With two of our Generals working on this battle, you could say that our own show of force in this instance will be... unprecedented."

By this point, the Clan forces had begun to organize, Stars of Warships, DropShips, and other vessels crowding the skies of Strana Mechty as thousands of troops, vehicles, BattleMechs, and thousands of tons of supplies were ferried into orbit to be loaded onto their applicable ships.

Aboard the fleet's flagship, the Kerensky-class Theodore Kurita, the four commanders of the Clan landing forces stood at attention as their supreme commander stood near the window to the observation deck. Her presence emanated power of untold magnitude, the air surrounding her feeling heavier, as if it were waiting for her to tell it what to do.

"You all know what is at stake here," she said, breaking the silence. "For the first time ever, we are going to war with the Empire."

The woman turned around, facing her commanders, revealing herself to be Chao Lingshen (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/Feronen/AQS_MSN_c161_Extra_05.jpg), the technological genius of Magicus Mundus. She was not tall, being only four inches taller than Yue, who was the smallest person in the room. As Chao began to walk, four objects would begin to buzz around her person, each easily the size of her head. These little 'funnels,' each a product of science rather than magic, were quick to align themselves in synchronized positions along Chao's flanks.

"I do not expect perfection," she continued. "What I expect is effort, an effort to crush the enemy. Show no mercy. If the enemy surrenders, let out allies deal with them. We shall take no bondsmen from the Empire, for they will not respect our traditions and rites like other nations. All those loyal to the Empire who stand in the way of our goal are forfeit."

"Seyla!" The four commanders shouted the blessing in unison, but the actual Clansmen were the ones to put feeling into theirs. Yue, on the other hand, didn't exactly want to participate in this campaign. She had a bad feeling about it...

"And so," Chao spoke on. "We shall drive fear into the heart of the enemy, a fear of those who are stronger than them! We shall go to Tenetia, and we shall show them the full might of the Clans!"

And, as she spoke those words, roars of approval rang out from the entire force as her broadcast ended. Those words of power, of duty, of assured victory. Those were the words that the warriors of the Clans needed to rouse them to their full fighting potential...

((Post is kinda meh, in my opinion. It would've been better, but I kept being dragged away from my computer to do stupid, trivial crap...))

Outside Daniel Masaki’s Private Area

Special Agent Erica Hunt stood patiently outside where the emperor of the Coreworlds was conducting a working lunch while she waited to be admitted. She wore an unmarked uniform of the Free Worlds Navy, a green tunic above gray trousers with knee high glossy black boots. Her uniform was unmarked showing no indication or rank or identification, she was after all intelligence operative. However being on an allied planet it was considered a common courtesy to wear an officially recognized uniform. For security reasons though even if Daniel Masaki himself ran her name through the security channels in the Free Worlds he would find that she did not officially exist.

When she was able to approach the Cordian emperor she noticed there was present a Huntarian Jedi Master with him. That would be acceptable to what she had to tell Daniel Masaki after all it dealt with a member of his Jedi Council as well as a member of the Raven Council of the Ossus Order.

“Emperor Masaki” She greeted him before she jumped right into what had taken her across half the Galaxy to tell him. “I have been ordered to inform you about the situation that is developing in the Ishthir system. Two hours ago our listening post on the planet detected the arrival of the Galaxy Gun. They immediately communicated this information to Fleet High Command. Roughly thirty minutes later the Death Squadron led by Darth Vader’s flagship entered the system and established a cordon around the Galaxy Gun and subsequently sent over boarding parties led by the Sith Lord himself. What is truly remarkable is that these boarding parties themselves were defeated, even Vader himself retreated back to his flagship.”

“I must warn you sir that my superiors believe that the Galaxy Gun was captured by an elite force comprised of former marines and their leader, Jedi Master Hawkins. We believe that he orchestrated his “Death” on Jurai so that he could finally pursue the enemies he’s deemed a particular threat to the Free Worlds and those whom he wants justice served to. I need not tell you that your own sister is one of those enemies.”

“Admiral Stayr Nan'kav has taken elements of our Northern Fleet into the system in an attempt to destroy the Galaxy Gun before it can flee the system. However his taskforce was not intended to stand off the tonnage represented by the Death Squadron, the main combatants of his fleet is represented in a division of Bothan Assault Cruisers. But his force would be overwhelmed in a slugging match with such heavy opposition. We have dispatched a Task Group from Mon Calamari but it will be some time before they will reach the system.”

“It is my regret to inform you sir that as of this moment a state of war now exists once again between the Free Worlds League and the Galactic Empire. The uneasy truce that has held for more then a decade has been shattered by one rogue Jedi, and all of us will suffer because of it.”
"He's alive?" I could only ask the agent. The revelation that he not only was alive, but was possibly behind the Galaxy Gun hijacking made me stop for a moment. Would he really go so far as to try and destroy Tenetia to take out Nightshade? If he gave in to that temptation... "Thank you, ma'am."

A state of war between the Empire and the Free Worlds League will only help the Tenetian Campaign, even if one rogue Jedi caused it. But should Hawkins actually go so far as to destroy Tenetia to defeat a Sith...no, it would be madness beyond compare. I would have to stop him...somehow.

Then it came to me. I knew exactly how to do it. Checking the chrono, I still had thirty minutes before the recess ends. "Master Jorrus, if you'll excuse me."

I teleported to a private communications station and entered my passwords for the super-secure channel that I needed. Then, I wrote a short message.

Agent 1,
Hawkins has GG. Ascern the likelihood of a strike using said item.
Take all possible measures to prevent it, including termination if need be.

'Forgive me, old friend, but if you truly have gone mad, then I must do this.' I thought sadly as I sent the message, closed down the channel and headed back to the meeting hall. As I did so, I clamped down my feelings on the issue. Now was not the time to remiscence.

"With two of our Generals working on this battle, you could say that our own show of force in this instance will be... unprecedented."

Shrugging, Nomura replied, "Well, I suppose you've a point, although there is still the matter of moving quickly enough to take the objectives, or at least tie down the enemy long enough to bring the pain. I'm a little nervous about that."

"Indeed," Naberius replied. The holo-representation of the system narrowed in on the two outer planets and showed the initial convergence of all the allied forces. "There will have to be some delay between when the disruption field hits and when we actually arrive. It would take some time for the field to affect the later sections of the system so we may well need to enter combat before the field has fully saturated the system. The key point in acquiring the planets hosting the Tenetian shipyards is so that we can springboard to the inner system faster than the enemy can. It is hoped that this region will also provide us with a method to enact timely counterstrikes against any imperial reinforcements that should happen to arrive, as we are certain the case will be."

“We're going to kill a friend, Yvgeni. We're going to kill Ramius.”- Hunt For Red October
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A candle flickered, in the dark room. One tiny spark of light, fueled by a wick, and slowed down by wax, burned away, illuminating the room that would be engulfed normally. The room, from what could be seen was bland, no decorations adorned the wall.

The air was filled with a soft smell of incense, as two shadows moved against the wall, illuminated by the fire from the small candle in the center of the room.

“Breathe.” the calming voice of the Sensei spoke. Her words were soothing to her student, her voice was sweet, like that of a grandmother, coaxing a new baby to sleep.

“But, Emma. I do not want to do this again.” the young woman protested, her body drapped in a white robe.

“Reach out to it. Witness how it snaps at your fingers, and how it tries to bite you, hurt you. You need to see it for what it is though, naught but a weak little vermin." Taking a deep breath, she said, "I want you to pull out your pistol, now Hera. Watch it foam at the mouth, like the diseased dog it is. Squeeze the trigger, and put it out of it’s misery.”

Hera reached behind her. Her fingers wrapped around the nine mil. She could feel the cold steel of the trigger, the rough grip of the pistol. She could feel her target, it’s struggles, it desire for life, her fear. “Pull the trigger.”

Ring, Ring

Hera opened her eyes, as the sound of her cell brought her out of her trance. Emma shook her head, as she pointed her finger at the young woman. “Didn’t I tell you to leave that off?” Emma said to her sternly. “How are you to improve your skills, or be more than what you are, if you can’t even shut off a damn telephone.”

Hera quickly pulled it out in a haste. She pulled it out, it’s blue illuminating screen blinking, “Incoming call.” Frantically she tried to press the silent button, until one name appeared on the caller ID. “D. M.”

Astonished, she looked up to her infuriated Sensei. “I am so sorry Sensei, I have to take this. It is an emergency.”

Hera then put the phone to her ear. As she did the automated message began to play.

Agent 1, Hawkins has GG. Ascern the likelihood of a strike using said item. Take all possible measures to prevent it, including termination if need be.
Hera quickly put her hand over her mouth as she heard the message. “He is alive, and they didn’t bother to tell me?” she said astonished, and somewhat infuriated. “How long have they been keeping this from me?” she wondered as she quickly closed the phone.

“Emma.” she said, “I am sorry, I have to go. It is really important. Can we take this up at another time, say when I get back?”

Hera then opened the door from the room. The lighting was a bit of a shock, coming from the dark room into the light, as she held up her hand from the sun light hall way.

A moment went by, as her eyes began to adjust. Opening her cell phone, she was too angry to call Daniel. Instead she sent him a very angry text message, over her very expensive and secure line that was the best money, namely the Masaki’s could buy.

How long have you known he is alive, and why haven’t you told me about this? Grrrr...... We will need to talk about this after the assignment. Send me all of the intel you have on the situation, including the name of the informant, along with all of the details that pertain to the situation.

Love,

Hera.

P.S. If you ever withhold something like that from me again, I hope you sleep with the lights on.

She shut the cell phone off, as Emma followed her. “Where are you going?” Emma asked her as she hurried quickly behind Hera.

Hera turned to her friend and mentor. “To continue the curse.”

Emma walked next to Hera at a brisk pace. Hera quickly turned the corner. As she did, she soon found herself bumping into someone face first.

How long have you known he is alive, and why haven’t you told me about this? Grrrr...... We will need to talk about this after the assignment. Send me all of the intel you have on the situation, including the name of the informant, along with all of the details that pertain to the situation.

Love,

Hera.

P.S. If you ever withhold something like that from me again, I hope you sleep with the lights on.

Txt message reply:

I didn't know he was back until now! Sending relevant info. *sent info*

"Yeah. I guess it's because there's a 'mook' mentality going on around here. Still, they do need to be distracted and kept from setting their will against us." I replied.

Jorrus nodded, "we would like to volunteer a special strike force and make an emergency landing on the planet. With two full squadrons of Malkir and Jedi, along with anyone else you might deem worthy to help with the distraction, we will plot the ship to land behind their command center and then we will disembark via escape hatches and shuttle bays which are planted throughout the ship. Hopefully, this will buy enough time for the Woodian forces to mow on through in the front, maybe even get those preforming the Battle Meditation to send out false war vibes and make their own forces attack without proper defenses to keep 'em going.

Jorrus frowned at the speech which Special Agent Erica Hunt just gave. He knew his apprentice had just became the Master of Hera Agathon not too long ago. No doubt this assassination mission would concern him. ::Magriel, it would seem that the Jedi have just issued an order to your apprentice to take out a rogue Jedi named "Hawkins" by any means necessary.::

::... A Jedi assassination plot?? That doesn't sound very much like a Jedi habit, it goes against their code to assassinate one of their own. I'll talk to her.::


She shut the cell phone off, as Emma followed her. “Where are you going?” Emma asked her as she hurried quickly behind Hera.

Hera turned to her friend and mentor. “To continue the curse.”

Emma walked next to Hera at a brisk pace. Hera quickly turned the corner. As she did, she soon found herself bumping into someone face first.

Magriel stood in Hera's way, with his arms folded. "I just got word of your recent assignment." His face grew stern and very serious. "According to my resources, this 'Hawkins' is your first master, is he not?"

Jorrus nodded, "we would like to volunteer a special strike force and make an emergency landing on the planet. With two full squadrons of Malkir and Jedi, along with anyone else you might deem worthy to help with the distraction, we will plot the ship to land behind their command center and then we will disembark via escape hatches and shuttle bays which are planted throughout the ship. Hopefully, this will buy enough time for the Woodian forces to mow on through in the front, maybe even get those preforming the Battle Meditation to send out false war vibes and make their own forces attack without proper defenses to keep 'em going."
"Sounds like a plan." I said. "Back doors are always nice to use, but I will note that Nightshade would be expecting that, if not her minions. Still, she'd be looking for a chance to do me in personally so if I know her thinking, she might leave enough of a bait out for us to take."

"Sounds like a plan." I said. "Back doors are always nice to use, but I will note that Nightshade would be expecting that, if not her minions. Still, she'd be looking for a chance to do me in personally so if I know her thinking, she might leave enough of a bait out for us to take."

Jorrus grinned, "Bait? I love bait. Sometimes tastes better than the fish which follows it. Your sister can feed us all the bait she wants to, and we'll just keep on biting it off of the pole she uses to feed us. She'll soon find that baiting Malkir will be like baiting a fish who can break your pole."

I chuckled. "Very true, friend. Very true."

OOC: With CW's permission, this part will be played out until she disembarks for her mission, or until the battle actually starts. Afterwards, this will be played out in The Prophecy. (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=573847)

She stepped back as her face entered his chest. Pulling back, she looked up to Magriel. As she looked at him, something felt strange, as her stomach began to flutter. “Hi.” she said quite happily, as her eye’s began to blink more rapidly.


Magriel stood in Hera's way, with his arms folded. "I just got word of your recent assignment." His face grew stern and very serious. "According to my resources, this 'Hawkins' is your first master, is he not?"

Hera glanced down for a moment, as she pulled back a strain of hair behind her ear. “My assignment?” she asked him. “What did you hear?”

Then he mentioned Master Hawkins. Hera said nothing, as he seemed to know more than he let on. Her eyes stared blankly as she nodded at Magriel.

Hera glanced down for a moment, as she pulled back a strain of hair behind her ear. “My assignment?” she asked him. “What did you hear?”

Then he mentioned Master Hawkins. Hera said nothing, as he seemed to know more than he let on. Her eyes stared blankly as she nodded at Magriel.

Magriel stared her down, his eyes solid of emotion. "This would be a difficult assignment for you, as no doubt you are aware that you might be required to assassinate him in the end if he is no doubt mad enough to actually use the Galaxy Gun." Magriel paced around the corridor, "this will be your first assignment as my apprentice." Magriel thought for a few more moments, carefully considering each word spoken, and as he spoke, Hera would find very little warmth from them, "the Malkir Council, unlike the Jedi Council, despises Assassination Missions of any sort, especially made upon one of their own. The Council has decided that you will continue onward with your assignment from the Jedi, however, we absolutely forbid you to assassinate Hawkins. There are too few Jedi and Malkir as it is. One less Jedi, especially one of the likes of your Master, will have repercussions which will span for years to come." Magriel continued to gaze at Hera, "they say the first Master and Apprentice bond is nothing like any other. If this is indeed the case, I will assume you share a large level of concern for your Master's well being." The Malkir narrowed his eyes, "if you do care for him, and I have no doubt that you do, you will do anything in your power to coax him into surrendering the Galaxy Gun over to the proper authorities. Do this, and your initiation into the Malkir Order will be complete."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMZJEx9jxsE

The bond between a master and an apprentice, especially the first, was one that Hera had never forgotten. It was like a bond between a father and a daughter, the bond of those trapped in a fox hole together. It was one that would last a life time, and one that could not be easily broken.

Many secret tears had fallen, in the wake of his death. Many nights alone, where she secretly wished for him, the man she is being sent to kill. It was a bond that Hera felt all too well. No one but her mourned when he died on Jurai. No one but her shed a tear, when she felt her master fade from life.

The Jedi didn’t care, not like she did. They quickly saluted the fallen warrior of the rebellion, then washed their hands of him. It was all too cordial, no loss, no concern, like watching a fish that died, being flushed down the toilet.

It was not that way for Hera though. Even now, when she was being sent to kill him, all she knew was that her feelings were alive, that the man who was as close to her as a father was alive, and that Daniel was sending her to kill him.

She knew more than Magriel what that meant. The loss, the pain, of potentially ending the life of Chris, along with the hardship and difficulty. This was the man who taught her self reliance. This was the man who taught her the sword. He, more than any other master poured himself into her, shaping her into what she is today. He spent the most time with her, laughing, drinking, and training. To Hawkins, she was never a tool, she was a person, which was quite the feat, as his racism against robots was well known.

Hera simply nodded as Magriel spoke to her, and issued his own back order. She didn’t want to hurt him. She didn’t want to kill him. Hawkins taught her everything she knew about combat, he taught her the forms, and how to forge her own blade. Not the barbaric lightsabers of the Jedi, but a real sword, each hit of the blade forged by her hand. Hawkins taught her how to track, and how to be. She knew him, and what made this mission all the more dangerous he knew her.

Hawkins was the one that groomed her into what she is today. He knew her, her methods, her tricks, her style, and her mind. He knew her weaknesses, and her strengths.

Hera knew that Magriel was right, but more than just joining the Malkir. This mission would make or break her. If she killed him, she would truly complete her last sith trial. If she let him live, and Daniel was right, then billions would die. What was worth more, her soul or billions of lives if the Galaxy Gun was fired?

She looked up to Magriel as the internal war waged. Her loyalty to the Masaki’s laying seige to that of Hawkins. Her loyalty to Magriel, laying waste to that of the Masaki’s, or her loyalty to Hawkins. Sooner or later, she would have to choose, and as she thought of it, it scared her even more.

Hera glanced up at Magriel. His eyes were cold, as he stared sternly at her. Why didn’t he ever see her? Why couldn’t he sit and laugh with her? Hera looked up at him with a loving gaze, and all she got in return was that of a teacher staring back at her, just another student, just another number in the class.

Hera looked up at him as her frustration fumed. “I know exactly what all of this means.” she shouted at him. “Do you think I am blind to all of this? Do you think I want to do this job?” she yelled at him for the first time. “No, I do not.”

She shook her head at him. “I am sorry.” she said as she lowered her head down. “I understand. I want him to come peacefully. I want him to do the right thing. I will do what I can to save him. I can only hope that the Coredian Intelligence has dropped the ball. It would not be the first time.” she said as she began to walk towards her quarters.

Hera walked away, as she was growing determined to save Hawkins more and more, as her long white robe flapped in the air, as she moved through it.

She would not do it though, not for the Malkir, nor for the Jedi. He saved her, he was the only one that saw her for who she was. Hera would save him.... for herself, or die trying.

(OOC: Further posts about this mission will be posted in The Prophecy (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=14299256#post14299256).)

"Status report."

The powerful presence of Chao Lingshen walked across the bridge, looking out the main bridge port. Flanking her were her two appointed seconds, Ayase Yue and Miyazaki Nodoka.

"The fleet is currently organizing into its proper formations, lead." The tactical operations officer was hurriedly scrolling through the information he was receiving, sorting between the useless data and the real data he sought. "Estimated time of departure to be thirteen hundred hours"

"Good. Keep me updated."

"Aff, lead."

Chao would then turn to face her seconds. "Magnificent, isn't it?"

She gestured to the assembling fleet, ships still ferrying troops, equipment, and supplies from the surface of the planet.

"Tens of thousands of troops ready to die just so that they may battle a foe they deem worthy." Yue spoke quietly. It really did disgust her, watching so many people hungering for the chance to prove themselves against the Empire.

"Yes," Chao replied. "So many of them. It's as if they're making up for all the times that they've had no chance to go to war." The Chinese girl nodded, pacing to the left. "The Clans truly are an interesting breed."

"They're no better than Orks, if you ask me," Nodoka said, keeping her voice hushed.

Chao chuckled at Nodoka's bold statement. "I must admit, they do remind me of Orks from time to time."

"Then why do we lend our services to these barbarians? They lack any sense of civili-"

"Because, Librarian-san, they are a necessary tool for the preservation of our people." Chao turned around to face Nodoka, her look stern. "If it were not for them, we would not have survived as long as we have."

"True, bu-"

"No, enough talk." Chao turned back to the view port. "Did you bring it?"

Nodoka nodded. "Yes, I did."

"Good." Chao smiled, her reflection in the window visible to both Yue and Nodoka. "We're going to need it fairly soon..."

All right, the hour's up and now is the time to return to the planning. Not that I think we need to do much more than followups and deployment orders, but it doesn't hurt to pump more stuff in as necessary.

"All right. Everyone has been refreshed and so on? Let's continue, then." I said, rubbing my hands.

Nomura merely shrugged and said in reply, "I guess that's why I emphasized speed in our meeting then, didn't we? At least you're making sense." He then sat back and awaited other responses.

He then snappily suggested, "Excuse me? The thing is that Mao Zedong Mark IV vessels aren't that fast. They've lots of mass, and they hurt--but they're not too fast. But, given that the Godulan field has some time before it fully develops, I suppose we can all teleport in and attack inner and outer system targets as we please. Although it lacks the flair of a massed convoy of battleships presenting a big 'fuck you' banner and it might be overly costly."

Admiral Makaryk quickly returned, right on schedule, having mulled assorted contingency plans and issued the necessary deployment orders. He glared at Daniel as he stepped back into the conference room, with his classic Woodian Muckracking Stare of Doom.

"I must confess that I identified a hole in the invasion plan," Admiral Makaryk notified the others, "so I have altered my bid to account for it. The intelligence that I read suggests that Sith in general, Nightshade in particular, appear to be quite spiteful; therefore I am concerned that Nightshade would react to an imminent defeat by a scorched-earth strategy, using the remnants of her fleet to slag population centers from orbit when it becomes clear she is unable to procure reinforcements. Therefore I have added every medic in the Woodian military not already tied down to my bid, to be supported by the Ninth Medium Galaxy. The Ninth will deal with any Imperial stragglers that survive any orbital slag to harass the medical corps as they treat what survivors they can find. This force will be held in reserve, inside of our docking bays, until such time as it is needed. I do hope it is not."

Admiral Makaryk also had another loose end to tie up, however. He found General Verneal across the room. "Does the Huntaerian Alliance have adequate drop capacity to deploy the troops it has bid?" the Admiral asked the General. "Forgive me if I should know that already, our militaries have not had much contact outside of that color guard ceremony..."

Verneal returned Admiral Makaryk's comment with a deadly stare of rage, "yeh just shut your fly trap Semen. Our ships don't even require troop transports for the kinda small scale operations which we're doin'."

Admiral Craimorn sighed, He's gunna make us have a ridiculously short and pointless campaign against some Imperialistic Nation if he keeps up that attitude, "basically what he means Admiral is that because of our lesser troop requirements we don't need as many drop ships which you do. We have enough transporters and Power Cores to be able to handle transporting the troops we're carrying. Plus, the ship itself will be landing a couple of times due to it's atmospheric flight capabilities."

"We had actually anticipated the possibility of the Tenetians engaging a base-delta-zero upon their own world to prevent us from achieving our prize," Naberius replied to Makaryk's concerns. "The plan leaves open the option of an all-out charge towards Tenetia should the enemy seek to put forward their intent to destroy the world by conventional means. We will be able to employ the tactic by striking out at the outer world first and simply forgoing the intermediate regions of the combat. Using the planet's shadow, we will be able to FTL jump directly into the vicinity of Tenetia itself and dismantle the fleet post-haste. We will also be prepared to deplete our long-range munitions against the enemy fleet if such an eventuality should come to pass. We feel that Long Arm of the Law is up to the task.

"A simple caveat however: we feel that they will be somewhat delayed in their decision to terminate the world itself because of their own failsafe device. There is a possibility that by the time they feel a base-delta-zero is necessary that their fleet will have already been dismantled to a sufficient degree that executing the protocol would be impossible because they are too busy being dead to worry about it."

"Well, considering that there's a WMD sitting in the planet's mantle, I'd say that the Empire would rather see this world go up in smoke than let it fall into our hands, so yes, any contiguency planning for BDZ will be useful." I nodded. "Now, let's do one last thing before we deploy. The Citadel itself is quite a maze, but we now have information -thanks to Godulan sources- of it's interior."

ooc: posting an additional bit since I'd meant to do so a while before but kept getting side-tracked...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The third slaughterstar arrived at the exact moment General Majestatus said it would, eventually drifting into a geosynchronous orbit over the staging world of Tantis. A couple of recently-produced Imperial Star Destroyers, bearing the Golden 'G' of the Godulan Legion, moved into an escort pattern around the Superdreadnought, the same as was in evidence around the other two. Starspider Siege Borgs trundled around on the surface of the 'Godulan Star Destroyers', keeping a wary eye out for any intruders. It was an odd sight, for the most part... Starspiders crawling around on Star Destroyers without being in the mood to dismantle the star destroyers piece by piece.

Though manpower was distinctly lessened after the Godulan and Coredian liberation of the system, the residents of Tantis seemed to take to the notion of constructing weapons against the Tenetians and the Galactic empire proper with some enthusiasm. While high spirits were little compensation for operating below half capacity, they did their best, constructing and crewing a fleet capable of giving any attackers a bloodied nose at the very least. The Godulans did not quite expect the Golden 'G's to make an appearance on the ISDs, as they preferred to let the residents govern themselves for the most part, but apparently the locals still felt some gratitude. Still, with some Godulan guidance and the occasional upgrade, the former dissidents of Tantis had managed remarkable things in the year that Tantis had remained under nominal Godulan jurisdiction.

Through it all, both General Achaedus and General Majestatus watched everything come together with the 'God's Eye View' allowed them by the Godulan command interface. Before them, the entire system spread out in one great panorama, with the surrounding starscape providing surprising colors and secondary information. On Issus, allies rallied to the call with surprising enthusiasm. Even the Woodians, who had reservations with assisting the Coredians in any way after the whole corruption fiasco, had pledged a force of astonishing strength to the assault. The Dornalians pledged a massive force, the Huntarians were sending a significant ground force, and some other folks who were not quite present at the conference were apparently pledging forces of phenomenal strength to the fray. They were not here now, but they would be soon.

Kelvin Majestatus selected a patch of Onslaught mines in orbit around one of the outer planets and read through the basic statistics presented by the command interface. "You have been busy over the last year."

Achaedus watched the third Slaughterstar enter orbit, and replied without turning. "There wasn't much else to do. System defenses for a world such as this is an important consideration if we intend to move soon. I took advice from Arcturus, if you mean about the mine placements."

Kelvin shrugged. "He would be the one to ask. What about Lear?"

"She visits from time to time to get her bearings on where the important systems are." He pointed to one star in the massive cloud of brilliance that stretched across the 'sky', and indicated a few others. "There's Coruscant, Byss, and the Maw. Near that is the Republic Remnant and the Farstars Confederacy."

Kelvin activated a friend-versus-foe protocol and the entire area around Tantis turned red. The area that Achaedus had indicated as the Republic Remnant glowed a pleasing shade of green. He focused more on the immediate vicinity of Tantis itself, a small dot of green in a sea of red.

Achaedus smiled mirthlessly. "Here there be monsters."

Kelvin whistled at the sheer magnitude of the crimson ocean. "Truly within the hornets' nest. Nobody still seems to have noticed our presence here?"

"Its a prison world. No links to the holonet, long distance from any major trade lanes, and we suspect that Nightshade was so embarassed by what we did here that she's keeping her mouth shut. Whatever were to happen to us if she reported her failure is bound to be nothing compared to what she herself would suffer. So here we sit, prim and proper, close enough to give Vader a good clean kick in the ass... if he still has one."

"Best not to underestimate them," Kelvin replied. "If they find out about this system they will likely be... irate."

"Indeed. We have evacuation plans ready in the event that the Imperials decide to take the system back with a force that we cannot combat. If they send a Galaxy Gun torpedo at us... well, I made sure that some of those onslaught mines were Tachyonic. Should help disable any torpedo's thrusters and sensors long enough for the star destroyers to pick it apart, if not destroy it outright. I don't care if the Farstars 'possibly' has the Galaxy Gun. Those Imperial shits might have a spare. Goodness knows how they can afford to build ships with so much in the way of resources dedicated to building Death Stars, World Devastators, and what have you."

"They have a lot of systems under their control." Kelvin indicated the sea of red around Tantis.

"Just means they have a lot more ground to cover. Lots of taxes or not, all those froo-froo gadgets need upkeep. And what about those Inhibitor networks around Coruscant and whatnot? You show me somebody that can say that shit's feasible with a straight face and I'll show you a damn good liar."

Kelvin chuckled, drawing a surprised look from Achedus as he toggled off the friend-versus-foe protocol. "More to the prevailing subject, is Talisid ready for the assault?"

"The fleetlord is positively chomping at the bit. He knew the moment we took the system from the Tenetians that we'd be taking the fight to them. The fact that it took so long for things to get moving only amplified his zeal. We've had plenty of time to draw up the battle plan, and the adjustments you suggested were quite sufficient. You might be the new kid on the block, but you've got your father's analytical capabilities... hmph."

Kelvin's eyes darkened slightly. "Might we avoid mentioning my father? Some still see me with some suspicion because of that connection."

"We know. It makes us recognize how much you truly deserve your position. You fought like a mad dog, just as we expected you to. Welcome to the mountaintop, son. Is it everything you thought it would be?"

Kelvin gave Achaedus a half-hearted grin. "It is hell, but I would not give it up for anything."

Achaedus shrugged, a knowing grin of his own crossing his face as he took in the massive starfield before them both. "Yup. The storm that comes will be shaped by our hand. We shall stand or we shall fall, but either way, it shall be glorious."

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Naberius's hologram shifted once again to the basic layout of the Tenetian citadel. "This schematic has been duplicated on all of your datapads. We suggest you analyze it and make sure that the troops involved with the attack on this structure have it memorized, so as to notice any potential differences in terms of overall layout that might lead to a recently-installed doomsday bomb, and also reduce the chance of walking into an ambush."

Giving the assembled conference one last lookaround, he asked finally. "We shall leave optimal deployment formations up to respective commanders, as we do not seek to dictate to others how they should manage their forces. Are there any further questions before we adjourn? We would hate to think that you all came back and sat down just so you could get back up a few minutes later."

Naberius's hologram shifted once again to the basic layout of the Tenetian citadel. "This schematic has been duplicated on all of your datapads. We suggest you analyze it and make sure that the troops involved with the attack on this structure have it memorized, so as to notice any potential differences in terms of overall layout that might lead to a recently-installed doomsday bomb, and also reduce the chance of walking into an ambush."

Giving the assembled conference one last lookaround, he asked finally. "We shall leave optimal deployment formations up to respective commanders, as we do not seek to dictate to others how they should manage their forces. Are there any further questions before we adjourn? We would hate to think that you all came back and sat down just so you could get back up a few minutes later."

Nomura looked at the map, and then looked at Daniel and the assembled. He was still somewhat skeptical about contingency planning for the event of a Base Delta Zero--or, as the Dornies referred to it, "Exterminatus." Pretty much the same move, but either way, it would hurt.

He then asked, "Gentlemen.....so what I am hearing is that, while we should plan for the event of a catastrophic scorched earth explosion, there's also a strong possibility that they might not do it because of mitigating circumstances, namely being DEAD and because of some failsafe device, that will hopefully come to be rather quickly.

Not to be the wet blanket, but of course, there's the chance they might actually know how to shut off their own failsafes as part of the process of triggering a Doomsday Device. I mean, it should be part of any fucking manual, and the Tenetians may be puppet soldiers, but they're not that stupid, as far as I could tell, at least in terms of cutting themselves like Emo Kids on an alcoholic binge. Hence, I'm understandably more than a little skeptical about our planning for a BDZ/Exterminatus scenario.

Therefore, I enter that any commando raid should move quickly as possible, to prevent said Doomsday Bomb from unleashing a Bukkake Bomb of nasty proportions. And I don't swing that way, so I wanna kinda keep it from exploding."

OOC: FYI this is moved here from the Prophecy Thread with Godular's permission. It is dealing with my representative who talked with Dan-o earlier. In the other thread a conversation between Hera Agatheon and one of my characters has revealed an inconsistency in the whole Galaxy Gun thing...If you are going to react to it we agreed this would be a better place to do it then Prophecy.

Landing Pad
Near Alliance Meeting Location

Erica Hunt felt the cold night's wind hit her face as the doors opened to the landing pad at the end of its elevated platform was her assault shuttle. The one she took from the Raven and his marines that she killed. Everything was going as she had forseen, soon enough she would pass her master's last test. She had only reached halfway to the shuttle when another small test awaited her.

"Halt! Turn around slowly and Place your hands on your Head. Deviate and you will be killed." She closed her eyes for a second already knowing how this would play out. She complied with her instructions and placed both her hands on her head and turned around. She saw a Jedi Knight, his blue saber ignited. On each of his shoulders was a Free Worlds Marine armed with their heavy pulsars. The weapon shot hypervelocity darts that would be near impossible for her to deflect, they were the biggest threat her. "Now drop to your knees and place your face to the ground. She did this as well giving her captors just what they wanted. The Jedi now spoke to his comrades.

"Keep her covered. If she so much as twitches kill her, do not wait for my orders." They acknowledged his orders as he began to move forward to restrain the enemy agent. He was on guard though this was going to easily. Why had she complied with his instructions so fully without any resistance, she had to know nothing good awaited her in custody. The he knew what she was doing she wasn't comply to his instructions, she was going prone to clear a field of fire.

"Go Infra-red" He ordered to his marines. Their helmets already changing their displays. There by the shuttle were two camouflaged drones, the marines reacted quickly but the Drones did so as well. Desperate fire was exchanged, the drones spewed forth a prodigious rate of fire upon the marines who reacted with carefully aimed shots. It was over in less then a second both sides neutralizing the others. He ran quickly at the prone agent, he had to neutralize her now. She came up quickly as static crackled it was his only warning he had before lightning shot towards him. He stopped and brought his saber forward using it to absorbed the sustained blast. He strained with the effort it took defend himself from the powerful attack.

She was standing now and walking towards him. Her attack was not faltering as she neared him it intensified, he needed both of his hands to hold his saber against its power. He could see it was draining at least some of her energy the Sith Battle Meditation that she had used to disguise her tattooed face had worn off, her Sith marks were clear now.

"Now you will fall as all Jedi must." Her free hand whipped around carrying with it in a force grip the drone's broken body at great sped. He took one hand off of his saber and used a force push to hold the body back. He could not contain all the lightning now he felt it burn his forearm, could spell his flesh cook. He fell back a step then two as he tried to gather his power, he had to do something quick before...

He felt a sharp pain in his chest as he looked down and saw the hilt or her light saber pressed against it over his heart. He saw her face smiling at his shock. He gasped as she deactivated its red beam. He felt himself growing cold as she picked him up into the air with a force grip and just as his eyes closed for the last time she threw his body of the landing platform.

"Pathetic." She spat before she turned to make her back to the shuttle. She felt the pain of the large caliber projectile tearing through her back and just as the fallen Jedi did moments ago she looked down in shock as blood and gore gushed out from the large exit wound on her upper left chest. This all occurred before she even heard the sound of the gun, it came two seconds later the sniper was over two miles away. She used the last of her power to leap through the open shuttle door. It closed quickly as she laid in the corridor, her life leaving her. The shuttle took off escaping the system, leaving behind it a scene of mutual destruction.

"Recognized, that a hole will have to be shot through the planetary shield, through which to land DropShips, and recognized that such will be noticeably more difficult with the Godulan Voidshield up," Admiral Makaryk rolled his eyes at Nomura. If their shields are at all like Huntaerian Empire ones, which I am assuming they are because of the commerce between Tenetia and the Empire, the shield will have an anti-transporter component, so it must be brought to failure at at least one point. This is to say nothing of any Super Star Destroyers they may have that survive long enough to execute the War Crimes scenario. If we manage to deploy our ground forces before you have shot EVERYTHING down, our contingency concerns may quickly become relevant."

"Also, may I point out that WE are wanting to shut off their failsafe--given that their failsafe happens to be that subterranean planet buster, intended to keep Tenetia out of our hands. The contingency happens to be what any surviving Tenetians in orbit do, once the planet buster thingie gets deactivated. At that point, they very well use their last moments to slaughter a few million defenseless souls out of pure spite, and leave a few more million for medics to treat."

Nomura sighed and said, "Well, I take back the part about the failsafe. People make mistakes, and frankly, the use of the word 'failsafe' to me connotes images of safety mechanisms to prevent issues such as accidental thermonuclear war from occurring. So, if it isn't too bad, maybe we could skip the bureaucratic shits and giggles and jsut say Big Fucking Planet Buster instead, so I don't slip up again."

He then coughed and continued, "As for the first part, you actually said something sensible, so I'm gonna take that into account."

"Well, apparently, Danny, you cannot even be bothered to provide security for your own top-secret meeting," Makaryk snarled at him. "What, with the assassination outside these doors and all. I knew trusting you enough to leave my ysalmari on the Star Destroyer was a mistake. If I had it here, I would be slapping you across the room right now, boy. As it is, I will just have to order a certain adjutant to do it later."

Nomura promptly got up, and then, realizing that the faint ruckus he heard was likely an attack of some sort, felt for his railpistol. After doing so, he then muttered, thinking out loud to himself, "Well. This is just great. We have crazy assholes with guns outside, shooting up the place. Good thing I have Marines ready...."

-------

Onboard Nomura's flagship

"Shit. This isn't good...we're detecting incoming enemies near the meeting site."

The Tactical Officer looked at the screen with concern, as he then asked Gracie, "Move to engage?"

"Unknown. Coredians have not called for help."

Tac replied, "Roger. Will warn."

Gracie then asked, "Coredian authorities, this is Admiral Nomura's flagship--we are detecting shots fired. Do you require assistance?"

Landing Pad
Planet Issus
Coreworlds Empire


“Black Six, Red Four-Tree.” The voice in Captain Kusomaru’s head set said first identifying that he wanted to contact the company commander and that it was the scout-sniper team squawking. “Brown One” The Jedi-Knight attached to his company, “Is moving in the target is about to escape.”

Knight Scott was a veteran he knew the dangers of attempting to intercept an unknown enemy with only the limited support offered by a single fire team even one with a sniper team in an over watch position.

“Roger Red Four-Tree, No ROE eliminate threats as they appear. ETA Niner-Zero seconds.” Black Six hoped that his heavy platoon would arrive in time to support Knight Scott and his team but he had a bad feeling about this mission. It was then that the Cordians firs challenge his diplomatic shuttle after it left the consulate grounds with no warning or flight plan. It was not a simple diplomatic shuttle though it was a Marine Assault Shuttle armed and amored for a atmospheric assault. It was able to carry up to a platoon of Marines in power armor or a company of soft skinned marines. Right now it carried a platoon. The two other platoons of his company were taking up over watch positions in concealed positions around the Meeting building able to support the mission if needed.


”Free Worlds Diplomatic Shuttle you are entering a no-fly zone. Turn back immediately or you will be fired upon.”

Godamn Cordians always butting in the worst times with some bullshit that doesn’t matter. Captain Kusomo knew the truth of what would have happened if this was occurring on Mon Calamari, they would have been shot down without warning. He replied to them anyway.

”Cordian Naval Security, This is Captain Kusomo of the Free World Navy. We are on black mission of important national security. Take what measure you deem necessary. Black Six, out.” He said as he cut the link between them if the Cordians shot them down well that’s why they earned their hazard pay. Over the next thirty second he was updated by their scout-sniper team, until the final conclusion just as they neared the landing pad.

“Shot out, target hit. Target is in shuttle fleeing, we are slant two, I say again slant two.” The sniper team stated telling the company commander that of the units engage in the short but savage battle only the two members of the scout-sniper team were not casualties. Now they were over the building.


The marine assault shuttle roared low over the meeting building shaking its foundation moving at greater then the speed of sound before its anti-gravity engaged bringing it to an abrupt and sudden hover over the landing pad. From underneath its blocky fuselage a dozen armored forms fell onto the landing pad flames bursting from their jump jets just a meter from impact. Six of the Marines in the power armor cordoned off the landing pad. Two more moved to ensure that the enemy combat drones were fully disabled. And the last four moved along the gangway, two moved to their fallen comrades to render aid and liter, the last two moved to the end of the gangway standing before the hatch to the building. They awaited the arrival of local authorities.

The assault shuttle did not wait around, it banked sharply as its thrusters moved it into and down the small canyon which ringed the pad, down to were Knight Scott had been thrown.

OOC: Fluid-timing a bit of this. CW gave me permission to post as him for this part so we could keep things moving in a halfway decent manner...

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Naberius turned to Nomura. "Indeed. The key is in actually getting to the surface first. The Battle plan has some emphasis on speed, such that we try to avoid giving the Tenetians and whatever allies they can scrounge up as little time to react as possible. Their planetary shields will need to be foiled, which would take time on the fleet's part in the best of circumstances.

Then to Makaryk: "As for deciding who 'gets' to disarm the..." he nodded towards Nomura again... "Bigass bomb of super-doom... perchance we should actually avoid speaking of first-anythings when the lives of billions of civilians are on the line. If and when the planetary shield is foiled, we have our own method to protect the planet from spiteful enemy commanders. We have quite a variety of 'munitions' equipped for Long Arm of the Law, such as... is that gunfire?"

Naberius had turned rather suddenly towards an empty side of the room. Even through soundproofed walls and reinforced bulkheads, his sensory capabilities allowed him to note that a firefight was taking place somewhere in that direction... and close, to boot. Whatever was happening had to be out at one of the landing pads just beyond the building's perimeter.

Two things happened simultaneously at this point: First, Naberius rocketed out of the room with startling speed, his mind abuzz with other members of the Godulan Legion screaming about keeping the upcoming battle secret from their foes or anybody who might come off better by betraying the Godulans' plans to the Imperials. Second, alarms blasted to life as the security forces realized that a gunfight was taking place entirely too damn close.

"Warning. Shots fired at Landing Pad 6. Repeat. Shots fired at Landing Pad 6."

Well, that put the actual location down at the very least. As Naberius rocketed down the corridors at disturbing speeds, his path became increasingly blocked by soldiers pouring into the corridors like some biblical flood of armed-guard-itude. Rather than crash into any soldiers and likely create a ruckus in doing so, the Godulan simply teleported past any points where the mass of humanity proved to thick to rush past. He reflected for a moment that some ninjutsus were just to useful to simply keep in archives before running vanishing again, just to appear a short distance further down.

By the time he emerged from the building, other soldiers were already rushing towards the landing pad half a kilometer away, and the ship perched thereon was swerving around to depart. He amped his speed even further, likely reaching a speed of one hundred kilometers per hour before getting to the landing pad itself, but even with such prodigious speed, the ship was but a receding dot in the distance by the time he arrived. He was about to launch a bolt of plasma in a fit of rage at the fleeing vessel, but then another ship roared in over the landing pad, obstructing his view and stopping him extremely short.

When the marines in power armor started popping out, for a moment he thought it was some kind of Chronosian attack until he recognized various emblems on the armor.

"Farstars?! What in the bloody hell?"

"Warning. Shots fired at Landing Pad 6. Repeat. Shots fired at Landing Pad 6."

"Dammit!" I growled, then spoke to the others. "Meeting adjourned for now. You may deploy at your leisure to Tantis. Anything further we need will be done there. GUARDS! Get everyone to safety!"

Top that with a very disturbing disturbance in the Force and you get the ANBU trying to usher everyone to safety and the meeting breaking up as gunfire was reported in that particular sector. Yeah, it was pure organized chaos at this point, but I managed to somehow extradite myself from my guards' safe hands ("I can take care of myself, thank you very much!") and teleport after Naberius. A whispered order to lock down the airspace was acknowledged, just in time as a shuttle appeared to be fleeing the scene of the crime and two fighters screamed after it.

Outside, flashing lights and klaxons sounded as the security forces began cordoning off the area...and then a Farstars diplomatic shuttle with Marines pouring out only added to the confusion as my men ordered them to halt, raising blasters at them.

Preventing another shootout was top priority.

"Shit! Stand the hell down, troops!" I bellowed as I recognized the emblems on their armor. "And what the hell are you guys doing here?!"

Landing Pad Six
Planet Issus
Cordian Empire

Daniel Masaki and Naberius stood before the two marines at the end of the gangway which led to the landing pad.

"Sir" A marine with a staff sergeants chevrons on his left shoulder said, "We are rendering medical assistance to our fallen comrades who were injured in a mission regarding national security. The Captain can tell you more hes on our diplomatic shuttle which is down in that depression." The voice of the marine was almost mechanical through the mask of his helmet which was just as well because it hid the contempt he held for these two men, while his comrades lay dying behind him.

High Orbit of Issus

The shuttle roared through the upper atmosphere of the Issus reaching orbit as Cordian fighters pursued it. Their crimson lasers hitting the shuttle’s shields as it attempted to out run them. Yet, it was a losing race there was to many enemy ships already into position to cut off any attempt of escape and the looming form of the Woodian ISD was proof of this.

Inside the cabin of the shuttle a lone battle droid watched as its master the Sith Agent died shortly after her entering the cabin. There was a hole in her back the size of a fist, it was a fatal wound bringing about a quick death. It was not as if the droid cared, it had one mission left to achieve while it could. It raised it left arm and from its flamer spewed forth white hot flames that quickly enveloped her body leaving only charred ashes. The flames then light up the rest of the cabin eating through the electronics physically destroying anything of worth onboard. The on board AI which was piloting the shuttle had already wiped the hard drives clean before the droid turned it attention to destroy it as well. Finally with its final mission completed the droid itself burned. The Woodian destroyer would capture the shuttle, but it would not find much of anything of value on it.

Things had happened so fast that Naberius had not even realized that some of the bodies on the Tarmac were still moving. The whole shuttle flying overhead thing, and the subsequent heavily armed marines dropping out of said shuttle thing both proved to be a tad significant in terms of distraction. The moment he realized there were wounded, however, he immediately hustled off to the most seriously wounded marine nearby.

After the Sergeant made his response to Daniel Masaki, which Naberius could still hear quite easily despite the hustle of assisting wounded, the Godulan hollered out:

"Well tell your captain to get his ass out here then! What's he doing in there, chillin' like a villain?"

Before reverting back to half shouted comments along the lines of "I'm telling ya, I can fix this. There won't even be a scar left behind."

Nomura, at that, followed his ANBU handlers to the Dornalian shuttle, as he got there and prepared to exfiltrate himself from the situation. As he looked at his blank-faced guards, their white masks shielding their identity, he could only reply in his mordant and sexually trenchant style, "So....do those things get you laid at all?"

The staff sergeant responded to Naberius first hollered question.

“The Captain is recovering our casualties. That is our mission objective at this point.” Somehow he managed to hide his anger at the Godularian’s poor choice of words.

A marine with a red cross over the back of his skin suit had already been rendering first aid to the single marine who was still alive. The other was already being placed into a body bag. He had almost stabilized his patient and was just about to finish an IV when Naberius barged into the scene hollering and interfering. He managed to finish the IV and the marine's fellows began to prep the medical litter to move him towards the end of the landing pad and transport. His mission completed the medic stood still with blood on his hands.

"I do not care if you are Jesus Christ himself and can raise the dead. You are not a trained medical professional and I will not let you near my patients." He did not add that it was not a 'gutshot' but rather a sucking chest wound which indicated that there is a punctured lung, Now kindly if you please I have more work to do."


Down below the landing pad Captain Kusomo and three of his armored marines found the remains of Knight Scott. He reached down with his armored hand and closed shut the man’s eyes. He could tell that the burn over the Jedi chest was a mortal stab, but the Sith were thorough if nothing else, she had broken his neck before she threw him down. The Knight was only recently arrived to the Embassy but they had worked closely over the past couple months. He was their liaison with the Cordian Jedi and Ninja and everyone knew him to be a loyal and honorable man. Now he was simply one of the first casualties of this renewed war. The Captain bent down and picked the Jedi up easily in his arms. The exoskeleton of marine power armor was designed to carry heavy anti-armor weaponry, the knights 100 kilos was nothing. He then engaged his jump jets which lifted him forty meters into the air and back onto the landing platform he walked slowly up to the Assault shuttle and place Scott’s body before the hatch as a team of corpsmen took over the duties of taking care of their fallen comrades. Captain Kusomo then turned and walked up to Naberius and Daniel Masaki. He removed his combat helmet revealing his dark skinned face and shaved head. Holding the helmet in the crook of his left arm, he came to attention but did not salute. Marines did not salute when uncovered.

“Good Afternoon Gentlemen, I am Captain Alai Kusomo, commanding officer of Alpha Company attached as garrison to the Free Worlds Embassy here on Issus. I was ordered by Warden Ghorbani to apprehend a suspected Sith agent that has been active in your area of operations. She resisted apprehension and in the process killed two of my men, a third is critically wounded. One of the men she killed was a skilled Jedi Knight but as she attempted to withdrawal our sniper-team neutralized her. She is fleeing in her shuttle but I doubt it will get far on autopilot.” The captain updated them with his most current information on the situation.

The staff sergeant responded to Naberius first hollered question.

“The Captain is recovering our casualties. That is our mission objective at this point.” Somehow he managed to hide his anger at the Godularian’s poor choice of words.

A marine with a red cross over the back of his skin suit had already been rendering first aid to the single marine who was still alive. The other was already being placed into a body bag. He had almost stabilized his patient and was just about to finish an IV when Naberius barged into the scene hollering and interfering. He managed to finish the IV and the marine's fellows began to prep the medical litter to move him towards the end of the landing pad and transport. His mission completed the medic stood still with blood on his hands.

"I do not care if you are Jesus Christ himself and can raise the dead. You are not a trained medical professional and I will not let you near my patients." He did not add that it was not a 'gutshot' but rather a sucking chest wound which indicated that there is a punctured lung, Now kindly if you please I have more work to do."

Down below the landing pad Captain Kusomo and three of his armored marines found the remains of Knight Scott. He reached down with his armored hand and closed shut the man’s eyes. He could tell that the burn over the Jedi chest was a mortal stab, but the Sith were thorough if nothing else, she had broken his neck before she threw him down. The Knight was only recently arrived to the Embassy but they had worked closely over the past couple months. He was their liaison with the Cordian Jedi and Ninja and everyone knew him to be a loyal and honorable man. Now he was simply one of the first casualties of this renewed war. The Captain bent down and picked the Jedi up easily in his arms. The exoskeleton of marine power armor was designed to carry heavy anti-armor weaponry, the knights 100 kilos was nothing. He then engaged his jump jets which lifted him forty meters into the air and back onto the landing platform he walked slowly up to the Assault shuttle and place Scott’s body before the hatch as a team of corpsmen took over the duties of taking care of their fallen comrades. Captain Kusomo then turned and walked up to Naberius and Daniel Masaki. He removed his combat helmet revealing his dark skinned face and shaved head. Holding the helmet in the crook of his left arm, he came to attention but did not salute. Marines did not salute when uncovered.

“Good Afternoon Gentlemen, I am Captain Alai Kusomo, commanding officer of Alpha Company attached as garrison to the Free Worlds Embassy here on Issus. I was ordered by Warden Ghorbani to apprehend a suspected Sith agent that has been active in your area of operations. She resisted apprehension and in the process killed two of my men, a third is critically wounded. One of the men she killed was a skilled Jedi Knight but as she attempted to withdrawal our sniper-team neutralized her. She is fleeing in her shuttle but I doubt it will get far on autopilot.” The captain updated them with his most current information on the situation.
I was rather irritated at the numerous breaches of diplomatic conduct caused by this incident. I gave the Captain the Icy Glare of Doom. "All I'm really hearing, Captain, is that you conducted an illegal operation in Coredian sovereign space without so much as a by-your-leave! Inform the Ambassador that I will be speaking to him within the hour to call him out on his nation's conduct."

I softened ever-so-slightly as I noticed the corpse of Jedi Knight Scott and got down to business. I recalled the presence of that secret agent chick and wondered about her. "He was a good man. Would this particular agent be a Special Agent Erica Hunt by any chance?"

In the meantime, medics streamed into the area to assist in anyway possible. One of them noted the argument going on between the Free Worlds medic and the Godulan and pointed at the Godulan. "Sir, if you're worried about him, Godulans definitely have trained medical professionals in their hive-mind thingy. I've seen these guys in action at the Colonies. Better than anything I've ever seen, believe me."

"Leave me," Admiral Makaryk ordered the ANBU guards, as he watched Danny Boy teleport off to delight in killing people, and as the guards filed in per Danny Boy's hasty, afterthought order. The last thing Makaryk wanted was to be shot by cowboys accountable to no one but themselves, so they could get their jollies in. They probably wanted to assassinate him, too, though the Admiral recognized their job description forbade them from admitting it. No doubt the ANBU sensed some level of Makaryk's contempt for them...

Instead, Admiral Makaryk fingered his service pistol, figuring that it would be more effective against the likes of alleged Jedi and Sith than his blaster would be. He was a warrior; he could fend for himself until security that he actually could trust with his life arrived--and his commlink had informed him that the interim CO had seen fit to dispatch Colonel Allaire. His capabilities could suffice for a battalion of security guards, the Admiral knew.

Even the Colonel was not one to take unnecessary risks. No sooner had Admiral Makaryk heard the sound of an X-wing flying overhead, than the Colonel teleported into the room with a *pop.* And he meant business, too. "Where is your shuttle?"

"One hundred sixty meters to the northeast, Landing Pad 8. You are ordered to kick Danny Boy's ass when next you see him, too," Admiral Makaryk growled, clearly not pleased at the situation.

"You can issue Trials of Grievance later," Colonel Allaire replied with an icy stare, with enough Force intimidation behind it to actually shut the Admiral up for now. "For now, we just need to get you up to that Star Destroyer. Follow me." Colonel Allaire picked up his lightsaber in his right hand, but did not ignite it, because doing so was a wonderful way of giving away position. It could ignite well enough when needed. The Colonel also checked his supply of kunai before extending his senses and ushering Admiral Makaryk out of the building, to his shuttle's landing pad...

If there was one thing working in their favor, everyone else certainly seemed distracted today.
With the arrival of Colonel Allaire, the ANBU backed off, knowing that he was (grudgingly admitted) better than they were. Still, protocol demanded the 'courtesy' of keeping the two Woodians alive and well enough for *them* to get to safety, hence the odd feeling of being watched that befell the Woodians as they headed for their shuttle.

Nomura, at that, followed his ANBU handlers to the Dornalian shuttle, as he got there and prepared to exfiltrate himself from the situation. As he looked at his blank-faced guards, their white masks shielding their identity, he could only reply in his mordant and sexually trenchant style, "So....do those things get you laid at all?"
The ANBU simply looked at each other and stood at attention without replying while waiting for Nomura to take off. Tough crowd, maybe?

Captian Kusomo looked at Daniel Masaki as he glared at him, the Captain did not return the glare but rather seemed to me looking at a point just above the Emperor's head, his face passive. After Fifteen years of combat and the training every marine recieves it would take much more then a glare to phase him. Instead he kept his composure and replied in a calm but professional manner.

"Emperor Masaki, I am a military officer it is not my duty to inform the Ambassador of any grievance or protest you may wish to issue in the future. This mission was a police action ordered by Warden Ghorbani of the Ossus Order, it is with her you may wish to relay any protest however it could be impossible to do so at this time because of the Imperial jamming of our holonet."

He managed just barely not to mention that if they were comparing the conduct of their respective nations that it should be noted that his was actively fighting the war versus simply talking about fighting.

"I would hope sir that if you do issue a protest you will keep in mind that this mission was ordered and executed as it was due to exigent circumstances of war. In such times as these diplomatic protocols and adherence to bureaucratic procedures are often the first casualties to any conflict, neh?"

It was after this that he finally started to relax, if only by just a bit. Besides he needed to spit. The Capatian like the good majority of soldiers in the Free Worlds never went on a mission without a lip full of Skoal. It was part luck, tradition and mostly a soldiers habit picked up in basic that never seemed to leave. So when Daniel Masaki asked about Special Agent Erica Hunt the Marine spat a large bit of juice from his lip of dip onto the ground in disgust before he continued.

"Our sniper managed to wound that marubo as she attempted to flee to her shuttle. My briefing indicated that she somehow learned of the Warden dispatching Knight-Errant Eric Hunt of the Raven Council to brief you on the battle of Ishtar. She then impersonated him here, her skills must have been considerable since she was able to walk into a meeting with yourself, an Eidolon, and another two or three Jedi Masters without fear of detection."

He spat out another gob of spit before he continued.

"Aren't you people suppose to get some sort of feeling about people like her?" He sighed and mutter more Free Worlds slang. "Kuso. Well no matter how big her kintama were she couldn't stop the bullet that tagged her. It was a good hit she probably bled out on the shuttle as it burned up into orbit. Is there anything else I can answer for you Gentlemen?"

(OOC: Due to work constraints, I was asked to post this for Wick. I take no credit for this post, or anything contained within, as I didn't write it.)

Two hyperspace tugs docked with the massive superstructure of the Galaxy Gun. Atmosphere, flames, and wreckage leaked into the vacuum of space. The first air lock opened revealing a figure cloaked in brown.

“Your late.” Said the waiting Jedi. “Why?”

“Dac is locked up tighter than Coruscant, why do ya think it took is this long. Looks like you got us into a shootin war.”

“Just get a move on.”

Marines moved forward into the vessel, covered in the latest military gear. Moving from the centre outwards, marines started checking for any stormies locked down behind whatever bulkheads they could find.

The Jedi waited for the techs who came onboard last. “Get to the control centre, we don’t have much time.” They bowed their heads and moved on through the docking corridor.

“They never said we would be dealing with Jedi.”

“They never say anything until we do the job.” Walking through the extensive maze of corridors and rubble, the technicians scowled as various systems were quite obviously down and out.

“Trust the empire to throw the command centre in the middle of a ship like this.”

“At least it’s a direct route.” Some roof panelling collapsed overhead. Leading the team Tundra jumped startled at the noise, he was uneasy at even being here. This action was dangerous, if anyone knew that they helped the jedi to do this, then the empire wouldn’t ever stop until Mon Cal was vaporised. His stomach churned, but there was no way out now. Tundra took a right turn, finding the command centre. The two heavy doors lay on the floor blasted open by some shaped charges. “Well look at this.” Control banks and holo tables were all empty with dead clones lying on the floor. Lightsabre marks on most of them. “So where do we start?” Tundra looked around the room as his team dispersed.

“Looks like weapons are still green boss.”

“Shields are shot, the hanger bay is venting like a squid in heat. It’s only in the lower sections though. Hyperdrive is gone, and we’ve only got manoeuvring thrusters. Hull damage all over the place but, I think we’re good to go. . . Wait, wait a second. We’ve got massive damage to the, well its not there any more. The ammo dump is gone, ships readings are showing only three, three shells in the tube.”

“You had better be shittin me. The jedi’s wanting to level almost everything with this.” Tundra looked around the room, which for the most part had green lights. His team members didn’t look up, afraid to make eye contact with him.

“You’re leading Tundra, you tell the jedi he’s got only three shots.” The feeling in Tundras stomach got worse.

“We’ve been on this thing for less than ten minutes, and already that jedi is going to be pissed.”

“Well, go on. Tell him.” Tundra scowled, his leathery skin wrinkling in the imperial atmosphere. Lifting a communicator he opened a channel. “Master jedi, we’ve got some problems up here.”

“What, is it?”

“We have some problems uhm sir, it seems you’ve only got three shots.”

“Seems?”

“You only have three shots, sir. What do you want us to do.”

“This upsets our timetable, target Tenetia right away, I need to communicate this to command. Fire as soon as you can, you will find the codes are already in the system.”

“Already? How, how did you get.”

“Just fire when the damn thing is ready.” The Comm closed and Tundra looked down at the computer console.

“Alright, we’re firing this thing.” Tundra pulled out a memory stick from one of the cases they brought in with them. Sliding it into the computer banks he uploaded Tenetias location.

“Uhm boss?”

“What!” Tundra was not impressed. “We’ve got some more results from the shells, looks like the imps have it calibrated for only a medium setting.”

“You mean the first one in the tube?”

“No, all three.” Tundra cursed in heavy Quarren. “Don’t mention a thing to the jedi, once we’re done, he won’t be able to touch us on Dac. They’ll kill him, and so will the empire.”

“It’s only going to wipe out the surface Tundra, they’re going have a planet left, for what its worth.”

“Yeah, but we’ll not be around when he finds out. We’ll be recalled by then. Jedi aren’t going to be able to find us underwater.” Tundra chuckled. “Tell you what the imps don’t waste time on killing things do they?” The console blinked green, codes and coordinates already uploaded. Tundra looked round at the rest of his team. “Nightshade is going to love this.” Pressing down, a Galaxy shell left the main cannon hurtling into hyperspace.

Moving seamlessly from sector to sector, it jumped until it reached the Tenetia system. Taking one last scan ensuring its location was perfect, it slammed home into Tenetia, home of sithscum.

“We need to fix this thing fast, before he finds out.” Tundra took out the memory stick, not realising just what he had done.

Captian Kusomo looked at Daniel Masaki as he glared at him, the Captain did not return the glare but rather seemed to me looking at a point just above the Emperor's head, his face passive. After Fifteen years of combat and the training every marine recieves it would take much more then a glare to phase him. Instead he kept his composure and replied in a calm but professional manner.

"Emperor Masaki, I am a military officer it is not my duty to inform the Ambassador of any grievance or protest you may wish to issue in the future. This mission was a police action ordered by Warden Ghorbani of the Ossus Order, it is with her you may wish to relay any protest however it could be impossible to do so at this time because of the Imperial jamming of our holonet."

He managed just barely not to mention that if they were comparing the conduct of their respective nations that it should be noted that his was actively fighting the war versus simply talking about fighting.

"I would hope sir that if you do issue a protest you will keep in mind that this mission was ordered and executed as it was due to exigent circumstances of war. In such times as these diplomatic protocols and adherence to bureaucratic procedures are often the first casualties to any conflict, neh?"

It was after this that he finally started to relax, if only by just a bit. Besides he needed to spit. The Capatian like the good majority of soldiers in the Free Worlds never went on a mission without a lip full of Skoal. It was part luck, tradition and mostly a soldiers habit picked up in basic that never seemed to leave. So when Daniel Masaki asked about Special Agent Erica Hunt the Marine spat a large bit of juice from his lip of dip onto the ground in disgust before he continued.

"Our sniper managed to wound that marubo as she attempted to flee to her shuttle. My briefing indicated that she somehow learned of the Warden dispatching Knight-Errant Eric Hunt of the Raven Council to brief you on the battle of Ishtar. She then impersonated him here, her skills must have been considerable since she was able to walk into a meeting with yourself, an Eidolon, and another two or three Jedi Masters without fear of detection."

He spat out another gob of spit before he continued.

"Aren't you people suppose to get some sort of feeling about people like her?" He sighed and mutter more Free Worlds slang. "Kuso. Well no matter how big her kintama were she couldn't stop the bullet that tagged her. It was a good hit she probably bled out on the shuttle as it burned up into orbit. Is there anything else I can answer for you Gentlemen?"
I listened to what the Captain had to say and then made my decision. "Well, Captain, I've heard what you had to say, and I regret to inform you that I shall be placing you and your troops under arrest for trespassing in a no-fly zone, shooting in the presence of the Emperor and other charges that I shall think up as needed. Until I can verify your statements, you'll have to be remained for a while. You will disarm yourselves and submit yourselves to our authority for the time being. As you said, the first thing to go in war are bureaucratic niceties."

And before he got any ideas... "Have a care, Captain, that you don't do anything foolish. If you somehow manage to escape my very trigger-happy soldiers," I waved my hand to the hordes of Coredian marines and I have a feeling that an armored regiment is in the area as well. Then I waved a hand at the very menacing-looking anti-air defenses. "You won't get past the lockdown or the ships in orbit. Let's think about this for a second, eh?"

(OOC: Due to work constraints, I was asked to post this for Wick. I take no credit for this post, or anything contained within, as I didn't write it.)

Two hyperspace tugs docked with the massive superstructure of the Galaxy Gun. Atmosphere, flames, and wreckage leaked into the vacuum of space. The first air lock opened revealing a figure cloaked in brown.

“Your late.” Said the waiting Jedi. “Why?”

“Dac is locked up tighter than Coruscant, why do ya think it took is this long. Looks like you got us into a shootin war.”

“Just get a move on.”

Marines moved forward into the vessel, covered in the latest military gear. Moving from the centre outwards, marines started checking for any stormies locked down behind whatever bulkheads they could find.

The Jedi waited for the techs who came onboard last. “Get to the control centre, we don’t have much time.” They bowed their heads and moved on through the docking corridor.

“They never said we would be dealing with Jedi.”

“They never say anything until we do the job.” Walking through the extensive maze of corridors and rubble, the technicians scowled as various systems were quite obviously down and out.

“Trust the empire to throw the command centre in the middle of a ship like this.”

“At least it’s a direct route.” Some roof panelling collapsed overhead. Leading the team Tundra jumped startled at the noise, he was uneasy at even being here. This action was dangerous, if anyone knew that they helped the jedi to do this, then the empire wouldn’t ever stop until Mon Cal was vaporised. His stomach churned, but there was no way out now. Tundra took a right turn, finding the command centre. The two heavy doors lay on the floor blasted open by some shaped charges. “Well look at this.” Control banks and holo tables were all empty with dead clones lying on the floor. Lightsabre marks on most of them. “So where do we start?” Tundra looked around the room as his team dispersed.

“Looks like weapons are still green boss.”

“Shields are shot, the hanger bay is venting like a squid in heat. It’s only in the lower sections though. Hyperdrive is gone, and we’ve only got manoeuvring thrusters. Hull damage all over the place but, I think we’re good to go. . . Wait, wait a second. We’ve got massive damage to the, well its not there any more. The ammo dump is gone, ships readings are showing only three, three shells in the tube.”

“You had better be shittin me. The jedi’s wanting to level almost everything with this.” Tundra looked around the room, which for the most part had green lights. His team members didn’t look up, afraid to make eye contact with him.

“You’re leading Tundra, you tell the jedi he’s got only three shots.” The feeling in Tundras stomach got worse.

“We’ve been on this thing for less than ten minutes, and already that jedi is going to be pissed.”

“Well, go on. Tell him.” Tundra scowled, his leathery skin wrinkling in the imperial atmosphere. Lifting a communicator he opened a channel. “Master jedi, we’ve got some problems up here.”

“What, is it?”

“We have some problems uhm sir, it seems you’ve only got three shots.”

“Seems?”

“You only have three shots, sir. What do you want us to do.”

“This upsets our timetable, target Tenetia right away, I need to communicate this to command. Fire as soon as you can, you will find the codes are already in the system.”

“Already? How, how did you get.”

“Just fire when the damn thing is ready.” The Comm closed and Tundra looked down at the computer console.

“Alright, we’re firing this thing.” Tundra pulled out a memory stick from one of the cases they brought in with them. Sliding it into the computer banks he uploaded Tenetias location.

“Uhm boss?”

“What!” Tundra was not impressed. “We’ve got some more results from the shells, looks like the imps have it calibrated for only a medium setting.”

“You mean the first one in the tube?”

“No, all three.” Tundra cursed in heavy Quarren. “Don’t mention a thing to the jedi, once we’re done, he won’t be able to touch us on Dac. They’ll kill him, and so will the empire.”

“It’s only going to wipe out the surface Tundra, they’re going have a planet left, for what its worth.”

“Yeah, but we’ll not be around when he finds out. We’ll be recalled by then. Jedi aren’t going to be able to find us underwater.” Tundra chuckled. “Tell you what the imps don’t waste time on killing things do they?” The console blinked green, codes and coordinates already uploaded. Tundra looked round at the rest of his team. “Nightshade is going to love this.” Pressing down, a Galaxy shell left the main cannon hurtling into hyperspace.

Moving seamlessly from sector to sector, it jumped until it reached the Tenetia system. Taking one last scan ensuring its location was perfect, it slammed home into Tenetia, home of sithscum.

“We need to fix this thing fast, before he finds out.” Tundra took out the memory stick, not realising just what he had done.

The Galaxy Gun bullet screamed towards Tenetia, but it ran into a very dense interstellar gas cloud and was forced to revert to realspace. Undaunted, the bullet continued in the same direction, but it would take some time to cross the cloud at sublight. ETA to Tenetia: Increased from several hours to one day.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of the Military High Command...

Grand Admiral Pellaeon had quickly ordered the brass to an emergency meeting of the High Command, leaving the Emperor to deal with the diplomatic clusterfrak that's occuring. Now was the time to prepare for war.

When all were present, either in person or via hologram, he got down to business.

"Gentlemen. The time has come. Today, we are to take back Tenetia and end the Coredian Civil War once and for all!" Pellaeon announced to astonished underlings. "Operation Kingslayer is now in effect. First, Second, Fifth, Seventh, Eighth Ninth, and Twelfth Fleets are to prepare for high-intensity combat for an undetermined amount of time. Fourth, Sixth, Tenth and Eleventh Fleets will remain in allied space to prevent counterassaults by enemy forces. Likewise, the 1st through 5th Marine Corps will be cut orders to prepare for the ground offensive to end all ground offensives, while the 6th through 9th hold the home ground. Logistics and Procurement will ensure that there is enough material for at least one consecutive week of space combat and three consecutive months of ground combat. I know we have our allies available to assist us, but we are to be prepared for all eventualities if we are to successfully hold the system. Now, if you'll open your folders, you'll find your formation orders and targets of opportunity."

Rustling of paper occurred. "As you can see, there are six major fleets floating around for us to destroy, as well as numerous orbitial defenses. Our plan is this: the Fifth and Ninth Fleets (heavy assault) are to be the spearheads. They will first punch through each enemy line of defenses with everything they have, then once successful, the First and Second Fleets (command/strike) will be used to widen the holes we punch through. Seventh and Eighth (fast attack) will be the flankers and rearguards."

"And the Twelfth Fleet (the Battlestars/deep strike)?" Someone asked.

"The Twelfth Fleet will have two objectives. One is to conduct special missions of opportunity as HRM deems necessary. This may include commandship hunting, capture missions and anything else of value. The other objective will be to support ground operations once we breach the planet itself."

"Now as we enter the scene, the Godulans will send a torpedo into the sun that will cause heavy ECM to befall the entire system, as well as befoul our FTL systems. That means that our Jump Drives will effectively be disabled, so don't even think about using jump tactics. With the heavy ECM, all forces will be limited to LOS, but a Godulan liasion will be emplaced onboard your ships' bridges to ensure that we have the advantage. Make use of them as necessary."

"Once we breach the ground itself, we will encounter extremely heavy fire as befitting an Imperial world. Our primary objective is to reach and take the Imperial Citadel itself. This is because there is a WMD emplaced within the Citadel and we must secure and disable it. Failure is not an option here. It is also here where we'll have to make heavy use of our Jedi combat forces as it is well known that Lady Nightshade will employ Dark Side adepts on the defensive. Remember, overwhelming numbers and heavy weapons are the way to go against any Dark Side adepts if Jedi aren't available. Anti-Mind Trick measures will be strictly enforced as well, so be sure that all units know their mind trick defenses."

"Don't underestimate our enemy, for he is ruthless and fanatical! Take prisoners only if you are absolutely sure enemy units are disabled! The enemy will be strong, but so are we and we have the initative, so we must use every advantage we have. Are there any questions?"

Some questions were fielded, like the rendzevous points and then it was over.

"Gentlemen! The day of reckoning is at hand! Good hunting, and may the Force be with you! Dismissed!"

It was time. Orders were cut. Supplies were procured. Reporters were embedded. Each fleet readied themselves to go forth to rendzevous point Tantis. D-Day has arrived and the war now takes a decisive turn, a turn that could very well determine the fate of the nation!

"You stupid fucking dull Bob! You have it all wrong!"

This is what the Captain wanted to shout at Masaki, The Cordian's precious emperor who couldn't bring himself to listen to the words of a mere Capitan, who was not so nobily born as a Masaki patriarch. The Marine Corps was a meritocracy in the extreme you did not become a company commander easily, it was a position of ultimate trust and they were expected to exercise restraint dealing with allied leaders which was why he did not blow up as he wanted at the Cordian Emperor.

Captain Kusomo stood in front of the Cordian Emperor and Naberius for a full ten seconds before he spoke. The only sign that he heard the Emperor’s words was his jaw working as he ground his teeth a bit. He managed to spit again as he considered his course of action. His delay was intentional it allowed his people enough time to get the bodies of his two fallen marines and the Jedi into the assault shuttle. It also gave him time to issue a few commands to his three platoon leaders sub-vocally using his ansible n-plant, each of his platoon leaders would delegate orders to their squad leaders. Captain Kusomo’s commands were simple. They were to break contact and return to the home base, the Embassy.

Only twelve marines remained in the defensive perimeter on the top of the landing pad, the remainder of the Platoon was already onboard the assault shuttle. The ones that remained behind were a rear guard, if it came to action, they would attempt to fall back but if withdrawal was not an option they would delay the enemy in order to ensure the Shuttle’s escape. Kusomo heard the arrival of a marine behind him, together they stood alone on the catwalk in front of Masaki and his “horde” of troops behind him.

Ho Top he sub-vocalized to the senior enlisted in his company, the first sergeant. In the scheme of Company command if the Kusomo was God, then Top was Muhammad.

You should be on the Mule, they will need you at the Embassy.

My place is at your back, Sir. Top replied.

Semper Fi Kusomo told him. Oorah Top sub-vocalized.

“Sir, I can not obey your orders. You are not inside my chain of command, I would think eliminating a Sith Agent who was operating in your presence would be worth a gunshot. It is my intention now to return my command to its garrision at the Free Worlds Embassy. I have two funeral ceremonies to conduct and letters to write home to their loved ones left behind.”

He did not even comment on the Emperors not so subtle threats regarding his air defenses and horde of trigger happy soldiers. Their blasters wouldn’t be effective against Free Worlds power armor, it would take the weapons of that threatened Armor Regiment and by then his troops would be back at the Embassy.

Kusomo replaced his helmet over his head.

”Clearly enough mistakes have been made today, We shouldn’t commit more. If that is all sir, I must be going now” his voice now deep and robotic sounding through his helmet’s respirator. The sounds of the Assault Shuttle turbines winding up to lift off speed was growing louder, its turrets began to track lining up on the anti-air assets similarly targeting them.

I blinked for a second at his sheer audacity, then called upon the Force to impose my Will upon the Captain. I will give the captain every opportunity to keep from making a grave mistake. I focused my mind on him, making my next words very, very clear. They were spoken, but laced with extremely heavy doses of suggestion. "Captain. I warn you for the last time: DO NOT TAKE OFF! You *will* be shot down under the No Fly Directive!"

Allaire's request for the schematics was routed through several relays before actually being referred to Naberius, though the actual amount of time that it took for the message to reach him was nigh-imperceptible. He quirked a moment at the message, slightly startled by its appearance during such a tense moment, then looked up. Hmm.

Naberius sent the relevant information back, detailing various intrusion vectors and notable areas, and also placed a quick addendum.

"Hey, would be so kind as to see if Makaryk can keep an eye on this Farstars shuttle with that pocket hercules up there? It would appear that some douchebags are about to resist arrest for violating a no-fly zone."

Then turned to Captain Kusomo, his voice calm though audible even over the sound of the engines.

"You will want to rethink your position, Captain. Allies assist one another, but your handling of this situation was wrong. Are you so prideful as to think that a few hours of inconvenience is unfavorably comparable to being dead?"

Naberius allowed a mental smirk as Allaire's first response arrived, and sent a reply of:

A slaughterstar appearing directly in orbit and opening fire in the general direction of the planet without hesitation or comment would likely make violating a no-fly zone look like accidentally treading on the wrong blade of grass.

Then replied to the second transmission: Recognized.

He then touched Daniel on the shoulder and nodded in the general direction of the Woodian ship. "Eyes in the sky."

He then touched Daniel on the shoulder and nodded in the general direction of the Woodian ship. "Eyes in the sky."
I gave a nod in reply, then watched to see what the Captain would do next.

Several light years from the planet of Strana Mechty, the (in)famous wormhole that had brought the Clans onto the universal stage was swarmed by over two hundred warships, several of which could've been considered pocket dreadnoughts had the Clans had the time or technology to place shields on such large ships. As these ships approached the Wormhole, ten Epsilon-class Star Bases could be seen flanking the hole itself, their massive weapons ever trained upon the opening, waiting in case someone dared to try and pass into their territory without clearance.

The flagship of the fleet, the Davion-class Sun Shang Xiang sat in place, flanked by four smaller Argon-class warships. Their fleet commander, Chao Lingshen, stood upon the bridge of the flagship with a stoic look upon her face. This was her first campaign. She had been chosen by both the Empress and the ilKhan to undertake this important operation, and, while she was understrength in terms of fleet power, she wasn't about to let either of her two glorious leaders feel that they had misplaced their trust in her.

Chao waved her arm towards the communications officer, who quickly opened a channel to the other side, specifically to their Coredian liaison on Caligula.

"Attention, presiding commander of Caligula. I, Chao Lingshen, bring forth a fleet to participate in the operation to retake Tenetia from the Empire. I request full clearance to pass through Coredian territory with my fleet to join at the rendezvous location."

"Attention, presiding commander of Caligula. I, Chao Lingshen, bring forth a fleet to participate in the operation to retake Tenetia from the Empire. I request full clearance to pass through Coredian territory with my fleet to join at the rendezvous location."
The new presiding officer of Caligula, Governor Jenkins, was a more moderate man than the predecessor that was sacked for his comments by the High Council. He had only just been informed that the Fleet will march on Tenetia and so the Clans' arrival turned out to be something of a surprise.

"Yes, I will grant you clearance throughout our territory."

After that, he informed the High Council of his decision and got what amounted to a 'Very well' message.

In the meantime, the Grand Fleet, as the largest deployment to date is to be called, started to deploy to the rendzevous point, along with the logistics craft. Also, the Council has decided who would go and who would stay.

Master Elendil will remain as the head of the Order and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Master Lowbacca will command the Twelfth Fleet along with Daniel.

Master Press Tilton will command the ground offensive.

Hokage Tsunade will head her forces, as will the King.

Masters Blayden and Rydo will also remain to assist in governing the nation while the rest of the Council is away.

Finally, Master Curtis will also attend the campaign, seeing as she has an account to settle with the fallen Alchemists that are part of the Dark Lady's forces.

Nomura, as all this was going on, simply headed back to his vessel in peace to proceed to Tantis posthaste. He had battle strategies to plot, including the siezure of one very important homeworld before the locals could blow it up.

Muttering irritatingly to himself, he then summoned Gracie with a simple, "Gracie! I need you for a moment."

The AI's avatar rolled her eyes, sighing as she said, "Yes, sir?"

"What kind of Special Operations teams do we have available?"

"We've several teams of Marine Commandos, and some Army SpecOps."

"Good. What of Engineers?"

"We've got those too."

"Good." Nomura then twiddled his thumbs as he sat in his seat, making his plans. He knew he'd have to warp in somewhere close, and push balls-to-the-wall on his sublights, to make good time due to the Godulan FTLi. That would put a crimp on things. Even with the nature of Dornie FTL travel, the jump computers would have a helluva time computing around anything the Godulans threw up.

-----------

Adrian, in the meanwhile, was busy meditating when he got the call from the Woodian vessel. The plan detailed inside made Adrian nod, and then he replied to it saying he would commit men to the operation, and that there was a reason the PA men were onboard and that he would begin prepping them to coordinate ops with the Woodians at once.

If Daniel Masaki could have seen through the captain’s helmet he would have understood some of the strain that Kusomo’s body was under resisting Masaki’s force of suggestion. Even though the captain was trained to resist such techniques Daniel Masaki was very skilled in his application and forced his will to become dominant over the Free Worlds Captain.

He turned to top and said,

“We will be shot down if we fly away. We must surrender our weapons and submit to arrest by Codian Authorities. Our actions were foolish here today and we need to pay the price.”

Top of course did not buy it for a second. He raised his left arm and aimed it squarely at the Cordian Emperor. It contained a Heavy Plasma Rifle capable of destroying armored vehicles like an AT-AT. At this range there would not be much left of all four of them, but he was so angry at the mind violation of his commanding officer he hardly cared.

In the Free Worlds for anyone with Force Talents to force their will upon another, to make them act against their wishes is a capital offense akin to rape, it was one of the few crimes punishable by death. It was only because Dan Masaki was the Cordian Emperor that he was not reduced to ashes.

“Get out of his mind sit, or by the gods I will kill you where you stand!”

As my mind registered the distinct threat of the Free Worlds marine pointing his Very Big Gun at me and my own soldiers shouting at him to put that gun down, it also dimly registered that this had become a very volatile situation and it would very easily lead to war.

Perhaps it already has.

I wanted to extend my control over the sergeant as well, but the Captain's mind was considerably stronger than I expected for a soldier and I was not my sister in telepathic talents. She could have mindraped them all--

Sister!

My mind snapped. My emotions cooled as I remembered my true purpose. I should not be fighting the Free Worlds! Tenetia is our priority, not the Free Worlds! But neither can I allow their violation of Coredian sovereignity and trust to go unchallenged.

"Fine. Take your men and get out of my sight, soldier." I growled as I released the captain, shifting my Force Aura from mental control to intimidation and righteous anger. "Inform the Ambassador that I am summoning her before me immediately! The Free Worlds will answer for this blatant violation of our alliance's trust!"

I spun on my heels and stormed away. Only when I entered the building and out of sight of the (enemy?) troops did I clutch my head in agony and call for an aspirin. Force Domination is a very difficult technique at the best of times and that combined with the strange feeling I had within me that my emotions have been heightened during that incident took a whole lot out of me...

Naberius stared after the retreating Masaki patriarch and shook his head. Reckless and impulsive as per standard operating procedure. The man damn near killed everybody on the landing pad by pulling that little stunt. He'd have to chat with Daniel before they all left.

He turned back to the still slightly-reeling Marine Captain, then looked up to the Sith Agent's ship, still being fussed over by the Woodians, and had the overlink send a message to Admiral Makaryk to lower the priority of his surveillance of the Farstars Marine Ship to cautionary status.

"Riddle me something," he said with his voice still carrying over the whine of the shuttle nearby. "How did you lot figure that the agent was compromised in the first place? The sith could not have been here very long, but you lot were set up and ready to acquire her before she left. Neverminding the legalities of the issue as such is not my concern, y'all were abnormally quick on the uptake."

"I thank you, good sir."

As the communications channel through the wormhole closed, a second transmission was opened up to the entire fleet.

"All ships, advance!"

And so they did, filing into the massive gate between galaxies. Where it would normally take centuries to travel, the wormhole provided travel at a near-instantaneous rate, the first of the ships filing out of the wormhole into the Caligula system. Once every single ship, over two hundred in all, had passed through the wormhole into the Coredian held territory, a brief farewell message was transmitted to the governor of the system and, in a flash of bright white light, the entire fleet vanished.

Mere seconds later, near the outskirts of the Tanis system, the Clan fleet reappeared in a similarly brilliant flash, their fleet comprised mostly of small craft in the mere hundreds of meters all centered around several Trinaries of the larger, behemoth-sized warships of the Clans. The most obvious of all these enormous ships was a Davion-class Tactical Cruiser, or what the Clans considered to be a tactical cruiser, emblazoned with Chinese symbols for the ships name, Sun Shang Xiang.

"This is Chao Lingshen, presiding commander of all Clan forces present within this fleet. I bid two hundred plus warships and fifty Galaxies of planetary forces for this campaign."

The charismatic form of the young Chinese girl stood at attention, her face stern and prepared for the coming conflict, adorned in her combat armor with several machines (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/Feronen/AQS_MSN_c161_Extra_05.jpg) floating along her flanks. Beside her stood Ayase Yue (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/53/Yue-manga.jpg), who had donned her full plate armor (http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y222/Feronen/AriadneMageKnight.jpg) that is standard for the Ariadne Mage Knights, and beside her stood her friend, Miyazaki Nodoka (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b2/Nodoka.jpg), who held a rather large book in her arms and was dressed in what appeared to be mountain climbing gear.

Landing Pad Six
Captain Kusomo took off his helmet, even though leaving it on would have allowed him to recover more quickly, he found for something you needed fresh air. His face was covered in sweat and his eyes bloodshot, his nostrils flaring as he struggled to take in breath. He knew that he would not have been able to stand if his armor did not keep him up.

"You son of a bitch" He said as the Emperor walked away.

The man who thought himself to be some enlightened leader of his people, a man who claimed he upheld his own sense of righteous law had just violated the mind, the soul of an allied officer, due to his Anger over the circumstances of this situation.

Kusomo looked to Naberius,

"I do apologize for this situation, but it was necessary for us to eliminate this Sith. Imagine what she could have done had she gotten away. The Cordians say that they would rather take that risk, then to take action when it is necessary, my superiors would rather step on the toes of a friend and apologize for it."

He tried to say all of that in the slow controlled manner in which he talked before, but it came out too hurried and wheezy, it was taking all his efforts just to keep his head up and eyes open, he then lurched over to his side and vomited and coughed up his breakfast.

“Excuse me,” He begged of Naberius “It takes a lot out of us laymen when we resist Master of the Force who barge their way into our minds and think they own the place” The anger in his voice was palatable, but he was not a Jedi, he was human and anger came naturally to men. Then he answered Naberius’ question.

“We were not quick enough by the gods. She would have escaped had Knight Scot not moved in when he did unsupported by us. By the time we arrived though she was wounded she managed to escape in her shuttle. My company received its orders from the Warden herself, a priority dispatch from the Ansible since our holonet service with the Free Worlds is being jammed. From the orders we knew Knight Hunt was missing in action and that she had assumed his mission to what end we did not know, only that she was a threat that needed to be eliminated. Instead of recovering cooperation in our mission we have been threatened with arrest and armed violence. No one seems to care that a Sith Agent had access to this meeting location for as long as she did.”

Sometime Latter outside the Emperor’s Office

Ambassador Moraine sat outside the Emperors officer. She was summoned to speak with him about the mission she had allowed her Marine garrison to conduct. She wore a black dress and jacket to mourn the death of those lost. An embassy was a tight knit facility and she personal knew those responsible with protecting the facility from danger, and one in particular more then all the others. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she no time to dwell on personal issues her duty called and she would face the ire of the Cordian Emperor.

Ryasian Listening Outpost – Mid Rimm.

The Galaxy Shell had been forced into real space, its lifeless body continuing to hurtle towards Tenetia. The object had entered into a stellar gas cloud designated 3 Alpha by the Empire nothing of importance in itself however, this was no ordinary gas cloud. Due to its masking properties, it was thought some time ago that the rebellion would use such a conveniently placed pocket of stellar material to hide smugglers in, launch raiding attacks, or masse a small number of X-Wings for some damned fools crusade, and so the Empire emplaced listening beacons within and without the gas pocket. Beacons that today, are still active. . . . . .

Tarkins Fang

Vaders massive holographic head dominated the room as one of the leading technicians fell to the floor gasping desperately for air. Tech screeched for air, clawing wildly at his neck before suddenly passing on.

The staff in the room composed themselves as Vader allowed a brief pause for the consequence of failure to sink in. “Why were the codes not sufficient?” The Emperor asked.

“We do not know emperor. We transmitted the disable codes to the projectile, however, it had and is having no effect. The Republic must have disabled our fail-safes before launching the attack. The weapon, Lord Vader, is currently continuing on its pre-allotted trajectory.”

Admiral Krishan stood up. “Emperor, if I may interrupt. I have ordered the carrack cruiser Disdain, to intercept the warhead, if they are skilled at their jobs they will be able to intercept and destroy the warhead.”

“Admiral, a Carrack is not enough too.”

“Silence.” Vader commanded. Turning towards the Admiral, Krishan felt something odd in his stomach, a sensation that so many imperial officers had felt before. The sudden over production of bile, the fear of ones life, the sensation of death at any moment, all started to cause a sour taste in the back of his throat. Unwelcome of the emperors gaze Krashin prayed to whatever god was out there. “Admiral. Order the Disdain to intercept the weapon at whatever costs.”

“Yes my lord, I only have one more item that you should be aware of. We believe we have calculated the shells projected target. It is Tenetia my lord.” Krishan held his breath, and, so it seemed did Vader.

“Alert the system to the possible strike of the Galaxy Weapon and begin evacuating all necessary personnel from the planet. Use whatever resources you can Admiral.” Vader terminated the channel.

“Okay. Krashin announced. I want an ETA until impact if the Denial fails. I want to know just how the hell that thing bypassed our FTLi fields. I want answers. Has the Republic broken our codes? Can it bypass FTLi? I want to know its defences, its weaknesses, its strengths, and I need to know it now!” Krashin paced the room. “Throw a clock up on the hologrid, have it count down until impact.”

Nine hours appeared as Krashin left the assembled men and paced towards his office. He would have to order every available ship to leave for Tenetia, military and civilian, at once, and even then, they would only have three hours to evac the civilians. The Vic Stars and logistics craft would be able to land on the surface, but still, it would be a drop in the ocean, compared to all those that were going to die if the Denial failed.

He supposed the Huntarians could help, but he knew, that they would never leave orbit of Coruscant without express orders from their emperor. They had protected the Imperial Centre this long, and Krashin knew that the Huntarians would never leave the capital lightly defended. No, they were not a factor in this operation. Opening a simple durasteel door Krashin quickly sat down in front of his communications terminal and got Admiral Tsalik on the line. It was night at Coruscant and the Admiral was not happy as he turned on his Comm screen.

“Krashin, just what the crap do you want me for.” Tsalik opened. “Do you know what bloody time it is here?” Tsalik looked around for a clock. “It’s only half until sunrise, what do you want?” The admiral stood sat back in a chair, as someone with very slender arms draped a gown over his upper torso.

“The Emperor Admiral, has ordered me to requisition your entire garrison force. We have a problem. Two hours ago, we detected a Galaxy Gun projectile heading towards, we believe Tenetia, judging by its course alterations. We need every available ship, military and civilian to leave for Tenetia immediately to begin evacuating as many people as possible. Priority to high level personnel, such as researchers, technicians and skilled workforces. Its just turned morning there, so you won’t have to wake the planet up admiral.”

Tsalik cursed. “What about the orbitals, the shipyards, if the planet goes how are we going to feed them all.”

“Not a concern now admiral, just assemble as many ships as you can and order a depart in half an hour. Take everything admiral.” Tsalik nodded. “I’m going to open a channel to Lady Nightshade and inform her of your impending arrival.” The channel closed, leaving Tsalik to commandeer, Coruscant’s entire space fleet.

The channel opened no sooner than had it closed to Tsalik. Nightshade was on the screen, and Krashin told her everything.

Ambassador Moraine sat outside the Emperors officer. She was summoned to speak with him about the mission she had allowed her Marine garrison to conduct. She wore a black dress and jacket to mourn the death of those lost. An embassy was a tight knit facility and she personal knew those responsible with protecting the facility from danger, and one in particular more then all the others. Her eyes were red and puffy, but she no time to dwell on personal issues her duty called and she would face the ire of the Cordian Emperor.
In my office, I drew on the Force heavily to keep myself calm. it would not do for the Emperor to blow up at the Ambassador of the Free Worlds, no matter what his personal feelings was. Perhaps I will schedule myself a time-out to meditate and center my feelings, but for now... "Come in Ambassador."

The guards opened the door for her and the moment she entered, it was like walking into a freezer. The Emperor's stony face and piercing gaze would make even the most resilent of people shudder. When he spoke, his voice was colder than the nights of Hoth.

"Madam Ambassador, the conduct of the Free Worlds against Us is quite disturbing. Without provocation, you have seen fit to send armed troops to kill a guest of the Nation, which is an act of murder. Without Our consent, your troops have seen fit to discharge dangerous weapons within a high-level security zone, which I remind you is an act of war. So is violating said security zone. I demand an explanation for this blatant disregard for the very basics of international relations! And it better be sufficient because you should know very well that I have numerous options to conduct against the Free Worlds because of what you just did."

OOC: By permission of CW.

Nightshade drummed her fingers along her desk, her frustration quite obviously visible. “And how, did my beloved emperor, manage to lose the damn Galaxy Gun admiral! Vader is an idiot, incompetent, and now, now I have to pay his price. He should be killed.”

Krashin remained silent, keeping his patience and being sure to scrub the record of this conversation out of the memory banks. He was very aware of how the Sith could work themselves into a rage, at even the slightest frustration. “My Lady, we have every available warship coming to your aide as we speak, the Imperial fleet is on its way and.” Krashin looked down to a text update on a lower panel. “And Admiral Tsalik ahs managed to secure the Huntarian defence force to aid in the evacuation as well. My Lady, you must order the general evacuation of military facilities first and then general civilians. The refugee site is going to be the planet of Anaxes, her governor has been commanded by the emperor himself.”

Nightshade fumed. “My forces will begin evacuating as many as they can.”

“I strongly recommend empress that you transfer your flag to your ship in orbit.”

Nightshade paused and said nothing to Krashins curiosity. “No Admiral, I will wait until the very last possible moment before abandoning my world!” Krashin didn’t dare remind her, of just whose world it really was.

“I will uplink and coordinate the relief efforts from here Lady Nightshade.” The channel closed. Krashin had to be brief, after all the clock was ticking down, but already, he could see small blips on his update screen showing the mass movement of imperial forces. Everything was on the move, absolutely everything, from the largest, to the smallest. It was time for him to check back with the technicians, and, the Denial.

Coredian Spy Ship Fly On The Wall, Tenetian Space

Immediately after Lady Nightshade's short conversation, the Tenetian Navy suddenly exploded into high alert as she ordered the evacuation of highly important people. Prince Janus took command of the Black Star Fortress and one of the fleets under his mother's direction, as well as the two 'special packages' within the fleet and began evacing the slaves--er Imperial citizens along with all the other five fleets. Of course, this amount of activity was enough to alert one tiny fly on a random asteroid in the system...

'Hello. What's happening?" Intelligence Agent Sgt. Brandon Nekoshi asked himself as he awoke to passive sensors beeping. Pressing a button, a small holographic screen popped up with data on large-scale ship movements and huge amounts of comms chatter. He also noted hyperspace entrances as ship after ship exited hyperspace by the dozens. "Holy shit! Someone sure stirred up this hornet's nest! Better report this!"

Brandon began analysing the information and activated the Beacon, a highly secure communications network that's based on the Old Jedi Order's secure comms system and banged out a message.

**Super Mambo Foxtrot Hyper Omega Encryption**

Tenetia On High Alert STOP

Imp Ships Arriving Mil & Civ STOP

Possible Evac Proced STOP

Request Orders STOP

**Super Mambo Foxtrot Hyper Omega Encryption**

He pressed another button and the message zoomed towards Coredian Intelligence and it would arrive...

=====

Coredian Intelligence Agency, Beacon Control Center, Konoha

Five seconds later, the message burned its way out of a printer, nearly burning off a techie's finger. The techie cursed both for the contents and for his hurt fingers and then relayed the message to the Military High Command. With the current priority being Tenetia, it was sure to get into Admiral Pellaeon's hands within...

=====

Star Destroyer Phoenix, Flagship of the Coredian Navy, Tantis Rendzevous

Minutes later, the Admiral was given the message, read it, frowned deeply, his white eyebrows knitting a line. Then he sent the message to his Godulan Liasion and to Admirals Makaryk and Nomura.

"We have a problem, my friends." He spoke to them as soon as he got them on channels. "The question is, what do we intend to do about it?"

=====

Auxiliary Jedi Temple, Bahamut Mountains, Issus...

Glasses glinting in the sunlight, a high-ranking Jedi Master frowned slightly as he meditated in his office. 'Hmph. So it failed. The boy has always been strong. At least his sanity is now put into question. I wonder if I should push that sanity just a bit further...well, better report.'

He sent a secure comm to someone in shadows. "It failed, as expected."

=====

Auxiliary Jedi Temple, Bahamut Mountains, Issus...

Glasses glinting in the sunlight, a high-ranking Jedi Master frowned slightly as he meditated in his office. Hmph. So it failed. The boy has always been strong. At least his sanity is now put into question. I wonder if I should push that sanity just a bit further...well, better report.

He sent a secure comm to someone in shadows. "It failed, as expected."

::As I had foreseen. No doubt the Jedi would have raised their suspicions about Sith involvement with Emperor Masaki's recent emotional issues.:: The shadowy figure paused for a minute, it's glowing eyes hovered in mid-space on the holoscreen. ::Have Master Blayden blame the recent rise of Daniel's emotions on the Sith Spy they have just discovered. Now, here are your next orders.:: The shadowy figure's eyes narrowed, and a sudden burst of the Force rushed at the Spy containing imagery which completely illustrates the spy's next orders. ::I will be arriving shortly.:: The communication dissolved and was terminated, leaving the spy with a black screen.

"It is not that we are ignoring the fact that you killed a Sith," Naberius said, then pointed at the nearby shuttle with an accusatory finger. "But you did all this without warning Mister Masaki. You didn't have to wait for cooperation on his part. If you'd just told him what you were doing and why, BEFORE you went and did it, we would all have been fine with it. Allies warn each other, captain. It is called sharing intelligence, and should be a significant part of any non-hostile relationship. Can you honestly say that if we had done what you all just did on one of your worlds that we would NOT be arrested?

"Then, to add even further insult to your actions, you threatened a firefight if they attempted to enforce things. If you'd gone willingly, it would have been perhaps a couple hours of inconvenience for you while diplomats nattered back and forth about issues of trust and proper protocol, with you eventually being released and the worst being a demand for a formal apology. Instead you had to take it up a notch and bring the threat of war down on our heads. The last damn thing we need is to be set against each other, but for the love of the Christian god that we assume you believe in because one of you referenced Jesus at us, be respectful.

"And yes, we know. Dinglefritz Masaki violated so damn many taboos with what he did at the end there. We thought he was just trying to amplify his voice at you. If we had known that he was employing some kind of potent suggestion we would have smacked him ourselves for what he did, but then you," he pointed at the Top, "had to also go and pull the threat of a suicide bombing on the Coredian Emperor. I mean, wow. If you had tried that on a Godulan world you would be dead five times over for ten separate reasons, and do not go saying you wouldn't respond the same way if this whole situation happened to you.

"The Coredian people are stressed enough with all that has transpired of late, setting them on the run so. How about working with them, rather than 'despite' them, hmm?"

He sighed at them. "Whatever the case, it is resolved, for better or for worse. Now that we are assuming the truth of your words, for the most part, we intend to go see what that twerp got from the agent during whatever meeting he had with her. We shall not hold you further from carrying out your duties in regards to the casualties you suffered. All we know now is that something is remarkably wrong with the whole situation and it is our intention to find out what that something is. Good day, gentlemen."

He turned and began the long walk back to the building, shaking his head as he went.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rendezvous Point: Tantis

The Godulans were somewhat surprised at a fleet having already arrived when the 'meeting' at Issus was only just concluded. Somebody had been itching for something to shoot at.

A visual transmission came back to the Clan vessels, depicting a pair of Godulan Generals standing within what appeared to be an expansive starscape with no visible sign of support. For all intents and purposes they appeared as a god might if it were watching over the system. Both wore uniforms of crisp black with various golden accoutrements, including a Golden 'G' at their collars. One stood slightly taller than the other, with brown hair, green eyes, and a face that seemed unnaturally well-formed. The second had bright red hair, red eyes, and seemed to present the strange feeling that there was some kind of divine essence in him, both in terms of his bearing and in his general appearance. The view saw them from somewhat above, sufficient to make it look like they were floating in space as there was no visible floor, just more stars.

"Ah. The Clans," the taller one said, a smile visible on his face. "The Woodians informed us that you would be coming. Strange that you lot were the last to know of our intentions, but were the first to actually 'arrive'. I am General Achaedus and my colleague here is General Majestatus. Welcome to the former Tenetian Prison Colony and staging world known as Tantis. Had we more time available we would invite you to the surface, but right now we are simply waiting for the others to arrive so that we can finalize the order of battle and initiate the operation."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later, when other fleets had arrived and were milling about, the Generals were preparing their finalization of the order of battle when a message from Pellaeon came in.

Both of the Generals could only stare for several eternities of moments before Achaedus broke the silence first.

"Civilian vessels too? Evac from what?"

"The operational parameters remain secure," Kelvin replied with a furrowed brow. "If the Farstars took the Galaxy Gun, did they fire already?"

"Those maniacs! They'll ruin everything! We've got to move!"

"Let it play. We need to be sure. We cannot move now, not while there's a significantly higher risk of civilian casualties."

A message went out to the commanders of all the fleets. Hold position and wait for further details. Unforeseen complications had arisen. Smoke 'em if ya got 'em.

At the same time the Coredians had picked up the movement of ships in Tenetia, Dornalian forces at Tantis had picked up activity there as well. But, the Coredians, having warned Nomura, got the reply:

"First off, we also detected that. However, now that the Impies know shit's gone down, charging in there would be like walking sticking your dick into a beehive. We go in as planned, we die--or get dashed against a wall of Vader's finest. Recommend we hold off, and maybe begin implementing a new series of plans. I say series because we need a Plan C-Z to deal with this bullshit."

As the message went around to the assembled fleets, the Clans went into an uproar as they were told to wait. They'd come all this way to be told to wait? This simply would not do.

"Do they simply expect us to sit around like a child sitting on its hands and wait to be told to go? This is absolutely unacceptable!" Chao Lingshen smacked her hand against the table at the closed session of the presiding Clan commanders. She was fuming, and the machines around her seemed equally agitated.

"Calmly, Chao-san," Yue said. "It is possible that there is something going on that is beyond our current knowledge."

"And what if there is?" A male Clanner looked across the table at Yue with a look of contempt. "It should not interrupt the operation simply because they are unsure as to how they should proceed in their actions!"

"But what if this event could potentially jeopardize everyone, including us?" Nodoka looked across the table at Chao. "Chao-san, please allow me to converse with our allies. I am sure I can convince them to let me find out what is happening at Tenetia."

"Chao Lingshen, this is foolish," the same male said. "The time to strike is now! We could easily obtain the coordinates for Tenetia and assault this world ourselves!"

Chao sat back down, huffing a contemplative sigh. It was a moment before she spoke, and her words ebbed away the tension. "Do it, Nodoka. Do not fail me."

Nodoka stood from the table, bowing quickly to Chao. "Hai, Chao-san!"

"Very well," Chao said. "This meeting is adjourned."

"You can not be serious!" The male Clanner leaped to his feet, a look of rage upon his face as if he had been punched in the face.

"Do you wish to declare a Trial of Grievance over this?" Chao stood, yet not as quickly. She stood sideways to the man, clenching her fist out of his line of sight.

The Clanner stood there, staring down his superior officer. More tension rose into the air, and then he spoke. "Neg."

"Then this meeting is adjourned." Chao quickly saluted, to which everyone else did, and the three Maho girls quickly exited the room per their needs, the Clanners following suit.

-------------

Shortly thereafter, a communication channel was opened on a wide, short-range frequency.

"Pardon me if I am interrupting anything," Nodoka said, clearing her throat. "My commanding officer wishes to know why we have been told to temporarily stand down?"

With both of the august leaders of the Godularians and Cordians gone, Kusomo finally spoke to Top.

"Thank you for that Top."

"Anytime sir, They all are just a bunch of Da Shabis. To them you and I are nothing but pawns, on account we don't have thier abilities." Top laughed suddenly. "Guns allowed peasents to kill knights and kings alike, I guess its only fitting that Plasma Rifles work just as well now against folk like that."

Kusomo laughed now, First Sergeant Renoylds had been the Top of his company for four years, and he never guess the man for a historian. He looked his old comrade in his eyes now,

"There will come a time when marubo's like them will be accounted for. There is only so much men can take from them before we pay em back. With friends like these what need we of the Empire?"

The two marines joined the remainder of the platoon on the assault shuttle, which carried them back to their embassy. One hour latter a small courier ship left the embassy carrying the body of Knight Scot back to Ossus for burial. One other marine died but his body remained in the embassy for now, his next of kin was on planet but attending urgent business.

"Sir, Lance Corporal Moraine didn't make it." Top told the Capitan.

"It will break her heart Top and that is why I was risking what I did to get us back to the embassy, She deserves to see her son. The universe is cold cruel bitch, neh?"

Top didn't respond. He had nothing to he could say about that beyond, "Eh"

Meeting with Emperor Masaki

The Ambassador was taken aback at the outward hostility in the Emperor voice. He had already established them as adversaries from the outset of this meeting, she had not felt like this in a while it was like being sent to the principle to explain yourself. She was not even offered a chair or water, well she was not in a mood to be made into a weak schoolchild, and neither did her nation think itself the subordinate to Cordia.

“Emperor Masaki, As Captain Kusomo has made you aware, this was a mission authorized by Warden Ghorbani, Master Jedi of the Raven Council, and Commander of our Special Operations. She did so acting upon information given from an undercover informant, who is beyond reproach. This guest of yours was skilled enough in illusion to fool you, to make you believe what our enemies wanted you to believe. The mission was extremely time sensitive, we had to act when and how we did this Sith infiltrator would have escaped. I could have wasted time contacting your people or yourself, but what if she had you under some spell? Any delay would have enabled her to escape, as it is we lost good people by attempting to detain her before the Captain had all his assets in place. You should see that this Sith had access to your meeting area for a long time, she would have over heard who knows what, and think about what damage she would have caused if she escaped with that knowledge!”

“Good men died to prevent her escape. Men who have left wives and children behind, I would ask you do not disrespect their memory and who they were by charging them with the murder of this Sith infiltrator who deserved much worst then she received! You talk to me of my violations of your sovereignty while you offer the rights of hospitality to a murdering sithspawn!”

The ambassador’s face was flushed red with blood, her voice strained with barely contained emotion. Good men had died in this mission, Knight Scot who she knew for some time, a tall strong guardian of the Force to her he seemed to be a stalwart man made up of the best the Ossus Order had. The Marine who died fighting against the heavily armored and armed Combat Droids with only his rifle and skinsuit to protect him, Lance Corporal Moraine, had been in the Marine Corps for three years just off his first tour, he had requested to be stationed on Issus, to be close to the only kin he had left his mother, the Ambassador. Good men had died indeed the best of them. And the Emperor was willingly to offer the Sith Whore the full rights and protections of hospitality.

“I would like to ask you sir, just what did she tell you? What is it she would have you believe that is so important as risk this mission and to murder Knight-Errant Hunt and assume his mission?”

Meeting with Emperor Masaki

The Ambassador was taken aback at the outward hostility in the Emperor voice. He had already established them as adversaries from the outset of this meeting, she had not felt like this in a while it was like being sent to the principle to explain yourself. She was not even offered a chair or water, well she was not in a mood to be made into a weak schoolchild, and neither did her nation think itself the subordinate to Cordia.

“Emperor Masaki, As Captain Kusomo has made you aware, this was a mission authorized by Warden Ghorbani, Master Jedi of the Raven Council, and Commander of our Special Operations. She did so acting upon information given from an undercover informant, who is beyond reproach. This guest of yours was skilled enough in illusion to fool you, to make you believe what our enemies wanted you to believe. The mission was extremely time sensitive, we had to act when and how we did this Sith infiltrator would have escaped. I could have wasted time contacting your people or yourself, but what if she had you under some spell? Any delay would have enabled her to escape, as it is we lost good people by attempting to detain her before the Captain had all his assets in place. You should see that this Sith had access to your meeting area for a long time, she would have over heard who knows what, and think about what damage she would have caused if she escaped with that knowledge!”

“Good men died to prevent her escape. Men who have left wives and children behind, I would ask you do not disrespect their memory and who they were by charging them with the murder of this Sith infiltrator who deserved much worst then she received! You talk to me of my violations of your sovereignty while you offer the rights of hospitality to a murdering sithspawn!”

The ambassador’s face was flushed red with blood, her voice strained with barely contained emotion. Good men had died in this mission, Knight Scot who she knew for some time, a tall strong guardian of the Force to her he seemed to be a stalwart man made up of the best the Ossus Order had. The Marine who died fighting against the heavily armored and armed Combat Droids with only his rifle and skinsuit to protect him, Lance Corporal Moraine, had been in the Marine Corps for three years just off his first tour, he had requested to be stationed on Issus, to be close to the only kin he had left his mother, the Ambassador. Good men had died indeed the best of them. And the Emperor was willingly to offer the Sith Whore the full rights and protections of hospitality.

“I would like to ask you sir, just what did she tell you? What is it she would have you believe that is so important as risk this mission and to murder Knight-Errant Hunt and assume his mission?”
I didn't answer immediately, but waited to gather my thoughts. Alas, I have almost forgotten common courtesy in my ire. I felt the woman's statement of truth in the Force and also felt grief for the men she lost. When I spoke again, it was in a calmer tone and a pitcher of water from the minifridge in the office, with two glasses. "Have a seat, Madam Ambassador, if you please. It has been a long, stressful day for all of us."

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "I offer my sincerest condolences to your lost men, but let me make this clear. Yes, I offered hospitality to what you call a Sith, though I knew it not. Perhaps I would have offered it still, Sith or not. You know that my nation would and have offered hospitality to the Sith before (Darth Atrox comes to mind). It is our nature to be forgiving, more than most others. I will admit that may be considered dangerously foolish to many, perhaps even fatally optimistic, but that's a Coredian for you. Optimistic to a fault. Besides, she had done nothing against Coredia to warrant her demise, except inform me of disturbing developments. Innocent until proven guilty, Madam Ambassador, applies to everyone in Coredia, including Dark Lords."

"I will forgive you this incident as I forgive the Sith her philosophy, but I will state for the record that your nation's actions have nearly harmed those in my presence that I have also offered my protection and hospitality. If a missile or a plasma bolt had missed and hit our meeting place and caused injuries or worse, what then? Consider this my official statement of protest to your government and a warning to never send Free Worlds troops within Coredian space again without the explicit permission of me or the High Council. Next time your country pulls a stunt like this, I will be forced to determine all available options, up to and including a declaration of war. Is that understood, Madam Ambassador?"

:Pause for answers, rebuttals, etc:

I finally got around to answering her last question. "Erica Hunt, or I should say Sith Erica, has informed me that Hawkins is alive and not only that, that he and the Free Worlds have captured the Galaxy Gun and intended to use it. And moments ago, I have been informed that the Empire is on very high alert, which leads me to believe that the Galaxy Gun may have indeed been discharged."

"Madam Ambassador, let me be frank. As far as I can determine, the Free Worlds has done more harm than help of late to Coredia and the galaxy at large, and the fact that either Hawkins or your government -I cannot determine at this point- has seen fit to execute an entire planet somewhere in the galaxy does not bode well for it. I'm afraid, Madam Ambassador, that as far as Coredia is concerned, the Free Worlds has become another Empire and Hawkins has fallen to the Dark Side."

I looked into her eyes, giving her a measure of my confusion over this whole FUBARed incident. "Madam Ambassador, I admit that I am in a quandary. Who shall I believe? A Sith that has spoken what appears to be the truth, or the Free Worlds that has appears to have done more harm than good of late? Who is the person you say is beyond reproach that has informed Daneh of the Sith spy, triggering this unfortunate incident? And there is also the measure of the timing. If what you say is true, it can't be more than a few minutes between Daneh getting notice and the Marines arriving to take on the Sith Erica. It is rather suspicious to me. How, pray tell, can I verify your statements, except to take it on faith, something that, unfortunately, I have very little of you at this time?"

I shook my head. "Something is rotten in the seas of Mon Calamari, Madam Ambassador, and it stinks. I offer my resources to rooting out the cause of this stench, but as I have other pressing matters, I will inform you that they will be limited at this time."

Rendezvous Point: Tantis

The response to the Skaugran query was relatively simple, this time consisting of a line-of-sight transmission from General Achaedus to ensure some semblance of operational security:

"A large number of imperial vessels have arrived in the vicinity of Tenetia for reasons unknown. Civilian and Military vessels are part of this flotilla, and we suspect that there might be some form of evacuation about to take place. We are uncertain of the reason for this development, but there is a possibility that a Galaxy Gun Projectile is targeting our objective. We will not launch the attack until the civilian assets are departed from the system. We will not permit even the possibility of terminating refugees."

“A stunt? You think this is a game? Do you think my nation ordered this mission on a lark, without fully considering its consequences?”

There was a fire burning in the Ambassadors eyes, fueled by grief of tragic loss, absolute anger intensified by the Emperor’s words,

“Do not patronize me Emperor, you are not sorry for the losses my nation suffered today any more sorry then you are for stepping on a beetle. You are just annoyed at hearing the crunch.”

“You did not even read Captain Kusomo’s after action report or the casualty list I sent your office? If you had you would have realized that the Marine that died today fighting against that Sith who resisted arrest was Lance Corporal Michael Moraine. He was my only son, and yet you sit there spitting upon everything he stood for by equating my nation with the Empire we have fought for so long. You also would rather trust the disturbing evidence of his murderer then the words of my Marines, and also without verifying her information much less her identity with Warden Ghorbani you would condemn my whole nation and General Hawkins.”

The Ambassador dropped a sealed packet unto the Emperor desk,

”This was sent by Warden Ghorbani by Ansible, I have no idea what it contains, it can only be opened by scanning your DNA and other unique markers. I only know what she told me, that she sent this after learning of Knight Hunt’s death and of the actions of the Sith Infiltrator.”

“Emperor there are no more seas on Mon Calamari. Its surface has been destroyed by the Galaxy Gun. My nation would never wish that fate unto another world no matter who they swore allegiance to. There is a stench though but I fear it is emanating from you.

She then pushed forward another sealed packet,

“This is a warrant authorizing your arrest Emperor, for the use of a Sith Technique against a citizen of the Free Worlds. You yourself did intentionally exert a Force Domination technique against Captain Kusomo of the Free Worlds Marine Corps. You made his soul subservient to your own, and forced yourself to dominate him. This is a rape of body and that is a capital crime and if found guilty could be punishable by death. You are ordered to submit yourself to arrest to be put on trial on Ossus and judged by your fellow Jedi.”

It was all I could do to keep myself from throwing the Ambassador out the nearest window. The so-called "Free Worlds" has, to my eyes, gone too far. With friends like them, who needs enemies?

I declined to say anything as I opened the packet the Warden gave me, ignoring the arrest order and the Ambassador's words for now. Perhaps the Warden has sent information regarding the Sith? I began reading...

The Emperor's Messengers
Coruscant System

Fleet Admiral Khal looked at his newest orders with a perplexed expression. He looked back up at Lord Vorman and handed them back to him, "I'm sorry my Lord, but I must refuse these orders. We need the fleet to stay here to guard Coruscant. With much of our fleet gone to help transport the military personal and civilians off of Tenetia, we'd be leaving her defenseless."

::On the contrary Admiral, we must go there. The Force is telling us so, for there are events which take place which will change the course of history... Forever.::

The Admiral sighed, "is there anything you haven't foreseen my Lord?"

Vorman's hovering yellow eyes flickered ominously in the middle of his hood, ::really Admiral, you worry too much.:: Khal took a step back from the Phantom Lord, ::half of the fleet guarding Huntaria will be arriving here shortly, yet neither system would be considered "lightly defended" now would they?::

Khall nodded, "no, I don't suppose so. All right, the fleet will move out right now. We'll be there in 2-3 hours. There anything else my Lord?"

Vorman paused for a few minutes, then slowly reached into his cloak and pulled out a blackened datapad, ::these are your next set of unofficial orders. Due to the particular set of circumstances which have occurred as of late. The Kirtir Lords met and the majority decided that they were for the best.::

Khal activated the datapad and was shocked. However, his surprise soon then turned into a sour grin, "Aelikes voted on this I s'pose?"

Vorman shook his head, ::I had him removed and unaware of the scene. He is currently reorganizing two fleets. He has no knowledge of the events which are about to transpire.::

Khal nodded, "I see... Very well then. I assume you'll be accompanying Aelikes then?"

Vorman nodded, ::make haste! Or else all which we have planned together shall quickly fall apart...:: Vorman then disappeared out of sight.

Khal bowed in acknowledgment and made the order to leave the system. As he walked towards the bridge, he kept glancing down at the datapad, history shall be changed forever indeed.

To: Emperor Daniel Masaki
From: Warden Daneh Ghorbani
Sub: Circumstances Regarding Seizure of Galaxy Weapon

Body:

Galaxy Weapon Sighted in Ishtar System.
Ordered Northern Fleet to Intercept and Destroy.
Galaxy Weapon Escaped with Heavy Damage Sustained.
Friendly Losses: 4 Capital Vessels 19,547 Lives
Enemy Losses: 6 Capital Vessels Approx. 52,000 Lives.

Received Cordian Envoy on Ossus, Claimed to represent Emperor.
Stated that Galaxy Weapon Seized by Rouge Cordian Jedi and
That Rouge Jedi Led by Travis Masaki, Plans to Bombard Tenetia.
Must Protest Such Action in Extreme If Correct.
Suggest Bombardment of Imperial Fleet Bases and Shipyards Instead.
In Doubt to Validity of Information, Envoy In Custody.


Informed by H. Agatheon You Suspect Hawkins Seized G. Weapon.
Hawkins Current Mission on Miranda, Need to Know, you do not.
Confirm that Eric Hunt Never Briefed You on Ishtar?
Confirm Erica Briefed you, Suspect Sith, Ordered Her detention At All Cost.
Main line Intergalactic Coms Jammed by Empire.
Know You Likely React Bad. Trust Capt. Kusomo, Our Best.

Be Advised FLEET COM offensive against Imperial Navy Targets
Operation Roundhammer Imminent.
Expect Update By You Soonest.
Can Reply Via Ansible in FW Embassy.

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU.

-DG

Well, that changed things. Not enough to warrant retraction of my statements, but it merely put things into perspective. So both nations have been duped by some Sith. Sheesh.

I was calmer by the time I finished reading it, but it didn't mean that I wasn't mollified. Not totally. "Had we been given this packet before your superiors decided to trample over the alliance treaty, we would not have been in this position. I must question why you did not see fit to send this immediately. As it is..."

A knock on the door occurred. "Excuse me."

I opened it to reveal a young page who gave me the item I requested earlier. "Sir, the item you requested."

"Thanks, kid. Now clear out of here!" I growled sternly. He squeaked and ran away faster than a velociraptor.

I returned to my desk and slid the paper over to the Ambassador. "An arrest warrant for your Marines."

Arrest Warrant for Captain Kusomo and his Marines. The following Charges shall take effect immediately:

Violation of Coredian-Free Worlds Alliance Treaty - Act of war via invasion
Violation of restricted air space
Voluntary Manslaughter
Discharging weapons in public
Threatening to kill a member of the Coredian Government
Threatening to kill diplomats sent to Coredia
Treason against Coredia
Resisting arrest
Obstruction of Justice

Civil Charges, subject to heavy fines:
Illegal Parking
Trespassing
Reckless Driving

"As you have seen fit to charge me, so I have done the same for your men. I'm fairly certain there's enough there that at least one of your Marines would face the death penalty here and there's more than enough crimes here to declare war. In light of extenuating circumstances, I may be willing to keep everything down to a mutual formal apology, with nothing further to be said about the matter. I must also point out that had they cooperated, we would only be talking about less than half the items on this list, all of them easily dropped."

"That said, it seems that both Coredia and the Free Worlds are guilty of abusing their power in this situation. Your men for refusing to cooperate knowing that they have discharged high-energy weapons within a restricted zone and me for abusing my powers. Yes, I shall admit that I went overboard in seeking to avoid shooting them. Your men did say shooting them would be an act of war, after all."

I sighed, more tired than angry now. "It seems that we have both forgotten that with great power comes great responsibility. As my father once said, 'Justice, like the Force, is balance.' So, here's the deal. I drop the charges on the Marines, you drop the charges against me, we issue a formal apology to each other and we promise never to pull stunts like this on each other again."

I picked up the arrest warrant that the Ambassador and tossed it into a box marked 'Shred'. "Either way, I have no intention whatsoever of submitting to your arrest warrant, as your Marines would undoubtly do the same. So long as I don't step on Free Worlds soil, and so long as Captain Kusomo and his unit never set forth on Coredian soil again, the arrest warrants shall only remain within our respective jursidictions, should we keep them on the books."

"Ah, and one final thing before I let you go." I said, writing something for the Warden.

To: Warden Daneh Ghorbani
From: Emperor Daniel Masaki

Received Message.
Questions why you didn't send it before.
Condolences to losses concerning GG battle.
Erica Hunt briefed me. Confirmed.
Questions involvement of H. Agatheon. What does she know?
Hawkins Indeed Alive? Request current status.
WTF to similar incident with alleged Coredian envoy.
Never sent any. Propose joint investigation.

Unfortunately reacted badly to Marine Incursion as expected.
Will Apologize For Misuse Of Force.
In return, Expect Apology For Illegal Incursion.
Apologize in advance for following:
NEVER PULL AN IDIOTIC STUNT LIKE THIS AGAIN OR ELSE! SEND MESSAGE BY ANSIBLE FIRST!

Questions validity of alliance based on above incident.
Highly Suggests New Marine Unit To Defend Embassy. Captain Kusomo And Unit Are Banished
Henceforth Without Fail.
Propose Dropping Mutual Charges to Salvage Alliance.
May need summit meeting in future.
Good Luck against Imperial forces. You'll need it.

~HRM Daniel Masaki

P.S. Be Advised FLEETCOM offensive against Tenetia may be disrupted.
GG bullet discharged. 90% Possibility Target is Tenetia.
Again proposes joint investigation to:
1. Heal Wounded Relations.
2. Kick whoever did this to Core and back.

Reply ASAP.
May the Force Be With You.

I sealed the message for Daneh and gave it to the ambassador. "Send this to the Warden immediately, along with the arrest warrant. Dismissed, and may the Force be with us all."

Rendezvous Point: Tantis

The response to the Skaugran query was relatively simple, this time consisting of a line-of-sight transmission from General Achaedus to ensure some semblance of operational security:

"A large number of imperial vessels have arrived in the vicinity of Tenetia for reasons unknown. Civilian and Military vessels are part of this flotilla, and we suspect that there might be some form of evacuation about to take place. We are uncertain of the reason for this development, but there is a possibility that a Galaxy Gun Projectile is targeting our objective. We will not launch the attack until the civilian assets are departed from the system. We will not permit even the possibility of terminating refugees."

Nodoka nodded to Achaedus, her face stern upon hearing the news.

"Then it is my duty to preserve what life can be preserved. I would like to volunteer my intelligence gathering services so that we may ascertain what is transpiring at Tenetia, and elsewhere. I need only an unmarked civilian transport ship with which to travel there."

Achaedus looked over his shoulder at Majestatus, who seemed to be staring at one of the stars beyond the edge of the system. Kelvin turned and looked back at Achaedus with a grim expression, who in turn refocused his gaze on Nodoka.

"While your offer is appreciated, we must respectfully decline. We already have resources in-system. We will not risk compromising our existing sources so that everybody can get their own eyes on the current predicament, a risk that is significantly heightened due to the number of additional eyes now occupying the system on the lookout for anything strange. What is currently in place will be sufficient for our purposes."

Nodoka mentally cursed to herself at the Godulan's response.

"If I may, I think it would be prudent for all of us if I were allowed to go. Perhaps we can use this event to our advantage and spread misinformation, and while I understand that you have your own means of intelligence gathering in Tenetia already, I feel that the plan I have currently will provide us with a window of opportunity to retake Tenetia with minimal casualties. I say this because I am assuming that there is a sizable fleet currently evacuating the planet?"

Achaedus raised an eyebrow at Nodoka's insistence, and Majestatus turned to regard Nodoka as well. For an instant it seemed as if some unspoken conversation had taken place between the two Generals. Kelvin turned, and behind Achaedus, Nodoka could see a veritable swarm of statistics manifest out of nothing, which the younger general seemed to take a significant amount of interest in.

"The Imperials are master propagandists. We have no method of ascertaining whether this is just some form of convoluted ploy on their part to galvanize Imperial support. We cannot and will not allow any further incursions into the system. With so many vessels in the system and the heightened possibility of them keeping their eyes outward, anything untoward would be swiftly recognized. Existent resources in-system are sufficient for our purposes."

Tarkins Fang.

Krashin watched the timer as it continued to countdown, the timer sitting pretty much half way between discovery, and zero hour. Thankfully, at least the valuable time had not been wasted, with the first ships now approaching Tenetian space. The Death Star and her squadron had emerged from hyperspace first and were now making moves to dock with the vast orbital around the planet. If the job was done well and promptly, millions of civilians could be evacuated into its massive bulk, held securely in the lower quarters of the battlestation of course.

Only half an hour behind, a massed fleet of transports, freighters, mining vessels and even prison barges could be seen in transit through hyperspace, their arrival would allow more direct evacuations, as these ships could enter into the atmosphere.

The Tenetians on the other hand, had been very prompt in their first four hours, evacuating almost a million military personnel from the planet, though now their ships were full, with reports littering Krashins desk of captains protests and excuses. The admiral ignored them as he glanced at the countdown, the decreasing glyphs filled with worry as he did so.

“Admiral?” Someone asked.

Krashins raised his head and looked around. Unsure where the voice came from. It was an officer at one of the Comm stations. “Yes what is it?”

“Sir, the Denial reports that they have made contact with the projectile and are pursuing at their best possible speed, they report damage to forward quarters and minimal to the projectile itself.

“Put them on speaker.” Krashin ordered. The denials bridge chatter filled the control room.

“Forward batteries report no damage to the projectile captain.” *Background explosion*

“Hull rupture on deck five, Bulkheads have failed. Closing inner doors to that deck sir.”

“Helm, accelerate to flank speed. All port batteries fire at will.”

“Captain, projectile is changing course, bearing five nine seven, carom three one eight.” *Explosions and screaming in background*

“I want damage control teams to cut off the fire on deck seven, and all starboard batteries are to fire at will, everyone is to fire at will.”

*COMM TRAFFIC STATIC 40 Seconds*

“. . . . care about what you think, helm set a course for ramming speed, intercept it at these coordinates.”

“Yes sir!”

“Captain, projectile is adjusting course again, we are detecting a power up in hyperdrives.”

“HELM, Hyperdrives now!”

“Sir, we have hyperdrive . . . .”

*EXPLOSION – End Transmission*

Krashin looked at the hologrid. “Do we have anything from our beacons?” No one answered right away, everyone was busy checking and double checking the results.

“Admiral, we just don’t know. We can’t detect the Denials beacon, and we can’t detect the projectile either.”

The admiral felt a sense of dread come over him. The sense that something awful could happen and no one knew when, and where. “How long until we have some scouts in the region?”

“Six hours admiral. One hour past zero hour.”

Krashin sighed, and bowed his head and returned his attention towards the holo-projection. The Huntarians had now arrived in Tenetia, along with a few more Imperial vessels. All he could do was wait and see.

Huntaria System
Planet: Huntaria, Imperial Throne Room.

Emperor Trilkan sighed as he sat in his Imperial Throne. It has been a long time since he had discussed the politics of war with any of the Kirtir Lords, and this last session seemed to have worn himself out. He didn't like the idea of the plans which he discussed with the other Kirtir Lords, but it needed to be done. Plus, he didn't feel completely comfortable with the knowledge that Aelikes, his apprentice, was left out of it. Maybe old age has finally hit me, he wondered to himself. He slowly wobbled up from his seat, and walked out to the nearby window, shaped like a Tie Fighter cockpit glass. The sun was setting upon the Huntarian City Planet, showing the full wrinkled face of the Emperor one which was forged from age and constant deformation from the Dark Side. As the sun set, so did the light in the Emperor's Throne Room.He slowly turned back to the throne, when a voice chimed on the intercom.

"Greeting: Hello Master! I have arrived as you have ordered sir."

Emperor Trilkan grumbled, it was that confounded droid of his apprentice, HK-59. "Yes, do come in please."

"Statement: HK-59 ready to serve you Emperor."

Trilkan waved his hand in dismissal, "how much of our recording did you store in your memory banks?"

"Answer: I am unsure master. But I am pretty sure it was the whole thing.
Question: Why do you ask?"

Trilkan turned back towards the window, facing the sunset, "you are to report to the nearest droid repair shop and get your memory erased at once. Aelikes cannot learn of the plans which we discussed."

"Dismissal: That will not be necessary. Aelikes's existence will soon be limited... Addendum: As is yours."

Trilkan pointed his fingers at the droid, and started to form a burst of lightning. Only to find that his power was soon diminishing. Trilkan frowned, his voice shaking, "... What is happening to me!?"

"Reply: I am afraid that one of your associates has decided that your usefulness to him and the other Kirtir Lords has come to an end. Explanation: It would seem that you have missed a few payments to keep yourselves alive. Further Explanation: We have placed Tenetian anti-force fields around your palace room without the other Lord's knowledge and I'm afraid... Mocking Statement: That your so called Royal Guard have been bought and payed for by the same individual. They no longer care about whether or not you live so getting past security wasn't much of a problem for us. Besides, I have made sure that they will never return to their jobs again."

Trilkan was trembling at this point, "you killed them? Why... Why all this? To what end?" he managed to croak.

"Answer: Why, the answer is simple dear Emperor. To raise a new reign of fear and terror. A different, more competent kind of fear. One which you, or any of the other Kirtir Lords could never hope to achieve. My associate's planning and biding will be no more. No longer hiding in the shadows. He will reveal himself, claim the Throne and the galaxies shall tremble at the mere mention of his name."

Trilkan was satisfied with his answer. He waited for a few moments, expecting the droid to pull out his blaster and vaporize him. "Well? What are you waiting for droid? Kill me all ready! Don't toy with me."

"Reply: Kill you? Oh no, not me directly, there will be no trace of my involvement. I'm afraid it will be that of another method. Proud Statement: I have rigged the Air Filters connected to your Throne Room to poison you at a certain time. Thus, poisoning the air in your room and killing you in an instant. Reflection: Unfortunately, it would mean that every other room connected would be poisoned as well. Dismissal: Oh well, more room for the change of the guard. Hehe."

An invisible gas soon permeated throughout the room. The Emperor could feel his lungs slowly closing up, his nose burning. He collapsed onto the floor, knowing that not one would rush to save him, or to kill the confounded droid. His head fell upon the cold metallic floor as he tried to inhale his last breath. He turned his head to gaze out upon the City which he used to rule, and watched as the sun finished setting upon the horizon. He then slowly let out his last breath and all turned to darkness.

"Revelation: So it has begun..."

----------------------------------------------------
H.S.S. Leviathan
Tenetia

The Huntarian Fleet disembarked from the Necrominus, after following the Imperial Fleet to help evacuate the Tenetians. A signal beeped on the Comm Officer's control board, "Admiral Khal, Lord Dominkive, we have arrived at Tenetia."

Khal straightened his uniform and looked at Lord Dominkive, who stared right back. Admiral Khal spoke, "send a message to Lady Nightshade that we request an audience with her ASAP. Send her reply to my quarters."

Dominkive turned to security, "commander, begin transportation of Military personal. Launch all available Transports. Make sure all cargo bays have been modified for beaming people up, we don't want any unfortunate accidents happen there. Keep it up until we have reached maximum capacity."

"Aye sir...."

Nodoka nodded to Achaedus.

"Very well, then. We shall defer to your decision. Nodoka out."

And then the comm went blank.

*insert final response from Ambassador here*

After the Ambassador left, I sagged into my seat. Stupid Free Worlds. They seem to want war at the drop of a hat. Well, I wouldn't be the one to fire the first shot.

In the meantime, I contacted Hera.

Sunshine. Previous order recinded. Or at least postponed. Your new orders are as follows: Figure out what the hell is really going on with the Galaxy Gun and the Free Worlds. Confirm that Hawkins is not on the GG, but on Miranda. Report back ASAP.

Now I had no further time to waste. It was time to go. I began heading down to the main hangar bay to my X-wing to change and began preflight checklists. "Rocky, start her up."

Rocky twittered a question, sensing my mood.

"I'm fine...well, I don't know." I sighed. "Everything seems to be falling apart around my ears."

Rocky twittered some more, ending with an optimistic note.

"I hope so, Rocky, I hope so." I sighed again as I lept into the cockpit. "Insert the coordinates to Tantis, and navigate us there, please. I need to meditate."

Now Rocky was worried. He knew his master loved to fly. To defer the flight navigation to him, a humble, lowly astromech (nevermind his high-ranking status), he wondered if his circuits were crossed right. Nevertheless, he did as his master ordered, taking the fighter out of the hangar bay and zooming up into the sky while I sought to relax and call on the Light Side to calm my racing mind and moody tendancies. Hopefully, I'll feel better when I get to Tantis.

(Copied from the Prophecy)

“This man is really strange” Hera thought to herself as he extended his arm to her. “What is his damage, if I am in I am in, if I am not then I am not. What is up with this forearm deal?” she asked herself as he held his hand at him.

She looked down at his arm, as he extended it out towards him. “Alright Nick.” she said with a smile, referring to the only person she thought of as a brother. She reached her hand out towards his, and clasped his forearm. “Just remember Able, the story of what happened. If you know the old man, and if he taught you, then you should know what happens to betrayers. Daddy doesn’t care for them you know. Then again if you are my brother, I can trust you right?” Hera spoke softly, as she held onto his arm.

Herzer would know if he was truly taught by Hawkins, the truth in her words. Hawkins was the first of her masters, the Weapons master of the Jedi, and she was his pupil. He would know that she meant it, as Herzer could see it in her eyes.

Just then, the phone began to buzz in her pocket. She looked down to the floor, and then smiled, “Excuse me a sec.” she said to him, in a much sweeter voice. Reaching into her pocket, she flipped open her phone.

The text message was clear, as she read it to herself. She smiled, as Herzer could feel her heart lifting. Gently she closed it back. “Well I am ready if you are. I think it is time we went home.”

Tantis

"Admiral to the Bridge! Admiral to the Bridge!" Came the call aboard the Phoenix.

Admiral Pellaeon, who decided to take a nap while he waited for additional news from Tenetia, grumbled slightly, but grabbed his cane and headed for the bridge. "What is it?"

"Ah, the Emperor has arrived, sir." The XO, Captain Stradley, said.

Pellaeon nodded, collecting his thoughts. "Good. Inform him that he can dock with the Phoenix and that he is to meet with me immediately."

"Yessir." The stern tone made the Captain gulp.

Moments later, a slight *pop* occurred as the Emperor appeared on the bridge, feeling slightly better than when he left. People began to salute, and I returned them. "As you were. Admiral, what is it?"

"Firstly, I wish to speak with you in private." He said quietly, but for some reason, his tone gave me the chills.

"Walk with me." Suddenly, I had the strange feeling that I was about to be sent to the Academy Headmaster's office. And I had a good idea as to why. Normally, any officer walking with me is half a step back, but I walked half a step behind him by the sheer force of his presence.

"I have learned of your conduct through the Godulans." The Old Man spoke evenly. "I must say that I am thoroughly disappointed in you, Daniel."

"Sir..." I wanted to explain myself, but his steely gaze stopped me.

"I may not be a Jedi, but I do know that even in Coredia, there are rules concerning the use of mind control, and that certain nations are even stricter on that issue than we are. While I agree that the Free Worlds have trampled our sovereignity, I also agree that you were thoroughly reckless in your own conduct. Reckless officers get themselves and their men killed, and certainly if that Marine had less self-control, you may well have been killed yourself, and we would have been thrown in a war that we cannot afford. A Master of the Force should have better control over his powers, and I believe the Council will agree with me on the matter, would they not?"

I stared at my feet in chastisment. "Yes, sir."

"The Godulans have recommended that you stay out of combat as befitting conduct unbecoming an officer. As befitting as that punishment would be, I need every man for this battle and you will also need to face your sister when the time comes. So for the time being, Jounin Uzumaki will command Dragon Wing and you will be under him, a Flight Officer once more. In the meantime, I will take assume full control of the IDF until further notice."

It couldn't be a harsher punishment if he caned me himself. At least, that, a man could take. But busting me down from CinC of the armed forces to the lowest commission, even temporarily? I will never, ever live that down again.

"Be grateful that I didn't bust you all the way down to Cadet for your misconduct." He growled.

I shuddered at the thought. "I'm grateful for your mercy, Sir."

"Oh, yes...give them to me." He held out a hand. I almost cried as I removed my rank insignia from my collar and gave it to him. Then his Command Voice made me snap at attention. "You're out of uniform, Flight Officer Masaki. Find new ones and report to your superior ASAP!"

"Sir, yes sir!" I snapped a salute, and walked away briskly with my tail between my legs.

-POV SHIFT-

Admiral Pellaeon watched the (boy? Aye. Boy.) walk away and chuckled to himself as he returned to the bridge. He thoroughly enjoyed cutting the Emperor's balls off. "I am going to remember this for a long, long time."

H.S.S. Leviathan
Tenetia

The Huntarian Fleet disembarked from the Necrominus, after following the Imperial Fleet to help evacuate the Tenetians. A signal beeped on the Comm Officer's control board, "Admiral Khal, Lord Dominkive, we have arrived at Tenetia."

Khal straightened his uniform and looked at Lord Dominkive, who stared right back. Admiral Khal spoke, "send a message to Lady Nightshade that we request an audience with her ASAP. Send her reply to my quarters."

Dominkive turned to security, "commander, begin transportation of Military personal. Launch all available Transports. Make sure all cargo bays have been modified for beaming people up, we don't want any unfortunate accidents happen there. Keep it up until we have reached maximum capacity."

"Aye sir...."
It was a rather unusual request and one that intruged the Dark Lady.

We are quite busy with the evacuations, but I will be willing to have a short audience. Be quick!

=====

The moon was simply known as Tenetia III. It was the smallest and only surviving moon of Tenetia, the other two having been torn apart by Chronosia's guns during the Battle ages ago. At 520 km in radius, it was four times as large as the Death Star and operated a colony and Imperial base that were in the process of evacuating. It also had a slowly healing crack on its surface, testament to the violence caused by Chaos.

Little did it know that today was the day it would die.

The Galaxy Gun bullet had fought the battle against the Carrack and won, a testament to its powerful shields and laser cannons. But during the course of the battle, the dust cloud had corrupted its navigational systems, shifting the alignment of the shell ever so slightly. Enough to miss the planet itself...

But the moment it reemerged from hyperspace, causing every single sensor in the system to light up in alarm, it was on a collision course with Tenetia III.

Eighteen seconds until impact, blared the sensors.

17...16...15...

The nearest Star Destroyer was a million kilometers away. Its heavy turbolasers locked on and shot at the thing. Most of the shots missed and two freighter ships carrying civilians were accidently hit by them, but even the shots that hit did not dissuade the suicidal missile from its path.

14...13...12...11...10...

Planetary turbolasers on the moon, each one capable of dueling Star Destroyers and winning, tracked the object and shot as well. They were more effective, denting the shields, but it was not enough...not enough time...not enough firepower...

9...8...7...6...5...

In a last ditch effort, a brave gunship pilot threw himself in front of the missile. But alas, even that didn't work as the missile slammed through the gunship like it wasn't even there. Nothing else was available. No bag of tricks remained.

4...3...2...1...IMPACT!

The moon shuddered violently as the missile detonated, washing a fireball all over it, vaporizing everything on the surface. The moon tore itself apart slowly, as if it was in a high-camera image of an explosion. But alas, despite how violent the explosion was, it was not enough to destroy it completely, as the Death Star would, and it was barely enough to shift its orbit towards the planet. Calculations would later show that it *would* crash into the planet...but not for a hundred years.

Already, the pieces began to fall back towards the moon's center, boiling it into lava to be born anew. Less than a tenth of a percent of its mass managed to escape. But even with a moon of this size, the tenth of a percent loss of mass meant that hundreds of pieces flew out to smash into civilian and military craft that weren't able to get away from the moon, or into the ring for a planetary-scale game of pinball.

The planet itself and its orbitial stations was not immediately affected except for a very bright light in the sky, but soon, chunks of moon and asteroids would fall onto the planet, most of them causing localized damage (but still devastating). Most of them would be vaporized by the guns of the Empire, but as of now, there were the following major dangers heading towards the planet:

5 chunks between 2 km and 5 km in diameter,
4 huge chunks between 5 and 15 km,
and two colossal ones over twenty kilometers in diameter, one from the rings and one from the moon, the size of the moon that obliterated Sernpidal centuries ago.

Each one was enough to produce an extinction event...but all of them combined would destroy all life on Tenetia as we know it...so measures would have to be taken to prevent such catastrophes!

Taslik licked his lips as the countdown approached zero. The hectic comm chatter spreading throughout the fleet, filled the command centre. It was filled with thousands of voices, stranded on the planets surface, crying out for some merciful captain to aid them. Tsalik had given orders otherwise. Every ship was needed, and couldn’t be risked if the projectile hit in atmospheric flight, yet still the people pleaded.

His crew was visibly tense, each man breathing sharply as adrenaline hit their systems. The clock clicked to zero. Tsalik standing alone, watched the large view screen, hands clasped behind his back and brows curled in curiosity. He nodded with approval as the timer reset automatically moving into negative seconds. Either the Denial had succeeded in her attack, or the projectile was overdue.

The timer continued to go into the negative, one minute, two, three, five minutes passed, five minutes of sheer intensity. Five minutes where billions knew the fate of their lives hanged in the balance. Tsalik could feel nothing but worry, franticly going over the orders in his head, if the projectile were to hit. These ships had to go here, these there, these captains had to form this task group and of course messages had to be transmitted throughout the holo-net.

Imperial Command at Tarkins Fang had drawn out long plans that were to be set into action, none of them popular with Tsalik at all. Commscan erupted with a wail of detection alerts before subsiding into silence. “Confirm, was that the projectile?" Tsalik demanded to know? On the view screen Tenetia went dark, as a bright light erupted from her shadow obscuring all detail of the planet. Tsalik gripped both hands tightly and seethed. “Give me a status report on the planet and initiate operational plan one.” Tsalik moved off towards his command chair but was stopped half way.

The view screen was updated revealing the darker side of Tenetia, and a moon fragmented with its shards falling towards the planet. “What ships are available to intercept?” Tsalik requested.

“Sir” NavComm responded. “None admiral, all military ships have evacuated to the safe zone.”

“Admiral.” Commscan added. “We have incoming hails requesting orders from the Endurance and the Titan.” Tsalik took his time to think while the first thermo nuclear explosion detonated on Tenetias green and fertile soil.

“I want the evacuation to continue as scheduled. I will not endanger our military personnel, by plunging them into an asteroid field.”

“Helm, compute our best firing position and lay in a course, we will deal with the debris.” An aide appeared from behind Tsalik while he was giving orders with an intelligence communiqué. “Admiral. Priority one sir.” The aide saluted.

Operational Parameters –



Priority One Communication.
Imperial Request Humanitarian Aide.

Commander in Chief of Colonial Defence Forces Admiral De Bruyn,

It is with great regret that I inform you of a un-provoked and horrific attack upon our world Tenetia from the Calamari Republic. Our world has sustained heavy casualties, and we have diverted all available resources at our disposal to begin emergency humanitarian efforts.

However, due to the nature of Imperial FTL, those assets are limited. Imperial Command, holds in memory the mutual defence pact singed between the empire and the colonies. Although we understand colonial forces are overstretched at this moment in time, due to the ongoing civil war, with the Tauron rebels, we must request, direct intervention from colonial warships.

We are aware of the Kobol Defence Force, which is currently unengaged from the civil war, we urgently request, that you use your powers as military commander to dispatch whatever resources you have so that humanitarian efforts can begin with all haste.

We would request any and all available disaster pods you can spare, and any personnel with medical expertise.

This moment is a proving ground Admiral, for friendship and salvation.

Acting Grand Admiral,
Krashin Keyoff.


An Imperial shuttle emerged from hyperspace in the Konoha star system, carrying within an Imperial Inquisitor familiar with the Masaki lineage. His name is Carnaxious Malorum.

Assembled before the lone shuttle, was the Coredian star fleet, and, surprisingly her allied forces as well. The Pre-Arranged hail was dispatched instantly.

ATTENTION COREDIAN REBELS

I Grand Inquisitor Carnaxious Malorum has been authorised by Emperor Vader to announce to you, that as of ten minutes ago, the Republic of the Farstars has launched a devastating attack upon the Imperial World of Tenetia, by stealing the Galaxy Weapon through espionage and war efforts, breaking a ten year cease fire.

The Civilian plight on Tenetia is massive, and the Empire has deployed all elements it can towards rescue operations. We do not have the resources to take over two billion people into orbit.

Therefore, I have been authorised to request Coredian assistance. . . .

It was a rather unusual request and one that intruged the Dark Lady.

We are quite busy with the evacuations, but I will be willing to have a short audience. Be quick!



Dominkive watched on the Leviathan's viewer as Tenetia III blew apart, breaking into several dozen odd chunks of rock and debris, hurtling towards Tenetia. He dashed towards the nearest Comm. station. "Belay previous request! Lower the Citadel's shields and prepare to be beamed up to the Leviathan! We will speak there. I will meet you in transporter room 2. Khal, you coming?"

Khal shook his head, "in a moment my Lord. I need to brief the bridge crew as to our current situation."

Dominkive nodded in approval. "Very well. I'll expect you in Transporter Room 2 in a little bit then."

Khal stared at Dominkive as he rushed out of the Leviathan's bridge. Khal then turned to the Security Chief, "I want a squad of Royal Troopers ready at Transporter Room 2."

The Chief protested, "under who's authority? I don't have to recognize you under the fact that Lord Dominkive is of the highest ranking officer in the fleet. Not to mention that the Royal Guard are only under his command..."

Khal wasted no time reacting to the Chief's protest. He reached for his side arm and pull the trigger. Moments later, the Chief's body sat in a pool of his own blood. Khal then turned to a nearby Lieutenant, and pointed his gun at him. "I don't have time for protests. Will you carry out my command... Chief?" The man nodded. Khal then put his gun away, and quickly marched to the transporter room where an unsuspecting Kirtir Lord awaited Lady Nightshade...

OOC: Sith:

“Admiral.” Commscan added. “We have incoming hails requesting orders from the Endurance and the Titan.” Tsalik took his time to think while the first thermo nuclear explosion detonated on Tenetias green and fertile soil.

Ignored. The bigger rocks will take hours, if not days, to fall. We have more than enough time and firepower to pulverize the rocks. Even if the Imperial fleet's gone, there's still the Tenetian and Huntarian Fleets, as well as the Death Star, all insystem.

IC:

Dominkive watched on the Leviathan's viewer as Tenetia III blew apart, breaking into several dozen odd chunks of rock and debris, hurtling towards Tenetia. He dashed towards the nearest Comm. station. "Belay previous request! Lower the Citadel's shields and prepare to be beamed up to the Leviathan! We will speak there. I will meet you in transporter room 2. Khal, you coming?"

"Belay that. The fleet is to intercept those pieces lest they fall." Nightshade calmly replied to Admiral Khal. "Our combined firepower should be more than enough to deal with this issue. Nevertheless, the shields remain online in case of a hit. If you must speak with me, then I'm sure a shuttle will suffice, although it appears that there's a 90% chance of heavy meteorfall for the time being."

Though the Empire had send away much of its forces for some reason, the Tenetian Fleet have not been idle in picking up as many passengers as possible and most of said fleet had moved into low orbit for the process. Now, they turned their guns on the rocks. Turbolasers and hypercannons from the SSDs and ISDs began blasting away the rocks, pulverizing the smaller ones quickly, and the World Devastators happily munched on those rocks they could catch. Even the planetary guns and the various orbitial cannons got in on the game, blasting falling rocks with an almost bored efficiency. The most damage Tenetia incurred was from the smaller ones that slipped past, hitting buildings and killing thousands, but they were ultimately miniscule. The larger ones will take some time, but surely the Leviathan's axial cannons and the Death Star would be able to deal with them easily?

=====

Coredian Spy Ship Fly On the Wall, Tenetia

Brandon Nekoshi could only gasp in horror as the events unfolded before his eyes. From his vantage point on the asteroid, he could easily see that the moon pieces were smashing ships left and right and several large ones were menacing the planet. Then he noted the Tenetian Fleet starting to blast away at the rocks. "Well, someone here's being smart for once."

He decided to bang out another secure message, along with footage of the events.

***Secure Transmission***

GALAXY GUN MISSILE HIT TEN III STOP

CASUALTIES EXPECTED STOP

TENETIAN FLEET DEALING WITH PIECES STOP

***End Secure Transmission***

That done, he stayed where he was, watching for further developments.

=====

An Imperial shuttle emerged from hyperspace in the Konoha star system, carrying within an Imperial Inquisitor familiar with the Masaki lineage. His name is Carnaxious Malorum.

Assembled before the lone shuttle, was the Coredian star fleet, and, surprisingly her allied forces as well. The Pre-Arranged hail was dispatched instantly.

ATTENTION COREDIAN REBELS

I Grand Inquisitor Carnaxious Malorum has been authorised by Emperor Vader to announce to you, that as of ten minutes ago, the Republic of the Farstars has launched a devastating attack upon the Imperial World of Tenetia, by stealing the Galaxy Weapon through espionage and war efforts, breaking a ten year cease fire.

The Civilian plight on Tenetia is massive, and the Empire has deployed all elements it can towards rescue operations. We do not have the resources to take over two billion people into orbit.

Therefore, I have been authorised to request Coredian assistance. . . .

If it was anything else, the Imperial shuttle would have likely been shot on site upon arriving at Konoha. As it was, many Coredians fainted upon learning that the Empire has asked their sworn enemy, the Coredians, for assistance. Nevertheless, several starfighters buzzed the shuttle, making it very clear that any stupid moves would be the last Malorum would make.

Then a somewhat cigar-shaped Shinobi-class battlecruiser Asuma Sarutobi moved to pick up the shuttle, then rebroadcast the message to the forces at Tantis.

"This is the Sarutobi. We will take you into our main hangar bay. Any action that would be deemed as hostile will result in your destruction."

A tractor beam snagged the shuttle and drew it into the main hangar bay. As the shuttle landed, the Inquisitor was met with Jounin Konohamaru Sarutobi, who was just about to head to Tantis when he picked up the guy, along with dozens of soldiers and slightly less than that in Shinobi subordinates.

"Inquisitor Malorum, please exit the vehicle unarmed and be ready to be escorted to the brig. As much as your statement tugs our heartstrings, we must verify them to ensure that you are not lying!" The young Jounin spoke through a megaphone. "After all, the Empire and the Coredians are still technically at war with each other!"

=====

Tantis

Meanwhile, the bridge received the message and footage from the spy ship, verifying the Empire's need for aid. Two fighters were dispatched for an independent verification and soon reported the same situation as well. It was enough for the Admiral.

"All forces, Tenetia has been attacked by the Galaxy Gun, but it was the moon that was hit in the process. The Empire has asked us for intervention. Stand by for further information and instructions."

=====

Aboard the Battlestar Coredia

Many sissy tears were shed as Naruto laughed himself silly at the idea of me being busted down to Flight Officer. "Remind me...hahaha...never to...hehehehe! *snort*...piss off the Grand Admiral!"

It was a very weird situation, let me tell you. There were people who saluted by habit, but once word got around, I could sense that the whole fleet were laughing at my current predicament. Humiliation didn't even begin to describe my feelings. Even my kid was laughing at me!

"Geez, Dad! What did you do, piss in the Admiral's cereal and dance on his head?" Travis laughed, before ducking a chucked chair.

Even the Council had a laugh at my expense!

"<You are lucky, Masaki, that we don't make you Padawan again!>" Master Lowbacca sent to me once he learned of the Admiral's decision, somehow managing to sound stern and mirthful at the same time in his hologram. "<Imagine, the Padawan Emperor!>"

"Are you two done yet?" I asked, my face as red as a tomato.

"Not yet!" Naruto suddenly flashed a camera to get my current rank, grinning. "Now I'm done! Blackmail material, here we come!"

There's no sound in space, but somehow, that didn't stop a big resounding "NOOOOOOO!" to reverbrate all over the fleet, and then a big *thump* as a certain someone collapsed out of shock.

"I think you killed him, Sensei." Travis deadpanned to Naruto as he saw a little ghost exit my mouth.

"He's just shocked, is all." Naruto said, still grinning as he stuffed my ghost back into my body.

A knock and an even lowlier soldier than I entered the door, saluting everyone above his rank of Petty Officer. At last, someone who saluted me first! "Sirs, a message from the Admiral. The Galaxy Gun has hit a moon of Tenetia."

"What? Is everything all right?" Naruto asked.

"Pieces are falling, but the Tenetian Fleet appears to be dealing with them."

"I see." My sister may be Dark, but at least the Dark Side hasn't taken her mental faculties. "Are we moving out, then?"

"He just ordered us to 'stand by'." The Petty Officer replied.

"All right. Dismissed." Naruto said, then returned to me with a grin. "Now...what to do with you..."

I groaned. Naruto's not going to let me go easily!

Rendezvous point: Tantis

Kelvin and Achaedus looked at each other over the display of the system at large as the message from the Sarutobi came through on all-comms. Their grim countenance cemented by what appeared to be confirmation that some madman had taken the Galaxy Gun and was now taking out targets of opportunity.

"We have to be certain," Kelvin said to Achaedus, who seemed more apt to explode into a flurry of curses than blink, "The Corrupted Envoy spoke with Masaki on the subject, and we know that the legitimate Farstars ambassador and the Senior Masaki are on cool but civil relations now, so they must have gotten further information."

Achaedus was about to drop an F-bomb, but held himself back as he thought about Kelvin's assessment. "You're right. He might be worried about the galaxy gun, but not about the Farstars. What the hell is going on?"

"Shall I request his presence?"

Achaedus thought for a moment. "Yes. Better to call the leader types together one more time to finalize our plan. Too much has changed for the previous plan to be fully applicable. We will need to shuffle some things around."

A message went out on line-of-sight comms, requesting presence of the commander of each force for a short final meeting on Tantis, at Lady Nightshade's former retreat. Daniel Masaki's presence was also specifically requested. Coordinates and landing protocols were provided, but each commander's conveyance was to announce their intent to the planetary authorities. Godulan paranoia had taken root in the people here as well...

Priority One Communication.
Imperial Request Humanitarian Aide.

Commander in Chief of Colonial Defence Forces Admiral De Bruyn,

It is with great regret that I inform you of a un-provoked and horrific attack upon our world Tenetia from the Calamari Republic. Our world has sustained heavy casualties, and we have diverted all available resources at our disposal to begin emergency humanitarian efforts.

However, due to the nature of Imperial FTL, those assets are limited. Imperial Command, holds in memory the mutual defence pact singed between the empire and the colonies. Although we understand colonial forces are overstretched at this moment in time, due to the ongoing civil war, with the Tauron rebels, we must request, direct intervention from colonial warships.

We are aware of the Kobol Defence Force, which is currently unengaged from the civil war, we urgently request, that you use your powers as military commander to dispatch whatever resources you have so that humanitarian efforts can begin with all haste.

We would request any and all available disaster pods you can spare, and any personnel with medical expertise.

This moment is a proving ground Admiral, for friendship and salvation.

Acting Grand Admiral,
Krashin Keyoff.

A reply quickly flashed from a decidedly busy De Bruyn.

To: Admiral Keyoff
From: Admiral of the Fleet Christiaan Balthazar Theron De Bruyn, United Colonies

I regret to inform you that the aforementioned extenuiating circumstances in the
United Colonies do not allow me to send aid at this time. We frankly need
all the vessels we can spare at this moment, and cannot afford to utilize precious reserve manpower and ships
--which would include the Kobol Defense Forces--
when we need to maintain our own efforts.

Achaedus thought for a moment. "Yes. Better to call the leader types together one more time to finalize our plan. Too much has changed for the previous plan to be fully applicable. We will need to shuffle some things around."

A message went out on line-of-sight comms, requesting presence of the commander of each force for a short final meeting on Tantis, at Lady Nightshade's former retreat. Daniel Masaki's presence was also specifically requested. Coordinates and landing protocols were provided, but each commander's conveyance was to announce their intent to the planetary authorities. Godulan paranoia had taken root in the people here as well...
The Phoenix sent a quick message to the Godulans.

"We shall be down momentarily."

The call also went out to the Coredia, onboard which one current Flight Officer was swabbing the decks in a maid outfit to his chagrin and the crew's laughter.

"Oy! We're heading down to the planet!" Naruto yelled to me as he jogged towards the hangar bay. "You can swab the decks later, Miss!"

"Asshole." I muttered under my breath and took off the silly outfit for a more practical flightsuit when I headed to the pilot's room. Of course, I'm sure Naruto has more humiliations to bestow upon me later...

The Admiral and us soon two flew towards the planet in formation, doing the required landing protocols and so on before we landed.

OOC: This is a reply to Dan's messege to my government. CW you can assume you got it sometime while being deployed.

Request of Current Status of Hawkins, Denied.
You were briefed by a Sith Infiltrator, she was a hostile.
I ordered her arrest. Kusomo had authorization to eliminate her.

Enemy Envoy sent to Mon Cal believed to be spreading false allegations.
He was a spy and has been summarily executed by spacing.

No apology for incursion expected from Government.
You are aware of the proper protocols to vet any envoy I send to you.
Did you challenge the Sith? My sources informed me you did not.
You could have been in league with her, or under her power.
I could not risk compromising the mission by your involvement.

I have convinced Ossus to drop charges. You are slipping down a dark path.
Just because you have does not mean you should use it.
Operation Roundhammer to commence soon.
Fleetcom has had ten years to prepare.
The Imps wont know what hit them

The palace was abuzz with activity, moreso even than the most violent periods of the insurgency following the Godulan - Coredian takeover of the world. With a modest but heavily protected landing area on the outskirts of the complex's perimeter, there would be room for smaller vessels to arrive and hold up while the finalities were dealt with. The first thing that newcomers would notice upon arrival was how massively 'natural' the world looked. Forests covered a significant portion of the surface, dotted occasionally with small towns and agricultural areas. Things got more industrial in nature as one closed the distance to the planetary capitol and the palace, eventually culminating in what appeared to be several manufacturing zones working in high gear, putting out modified TIE fighters and light picket vessels that could be constructed safely on the ground.

The second thing newcomers might notice was that the people seemed remarkably organized, as though something had galvanized them into action against some unseen menace... though it would not have taken much thinking to recognize what the menace might be, as a firmly non-imperial world so close to the Galactic Core would be a massive coup against the Imperials if its location and decided lack-of-Imperial-Affiliation were to be noticed. Better to have a large force to meet any invaders than rely solely on their Godulan benefactors to protect them.

The palace itself was a rather gothic affair, studded with towers and crenellations that made one think that when Lady Nightshade commissioned the construction of the building, she had been hoping for her very own castle. Now that it was in Godulan hands, however, things had changed a bit. Spires of green crystal rose from many of the towers now, replacing parts that had been damaged or destroyed in the battle that had taken place the year before. Soldiers kept watch for all of the vessels coming in, and each landing pad had an assortment of Marines to escort each commander into the palace.

Though they were generally no-nonsense in behavior, they took to their escort duties with remarkable amiability, taking the chance to convey their sense of pride at all they had done in their single year of freedom. In every case, they would point out a massive statue placed in the courtyard just outside the main entrance to the palace.

Everything appeared to have been done in obsidian, save for the central figure which was constructed of some form of emerald that shone with inner brilliance. It depicted the central figure, which appeared to be dressed much like a typical Godulan, gripping what looked like a Sith Acolyte by the neck in one hand. The Acolyte a representation of a lightsaber stabbing through the Godulan's shoulder, but the Godulan seemed unperturbed by the wound. In his other hand he held the broken body of another Sith. This representation stood on a small mound of what looked like rubble, and surrounding him were smaller representations of what looked like twenty people beating back six Sith Acolytes with shackles and chains. At the bottom of the depiction was a plaque that read the following:

IN MEMORIAM
THE GODULAN, KAL'SHAZZAR
WITHOUT WHOSE SACRIFICE WE WOULD NOT KNOW OUR FREEDOM
HE SUFFERED HIS PENANCE GLADLY

As for the rest of the trip, it would mostly be a number of guarded corridors and various other considerations before each newcomer would be presented into the conference room at which Generals Achaedus and Majestatus presided, with another Godulan who remained relatively quiet save to identify himself as Fleetlord Talisid to any who sought to inquire about his identity.

The palace was abuzz with activity, moreso even than the most violent periods of the insurgency following the Godulan - Coredian takeover of the world. With a modest but heavily protected landing area on the outskirts of the complex's perimeter, there would be room for smaller vessels to arrive and hold up while the finalities were dealt with. The first thing that newcomers would notice upon arrival was how massively 'natural' the world looked. Forests covered a significant portion of the surface, dotted occasionally with small towns and agricultural areas. Things got more industrial in nature as one closed the distance to the planetary capitol and the palace, eventually culminating in what appeared to be several manufacturing zones working in high gear, putting out modified TIE fighters and light picket vessels that could be constructed safely on the ground.

The second thing newcomers might notice was that the people seemed remarkably organized, as though something had galvanized them into action against some unseen menace... though it would not have taken much thinking to recognize what the menace might be, as a firmly non-imperial world so close to the Galactic Core would be a massive coup against the Imperials if its location and decided lack-of-Imperial-Affiliation were to be noticed. Better to have a large force to meet any invaders than rely solely on their Godulan benefactors to protect them.

The palace itself was a rather gothic affair, studded with towers and crenellations that made one think that when Lady Nightshade commissioned the construction of the building, she had been hoping for her very own castle. Now that it was in Godulan hands, however, things had changed a bit. Spires of green crystal rose from many of the towers now, replacing parts that had been damaged or destroyed in the battle that had taken place the year before. Soldiers kept watch for all of the vessels coming in, and each landing pad had an assortment of Marines to escort each commander into the palace.

Though they were generally no-nonsense in behavior, they took to their escort duties with remarkable amiability, taking the chance to convey their sense of pride at all they had done in their single year of freedom. In every case, they would point out a massive statue placed in the courtyard just outside the main entrance to the palace.

Everything appeared to have been done in obsidian, save for the central figure which was constructed of some form of emerald that shone with inner brilliance. It depicted the central figure, which appeared to be dressed much like a typical Godulan, gripping what looked like a Sith Acolyte by the neck in one hand. The Acolyte a representation of a lightsaber stabbing through the Godulan's shoulder, but the Godulan seemed unperturbed by the wound. In his other hand he held the broken body of another Sith. This representation stood on a small mound of what looked like rubble, and surrounding him were smaller representations of what looked like twenty people beating back six Sith Acolytes with shackles and chains. At the bottom of the depiction was a plaque that read the following:

IN MEMORIAM
THE GODULAN, KAL'SHAZZAR
WITHOUT WHOSE SACRIFICE WE WOULD NOT KNOW OUR FREEDOM
HE SUFFERED HIS PENANCE GLADLY

As for the rest of the trip, it would mostly be a number of guarded corridors and various other considerations before each newcomer would be presented into the conference room at which Generals Achaedus and Majestatus presided, with another Godulan who remained relatively quiet save to identify himself as Fleetlord Talisid to any who sought to inquire about his identity.

OOC: This is a reply to Dan's messege to my government. CW you can assume you got it sometime while being deployed.

Request of Current Status of Hawkins, Denied.
You were briefed by a Sith Infiltrator, she was a hostile.
I ordered her arrest. Kusomo had authorization to eliminate her.

Enemy Envoy sent to Mon Cal believed to be spreading false allegations.
He was a spy and has been summarily executed by spacing.

No apology for incursion expected from Government.
You are aware of the proper protocols to vet any envoy I send to you.
Did you challenge the Sith? My sources informed me you did not.
You could have been in league with her, or under her power.
I could not risk compromising the mission by your involvement.

I have convinced Ossus to drop charges. You are slipping down a dark path.
Just because you have does not mean you should use it.
Operation Roundhammer to commence soon.
Fleetcom has had ten years to prepare.
The Imps wont know what hit them


As Naruto and I stood gawking at the strange statue of the guy that helped free Tantis, an aide came up to me. "Sir, you've received a reply from the Free Worlds."

"Oh?" I retrieved the message and we read it. I shook my head and crumpled the paper up without a word. "Not even an apology. As far as I'm concerned, the Free Worlds is no longer a friend of Coredia."

"When have they ever been a friend? They didn't really do much for us." Naruto agreed.

Thus, when the rest of the Woodian Fleet arrived over whatever-hellhole-this-was, did they receive their orders after the required shuffling of crews and equipment. Techs scrambled to mount portable shields on DropShips, to bolster their defenses against anti-aircraft fire at Tenetia. As Colonel Allaire prepared his men, and as the fleet jumped for Tantis, he found himself summoned once more to Admiral Makaryk's private quarters.

"Proofread these," Admiral Makaryk growled at the (former?) Jedi. He never quite figured out if his subordinate was both a Jedi and an Acolyte, or if the transfer had been true and complete. He handed Keith two papers, stapled together. Keith flipped through them, to see that Makaryk had written a memo to Daniel Masaki, followed by an order concerning him. He could not help but notice the distinct lack of title afforded Daniel, but he let it pass, ignorant of Admiral Pellaeon's field demotion of the letter's target.

Mr. Masaki,

First of all, I wish to preface this letter, by requesting that you read its contents, followed by attached documents, to your men.

I am well aware of the FreeWorlds invasion, and rumors spread as to the diplomatic row this caused. I am also well aware of your use of Sith Tactics in dealing with it. You are most fortunate your attacks were not directed against any Woodians in the area, though I sure as hell felt uneasy feelings concerning them, and Colonel Allaire informed me exactly what those uneasy feelings were. You are fortunate, because, had such Sith attacks directed themselves against ANY Woodian citizen, the matter would have fallen under MY jurisdiction, and you would be dead. Either smoked by a turbolaser from orbit, or executed by ysalmari-equipped ground forces. Surely, after the civil war, after the Bailey incident, you were fully aware that statutory mindrape is considered a worse crime than murder in the first degree--mindrape is one of only two crimes punishable under Evil Woody Thoughts law by death. The only other capital crime is treason. Yet you act all surprised that the FreeWorlds takes offense to the dark deed. Yet they are not even as offended as we, and even if you could not have predicted their reaction, you sure as hell could have predicted ours. Supposedly, they only wanted to arrest you.

The second you pulled that stunt, you burned any pretense of 'national sovereignty.' You committed an offense every bit as odious as the FreeWorlds raid. Therefore, in any attempt to activate our mutual defense pact against the FreeWorlds, you shall be considered the aggressor nation and activation against FreeWorlds shall be void. Had you merely arrested and detained them, such would not have been the case.

Furthermore, you have forfeited any ability to meet with me in person forevermore. Any future meetings conducted by me shall be conducted by Holotransmission, with ysalmari on my end to prevent any attempts at Vaderesque mind control from your end. I will recommend to the Diplomatic Corps that they follow the same protocol, for their own safety in interacting with you. For the time being, I am sending you an emissary to serve you with this letter and subsequent orders to my subordinates which may be of interest to you.

signed...

Colonel Allaire then flipped the page, to reveal orders directed at him.

Colonel Keith Allaire is hereby ordered to kick Mr. Daniel Masaki's ass by any means he deems necessary.

signed...

The Colonel found himself suppressing a snicker at that last bit. Instead, all he could manage was one rather obvious statement. "The letter and order are both unsigned, sir."

"That is because I wished for you to witness that," Admiral Makaryk replied. "Give those here." Keith handed them over, and watched as Admiral Makaryk signed both of them, embossed both documents with his seal, and stuffed them both in a small envelope, such that when it was opened, the letter would be seen before the order. After sealing the envelope, Admiral Makaryk handed it to Colonel Allaire, adding "You are to be the emissary mentioned in the letter, and are therefore ordered to serve him with these documents."

"Serve him?" This time Keith found he could not suppress the snicker. "Since when did I become a Judge Advocate General officer?"

"Aff. You should have thought about that before you trained under a former Prime Minister," Admiral Makaryk grinned. "Dismissed."

Upon the Woodian Fleet's arrival at Tenetia...

Colonel Allaire, not desiring to waste one bit of time, was already in the hangar bay prepping his X-wing by the time the fleet dropped out of hyperspace. By now, he had changed into his battle dress uniform, as it probably was not a good idea to duel in, and get blood splattered all over, the more formal Class A's. He had also stuffed his naginata diagonally upright against one end of the cockpit, for he knew that heavy weapons might be a good thing for the duel ahead--besides, if Daniel got any ideas about frying it up with Lightning, Keith could make sure the naginata grounded itself upon Daniel, not him. Immediately thereafter, his ship darted out of the hangar bay, and transmitted the proper authentication codes for landing, along with an addendum. "I wish to speak immediately with Daniel Masaki. Not necessarily in private."
Another aide ran to us. "Sirs, Colonel Allaire wishes to speak with er, um...you."

"It's only temporary." I said, knowing he was confused as to my correct title.

"Very well. Anyway, the Colonel wishes to speak with you."

I wonder what for. "Tell him we're at the big statue that's glowing with weird emerald light."

"Yes, uh...sir..." The aide said and headed away with a cloud of confusion around his head.

Upon receiving the proper directions, it did not take Colonel Allaire long to find Daniel. He reached into the Force to sense Daniel's location, and then burned for the general vicinity of the statute as fast as the X-wing's raised shields would allow without burning up in the atmosphere. Which meant that Danny, Naruto, and the assorted other Coredians milling about smelt ozone, and possibly thought a meteor happened to be inbound. At least until such time as Keith felt the sudden urge to jam his engines into full reverse thrust, using them as retrorockets, anyway.

The Colonel managed to find a landing platform a short distance away, and disembarked, grabbing his naginata, not bothering to sheath it, and the message he had been ordered to serve upon Daniel Masaki. Within a few moments, he gave thanks that he had decided to walk instead of teleport, because he saw Daniel's field demotion reflected in his insignia from quite a distance. Admiral Makaryk's intuition in omitting his (former) title from the letter had proven correct.

Because of Danny's field demotion, Keith did not bother saluting him as he approached. Instead, he handed him a sealed envelope. "Admiral Makaryk requests that you read this to your men," Colonel Allaire growled, as he stared down Daniel. If Daniel thought Pellaeon had been upset with him...he could only give thanks that Pellaeon had not had that kind of a polearm with which to poke and prod him.
My eyes narrowed as I read the two letters the Admiral sent me. The Colonel would note my face coloring up as a high-ranking Woodian presumed to lecture me and punish me. He certainly had points, but it seems to me that every ally of late intends to threaten me with bodily harm. Well...the credit stops here. "Inform the good Admiral that first of all, his communications directive is his own business. Secondly, his requests to read this to my men and for you to beat me up, will be denied, both of them. It's one thing to be humiliated by my own people. It's another to be humiliated by a foreign national, especially of late."

I gave the notes to Naruto. He nodded in agreement after reading them. "The Free Worlds have already made one grave mistake. Don't make another, Colonel. I'll back you up, Daniel."

"Admiral, something's happening on the ground."

"What is it now?" Admiral Pellaeon grumbled on the bridge.

"Sir, Colonel Allaire appeared to have been ordered to 'kick Mr. Daniel Masaki's ass' by Admiral Makaryk."

Admiral Pellaeon scowled. "Get me Makaryk. Now!"

"Yessir, hailing!"

"Admiral. What is this I hear about you ordering Allaire to attack Masaki? This is neither the time nor the place for such an action! You step out of your bounds, my friend!"

=====

You could hear a pin drop when Allaire read the note. A furious Naruto put his fingers together and focused...

*poof*

A horde of clones appeared and surrounded the area, warning the Colonel that he's going too far. The commotion also attracted interest from my troops, who did not like what they saw and heard. Someone bellowed with a megaphone, "Colonel Allaire, put down your weapons, get on your knees, and put your hands on your head! You're under arrest for threatening the Emperor of Coredia!"

"Your parliament has no power here. Evil Woody Thoughts will not make the same mistake the Free Worlds made in overstepping their authority." I spoke quietly, noticing the increasing numbers of soldiers coming to defend me. I saw that they were ready to strike Keith down on my word.

When I did, I found my fingers flickering with lightning as my anger coursed through my veins. Damn. I'm slipping, aren't I? No...the Dark Side shall not take hold. Not today.

I looked at the scene and shook my head. This is too much. Twice in one day, two allies have seen fit to treat me like a child. Two of them We are on the eve of war, we are on the verge of a critical victory against the Empire and here, we are bickering like children at each other. No wonder the Empire has scored so many victories against us! We can’t even get together for a day!

I turned back around, looking at all the troops about to kill a man I respected yet had seen fit to treat the Emperor as a child. No. Bloodshed between allies will not come to pass.

I stared at Keith in the eye, a glare to match Admiral Pellaeon's, as the very air around me sizzled with electricity, and then slowly faded. Naruto and his clones watch me. Even my best friend wondered what I would do.

When I was calm enough, I spoke. “Stand down."

Reluctantly, very reluctantly, my men stood down their weapons.

"Colonel Keith Allaire. Do you know who I am? I am Coredia's Emperor, sworn to protect the sovereignity of my people, sworn to defend Coredia to my dying breath. I am also the co-ruler of this planet Tantis, Godular being the other. Twice in one day two "allies" have seen fit to trample upon me like a child! Twice in one day, I have been threatened by whom I have called friends. No more. Colonel, you offered me a way out through your courts. So I will do the same to you."

"I will let you go without arrest, this time. But leave my presence at once! I don't care if you spend ten years in prison, or lose your commission! You will not threaten the head of an allied nation!” I admonished him.

“But know this: I will not submit my fate nor that of Coredia to any foreign court, military or otherwise. You have two choices. You may return to Admiral Makaryk and tell him what I just told you or you can attack me."

"Have the Woodians in their lust for battle forgotten who their enemy is? If so, then fight me in your blindness. But know that once you do, our alliance is finished. Make your choice Keith, but I will not tolerate your insolence, nor that of any ally's. Enough is enough!" I emphasized the last thee words.

I unhooked my lightsaber, but kept it unlit. The ball is in Allaire's court now.

OOC: Sith:



Ignored. The bigger rocks will take hours, if not days, to fall. We have more than enough time and firepower to pulverize the rocks. Even if the Imperial fleet's gone, there's still the Tenetian and Huntarian Fleets, as well as the Death Star, all insystem.

IC:



"Belay that. The fleet is to intercept those pieces lest they fall." Nightshade calmly replied to Admiral Khal. "Our combined firepower should be more than enough to deal with this issue. Nevertheless, the shields remain online in case of a hit. If you must speak with me, then I'm sure a shuttle will suffice, although it appears that there's a 90% chance of heavy meteorfall for the time being."

Though the Empire had send away much of its forces for some reason, the Tenetian Fleet have not been idle in picking up as many passengers as possible and most of said fleet had moved into low orbit for the process. Now, they turned their guns on the rocks. Turbolasers and hypercannons from the SSDs and ISDs began blasting away the rocks, pulverizing the smaller ones quickly, and the World Devastators happily munched on those rocks they could catch. Even the planetary guns and the various orbitial cannons got in on the game, blasting falling rocks with an almost bored efficiency. The most damage Tenetia incurred was from the smaller ones that slipped past, hitting buildings and killing thousands, but they were ultimately miniscule. The larger ones will take some time, but surely the Leviathan's axial cannons and the Death Star would be able to deal with them easily?

Khal nodded at Nightshade's request just before he exited the bridge. He looked at the new Security Chief, "you heard the Lady. Coordinate attacks with the rest of the fleet. Launch all fighters to concentrate on the smaller rocks so that the Turbolasers can focus on the larger ones."

The new Security Chief saluted, "aye sir. All hands, launch all fighters. Target asteroids headed towards Tenetia in attempts to vaporize them into smaller pieces. Turbolasers charged, firing." The Huntarian Fleet was soon lit up in a brilliant glowing green aura as their Turbolasers shot upon the broken chunks of Tenetia III.

Khal nodded in approval as he watched the green spray of lasers on the viewer. He turned back towards Transporter Room 2, where a squad of Royal Guardsmen were waiting for him. "Orders sir?"

"Follow me into the Transporter Room." He and the squad entered where Dominkive waited for Nightshade.

"What is going on here Admiral? What's taking Nightshade so long? And who authorized you to use my Royal Guard?"

"Unfortunately, Tenetia III has exploded from the Galaxy Gun missile. She asked us to help her fleet. I have granted her request if only to proceed with our meeting. As to your other question though..." Khal withdrew his side arm once more and pointed it at Dominkive's head. "After the dismissal of the Kirtir Lord meeting, one Lord remained behind and gave me a new set of orders which I were to follow. The other Lords ability to control the Royal Guard was diminished. Unfortunately for you, this mean your death on accounts for Treason."

"Whaa--" Dominkive soon found a bullet from Khal's side arm in his head and collapsed onto the floor.

Khal looked down at the limped body of Dominkive, previous training told him otherwise that he might not be dead exactly... He turned to his squad, "that metal mask of his might've blocked the bullet. Shoot the corpse and enough times to make sure he's dead."

The reply of the Dornalian scumbag infuriated Krashin as he watched the message appear on his screen. It was now certain, this man was no Cain that was for sure, and he was no friend of the Empire. Cain would have aided an ally at the instant of trouble, defending what was hers and what was in her interests. The Admiral filed away the result of the request into a folder for the emperors appraisal, Krashin was sure that Vader would have some punitive recourse that would cause earth to suffer in time.

The admiral stroked his chin as he looked at the sensor display over Tenetia, it was a mess. The Huntarians in their eagerness to blast away at the moon fragments were causing them to split into further pieces. With this much rock floating about, it was dangerous enough, but now they were being broken down into randomised, faster, hurtling missiles. “WHY HAVE THEY NOT FOLLOWED TSALIKS ORDERS!?” Krashin shouted with rage. The amount of objects adorning the screen now numbered in the hundreds. The larger pieces of the moon were being broken into pieces from the assault, asteroids were being peeled from them in mere seconds. “They were to wait for the Death Star to vaporise the bloody things! Send a priority one message, commanding them to hold fire and retreat to the safe zone.”

Krashins face was red, he felt intense anger at the insubordination. Now the situation at Tenetia had grown far worse within mere moments. If the Huntarians and Tenetians had paid attention to their sensor scans, they would have realised the density and iron make up of the ore, would absorb much of a turbo-laser blast instead of disintegrating. Now, he had no alternative.

“Commscan, send the message to Melida/Daan and Kobol, priority one, give them emergency codes.” The technician nodded confirmation of the order. "We will ignore their present admiral."

EMERGENCY TRANSMISSION FLASH
PRIORITY ONE

Massive strike upon Imperial world Tenetia. Billions in danger. Need all humanitarian relief that can be spared. This is a priority one flash. Emergency request for aid and supplies. Disaster pods requried urgently.

EMERGENCY TRANSMISSION FLASH
PRIORITY ONE

Confirmation Code PPP-9j58-575h-3jfh8

The Leviathan's Comm. Officer almost peed himself when he heard the rather somewhat aggressive message delivered to them. "Erm... Transporter Room Two. Admiral, new transmission from the Imperials. They have stated that they previously ordered us to wait for the Death Star to destroy the debris. Orders?"

Khal nodded, the exact expression we were hoping for. "Acknowledged and confirmed. What is the size of the debris field now?"

"It will take some time for sensors to get an exact number, the density of the field is rather large Admiral. Roughly increased by 50% of original size."

"Very good. Halt turbolaser fire and recall all fighters."

"Yes sir."

Melinda/Daan
Geminese Fleet Designation BSG: 78
Commander Emory in command

(Quotes from Hunt for Red October)

Sixteen months had come and gone, since the victory of Melinda/Daan over the forces of the Hyperbolians, also known commonly as the excrement. Sixteen long months, since the last show down against the Empire, which nearly brought a new war against the United Colonies, and would have added to the list of wounds in the back of Caprica herself.

Instead of death and destruction, the wills of De Bruyn and Cain came through, and the successful treaty which placed these planets solely in control of the United Colonies was well enforced. Sixteen months of peace reigned in the neutral zone of the Territories of Melinda/Daan.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05:30 ZULU

Commander Emory took her first step onto the CIC, in the morning. She was dressed to a T, as her boots were polished, each button glistening in the white fluorescent lights from the CIC. With a cup of coffee in hand, she approached the large bullet proof glass doors to the CIC.

“Commander on Deck.” the sargent at arms yelled out, as the men and women on the bridge stood at attention.

“As you were.” she said as she placed her cup of joe on the planning table.

Her XO walked up to her, with a stack of papers in his arms. “Sir.” he said as he quickly saluted the very professional commander.

“Yes Major Redmen?” she asked him, as she looked up to the draidus contacts, in the system.

He nodded, as he took his hand off his forehead, and placed both of his hands behind his back. “Sir, everything is reporting normal. Some Bothan traders have asked for clearance, to begin trade with the planet Daan.”

Jamie Emory looked at her XO with somewhat of a surprised look. “Bothans?” she asked as she looked up to the screen. “What do they want?”

The XO looked into the stack of files and pulled out a folder marked, “The Jah’kai.” Flipping through the first page he looked up to her. “They are asking to set up shop for a hyperspace factory on Daan.”

“Hardly.” Commander Emory spoke up. ‘Those damn furry devils are some of the most devious devils in this gods forsaken galaxy. Search their ship head to toe, if you have to unscrew every bolt on that damn ship do it. They are going to be trying to pull something, and I am not about to let them try anything.”

“Yes sir.” he said, as he pulled out another folder, “I will relay your orders after the briefing.”

She looked at him then back up at Draidus. “Any word from back home?” she asked him as she closed her eyes.

“Yes sir.” the XO said reluctantly. ‘Metaxas has taken Ragner, and there is rumors that he has also captured a key tilium refinery on Canceron.” he said as he looked through the morning briefing.

“What about Geminion?”

“So far the fighting seems to be isolated, to Caprica, and Scorpia, with one reported instance of a bombing on Earth. Really rattled the cages of the international community, as it killed the final shot of a soccer match.”

Commander Emory squinted her left eye slightly, as she looked confused. “That outraged the international community?” she asked in disbelief.

“Aye sir.” the XO replied.

“You have to be kidding me, Colonials are in a war with each other, and the only thing they care about is a soccer match. What kind of screwed up universe do we live in?” she asked trying to fathom the irrational behavior of the nations that surrounded the colonies.

The XO didn’t reply, as he knew that if he tried, it would spark another debate, and it was too early to indulge the commander of her intellectual games.

“Sir.” One nervous junior officer stood up, as she looked at her commander. “I am so sorry to interrupt, but we are recieving a prioty one signal.” she said to the two senior officers in the CIC.

The news of a priority one message perked Commander Emory’s ears as she looked to her com officer. What could it be? Was Geminion attacked? What of her husband her son? No, no, I am a professional, I need facts.” the worried mind of Jamie thought. “Who is it from?” she asked out anxiously hoping against all hope it was not from the United Colonies.

“It is from Courescant sir.” she replied. For a brief second, a great weight was lifted off her chest. She nodded, then looked at the com officer. “What does it say?”

“Sir.” the com officer said as she looked at the report. “The message is authenticated with current Imperial Codes. Tenetia has been attacked, by the Galaxy Gun. Massive casualties, and damage, they are requesting our aid in evacuation refugees to an imperial planet.

Commander Emory nodded. “Well then, prepare BSG 78 for jump to Tenetia.” she ordered.

The XO looked at Commander Emory, “Sir what if the Tauronese attack?” He asked her concerned.

“The Tauronese only care about getting the Abh, and breaking out of the Colonies. Melinda/Daan is in a different galaxy and has no tactical advantage.”

“But sir, we can not leave it defenseless.”

Commander Emory looked at her xo, with a slight glare, then after a bried moment nodded. “Alright leave the Dornie, Caprican and Virgon fleets here. That should provide enough defense for the system.” she said as she stared at him in the eyes. “Is that satisfactory, Major.”

“What of De Bruyn’s orders?” he asked her.

“They can court marshal me if they like, but I am not in the mood to let people die over bureaucracy. Don’t you remember Caprica, and the death and devestaion that occured? I will not suffer that too happen to civilians. Prepare the raptors to jump, and relay the orders to Geminonese fleet.”

“Yes sir.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kobol:

Admiral Hoshi stood on the CIC of the battlestar Valyrkie. It has been on hell of a day, as his men continued to practice and drill the eventual invasion by Tauron. Unlike the Dornies, he knew Metaxas. The man didn’t take a dump without a plan, and he had to be ready. As he watched the mock drill over the planet the message came in.

Pulling it off the rack, he sighed. His heart wanted to help, but the threat to Kobol was too real, and to present. Unlike Melinda/Daan, Kobol was in the direct line of fire of the Civil war, as the central hub between the 12 Colonies, and Earth.

He picked up the phone and placed the call

This is Admiral Joseph Hoshi, Commander of Kobol Defense Forces, to the Imperial Aid request. My heart is extended to your people in this time of need, and I wish truly to aid you and your people, as true friendships in this universe is rare. However due to standing orders, and the very real threat of Tauronese insurgents taking this planet, we can not issue direct aid until relief efforts from the United Colonies come in. I will speak to the Admiral of the Fleet and ask for Reinforcements from Earth to further Kobol’s defenses, so that we may be able to aid you in the near future. We will send aid when the resources become available. May the lords bless you and keep you safe.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tenetia:

Twenty minutes later, at the outer edge of the planet fifteen Mercury class battlestars, and one Columbia class battlestar jumped into the system. Flashing authentication codes, they then sent out the signal.

Attention Imperial Vessels. This is BSG-78, we are here to aid in the humanitarian mission to the world of Tenetia. Please relay orders so that we may begin to rescue and medical operations to the most effective means. Disaster pods, and raptors are on stand by.

"Admiral Makaryk, Admiral Pellaeon wishes to speak with you."

"What is it now?" Makaryk growled, already displeased by the situation unfolding on the ground. "Patch him through."

Pellaeon's words only made him scowl even more, as he looked into the projection of the Old Man. "Anyone who believes that mindrape is permissible is no longer my friend, and never was. Mr. Masaki knows damn well what he did."
"And for that, I have punished him appropriately." Admiral Pellaeon replied cooly. "However, you should know that though I have demoted him, it was possible because he himself has been ashamed of his actions, nothing more, nothing less. He is still Emperor, whatever rank he currently holds, and for you to order an attack on him as you did is nothing less an act of war than mindrape, especially after the events between him and the Free Worlds. Fortunately, we Coredians are the most forgiving sort. Understand that as far as I'm concerned, there will be no further encroachments on Coredian sovereignity, whether or not your people believe we have such."

"Sir, Masaki's ordered his troops to stand down and Allaire's agreed to get the order recinded." Comms reported.

"Then I trust that we will resolve this without further disagreements. This day has gone badly enough. Good day, Admiral." Admiral Pellaeon said curtly, then cut off the comms. "I shall head down for the Godulan meeting. Captain, you have the bridge until then."

"Yessir." The Captain replied, nodding.

The Admiral stared at the empty screen where he spoke with Makaryk, then shook his head before hobbling down to his personal hangar bay and headed down to the planet in his personal shuttle.

=====

Keith shook his head at Daniel's pride. He really should have directed his ire at Admiral Makaryk. The Colonel had enough discretion afforded him by the Evil Woody Thoughts Code of Military Justice to stay the order for the sake of due process, but the pompous titleholder before him had already disavowed any attempt to actually overturn the order. He sighed. The spear did not move, though his senses remained on hair-trigger alert such that he could react if any of his men so much as twitched their weapons in spite of Daniel's order to stand down.

"You yourself are wary that you are about to Fall. That is why you return, even after leaving your men to shoot me. Perhaps you have Fallen into Darkness already. Perhaps you should read the letter again, to find out, or remind yourself, why Makaryk believes you are his enemy. Your pride blinds you every bit as much as Makaryk's alleged lust for battle blinds him," Keith replied, his eyes boring down into Daniel's with every bit the same intensity that Daniel attempted to use to stare him down. "You knew full well how your conduct concerning the Freeworlds would reflect upon you. I see, for one, it got you demoted to Flight Officer." Though Keith did not know of Pellaeon's previous admonishment, there could be no other conceivable explanation for that insignia.

"That you are the Emperor is irrelevant to your actions. I can say with certainty that had my Master not exiled himself, he would right now be moving the Jedi Council to a motion to declare you Dark and Fallen, with all of the consequences thereof. Especially given that you know, from previous experience, just how abhorrent your earlier act of mindraping others is...you know full well the horrors of the civil war. You know full well how Woodians reacted to the Bailey Kipper incident. You knew that we were present to witness any contemplated Dark Act, and could have predicted our revulsion from a million light-years away. You, in spite of full knowledge of the consequences, willfully walk down that path. If you continue, the Dark Side will consume you."

Keith's hands loosened their grip on his naginata, as he reached in his pockets for a datapad. However, the naginata held position via use of telekinesis, ready to fling itself into an enemy in an instant should Daniel (or his men) take advantage of the opportunity to take potshots. "Since you are too prideful to attempt to get Admiral Makaryk's order vacated, I will make the attempt for you," Keith glared at Daniel, as he frantically tried to think of a legal argument he could use, since the Parliament had explicitly stripped Coredia of any diplomatic immunity that could be a basis for overturning the order, in response to the Bailey Kipper Incident. Perhaps if he thought amongst the more mundane? Order of battery against a noncombatant? Hmm...that might work...maybe...the mindrape would make that difficult, though. Maybe if he threw in a jurisdictional question, to boot...

He quickly started tapping on his datapad with a stylus, filing a complaint with the military tribunal body aboard the Star Destroyer from whence he deployed. Namely, a motion for an emergency stay of his order in the case of Allaire ex rel. Masaki v. Makaryk...
Truth be told, he did have a lot of good points. My recent actions did seem quite Dark. Maybe I need a shrink or at least a very long meditation session with my colleagues. Either way, I had a lot to contemplate for later.

I sighed tiredly, rubbing my throbbing temples. "Just do what you have to do so we can get this over with. I'm heading to the Godulans' meeting place. And that little 'leave my presence' thing? Consider that revoked. Heat of the moment and all."

With that, I walked away from him, visibly drained at how badly this day has gone. Naruto, having dismissed troops and clones alike, walked besides me. "Is it just me, or is today just one big clusterfuck after another? Makes me think that there's someone out there actively keeping us from taking Tenetia."

I gave him a longsuffering look. "You may be right, Naruto. You may be right..."

Chao Lingshen didn't feel it necessary to respond to the Godulans' message, quickly making her way to the hangar bay with Yue and Nodoka in tow as her entourage and aides. Within a few short minutes, their shuttle transport would land on the planet at a designated landing zone, and the three girls would soon make their way to the actually meeting area.

((Short post due to lack of sleep and motivation. Fricken Military Physicals suck ass, man. T-T))

As the Tantis guards (OOC: DURN YOU CURRENT SCHEDULE!) had been ordered to hold back unless things came to actual blows, they simply went back to escorting their charges toward the meeting room once the 'issue' had been resolved. Some of them muttered comments under their breath about how the Empire had won the galaxy because of shit like that.

As Daniel entered the room, possibly with the others, Achaedus glared at them all with a 'Y'all need a lesson about what 'time and place' means' glare while Kelvin immediately noted the Masaki patriarch's reduced rank.

"Hello again, Mister Masaki. It would seem that the issue of the consequences for your actions has already been addressed, so we shall not press the issue about recommending your abdication of any military command position in the potentially coming battle. We are thankful that the incident outside did not escalate to a physical confrontation, as that would have made things highly... awkward."

Achaedus turned to Masaki as well, his glare gone but replaced by a new one of surprising intensity.

"Mister Masaki, what in the bloody hell do you know about the Galaxy Gun and the Farstars? We know the Sithbitch came to you with some 'news' about the situation, and since your talk with the ambassador you don't seem overly perturbed. A Hypermatter bomb has impacted Tenetia's moon, and the Tenetian fleet is presently occupied towards pulverizing the debris as any sane folks should. Do you have any information about who might be calling in the targeting locks to that damn tinker toy?"

Colonel Allaire followed Daniel in the general direction of the meeting, but only to tell him his final thoughts on the matter. "I will leave your presence regardless, because your actions in addition to those of Admiral Makaryk have tainted any possible Woodian participation in the meeting. Please request the Godulans to brief us at the meeting's conclusion."

He sighed after that bit, wondering if he would rather have been struck down by trigger-happy Coredian soldiers than be in the situation he was in now. "At one point, it would have been possible to persuade Makaryk to withdraw the order of his own volition. However, the second you resorted to threat, which was pretty much immediately, his mind hardened. And as you have displayed willingness to throw your allies away in a fit of anger and misplaced pride, rather than attempt to address the causes of such anger, it is with a heavy heart that I notify you that my attempt to vacate the order against you shall be the last favor I extend to you. I see now that the Jedi Order makes no attempt to resolve disputes that arise from the question of foreign national Jedi, should Jedi law in any way conflict with their home nation's law. That in the event of such a conflict, foreign national Jedi are thrown to the brig if so convenient."

Keith dug his Coredian ID out of his pocket and handed it to Daniel. "Therefore, effective immediately, I resign from the Jedi Order and renounce my Coredian citizenship. My participation in the forthcoming battle shall solely be under the banner of Evil Woody Thoughts, the People's Acolytes, or both. I shall remit the lightsaber that I have built to you after the battle, and notify you by telepathy when the tribunal acts upon my complaint."

He shook his head in disapproval, the fire in his eyes, to which Daniel was so accustomed burned out. He looked down at Daniel, somewhat shorter than he, one last time, his eyes more grey, and borderline hazel, than their normal bright blue. He stifled the urge to add the word again to the traditional admonishment he had forthcoming. "May the Light return to you."

He turned his back on Daniel, then began walking to his ship, feeling as though he had just exorcised a part of himself. The only reason why he was able to keep military bearing during his march back to the ship was because he sensed the Clans had just arrived, and he would rather not do anything unbecoming in their presence.

OOC: CW, talk to me first before doing anything rash.
"Very well." I merely said as I retrieved the ID card. "I'm sorry it had to come to this. I only wish this day could have gone in our favor."

As the Tantis guards (OOC: DURN YOU CURRENT SCHEDULE!) had been ordered to hold back unless things came to actual blows, they simply went back to escorting their charges toward the meeting room once the 'issue' had been resolved. Some of them muttered comments under their breath about how the Empire had won the galaxy because of shit like that.

As Daniel entered the room, possibly with the others, Achaedus glared at them all with a 'Y'all need a lesson about what 'time and place' means' glare while Kelvin immediately noted the Masaki patriarch's reduced rank.

"Hello again, Mister Masaki. It would seem that the issue of the consequences for your actions has already been addressed, so we shall not press the issue about recommending your abdication of any military command position in the potentially coming battle. We are thankful that the incident outside did not escalate to a physical confrontation, as that would have made things highly... awkward."
I snorted. "Tell me about it. Why does it always seem that we would rather be at each other's throats than at the Empire's throat? Our enemies laugh at our lack of cohesion."

Achaedus turned to Masaki as well, his glare gone but replaced by a new one of surprising intensity.

"Mister Masaki, what in the bloody hell do you know about the Galaxy Gun and the Farstars? We know the Sithbitch came to you with some 'news' about the situation, and since your talk with the ambassador you don't seem overly perturbed. A Hypermatter bomb has impacted Tenetia's moon, and the Tenetian fleet is presently occupied towards pulverizing the debris as any sane folks should. Do you have any information about who might be calling in the targeting locks to that damn tinker toy?"
I gathered my thoughts for the answer. "All right. The 'Sithbitch' as you say first came to me and basically reported that Hawkins had stolen the Galaxy Gun. At that point I wondered what the hell was he trying to do. Then 'the Incident' happened. Then in my meeting with the ambassador, the Free Worlds claimed they intercepted the Galaxy Gun in the Ishtar System and fought a battle, heavily damaging it. They also claimed that someone told them that we stole the Galaxy Gun instead and intended to hit Imperial population centers. A further claim is that Hawkins is on Miranda, not the Galaxy Gun. Oh, and here's the kicker: The Warden ordered the 'the Incident' herself, knowing full well what the response would be."

"Honestly, I'm more confused than anything else. I can't make head or tails out of all the finger-pointing going on. As far as I can make out, the Free Worlds has the Galaxy Gun but either can't tell who's in charge of it or won't. I'd put my money on won't. By the way, Keith said he won't show up, so the Woodians are going to need a briefing of this meeting."

Malorum waited within his cell just as he expected he would have to. The Jedi, not being very considerate to his appeal for humanitarian aid, were certainly taking their time in meeting with him. Typical, Malorum thought. Just like the Jedi to put their own needs above others.

"Guards!" Malorum bellowed. "Find your masters quickly, lest the emperor lay waste to your pitiful world."

Malorum waited within his cell just as he expected he would have to. The Jedi, not being very considerate to his appeal for humanitarian aid, were certainly taking their time in meeting with him. Typical, Malorum thought. Just like the Jedi to put their own needs above others.

"Guards!" Malorum bellowed. "Find your masters quickly, lest the emperor lay waste to your pitiful world."
Asuma Sarutobi, Konoha

The guards only snickered in reply at the impotent Inquisitor. One cheerfully ticked off his fingers as he spoke, "Our first capital's eaten. Our second's blown up. Our third is a Godulan winterworld. Finally, this one is a radioactive wasteland! It's likely others will follow, as the trend seems to go. What more can the Empire do to us that hasn't already been done?"

"Yeah. Anything Vader would do now would be silly villain clichés! Now shut yer yap and wait for 'our masters'!" Another growled.

=====

Bridge

"All set to go?" Konohamaru Sarutobi asked his crew as they prepared to join the rest of the fleet at Tantis.

"Yep. What do we do about the prisoner?" His XO, Udon asked.

The young Jounin Shinobi only chuckled. "We'll see what the Admiral says when he hears of this. Engage hyperdrive."

"Sir, yes sir. Engage hyperdrive!"

Quickly enough, the Asuma Sarutobi enlongated as psuedomotion activated, and then disappeared into hyperspace. ETA: well, not long.

Achaedus and Kelvin both grew quiet for a moment, assimilating the information they had just been provided to its full extent, while Talisid simply nodded with a smirk that seemed to imply he had just won something in a bet. The fleetlord looked at the two generals and shrugged. "There is precedent. Look at what we found out about the Kobol attack, they aren't above the tactic."

"ITS A PLOY!" Achaedus finally bellowed, rattling the glasses on the conference table some. "A goddamn Imperial ploy to pit us against each other, just like they did at Kobol. Relations between the Imperials and the Tenetians have generally been tense of late, we all know Vader wouldn't have missed them. All the better if the Tenetians die in a way that removes them as a factor while at the same time galvanizing any survivors against the 'Rebels'."

"We are still not certain of the true motive behind the situation, General," Kelvin replied. "Those envoys could have come from some other source, but I do admit that the information, if truthful to the fullest extent on both sides, is quite damning."

"They're trying to play us against each other as well, I'd wager," Achaedus said, with Talisid nodding in agreement. "If not the Imperials than somebody with similar goals in mind. Perhaps a rogue commander taking matters into his own hands or something. Considering what happened outside, and at the landing pad, they've proven remarkably effective at this ploy, were it not for the fact that we still have means of keeping on top of the situation."

"A mystery within a conundrum within an enigma," Kelvin concurred. "We have been played, but I suspect that we learned of it before we were intended to. Whatever the situation, the Empire is weakened of late. They are trying to rally support for an attack on the Farstars and had the ploy been successful the Coredians may well have joined them. As very possibly we might have as well."

"REMOTE as that possibility might be."

"Indeed, and now it would seem that there is even more imperative to strike out at the Imperials, for in this they have left themselves open. Whatever the motive of whoever it may have been that took the Galaxy Gun, if indeed it has been 'taken' from the Imperials, it was intended to leave us the weaker. Again, if the information is correct. For the moment, we must assume that the Galaxy Gun will still target us."

The three Godulans stood there and looked at Daniel with thoughtful expressions. Silence suddenly reigned in the room, to such a point that a pin dropping would have rang out like a crashing gong. After what seemed like an eternity of instants, all three Godulan commanders said the same word.

"Blitzkrieg."

Immediately, the conference table turned into a giant holographic representation of the most up-to-date data presented from Tenetia, now demonstrating the Tenetian fleet in the process of vaporizing the moon debris into smaller, more manageable chunks that would burn up in the atmosphere before causing any measurable form of damage. That the others fleets in the system were pulling back was noted. The Tenetians were taking the only viable path in relation to preventing any other damage, but everybody else was sitting there with their collective thumbs up their asses. The Generals immediately set to working up new battle plans, while the Fleetlord provided information as necessary. A few seconds in, Talisid looked up, just in time to see the Skaugrans enter.

"Glad you could make it! Now, where the hell are the rest of our 'allied commanders'? Shouldn't Pellaeon be down here as well? And is Makaryk really so childish as to pull the silent treatment on you, Mister Masaki?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Out on the palace grounds, as Keith moved to return to his ship, one of the guards stopped to listen to his comms, and moved forward towards the Woodian officer.

"Mister Allaire, the Godulans rather specifically requested the audience of each military commander. It would be 'unfortunate' if some commanders declined to attend a meeting where battle plans were being finalized, thereby depriving us of valuable military expertise."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Further comms went out to the rest of the fleets by line-of-sight transmission, all addressed to each respective commander, with the exception of the Skaugrans, who had just arrived present at the meeting:

Your presence is HIGHLY requested at the finalization meeting. We will not be long, but there are things that you need to know that we do not wish to state over airwaves.

And, specifically to Makaryk:

Stuff the silent treatment bullshit. The last thing we need right now is infighting.

"Are the Woodians done throwing their temper tantrums and acting like little bitches? We have a battle to fight and a situation to defuse."

Those in the room would see three beings in armor walk in. The armor was mostly smooth and conforming to the body, allowing flexibility and fast movement, but also had the armor in the right places, making a perfect set of power armor to be used, if one had the strength and skill to wield it. A helmet covered the face, with two spikes-esque protrusions coming from the back. It was somewhat scary considering the armor was a dull gray, with blood red lines glowing from the power within. When they came up to where they could be seen fully, the helmet split apart and retracted into the collar around, showing a woman with bright red hair, and two males with brown and black hair respectively. Any Jedi in the room would sense that the Force was was absent in their presence, a sign of a Force Negation ability. The woman's blue eyes were hard and filled with annoyance at the scene she just witnessed. Upon seeing the Godulan, she stiffened and gave a small bow.

"Greetings, I am sorry we were delayed. We had some last minute problems with the weapons shipments you sent and the Woodians were rather.....distracted with their private vendetta with the Coredians. I am Captain Mary Smith of the TITAN complement. But you can just call me Mantis. I have come as requested by the Godulan command and am fully at your disposal." She gave a wicked smile as she finished her required duty.

"Besides, any party with you is bound to be fun and it's not every day you can test your skills on what you were trained to fight." She turned to the only other representative in the room, the one from Skaugra and gave a quick salute. "For those who are not in the know, we are the soldiers of the TITAN complement, a program designed to help us deal with the more.....supernatural enemies we may encounter in the galaxy. The Godulans aided us in that endeavor and they requested our aid. Let's just say we're very good at killing Force-users. We hail from the the United Nations of Telros. If you haven't heard of us, don't be surprised. We've been minding our own business for some time." She snapped her fingers.

"That reminds me." Turning back to the Godulan representative, she handed over a datacard. If the Godulan accessed it, he would see that the Telrosians had set aside and prepared an entire fleet to be kept in reserve, in case the Godulans needed it. A message came with it, stating, "We know you like to hold all the cards in this card game. So, Go Fish." She then made a motion to the two others who came with her and they went to opposite sides of the room, keeping watch, while she backed up and found a seat, waiting for the others to arrive or someone to speak to her.

Achaedus and Kelvin both grew quiet for a moment, assimilating the information they had just been provided to its full extent, while Talisid simply nodded with a smirk that seemed to imply he had just won something in a bet. The fleetlord looked at the two generals and shrugged. "There is precedent. Look at what we found out about the Kobol attack, they aren't above the tactic."

"ITS A PLOY!" Achaedus finally bellowed, rattling the glasses on the conference table some. "A goddamn Imperial ploy to pit us against each other, just like they did at Kobol. Relations between the Imperials and the Tenetians have generally been tense of late, we all know Vader wouldn't have missed them. All the better if the Tenetians die in a way that removes them as a factor while at the same time galvanizing any survivors against the 'Rebels'."

"We are still not certain of the true motive behind the situation, Fleetlord," Kelvin replied. "Those envoys could have come from some other source, but I do admit that the information, if truthful to the fullest extent on both sides, is quite damning."

"They're trying to play us against each other as well, I'd wager," Achaedus said, with Talisid nodding in agreement. "If not the Imperials than somebody with similar goals in mind. Perhaps a rogue commander taking matters into his own hands or something. Considering what happened outside, and at the landing pad, they've proven remarkably effective at this ploy, were it not for the fact that we still have means of keeping on top of the situation."

"A mystery within a conundrum within an enigma," Kelvin concurred. "We have been played, but I suspect that we learned of it before we were intended to. Whatever the situation, the Empire is weakened of late. They are trying to rally support for an attack on the Farstars and had the ploy been successful the Coredians may well have joined them. As very possibly we might have as well."

"REMOTE as that possibility might be."

"Indeed, and now it would seem that there is even more imperative to strike out at the Imperials, for in this they have left themselves open. Whatever the motive of whoever it may have been that took the Galaxy Gun, if indeed it has been 'taken' from the Imperials, it was intended to leave us the weaker. Again, if the information is correct. For the moment, we must assume that the Galaxy Gun will still target us."

The three Godulans stood there and looked at Daniel with thoughtful expressions. Silence suddenly reigned in the room, to such a point that a pin dropping would have rang out like a crashing gong. After what seemed like an eternity of instants, all three Godulan commanders said the same word.

"Blitzkrieg."

Immediately, the conference table turned into a giant holographic representation of the most up-to-date data presented from Tenetia, now demonstrating the Tenetian fleet in the process of vaporizing the moon debris into smaller, more manageable chunks that would burn up in the atmosphere before causing any measurable form of damage. That the others fleets in the system were pulling back was noted. The Tenetians were taking the only viable path in relation to preventing any other damage, but everybody else was sitting there with their collective thumbs up their asses. The Generals immediately set to working up new battle plans, while the Fleetlord provided information as necessary. A few seconds in, Talisid looked up, just in time to see the Skaugrans enter.

"Glad you could make it! Now, where the hell are the rest of our 'allied commanders'? Shouldn't Pellaeon be down here as well? And is Makaryk really so childish as to pull the silent treatment on you, Mister Masaki?"
Pellaeon walked in on everyone, still hobbling on his cane and and scowled at the Godulans. "If you had a one hundred five year old body with arthritis to make a ronto wince in pain, you'd be walking slowly too! Anyway, a blitzkrieg you say? Do tell, if you please."

"Well, I'll be damned." I smacked my head at the Godulans' conclusion. "It's totally obvious that the Empire would try to eliminate us through 'divide and conquer'! And it would've worked too, if it weren't for that pesky thing called 'diplomacy'. And for the Woodians? They think I'll mindrape them or something now. You know how they feel about such things."

"With all due respect, Colonel, in-fighting is the last thing this mission needs. We do not have an optimal scope of what your forces are capable of, and we do not wish to risk the lives of your people over the simple fact that you or your Admiral are unwilling to suffer the presence of the Coredian emperor. If you are unwilling to accept proper command responsibilities that would include 'putting aside your personal reservations', perhaps we should revise the subject of your participation in the attack on the citadel. After all, if you are not present to offer your tactical experience to our planning, your capacity to execute a ground assault with maximum efficiency will have been compromised, and we will likely need to find an alternate field commander who can look upon a situation without bias or preconception, and actually contribute to the construction of a plan that utilizes all of our strengths."

The Guards gave Allaire a strangely hard stare through their visors, and might have come across as slightly disconcerting in their sheer 'stillness', even though Allaire could tell they were human.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

To Makaryk:

Masaki's presence will not be an issue.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the conference room, Talisid looked momentarily distracted while Kelvin acknowledged the arrival of the Terrans. "So good of you to come on short notice, Captain. We shall keep things at least moderately formal for the moment, if you do not mind."

As Mantis handed him the datacard, he took a moment to scan its contents and then put it into a 'pocket' of his uniform. "Yes... that might be the optimal consideration in present circumstances. We shall relay our best regards."

Kelvin then turned to Daniel Masaki. "Now that your information has been presented, and that in their... unyielding ethical principles, the Woodians will not cooperate so long as you are in the same room, we must suffer one or the other. You are free to return to your post, Mister Masaki. Thank you for your information."

When Pellaeon walked into the room, all three M'Lekk'Torr saluted to him, giving him the full honors of his rank before returning to their previous actions. When Kelvin looked at the card and then replied, Mantis nodded. "Understood. If you'll excuse me, I have two questions. One, what do you go by for name or rank? I kinda want to be able to put a name to the face. And two, do you mind explaining what our role will be, and perhaps a summary of what we missed?"

The Zeus jumped out of the Necrominus at Tantis, the legendary testing grounds for some of the Empire's original works, where Magriel had helped rescue Travis along side the Godulan Kal'Shazzar and many others who helped participate in taking Tantis from the Empire's hands. Jorrus noted the rather ironic setting for the meeting to take place before they went off and invaded Nightshade's capital planet. The Alliance had left Issus rather early in the game, given the fact that they were going to war they had to go back to their base and actually pick up the Malkir Warriors who were suppose to help storm Nightshade's Palace so they were rather... Ignorant of the situations which had just taken place.

The Zeus's bridge crew looked out at the view screen, gawking at the sudden decrease in vessels which should've been there. Verneal was the first to speak what was on everyone's mind, "where the hell are the Free World and Woodian ships? Bring up the Holographic Tactical Simulator."

"Bringing it up now."

Verneal, Jorrus, and Craimorn all stared at the giant white ball which stood in front of the Zeus's captain's chair. A highly detailed and realistic plane popped out of thin air, and showed the current systems. There was still none of the missing ships. Jorrus shrugged, "oh well, I assume we'll be briefed on the surface. Someone must know what has happened. Beam us down to the meeting location."

Kelvin smiled jovially at the captain. "Where are our manners. Here I go speaking of formality and I completely neglected my own responsibilities. Allow me to make the introductions."

He indicated the other General. "General Simion Achaedus, strategic commander of the Godulan Expeditionary. In any military matter involving intrusion into a hostile nation's territory, he is the one who presides." Indicating the distracted officer, he continued: "Fleetlord Michel Maximov, callsign Talisid. Chief Executor of the Tenetian Campaign. Whereas we design the battle-plan, he is the one who carries it out and devises on-the-spot responses to any complications that might factor in." Finally indicating himself: "I am General Kelvin Majestatus. Strategic commander of the Defense-Of-Allies military jurisdiction. As this qualifies as both an incursion and support of an ally, this campaign falls under joint jurisdiction. Hence the fact that for this current campaign, there are two generals, and one fleetlord."

"Two, for your Titan forces, your mission will be to employ your special capabilities to assist in the termination of a hypermatter bomb contained somewhere on the grounds of the Tenetian Citadel, Lady Nightshade's seat of power. Rest assured, they will not be overly willing to let us walk in and remove it like some piece of furniture."

The three Telrosians bowed to each one of the Godulans introduced to them, respectfully acknowledging who they were as they did so. They were honored to meet such high-standing Godulans; they had only known Zodiac and Antares. While they were good people, and they had come to know them as close friends, it was nice to meet others of their kind. Although, due to their Overmind, they must share some characteristics. Mantis nodded her head, a smirk on her face, when Kelvin introduced the subject of what they would be doing. She cracked her neck and replied when he had finished.

"So, all we need to do is smash through their conventional forces, mutilate those pathetic excuses of Dark Jedi and shut off the bomb that could make the planet fall apart like a Jenga game? Psh, that'll be easy. And fun, I can't stress that enough. The training was needed and I thank you for that, but being cooped up in that facility can make us get antsy. I'm sure Antares has told you as much. We've been driving him up the wall with combat requests, since we memorized each others combat schemes we got so bored." Her face then got serious as she began to think on the mission.

"Do you have any ideas on how all three hundred of us will be deployed? I do not know whether dispersing us throughout the allied forces or keeping us in large groups in one or two groups would be better. I will trust you or your fellow Godulans judgment in this matter."

Kelvin then turned to Daniel Masaki. "Now that your information has been presented, and that in their... unyielding ethical principles, the Woodians will not cooperate so long as you are in the same room, we must suffer one or the other. You are free to return to your post, Mister Masaki. Thank you for your information."
I cried in faux despair as I was effectively booted out of the meeting hall. Not really sure what to do now, I decided I might as well take a look at how the people of Tantis have my sister's summer palace and headed over there while my "superiors" dickered over the plans. It sucks being out of the loop for the first time since I was a real junior officer, but what can I do? I was fortunate it was only temporary...then I had a scary thought...nah, the Admiral wouldn't do that to me...

Would he?

In the meantime, the three Clanner representatives quietly watched the proceedings, having had no reason to input any information on the current subject. They'd effectively been turned into glorified lapdogs, and it didn't particularly settle well with them. Yet, they made no complaints as they looked over the presiding commanders. They hardly even twitched when the Emperor Masaki was kicked out of the meeting room. For now, all they could do was listen...

((I don't exactly have much to input, and most of my plans tend to be brushed aside or outright rejected. If anyone chooses to acknowledge that I'm even here, by all means, go ahead.))

Malorum waited within his cell just as he expected he would have to. The Jedi, not being very considerate to his appeal for humanitarian aid, were certainly taking their time in meeting with him. Typical, Malorum thought. Just like the Jedi to put their own needs above others.

"Guards!" Malorum bellowed. "Find your masters quickly, lest the emperor lay waste to your pitiful world."
Asuma Sarutobi, Konoha

The guards only snickered in reply at the impotent Inquisitor. One cheerfully ticked off his fingers as he spoke, "Our first capital's eaten. Our second's blown up. Our third is a Godulan winterworld. Finally, this one is a radioactive wasteland! It's likely others will follow, as the trend seems to go. What more can the Empire do to us that hasn't already been done?"

"Yeah. Anything Vader would do now would be silly villain clichés! Now shut yer yap and wait for 'our masters'!" Another growled.

=====

Bridge

"All set to go?" Konohamaru Sarutobi asked his crew as they prepared to join the rest of the fleet at Tantis.

"Yep. What do we do about the prisoner?" His XO, Udon asked.

The young Jounin Shinobi only chuckled. "We'll see what the Admiral says when he hears of this. Engage hyperdrive."

"Sir, yes sir. Engage hyperdrive!"

Quickly enough, the Asuma Sarutobi enlongated as psuedomotion activated, and then disappeared into hyperspace. ETA: well, not long.

Meanwhile, as for some odd reason the Woodian ships faded away into the darkness, the Asuma Sarutobi reverted to realspace right on time. Konohamaru sent a message to the revelant parties.

"Be advised that I have a 'guest' from the Empire that wishes to speak with the Allied High Command concerning the aid proposal from before. He is High Inquisitor Malorum of the Galactic Empire and he says he comes in peace and all that jazz."

The admiral stroked his chin as he looked at the sensor display over Tenetia, it was a mess. The Huntarians in their eagerness to blast away at the moon fragments were causing them to split into further pieces. With this much rock floating about, it was dangerous enough, but now they were being broken down into randomised, faster, hurtling missiles. “WHY HAVE THEY NOT FOLLOWED TSALIKS ORDERS!?” Krashin shouted with rage. The amount of objects adorning the screen now numbered in the hundreds. The larger pieces of the moon were being broken into pieces from the assault, asteroids were being peeled from them in mere seconds. “They were to wait for the Death Star to vaporise the bloody things! Send a priority one message, commanding them to hold fire and retreat to the safe zone.”

The Leviathan's Comm. Officer almost peed himself when he heard the rather somewhat aggressive message delivered to them. "Erm... Transporter Room Two. Admiral, new transmission from the Imperials. They have stated that they previously ordered us to wait for the Death Star to destroy the debris. Orders?"

Khal nodded, the exact expression we were hoping for. "Acknowledged and confirmed. What is the size of the debris field now?"

"It will take some time for sensors to get an exact number, the density of the field is rather large Admiral. Roughly increased by 50% of original size."

"Very good. Halt turbolaser fire and recall all fighters."

"Yes sir."
Citadel War Room, Tenetia

Lady Nightshade was peeved as she saw the Huntarians slack off and heard Admiral Kashin's order. "What?! Hold our fire? That would only threaten the planet more!"

She turned to a comms officer. "Inform Admiral Khal that it would be most prudent to intensify their firepower as slacking off will ensure that more asteroids will get through. Also inform Admiral Kashin that it would not look good for the Empire if the Death Star keeps pretending to be a very expensive orbitial decoration and to start assisting us in clearing Tenetia's orbit of the debris! And finally, inform the fleet to intensify all firepower to vaporize the pieces."

"Yes My Lady!" The comms officer yelped and tapped out the Empress' Not Happy messages.

Almost immediately, the Tenetian Fleet began to double the amount of firepower they previously possessed, targetting every single incoming asteroid in the vicinity and pushing their reactors to full power and then some. Fighters flew out to tag the very small ones before they reached the upper atmosphere, many of them the robotic TIE Darts from the World Devastators, who were currently having the feast of their artificial lives.

Slowly, but surely, the firepower of the Tenetian Empire began to prove its mettle as the expanding debris cloud became nothing more than a huge turkey shoot for the fleet. As of this time, the number of asteroids that hit the ground and caused damage with everything the Empire could throw at them could be counted on the fingers of one human hand every few minutes, and that was not counting the asteroids that vaporized in the atmosphere and never even touched the ground. It would not be very long before the Galaxy Gun crisis would be averted as far as Tenetia was concerned...

Achaedus turned to Pellaeon and noted his obvious discomfort. "We could have provided a means for you to travel here that would not have required such exertion had you requested, if you'll accept our apologies for not having done so in advance. Be that as it may, we must allow some time for the other commanders to arrive before we delve more fully into the newest iteration of our battlezone strategy."

Kelvin turned to regard the large holodisplay of Tenetia for a moment, tapping his chin thoughtfully before speaking. "With the sudden departure of our Field Commander on the ground and all of the forces from the Woodian Contingent gone in a huff, it would seem that we shall have to rely upon the Huntarian Alliance's field commander for information relating to optimal deployment spreads. You will not need to wait long, for we understand that they are already on their way."

He turned to the Clan commander and raised an eyebrow. "We apologize if our previous interactions were... too blunt. We understand your wish to contribute, and appreciate the forces that you brought to the fore. However, we are unaware of the nature of your capabilities, and thus would like a basic overview of what you can bring to bear in the pursuit of this objective."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the three Huntarian officers materialized on a landing pad, six guards stepped forward and saluted. "Greetings. We will escort you to the conference room, the only ones remaining to arrive are the Dornalian contingent, but we can still commence with the ground planning."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the Huntarians were shown in, Daniel Masaki was shown out by his own escort, who remained close despite the fact that he had been 'released' from the strategy planning. It might have come across as something of a relief that the guards were actually respectful of their charge, far more so than appeared to be the norm for the day. Other guards that walked by, and there were quite a few, nodded and saluted crisply at his passing, while his own escorts held themselves somewhat proudly for being assigned to him.

"Begging your pardon sir," One of the guards said after clearing his throat nervously, "but they said you could return to your duties. We know the Godulans tend to leave out important bits in things they say, to provide some bit of latitude in their orders. General Majestatus did not say 'Now', or mention any real timeline. I think he wants you to see what we've all done with the place."

One of the other guards appeared to listen to his helmet for a moment, then said "Confirmed. They don't mind if you take a break after all that has happened to you. They believe you are stressed enough as it is, people making fun of you or trying to beat you up does not help the situation, or to push you from the mindset that you need to mind-frag everybody just so you can get a little peace and quiet. What you did was wrong, we all agree, but it was a stressful time and you are the stressed leader of a stressed people. A break would do you good."

"Assessment as per Fleetlord Talisid," The third guard said. "He suggests showing you around for a bit. You've already seen the statue of the redeemed... what about the Fighter Factory we turned the old prison into? We make some damn fine skirmishers now. Godulan augmented, all of it. Non-kythonic of course, but still plenty potent."

"They say in a couple years we might be able to start building Makos!"

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The Sarutobi recieved a transmission from one of the Godulan Slaughterstars shortly after its own transmission.

Under no circumstances is the envoy to be released from his present quarters while in this system. We hope that the room is sufficiently girded against any form of signal transmissions that the envoy might make. A tracking device would be highly unfortunate, considering the circumstances.

You may inform him that the 'High Command' has heard his request and that we are 'Deliberating with all possible alacrity'. You will await the arrival of a Godulan representative, who will NOT meet with the ambassador, whereupon you will travel to Thorn and remit the ambassador to the Custody of the Balroggan Kythons there, both to ensure that we can prove the ambassador unharmed, and to... relay some things.

Chao nodded in response to the apology before speaking. "Very well then."

Chao stepped forward towards the holodisplay, procuring a data chip that she neatly placed next to the display, and then tapped a few commands at a console near her. After a moment, a force composition chart would role up next to the map of Tenetia, and then Chao would step forwards to speak about the composition chart.

"We can bring to bear enough land forces to make up for the Woodians' departure, as well as call for more land forces from our home worlds as necessary. However, I should mention that our fleet does not possess shield technology on our capital ships and, as such, should be protected up until such time as we can successfully deploy our forces planet side. Once our land forces have been deployed, our fleet will join the space battle proper."

Chao then pointed at the an area on the largest continent that was beginning to highlight as yellow, indicating where her forces were deployed.

"Here, at this coastal area, is where we intend to deploy our land forces. Once they have successfully secured this position, we will initiate Protocol One and divide our forces into five separate task forces centered around our new anti-Titan land battleships."

Chao looked at the presiding commanders. "I must stress, ladies and gentlemen, that these land battleships are of key defensive priority. They are slow and cumbersome, and this makes them a prime target for Imperial forces. Losing these battleships would be a tremendous blow to our momentum. However, we have a contingency plan for such an event."

The individual dots that stood out the most from the five separate task forces then blinked out, indicating that the land battleships had been lost. Then, as soon as they did, the five large task forces suddenly broke up into tens of smaller task forces, which then swarmed across the map.

"In the event that the land battleships are compromised, we will initiate Protocol Two, wherein our forces will divide from the five task forces into smaller battle groups that will skirmish the Imperial lines and attempt to wear them down through raiding and attrition."

As the skirmishing forces engaged the perceived Imperial lines, a single group would return to one of the land battleships, and, shortly after returning, the blip indicating that specific land battleship would blink back into existence. Shortly after that, the majority of the skirmishing forces would break off from their attacks on the Imperial lines and return to the area around that battleship, and then the entire mass would begin moving in concert towards the Tenetian capital.

"In the meantime, we will attempt to salvage at least one of the battleships in working order. If we manage to accomplish this endeavor, we will divert half of the skirmishing forces to protecting the salvaged battleship and, using it, we will make a final push to help secure the capital."

The force composition chart would then disappear, the indicated areas that had been used for the simulation fading back to their original colors. Chao would then retrieve the data chip and place it back into the pocket she had procured it from.

"Of course, this is under favorable conditions. We are more than prepared to deal with any sudden changes to the battlefield as necessary."

OOC: jeez. I really picked a bad time to get addicted to Soul Calibur IV.

IC:

Admiral Nomura, who was already at Tantis with his warfleet, simply sat there and shuffled his cards in another hand of virtual poker with his inscrutable AI.

"Look, you fucking bint. I told you. A flush beats a straight anytime! Might as well be a retard humping a doorknob....Jesus." He then sighed and rubbed his temples.

As this occurred, Gracie sighed and said, "That's not as fucking important as the messages we're getting right now concerning finalization of plans for the assault. Things are moving quick, Admiral. And for the record, I know a flush beats a straight..." She then could be heard mumbling, "Asshole."

"Whatever. Get me over there."

----------

After Nomura ended up in the meeting hall, GRACIE in Laptop form in hand, he arrived to find the situation a mess. The Clanners were just twiddling their thumbs, and the Godulans and the others were doing God knows what. Nomura sat next to the Clanners, and shrugged, saying to all involved in his trademark snarky tone, "So, what'd I miss that was worth ignoring a game of strip poker for?"

Yue quietly poked Nomura, holding her finger up to her mouth for quiet as Chao spoke.

((:P))

Tenetia
Colonial Relief Fleet BSG-78
Geminese Fleet

Draidus was packed as colors of green nearly took over the screen. Commander Emory was almost in awe as the sixteen battlestars continued their approach towards the victimized planet.

“Damn.” she said, as she put her hand up to her mouth. “There are enough ships here to level a nation.” she said wondering just why in the hell they wanted more relief ships. She watched the ties dance around the asteroids as the various imperial ships were blowing bits of rock away, some larger fragments into many smaller pieces, and in some cases vaporizing it totally.

“Com, any reply from the imperials?”

“Negative sir. Com traffic seems to be directed towards internal matters, mostly bitching and moaning, like a gata on the rag, sir.”

Commander Emory nodded. “Alright, Lieutenant Yalshi, patch me through to the Imperial fleet again, and to Tenetia. Hold position here until we get confirmation of the mission, and how to help with the relief efforts.”

“Yes sir.”

Imperial Vessels, and the Current leadership of Tenetia. This is the Colonial Battlestar Atlas, commanding vessel of BSG-78. My orders are to aid in the evacuation of this planet. Please send orders on how best to begin the operations, to extract your people. Repeat: Imperial Vessels, and the Current leadership of Tenetia. This is the Colonial Battlestar Atlas, commanding vessel of BSG-78. My orders are to aid in the evacuation of this planet. Please send orders on how best to begin the operations, to extract your people.

Yue quietly poked Nomura, holding her finger up to her mouth for quiet as Chao spoke.

((:P))

OOC: I warned CW about this already, but a sudden case of my compy's USB ports refusing to function is going to put a serious damper on my RPing for a bit. Just a head's up.

IC:

Nomura shrugged, and merely quipped at noticing Yue's small size and stature--and for that matter, that of the rest of the Clanner representatives at the meet, "'Kay, kiddo."

He then folded his arms and listened to Chao's strategy. It seemed that the Clanners were primarily ground fighters, but otherwise the stratagem was relatively well thought out. It seemed someone here understood the idea of Large Front/Deep Ops strategy like Nomura did--well, not quite, since Chao had applied it to its classical usage on land, not in space. Still, it seemed feasible. Now, Nomura needed to back it up.

As for the Clanner Space weaknesses.....

At this, Gracie chirped. Her avatar could be seen taking the form of an accountant, complete with visor, Ticonderoga pencil, and an adding machine, which were all banged on as she spoke.

"An excellent strategy if I may say so myself. My calculations say that it will make for an especially broad application of broad front warfare, keeping the enemy focused on the power of the land battleships. The only concern would be to obviously keep them defended, and possibly within optimal terrain and speed. Speed wise, it might slow us up a bit...but I believe combined arms operations with aerospace support from Allied forces and ground support from Allied soldiers should be sufficent to help fill in the gaps. Space wise, it's also a matter of getting them there."

She then looked at the audience and stopped working on her machinery for a moment. Spinning about, she now donned a People's Navy dress uniform, and said, with a hearty salute, "Oh. Sorry. I'm the General Rated Ability Computer Integrated Engineer. You can call me Gracie."

Nomura merely sighed at being upstaged by his Laptop.

As the Huntarians were shown in, Daniel Masaki was shown out by his own escort, who remained close despite the fact that he had been 'released' from the strategy planning. It might have come across as something of a relief that the guards were actually respectful of their charge, far more so than appeared to be the norm for the day. Other guards that walked by, and there were quite a few, nodded and saluted crisply at his passing, while his own escorts held themselves somewhat proudly for being assigned to him.

"Begging your pardon sir," One of the guards said after clearing his throat nervously, "but they said you could return to your duties. We know the Godulans tend to leave out important bits in things they say, to provide some bit of latitude in their orders. General Majestatus did not say 'Now', or mention any real timeline. I think he wants you to see what we've all done with the place."

One of the other guards appeared to listen to his helmet for a moment, then said "Confirmed. They don't mind if you take a break after all that has happened to you. They believe you are stressed enough as it is, people making fun of you or trying to beat you up does not help the situation, or to push you from the mindset that you need to mind-frag everybody just so you can get a little peace and quiet. What you did was wrong, we all agree, but it was a stressful time and you are the stressed leader of a stressed people. A break would do you good."

"Assessment as per Fleetlord Talisid," The third guard said. "He suggests showing you around for a bit. You've already seen the statue of the redeemed... what about the Fighter Factory we turned the old prison into? We make some damn fine skirmishers now. Godulan augmented, all of it. Non-kythonic of course, but still plenty potent."

"They say in a couple years we might be able to start building Makos!"
After the shit that piled on me today, the guards were like a breath of fresh air. I gave them a smile that was increasingly rare. "Thanks, guys. Now, let's see what you done to my sister's former prison playhouse..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Sarutobi recieved a transmission from one of the Godulan Slaughterstars shortly after its own transmission.

Under no circumstances is the envoy to be released from his present quarters while in this system. We hope that the room is sufficiently girded against any form of signal transmissions that the envoy might make. A tracking device would be highly unfortunate, considering the circumstances.

You may inform him that the 'High Command' has heard his request and that we are 'Deliberating with all possible alacrity'. You will await the arrival of a Godulan representative, who will NOT meet with the ambassador, whereupon you will travel to Thorn and remit the ambassador to the Custody of the Balroggan Kythons there, both to ensure that we can prove the ambassador unharmed, and to... relay some things.

Acknowledged, Slaughterstar. Our prisoner is quite 'comfortably' placed in the deepest brig of our ship with the attendant signal-blocking walls. We await your representative.

Tenetia
Colonial Relief Fleet BSG-78
Geminese Fleet

Draidus was packed as colors of green nearly took over the screen. Commander Emory was almost in awe as the sixteen battlestars continued their approach towards the victimized planet.

“Damn.” she said, as she put her hand up to her mouth. “There are enough ships here to level a nation.” she said wondering just why in the hell they wanted more relief ships. She watched the ties dance around the asteroids as the various imperial ships were blowing bits of rock away, some larger fragments into many smaller pieces, and in some cases vaporizing it totally.

“Com, any reply from the imperials?”

“Negative sir. Com traffic seems to be directed towards internal matters, mostly bitching and moaning, like a gata on the rag, sir.”

Commander Emory nodded. “Alright, Lieutenant Yalshi, patch me through to the Imperial fleet again, and to Tenetia. Hold position here until we get confirmation of the mission, and how to help with the relief efforts.”

“Yes sir.”

Imperial Vessels, and the Current leadership of Tenetia. This is the Colonial Battlestar Atlas, commanding vessel of BSG-78. My orders are to aid in the evacuation of this planet. Please send orders on how best to begin the operations, to extract your people. Repeat: Imperial Vessels, and the Current leadership of Tenetia. This is the Colonial Battlestar Atlas, commanding vessel of BSG-78. My orders are to aid in the evacuation of this planet. Please send orders on how best to begin the operations, to extract your people.
Admiral Bradley, Grand Admiral of the Tenetian Fleet, took the mesage and sent a reply.

Atlas, this is Admiral Bradley of the Ravager. Be advised that there is currently a heavy fire zone as we seek to vaporize the asteroids. You'll be well advised to steer clear of this zone until further notice. I recommend landing extraction units on the other side of the planet to ensure that no one gets harmed.

OOC: I warned CW about this already, but a sudden case of my compy's USB ports refusing to function is going to put a serious damper on my RPing for a bit. Just a head's up.

IC:

Nomura shrugged, and merely quipped at noticing Yue's small size and stature--and for that matter, that of the rest of the Clanner representatives at the meet, "'Kay, kiddo."

He then folded his arms and listened to Chao's strategy. It seemed that the Clanners were primarily ground fighters, but otherwise the stratagem was relatively well thought out. It seemed someone here understood the idea of Large Front/Deep Ops strategy like Nomura did--well, not quite, since Chao had applied it to its classical usage on land, not in space. Still, it seemed feasible. Now, Nomura needed to back it up.

As for the Clanner Space weaknesses.....

At this, Gracie chirped. Her avatar could be seen taking the form of an accountant, complete with visor, Ticonderoga pencil, and an adding machine, which were all banged on as she spoke.

"An excellent strategy if I may say so myself. My calculations say that it will make for an especially broad application of broad front warfare, keeping the enemy focused on the power of the land battleships. The only concern would be to obviously keep them defended, and possibly within optimal terrain and speed. Speed wise, it might slow us up a bit...but I believe combined arms operations with aerospace support from Allied forces and ground support from Allied soldiers should be sufficent to help fill in the gaps. Space wise, it's also a matter of getting them there."

She then looked at the audience and stopped working on her machinery for a moment. Spinning about, she now donned a People's Navy dress uniform, and said, with a hearty salute, "Oh. Sorry. I'm the General Rated Ability Computer Integrated Engineer. You can call me Gracie."

Nomura merely sighed at being upstaged by his Laptop.
"Perhaps that's where we can come in. I shall admit that the ground strategy is an impressive one. We'll supplement your forces with our armored units and infantry for that one-two punch on the enemy's units." Admiral Pellaeon replied to Chao and then turned to Nomura. "In addition to the main forces, we brought in one hundred towed-array superlaser stations to supplement our firepower, attached to the Fifth Fleet at this time. While one is enough to cripple a Star Destroyer, their collective power may match the Death Star's own. We can concentrate our combined firepower to blow holes into the enemy's defenses and then move in swiftly to cripple their ability to retaliate. "

OOC: This seemed the best place to put it...the thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=574475).

IC:



TO: His Majesty, the Emperor, Darth Vader
FROM: Grand Admiral Thrawn

My Dear Emperor,

It is with great sadness and regret that I must report sad tidings to your eminence this day. By foul and evil means a Rebel commando force has penetrated the Empire of Thrashia. The vast majority of their force was destroyed, but not before a few of their compatriots managed to crash land and assassinate his excellency, Emperor Treize Kushrenada.

Those responsible have been punished effectively and an investigation is ongoing at this time. The Emperor's death at this time is unfortunate seeing as events within the galaxy and diplomatic community are heating up. I have therefore exercised effective rights as Warlord and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Empire of Thrashia, with the agreement and support of the Moff Council, to act as ruling Regent of the Thrashian Imperial throne until his excellency's son, the Crown Prince, is of the appropriate age.

If what my sources inform me is correct, Tenetia has suffered a rather crushing blow at the hands of Rebel scum and others. I am afraid that Thrashia can offer no immediate aid to help in the situation in orbit of that planet, but rest assured that I will commence operations as his Excellency had informed me of in his dealings with yourself, Emperor Vader. While I am politically solidifying the sudden vacuum left by Emperor Treize, the Thrashian Imperial Fleet under my protege, Admiral Belisarius, will be in touch to handle the immediate military affairs of the Empire as well as help the Galactic Empire in this time of dire need.

Signed,
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b184/Upum/Star%20Wars/signature.png

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATION
PRIORITY ONE

ALL VESSELS ARE TO RETURN TO PORT IMMEDIATELY: PRIORITY ONE: ALL PREVIOUS ORDERS RESCINDED: STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED ON CORUSCANT: CORELLIA: ANAXES: KAMINOS: KUAT: RUAN: METELLOS: BARLEIAS: BILBRINGI: DURO: ANTER: DENON: MIMBAM: ZELTROS: BALMORRA: CARDIA: HAK: TALASEA: KASHYKK: TAANAB: MANY MORE WORLDS EXPECTED TO FOLLOW: CIVILIAN HYPERSPACE TRAVEL FORBIDDEN: RETURN TO PORT: PRIORITY ONE.


The message was stuck in Tsaliks mind as he reviewed the data pad that had just been handed to him. Something big was happening back home, something massive. He had heard rumours of a few diseases ripping through the slums of Courscant before he had left, but that’s all it was to him. A rumour. In less than six hours he guessed that the rumour had been confirmed by the council at Kessel. Tsaliks eyes glared at the holo-projection detailing the Tenetian operation. The fools were firing blind at the asteroid field, straight through the civilian transit corridor.

Just as he knew it would, the first mayday call came in from the Atlantia. The call, the screams, the cries for help filled the command deck of the Death Star, but there was nothing Tsalik could do. The Opera went down next, followed by the Maya, the list continued to grow.

“Damn that bloody witch!” Tsalik shouted at the top of his voice. “COMMSCAN, send out confirmation order of the priority one to the fleet, we’re leaving right now. Spool up the hyperdrives.”

“Sir, what about the rest of our allied forces.”

Tasalik considered his options for a moment. “Commscan, send this message to Admiral Bradley, you are hereby placed in supreme command of all Tenetial Naval assets. Lady Nightshade has just ordered the execution of over.” Tsailk estimated for a moment the amount of deaths that had just happened. “Three hundred thousand souls. Miss Fiona Masaki, is hereby stripped of her title and rank in the name of the Emperor. You are ordered to implement this order, in support of the Huntarians. She is to be charged with high treason.” Tsalik waited for a moment. “Rid yourself of her, and you will need not bow to her stench again.”

The admiral checked that the fleet was giving the green light for the hyperspace jump. Every captain was reporting in faster than usual. Shutting down civilian hyperspace travel was one massive step. It had never been done, never in the entire history of the Empire, the Republic or even the Old Republic. Something was definitely up, and everyone was starting to get that odd sensation of fear up their backs.

“Admiral Tsalik, you have a channel from Tarkins Fang sir, Acting Commander Krashin is on the line for you.” Tsalik looked over to commscan registering the mans curiosity, and fear . . .

“I will take it on the open channel, put it on speaker.” The line crackled for a moment, as the audio waves were separated from the holographic data.

“Tsalik?” Krashin asked.

“I’m here. What the heck is happening back home, I’ve gotten no update from the holonet about this emergency?”

“We’ve censored the holo-net for now, but we wont be able to keep it secret for long. We need your ships back to Coruscant right now, the situation is getting out of hand.”

“My ships are filled and overfilled with damn civilians Krashin, what the heck do you expect me to do?” The line went silent for a minute.

“Vent them into space. Do whatever. Just get them off your ships. We can’t take the risk. The emperor has ordered that we take all efforts. Its gotten out of hand Tsalik, its only been an hour and it’s just out of control.”

“What, what’s out of control?”

“Just get back to Coruscant Tsalik, now, those are your orders, you will have your mission updated when you get there. Krashin out.”

Tsalik swore. “Send this message to the Huntarians. All Imperial ships have been recalled to Coruscant, there is a disaster of some kind happening in the Core. You are hereby placed in joint command with Admiral Bradley of the situation happening here. Arrest Fiona Masaki, on charge of murder and high treason. Execute her. You are to oversee this to its completion Admiral Dhal. We trust you, fully in this matter.”

Tsalik was relieved now that he had sent that transmission. “Are we ready to jump into hyperspace he enquired?”

“Yessir.” Commscan confirmed.

“Very well then, take us into hyperspace.”

At that moment, the stars outside the viewports turned into starlines as the Imperial Defence Force returned to Coruscant.

Malorum

Malorum sat in his cell waiting for the Masakis to do something, summon him, ask him questions, do anything other than this infernal waiting around. The cell was bage, the bed was bage, the floor, was yes, a beautiful bage, even the force field was coloured a blueish bage. Malorum hated the colour bage, and he guessed that the force field most likely had something to do with the reflection of the light from the walls, rather than the actual colour of the field itself, but, he couldn’t be sure.

Waiting here, in his silence Malorum just genuinely couldn’t believe that Masaki hadn’t come to meet him, he had been imprisoned for almost six hours now. That’s six hours where he could have at least organised some reaction to the chaos happening back at Tenetia, and, further afield.

“Guards.” Malorum shouted. “I am an ambassador of the Galactic Empire, at the very least I should be entrusted with diplomatic immunity under the laws of your people.” Malorums voice grew hoarse as he coughed for a moment. Taking a deep breath he shouted some more, this time flavouring his bellows with a few obscenities about the guards mothers.

“You will die for this.” Malorum screamed at the top of his voice. “You will all.” He breathed in deeply as he coughed again, this time he really felt it hit him. Taking the hint the Inquisitor took his seat on the bed and started to cough, this time thpugh blood came up and landed on the clean bage floor.

Malorum went pale, as fear crept over his entire body. And then he fell into a seizure. His eyes began blinking quickly as his lungs started to wrench, moving in and out faster and faster until he couldn’t breath any longer. His diaphragm burned in pain, it had ripped under the pressure locking his lungs into place. Within seconds, as he tried to make himself cough his constricted lungs filled with blood.

Malorum in his desperatiom tried to stretch out with the force, but for some reason he couldn’t. The last of his strength left him as his eyes looked up venomously at the bage ceiling.

Tsalik swore. “Send this message to the Huntarians. All Imperial ships have been recalled to Coruscant, there is a disaster of some kind happening in the Core. You are hereby placed in joint command with Admiral Bradley of the situation happening here. Arrest Fiona Masaki, on charge of murder and high treason. Execute her. You are to oversee this to its completion Admiral Dhal. We trust you, fully in this matter.”

Khal raised an eyebrow at the order, odd that I was already ordered to do it from somebody else. Wonder if they've been talking. "Order acknowledged and received." Khal turned to the Royal Guardsmen who were with him, "it is clear to me now that Nightshade will not be willing to leave her Citadel. Chief, can you get a transporter lock?"

"Not inside the Citadel sir, no. Their shields are still up... Unless..."

Khal raised an eyebrow, "unless what chief? Speak up if you have an idea."

"We've been working on an experimental procedure, still in the last testing phase but we believe it will work. It basically utilizes Transphasic technology which we use on our torpedoes to skip past shields. It's only 90% efficient right now, there's still a good degree of risk that it won't work."

Khal thought about it for a few moments to himself, "all right, I'll take that 10% chance. Set weapons to 'kill,' lets go," Khal and his squad went into transporter position, with their weapons raised. "Energize." Seconds later, Khal and his team found themselves right outside of Nightshade's War Room. Khal looked around and noticed that one of his Guardsmen was missing, apparently, some of his legs got stuck in the ceiling above him. The Admiral shrugged and slammed the doors wide open...

Commander Emory looked up at the draidus contacts as the message from Tenetia came in loud and clear. “Damn they are playing one hell of a game of asteroids out there.” she said as she watched the Tenetians battle with all their fury and might against the impending death in the sky’s above. She reached down and took a sip of her warm black coffee. So bitter, yet so needed, especially in such needed times.

She lowered her gaze to her XO. “Launch the raptors, everything we have, and have them jump near the most populated city on the far side of the planet. Two Vipers are to escort the raptors. And have marine contingents put their PJ’s on, as well as our entire medical staff.

The XO nodded, “Yes sir, I recommend we inform the Tenetians to clear the airspace in that region. You know how Coredians are.”

Commander Emory nodded, “Aye I do. Do it.” she said to her XO.

Gently he looked over to the com officer, as he picked up the phone. Tenetia Actual, this is the Colonial Battlestar Atlas. Be advised we are beginning jump preparations into your atmosphere. Please vacate airspace around the third continent.

“Think that will get them to clear their air space?” one of the men asked.

“Fuck that, the damn Tenetians couldn’t even tie their shoes with a damn manual.” another man obviously from Earth spoke up, “We all know Tenetians are the inbred degenerates of Coredia.”

Another officer laughed, “Well can’t argue about that, but don’t see how the frak regular Coredians are any better. Damn back stabbing bastards.”

“Cause they fucking are, at least Dannie doesn’t smell like a reject from a tuna factory.”

Commander Emory tried not to laugh, but a slight chuckle came out of the Commanders mouth. Trying her best to hide it, she put on the serious Commander face. “Alright.” she stopped and giggled, “We got a job to do.”

Ten minutes later over and on the third continent, the sky and ground light up like the forth of July. Hundreds of Raptors and Vipers appeared in the night sky, as on the ground outside the main city, multiple smaller jump points appeared. Each was a blinding white light, followed by a thunderous noise, and a massive gush of wind, as Colonials swarmed the area, some doctors, but more marines. Quickly they began setting up shop, as even more flash bang style entries of equipment began to appear on the ground.

Malorum

Malorum sat in his cell waiting for the Masakis to do something, summon him, ask him questions, do anything other than this infernal waiting around. The cell was bage, the bed was bage, the floor, was yes, a beautiful bage, even the force field was coloured a blueish bage. Malorum hated the colour bage, and he guessed that the force field most likely had something to do with the reflection of the light from the walls, rather than the actual colour of the field itself, but, he couldn’t be sure.

Waiting here, in his silence Malorum just genuinely couldn’t believe that Masaki hadn’t come to meet him, he had been imprisoned for almost six hours now. That’s six hours where he could have at least organised some reaction to the chaos happening back at Tenetia, and, further afield.

“Guards.” Malorum shouted. “I am an ambassador of the Galactic Empire, at the very least I should be entrusted with diplomatic immunity under the laws of your people.” Malorums voice grew hoarse as he coughed for a moment. Taking a deep breath he shouted some more, this time flavouring his bellows with a few obscenities about the guards mothers.

“You will die for this.” Malorum screamed at the top of his voice. “You will all.” He breathed in deeply as he coughed again, this time he really felt it hit him. Taking the hint the Inquisitor took his seat on the bed and started to cough, this time the blood came up and landed on the clean bage floor.

Malorum went pale, as fear crept over his entire body. And then he fell into a seizure. His eyes began blinking quickly as his lungs started to wrench, moving in and out faster and faster until he couldn’t breath any longer. His diaphragm burned in pain, it had ripped under the pressure locking his lungs into place. Within seconds, as he tried to make himself cough his constricted lungs filled with blood.

Malorum in his desperatiom tried to stretch out with the force, but for some reason he couldn’t. The last of his strength left him as his eyes looked up venomously at the bage ceiling.
The sounds of coughing and gagging made the guards give each other bemused looks. Oldest trick in the book!

That is, until one of them glanced at the security terminal to see that Malorum was really coughing up blood and then collapsed, dead. When the guards saw that, they were startled.

"Holy shit! What do we do!" One asked.

"Blood...my sister's a nurse. Says not to touch any spilled blood, so let's not be stupid mooks and go in there." The other said, picking up the intercom. "I'll inform the Captain."

"Bridge to Brig. Come in." Guard #2 commed.

"Brig, this is the Bridge. What's up?" Konohamaru asked.

"Sir, the prisoner...he's dead. Coughed up a helluva amount of blood and keeled over."

Konohamaru's eyes narrowed at the news. "Initiate full quarantine protocols on the brig. Nothing gets in or out. A 2-1B droid will be there momentarily."

"Yes, sir!" The guard snapped a salute.

"And whatever you do, don't let anyone in there without my explicit order!" Konohamaru emphasized.

"Yes sir!" The guard replied and then hit a couple of buttons. Full quarantine protocols for the brig means that the air in the vents in there are cut off from the rest of the ship and shunted to the reactor. A slight inflow at the door would occur to prevent any possible contamination to the rest of the ship. Konohamaru was taking absolutely no chances, remembering a similar incident when the protocol didn't take effect and nearly an entire ship died because of the mistakes made there.

IMPERIAL COMMUNICATION
PRIORITY ONE

ALL VESSELS ARE TO RETURN TO PORT IMMEDIATELY: PRIORITY ONE: ALL PREVIOUS ORDERS RESCINDED: STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED ON CORUSCANT: CORELLIA: ANAXES: KAMINOS: KUAT: RUAN: METELLOS: BARLEIAS: BILBRINGI: DURO: ANTER: DENON: MIMBAM: ZELTROS: BALMORRA: CARDIA: HAK: TALASEA: KASHYKK: TAANAB: MANY MORE WORLDS EXPECTED TO FOLLOW: CIVILIAN HYPERSPACE TRAVEL FORBIDDEN: RETURN TO PORT: PRIORITY ONE.


[...]

Tasalik considered his options for a moment. “Commscan, send this message to Admiral Bradley, you are hereby placed in supreme command of all Tenetial Naval assets. Lady Nightshade has just ordered the execution of over.” Tsailk estimated for a moment the amount of deaths that had just happened. “Three hundred thousand souls. Miss Fiona Masaki, is hereby stripped of her title and rank in the name of the Emperor. You are ordered to implement this order, in support of the Huntarians. She is to be charged with high treason.” Tsalik waited for a moment. “Rid yourself of her, and you will need not bow to her stench again.”

And so it begins.

"As you wish, Admiral Tsalik." Admiral Bradley bowed respectfully, then moved swiftly to his comms officer. "Inform young Lord Janus that he's now the acting Emperor of Tenetia and that I shall be his acting regent until further notice. Also inform Admiral Basque that he is to protect the young Emperor at all costs. After all, we don't want to lose him as well."

"Yes, Admiral."

"Sir, a Priority One Message to all Imperial Forces. Seems a State of Emergency has been declared in a helluva lot of planets. Civilian hyperspace traffic has been banned and all vessals are to return to port."

"Really?" Admiral Bradley asked in a tone that suggested that his tea was a mite warm. "I cannot recall a time when hyperspace traffic was actually banned. Restricted, yes. Banned, no. Something terrible has happened, I suspect. Well, we'll find out the cause of this in due time. Continue destroying any remaining asteroids and mind you watch the civilians this time! Don't forget to inform them that hyperspace travel is banned at this time until further notice."

"Yes sir."

"And get me a cup of tea, if you please." Admiral Bradley spoke as he watched the Imperial Fleet wink away into hyperspace, the Death Star included.

"One more thing, Admiral?"

"What is it?"

"Message from the Colonials." The officer said and allowed the Admiral to hear it.

Tenetia Actual, this is the Colonial Battlestar Atlas. Be advised we are beginning jump preparations into your atmosphere. Please vacate airspace around the third continent.

"Ah. Very well. Vacate the airspace around Hornen. We don't want our allies to be harmed, after all."

Yessir."

As all these things came to pass, a tiny spy ship continued to watch it all and then sent yet another message to the Allied forces...

***Secure Transmission***

IMPERIAL FORCES LEAVING STOP

TENETIAN & HUNTARIAN FORCES REMAIN STOP

NOW IS THE TIME STOP

***Secure Transmission End***

With that, Brandon decided to wait just a little bit longer for the Allied Forces to arrive. Then he could slip away, his job done.

Two Hours After Imperial Emergency Alert

Fading out of hyperspace like some ancient leviathan rearing its head, an Executor-class Super Star Destroyer appeared over Tenetia, with a squadron of smaller Imperial-class Star Destroyers accompanying it. Recognition transmission were immediately sent out in case no one could read the transponder coding that was being emitted by the flagship Archon, with Thrashian Imperial tags flying all over it.

Sitting quite comfortably in his command seat, Admiral Belisarius considered the situation. Utilizing a set of controls on his chair he brought a Comscan screen up that allowed him to view the surrounding area above Tenetia proper. The debris field created from the destruction of the moon above Tenetia had caused quite the mess. But what was even more disturbing was the ion trails that he was reading and watching as other Imperial warships made the trip to hyperspace, to disappear into the blackness beyond. Belisarius turned to the communication array on the port side of the bridge.

"Have we established a clear transmission line?"

"Yes admiral," replied one of the deck officers standing behind the ensign working the controls. "We've just established contact."

"Find out who is running this operation and inform them of my--our arrival and see to it that we're given a full debrief," commanded Belisarius. "If we're to be helping our allies I'd like to know the full details. And warn Bishop Brandon, again, not to start moving about. I don't care if he is a leading figure of the Imperial Mission or no."

"As you order sir," the officer saluted.

*fluid timing a bit of this since actually a bit of time has passed...*

Panzuriel grumbled mentally to himself about being pulled off of duty at the Colonies for such a simple task as relaying a message and dropping off an aggravating ambassador. He was hoping to be able to see when the fireworks actually started at Tenetia, though whoever the dipshit was that had actually taken over the Galaxy Gun had thrown everything out of whack. Now, here he was, to be a glorified gopher bound for Thorn. Oh well, perhaps he could garner some sense of amusement at watching the crew's reactions to what they would experience in the bounds of that colossal death trap. Even then, such hopes were swiftly dashed at almost the same time as he set foot on board the Sarutobi. Intercom messages about the ambassador scribbling his name in the dead book and quarantines went back and forth, and Panzuriel was already running.

It took a moment to localize the comm frequency that followed the intercoms, but he patched in with relative alacrity. "This is Godulan Envoy Panzuriel to the Bridge of the Sarutobi, I have arrived and am aware of the situation. Please proceed to Thorn as planned, and enact full-ship quarantine protocols until the nature of the contagion can be determined. I will commence examination post-haste, with your permission."

He recieved an acknowledgement and slowed his pace somewhat to arrive at the brig at the same time as a medical droid. Both set to work as the Coredian vessel set out into hyperspace for the Thorn System...

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The two Generals and the Fleetlord paused for a moment and gave each other an incredulous look. Broken only when Achaedus pointed at Talisid and said "HA!" to which Talisid sat down and mumbled something about 'balance in all things'. Achaedus' smug grin was counterbalanced by the grim expression on Kelvin's face as he turned to explained the outburst to the others gathered in the room.

"It would appear, ladies and gentlemen, that the Imperial Ambassador has drowned in his own blood, the result of some unknown contagion. We are investigating the issue, but it would seem that the Imperials have attempted to send us the equivalent of plague rats. We dare not consider the devastating result of if we had not been cautious about him from the beginning, and his possible encounters with any number of those gathered here. We fear that this makes it even more imperative that we move soon, as the longer we remain with our back turned to the enemy, the longer he has for one of his wayward stabbings to actually strike home. Achaedus, if you would be so kind as to explain the new strategy?"

Achaedus remained smug as he willed the holographic representation of the Tenetia system to move around. New battle lines emerged to show various fleets located around Tenetia, preoccupied with finishing off the remaining bits of debris from the damaged moon. A trio of other lines with various stat blocks indicating which 'affiliation' the lines belonged to rose into existence to assault the other lines from three directions. "It is pretty amusing, actually. Blitzkrieg isn't all about a swift kick in the head to knock the enemy out from the start, its all about making the enemy want to surrender. We hope this might also incorporate some of the deep-strike strategy that mister Nomura advocated to a somewhat fuller extent. Loosely stated: We hit them everywhere, all at once. We will employ some of our unique capabilities, that is to say 'hack the shit out of their computers' to make things interesting for the enemy. In this case, we will confuse sensors and communications frequencies by generating spoof signatures and other forms of disruption that should make a knock-down-drag-out slugfest that this will invariably turn into significantly more tactically advantageous to our forces. To say nothing of the fact that we have some rather demoralizing words to say to one Fiona Masaki.

"Anyway, if the Tenetians decide not to surrender or, in an amusing possibility considering what we're gonna 'tell' 'em, join us, we'll beat the crap out of them post-haste. Basic information is that the three forces that have dedicated significant space-based assets to this attack, the Coredians, the Dornalians, and us, will be the battering ram for this particular phase of the battle. We will rush in and cause as much damage to Imperial assets as possible, as quickly as possible. If one side happens to cave before the others, we then send the Huntarians and the Clans in to breach the planet proper and commence ground operations as befitting whatever their intended plan might be. Hopefully at this point the other forces will have managed to beat the rest into submission and we shall begin providing orbital support of ground operations, barring any attempt by the Imperials to intervene from outside, which they might, but we should be able to handle new comers.

"There will likely be two fronts on the ground. The main front and whatever might be caused by our attempts to disable the Party-Pooper bomb under the Tenetian Citadel. The Telrosians will assist in the breaching of the Citadel, and possibly with other combat theaters as the need might be. We would like them to join the Huntarians for proper escort to the field of battle..."

>>Insert an hour's worth of planning and whatnot here, the Godulans won't presume to tell the Huntarians or Skaugrans how best to deploy their forces<<

Kelvin finally raised a hand for attention and stood up, his face now hard and emotionless. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just recieved word. The Imperials have vacated the system, leaving token forces in Tenetia."

Achaedus nodded. "We hope you're hungry, because tonight we're eating at the Citadel. Initiate deployment procedures as planned. We ride."

It didn't take long for Jorrus to find Daniel and meet up with him. No doubt the Councilor was a wee bit confused with the sudden disappearance of the Free World guys and the Woodians. Jorrus bowed to the Emperor out of respect, "Daniel, are you and your men ready to beam up to the Zeus? The ship is fully loaded and ready to jump straight to Tenetia. With a mixture of Colonial Civilian Jump Drives, and Dornalian Military Jump Drives, we will be able to bypass the ships shields, maybe even the Citadel's if we can get close enough. We just gotta deal with meeting up with the Telrosians. If some of them want to assist us in our secret strike, then we must meet up with them and transport them on the Zeus."


Communcation to: Telrosians
From: R.S.S. Zeus

Major General Verneal would like to know if any of the Telrosian warriors we were to escort would like to participate in the initial Citadel strike before the major combat units arrive on site.

Nomura nodded, and then looked at the globe. He proceeded to smile, and say, "Hmm....integrating my input.....sensibly exploiting the circumstances....quick rapid movement with a breakthrough...it isn't exactly Tukachevsky, but I don't think we can beat our collective meats any longer. Let's do this."

Gracie then sighed and said, "Please excuse my--"

Not turning back to look at Gracie, he sternly rebuked her with a simple, "You'll excuse nothing. Now, tell the ships to form up into a 3D Wedge, and assemble for our part of the broad front attack." He then looked up and asked Chao and the Huntarians, "Which one of you wants to go in behind us after?"

Nomura nodded, and then looked at the globe. He proceeded to smile, and say, "Hmm....integrating my input.....sensibly exploiting the circumstances....quick rapid movement with a breakthrough...it isn't exactly Tukachevsky, but I don't think we can beat our collective meats any longer. Let's do this."

Gracie then sighed and said, "Please excuse my--"

Not turning back to look at Gracie, he sternly rebuked her with a simple, "You'll excuse nothing. Now, tell the ships to form up into a 3D Wedge, and assemble for our part of the broad front attack." He then looked up and asked Chao and the Huntarians, "Which one of you wants to go in behind us after?"

Verneal turned to Nomura, "we're sending in our own small strike force to the Citadel as a form of 'surprise' attack as previously discussed. If you have any Acolytes who would be able to participate in the little raid, now's the time because we intend on leaving as soon as we get onto the Zeus. The rest of the fleet will arrive with the Clans. We plan on bombarding the enemy with our Seismic Torpedoes."

Verneal turned to Nomura, "we're sending in our own small strike force to the Citadel as a form of 'surprise' attack as previously discussed. If you have any Acolytes who would be able to participate in the little raid, now's the time because we intend on leaving as soon as we get onto the Zeus. The rest of the fleet will arrive with the Clans. We plan on bombarding the enemy with our Seismic Torpedoes."

Nomura then turned to Gracie, holding a finger up as a gesture to say, "One moment." He then asked Gracie, "Grace, get me the head of the PA on my ship. Secure Channel."

The people in the room were greeted by the sight of a man in a simple People's Acolytes uniform, with a yarmulke. Looking up at the Admiral, he asked, "Yes?"

Nomura then cut to business and asked, "Rabbi Hirschfeldt, you got any men to spare? I need some for a raid."

"Ah yes, the one previously discussed from the first Allied meet. Yes, I have some men. One Adrian O'Shaughnessy, and the others of his ilk. I can spare them."

"Good. Get them to the Huntarian Alliance starship Zeus ASAP. Verneal's got a plan."

Hirschfeldt smiled and then replied, "No problem. I trust him to do his duty. Tell him--no wait, he's right there." The Rabbi leaned up to the Screen, and said, a bit more loudly, so the laptop's speakers could project to Verneal, "Major General, you got some more men. I can provide altogether a platoon's worth--but these boys, you won't need more than fifty. Trust me."

Nomura then nodded and said, "Thanks." The two then cut out their transmission, and Nomura said, "Right."

*fluid timing a bit of this since actually a bit of time has passed...*

Panzuriel grumbled mentally to himself about being pulled off of duty at the Colonies for such a simple task as relaying a message and dropping off an aggravating ambassador. He was hoping to be able to see when the fireworks actually started at Tenetia, though whoever the dipshit was that had actually taken over the Galaxy Gun had thrown everything out of whack. Now, here he was, to be a glorified gopher bound for Thorn. Oh well, perhaps he could garner some sense of amusement at watching the crew's reactions to what they would experience in the bounds of that colossal death trap. Even then, such hopes were swiftly dashed at almost the same time as he set foot on board the Sarutobi. Intercom messages about the ambassador scribbling his name in the dead book and quarantines went back and forth, and Panzuriel was already running.

It took a moment to localize the comm frequency that followed the intercoms, but he patched in with relative alacrity. "This is Godulan Envoy Panzuriel to the Bridge of the Sarutobi, I have arrived and am aware of the situation. Please proceed to Thorn as planned, and enact full-ship quarantine protocols until the nature of the contagion can be determined. I will commence examination post-haste, with your permission."

He recieved an acknowledgement and slowed his pace somewhat to arrive at the brig at the same time as a medical droid. Both set to work as the Coredian vessel set out into hyperspace for the Thorn System...
As the Sarutobi made the jump to hyperspace, the medical droid and the Godulan got to work poking and prodding the dead ambassador while Konohamaru ordered the medical crew to inspect every soldier and sailor on the ship for any possible contagion. Until the ship was cleared, there would be no docking and no leave.

The two Generals and the Fleetlord paused for a moment and gave each other an incredulous look. Broken only when Achaedus pointed at Talisid and said "HA!" to which Talisid sat down and mumbled something about 'balance in all things'. Achaedus' smug grin was counterbalanced by the grim expression on Kelvin's face as he turned to explained the outburst to the others gathered in the room.

"It would appear, ladies and gentlemen, that the Imperial Ambassador has drowned in his own blood, the result of some unknown contagion. We are investigating the issue, but it would seem that the Imperials have attempted to send us the equivalent of plague rats. We dare not consider the devastating result of if we had not been cautious about him from the beginning, and his possible encounters with any number of those gathered here. We fear that this makes it even more imperative that we move soon, as the longer we remain with our back turned to the enemy, the longer he has for one of his wayward stabbings to actually strike home. Achaedus, if you would be so kind as to explain the new strategy?"
Naruto grew concerned with the news of the Imperial ambassador's strange death. If it is due to some contagion, he hoped that Konohamaru would be all right. For now, though, his 'game face' was on as he listened to the last bits of planning...

Kelvin finally raised a hand for attention and stood up, his face now hard and emotionless. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just recieved word. The Imperials have vacated the system, leaving token forces in Tenetia."

Achaedus nodded. "We hope you're hungry, because tonight we're eating at the Citadel. Initiate deployment procedures as planned. We ride."

"Then we have no time to waste." Admiral Pellaeon nodded. "Let us take back our planet!"

It didn't take long for the Admiral to return to space and for the fleet to spin up their hyperdrives. All that was needed now was to give the signal to jump.

It didn't take long for Jorrus to find Daniel and meet up with him. No doubt the Councilor was a wee bit confused with the sudden disappearance of the Free World guys and the Woodians. Jorrus bowed to the Emperor out of respect, "Daniel, are you and your men ready to beam up to the Zeus? The ship is fully loaded and ready to jump straight to Tenetia."
"Oh? It's time? Finally!" I almost cheered, then sobered. "Yes, yes we are."

I keyed my comm. "All members of the Strike Team, prepare to be beamed into the Zeus. Acknowledge."

A few minutes later, I received acknowledgements from the strike team that will invade the Citadel with me. The Strike Team of course consisted of many powerful people, including me & my brothers, Naruto, and others. "We're ready, Master Jorrus."

Meanwhile, the ground forces will be commanded by High General Tilton, who will be in overall command of the Coredian contiguent. Under him is the Marine Corps and Army, who were equally split between Generals Mustang, Haruko, Haninozuka and Solomon. The Hokage would take care of her Shinobi forces, although mostly she will stay behind and help heal injured units, so operational command was left to Kakashi and his Old Guard colleagues.

Finally...the Battlestars had a special mission:

***TOP SECRET***

Twelfth Fleet Battlestar Groups Coredia, Juria, Konoha, and Tenetia, you are hereby
charged with the capture or destruction of the following ships by any means necessary:

1. Tenetian World Devastators

2. Black Star Fortress

3. Elite Star Destroyer Megalodon

4. Super Star Destroyer Ravager

These Orders take precedence over all others. Good Luck and Good Hunting!

***TOP SECRET***

As soon as all the forces received their respective orders, hyperdrives began to glow. On Admiral Pellaeon's command...all forces jumped as one!

Chao nodded. "Very well, then. Let us all fight honorably."

After some time, Chao and her entourage returned to their flagship, quickly announcing that the battle was to commence shortly. This brought cheers from the entire Clan fleet and participating ground forces, who were eager to finally prove themselves against this so called 'Galactic Empire.'

The ships were quick to prepare themselves, adjusting into their five-point Star formations and lining their formations into columns behind the Dornalian fleet, whom they trusted the most out of this entire combined force. Once everything was in place and in order, Chao signaled the combined fleet.

"We are waiting for your orders. May the Founder watch over us."

And then, on Pellaeon's order, the Clan fleet jumped into hyperspace.

(OOC: This post is from the perspective of the boy. It may not accurately reflect the mood of the characters.)

Thud, Thud,

A small black ball bounced off the side of the wall, as the boy reached out and grabbed it as it came back to him. He held it in his hand, as he tossed it again against the side of the room. Laughter, and excitement filled the air, as those on this mission grew excited, or was it just the magic game in the center of the room.

Although they were excited, he stayed silent. Why was he here? What was his purpose, and why in the hell did Travis Masaki ask the seven for him to come. All of these questions eluded him, for he was not allowed in the meeting that would decide his fate. All he knew was his mother came to him, and touched his shoulder, and informed him the Cavils were the deciding vote. He was to go…

David reached down, and pulled back the black cylon flight suit and looked at the time. Hours, which seemed like days, as the leaders of this fleet bickered, fought, and finally came to their conclusions, all the while he sat on the ship the Coredians christened…. A battlestar. This was not a battlestar, not a real one, and David knew it. David had lived on a real battlestar, this place was like a happy version of the place he grew up. No this was not a battlestar, not anymore than Disneyland was a actual kingdom.

“Damn it.” he said agitated at the situation, as he tossed the pyramid ball against the wall again. “Now I know why Dad always needs a drink.” he said as the ball bounced back into his right hand, as he grew sick of staring at the same metal bulkhead wall, for what seemed to be days. “I wish the men in charge would get off their ass and actually do something. What do they think, they will win by killing the enemy with old age.” he said to himself.

He got up, as he walked over towards the Coredians in the center, finally out of total boredom. A couple of the boys, their names eluded him taunted Travis. He watched Travis do the classic human mistake and get mad, as his face grew beat red. “Oh yeah, watch this.” Travis boasted to the room He shook his head at Travis, as Travis tapped his mana and threw out a flying dragon card. “Bad move.” Travis. David said, as the boredom was growing too much for him. “You are about to get your ass kicked mate.”

David knew that this game was not for him, as he looked around the room, for something more… entertaining. It only took the cylon a moment to find her, the one by herself on the other side of the room. He walked over towards her, his hands at his side and sat down. “I do not know about you, but I am bored. Wanna grab something to eat?”

At that, Nomura jumped as well....he timed it, just to keep ahead of the Clanners when his ships entered into country...

OOC: One liner, but keeps me in the game.

En Route

David knew that this game was not for him, as he looked around the room, for something more… entertaining. It only took the cylon a moment to find her, the one by herself on the other side of the room. He walked over towards her, his hands at his side and sat down. “I do not know about you, but I am bored. Wanna grab something to eat?”
Reika Uchiha glanced up from her thoughts at the unknown boy. She saw something of fellow kindred in him. Kindred that favored solitude over the extroverted loudmouthed Masaki. "Perhaps...If I knew your name."

Never give a human what they want, or so he was told as the young lady sat gently on the floor by herself. David looked around her, at the objects near her, as he tried to get a reading on her personality. Lightsaber, candles, mat for meditation, and a glare that every once in a while shot over to the loud and obnoxious Coredians in the center, more focused on a deck of cards that allowed them to pretend they were wizards over the mission at hand.

He then watched her face, studying it for the slightest movement. Humans were so predictable, their bodies always let their intentions be known, even if what they said was an outright lie. He could tell she was somewhat strong willed, by her staring into his eyes. Her body was still, and with the objects around her, reinforced to him that she was actually taking this job seriously.

David gently leaned forward, just a bit, as gave her a smile. “Tell me yours, and I will tell you mine.” he said somewhat playfully. David leaned back waiting for the response to come, to his game of Cat and Mouse.

A tiny quirk of the mouth was all the emotion that Reika Uchiha allowed herself to show to the unknown boy. "Ah."

Reika wasn't willing to give her name up so easily, so she tried a different tack. She lifted her head towards the commotion. "They can't help but annoy. No sense of decorum."

David turned towards the commotion in the center of the room, as one of the Padawan pack stood up, and slammed down his card. “Take that Travis.” the nerdy boy at the table said as he threw down the fireball card, smoking Travis’s ace in the hole.

Travis began to look flustered as he put his hands to his head, “Hey no fair.”

“Yeah yeah,” the nerdy looking guy who’s name eluded David, said with a smile so large it looked like he could be an anime character.

David shook his head, as the young boys shouted and protested in friendly banter with one another. “Certainly do. Although they do have their uses, I suppose.” he said to her. He watched her movements, her discipline, although the slight quirk of the mouth was all he needed to see. He analyzed it, and soon came to one conclusion, she was at best, amused by their conversation.

He then looked back at the young lady in front of him. “Well would you prefer to get outta here. We got time to kill, grab a bite, maybe a movie? Sitting around here, watching these boys pretending to be mages and casting magic is nerve wrecking, and I would prefer your company.” he said to her, as he crossed his legs.

"Jedi playing Mages." Reika snorted at the idea. "I suppose I will take you up on that offer. Not like I have anything else to do."

Reika stood up and stretched a little. "Alright. Let's go."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DliK9SA5_G0

Tenetia...

The R.S.S. Zeus suddenly jumped inside Tenetia's atmosphere, hurtling itself downwards towards the planet's surface and the citadel. Admiral Craimorn held onto his Captains chair with dear life, "system check!"

"Long Rang sensors online, fighter pilots report status ready for launch. Weapons charged and ready, shields holding. Transports report ready. FTL's active."

The Zeus stopped shaking violently as the computers adjusted for atmospheric flight, Meanwhile, in the Transporter Room, Jorrus and his strike team readied to be beamed from various transporter rooms and cargo holds. He looked at Daniel, "well, this is it. Admiral Craimorn, we're ready to beam down."

Craimorn acknowledged the Councilor, "beam the Force Assault Teams onto the planet's surface! Launch as many fighters as we can!"

Jorrus looked around the transporter pad and watched as an eerie sound followed by blue beams of light flowed around his body. Seconds later, he found himself wandering the streets of Tenetia. He turned to the Masaki boy, "well Danny, you know the lay of the land better than we do I think. Lead the way!"

At the signal to begin beaming down, Adrian O'Shaughnessy shouted to his platoon, "Form up into squads, assemble kit. We're going in!" Soon, squads of five men each assembled, representing a variety of schools. From the National/California School and the Shinmei Schools, came lightsabers, Shaolin Spades, and double-bladed sabers. The Qiangquans, meanwhile, had their Wristmounted Lightsabers, and oddly enough, modified Type 56 AK47s, with electric firing mechanisms and underslung Shotguns in case someone else came. They all knew about the Allaire Problem, where a jedi/sith could kill a gun easy.

Then, they warped to the surface, prepared to execute the order with the rest of the strike teams. One Qiangquan team and Adrian's team went to the side of Jorrus, and another National School team ran up to Daniel's side. Led by what looked like a cheery Asian girl, the girl saluted Daniel and said, keeping her voice down even with the enthusiasm, "Reporting for duty, Daniel-sama! I will go where you go, and so will my Comrades! We will be your Red Detachment!"

Dance with the Devil (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzKLUDylr-E)

David smiled, as she finally broke down. He walked next to her, down towards the cafeteria. The hallway was a beacon of light, as he walked past the roaring crowds. She stood next to him, as he watched the band play, it’s symphony. The guitars and drums were linked in precision, as he turned to her. “So?” he asked as the music played out in his head, “How did you get mixed up with a crowd like that?” he said simply to her, with little emotion being shown.

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In deep space, within Resurrection range of Tenetia:

The blimps of light appeared in the darkness of space, as the base ships emerged from their jump. Their long metal arms stretched out into the darkness, while from the base ship, hundreds of raiders began to swarm around. Moving quickly, and with the agility of a bat, they began to swarm around the three base ships.

Six turned her head towards the other two women in the room, as she pulled her hand out of the data stream. “We have arrived.” she said towards one of the eights.

The eight nodded her head, ‘Good, I have already taken the liberty of erasing the files. The Cavils will never know we were here.” she said to the crowd.

“Yes.” one of the Two’s a Leoban spoke up. “But is this a wise precaution. It has great ramifications, since this was never put up for a vote.”

Out of the darkness another spoke. She walked forward, her body clothed in leather, as she held a knife in her hand. “Yes, but this is not a time for diplomacy, it is a time for action. I will not trust the future of the cylon nation in the hands of the Coredians.”

One of the Sixes nodded, “Yes, they have already taken enough from us. How many of our children have they kidnapped already?”

An Eight nodded her head. “Too many.”

“Exactly.” one of the sixes spoke up more definitely. “We will not trust them with the safety of our son. We all know that humans will stab us in the back the first moment they get. Don't forget what they did to the first of God's Generation.”

“And if they do?” Leoban asked.

The leather clad cylon smiled, “Then we deal with them. Are we agreed?"

OOC: Got huntaer's permission for this little bit, since I was away for a goodly portion of the posts that happened between my last and this, and there were some things I wanted to put in, to say nothing of a couple other bits... also hope Telros doesn't mind if I post their arrival alongside...

With the Huntarian special incursion force were a pair of Godulan Eidolons, Naberius and another known as Kir'Shissar, intended both to function as mobile maps and as a form of compact heavy artillery. With them also were a single squad of the Telrosian experimental soldiers in full battle gear. The Eidolons materialized in what appeared to be some form of combat dress, though it was easily notable that it was a simple affectation to hide their exceptional nature the moment the two moved. The Telrosians, equipped in a form of ninja-esque power armor, came across as strangely eerie in their movements, as though their legs did not seem to move all that much, they moved just as swiftly as the fastest of the incursion force. Both moved to follow Daniel into the city, while the Eidolons also began searching through various wireless frequencies...

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Though the Coredian and other forces went into hyperdrive at once, the Godulans remained behind at Tantis, knowing that their own method of transit would get them there much faster than the others as they had spent an entire year with the transit coordinates and targeting solution for the jump to Tenetia locked in. They took a few moments to confirm their inventory of long-range weapons one last time, recheck the capabilities of the siege platform, and other last minute minutiae that a couple moments spent confirming couldn't hurt. Kelvin and Achaedus returned to their holo-display and patched in to Talisid's command channels, listening in to their subordinate's final preparations.

Focus fire on one ship at a time. Try to bring down one enemy vessel per salvo. Better to knock them down one at a time than leave them all up for the same amount of time. We've done this before, so there is no reason we should mess this one up. If there is a super star destroyer arrayed against us, tachyon torpedos are to be employed until its weapons and fighter launch capabilities are rendered null-value. Do not target civilian vessels unless fired upon. Do not target civilian structures unless fired upon. If one of the other forces begins to falter, Long Arm of the Law is directed to refocus its own artillery fire into the enemy on that specific front as required. Remember, because of the changes to the plan, we have to fire the disruptor at the moment of our arrival. The enemy will still be able to move around for a short time before the effect reaches the planet proper, so shield adjutants must be aware of their surroundings in order to compensate for flanking attempts. Fightercraft will be launched cannon-style, and will focus on bringing down skirmishers before concentrating attacks on enemy capital vessels.

We ready? Good luck gentlemen, now is our time. Not even death shall keep us down.

Fleetlord Talisid to Long Arm of the Law, fire one Disruption Canister at your discretion. Fleetlord Talisid to all vessels, initiate probability jump on my mark.

The three Slaughterstars moved into formation around the Siege Platform, each crackling with raw energy just waiting to be unleashed upon the Imperials. The massive crystalline blades circling around each respective pillar of light seemed to vibrate with sheer power as they slowed to a stop in formation.

Mark.

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Tendril, far far away:

Long Arm of the Law stirred. In the sickly brilliance of the neutron star that formed the center of the system, machinery set to work. A canister of indescribable exotic matter fell into its intended place within a giant array amidst the asteroids and debris that the artillery array called home. The transit would not take long. The targeting solution had been known for over a year, had been checked over and over to refine the precision of the jump, and was for all intents and purposes... perfect. The weapon would strike home.

Even so, supercomputers worked, ensuring the proper entrance velocity required and the angle of insertion to the finest degree possible. When they were certain of the proper sequencing for launch, they initiated the first strike. The canister fired, flying through several rings in the array before jumpshock struck...


Tenetia:

A strange canister materialized a few thousand kilometers from the star that provided Lady Nightshade's fief with life-sustaining light and warmth in the cold darkness of space. Already traveling at a fraction of the speed of light, the torpedo's existence might have been seen as a phantom on the sensors before it was fully engulfed in hydrogen plasma, dissolving nigh-instantaneously and releasing its strange cargo into the star itself. For any taking helioscopic readings at the time, nothing would have seemed the matter until a single oddly purple colored prominence burst into existence from the site of the canister's "impact". Though the star showed no signs of distress, space seemed to darken slightly around it in an expanding wave of... something. Any ships caught within would note nothing unusual or harmful, but would note that their hyperdrives, while not disabled, were reading some form of instability. It would be a few minutes yet before the effect reached Tenetia proper...

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Of course, at that point, the Tenetians had a little more on their plate to worry about than some odd dimensional instability. Though the Godulans were the last to leave, they were in fact among the first to actually arrive. A triangle of Slaughterstars arrayed just slightly before the siege platform between them, they came barrelling down on the planet from approximately half an AU out. Flaring to full power as they came, a transmission went out on all comms, directed to the entire system. However, even if jamming were in place around tenetia, ground-based channels would recieve the message without difficulty:

Citizens of Tenetia and the Galactic Empire! You have been betrayed!

A plot has been enacted to rally support against us by accusing the 'Rebels' of stealing the Galaxy Gun and striking out at Imperial targets. They sent Sith agents to infiltrate several members of our alliance and pit us against each other. They strike at you, the common person, knowing your faltering support of Imperial rule and struggle to survive against such oppression, thinking to kill those who would oppose their rule and galvanize any survivors into striking out in revenge. Thanks to the failure of their agents, we realized the plot even as your Imperial 'benefactors' sent an angel of flaming death upon you.

An ambassador sent by the Imperials to 'request aid' from us was a thrice-be-damned plague rat! We can thank only our caution for saving our leaders from a gruesome death at the hands of some plague brought by one seeking our mercy, abusing the consideration we give for humanitarian causes. We are angered at these flagrant attacks upon us, and you as concerned citizens should be as well, for evidence of the goodwill of your Imperial 'beneficiaries' is plainly written on your broken and battered moon. We will ensure that the Imperial dogs face the proper justice they deserve, but we come here first to take care of some business.

Fiona Masaki, the Lady Nightshade! Janus Masaki! Uchiha Itachi! You are given two choices! You will either assist us in bringing justice to those who sought to inflict harm upon your people. If not, you are a part of the problem, and are no longer fit to rule over them as you have been party to a plan to bring them to harm. Your choice can be relayed by tendering the unconditional surrender of Tenetia to Allied authority.

To all civilian vessels, get out of our way. Our quarrel is not with you.

Transmission Ends.

Finally, the other fleets arrived in the system, all moving at full speed for their primary target. The attack on Tenetia was on.

>>OOC: Half an AU should be outside weapons range for the most part. Didn't want to come in shooting right off. If there are any of those 'experimental' things from Sithy's little research thread in place, I'd like to know so I can describe what actually happens with 'em.

Mantis was sitting in her chair while her two fellow TITAN operatives stood guard, occasionally glancing at the center table to see what they were talking about and keeping up. The Telrosian commander watched as the Clan representative stood up and proceeded to demonstrate they plan they had, which best fit their capabilities and kept their weaknesses low enough to work for the plan. Mantis didn't have anything to say on the plans of her betters, so she kept quiet and waited for a sign that her input was wanted. As she waited for the meeting to end, she felt her communication suite give a warning that a message had been received. She quietly activated it and looked at the text file sent to her:


Communcation to: Telrosians
From: R.S.S. Zeus

Major General Verneal would like to know if any of the Telrosian warriors we were to escort would like to participate in the initial Citadel strike before the major combat units arrive on site.

She raised an eyebrow and smiled. She'd like to go herself but she had to stay and remain in command. However, she knew just the four operatives who were good enough to survive alone and complete the initial strike. She sent the names of the four she was going to send and sent a reply:

Communication to: R.S.S. Zeus
From: Captain Mary Smith, T.I.T.A.N. Division

These four will go with your escort to be in the initial strike force. The remaining operatives will be with the main push, so as to aid their thrust and keep them safe from Dark Jedi. Good hunting.

She sent the orders to the four she had planned and then sat back, getting back into the flow of the meeting.

*************

(OOC: Fluid timing a bit as well)

The Huntaerian ship beamed the four operatives down and they landed near the Coredian, Dornalian, Huntaerian and fellow allies Godulan initial strike personnel. The four sent by Mary were Silent, Edge, Midnight, and Flame, which were their codenames and preferred mode of identification. The Telrosians were equipped with the Thor's Hammer power suit, part of the HEPHAESTUS project that had been started once TITAN had been completed. It was a very state of the art piece of hardware that increased the attributes, agility, etc of those who wore it, increased their mental protection, in case for some reason their granted....abilities wavered, had a full on stealth field that hid heat, and twisted light around them, making them very invisible for short periods of time. It had built in weapons, and had a magnetic holding field that allowed the operatives to simply put their weapons on any spot of their armor, if they so chose, and have it remain there. And only they could disengage the field to let them remove it from their armor.

As the others would note, it was influenced by the ninja and assassins of old in its design, making it flexible and maneuverable, giving their operatives even more options in the field. Given that it was shielded as well, it brought plenty of evidence to show that these were true "super soldiers". Midnight moved up to salute Daniel, and spoke in a deadly quiet voice. "We have come as requested, Emperor Daniel. We will aid you in your mission to scout out this area and do as much damage as possible. As the Jedi stated, you are the most knowledgeable about this terrain, seeing as we haven't gotten a chance to brief ourselves before we came. Thus, we will follow your lead." He then returned back to his fellows and nodded to them, with each giving a slight nod back. He mentally sent the order for the suit to open the suit-to-suit or STS comm system.

M: Is everyone prepared?

F: Of course, I want to blow stuff up.

E: Not until we need to, Flame. That tends to attract people and we don't have the thousands of soldiers backing us up yet.

M: Indeed. Follow Daniel's orders. But pay heed to our Godulan friends, they are wise in these situations, and remember our training. The Captain chose us because we are the best. We need to show it. Be professional. Be smart. Be careful. And let's enjoy our little outing.

S: Indeed.

They turned and waited until the group started to move and then proceeded to spread out, Midnight going in the front, Silent taking the left flank, Edge the right, and Flame took the rear. They moved quickly and almost like shadow, with it become hard to focus on their movements and see what they were actually doing. Their minds all focused onto the mission at hand, and they were eager to show the Godulans that their trust and help were not some foolish venture.

Tenetia, Ground...

Khal heard what sounded like a very loud rumble of a ship, then the sound of it jumping away. He narrowed his eyes and raised his pistol, "I don't like the sound of that." Indeed, for a few moments later his squad can hear the sounds of blaster fire outside of the citadel. "Squad, form up on me. Stay close, watch your backs. There's been a change of plans, we need to escort Lady Nightshade out of here if we are to do anything about her. Let's move!" Khal and his squad of Royal Guardsmen quickly ran inside the Throne Room, where they saw an empty chair. Khal grumbled, "she's obviously moved. Lieutenant, sensor scan for her Biosignature."

One of the Guardsmen moved forward, scanning the room with a tricorder-like device. "She's in the next room ahead... Sir..." the sensors beeped again and read another biosignature similar to Nightshade's, but still obviously different. "I'm picking up another Biosignature a few clicks away from the Citadel. It reads very similar to Nightshade's, but it's not her."

Khal nodded, "he's here! We have very little time to act. Load your Anti-Force syringes into your pistols. We have some Jedi to hunt." Khal then knocked on the door to the War Room, "Empress Nigtshade! This is Fleet Admiral Khal of the Huntarian Empire! We have been ordered to escort you safely off of the Citadel! Acknowledge."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Space...

The Huntarian Empire's fleet suddenly buzzed with life. Their shields and anti-warfare systems were activated. Turbolasers were charged, and began to fire upon enemy Godulan and Telrosian ships along side with a massive volley of Torpedoes. Of course, the Huntarians knew that most of their weapons, except for possibly the Torpedoes were useless against the Godulan Kythons at this point. But there was one possible salvation for them...


To: Colonial Fleet.
From: H.S.S. Leviathan

The Godulan fiends are firing their archaic weapons upon our fleet. We're seeking to protect the civilian and military transports transporting the refugees off of the planet, but the Kython abominations would see to it that they have no protection. We request aid in keeping the Godulans off of our backs while we deal with the rest of the Rebels.

End Transmission.

------

Zeus...

Craimorn glanced down at the Holographic Projector, his robotic eye whirred and zoomed into the Huntarian Fleet. He noted the Leviathan which easily dwarfed every other ship in the system. Estimated length to be roughly 30 kilometers by his count. He knew they were outnumbered with only one ship in the area, until the core Coredian and Dornalian ships arrived. Until then, he does have one trick up his sleeve, "all hands, this is the Admiral. Prepare for Multi-Vector Assault Mode. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v89b5k5oLPA&feature=related) I repeat, prepare for Multi-Vector Assault Mode."

Suddenly, the hull plating of the Zeus sounded like it was being ripped apart by an unknown force. It separated into not two ships, but four. Four fully bred warships. Still outnumbered, yes but they have something which the enemy ships' don't have. Agility...

The group moved ahead, following Daniel's lead, to get into the Citadel. Midnight was not yet sure what the reason for this initial strike was, aside from possibly securing or killing the Tenetian Empress Nightshade and possibly finding out where the WMD was located. That and of course any destruction of vehicles, property and forces along the way would certainly help with that. All four prepared themselves for the mission ahead. Consciences were suppressed, mind's focused on their objectives, instinct and ingrained training taking over the main processes. They would kill many today and they could not have any form of remorse clouding their judgment. Many lives depended on their actions today. Midnight stiffened and stopped running as he sensed something, he held up a fist, indicating that the group stop and then put up one finger and pointed forward.

Edge nodded and then activated his stealth field. The group would see him shimmer and then vanish, although those with very keen eyes could see a faint opaqueness to the area he occupied. He moved forward, seeming to almost teleport from spot to spot, until he reached a wall. He gazed around it to see squads of soldiers moving through the area. The battle was underway and it would appear they were getting prepared to deal with any ground force that was coming their way. Of course, they hadn't intended on this certain group being here. Edge sent a message on the STS unit.

E: Several squads of soldiers ahead, typical defense formations. They're expecting a possible ground force due to the attack in orbit.

M: Understood. Each of us will take on one group each. The others need not be shown yet; element of surprise can still be kept. We will need to clear these guys out before we can move on.

E: Affirmative. I'll start moving to my position.

Midnight turned to face the others as Flame and Silent vanished from sight and headed to their positions. "There are several squads of troops up ahead, Tenetian and Huntaerian Empire mix. They appear to be taking standard defensive formations, due to the attack in orbit, no doubt. There are too many for us to slip by undetected, and a running gun battle will slow us down. The four of us will slip into positions, attack, and clean them up. It may take us a bit of time, depending if any reinforcements come. If so, leave them to us, we can handle it. The Emperor should lead the rest of you past this point and into the Citadel, Nightshade and the other objectives are paramount. We will be joining you shortly after that." When he finished speaking, he activated his stealth unit and moved to his position. He activated the STS one final time.

M: Status report.

E: In position, don't see any Dark Jedi yet. This is going to be boring.

S: In position. Give the signal when you're ready, sir.

F: Ready and waiting, got a nice surprise for these kiddies. Heheheh.

M: Alright, on my signal....three....two....one...

A flare shot into the sky, from the flare gun Midnight had taken with him, and the soldiers would undoubtedly see this and be slightly distracted. At this point, all four of them attacked. A large explosion off to the left signaled Flame's entrance, as he hefted a grenade launcher that spat out several more rounds into the stunned groups. The right saw the exact opposite. With Flame acting as the main focus, Silent leapt into the middle of a group and began to kill them with swift slices to any exposed parts of their armor. Armpits, throats, eyes, ankles, all saw the delicate touch of her blade that left many dead or bleeding out on the ground. Edge moved in from the rear, using his unique ability to control his knives telekinetically and sent them flying into enemy soldiers, even as he began to lay down fire from his assault rifle. Finally, Midnight entered the fray. He grabbed his voidsword off the armor of his hip and activated it. It's preset settings made it became a thin, fencing-like sword, while his other hand held out his pistol. With all other sides falling into chaos, with energy fire being exchanged and cries of the dying soldiers filling the air, he hit the front of the soldiers formations, firing the pistol to keep them distracted or take down a few, and let his reflexes and voidsword finish them off.

With the soldiers in pure chaos, being attacked by four soldiers whose movements confused the eye, Daniel's group had their perfect chance to move past them undetected, with the four Telrosians causing so much chaos.


OOC: Since Huntaer posted some kind of blaster fire going on outside that made his evil half realize the Citadel was under attack from the ground, I decided to show what was going on. If I offended anyone, or pushed the bounds, I apologize and please let me know so I can edit.

Everything was going smoothly, as the raptors began their travels back and forth between Tenetia and the Geminese fleet in orbit, or so was thought., as Commander Emory looked at the reports.

All of the doctors, nurses, and combat medics were down on the planet, as well as nearly the entire marine regiment, and nearly half an hour ago the first load of Tenetian civilians were brought onboard the battlestars lumbering in the sky.

That is before it all changed.

“New Draidus contact, bearing….” the officer said before he paused. “This can’t be right.” he said as he pressed a few more buttons on the draidus screen.

Commander Emory looked up at him, as she placed her reports down on the table. “What is it?” she asked as she picked up her cup of coffee.

“Registering Colonial Jump Drive entry, near the palace, and…” he paused again, as he reached down and pulled out a cigarette. “Huntarian Alliance, they are beaming people to the surface, and launching fighters. One Zeus class.”

Commander Emory, walked over to her screen. “What in the hell are the Huntarians doing?” she asked as she placed her hands on the back of his chair. Leaning over him, she gazed at the screen. “Patch me through to the Alliance vessel.” she said, as she watched the Huntaran Alliance begin it’s combat operations. “And secure me a line to Picon.”

“Sir…” New Dradius contacts, ‘What the FRAK” he said. Emory turned her eyes to the long range draidus. “Coredian, United Colonial Fleet, Godulan, and two unknown signatures at the edge of the system.” he said, as he was really confused by the situation.

Commander Emory sighed, “Recall our teams now.” she said to her XO. As she walked back over to the planning table.

“It will take some time to get the birds off the ground, considering we are still doing evac prep, and medical relief.”

Commander Emory lowered her head, she needed more time. The Geminese fleet was smack in the middle of this shit, and to make matters worse some damn dick decided the United Colonies should start an act of war without consulting the other colonies. She turned to her XO, “When this is over, I want your stash in your quarters.” she said to him.

“Sir we are getting a communication from the Godulans.”

“On speakers.”

Citizens of Tenetia and the Galactic Empire! You have been betrayed!

A plot has been enacted to rally support against us by accusing the 'Rebels' of stealing the Galaxy Gun and striking out at Imperial targets. They sent Sith agents to infiltrate several members of our alliance and pit us against each other. They strike at you, the common person, knowing your faltering support of Imperial rule and struggle to survive against such oppression, thinking to kill those who would oppose their rule and galvanize any survivors into striking out in revenge. Thanks to the failure of their agents, we realized the plot even as your Imperial 'benefactors' sent an angel of flaming death upon you.

An ambassador sent by the Imperials to 'request aid' from us was a thrice-be-damned plague rat! We can thank only our caution for saving our leaders from a gruesome death at the hands of some plague brought by one seeking our mercy, abusing the consideration we give for humanitarian causes. We are angered at these flagrant attacks upon us, and you as concerned citizens should be as well, for evidence of the goodwill of your Imperial 'beneficiaries' is plainly written on your broken and battered moon. We will ensure that the Imperial dogs face the proper justice they deserve, but we come here first to take care of some business.

Fiona Masaki, the Lady Nightshade! Janus Masaki! Uchiha Itachi! You are given two choices! You will either assist us in bringing justice to those who sought to inflict harm upon your people. If not, you are a part of the problem, and are no longer fit to rule over them as you have been party to a plan to bring them to harm. Your choice can be relayed by tendering the unconditional surrender of Tenetia to Allied authority.

To all civilian vessels, get out of our way. Our quarrel is not with you.

Commander Emory reached down and picked up the phone. “Get me the Alliance and Imperial Fleets NOW!” she said.

“Patching you through sir.”

“This is the Battlestar Atlas, To the Alliance and Imperial Fleets: Your threats and attack vectors are an unwarranted intrusion, which is adding insult to injury of this planet’s well being. Trying to prove you were not directly responsible for the Tenetian Massacre, by invading, only furthers the arguments by the Empire that the Rebel alliance was in fact responsible.

Are you all so blinded by your own self arrogance, that when a planet full of innocent civilians, is under attack by a weapon of mass destruction, that your first recourse, after the Empire sent an open com message, which was not a plague rat for aid, you decide to invade.

The situation is this. Three fourth’s of my viper wing is on the planet’s surface, as is my entire Raptor Squadron, and almost half of my crews. Any attempt to attack the Colonial contingent will result in an act of war against Geminion and the United Colonial Fleet. If the Dornies who have seen fit to drag the thirteen Colonies into a declaration of war without consulting the Quorum, attempt to open fire on any Colonial on the surface of Tenetia, I promise you, Tauron will no longer stand alone. I just pray when the report hit's De Bruyn's desk that you were under the influence of Daniel Masaki's mind trick.

To the Godulan Command, You should also be informed that as of one hour ago, Fionna Masaki was removed as Governor of this planet. She was arrested for treason and crimes against humanity, for opening fire damn close to her civilian transports. The Masaki‘s as best our intelligence can say, are no longer in control of this planet, through direct order of Emperor Anakin Skywalker. So if your quarrel is with her, understand, she has been removed, permanently.

Unless you are here to actually assist these people as more than lip service to your invasion threats, I officially request on Geminion's behalf that you leave, as your only rational objectives have already been met by Courescant. Any further death and destruction that happens here today is solely your fault.

If you wish to take a more peaceful route to this crisis, I will make the Atlas available for talks, as Neutral Ground.”

She hung up the phone, as the crew watched her. “Set Condition one throughout the fleet, and continue extraction operations.” she ordered, “and send a message to Picon, and Admiral De Bruyn. Inform them of the situation at Tenetia, and request orders.”

“Another message coming through sir, it is the Imperial Huntarians.”

Commander Emory growled under her breath. “Put it on speakers, and someone give me a damn smoke.” she said.

To: Colonial Fleet.
From: H.S.S. Leviathan

The Godulan fiends are firing their archaic weapons upon our fleet. We're seeking to protect the civilian and military transports transporting the refugees off of the planet, but the Kython abominations would see to it that they have no protection. We request aid in keeping the Godulans off of our backs while we deal with the rest of the Rebels.

Commander Emory knew that something had to be done, or else this would spiral out of control, and further the rift in the already fragile egg basket in the Colonies. “Set course, between the Huntarian Imperials, and the Godulans. Full suppression fire. I want damage control teams on stand by, and begin to dump FTL spool into DITA.” she said. “All ahead full.”

“And begin to spread out the other battlestars to protect the civilian sectors of the planet. I am sick of the galaxies hypocrisy. Inform them to begin firing full suppression barrages. Until the raptors come back, order the vipers to begin patrols in the sky, over the civilian sector. And Where in the hell is my communication with De Bruyn.”


Scrambled Signal; Colonial Priority One:

To Picon Fleet HQ
To Admiral of the Fleet De Bruyn
CC: JRCCC Earth, SSR
BSG-78

Operations, Humanitarian Relief of Tenetia

Situation, Invasion by Rebel Alliance. Fleet make up Coredian, Godulan, Suspected Rogue Dornalia Vessels, as well as two unknown. Hostile intentions taken.

We have three forths of our Vipers, and Entire Raptor Squadrons on the surface, as well as over half the fleets personal. Issued statement warning all sides to back down. Request orders.

Super Star Destroyer Archon
Tenetian Space

"Admiral, we have enemy ships coming out of sector forty-seven," one of the deck officer aboard the bridge of the Archon reported. "Comscan is detecting Coredian vessels and varied other signals of unknown origin."

"That would be the Rebels and their scum allies," murmured Belisarius. "Prepare the ship for immediate action! I want-."

"Sir!" the ship's captain appeared at his shoulder. "We've just received an emergency level-5 alert message from Grand Admiral Thrawn. We are ordered to withdraw and leave the system."

Belisarius almost just about blew a casket. "What!?"

"Just arrived by special currier sir," the Captain explained.

"Well sith me if I'm going to listen to that-."

"Sir, the Grand Admiral said you were to remember your orders as specified."

Belisarius wanted to take his pistol out and blast the Captain and then shoot the communications station. But he quickly pushed such thoughts aside. He had been under Thrawn's command and tutelage for nearly seven years now, and the Grand Admiral did not suffer fools. Belisarius sighed and composed his mind. He looked out the view port from where they could see the Imperial garrison jumping in to engage the Rebels.

"Captain, bring the fleet about and prepare for an immediate jump to lightspeed," ordered Belisarius.


Almost as surprisingly as they appeared, the Thrashian task force disappeared, a fuming commander left alone with his thoughts.

Talisid listened intently to Commander Emory's transmission to the Godulans as it came through to the Godulan Overlink. Every single tidbit was taken in as relevant information and already analysts were poring over the statements with liberal amounts of dedication and enthusiasm. He looked at the sensor readings and noted several queries from both Kelvin and Achaedus about the situation. He sent a reply to the Colonial forces around Tenetia, relatively simple in nature.

"This is Godulan Fleetlord Talisid to Geminon Commander Emory. Scans show the debris field is contained, with minimal damage to the surface. Why are people still being removed from the planet?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DliK9SA5_G0

Tenetia...

The R.S.S. Zeus suddenly jumped inside Tenetia's atmosphere, hurtling itself downwards towards the planet's surface and the citadel. Admiral Craimorn held onto his Captains chair with dear life, "system check!"

"Long Rang sensors online, fighter pilots report status ready for launch. Weapons charged and ready, shields holding. Transports report ready. FTL's active."

The Zeus stopped shaking violently as the computers adjusted for atmospheric flight, Meanwhile, in the Transporter Room, Jorrus and his strike team readied to be beamed from various transporter rooms and cargo holds. He looked at Daniel, "well, this is it. Admiral Craimorn, we're ready to beam down."

Craimorn acknowledged the Councilor, "beam the Force Assault Teams onto the planet's surface! Launch as many fighters as we can!"

Jorrus looked around the transporter pad and watched as an eerie sound followed by blue beams of light flowed around his body. Seconds later, he found himself wandering the streets of Tenetia. He turned to the Masaki boy, "well Danny, you know the lay of the land better than we do I think. Lead the way!"

At the signal to begin beaming down, Adrian O'Shaughnessy shouted to his platoon, "Form up into squads, assemble kit. We're going in!" Soon, squads of five men each assembled, representing a variety of schools. From the National/California School and the Shinmei Schools, came lightsabers, Shaolin Spades, and double-bladed sabers. The Qiangquans, meanwhile, had their Wristmounted Lightsabers, and oddly enough, modified Type 56 AK47s, with electric firing mechanisms and underslung Shotguns in case someone else came. They all knew about the Allaire Problem, where a jedi/sith could kill a gun easy.

Then, they warped to the surface, prepared to execute the order with the rest of the strike teams. One Qiangquan team and Adrian's team went to the side of Jorrus, and another National School team ran up to Daniel's side. Led by what looked like a cheery Asian girl, the girl saluted Daniel and said, keeping her voice down even with the enthusiasm, "Reporting for duty, Daniel-sama! I will go where you go, and so will my Comrades! We will be your Red Detachment!"

The Huntaerian ship beamed the four operatives down and they landed near the Coredian, Dornalian, Huntaerian and fellow allies Godulan initial strike personnel. The four sent by Mary were Silent, Edge, Midnight, and Flame, which were their codenames and preferred mode of identification. The Telrosians were equipped with the Thor's Hammer power suit, part of the HEPHAESTUS project that had been started once TITAN had been completed. It was a very state of the art piece of hardware that increased the attributes, agility, etc of those who wore it, increased their mental protection, in case for some reason their granted....abilities wavered, had a full on stealth field that hid heat, and twisted light around them, making them very invisible for short periods of time. It had built in weapons, and had a magnetic holding field that allowed the operatives to simply put their weapons on any spot of their armor, if they so chose, and have it remain there. And only they could disengage the field to let them remove it from their armor.

As the others would note, it was influenced by the ninja and assassins of old in its design, making it flexible and maneuverable, giving their operatives even more options in the field. Given that it was shielded as well, it brought plenty of evidence to show that these were true "super soldiers". Midnight moved up to salute Daniel, and spoke in a deadly quiet voice. "We have come as requested, Emperor Daniel. We will aid you in your mission to scout out this area and do as much damage as possible. As the Jedi stated, you are the most knowledgeable about this terrain, seeing as we haven't gotten a chance to brief ourselves before we came. Thus, we will follow your lead." He then returned back to his fellows and nodded to them, with each giving a slight nod back. He mentally sent the order for the suit to open the suit-to-suit or STS comm system.

M: Is everyone prepared?

F: Of course, I want to blow stuff up.

E: Not until we need to, Flame. That tends to attract people and we don't have the thousands of soldiers backing us up yet.

M: Indeed. Follow Daniel's orders. But pay heed to our Godulan friends, they are wise in these situations, and remember our training. The Captain chose us because we are the best. We need to show it. Be professional. Be smart. Be careful. And let's enjoy our little outing.

S: Indeed.

They turned and waited until the group started to move and then proceeded to spread out, Midnight going in the front, Silent taking the left flank, Edge the right, and Flame took the rear. They moved quickly and almost like shadow, with it become hard to focus on their movements and see what they were actually doing. Their minds all focused onto the mission at hand, and they were eager to show the Godulans that their trust and help were not some foolish venture.


OOC: Got huntaer's permission for this little bit, since I was away for a goodly portion of the posts that happened between my last and this, and there were some things I wanted to put in, to say nothing of a couple other bits... also hope Telros doesn't mind if I post their arrival alongside...

With the Huntarian special incursion force were a pair of Godulan Eidolons, Naberius and another known as Kir'Shissar, intended both to function as mobile maps and as a form of compact heavy artillery. With them also were a single squad of the Telrosian experimental soldiers in full battle gear. The Eidolons materialized in what appeared to be some form of combat dress, though it was easily notable that it was a simple affectation to hide their exceptional nature the moment the two moved. The Telrosians, equipped in a form of ninja-esque power armor, came across as strangely eerie in their movements, as though their legs did not seem to move all that much, they moved just as swiftly as the fastest of the incursion force. Both moved to follow Daniel into the city, while the Eidolons also began searching through various wireless frequencies...

Imperial City, Tenetia

As I adjusted from the free fall and subsequent beaming, I took in the crowd that assembled along with me. Apart from the Telrosians, Godulans, Huntarians and Dornalians, there was me, Naruto, the Twins, the King and his guards and a handpicked platoon of marines and Jedi Shinobi. Quite a crowd, if you ask me. I was bemused by the fangirl squad ND decided to send and hoped they would at least be useful.

"We're in Shibuya, capital of Tenetia." I spoke for the benefit of everyone. I pointed at the ominous looking palace that wasn't so much a palace as a black-gloved finger pointing at the sky. "We head north to the Citadel. Keep a sharp lookout, for I suspect our entrance have been noticed."

Midnight turned to face the others as Flame and Silent vanished from sight and headed to their positions. "There are several squads of troops up ahead, Tenetian and Huntaerian Empire mix. They appear to be taking standard defensive formations, due to the attack in orbit, no doubt. There are too many for us to slip by undetected, and a running gun battle will slow us down. The four of us will slip into positions, attack, and clean them up. It may take us a bit of time, depending if any reinforcements come. If so, leave them to us, we can handle it. The Emperor should lead the rest of you past this point and into the Citadel, Nightshade and the other objectives are paramount. We will be joining you shortly after that." When he finished speaking, he activated his stealth unit and moved to his position. He activated the STS one final time.

"Right. Good plan." I nodded, before turning to the others. "Let's move out!"

Acknowledging, the strike teams began moving through the alleyways as quickly as possible while the Telrosians did their thing. The normal troops took the low path while us Jedi Shinobi went roofhopping. It wasn't long before various units began engaging stormtroopers and minor Dark minions and a series of running engagements occurred in the streets of Shibuya while TIE fighters and heavy laser bolts screamed in the air after the Zeus.

As we fought our way towards the Citadel, we noticed the composition and strength of enemy forces slowly increasing, with a chicken walker unit or two thrown at us for good measure. All in all, though, it looked like the first phase of the mission is going well...

Dance with the Devil (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzKLUDylr-E)

David smiled, as she finally broke down. He walked next to her, down towards the cafeteria. The hallway was a beacon of light, as he walked past the roaring crowds. She stood next to him, as he watched the band play, it’s symphony. The guitars and drums were linked in precision, as he turned to her. “So?” he asked as the music played out in his head, “How did you get mixed up with a crowd like that?” he said simply to her, with little emotion being shown.
Reika took in the question and mulled it over in her head, going back to how Travis made her a Pack member during the final year of the Academy. She always was was considered the 'girl most likely to be anti-social' back in Academy, even laughing at the idea of joining Travis' group. Still...he pestered her for weeks to join the first meeting, just to feel it out and she finally gave in, if only to get the kid out of her hair.

"Welcome to the first meeting of the newly formed 'Padawan Pack'!" Travis grinned to a small crowd of bemused peers. "With me is my co-chairman Tamaki Suou, who's Host Club so graciously allowed us to share rooms with them for further meetings! Give him a round of applause for his generosity, folks!"

Polite applause occurred and Tamaki made a deep and graceful bow, complere with eyelash-batting at some random girls in the crowd who swooned. Reika, immune to such things, only sighed at the antics and wondered what she was getting into.

The applause died down and Travis was able to speak again. "You know, when I first began thinking of the idea, I wondered about the theme of the group. It wouldn't be the usual stuff, like politics (ick) or hologames (cool) or catering to people (nod to the Host Club) but it would have to be based on something else. Something...unique!" Travis intoned. "Something...like...Friendship!"

The crowd suddenly murmered in confusion and even Reika raised an eyebrow. 'Friendship?" "What the hell?" "What kind of club would be based entirely on friendship?"

"Yeah, I know what you must be thinking. Sounds weird, huh?" Travis continued. "It's true, though. I consider each and every one of you a friend of mine. And this group, this Padawan Pack, will operate on the principle of friends helping friends. When you take on tough missions and you come back with stuff like PTSD, the Pack will be there to help you recover. When you need help and you don't know where to look, a Pack member will be there to provide company. And when you just need someone to talk with, or perhaps just to listen, or simply to have fun with there's not a thing that I, or any one of us wouldn't do to help you out."

"Maybe now you have figured it out?" Travis grinned yet again, seeing a few nodding faces. "This group's what being friends is all about. And that's why I started up the Pack."

An encore erupted in the room, though Reika shook her head, "That sentimental idiot. A club based on an intangible thing like friendship. How naive and idealistic. Should have expected this sort of thing from Naruto-sensei's apprentice."

Shaking her head, she walked out of the room with a couple of others, her hands in her pockets.

In the end, despite her sentiments at the beginning, she went back and even helped out on some project or other that Travis' crazy mind cooked up...and she grudgingly admitted that maybe, just maybe, Travis, for once, had an idea that had merit. Not that she'd ever actually admit that, though.

Shaking her head at the memory, Reika turned back to David. "I suppose you can blame Masaki for that. He's the most naive person I know (probably gets it from his Master), but one thing is for sure. Once he proclaims someone a friend, he really means it."

Suddenly, klaxons blared as Reika finished her words. "Guess it's time."

"All crew to battlestations. All crew to battlestations!/b]" Indistinct orders barked through the shipcom, then... [b]"Special Teams One through Twelve, report to Briefing Room Three. Repeat, Special Teams One through Twelve, report to Briefing Room Three."

"That's us." Reika mentioned and motioned to David. "Come on."

=====

Tendril, far far away:

Long Arm of the Law stirred. In the sickly brilliance of the neutron star that formed the center of the system, machinery set to work. A canister of indescribable exotic matter fell into its intended place within a giant array amidst the asteroids and debris that the artillery array called home. The transit would not take long. The targeting solution had been known for over a year, had been checked over and over to refine the precision of the jump, and was for all intents and purposes... perfect. The weapon would strike home.

Even so, supercomputers worked, ensuring the proper entrance velocity required and the angle of insertion to the finest degree possible. When they were certain of the proper sequencing for launch, they initiated the first strike. The canister fired, flying through several rings in the array before jumpshock struck...


Tenetia:

A strange canister materialized a few thousand kilometers from the star that provided Lady Nightshade's fief with life-sustaining light and warmth in the cold darkness of space. Already traveling at a fraction of the speed of light, the torpedo's existence might have been seen as a phantom on the sensors before it was fully engulfed in hydrogen plasma, dissolving nigh-instantaneously and releasing its strange cargo into the star itself. For any taking helioscopic readings at the time, nothing would have seemed the matter until a single oddly purple colored prominence burst into existence from the site of the canister's "impact". Though the star showed no signs of distress, space seemed to darken slightly around it in an expanding wave of... something. Any ships caught within would note nothing unusual or harmful, but would note that their hyperdrives, while not disabled, were reading some form of instability. It would be a few minutes yet before the effect reached Tenetia proper...
Solar Station #374

As the Godulan canister hit the star, an Imperial solar station was conveniently available to record what's happening. Here is a transcript between the station and a control center on Tenetia:

Unknown object hit Tenetian primary! Strange readings detected!

Information requested! Any change to Primary's core?

Negative. All readings appear normal except FTL and visual.

FTL? Blocked?

Negative. Instability readings, but drives still operational.

Very well. Relay all data on the anomaly ASAP.

Granted.

OOC: Part 1 Done.

"This is Godulan Fleetlord Talisid to Geminon Commander Emory. Scans show the debris field is contained, with minimal damage to the surface. Why are people still being removed from the planet?"

Time was being pressed, as the first squadron of Raptors began to exit Tenetia. Commander Emory, meanwhile was fuming at the situation, that do to trying to do something good in this gods forsaken universe, stuck Geminion right in the middle of a blood fued, with lies being spread to cover the true intentions of death and destruction.

As the Godulan communication rang out over the speakers, she knew that this Talisid, was giving her the precious time needed to get her people off the planet.”

“Sir, inbound Raptors, towards the Medusa. ETA…. Five minutes.” her XO told her, as he offered her the cigarette she asked for a moment before. Reaching up, Commander Emory took the cigarette and light it up. “Hell of a time to try to quit.” she said.

“Sir, we are in position between the Huntarian Imperials, and the alliance. The Rest of the fleet is taking up positions around the civilian sectors of the planet, and viper patrols are inbound towards those sectors.”

She nodded, “Very well.” she said. “Let’s oblige out allies with a proper response, shall we. Give me an open line to the Godulan vessel.”

“Fleetlord Talisid, this is Atlas Actual.

Mission at Tenetia: Humanitarian Evac, and medical assist.

At Request from Emperor Anakin Skywalker, Since Lady Fiona “Nightshade” Masaki, could not bother to care enough about her own people to send an aid request.

Evac in progress, by Priority one distress request.

It is unknown if the Galaxy Gun is still pointed at Tenetia, or if another shot has been fired.

Medical Request given to already damaged sections of the planet from oncoming debris

Medical exams are required by Colonial Evac Orders, to insure contaminants are not brought onboard Battlestars

Possible plague infection, doing all we can to check for signs on Tenetia.

With the possibility of a plague, and with the looming threat of the Galaxy Gun still being pointed at Tenetia, Command has decided Evac of all healthy people between 14-35, proper breeding age, should be done to maximum efficiency.

We are also concerned by the apparent trap that you have fallen into. Your presence and invasion of this planet goes to further your enemies claims against you. I must assume that Daniel Masaki is the brain child behind this, since only he has the lack of common sense to know when to invade and when to call off an invasion.

We implore you, to resend your invasion order, until Colonial personal can complete the humanitarian mission.

Be Advised, Fionna Masaki was arrested, by order of Emperor Vader.

All known assets of Military value and personal were taken off world by the Empire. Most targets on the ground are civies.

Your scanners should confirm this.

Tenetia is no longer a viable military target. Defenses evaced, by order of Emperor Vader.

We request to meet with you on the Atlas, to speak with us about this matter in person.

Atlas out.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

David turned to Reika…. “So it seems.” he said. “Can I get a rain check then for dinner?” he asked, not really showing much emotion at the situation. Soon the two walked down to the hanger bay, where the padawan pack began to load up on their own shuttle. David turned, to his own ships that were brought on board, a condition by the Cylons to insure David’s safety.

“See you on the other side.” he said to Reika, and gave a quick nod to Travis Masaki, as he walked towards one of the Heavy Raiders. Two cylon Centurions stood guard at the entrance to the vessel, as David brushed past them. Slowly the guards turned and followed the first child of cylon/cylon coupling, inside, as the ships preped to take off.

Imperial Command Bunker – Citadel

Commander Trashaln was summoned to the command room as suddenly as the claxons erupted alerting the bunker of the sudden attack on the system. The Godulans were here, the Masakis and now the Huntarian rebels along with them, well that’s what the computer said anyway.

Trashaln paced into the command room barking orders with a suddenness that was not to be rebuked. Personnel came running in from behind him attending to their stations, getting everything prepared for a intensive orbital and ground offensive. The panel behind Trashaln blinked green, with the former eighteen red blips suddenly disappearing. The planetary shield network had been triggered to automatically activiate, and so in a flash, Tenetia had entered into a lockdown scenario.

“Filter through the military channels and give me a situation report.” Trashaln requested initially. This was the first attack he had ever experienced on the planet, and already he was reverting back to his basic training. “I want all legions to report in. Send comms to the Golans in orbit and order them to defend themselves as necessary. Order all Tie fighter squadrons to launch immediately and to fly in a holding pattern around the emitter arrays. I want specifics people, and I need them now. Are they any enemy combatants on the surface? How many ships in orbit? AND WOULD SOMEONE RELAY THESE DAMN PROBLEMS TO CORUSCANT?” The orders demanded information and action and this was only the beginning.

The bunker was styled in the traditional imperial format, with smooth metallic floors, and varying shades of grey. The lighting was naturally a harsh fluorescent, reminding all in the command centre, that they were present to work, not to socialise which could sometimes by the case.

Trashaln was handed pieces of paper containing the briefest reports from the surface. Nothing yet, all was quiet. “Commander Trashaln. Planetery defence grid is armed and reporting ready to fire. Turbolaser batteries and heavy ion cannons are at your disposal sir.” Trashaln smiled and wrapped his hands together. Not for warmth, but anticipation of the fun that was to come.

“Alert the Tenetian allies, that we have activated planetary defence measures and raised the defence grid. Order them to use secure military channel two, and transmit the codes to their command centres, I want.”

“Commander, the Godulans are transmitting a message.”

“Ignore it.” Trashaln ordered. “Open up a comm. To the Battlestar Atlas, inform them that we’ve had to raise our shield network and that we won’t be able to allow their vipers from leaving for now. Apologise, and ask them to be patient. We can’t risk the security of the planet, and our civilian centres any further.”

“Aye aye sir.” The message was transmitted.

Orbit

Above, the three Golan platforms lumbered around Tenetia like behemoths in a paddling pool. Protected and flanked by the planet, the stations would use the bulk and mass to cripple whatever ordinance was directed at the Imperial defences. Offering the Huntarians the perfect wall to stand against, Tenetia was truly a benefit to the empire, and one that would never be sacrificed lightly.

The Godulans, invading with their Masaki puppets in a time of national crisis, for the Empire and Tenetia. And this, most fortuitous event was hardly lost on many captains of the seven Imperial Star Destroyers and her support craft that remained, guarding the civilian fleet. The civilians, were hardly as composed in their outrage as the empire was.

Citizens of Tenetia and the Galactic Empire! You have been betrayed!

A plot has been enacted to rally support against us by accusing the 'Rebels' of stealing the Galaxy Gun and striking out at Imperial targets. They sent Sith agents to infiltrate several members of our alliance and pit us against each other. They strike at you, the common person, knowing your faltering support of Imperial rule and struggle to survive against such oppression, thinking to kill those who would oppose their rule and galvanize any survivors into striking out in revenge. Thanks to the failure of their agents, we realized the plot even as your Imperial 'benefactors' sent an angel of flaming death upon you.

An ambassador sent by the Imperials to 'request aid' from us was a thrice-be-damned plague rat! We can thank only our caution for saving our leaders from a gruesome death at the hands of some plague brought by one seeking our mercy, abusing the consideration we give for humanitarian causes. We are angered at these flagrant attacks upon us, and you as concerned citizens should be as well, for evidence of the goodwill of your Imperial 'beneficiaries' is plainly written on your broken and battered moon. We will ensure that the Imperial dogs face the proper justice they deserve, but we come here first to take care of some business.

Fiona Masaki, the Lady Nightshade! Janus Masaki! Uchiha Itachi! You are given two choices! You will either assist us in bringing justice to those who sought to inflict harm upon your people. If not, you are a part of the problem, and are no longer fit to rule over them as you have been party to a plan to bring them to harm. Your choice can be relayed by tendering the unconditional surrender of Tenetia to Allied authority.

To all civilian vessels, get out of our way. Our quarrel is not with you.

It’s not much that can sway a mind, but when your home has been trampled, when your people attacked, and when an enemy comes crawling upon your door, these are the events that can cause the weakest of man to make the bravest of decisions.

The civilian fleet, distracted by the masses of Godulan insult and propaganda as it poured over loudspeaker, reacted in rage at the deepest of lies. The Godulan’s though they were idiots, aiming their machinations at tearing their heart from their world.
Lies, lies the Tenetians were good at detecting, after all, they knew and could tell the empires propaganda from the stories marked with elements of truth. And right now, what the civilians knew, was an enemy fleet, was invading.

A fleet that would have taken months to prepare, all just prior to a crippling strike from the Galaxy Gun. The Godulan’s lied. They were the ones who sent the Galaxy Gun, they were the ones who were now invading their system with weapons of war to remove Nightshade. They were the ones declaring war! The empire had only ever given Tenetia peace, law, and prosperity, ever since the time of transition. And here, before their very eyes the Godulans and the Masaki’s were bringing the cruel hand of hypocrisy wrapped in a hollow veil of freedom.

The transmission of the Colonials quickly filtered through every ship on loud speaker, the civilians shared their rescuers outrage. Courage, courage! Was the order of the day.

No one knew which ship was the first to move, but the protecting star destroyers were left baffled as to the reaction. The civilian liners and vessels broke formation, the fleet disintegrated in a flurry of valour. Positioning themselves carefully around imperial installations, and slowly edging their advance into the Godulan firing line, the civilian vessels proceeded arming themselves with nothing more than sacrifice.

The Kestrel was the first ship to announce her intentions to the system, holding almost one hundred thousand lives. “Godulan hypocrites, we will not stand by and allow you to take our world, as you have our moon. If you wish to kill our men, our brothers and fathers, then first, you must kill all of us!”

Thousands of transmissions followed suit, as the empire in her weakened state above Tenetia, rallied to her new allies. Sacrifice and valour!

The Godulan vessels slowed some as they approached closer and closer, and there was a pause for several moments after their reception of the second Colonial transmission, and when the reply came forth, the voice was with a rather incredulous tinge.

"Fleetlord Talisid to Atlas Actual: Commander Emory, if there is suspicion of a plague, like or similar to that which the plague-rat ambassador carried, you quarantine the system until you can ascertain who is and who is not infected. You say you are still searching for a means to do this, yet civilians are still being removed from the planet? Medical exams are useless if you do not know what you are looking for. By the Gods... you could be creating a fleet of roiling plague cauldrons! Our interests lie solely in the well being of the civilians. Evacuating a population that is suspected to have been infected by some contagion onto hermetically sealed vessels is the last possible thing you would wish to do...

"Oh bloody hell... Commander, you will need to fly out to meet us. We are slowing to hold position. It would appear that we have rather both been duped."

What was a simple mission to help people, was quickly turning into a nightmare. As the guns of the Atlas fired off in space, in a spherical formation, each exploding at a set distance, Commander Emory inside was pounding with the same fury as her main batteries, against the unprecedented invasion.

She clutched her hand tightly in a fist, as the Imperials began to speak out over the speakers. They didn’t buy the propaganda anymore than Commander Emory did, but without proof, she was not about to begin an action that would plunge the thirteen colonies into a new war, one that with the current civil war was not one that could be afforded.

She looked towards the speakers, and nodded. “Of all the frakked up timing.” She said as she turned to her XO.

He seemed much calmer than she, as he put his hand on her shoulder. “You can’t blame them, they are being invaded.”

“I know.” she said. “Have the marines in PJ’s begin immediate jump back to the ships.”

“Already happening sir, and another wave of Raptors is jumping out of the shield, loaded with civies, appearing at Carum 134, 056 distance 150 kil, off the port.

“Clear the flight pod, and shut down suppression fire in that sector. Disable Dita, and authorize combat landings.”

“Sir another communication from the Godulans. They seem to be concerned about the virus.”

Commander Emory nodded, “Of course they are, but what about the rest of the statement, like intel suggests there is no tactical reason for this planet, Fionna is under arrest, or frak most of the guns have been stripped.” she fumed to herself.

“Sir they also want to meet with us.”

“Very well.” she said. “Inform them that we are approaching their coordiantes. We only have three raptors on board so they may want to come on board. And have the alert vipers begin escort outside the firing solution. I do not want anymore surprises.”

“YEs sir, but with only reserves left, if they decide to pick a fight…”

“They won’t.”

OOC: Hold up until I can post. I just got a rental compy from the folks, and sent my old one to the shop--so I need to catch up....

Imperial City, Tenetia

As I adjusted from the free fall and subsequent beaming, I took in the crowd that assembled along with me. Apart from the Telrosians, Godulans, Huntarians and Dornalians, there was me, Naruto, the Twins, the King and his guards and a handpicked platoon of marines and Jedi Shinobi. Quite a crowd, if you ask me. I was bemused by the fangirl squad ND decided to send and hoped they would at least be useful.

"We're in Shibuya, capital of Tenetia." I spoke for the benefit of everyone. I pointed at the ominous looking palace that wasn't so much a palace as a black-gloved finger pointing at the sky. "We head north to the Citadel. Keep a sharp lookout, for I suspect our entrance have been noticed."



"Right. Good plan." I nodded, before turning to the others. "Let's move out!"

Acknowledging, the strike teams began moving through the alleyways as quickly as possible while the Telrosians did their thing. The normal troops took the low path while us Jedi Shinobi went roofhopping. It wasn't long before various units began engaging stormtroopers and minor Dark minions and a series of running engagements occurred in the streets of Shibuya while TIE fighters and heavy laser bolts screamed in the air after the Zeus.

As we fought our way towards the Citadel, we noticed the composition and strength of enemy forces slowly increasing, with a chicken walker unit or two thrown at us for good measure. All in all, though, it looked like the first phase of the mission is going well...


The Dornalians commenced their own movements. The fangirl squad easily acquitted themselves, guarding their idol using all of their best weapons. The rest of the Dornalians moved to begin their movements to the Citadel, in their own way making an impression on the enemy. The Shinmei unleashed massed Force powers, throwing massive fireballs, unleashing waves of energy, and even summoning unusual weather patterns all to the tune of shouted Japanese, targeting the big guns and massed formations. Meanwhile, the Qiangquan began moving, utilizing their otherwise obsolete Kalashnikovs in newly terrifying ways to take on the foe, making somersaults, kung fu strikes, and even jumping into enemy squads and opening up whilst using clever applications of defensive Force powers.....

Scrambled Signal; Colonial Priority One:

To Picon Fleet HQ
To Admiral of the Fleet De Bruyn
CC: JRCCC Earth, SSR
BSG-78

Operations, Humanitarian Relief of Tenetia

Situation, Invasion by Rebel Alliance. Fleet make up Coredian, Godulan, Suspected Rogue Dornalia Vessels, as well as two unknown. Hostile intentions taken.

We have three forths of our Vipers, and Entire Raptor Squadrons on the surface, as well as over half the fleets personal. Issued statement warning all sides to back down. Request orders.

De Bruyn recieved the message, and knew the situation was dangerous. JRCCC reported that Nomura, who had appeared just outside the system, knew that whatever was going on down there, the situation would become untenable. HE also recognized Emory had gone without permission. Sighing, he sent the following reply on a secure channel.

"BSG-78--

Have all units under your command fall back immediately out of Tenetia, suspend any and all operations immediately. Your situation is untenable, and it threatens all of the United Colonies. All units are to home to the United Colonies at once for debriefing. IF they cannot do so, then they should report to the rearlines, behind Admiral Nomura.

Admiral De Bruyn."

OOC: Holding all involvement until future developments.

The Battlestar Atlas, with her large blue exhaust began to move towards the Godulan Vessel as fast as the battlstar could muster. Her guns still blazing against a potential onslaught of enemy fire, she moved closer towards the target.

“Sir… Godulan Vessel at exact coordinates. Most of the fleet is holding back it seems, we are detecting no weapons power up, although there is massive power readings.” the draidus officer said as he turned to his commander.

“Nothing new there.” she said to her crew. “Have bow cannons cease fire.”

“Aye sir.”

As the battlestar slowly came closer to the godulan Vessel, the printer began to list the Atlas’ newest orders. “Sir.” “Orders from Caprica.” he said, as he handed her the list.

As she read it she could not believe her eyes. What in the hell made De Bruyn authorize this, and why wasn’t the other twelve Colonies involved. His actions, his allowances were setting the stage to jeopardize the United Colonies. Commander Emory pressed her lips together in anger, as she crumpled up the orders in her hand. "Are these orders authenticated?

"Yes sir."

Commander Emory's face grew more grim, as those few words were spoken.

“Inform the Godulans, the talk is suspended.” she said as she turned to her crew. “All Colonial Personal and equipment is to make an immediate jump to the nearest battlestar, for extraction. Have the marines use the PJ’s and jump home immediately.

“What of the people on the planet?” the XO asked.

“Orders are to frak them.” she said. “Begin to spool up the FTL, and set jump calculations for Caprica.”

As she walked around the CIC, her hand gently gripping the pistol on her side, she gritted her teeth and shook her head. “We are endangering the colonies.” she thought to herself as she paced back and forth.

“Sir.”

She was not in the mood for any more surprises. “What is it?” she yelled out at the enlisted man.

“We are picking up an anomaly from the sun. Approximately six minutes til inbound. Readings seem to be made up of a background radiation, which may potentially play havoc with Point of Origin Calculations.”

This was another surprise that she didn’t need, as she slammed her fist on the table. “How soon til we get all our birds and men back?” she asked.

“Earliest… and least conservative figures at least twenty minutes, considering jump caculations to avoid mid air collisions.”

“Just frakking great.” she said as she held her hand out to her XO for another cigarette. “Continue evac, and prepare an immediate withdraw behind the alliance lines. I want everything off that planet in six minutes, I do not care if it is docked or not. Have everything jump out and land when it can.”

Hang it up. We're done here.

Kelvin and Achaedus shook their heads as Baron Skye stepped into the holodisplay chamber.

We're supposed to be smarter than this. We've been shafted, and hard. Isn't that how the history went the last time? You try to do a good deed and it gets all twisted and warped around you. Tried to save some islanders from ethnic cleansing the first time. Now we get blamed for some travesty the empire pulled all because we tried to warn them.

Talisid's voice came through from another channel with some aggravation. A bloody CORONARY? But it looked so much like some kind of ebola.

Be that as it may, it was quite conclusive. In our furor to point out the Empire's plot we unwittingly showed ourselves the more visibly guilty party. The situation is untenable. Hang it up. We're done here.

But what about the Farstars?

We dicked up. Any assistance we provide will have to be undercover at best. Collect the agents on the ground. Tell the Skaugrans to back off. No more. We will not be party to a massacre, which will certainly be the case if we continue. We still have six minutes until we depart.

Aye sir, Achaedus said, head bowed. Talisid, you heard the Baron. Collect assets bound for the citadel and terminate contact.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amidst all the fighting on the ground, the assault team made its way further and further to the Citadel. They fought gloriously, doing their forces credit in many ways. But such stopped when suddenly, they simply appeared in a small but well furnished room with green crystalline walls.

A voice came from the walls to announce to Daniel Masaki, the Telrosians, Huntarians, and Dornalians:

We got proper fucked. A publicity nightmare. The plan is called off forthwith. We are going home.

To the fleets out beyond the Slaughterstars:

"All forces return to base. Things have gotten out of hand and we will not be party to a massacre. The disruption effect that the sun is presently putting out will fade in two days time. As civilian traffic is presently locked down, we suspect the 'difficulty' of leaving the system will be negligible... just be advised not to try it."

And with that, the Slaughterstars and the Golan Platform vanished.

OOC: My participation in this thread is terminated. People who want to get their people back on the ground team can assume they picked them up at Tantis. I'm going to take a break for a while.

And, at that, Chao Lingshen thumped her head on the wall. Repeatedly. This whole situation had gone bad, to worse, to absolutely confusing, and even some of the Clan Commanders were finding this all very hard to take in. Still, there were many who were still calling for blood. Several ships even tried to push further forward, but were immediately reined back in, whether physically or otherwise.

After about a minute of thumping her head on the nearby bulkhead while muttering curses in Chinese, Chao then regathered her composure and stepped back into her commanding personality.

"Comm, channel. Now." Her words were like cold steel.

The communications officer didn't even question her, immediately bringing the channel up.

"Daniel Masaki, others gathered currently behind his banner," she began. "This has turned into nothing but a debacle of the worst kind. Our participation in Coredian antics shall be suspended until the Council can decide what our next course of action shall be regarding this event. Personally, I would sever all connections to those in said alliance if I had the power to do so."

Chao sighed. "I can not say what the Khans shall decide, but mark my words, it will not be beneficial to anyone. Even me."

And, with that, the entire Clan fleet left in a flash of light. Simple as that.

Imperial Citadel – Command Bunker

The civilian fleet in orbit, the thin white line of valour hoarded itself around their home, desperate to prevent bloodshed. Women and children, placing themselves on the front lines before their very men stood off the Godulan war fleet and would be welcomed as heroes in the Empire.

Trashaln was bewildered at the scene, so many ships having suddenly appeared had now left. The Godulan’s and various others which were once red blips on the sensory displays now vanished, leaving only the Coredians staring down their cousins. Trashaln sensed victory was at his grasp.

“Open a channel to Coredian Admiral in orbit, I think we may as well end this pithy display here and now, let them.”

“Sir, intel reports several intercepts being focused on to the planet sir. High level encryption, we’re not capable of cracking it.”

“Any possibility of determining a location fix?”

“Yes sir, the transmissions were beamed to the city, the city above us commander.”

Trashaln narrowed his eyes. “Any communication from the surface of attacks or irregular operations?”

“None commander, though I have no idea how we’re going to be able to tell, there’s not much personnel up there as it is.”

“Commander Trashaln, we have your comm. frequency open, its on open band, everyones going to hear it.” Trashaln licked his lips. “Throw the live footage of what’s been happening here out through the holo-net, I’m sure the emperor will want to have this seen by his galaxy.” Trashaln took the comm. device.

“Coredian rebels. I am Commander Trashaln of the imperial Tenetian garrison. You have invaded our territory, and now your allies have realised that there is nothing they can do against the willing valour and sacrifice from the weakest of the weak to the strongest of our guns. We hereby, demand your unconditional surrender. The Tenetian justice system will try your commanders, and the empire shall hold each and every single one of your as prisoners of war. You have one minute to consider, before we prosecute the defence of our territory to the fullest of our capacity.

For the brave civilians who placed themselves on the line, for the empires glory, for the protection of your world, and for the bond of love between you and your kin. I commend you, I commend your nobility, and I hope, that the rest of our brethren across the galaxy can learn from your high standards of resistance against our relentless foe.

They tried to crack your planet in half! They tried to burn your world! And for what, for a brothers spite against his sister . . .” Trashaln ended the transmission abruptly.

“They’re here, on the damn planet.” He said. “They must have infiltrated the planet somehow, probably during the evacuation, they’re here, and they’re after Nightshade.” Trashaln clapped his hands together after a brief moment of inspiration. “Order, the Huntarians to take Nightshade to the main square, we will give the invaders what they want.”

“Sir?”

“The Tie fighters, patrolling the shield emitters, have them change course. I want them to hold fifteen kilometres outside the city. And get me patched in to the planets emergency system.” Trashaln waited. If his hunch was correct, then this day could be turned into the greatest victory the empire had seen in a long time.

Loudspeakers across the capital activated. “Coredian insurgents, invading imperial sovereign territory, we know why you are here. You friends in orbit have fled you, your allies have departed, but we know each other you and us. I know you won’t retreat in the face of overwhelming imperial might! Your target, the former empress Nightshade, is now as I speak being taken to the main citadel square. She will be unguarded, you may take her.

We will provide you with a transport to leave and we will lower the shield to permit it. We can each have victory this day.” Trashaln took a seat and pivoted on a stool. “Send out the troops, quietly” he emphasised. “They’re not going to be able to resist Nightshade on a platter like this. They can’t. . . .”

“Coredian rebels. I am Commander Trashaln of the imperial Tenetian garrison. You have invaded our territory, and now your allies have realised that there is nothing they can do against the willing valour and sacrifice from the weakest of the weak to the strongest of our guns. We hereby, demand your unconditional surrender. The Tenetian justice system will try your commanders, and the empire shall hold each and every single one of your as prisoners of war. You have one minute to consider, before we prosecute the defence of our territory to the fullest of our capacity.

For the brave civilians who placed themselves on the line, for the empires glory, for the protection of your world, and for the bond of love between you and your kin. I commend you, I commend your nobility, and I hope, that the rest of our brethren across the galaxy can learn from your high standards of resistance against our relentless foe.

They tried to crack your planet in half! They tried to burn your world! And for what, for a brothers spite against his sister . . .” Trashaln ended the transmission abruptly.

Admiral Pellaeon looked at his range of options. He could try to move forward and use tractor beams to shove the ships aside. Risky. He could make hyperlight jumps behind the civilian line...which was an option he could pursue.

"Sir, we're being hailed by the Empire."

"Hmph. Tell them to go screw themselves!" Pellaeon snapped. Then he checked himself. "Give me the coms."

"Yessir."

"Commander Trashaln, you think me a fool if you think I will surrender to whelps. I commend you for your masterful use of Imperial propaganda but unfortunately, that won't work on us. You haven't won this day yet!"

"How long before the FTLi anomaly reaches Tenetia?" Pellaeon asked Sensors.

"About six minutes, sir."

"Very well...spin up the hyperlight drives!" Pellaeon ordered. "We'll jump behind the civilian lines on my command!"

"Yessir!"

"This is the Admiral to all parties. To the civilians: I will grant amnesty and asylum to any who will leave the combat zone. Our only quarrel is with the Empire's leadership, not now and nor will ever be its citizens. We will protect you from Imperial retribution with our lives. I give you my word."

As it turns out, there were plenty of Tenetian citizens that didn't have as much a death wish as the Empire's citizens had and subsequently, many ships started to pull away from the civilian line, lead by a rather large space liner.

"Admiral Pellaeon. This is the space liner Gondor. We may be Imperial citizens, but we are also Coredians, despite our differences. We're leaving the combat zone. You swear on the Force that you will grant asylum and protection to us?"

"Yes, Gondor. I swear before the Force. Make the jump to the planet Tantis for quarantine purposes. There's rumors of disease, as you know."

"Yes, Admiral. Thank you and may the Force be with you."

And on that note, the not-so-sacrificial-minded civilian ships began to make the run to hyperspace, fearing the worst and making that civilian line quite a bit thinner...

OOC: Sorry, Sithy, but not every citizen is yours. Plenty are mine, as I hope you haven't forgotten.

Tenetia, Ground...

Khal heard what sounded like a very loud rumble of a ship, then the sound of it jumping away. He narrowed his eyes and raised his pistol, "I don't like the sound of that." Indeed, for a few moments later his squad can hear the sounds of blaster fire outside of the citadel. "Squad, form up on me. Stay close, watch your backs. There's been a change of plans, we need to escort Lady Nightshade out of here if we are to do anything about her. Let's move!" Khal and his squad of Royal Guardsmen quickly ran inside the Throne Room, where they saw an empty chair. Khal grumbled, "she's obviously moved. Lieutenant, sensor scan for her Biosignature."

One of the Guardsmen moved forward, scanning the room with a tricorder-like device. "She's in the next room ahead... Sir..." the sensors beeped again and read another biosignature similar to Nightshade's, but still obviously different. "I'm picking up another Biosignature a few clicks away from the Citadel. It reads very similar to Nightshade's, but it's not her."

Khal nodded, "he's here! We have very little time to act. Load your Anti-Force syringes into your pistols. We have some Jedi to hunt." Khal then knocked on the door to the War Room, "Empress Nigtshade! This is Fleet Admiral Khal of the Huntarian Empire! We have been ordered to escort you safely off of the Citadel! Acknowledge."
Lady Nightshade was an annoyed woman now. First the Empire deposes her as Empress (it's a bit early for Janus to rule!) and now Khal appears! Fortunately, she believed they're here to at least assist her, not knowing the truth. She had the door opened, ready to give him a tongue-lashing. "Admiral Khal, I'm sure you know by now that my brother is here. I mean to face him now and I trust you won't interfere!"

Loudspeakers across the capital activated. “Coredian insurgents, invading imperial sovereign territory, we know why you are here. You friends in orbit have fled you, your allies have departed, but we know each other you and us. I know you won’t retreat in the face of overwhelming imperial might! Your target, the former empress Nightshade, is now as I speak being taken to the main citadel square. She will be unguarded, you may take her.

We will provide you with a transport to leave and we will lower the shield to permit it. We can each have victory this day.” Trashaln took a seat and pivoted on a stool. “Send out the troops, quietly” he emphasised. “They’re not going to be able to resist Nightshade on a platter like this. They can’t. . . .”
Liar! I could almost laugh at the pitiful attempt to trap me. I could still sense Nightshade at the Citadel. So no, I won't be a polite rebel and wander into the square like a silly tourist.

Instead, I Force-called her with a warning and a proposition. Fiona! The Empire has betrayed you! We need not fight! Join me and we can stop them as brother and sister together!

Cliche, I know, but hey, it had to happen sometime.

To my surprise, I received a reply. It wasn't the usual "Haha I'm evil!" response, but more bitter and...sad? It is too late for me...Daniel! Come! Let us end this destructive conflict and see who should rule Tenetia once and for all!

My heart sank. No, I really didn't want to be the one to put Nightshade to the sword, so to speak. I really, really hoped she could be turned back, or at least have her Sith tendencies redirected to more acceptable targets. Color me optimistic if you must.

I continued forward with an extremely optimistic air about me. Turn the sister. Turn the sister...

Amidst all the fighting on the ground, the assault team made its way further and further to the Citadel. They fought gloriously, doing their forces credit in many ways. But such stopped when suddenly, they simply appeared in a small but well furnished room with green crystalline walls.

A voice came from the walls to announce to Daniel Masaki, the Telrosians, Huntarians, and Dornalians:

We got proper fucked. A publicity nightmare. The plan is called off forthwith. We are going home.

To the fleets out beyond the Slaughterstars:

"All forces return to base. Things have gotten out of hand and we will not be party to a massacre. The disruption effect that the sun is presently putting out will fade in two days time. As civilian traffic is presently locked down, we suspect the 'difficulty' of leaving the system will be negligible... just be advised not to try it."

And with that, the Slaughterstars and the Golan Platform vanished.
OOC: Sorry, Godular, but this is still my show. Anyone else who wishes to remain for much Imp-bashing can do so at their leisure.

IC:
As the Godulans left the planet, several logs were taken along with them. A simple Body-Switch Jutsu, but it ensured that the plan would still go ahead without them. Yeah, I know they really wanted to fight alongside us. Looks like it's up to us nevertheless.

"Reckless as always, brother." Jacob sighed. "Now we're probably trapped."

"The Zeus is still there." I replied. I hope. "And there's the fleet, who're counting on us to muck things up for the Empire."

"Yeah. And besides, I've been waiting for this for a long time. We simply can't back out now!" Naruto said, with Taylor agreeing.

"Right, now we'll have to be sneakier." I cautioned them. "Our group's smaller now so we'll have to shift our tactics to guerilla warfare. First, we'll have to bring down the city shields to get into the Citadel."

"That means taking out the power stations." Jacob pointed out.

I grinned. "Yep. First one's just a mile off. Let's knock it out!"

The Telrosian squad had wreaked havoc on the defending squads that had barred the way of the rest of the assault. As the others continued on, slicing their way through the defenses to the Citadel, the four TITAN operatives were enjoying themselves. It was rather boring, at first, for the super soldiers, They had surprised and overwhelmed the squads. It helps that Flame, with this fetish for explosive weapons, had wiped out close to half of them with his grenade launcher. Knife, rifle, pistol, voidsword, and grenade launcher, all were used to paint the area in blood and body parts. Those few who survived quickly retreated into the doors they came from and the four took a moment to relax.

"WOO!" Flame pumped his fist in the air. "That was FUN!" Silent walked by and smacked his head.

"Try to be quieter. Besides, you had fun because you got to cut loose and blow stuff up. This was a paltry meal for us to have."

"Indeed." Edge jumped down, flicking a hand to call his knives from the bodies of those he had killed and hover in front of him. "This was boring, a simple warm-up to get the juices flowing. We'll need to rejoin the others, since-" He was cut off when they heard the sound of a door opening. Midnight walked up to join them, wiping gore off his suit when a door several meters away from them opened, displaying several Dark Jedi. Edge grinned and Flame began to giggle aloud in delight. Midnight and Silent quietly shared a nod and the leader turned to face the others.

"Alright, this is is what we have been training for. Use voidswords only, except in Silents and Edge's case, they have free reign to use their knives. We want to test out our skills and see if what the good Doctor told us was true." All four put their weapons on their armor, letting the magnetic field lock them onto the metal surface. Midnight gripped the hilt with both hands as the strange "dwoom" sound of three more activating. This was countered by the sound of several lightsabers activating. Midnight gave a little smile; he would enjoy this.

"Attack."

They scattered, each sighting a Dark Jedi to kill as they went. The ones in question leapt into the fray, their sabers red as blood as they slashed at their opponents...only to find blades of darkest night blocking the passage of their weapons. Midnight blocked an overhead blow and moved to slash at the Jedi's side, then quickly changed the blade into a hook when he dodged, enabling him to stab into his foe's side. He drew a cry from his foe, who stabbed his saber at him, but he merely ripped his hook blade through the Dark Jedi's side, taking a good quarter of the side with it. The blade shifted again to form a trident that blocked the saber and he lifted it up so it passed harmlessly by his head. Then he thrust it forward, impaling the man through the head with it. He stiffened and then slumped, his eyes dimming as he died. Midnight grabbed the saber from his grip and shut it down before kicking the body off his weapon. He set the saber on his armor, a prize of his battle and reformed his blade into form resembling a bastard sword. Another Dark Jedi, being more cautious this time, stepped up and raised a hand. Midnight could hear the sizzling of energy as the others clashed with his comrades and their dying screams as they fell one by one. He even heard the familiar swooshing sound that accompanied Flame's favorite flamethrower, which was followed by a shriek and a burning body hurling itself across his sight.

He smiled at the Force User as he held a hand up at him. He lowered his blade and made a "come on" motion. The dark side user's anger flared as his eyes flashed and body tensed, and he thrust forward with his hand, intending to choke his opponent. Midnight felt the air around him tighten, as the Force gathered around him to seize his throat and make it impossible for him to breathe...only for it to stop four or five inches away from his body. The Tenetian's eyes widened as he saw it had no effect. Midnight cracked his neck and sighed, before walking towards him. The Dark Jedi thrust his hand again and again, his hand almost a claw as he strained to crush this invader's throat. But it was to no avail, as Midnight closed in on him. In an act of desperation, he twirled through the air and brought a flurry of strikes at Midnight. The operative brought his blade up to block and light met darkness several times as both struck with all their skill. The Dark Jedi seemed to have potential, as he used several feints and blows that would have pushed back a lesser man, but Midnight was far above such beings.

When the Dark Jedi brought his last crushing blow to Midnight's defenses, he found himself where he began, their blades crossed and Midnight looking none the worse for the wear. "So....is that it? Is that all you have, Tenetian?" The Dark Jedi glared at him, chest heaving from exertion. Midnight pressed his blade a bit harder against his foe's own, forcing him to push even harder. "Then, it's time to finish this." He seemed to prepare to push harder onto the blade when he suddenly....turned his sword off. The Dark Jedi's eyes widened as then it suddenly came on, rapier-thin, and stabbed into his heart. He choked, blood filling his lungs as Midnight reached over to grab his prize.

"You lose, follower of Rage. Be at peace; you did quite well against someone like me." Then he pulled his blade out and let the dying Dark Jedi fall to the ground. He put the second saber onto his armor, next to the first and watched as Edge finished off his opponent, skewering him with a flurry of knives as the Dark Jedi was about to throw a pillar at him. When they were finished collecting their prizes and cleaning up the dying, they trotted over and saluted. Each one of their eye's was bright with determination and satisfaction. The Godulans had been right; with the Telrosian's science in genetic engineering and the Godulan's M'Lekk'Torr program, they had become powerful Anti-Force soldiers. They were not just that, but their combined abilities and attributes made sure to make any Force User trying to fight them incredibly difficult. Edge smiled. "I got two, what about you guys?"

Silent held up three fingers while Flame held up one. "I kinda...fried the other guys lightsabers, and they retreated before I could get more." He turned to Midnight. "I see you got two, sir. Seems Command was right about you; you like to 'play with your food', so to speak." He merely nodded at what he said and then barked out. "Alright, everyone check your gear and then move out. We need to make it to Masaki's position, so we can aid them-" He was interrupted when a voice seemed to come out of the nearby wall.


We got proper fucked. A publicity nightmare. The plan is called off forthwith. We are going home.

Midnight's eyes narrowed. What in the hell was going on up there? He turned to the others. "We need to find Masaki; he'll know what is going on." They all nodded and they were off in a flash, moving like swift shadows through the pathways the assault force went, tracking them by the destruction and dead left in their wake. It was not long before Masaki felt the distinctive voids in the Force of the Telrosians and the soft shifting of quiet steps, and he would see all four next to him, covered in blood and each one carrying one or more lightsabers on their armor. Midnight nodded his head. "Greetings, your Highness. We received the Godulan message. Just what in the hell is going on in orbit? It has to be bad to make THEM pull out."

OOC: I will be staying but I have talked to CW and worked out my request that these four do NOT die. They are essential characters, for those who play Oblivion out there. =P

Midnight's eyes narrowed. What in the hell was going on up there? He turned to the others. "We need to find Masaki; he'll know what is going on." They all nodded and they were off in a flash, moving like swift shadows through the pathways the assault force went, tracking them by the destruction and dead left in their wake. It was not long before Masaki felt the distinctive voids in the Force of the Telrosians and the soft shifting of quiet steps, and he would see all four next to him, covered in blood and each one carrying one or more lightsabers on their armor. Midnight nodded his head. "Greetings, your Highness. We received the Godulan message. Just what in the hell is going on in orbit? It has to be bad to make THEM pull out."

"Looks like the civilian evac fleet put themselves between the Imperial Fleet and our forces." I sighed, pointing at a big-screen holovision in the distance. "Godulans have this thing where they can't harm civilians no matter what. It's the perfect trap for them. Not that it would stop us. It just makes the Admiral's job a mite more difficult. We're switching to guerilla warfare tactics until further notice since the Imps know we're here. First thing to go: the power stations. No power, no shields."

Lady Nightshade was an annoyed woman now. First the Empire deposes her as Empress (it's a bit early for Janus to rule!) and now Khal appears! Fortunately, she believed they're here to at least assist her, not knowing the truth. She had the door opened, ready to give him a tongue-lashing. "Admiral Khal, I'm sure you know by now that my brother is here. I mean to face him now and I trust you won't interfere!"

Khal nodded, "I can understand you predicament my Lady, but our orders to escort you safely to Huntarian Space to prevent your arrest still remains. However, we know where your brother is heading, as he reads up on our biosignatures. If you would allow us, we would request to escort you to the main citadel square to beam you out safely before Imperial Forces land. You can fight your brother there if you must, but be informed that if at any moment I feel your life is in danger, I'll order the Leviathan to beam you aboard, agreed?"

Khal nodded, "I can understand you predicament my Lady, but our orders to escort you safely to Huntarian Space to prevent your arrest still remains. However, we know where your brother is heading, as he reads up on our biosignatures. If you would allow us, we would request to escort you to the main citadel square to beam you out safely before Imperial Forces land. You can fight your brother there if you must, but be informed that if at any moment I feel your life is in danger, I'll order the Leviathan to beam you aboard, agreed?"
That was probably as best a concession she could get out of Admiral Khal. "Very well. I will do battle with him, but if he gains the upper hand, then and only then will I allow the usual escape that a Sith Lord must have up her sleeve."

You know what? Screw it... I'm going forward.

It would be interesting to note that what happened next was somewhat unexpected by both Generals, who kept to their Baron's orders with remarkable diligence. Godulans however, were naturally chaotic. Achaedus had served long as the General of the Expeditionary, and Kelvin was a natural executor of the Baron's will. Talisid however...

Talisid was enraged. Those putrid little wretches! They came to fight with refugees in their holds, human shields for the Imperials. The rule was that any who took up arms against the Godulans were enemy combatants. Period. And what had the Baron ordered? To run like scared puppies? Not this time by the Gods.

Not this time, nor any time. Not even death would keep the Godulans down.

Approximately two minutes after their departure, the Godulans returned, having taken extensive sensor readings around the planet during their momentary stay in the system, in a square formation around one of the Golan V platforms. The Siege platform was one corner, and the three Slaughterstars the others. All four vessels crackled with massive reserves of excess energy as they spoke in unison against Imperial oppression and the brainwashing of the innocent into such pitiable creatures.

They spoke not with a transmission, but with a strange shaft of sickly green light wreathed in black shadows that lashed out at the world below with an eerie glee. Or perhaps it would be more important to say the beams lashed out at the shields. No explosion took place at each of the four impact points. No ripples of kinetic strikes resounded from the site, no flash, no fanfare. Only a small blotch of slightly sparkling incandescence that prevailed for a few moments after each beam struck home. The four vessels then spoke again, each firing one shot of the same strange beam at the Golan V platform between them. Again, no flash or fanfare, but the strange sparkling blotches remained. If any civilian ship got in the way of either of the four shots, they would note that there was no actual damage in the strike, however they might also note that the telltale blotches did not remain on their ship. Then they might notice that the blotches were now expanding.

Operators of the shields on the ground would note a rather strange reading on their power levels, as if some form of power drain were taking place in the very power generators themselves. Those controlling the afflicted Golan would note a similar power drain on its shield generators as well, as the blotch began to slowly expand.

The Godulans were not idle, however, with the three Slaughterstars turning around and seemingly 'firing' themselves away from the afflicted Golan V. Each blade was launched like a massive projectile, only to then begin moving as a ship of its own, keeping close to the shield for protection against undesirable enemy fire, trailing storms of energy behind them as they kept just close enough for some strange power drain effect that would take still further power from the shields and augment their own propulsion and shields just long enough to serve their purposes.

The siege platform, however, simply reversed thrust, and began to pull away from the Golan V platform while opening up with a massive salvo of torpedos targeting the Golan, in addition to each and every single one of the civilian ships nearby, including those around the Golan itself and any that happened to be in the general neighborhood. Fired at such close general range, it did not take much time at all for them to activate, exploding some distance shy of their respective targets and sending beams of tachyons to strike out at weapons emplacements on the Golan platform, mindful of any intervening vessels, while also subjecting the thrusters of any civilian vessels nearby to a swift and precise strike. If the vessels were unshielded, no harm came. If they were, they would have the rather ignominious luxury of being able to sit back and watch.

Fleetlord Talisid! You will obey orders!

Baron Skye was livid. He had the right to be, but Talisid would not be swayed.

Sir fuck you sir! I would not have gotten this far without support from my subordinates. We don't run. We don't hide. You can either try to purge me now, whereupon I will simply turn this fleet renegade and continue on ANYWAY, or you can shut the hell up and let me take the blame for whatever fallout might take place. Your choice. Either way my will be done.

Talisid enjoyed the ensuing silence as he continued his work...

OOC: I'm still in. I've talked with Hunt, and I've decided that I'm still in.

IC:

Adrian and the Fangirl Squad moved to follow Danny to the Power Station. As they moved along the way, it was going to become obvious that Danny's unwelcome new "Red Detachment" was not only going to prove themselves excellent fighters, but also fighters who seemed to enjoy their work a lot. The Fangirls moved to take point for Danny, and sweep the path to the power station.

------------

OOC: Taking some liberties here, since I am technically the second half of the UC. Also, this post is CW approved.

IC:

By now, the Colonials were quickly moving to get their resources offworld. Raptors were being stuffed with kit, men and Vipers were moving into the stratosphere, and a sense of mad panic ensued as they tried to escape.

That mad panic was only bolstered by the sudden rush of civvies attempting to flee onto the Colonial ships. Despite the best efforts of the Colonials, women and children were rushing onto the vessels, deciding to take their chances with the United Colonies, rather than stay with the Rebel Scum about to issue a Diktat.

One woman could be seen rushing a Raptor, and the Marine onboard said, "Ma'am, there's no more room!"

"Frak you! I want out! Let me in, damnit!" the woman screamed, as she rushed the Raptor.

The Marine then leveled his rifle and said, "I won't say it again! Get out!"

However, his cries were in vain--the woman and several others mobbed the Raptor, and the pilot, not eager to overload the craft, began flying upwards. By the will of the Lords, nobody fell off, but the Raptor was suddenly several hundred pounds heavier, and considerably noisier.

THe pilot muttered, "Frakin' De Bruyn. Let's see how that damn Earthling likes dealing with a buncha poop machines."

The impromptu Baby Airlift accomplished, with surprisingly low casualties--there were some reported heart attacks and close calls due to the fact Raptors weren't made to hold lots of screaming families--Emory sighed. "De Bruyn had better produce a damn good explanation for this," the officer muttered, as they made the jump, just in time for the threshold to expire.

------------------------

Admiral Nomura then began proceeding into country in full force. The sudden appearance of Emory's ships meant that the irascible Admiral now had to play babysitter to an orphaned Colonial flotilla that decided to go on its own.

"BSG-78, this is Admiral Nomura of the People's Navy." He then continued in a pissed voice, "May I ask what possessed you to get involved in this bukkake festival?"

Emory paused, and replied, "Well, frankly, we were trying to help some people out. De Bruyn's gonna have to justify why the frak you're here, and we're not supposed to be."

"Uh huh." Nomura then replied, "Duly noted. Now, is there anything I should know about?"

"We got civvies. About...doing an emergency census....how's 19,840 new refugees for your overlord sound?"

Nomura was floored. Civilians? Well, this added a new dimension to things. He then commenced a string of expeletives, most going, "Fuck. Wow. Fuck" as he slammed his head with his hand, to Gracie's amusement.

Emory coughed and said, "Enough cussing. Do you have orders?"

Nomura stroked his chin and sent, "Yeah, civvies and combat, like alcohol and guns and schoolgirls and tentacles--don't mix. Here's what we do. Take three Battlestars, cram all the civvies onto them and then get to Tantis, pronto, for processing. Do what you need to do to ensure they're safe. And I mean that."

Emory raised an eyebrow and said, "Aye, sir," with some trepidation. Of course they were going to take care of the civvies. Colonials weren't barbarians--not anymore than people usually were. Then again, this Nomura character wasn't used to being questioned, evidently--and frankly was like the late Cain, sans charm or calm.

Thus, an emergency transfer began, with the same Raptors that had begun the Baby Airlift now finishing it via a rapid transfer from the various vessels the civvies were on onto the three Battlestars designated to go back to Tantis. Though crammed like Sardines onto the flight deck, the Colonials, so far, had them safe and sound as the Three began their journey. Nomura, in the meanwhile, now had Emory's Battlestars begin to move in with his men, as they began their assault on the enemy in earnest. GUnning sublight to full, they arranged into a series of Combat Boxes to maximize defensive formaitions and began to attack the enemy in earnest, jumping in as close with the new UC force as possible while there was still opportunity to begin attacking the Golan Vs with salvos of Demolisher Guns and People's Scythe Singularity Torpedoes.

Tantis, aboard the Sun Shang Xiang

KAHSMACK!

Chao went soaring against the bulkhead nearby just as the fleet arrived at Tantis, slamming against it with a loud THUD that had the entire crew turn their heads to watch her hit the floor below with a softer thud. Chao's face was filled with bewilderment, and then turned to anger as she saw the form of Yue standing where she had been.

"What is the meaning of this, Ayase?!" Chao stood from her crumpled position, leaning against the wall with a stunned stumble.

"I am hereby relieving you of command for fleeing in the face of the enemy," Yue replied coldly. "Guards, take her and throw her in a cell."

Chao was shocked as a pair of Elementals marched up to her, each taking her by an arm gently. She tried to struggle, but her body wouldn't respond, still stunned from the previous strike.

"You'll regret this, Ayase," she screamed. "I will make you pay for this insult!"

Yue turned to face Chao as she was taken away. "The only insult here is your fleeing when our allies needed us the most."

And at that, Chao screamed, but it was only a brief annoyance as the blast doors closed behind her and her captors. Yue sighed, shaking her head as she muttered something in Japanese, and then turned her head to face the fore of the ship.

"Helm, take us back to Tenetia. We're not done there."

"Aff, Colonel Yue Ayase."

-----------------------------------

No more than three minutes after their departure, the Clan fleet suddenly burst from their trademark FTL entrance, forming back into line with their allied fleets.

To our allies, I apologize for the actions of our previous commander. She has shown a lack of honor to you and our enemies, and it shall be rectified forthwith.

And as the transmission ended, the Clan fleet began to advance, moving back into their previous formation.

De Bruyn, meanwhile, got a report that Nomura had deputized the forces of Emory, the rogue Colonial commander. He fumed--Nomura was never one for procedure, or propriety, and this wasn't out of his character.

Sighing, he then issued an order to Emory and Nomura--

"You may proceed with operations; Emory, you are to be subordinated to the command of Admiral Nomura for the duration of combat. Disregard previous order."

"Looks like the civilian evac fleet put themselves between the Imperial Fleet and our forces." I sighed, pointing at a big-screen holovision in the distance. "Godulans have this thing where they can't harm civilians no matter what. It's the perfect trap for them. Not that it would stop us. It just makes the Admiral's job a mite more difficult. We're switching to guerilla warfare tactics until further notice since the Imps know we're here. First thing to go: the power stations. No power, no shields.

Midnight narrowed his eyes and made a very angry grunting noise. They used this sort of cheap trick to win a war? They knew the Godulans couldn't fire on civilians, so the civilians themselves were willing to throw themselves into harms way just so the Imperials could win a single battle and not be harmed? These people were well indoctrinated, indeed. He nodded with Daniel's assessment. “Agreed. My fellow operatives and I will see to it that those power stations are destroyed and you get to your sister. Besides, we want to rid the galaxy of more Dark Jedi.” He made a short motion with a hand, and the other three pulled out their weapons, ready for more battle. As the group began to move, Silent moved up to join the Fangirls in the point man position, ensuring her skills with her knives and reflexes could be used to thin enemy numbers before the main group got there. But even as they moved, greater events began to occur in space.


****************************************************************

Sector: Telrosian
Location: Unkown

As promised, the Telrosians had diverted one of their 8 active fleets, with five remaining on standby and the remaining ships being tasked to protect Telrosian space only. The Telrosians, due to their jump in technology, had been able to reduce the size of their fleets because of cost and changes in tactics. They had a fleet in size of six hundred ships total. One hundred fifty of those were part of the United Nations Home Defense Fleet (UNHDF), tasked to remain behind patrol the few systems in control of the United Nations, while the other eight actively patrolled and were hunting down pirates, slavers, and other undesirables. They also served to show that Telros was not one to take a possible attack lightly and ensure that any attack coming their way was to be a futile one. With the information of the attack on Tenetia that came to U.N. High Command, the brass decided to activate one of the five sleeper fleets, arm it, get everyone up to speed and then send it to a hidden system close to the battle to wait for further orders. Battle Fleet Hercules was stationed in this area of space as requested, and was under command of an Admiral John Davies. He was a senior Admiral, starting to get on in years, but he brought a mix of cultured savagery, unrestrained cunning, and elderly wisdom to his battles. He was a veteran of the old Unification Wars, and as such had plenty of battle experience. He was the perfect choice for this mission. Like all Telrosian fleets, Battle Fleet Hercules had thirty-five ships. It consisted of a single Odin-class Battlecruiser, the UNS Majestic, two Loki-class Carriers, the UNS Beijing and London, four Thor-class Cruisers, the UNS Hannibal, Patton, Alexander, and Augustus, five Freyr-class Destroyers, the UNS Kilimanjaro,, Everest, Washington, Tai Shan, and Shasta, eight Tyr-class Frigates, the UNS Waterloo, Midway, Gettysburg, Yorktown, Baghdad, Okinawa, Constantinople, and Berlin, nine Eir-class Hunter Frigates,the UNS Normandy, Lexington, Royal Oak, Nanking, Gaza, Jerusalem, Shanxi, Georgia, and Ulysses. Finally, it had a complement of Brandr-class Artillery Ships, the UNS White Mary, Kind Lord, Soft Touch, Forgiven, Hopeful, and Prayer. Along with this fleet came a sizable invasion force, in case the Godulans and their allies needed support.

It was ordered to wait for the signal to come from the Godulans after they had received the datapad and then jump in to aid them in any way, shape or form. As such, the fleet was waiting when the call finally came. John was sitting in his command chair, reading a novel that he took with him on occasion when he knew the mission was going to be long. The bridge had been quiet for hours now and nothing had happened since the last transmission from the Godulans stating they had received the datapad. John was quite ready to scream in frustration. If the battle was already over, he'd be glad that he wouldn't be putting his people at risk but he just wanted to know, so he could get back to his duties. Suddenly, a beeping noises sounded. The entire bridge crew, half-asleep in waiting, jerked awake. The Admiral sat up, putting his book away. The comm officer quickly opened the link and the faces of Antares and Zodiac appeared. John nodded his head. Zodiac leaned a little on his cane as he began to speak.

“Admiral, as you no doubt have guessed, we have come to inform you of the need for your forces and the situation on Tenetia. As far as we know, the assault force that infiltrated is doing well, and your four operatives along with it. We do not currently know due to a situation that caused a panic in the Hiearchy.” Antares stepped in at this point.

“As you well know, we forbid ourselves and any allies from harming citizens in any way. During the course of the space battle, the Imperial citizens who owned shipping in the area decided to barricade the ships and defense stations above Tenetia. This sent us into quite a fix and had initial orders to withdraw. We picked up our ground operatives and began to pull out. However, Tarsid has decided to remain and fight and has called for your help. He informs you that you should try to avoid hitting the civilians,but if they insist on getting in front of our guns, they have forfeited our protection. You will be needed to help break the defenses and open the door into Tenetia proper. Do you understand?”

The Admiral nodded, chuckling. “Of course. I will aid you to the best of my ability. We should be arriving within minutes.”

Zodiac and Antares nodded, with the former saying “Give 'em hell, Admiral” before it cut off. John turned to his comm officer.

“Send out a fleet wide alert, Code Red. All pilots are to report to their posts, marines are to get ready for anti-boarding operations and all soldiers aboard the transports to prepare for the invasion. We have an operation to aid. Power up the shields, weapons, and Shuska Drive. I want going in nice and hot.”

“Yes sir!”

Motion exploded all over the fleet as it began the waking procedures and preparing for the battle ahead. Shields came online, pressure doors closed, weapons charged and Telrosians of every rank and military profession geared up for war. The sound of boots hitting metal plating sounded throughout every ship as the fleet began to get into formation for the jump. John took this time to discuss the initial battle plan with the other ship captains and have the coordination he desired achieved. Soon enough, the call of readiness was given and John took a deep breath and let it out. He sent a silent prayer out for victory today and for as many soldiers as possible to return. Then he gave the order. Large tears in space opened, and blue light shined through as the portals to Hyperspace opened. Battle Fleet Hercules and the invasion force ships entered these portals and were soon on their way to the Tenetian system. And as promised, Tarsid would see close to seventy portals opening, with the Telrosian ships coming through, followed by the invasion ships. A communications channel was opened to the Godulans as John sent them a quick message before proceeding with the battle.

”We have arrived as requested, and with an invasion force in case you needed it. We will begin Operation: Clean Shithole”

The ships spread out to protect the troop transports and ships, and to provide maximum firing coverage. He saw the Golan V Defense platforms popping into view, followed by the civilian ships and then the planet. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the ships protecting the defense platforms. He couldn't see any way for him to efficiently destroy the platforms and not hit the civilians. So he ordered a channel opened to them and gave a final warning.

Civilians of Tenetian Space, those of you who captain the vessels in front of us. I will say this but once, so listen closely. This system is now caught in a war, for reasons which should be self-evident. The Galactic Empire is a diseased corpse, barely alive and trying to suck the life from those under its thrall. You think by shielding the stations with your ships, that you can somehow stop the inevitable. Yet, you seem to forget the key part of this plan. Once you get involved in a battle in such a manner, you stop being civilians and become soldiers. You stop being innocent and become the enemy. I will give you a chance to leave now or at least get out of the way. If you do not, you will have chosen the path of a soldier and all the risks that come with it. You have been warned.

Once this was finished, he gave the order to secure firing solutions on the Golans and prepared for battle. Fighters and bombers swarmed out from the carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and frigates, taking defensive formations around the fleet. Reports came in on the secure target locks on the station. As per his plan, all six Artillery Ships had locked onto one Godulan, while the rest of the fleet onto another. When the last ship confirmed it had a lock and was ready to fire, John gave the dreaded yet anticipated command.

“Fire.”

The twenty-six ships in the fleet other than the Artillery Cruisers let loose with a volley of railguns and missiles. The railguns, being what they are, were few in number but incredibly powerful and capable of damaging capital ships very badly, and the missiles counted in the hundreds, being normal explosive types, fusion, EMP, and the KDS system, which had them exploded and launch kinetic harpoons at the target at high speeds, doing even more damage. A lot would probably be destroyed but enough would get throw to do damage. But the Artillery Cruisers were the key, for they held a weapon that would be key in this battle. Each one was essentially a giant laser, with missile arrays attached. The Graser Beam, as it was called, pumped bomb-exploded fusion energy into the cannon, where it was supercharged and accelerated to became a fast-moving, powerful beam that was capable of destroying most capital ships in an instant. To use this weapon, they had to draw power from the missile arrays and wee unable to fire it again until the capacitors recharged. All six locked onto a platform and charged up their lasers. And after several seconds, six bright green beams sliced through space towards the targeted Golan V platform. It would not be long until it was vaporized under an assault that could destroy ISD's in a single second. Also ECM and ECCM systems were online, scrambling enemy sensors while cutting through any interference their sensors were getting.

OOC: I cleared my arrival with CW, Godular, etc and Godular's character rping done by me is also okay with Godular.

OOC: Hold off further posting until Sith gets a chance to respond! For now...

IC:
"Sir...I don't frakkin' believe it sir!" Sensors sputtered.

"Language, boy! Spit it out!"

"Godulans...Clans...everyone seems to be returning for battle! They're hitting the Golans!"

Both of the Admiral's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Well, well. The Imperials' cheap trick has failed...Helm! Don't just stand there! Let us join the party!"

"What about the civilians?" Someone asked.

The Admiral clenched the cap of his cane once, then breathed out slowly. "Give them their final warning. After that, try not to hit them, but if they're in the way...so be it."

"Yessir." That officer nodded slowly and went back to work.

"Civilians! This is your final warning! I have granted you enough amnesty to give even Vader a chance! Leave this combat zone immediately! Get out of our way! We will prosecute this battle henceforth with or without your presence and once we do, no further quarter will be given!"

"Commander Trashaln. Your despicable ploy to use civilians as shields has failed. It is time I offered you a chance to surrender. Let's not make a mess of this planet, hmm?"

H.S.S. Nemesis
Location: Broth System

Having transferred their chain of command to the Nemesis, Lord Vorman, Lord Shelentiave, and Darth Aelikes met in a dark, dimly lit chamber. Normally, the Nemesis was Shelentiave's personal flag ship of joy however, this was a special mission. Given the grandiose scale of the mission and the... "Needed help" of the other two Kirtir Lords, Lord Vorman thought it was wise if he informed them of their mission. ::I assume everyone here agrees that this must be done?::

Darth Aelikes nodded, "indeed. It is a plan which even Emperor Vader couldn't pull off. Not in Millennia. Just how did you manage to plant the spy without us knowing?"

Vorman's eyes glowed brighter at Aelikes's comment, ::that is for me to know Aelikes. If I told you all of my plans, everything which has led up to this point would all fall apart, and both of our mutual goals would cease to work.::

Lady Shelntiave had one last question, "how will your spy know when to strike? I assume that even he would be distracted by the current mission goingons."

::I have already alerted him. The fleet will move in as soon as he is in position...::
---------------------------------------

Moments later, Vorman's spy's communicator would suddenly start beeping what would appear to the normal person a random series of beeps. But is in fact the code to begin his mission...

The Godulans, the Telrosians, decimated the civilian vessels around the Golan platforms, as their ships simply cleaved their way through the formations which had moved since their last sensor sweep of the system. The radios and comm traffic screamed in horror as thousands went to their graves in the coldness of space.

One Godulan vessel upon its re-mergence impacted the Keya, a liner holding two hundred thousand lives. As the rebel forces continued and prosecuted their assault, the civilian fleet spoke out.

“Where the fuck can we go you bastards! We can’t go into hyperspace there’s a bloody plague in the galaxy! We may as well die here, before you kill us all.” Likeminded transmissions followed suit from multiple vessels, while others simply held themselves for the inevitable crushing darkness.

The Godulan ships which were hugging the Golan platform, relentlessly assaulted platform B with devices which plagued the shields decimating the operational effectiveness of the platform. Surprised, the crew inside wretched as internal scaffolding broke apart, bulk heads tore as power continued to be diverted towards the shields themselves in an automatic reaction.

From below, on the planet, the defensive batteries opened fire. Thankful that the enemy siege platform had come into range of the ion cannons and turbolasers the ground crews would be targeting amongst the inscribed advertising. “KDY turbolasers the first and last line of a planets defence”. Rippling out in open defiance at the enemy attack planet would teach the Godulans a lesson, why not to go near an armed imperial fortress world.

History may judge that if the Godulans had commenced their attack while the batteries were unprepared then they maybe they would have escaped the furious assault, but emerging next to the planet itself, would be difficult to ever describe as an act of tactical genius. From the port, and from the starboard, the other two Golan platforms opened fire, while counter measures were deployed to intercept the numerable oncoming missiles from the Telrosian fleet.

As the Godulans started to retreat, the stricken space station lumbered and coughed as her shields failed. Launching as many of their missile compliment that could be launched, the first Golan detonated in a hail of fire. Several hundred thousand kilometres away, the missiles, without their command transmissions also detonated, rupturing real space with a torrent of micro black holes and plasma, blocking the siege stations attempted retreat.

It was a bloody affair with the initial loss of civilian life blanketing the sensory records as they flooded the holo-net. Relieving the restrictions on civilian holo-net usage, the empire broadcasted the battle, galaxy wide.

The first civilian ships to explode, endured outrage from imperial commentators, while the second and third, to fifth to eighteenth saw calls for something akin to a holy war. Trashaln moved away from the channel. . .


Command Bunker

The Coredian communication was dispatched openly to everyone on the planet and in orbit, ridiculing Trashaln in regard to his most generous of offers. His confidence had wavered slightly when he witnessed the Godulans suddenly reappear above the very planet itself. Transmission bursts, and damage reports flooded the comm area of the bunker while the commander was busy re-directing the FTLi field. Now refusing to allow the enemy leave from the battlefield.

Trashaln genuinely cursed as the Golan erupted into flames and his orders screamed for every piece of planetary firepower to concentrate on the lumbering hulk of the siege platform. Sensor readings reported an attempted energy drain of the planetary shields, for only the briefest of moments until it was shrugged away as a futile attempt to drain something which had almost limitless energy.

The holomap showed the position of the enemy in orbit. The Tenetians were now beginning to hug the shield, and the defensive protection of the planet, while the Huntarians extended outwards as a flanking wing, almost as though they were a holding phalanx.

Trashaln gave thought and opened a closed communications channel to the Colonial fleet, making sure every colonial ship could hear it. Vessels of the United Colonies of Kobol. The Empire is under attack, by the Rebel alliance. By virtue of the agreement of mutual defence pact, signed by Admiral Helena Cain, and by extension New Dornalia, I call on you to defend us. We are your allies, won't you help us and honour your word?” The went out, demanding honour amongst allies.


As for the coredian commander Trashaln reacted differently. “Shut down the holo-net feed.” He ordered. The transmission was cut and he opened a channel to Coredians. “Rebel leaders, I commander Trashaln will give you one final opportunity to surrender and leave our space. You have forced us into a corner and we now have no recourse but to point your observations towards Golan platforms A and C. Be advised that their targeted main cannons and missile tubes are now aiming towards Tenetia herself. If you do not cease fire, and surrender, we will be forced to open fire upon the planet, and I will be forced to order a complete extinction command from this command bunker. We are aware of your assets on the ground Coredians, be careful that you may lose them. The fate of this world, is in your hands. Leave or let it die. You have fifteen seconds to comply.” His tone was absolute.

Everyone in the bunker held their breath as Trashaln removed a key from around his neck. “Give them an FTL corridor to leave the system.” The key slid in to the command box. Fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven . . . “

The weapons struck true as both the civilian ships who refused to get out of the way and the Golan V was wiped out by their attack. The other missiles, the railgun shots and the six lasers fired at the other Golan V were sure to have damaged it, or weakened its shields immensely. John watched with a grim smile as the station broke into pieces, joining the shattered hulks of the civilians lost. He didn't like it, but he had warned them of their attack, and had given them time to get out of the way. When they received the message from the civilian fleet, he decided to send one in return.

"Apparently you Imperials have a bad educational system, as you cannot grasp simple concepts. I warned you what would happen should you chose to remain in the battlefield. You may not be able to leave the system but you certainly could have at least moved out of the way. You didn't. You chose to become soldiers, to join in the fight. When the consequences of those actions hit, you then try to act like innocent civilians, who didn't try to join a battle. Sorry, that's now how reality works. You made your choice, now accept the consequences."

He then had the channel closed and resume watching the Imperial responses. The Godulan siege ship, whatever the heck that thing was supposed to be, appeared to be having some trouble. It had come under fire, after weakening the Golan that got destroyed. He also saw Imperial planetary to space weapons firing up at the Godulan assets in the area. Nothing he could do much about, so he ordered for the fleet to continue advancing towards the planet, and to fire another salvo when ready. So the Battle Fleet continued it's grim march toward the planet. Another salvo of railgun shots were sent screaming towards the Golan which had received the six Graser Beam shots, seeking to destroy it. This was accompanied by a salvo of missiles from the fleet proper, while the Artillery Cruisers, having to wait for the Graser Beam to recharge, unloaded their considerable missile arrays, launching hundreds of missiles each that were sent towards another Golan. The battle would be long and difficult, but once these Golans were out of the way, space superiority would be achieved. The FTLi set up by the Imperials was noted, but the Battle Fleet had no intention on going anywhere, not yet.

However, something occurred that changed everything. "Sir, we're reading a message from the surface, it appears to be going to Coredian receivers. Intercept?"

John nodded. "Yes. I want to hear what the Imps are saying to the Coredians." The officer nodded and focused the comm system to receive the message by changing their comm identification to Coredian frequencies, letting them receive the message.

“Rebel leaders, I commander Trashaln will give you one final opportunity to surrender and leave our space. You have forced us into a corner and we now have no recourse but to point your observations towards Golan platforms A and C. Be advised that their targeted main cannons and missile tubes are now aiming towards Tenetia herself. If you do not cease fire, and surrender, we will be forced to open fire upon the planet, and I will be forced to order a complete extinction command from this command bunker. We are aware of your assets on the ground Coredians, be careful that you may lose them. The fate of this world, is in your hands. Leave or let it die. You have fifteen seconds to comply.”

John narrowed his eyes and his hands gripped the sides of his chair. The entire bridge crew went instantly from determined resolve to deadly quiet. Each Telrosian was quietly fuming and wishing they could find this commander and see he got what he deserved. However, he had made a simple mistake. John gave a dark chuckle, which focused the bridge crews attention onto him.

"These Imperials....they really are way too arrogant. Make a copy of the message and the source it came from. Identification, voice i.d, all of it. I'm sure it'll come in handy later. This idiot thinks that this will win him the battle. What a fool. This only shows how weak and pathetic the Imperials are, how they have no honor whatsoever. Also, send a message, encoded, encrypted, and thrice-scrambled to the ground team. They have a new..."objective" of sorts. You know what to do."

The comm officer nodded and set to work to his task. With icy determination, he copied the message, the signal, and all relevant data, storing it in several places to ensure it would be kept and the message to the TITAN operatives was sent, giving them the new task John had given to them. In the meantime, he ordered no more salvoes be fired, letting their allies make their moves. But, no matter what happened, he was going to be sure the Imperials suffered for this grave, grave error...........


********************
While they waited for the group to get ready to hit the power station, Midnight suddenly saw an alert pop up in a small window on his hud. He sent a mental command to investigate and saw a message had come....from Admiral Davies of Battle Fleet Hercules. The Godulans must have called in the reserves offered to them. That meant the battle was still on, and they were back. Nodding, he opened the message and read its contents. Everyone around him would see him suddenly stiffen, and after a few moments, growl angrily and punch a wall, leaving a sizable dent in the thick steel. When the other three turned to him, he sent them the message and all three repeated the display, with Flame swearing up and down, and Edge starting to sharpen his knives.

"I take it we'll be attending to that as soon as possible?" Flame asked, his voice now angry and no longer cheerful.

Midnight nodded. "Yes. It has top priority under aiding Daniel and seeing our testing through. The first chance we get, you know what to do." They all nodded, and seemed to have a more grim tone to what they were doing. Midnight walked over and handed Daniel a datapad. "I think you'll want to see this, your Highness....."

The Siege Platform continued to back away, but stopped short as it came to the edge of the still-expanding blotch, and shuffled forward a bit as the Golan Platform it had previously been targeting tore itself apart for something so simple as a drain to its shield energy. Missiles burst forth to strike against it, thousands upon thousands of them, all hurtling towards the Siege Engine with true fury and vengeful wrath.

But the Godulan Siege Platform had been expecting a counterattack, and still had its forward shields oriented towards the failing Golan. For this instance it quickly re-routed weapons power to its shields, more than doubling their strength against the coming onslaught. It then dumped its thrusters in, strengthening its shields further still, and with a pulse of energy taken from its reserves, it sent the forward shields out a great distance further than would have been normal. The torpedos thudded into the shields, detonating with the fury of black holes and plasma detonations, but the greater distance from the Siege Engine proper prevented it from feeling the effects of the singularity bombs, while its strengthened shielding allowed it to weather the greater extent of the last-ditch enemy bombardment with only moderate strain.

Hey Achaedus, did you see that? We only hit the durn thing a couple times with Mourning Glory and the damn thing collapsed like a house of cards!

Duly noted, Fleetlord. We also note the interesting application of your shields. We shall keep tactical information that you have provided us in mind when we decide what to do with you later.

The Siege Platform then turned its attention to the massive onslaught of ground battery fire being hurled against it from below, only to slam into the portion of the Planetary Shield that the Godulans had targeted initially with their strange power-draining weapon. The strange sparkling discoloration seemed to indicate the border of some area where the shields had apparently betrayed their owners. Strange ripplings and cracklings of energy thrashed against the shield, and were decidedly relentless in their attempts to terminate the slow moving juggernaut. For those manning the Shield Generator Station, it would be noticed that their shields were taking strain as though they were under bombardment by those concerned ground batteries.

Almost lazily, it kept track of every single source of ground battery fire presently focused on terminating its existence, and sent out tachyon torpedos to strike at these turrets with the closest thing that a ship could display as casual disdain. Reallocating its power to restore its weapons and maneuvering thrusters, and reallocating shield power to protect from any civilian vessels that might get an annoying case of 'the stupids', it turned to orient its main guns against the planet, directly towards the sparkling blotch, and opened fire. Doubtless it would have seemed as an eerie image, with both sides working to destroy the wall between them.

Betcha they thought our popping up next to the shield was a dumb move. By the Gods, this Mourning Glory weapon is AWESOME. How's the offsite reactor holding up?

Barely over fifteen percent, Fleetlord. We can engulf these shields and terminate those golans without hitting eighty, but they reactor's taking its own strain due to the attacks against the shielding.

Will it fail before the Imperials' do?

Judging by their desperation, I would say no.

Better kill the Golans while we still have the luxury of wiggle room then.

The three 'discorporated' Slaughterstars were quick to capitalize on their present situation, forming back into whole entities, striking out at the shields below with the same shadow-shrouded sickly green shafts of light as before, and targeting the enemy Golan Platforms from far enough away that they could duck below the horizon and use the shield as cover. Any strikes against civilian vessels would simply be a moment of startlement, but nothing more. The Golans themselves would begin feeling the strain of their own shields being drained even as they attempted to turn their guns downward.

And amidst this all, a simple response came from the Godulan vessels to the Imperial commander:

Nuts.

And the Godulans fought on.

Simultaneously, the Clan fleet would pull up alongside the Godulan's Golan platform and, in perfect unison, with over two hundred different ships firing weapons in caliber between small-scale axial lasers and TIE fighter lasers, the Clan fleet would divide their fire power between both Golan V platforms, intent on helping the Godulans destroy the blasted space stations.

At the same time, the Clans would deploy their fighters and missile gunboats to help the other fleets engage the Huntarian Empire and the Tenetian defense fleet, duly intent on teaching them that they weren't the only ones capable of spamming fighters in mass quantities. Thousands of Clanner small craft twisted amongst the Imperial small craft in a ballet of death, intent on keeping the annoying TIEs and various other fighters, bombers, and gunboats preoccupied with just staying alive.

And, as if to solidify their stance on this event, a transmission was sent shortly after the Godulans.

Seconded.

"The die is cast, then." Pellaeon sighed as he noted his allies still fighting. Daniel, you BETTER survive this! "Open fire with all batteries on every enemy equipment in orbit! Get me Trashlan."

"Trashlan. Once again we have called your bluff. Now will you stop whining like a child and start fighting like a proper man? Or has the Empire lost it's equipment and wish to hide behind weapons of mass destruction like they're mother's skirts?"

=====

Grand Admiral Kingsley "King" Bradley watched.

He watched Nightshade get deposed and was sure that the boy will rub his hands in glee at that. He watched the Imperial civilians proclaim their love for Vader and Empire and make themselves a pitifully thin shield. He watched as his own, smarter Tenetian citizens leave the system. He watched as the Rebels called the civilians' bluff and attack, even though he knew what it must have cost them to do so. He heard the intercepts between the Imperial commander in the bunker and his former, now rival Admiral. And yet, though his forces were firing at any enemy ship that was stupid enough to get too close to him, the fleet did not advance to the main battle zone as Trashaln wanted.

And then...because Tenetians and Coredians operate on more or less the same comms frequencies from time to time, he caught the message meant for Admiral Pellaeon fairly easily. The only emotion he allowed himself was a frown at the events. Though he did not care for whatever happened to the worthless Masaki boy, nor did he care for the fatally stupid Imperial citizens, he did care about his homeworld and the homeworld of the men and women under his command.

So he decided.

"Target Golan platforms A and C and open fire. Inform the Prince to send the Black Star Fortress and his little personal fleet somewhere safe...perhaps his Uncle." Admiral Bradley ordered quietly. "Then open a channel to the Huntarians to inform them that the Tenetian Imperial Fleet will temporarily swear fealty to the Huntarian Empire until we can decide our destiny at a later date. Inform Commander Trashman that I will continue to destroy every piece of his precious Imperial equipment if he does not let Tenetia's fate be decided in a more honorable fashion. This madness has gone on long enough."

"Sir...yes sir!" The comms officer sat up a little straighter.

To the astonishment of everyone in the Alliance, it was the Tenetians that decided to jump in as well, while the Black Star Fortress, the Megalodon and several odds and ends reluctantly slinked away ("Next time, Masaki! Next time!"). Sheet after sheet of turbolasers and heavier purple hypercannon beams lanced out at the Golans that were prepared to perform a BDZ on the planet.

"Admiral Pellaeon and other parties. Let me make it clear that this does not mean that I will join your foolish crusade. My action will merely restore honor to an arena where honor has been lacking of late. Consider this a formal truce until further notice."

=====

While they waited for the group to get ready to hit the power station, Midnight suddenly saw an alert pop up in a small window on his hud. He sent a mental command to investigate and saw a message had come....from Admiral Davies of Battle Fleet Hercules. The Godulans must have called in the reserves offered to them. That meant the battle was still on, and they were back. Nodding, he opened the message and read its contents. Everyone around him would see him suddenly stiffen, and after a few moments, growl angrily and punch a wall, leaving a sizable dent in the thick steel. When the other three turned to him, he sent them the message and all three repeated the display, with Flame swearing up and down, and Edge starting to sharpen his knives.

"I take it we'll be attending to that as soon as possible?" Flame asked, his voice now angry and no longer cheerful.

Midnight nodded. "Yes. It has top priority under aiding Daniel and seeing our testing through. The first chance we get, you know what to do." They all nodded, and seemed to have a more grim tone to what they were doing. Midnight walked over and handed Daniel a datapad. "I think you'll want to see this, your Highness....."
I looked, and I saw it was NOT GOOD! I swore enough to make sailors blush. I was willing to duel Nightshade, but assuming that bunker is under the Citadel and assuming the bomb is at the bunker and assuming that this guy is really saying he'll enact extinction protocols...DAMN! I hope my sister could get off this Force-forsaken rock!

"Prepare to teleport, guys." I ordered.

"Not with the planetary shields still on." Jacob reminded me.

"Then at least a thousand miles from the Citadel. Don't care so long as we're not cooked to death." I grumbled, then shook my fist at the ground. "Damn you, Trashlan. You ruined EVERYTHING!"

"He's officially obsessed." Taylor nodded.

"Yep." Naruto agreed.

"Shut it, you two." I grumbled, rolling my eyes.

=====

Admiral Pellaeon's only reply to Admiral Bradley was a very stunned:

"Thank you, old friend."

=====

It is time. Jedi Master Harry Blayden thought as he received the message. He then walked out of his personal room to prepare for a welcoming committee.

So he decided.

"Target Golan platforms A and C and open fire. Inform the Prince to send the Black Star Fortress somewhere safe...perhaps his Uncle." Admiral Bradley ordered quietly. "Then open a channel to the Huntarians to inform them that the Tenetian Imperial Fleet will temporarily swear fealty to the Huntarian Empire until we can decide our destiny at a later date. Inform Commander Trashman that I will continue to destroy every piece of his precious Imperial equipment if he does not let Tenetia's fate be decided in a more honorable fashion. This madness has gone on long enough."

"Sir...yes sir!" The comms officer sat up a little straighter.

To the astonishment of everyone in the Alliance, it was the Tenetians that decided to jump in as well, while the Black Star Fortress reluctantly slinked away ("Next time, Masaki! Next time!"). Sheet after sheet of turbolasers and heavier purple hypercannon beams lanced out at the Golans that were prepared to perform a BDZ on the planet.

Nomura promptly responded with a continued assault on the Golans, using his People's Hammer and Steel Dragon munitions. The former was well over 10,000 pounds of Antimatter sent to blow holes in heavy structures and ships, and the latter consisted of nanites meant to eat away at enemy targets. And, as always, there were Ion Cannons, railguns, and Demolisher Guns. He had heard the previous message, but said nothing.

All this, plus the apparent mutiny of one "King" Bradley. He smiled as he recalled the old bastard, saying to Gracie, "Hey Grace--didn't I fight that guy at--"

"Yes, you did."

"Ah. Well, this'll be fun," Nomura replied. I need to challenge him to some sort of contest, like backgammon, or paintball, or whatever these Tenetians do for fun. I'm not done with him." He then said, "Also, print up a few copies of the Declaration of Independence for him. Never know if he's decided to be a democrat--and it's healthier than HoloNet porn."

Gracie sighed and said, "As you wish."


I looked, and I saw it was NOT GOOD! I swore enough to make sailors blush. I was willing to duel Nightshade, but assuming that bunker is under the Citadel and assuming the bomb is at the bunker and assuming that this guy is really saying he'll enact extinction protocols...DAMN! I hope my sister could get off this Force-forsaken rock!

"Sarinon." I turned to that quiet yet large blond guy in battle robes hanging around us. "Prep a Mass Teleport."

"In this body, it'll drain me something fierce...but..." Sarinon motioned through some handseals and focused. "Done."

"The second you sense the bomb explode, take us out." I ordered.

"Not with the planetary shields still on." Jacob reminded me.

"Then at least a thousand miles from the Citadel. Don't care so long as we're not cooked to death." I grumbled, then shook my fist at the ground. "Damn you, Trashlan. You ruined EVERYTHING!"

"He's officially obsessed." Taylor nodded.

"Yep." Naruto agreed.

"Shut up." I replied, rolling my eyes.

Adrian and the Fangirls then stopped at Danny's side, and as they heard the orders, Adrian then coughed and spoke with some urgency.

"I hate to interrupt, but is the mission still in progress? If so, we need to get as much of this done as possible. Our forces are still behind enemy lines and need to move on...is there any way we can commandeer transport to make this go faster?"

One of the Fangirls said, "I can hotwire a truck if you need it, Danie-." Adrian's glare made her change it to, "Sir."

"Target Golan platforms A and C and open fire. Inform the Prince to send the Black Star Fortress somewhere safe...perhaps his Uncle." Admiral Bradley ordered quietly. "Then open a channel to the Huntarians to inform them that the Tenetian Imperial Fleet will temporarily swear fealty to the Huntarian Empire until we can decide our destiny at a later date. Inform Commander Trashman that I will continue to destroy every piece of his precious Imperial equipment if he does not let Tenetia's fate be decided in a more honorable fashion. This madness has gone on long enough."

"Sir...yes sir!" The comms officer sat up a little straighter.

The Leviathan's comm officer was highly puzzled at the chain of events which took place and extremely alarmed. "Admiral Khal, we have a strange chain of events which have just occurred... Admiral Kingsley has transferred Command of the Tenetian Forces over to... You..."

Khal nearly jumped in surprise, "he did what..!? Acknowledged and confirmed of power transfer. Empress Nightshade, I regret to inform you that you have to come with us. Activate the Experimental Transporter and get us the hell off of this worthless rock." Khal lost another two men to the transport process, being that it is still in it's experimental stages. However, he manage to grab Nightshade, which was the ultimate prize of the scenario...

--------------------------------------------

It is time. Jedi Master Harry Blayden thought as he received the message. He then walked out of his personal room to prepare for a welcoming committee.

Vorman knew the moment was right, for the Huntarian fleet he ordered Aelikes to prepare was already inside the Necrominus before the Jedi Master left his room. The massive armada of Empire ships departed from the Necrominus, and appeared at Issus. No doubt, the Coredian military remaining on the planet was extremely alarmed by their presence.

Lord Vorman and Aelikes responded accordingly to prevent any knowledge of events which have just transpired. “Comm! Jam their transmissions! No one gets to send a message in or out of the system!”

”Aye sir.”

Lord Vorman was quicker to respond with an order for their FTli’s, ::spin up the FTLi’s. Have the station’s spread out through the system, I want this entire system under lock down. No ship is going to get in or out without us knowing. Have the General and Core Stations move into orbit around Issus.:: The newest of the Huntarian Empire Platforms, the FTLi have been constructed to prevent random jumpings of Jump Drives, other Necrominus Drives, Dimensional inhibitors, among other things. Anyone entering the system would suddenly find that they will have a difficult time reaching their target destination.

Down in the hangar deck, the place was buzzing. Vehicles of all sorts were mounted for a surprise attack while Shelentiave got inside her personal transport shuttle. “You know the drill pilot. We’re the first wave of attack on the planetary surface, primary target is the Jedi Temple. While the Cargo Bays are beginning to transport Vehicle and Personnel to the surface, we will fly in and establish a command center for which Aelikes and Vorman to arrive at.”

”Aye ma’am. Launching the shuttle ETA: 10 minutes.”

The Leviathan's comm officer was highly puzzled at the chain of events which took place and extremely alarmed. "Admiral Khal, we have a strange chain of events which have just occurred... Admiral Kingsley has transferred Command of the Tenetian Forces over to... You..."

Khal nearly jumped in surprise, "he did what..!? Acknowledged and confirmed of power transfer. Empress Nightshade, I regret to inform you that you have to come with us. Activate the Experimental Transporter and get us the hell off of this worthless rock." Khal lost another two men to the transport process, being that it is still in it's experimental stages. However, he manage to grab Nightshade, which was the ultimate prize of the scenario...
"Wha~?" Nightshade tried to speak, but was transported away...and reappeared with an ill feeling. "What is the meaning of this?"

Adrian and the Fangirls then stopped at Danny's side, and as they heard the orders, Adrian then coughed and spoke with some urgency.

"I hate to interrupt, but is the mission still in progress? If so, we need to get as much of this done as possible. Our forces are still behind enemy lines and need to move on...is there any way we can commandeer transport to make this go faster?"

One of the Fangirls said, "I can hotwire a truck if you need it, Danie-." Adrian's glare made her change it to, "Sir."
I tried to sense Nightshade again, and couldn't. That means that particular aspect of the mission has just been scrubbed harder than a cheap whore. "Can't sense her anymore. Get that truck!"

"Wha~?" Nightshade tried to speak, but was transported away...and reappeared with an ill feeling. "What is the meaning of this?"

Admiral Khal looked at her coldly, as the remaining squad which accompanied him raised their pistols and pointed them at Nightshade, "Empress Nightshade, by order of Emperor Vorman, we are hereby striping you of your power to rule on the charges of Treason, Willful Negligence, Involuntary Manslaughter. You are to be escorted to the brig and removed of your power to use the Force. Men, if you will please." He pointed a finger at Nightshade, and one of his Marines fired his pistol at her, draining her use of the Force, forever.

Vorman knew the moment was right, for the Huntarian fleet he ordered Aelikes to prepare was already inside the Necrominus before the Jedi Master left his room. The massive armada of Empire ships departed from the Necrominus, and appeared at Issus. No doubt, the Coredian military remaining on the planet was extremely alarmed by their presence.

Lord Vorman and Aelikes responded accordingly to prevent any knowledge of events which have just transpired. “Comm! Jam their transmissions! No one gets to send a message in or out of the system!”

”Aye sir.”

Lord Vorman was quicker to respond with an order for their FTli’s, ::spin up the FTLi’s. Have the station’s spread out through the system, I want this entire system under lock down. No ship is going to get in or out without us knowing. Have the General and Core Stations move into orbit around Issus.:: The newest of the Huntarian Empire Platforms, the FTLi have been constructed to prevent random jumpings of Jump Drives, other Necrominus Drives, Dimensional inhibitors, among other things. Anyone entering the system would suddenly find that they will have a difficult time reaching their target destination.

Down in the hangar deck, the place was buzzing. Vehicles of all sorts were mounted for a surprise attack while Shelentiave got inside her personal transport shuttle. “You know the drill pilot. We’re the first wave of attack on the planetary surface, primary target is the Jedi Temple. While the Cargo Bays are beginning to transport Vehicle and Personnel to the surface, we will fly in and establish a command center for which Aelikes and Vorman to arrive at.”

”Aye ma’am. Launching the shuttle ETA: 10 minutes.”

Issus

In one terrifying moment, the fleet that was left to protect the last remaining capital of Coredia and assorted little worlds was trapped on Issus by the Huntaerian Empire. Nonetheless, the elderly Admiral Crossell will do his best to drive the enemy away!

"Huntarians! Get a message out!" The Admiral ordered.

A moment later..."No can do! We're jammed by comms and FTLi!"

"They mean to trap us. Well...they'll learn soon enough to never trap a cornered dragon..." Admiral Crossell grinned coldly. "Inform the Council and the Queen to get the younglings into the secure zones. We'll hold out as long as we can!"

=====

Auxiliary Temple, Issus

As alarms blared and Jedi and soldiers rushed about every which way, Master Blayden serenely wandered down the hallway to meet with his colleague Master Rydo, who wasordering the few Jedi that remained to escort the youngsters to safety.

"It's about time, Harry. Help us prepare the defense." Master Rydo said, holding little Athena's hand.

"Of course, Master Rydo." Master Blayden nodded.

As Rydo nodded in reply, she sensed a very subtle shift occur. Blayden suddenly lashed out with a poisoned knife, catching Rydo in the ribs. She gasped in pain and horror at the treachery. "Blayden...why?"

The youngsters began to scream in terror as Blayden watched Rydo fall with dispassionate eyes. "Oh, the poison won't kill you. I'm not so callous as that, my dear friend. But at least you won't interfere with what I must do for the sake of Coredia."

She tried to feebly call upon the Force, but Blayden ruthlessly stomped that attempt with his own powers. "Oh, I don't think so. Elendil is next, and I certanly don't want him warned."

"Now, little girl. You're to come with me." Blayden said to little Athena.

"No! You hurt mommy! You hurt mommy!" Athena screamed, her distress broadcasting through the Force. Blayden simply grabbed the girl and lifted her up, kicking and screaming all the way. With little effort, Blayden subdued the girl with the Force, then carried her off to the Temple's command and control centre.

There, Elendil was waiting for him with a disappointed look and a blazing green lightsaber pointed towards the floor. "Blayden. Why am I not surprised?"

"Elendil." Blayden replied, putting the girl down on the floor and ignited his own lightsaber. "When did you learn about my true intentions?"

"Yesterday. Someone manipulated the Emperor's emotions during the Wick affair. Few have the skill to do that without him noticing. You're the only one of us with a true mastery of mental techniques, enough to manipulate him so. Even Rydo can only do illusions. Furthermore, similiar clues occurred at the Kokkai battle a few months ago. I only needed to put them all together to come to the conclusion that you're behind all the darkness permeating the Order and the nation at large."

"Ah." Blayden nodded. "I see little gets past you, Elf. I suppose it's pointless to ask you to stand aside?

The Elf shook his head. "You know better than that. It's time to put an end to your corruption."

Blayden sighed theaterically. "The Huntarians have invaded. Surely you realize that you have lost?"

"The rest of the Council will deal with them and you, even if I fall." Elendil declared calmly. "Perhaps you forget the Coredian motto?"

"Oh, that 'never give up' thing?" Blayden sneered. "I've never believed in that childish philosophy. Now come, let us end this."

Purple and green blurs clashed like they've never clashed before.

=====

Admiral Khal looked at her coldly, as the remaining squad which accompanied him raised their pistols and pointed them at Nightshade, "Empress Nightshade, by order of Emperor Vorman, we are hereby striping you of your power to rule on the charges of Treason, Willful Negligence, Involuntary Manslaughter. You are to be escorted to the brig and removed of your power to use the Force. Men, if you will please." He pointed a finger at Nightshade, and one of his Marines fired his pistol at her, draining her use of the Force, forever.

"You bastard!" Nightshade shouted in shock and rage, but unfortunately, any Force attack she made was futile as the Force-draining tranquilzer did its work. Though she could have killed him with the skills she knew as a Masaki, the shock of being suddenly cut off from the Force, effectively blinded as well as being thoroughly outmaneuvered by the Huntarian Empire allowed the Marines to cart her off to the brig as a broken young woman of 30 years.

I tried to sense Nightshade again, and couldn't. That means that particular aspect of the mission has just been scrubbed harder than a cheap whore. "Can't sense her anymore. Get that truck!"

With a simple muttering of "Yes!" and a fist pump, the Fangirl walked up to the truck, smashed open the door's window, opened said door, and in several minutes got the auto roaring to life. Driving it with great aplomb and zealousness, she executed a j-turn and parked next to Danny and the others, saying, "Let's go!"

Adrian and the others immediately piled on, as he Forcemessaged the other Dornalian teams.

"All units, converge on me. We have a situation."

Thusly, they arrived, not being too far from them, and got on. Fortunately, the Fangirl had the foresight to get a truck large enough for everyone.

Whisper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkQOJeLi2Bs)

The smallest actions can have dire consequences, consequences that will reverberate through time. Each moment in our lives shape the next, shape who we are and who we are to become. Each moment leads to the next, and in the end have consequences that may not have been foreseen.

Purple and Green clashed, in a fantastic manner, as the elf, and Blayden squared off in their death match. The bodies blurred, as the light sabers struck one another. Years later, she would barely remember the duel of fate, the duel that would bring unforeseen consequences for years to come. She could only remember the blood.

Athena was screaming, and crying as Blaydon tossed her aside like a rag doll. Tears streamed down the four year old girl’s face, as her body shook. “Mommy!” she screamed, as snot dripped out of her nostrils like a runny facet. “I WANT MY MOMMY!” she screamed again, as Blaydon and the pointy ear man dueled.

Athena then began to run, run as fast as she could. Her short legs ran down the hall, back to where the incident took place. She entered the room, her eyes laid sight on the second body of a loved one she had seen.

“Mommy?” Athena asked as she ran over to the body. Her hands laying in the blood of her mother. She put her small hands up to Emily Rydo, and began to shake. “Get up mommy, wake up.” she screamed, as she pushed against Rydo’s arm and chest. “Please get up mommy.” she asked pleading with Emily.

Athena pulled her hand off her chest, and looked at the bloody smear mark left on Rydo’s robe. Rydo’s skin began to grow pale, as her breath drew short. Where was anyone to help her? Where were they? Daniel? Travis? Tsunade? The random security that should be somewhere? Anyone?

Athena screamed out in terror, as she slammed her hands into Rydo’s chest, “WAKE UP!” she screamed again. Her pleas continued unanswered. Athena began to hyperventilating, as her chest began to try to suck in air rapidly. She felt like she was drowning, as she struggled against all hope to suck in the air. A minute passed, and her breath was growing short. Her eyes felt heavy as the world turned to black. Soon her head, slammed into the chest of her surrogate mother. Her eyes closed, her body laid still, whimpering…

Issus

In one terrifying moment, the fleet that was left to protect the last remaining capital of Coredia and assorted little worlds was trapped on Issus by the Huntaerian Empire. Nonetheless, the elderly Admiral Crossell will do his best to drive the enemy away!

"Huntarians! Get a message out!" The Admiral ordered.

A moment later..."No can do! We're jammed by comms and FTLi!"

"They mean to trap us. Well...they'll learn soon enough to never trap a cornered dragon..." Admiral Crossell grinned coldly. "Inform the Council and the Queen to get the younglings into the secure zones. We'll hold out as long as we can!"

Vorman's eyes leered at Issus, a yearning to feed upon it's inhabitants slowly spread throughout his mind. He quickly shut out such primitive thoughts though, as he needs that planet alive, for now. He still had to get to the Temple where Blayden was if he were ever to make the successful Regime change. ::Target all Axial Laser Platforms, lower their power yields so that they can take out the planetary shielding in a matter of minutes instead of the planet itself. I want to be able to get to the Jedi Temple immediately. I sense Blayden may be in danger.::

"Yes my lord."



"You bastard!" Nightshade shouted in shock and rage, but unfortunately, any Force attack she made was futile as the Force-draining tranquilzer did its work. Though she could have killed him with the skills she knew as a Masaki, the shock of being suddenly cut off from the Force, effectively blinded as well as being thoroughly outmaneuvered by the Huntarian Empire allowed the Marines to cart her off to the brig as a broken young woman of 30 years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIGlE8oXoQA

"Take her to the brig. Do what you want with her." Khal watched as his Guardsmen led Lady Nightshade to what would begin the start of a very long, and dark relationship between her and Vorman. He continued back up to the bridge of the Leviathan where he assumed command of the Huntarian and Tenetian Fleet.

The Guardsmen dragged Nightshade by the arms towards the brig where they threw her on the ground, violently. Each one of the surviving guardsmen then took a turn at kicking her in the stomach and a couple of rounds just for fun. Then, one grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up where he then punched her in the face. The Guardsmen then tossed her around as though she were a rag doll, each one pushing her towards the other, occasionally punching her in the chest or head.

Eventually, a man then walked into Nightshade's brig and shouted "ENOUGH! Everybody leave this room, now!" The Guardsmen knew who he was, and obeyed. They all left the room with just him and Nightshade, lying on the floor. He walked up to her, slowly. He looked at her as she attempted to grab a hold of one of the bars of the cell. Instead, the man kicked her in her knees from behind, causing her to collapse. "I've waited a long time for my justice. You took my family away from me, when you so conveniently allowed a 'traitor' Godulan to walk the halls of Project Tantis. My brothers served on that godforsaken planet, and died there. FOR WHAT!?" He grabbed her with both of his hands by the head and slammed her into a wall.

"You're suppose to be a Leader! A SITH FUCKING LORD. Both you and that fucking Kirtir bastard of a friend of yours failed your duty to properly protect your countries. True leaders would've known better than to allow even a former enemy to wander down the hallways of a highly secretive base!" He then dragged her by her robe collar to the Brig's bed, where he threw her down. "My name is Sergeant Tharwan, and I'll be your personal interrogator for the remainder of your stay here on the Leviathan." Tharwan then stood behind her, pressed both of his hands against her neck. She slowly heard the sound of metal unhinging...

Brilliant rivers of light speared the planetary shielding as Vorman's fleet engaged the planet. In reply, Admiral Crossell ordered the fleet to concentrate firepower on the axial laser stations and the fleet did its best to engage the Huntarians, spearing the enemies with every weapon in their arsenal. It would not be long before the planetary shields, now glowing angry red, fell, but not if the fleet could help it!

=====

Dragon Mountains, Issus

The Queen of Dragons, Tamitha, grimaced as she heard the cries from her subjects about the shields. "The Huntarians are powerful, I admit. but they have never experienced our Dragon techniques. It's time we revealed our cards! Execute Operation Solarstorm!"

Ominous chanting began to resound as the Queen's Dragon Mages began muttering a long string of incantations, pointing their spell towards the system's primary and the enemy fleet and linking them together...

Inside the massive solar engine that was Issus' star, something strange began to occur. It was as if a 'chunk' of hydrogen plasma was being pulled into a drainage pipe. Of course, no real drainage pipe could ever survive the sun, but the appearance was the same. On the other side of the 'pipe', which was in essence a wormhole...the chunk was launched at the Huntarian fleet...

As Nomura and the UC forces assaulted the Golans, word came that De Bruyn had declared Nomura an outlaw for his intervention in the Tenetian Campaign. THough duly authorized by MacIntyre, it seemed that the vagaries of Colonial politics had decided to compromise Nomura's choices in the matter. Being a career naval officer and a soldier of considerable skill and incredible self-opinion, Nomura was displeased.

"What am I, a Tijuana goat? Fuck." Nomura then looked at the console and resisted the urge to punch the console. Besides, with Gracie watching, it wasn't wise.

Emory could be heard speaking to Nomura on the comms, asking, "Sir, requesting to withdraw from the field. Situation is dangerous."

Nomura muttered bitterly, "We go on. Fucking farmboy won't stop me from winning this one. No. Cockblock me, will you!?"

Emory then angrily said, "Sir! This is not a joke. De Bruyn has declared you a rogue, a man marked for a fraking court-marshal. You shouldn't even be here!"

Nomura shot back with a simple, "Au contraire, this is a joke--and I've the punchline," as he ordered the Dornalians to move on. "Commander, you will get all Colonials back from my people; you don't wanna be associated with a guy like me who will get things done, fuck off." Cutting the comms, he then executed the transfer.

Emory, meanwhile, muttered at the astonishingly rude conduct of her boss. She then muttered, "XO, take us to Tantis. Get us the frak away from that madman ASAP. And ground all fighter and Raptor crews. I don't want any of them getting ideas."

Meanwhile, at Tenetia.

His fingers caressed the Key. The mad Imperial Commander, Trashaln was ready to turn Tenetia into a volcanic wasteland. The mantle bomb wouldn't do what the Death Star could. Few weapons could. But it would make Mustafar look like a tropical paradise. Either way, the planet would never fall into Rebel hands...

And then the Golans were blown apart not only by the rebels, but the Tenetians as well! Traitors! Traitors all! He should blow this planet to kingdom come!

Well...maybe not just yet. The solar anomaly, according to his sensors, will reach Tenetia in another minute and would disrupt hyperspace travel at best. If, as he suspected, the Godulans have used their strange mojo on the star, the entire fleet, Imperial and Rebel, are stuck for Palpatine knows how long. With that in mind...Trashaln sprouted a cold smile. Let the Rebels have their battle. If they somehow manage to reach this bunker...then I'll kill the planet and deny them the victory they want.

He breathed in and out, appearing to calm down and took the key out. "Inform Bradley of nothing, but send a tightbeam message to Khal. Order him to execute the Tenetian Admiral and to retarget the rebel fleet! Task all remaining Golans to engage every force in the system. As for those on the ground...wait a minute..." He had a thought. There was one possible Jedi that he knew of who would be willing to gamble everything on taking down Nightshade. "Masaki! Masaki is on this planet! Find him! Kill him! I don't care what you have to do! Send the Legion! Use the TIEs! Just kill him and string him up on a lamppost as an example to all who try to take our planet!"

=====

With a simple muttering of "Yes!" and a fist pump, the Fangirl walked up to the truck, smashed open the door's window, opened said door, and in several minutes got the auto roaring to life. Driving it with great aplomb and zealousness, she executed a j-turn and parked next to Danny and the others, saying, "Let's go!"

Adrian and the others immediately piled on, as he Forcemessaged the other Dornalian teams.

"All units, converge on me. We have a situation."

Thusly, they arrived, not being too far from them, and got on. Fortunately, the Fangirl had the foresight to get a truck large enough for everyone.
Five...four...three...two...one....no explosion. No continent-sized eruption or planetwide quake that would be caused by a bomb in the mantle. I sighed in relief, but now was not the time to look at a gift tautaun in the mouth. "Looks like the commander blinked. Let's hurry and take down that power plant!"

The truck rumbled onwards towards the power plant and crashed through the fence, scattering the guards. "Go! Go! Go!"

We piled out of the truck and then began invading the power planet with quickness and efficiency, taking out all the guards with laser fire or telekinesis and heading for the control center. The frightened techies dived all over the place when we barged in like...well, I suppose madmen (and women).

"You, techie! Shut down the power plant!" I ordered to a techie that looked like he was in charge, pointing my lightsaber at him. "And no tricks!"

"O-of course, Jedi!" The techie began typing in his access codes and the hum of the power plant began to dwindle as the place began shutting down.

"Thank you, and to make sure it doesn't come back...Set charges to blow in five minutes!" I ordered the others as I began skewering the computer with my lightsaber...

Meanwhile, at Tenetia.

His fingers caressed the Key. The mad Imperial Commander, Trashaln was ready to turn Tenetia into a volcanic wasteland. The mantle bomb wouldn't do what the Death Star could. Few weapons could. But it would make Mustafar look like a tropical paradise. Either way, the planet would never fall into Rebel hands...

And then the Golans were blown apart not only by the rebels, but the Tenetians as well! Traitors! Traitors all! He should blow this planet to kingdom come!

Well...maybe not just yet. The solar anomaly, according to his sensors, will reach Tenetia in another minute and would disrupt hyperspace travel at best. If, as he suspected, the Godulans have used their strange mojo on the star, the entire fleet, Imperial and Rebel, are stuck for Palpatine knows how long. With that in mind...Trashaln sprouted a cold smile. Let the Rebels have their battle. If they somehow manage to reach this bunker...then I'll kill the planet and deny them the victory they want.

He breathed in and out, appearing to calm down and took the key out. "Inform Bradley of nothing, but send a tightbeam message to Khal. Order him to execute the Tenetian Admiral and to retarget the rebel fleet! Task all remaining Golans to engage every force in the system. As for those on the ground...wait a minute..." He had a thought. There was one possible Jedi that he knew of who would be willing to gamble everything on taking down Nightshade. "Masaki! Masaki is on this planet! Find him! Kill him! I don't care what you have to do! Send the Legion! Use the TIEs! Just kill him and string him up on a lamppost as an example to all who try to take our planet!"

"Admiral, message from Admiral Trashaln. You are hereby ordered to Execute Admiral Bradley of the Tenetian Fleet for High Treason."

Khal nodded, "Tenetian Fleet, due to the change of your command I hereby order your fleet to not launch any shuttles. Admiral Bradley has been charged with High Treason for betraying the Galactic Empire and has been ordered to be arrested. ANY shuttle which is launched will be tractor beamed in and it's crew will be temporarily held in our Brig. Also, you are hereby ordered to end your barrage on the Golan Stations and re-target your weapons at the enemy vessels. End Transmission."

"Sir, with Admiral Bradley still in the Tenetian Fleet he could technically give his command codes to override your command status..."

Khal was already at a security station, encrypting a new command code, "already on it Comm. Computer, this is Fleet Admiral Khal, change Tenetian Command Codes. New Command Codes: Alpha, Zulu, Six, Zero, Beta, Charley."

"Command Codes verified."

Khal leaned backwards, satisfied that Bradley would now have limited legitimacy to override his command. Then, there was the Dornalians to worry about now... The Admiral walked over to the map screen of the battle, where he selected the Empire's Fleet, and pressed a finger on the enemy Dornalian ships. "Fleet, begin a Transphasic Bombardment on the enemy Dornalian ships."

Khal leaned backwards, satisfied that Bradley would now have limited legitimacy to override his command. Then, there was the Dornalians to worry about now... The Admiral walked over to the map screen of the battle, where he selected the Empire's Fleet, and pressed a finger on the enemy Dornalian ships. "Fleet, begin a Transphasic Bombardment on the enemy Dornalian ships."

As the battle raged on, Yue began to observe the Huntarian Empire's fleet from the command deck. She found it odd that they were just sitting there, doing nothing as the Galactic Empire tried to lay waste to their own planet. While the Coredians had called their bluff about destroying the planet, wouldn't they still help, considering how dishonorable the Galactic Empire was acting? No, she knew something wasn't right. Her gut was flipping like crazy, and that usually meant something was wrong.

"Redirect four stars of Saber frigates to escort status, and inform the rest of the Command Star to follow us!"

"Aff, lead!" The comm officer got right to it as Yue then pointed to the helm.

"Turn the ship towards the Huntarian Imperial Fleet and set course to their position," she yelled, and then turned to the tactical station without waiting for a response. "Redirect all fire at the Huntarian Imperial fleet. Focus primarily on their larger capital ships, and see if you can't obtain a visual confirmation of their flagship! I want that ship boarded last month!"

As Yue's orders were conveyed to the fleet, the twenty five warships, five Davion-class Tactical Cruisers and twenty Saber-class Strike Frigates, turned their attention towards the Huntarian Empire's present fleet. First order of business? A full barrage of all available weapons that could be directed at their intended targets as they advanced towards the enemy, with the tactical cruisers at the forefront of the assault.

So it has come to this... Admiral Bradley thought quietly as the bridge crew looked at him to see what he would do after Admiral Khal's message came through. "What are the surviving Golans doing?"

"Uh...sir, they're retargeting the rebels. It seems you've had an effect on the Imperial Commander."

"Then it is done. Captain Russell Tringham!" Admiral Bradley barked to his younger subordinate, his protegé.

"Sir!" The fair-haired younger captain stood at attention.

"This is my final order to you. You are now acting Admiral of the Tenetian Fleet. Follow Admiral Khal's orders, but after this battle, I will charge you with the fleet's protection at all costs. The lives of the men and women under your command are now in your hands." Bradley placed a hand in the pocket of his uniform jacket, idly caressing a vial of poison. "Report to the Huntarians that you have executed me and that my body has been spaced."

"Sir?" Captain...or shall we say Admiral Tringham asked.

"The Empire wants me executed for treason." Admiral Bradley smiled thinly. "We'll give it to them."

"But...sir...without you..." Tringham sputtered.

"Aye, without me, you can go on." Admiral Bradley admonished without really admonishing. "There is a letter sealed in my stateroom for your eyes only. Read it after this battle and then destroy it."

"Yes sir." Tringham nodded.

"Inform Admiral Pellaeon of my apologies that I could not maintain the truce long enough." Bradley said as he took out the vial of poison to the bridge crew's horror. Ignoring them, he only stared out at the planet, his home. "Should Pellaeon take you prisoner, you'll be treated fairly as fellow Coredians. Don't trust anyone else. I believe that's everything I have for you. Send my body out into space."

"Sir...please..."

"A toast to Tenetia." Admiral Bradley raised his vial to the planet, and then drank the vial's contents. It was like ice running down his throat and almost immediately, the effects took place. He collapsed as his body began shutting down and his vital organs slowed to a deathlike state. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed and the poison took effect was the new admiral's anguished face. Good luck...

"Goodbye, Admiral..." Tringham whispered. "Send his body out the nearest airlock. Send the messages."

Troopers took his body to the airlock behind the bridge and with a short and solemn ceremony, they flushed his body out in an airtight coffin.

"Admiral Khal, this is Captain...or perhaps acting Admiral Tringham. Admiral Bradley has been executed. We will retarget the Rebels."

"Admiral Pellaeon, Bradley's dead. I, Admiral Tringham am in charge now. He...and...I ask forgiveness for what I must do."

Admiral Pellaeon grimaced at the loss of his old friend. "Admiral. You don't need to do this."

"The Huntarians will kill us all if we don't. Grant us this final fight."

"Sir, the Tenetians are retargeting the fleet!"

Pellaeon growled. "Very well! Where are the Colonials?"

"Um...they're gone, sir. Some kind of flap with Nomura."

"Ah. I see. Very well." Good. A perfect opportunity to execute the plan. Admiral Pellaeon thought. "Execute Operation Plague! All forces, advance on the Tenetians and Huntarians!"

=====

Battlestar Coredia

"Execute Operation Plague."

"That's our cue!" Wing Commander Sheridan Flint of Rogue Squadron said to all forces under his command. While other fighters were thrown out into the battle, the Rogues were held in reserve for just this moment. "All Rogues, launch! Protect the transports!"

Travis was in charge of one of the heavily armed Raptors. "Right! Let's go, everyone!"

Immediately, their engines roared and the twelve fighters launched into space, the Cylon Heavy Raiders, newly-built Coredian Raptors and more ordinary Marine Assault Shuttles launching after them. Now was the time to execute the plan to take out a World Devastator!

"Well, looks like it's time to get in the fray." Captain Holland, commander of the Coredia, said. "Gidget! Can you see the nearest World Devastator?"

"Um...yes sir! There's one in the ring field, protected by a couple of Star Destroyers!"

"Right! Direct the task force to take out the Star Destroyers. Kengo, ready the Yamato Cannons! Weapons free!"

"Wilco! Charging..."

Immediately, the forces were set upon by a ton of TIEs, causing one hell of a furball to form as the Battlestar Coredia advanced on the World Devastator. The Devastator fired its massive turbolasers at the enemy, and it registered hits, each one pounding the Coredia with nasty blows. But the Coredia was built to last, and retaliated with a full salvo that was barely felt by the Devastator. Meanwhile, the Star Destroyers were outnumbered, but they gave as good as they got, downing several escort frigates with their heavy turbolasers. It would be a long slog for the Battlestar Coredia Task Force!

"Damage report! Section 37 reporting a hull breach!" Chief reported. "Section 51 reporting fire!"

"Tis but a flesh wound!" The Captain replied, grinning madly. "Seal the breach! Cool the fire!"

"On it!"

"Yamatos charged!"

"Captain, Devastator's turning its ventral side to us!"

"The tractor beams! Well, we can't let that thing suck us in like so much dust! Kengo! Fire!"

A yellow-orange glow erupted on the bow of the Coredia as the Yamato Cannons prepared to fire. In one sudden instant, twin beams of massive space-warping energy was released and blasted the World Devastator. Its shields went from orange to red and collapsed within an astonishingly long five seconds and then the beams broke through, making a large hole in the hull that burned through to the other side and continued on to smack into the planetary shield to little result. Then the beam of energy flickered away.

"Hah! Got it!" Holland crowed.

"I'd say calling a victory is a bit premature! The Devastator's beginning to regenerate!" Gidget shouted.

"What? You've got to be kidding me!" Holland was incredulous.

Indeed, the World Devastator's holes were beginning to close, to the amusement of the crew in the control room. Though it lost its shields and was forced to shut down the tractor beams, the matter it gained from the rocks it ate was now being used to regenerate itself. Soon, its shields will also regenerate.

"Tell the transports to hurry into that hole, now! We'll cover them!"

"Will do!"

=====

As the Battlestar turned its broadsides onto the enemy, the transports were not idle. They advanced quickly, avoiding the huge Yamato beams while it sundered the WD and then heard the order to get to that hole as fast as they could. Travis and company gunned it, accelerating through the firefights. Unfortunately, one Marine transport was killed in the process by enemy fighters, causing the others to curse. The other transports were damaged in various ways, but luckily, they flew through the hurricane that resulted from the holes and then landed before the holes closed themselves.

"We're in!" Travis said to the others. "Time to head to the control room!"

The Battle for the World Devastator has begun!

"Thank you, and to make sure it doesn't come back...Set charges to blow in five minutes!" I ordered the others as I began skewering the computer with my lightsaber...

Adrian nodded and said, "Will do." Signaling to his team and the other Dornalians to begin operations, the Qiangquan began offering overwatch support. They could be seen taking cover, leveling their otherwise antique (if modified) Type 56 AK47s as they scanned for interlopers. Meanwhile, they watched over the other Dornalians plant the bombs, setting them on a five minute fuse. They were only the finest high explosive charges available--short of a miniature atomic bomb, these things would rock the house on command.

Khal leaned backwards, satisfied that Bradley would now have limited legitimacy to override his command. Then, there was the Dornalians to worry about now... The Admiral walked over to the map screen of the battle, where he selected the Empire's Fleet, and pressed a finger on the enemy Dornalian ships. "Fleet, begin a Transphasic Bombardment on the enemy Dornalian ships."

Gracie's reply was to squawk, "Enemy ordinance inbound! Transphasic ammunition!"

"Reply with flak and Earth Dragon shots," was his reply, which sent waves of Gauss fire, Double Vision missiles, as well as exploding canister shot with timed fuses into the ranks of the incoming transphasics. Some would make it through and hurt, but otherwise, the Dornalians would get creative.

Nomura then said simply, "Charge the damn D3G. Arizona, Andalusia, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Sichuan, Salta, Shandong, Transvaal, Nagasaki Prefecture, Hesse, Guangzhou, focus on the Golans and rearrange yourselves in a Combat Box to maximize flak effectiveness. Rest of you heavies, and Drone Controllers and carriers and fighter Screens, tie those fucking Huntarians down."

As Nomura's vessel and ten of his heavies redoubled their efforts to fire antimatter torpedoes and energy weapons on the Golans, the Huntarians would suddenly find themselves swarmed rather suddenly by a mass of Drone Ships, plus their heavier cousins and their fighter escorts. Volleys of Demolisher Gun fire and torpedo shots of all sorts--conventional, ion, transphasic, antimatter and the odd singularity shot--flew at the Huntarian Towerless ISDs and the command ships from the Dornalian heavies; meanwhile, the Drone Controllers and the other ships moved to initiate a tactical-level Deep Operations move, whereupon the Huntarian lighter vessels would find themselves swamped with a number of Drone Vessels on all sides, along with their Drone Controllers and fighter escorts--and all were firing just as furiously as their heavier sisters.

--------

OOC: With CW's blessing--

IC:

The airtight coffin Bradley was launched out in was soon picked up by the most unlikely and unwanted persons. A Komsomol fighter making attack runs on the Golans before being shunted to the Huntarians had detected the object moving in quickly past them as it flew into the ether, and someone decided to use a tractor beam to get the corpse. For whatever reason the corpse was acquired, it was quickly brought into the docking bay, and spirited into Graves Registration--a morgue by any other name.

The coffin quickly scanned for explosives or other harmful things--digital or not--it became apparent that what was inside matched the corpse of none other than the corpse of Nomura's old adversary--Bradley. The Autopsy team immediately opened the coffin as delicately as possible, and proceeded to perform an autopsy. Even with the battle, it was paramount to know how the late Admiral came to end up this way....

Upon hearing the news, Nomura muttered, "I didn't even get to kill that motherfucker myself. Pussy." He then spat on the ground and continued the fight.

OOC: Got CW's blessing for some of the potentially 'questionable' bits...

The Siege Platform's gargantuan arc guns spoke their argument once, twice, again and again, massive pulses of disintegration energy thrashing into the shields with reckless abandon. Wispy tendrils of raw power flickered and danced between the behemoth and its prey as it launched salvo after salvo into the shimmering shield beneath it, lashing out at any vessel that made the mistake of getting too near. To some, the firepower seemed almost disturbingly strong. Each gargantuan salvo came down upon the shields at approximately one eighth of the firepower that an eclipse super star destroyer could muster with its superlaser. It was a very precise amount, truth be told, and the Godulans did not even bother trying to hide their own sensor signatures with any form of jamming. It sent forth this onslaught without worry of reprisal, its own tachyon bombardment having rendered the planetary batteries into smoldering wrecks one by one.

On the other sides of the planet, the Golan platforms began to collapse under the combined fury of Mourning Glory and the joint bombardments of multiple fleets all at once. Very few things could withstand such a combined assault, and a Golan V Defense Platformwas, while close, was not among that very few. Structural integrity failed with almost clockwork precision as the Golans' own internal processes became their enemy, first overloading their own shields and then rippling with the catastrophic chain reaction the resultant detonations created. Any civilians trying to 'protect' the stricken platforms could have easily seen the cascade failure coming, and those that opted to remain and be consumed by their charge's own death throes elicited a sad glance from Fleetlord Talisid and from the Godulan Legion as a whole. The deaths were unavoidable, but the fault lay solely on those who carried the refugees into such danger. The pilots and captains of those civilian vessels were the murderers and betrayers, not the Godulans. They would pay for their transgressions, in this life or what awaited them at their end of time. Sojun had ill patience for those who endangered others to achieve their own ends.

The Godulan vessels paused, one and all for but a moment, to turn their gaze upon the planet below. To them, the cities and towns seemed as much a network of power relays and conduits, all shining like gossamer threads over the surface of the planet, brightening in intensity as they approached a major draw of power. It was these hubs that the Godulans turned their attentions to now. All power signatures that had increased in magnitude as the Godulans had begun their assault on the shield. Those that had increased their power draw in a manner proportionate to the damage being dealt to the shield itself were targeted by all four vessels on every side of the globe. As one, they opened fire, launching volleys of Tachyon Torpedos at the tell-tale signatures that would indicate the shield generators, as well as any planetary batteries that had yet to be silenced. The Siege platform's main guns fell silent, and its shields jumped in strength, as it sent its own flurry of Tachyon torpedos out to terminate the devices that powered the planetary shield in one swift coordinated strike.

But while they focused their attentions on the planet, they did not take their eyes off of the Huntarian fleet as several fleets moved out to involve the Huntarian Imperials in the scuffle. Any chance the Godulans had to analyze enemy weapons without themselves being targeted was considered something of a golden opportunity... to say nothing of taking their time devising targeting solutions for when they would actually call upon the Long Arm of the Law...

Timing would be everything...