NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: This is for Asfaltum and me only. If you feel the urge to comment, do so here: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=575073

IC:

"A wise man once said, if Nothing ever changes, then Nothing ever changes. What do you think he meant by that, Zealot?" A green alien woman asked, looking directly at the Zealot in question.

She definatly looked alien, having the aforementioned green skin, a white insectoid Carapace, and long Worm-like extensions coming out of her back, like wings, and smaller variations coming out of her head, like hair. Her eyes were green too.

The entity to which the question was posed merely blinked at her, it's long multi-colored body scarred with the runes of Chaos and it's gods. It was called a Zealot, for it's race was capable of Channeling the powers of The Warp.

"I think that he was referring to the glory of the power of Chaos, and the gift of Evolution and Mutation?" It asked, not sure what the Queen of The Eternal Swarm wanted it to think. She had a habit of keeping her thoughts to herself, and not sharing them with the swarm. She also blocked the swarm out of her mind most of the time.

The aforementioned Queen merely raised an eyebrow at her servant, then turned back to her previous position, which was simply laying on her Throne. It was constructed of Carapace, a part of the Hive, and as such was endowed with muscles to alter it's shape for her pleasure, any pleasure she could so conceive of, any pleasure. Currently it was stretched wide into a Divan, and it was upon that the Queen stretched herself out to laze about in.

The wall behind her was squirming, twisting itself into something new for her pleasure. All the other walls were covered in eyes, all of them looking about every which way, some of them trained upon her. With her mind, she connected to the Overmind, and through that, saw what the hive saw, all throughout everywhere the hive she ruled was established. Currently, she was focused on the few dozen or so eyes trained in her, admiring her own form, she rolled over and admired her backside, her head turned back to the Zealot coiled up at the base of the stairs.

"What it means is, if you never decide to change, and make that change happen within you, then you will never change. Was it really that hard to simply drive away the forces of the Ecksites, and give a chance for peace talks?" the queen asked, referring to the hive as a whole.

"They attacked us first, without provocation. We were merely exploring space. They asked for it, trying to enslave us for their own ends, we had to wipe them out, before they did the same to us." the zealot said a bit defensively.

Their conversation was in reference to a battle that took place a few weeks earlier on the planet they now occupied. A nation calling itself Ecks found the swarm near their world while it was looking for somewhere suitable to expand to. Like others in the past, they assumed the swarm to be unintelligent, unlike others they tried to enslave the swarm, and so attacked.

In retaliation, the swarm descended upon the world En masse and removed the nation of Ecks almost completely from existence. A lone fighter limped out on a single failing engine, and half a wing. It was clear he'd probably never survive, so he was left to his fate.

"I mean, really, what if they know someone more powerful than the average idiot? what if that someone actually cared about their existence, and decides they want revenge? What if the lone escapee was picked up by that someone? We can't go back to Zerus, that's occupied by Dangaloth's brood. We can't go to Zasz's world, that's shared with people. We need to be able to keep this world. Just, get out. I wish to be alone for awhile." the Queen said.

The snake obediently slithered out, glad to be out of there. the doors closed behind it, and the Queen gripped her Carapace, and wiggled herself free of it, the shell left an oily like substance on her now completely bare body as she laid it off to the side. She turned all the eyes in the room towards her now completely uncovered body, admiring it fully for a moment, before ordering the doors to seal shut, and the eyes to close as she laid back down on the Divan. She was glad it could change it's shape for any pleasure she could conceive of, it was so very lonely not having a boyfriend.

Out in space...

The devourers drifted along in silence around the world. They half expected someone to come along and retaliate on behalf of Ecks any day now, but they didn't know today would be that day.

Undisclosed location:

The headquarters (http://www.martiniere.com/images/galleryimages/housenight.jpg) of the Technoton Clerics was a massive building slightly reminiscent of a cathedral, that was securely hidden amidst a lush forest-world, located in one of the two unobtrusive backwater systems which constituted the holdings of the Rogue Legion in this galaxy. Currently, the large windows were being bombarded by one of the heavy downpours which were so characteristic of the planet's general climate, but not even this could dampen the spirits of the figure that was quite blissfully scampering through the large hallway and soaring up the staircase (http://www.fengzhudesign.com/envr/env_feng_image09.JPG) three stairs at a time, the echoes of his steps bouncing off the walls and dancing around each other in inconsequential bursts, seemingly having a life of their own.

The figure was that of Terrentius Grove, also known as "Terrence", one of the five Technoton Omnimasters, who just so happened to be a Satyr. His features were mostly human, except maybe for his brownish furr, the lion-like tail, the hoves with which he walked, and of course the slightly catlike face with the two curved horns. Due to the furr, he did not require much of the clothing humans normally wore, although he still appreciated the niceties of body-armour, which was why he usually, like now, could be seen wearing a dark green suit of armour with various golden embelishments and ancient-looking runes, which while being quite robust did not in any way represent a hindrance to his impressive agility. Some might have thought of him as looking quite cute, but then they had probably never seen a Technoton Cleric in battle, unleashing the combat skills which could only be described as poetry in motion (although the bloody carnage which he left behind on the battlefield was decidedly less inspiring, one may add...)

Presently, Terrence entered a conference room. Walking up to the round table located in the middle of it, he greeted the figures gathered around. One of the figures was an ASguard general who commanded the ASguard (http://nanopedia.case.edu/image/I.Robot.jpg) (Artificial Sentient) legions that served under the Rogue Legion. Then there was a human military official who commanded the armoured mecha divisions, and next to him sat an enormous rock-like giant, a Golem Elemental. His blue glowing eyes revealed the immense energy which was contained within him, and were a hint of his destructive ability to channel the powers of the Nether. Last but not least there was the twin-headed dragon, one of it's heads idly watching the culinary massacre, as the other head managed to corner the refreshments section of the large table. All in all, there was a representative from every minority race within Asfaltum that served in the Rogue Legion, plus the two human and ASguard officials.

"Well gentlemen," Terrence said, adressing all who were present, "you have been briefed as to what needs to be done, and how I intend to go about doing it. Any questions so far?" - "Yes, one." said the Golem in his thick voice. "I realize that sending in the entire fleet of 500 ships might be somewhat "overkill" so to speak, but at least one whole battlegroup should be sent in. 109 ships seem quite adequate to me, if we want to overpower and finish them off nice and easy... I mean, four ships? Two Dreadnoughts to take out the fleet, and two carriers to land the troops? Even if we are going to blow the whole systems to smithereens with the Starcrusher once we capture the leader, it does seem a bit... risky." he concluded quite tactfully. Terrence simply gave him a sly grin. "Actually, I was going to explain that. Any other questions?" - "Well, maybe some background information?" the ASguard general quickly replied, so that Terrence was forced to hold back a chuckle. The ASguards really had a liking for background information when it came to analyzing their next victim.

"Ah, yes. Well, first things first." Terrence said. "The Ecksites, we encountered them a while back. We deemed them as being a race quite new to space travel; militarily speaking their main weaponry consisted of low-yield lasers and plasma weaponry, their ships lacked any advanced shielding, and their propulsion methods were rather basic. Also, they were quite isolationist. A rather dictatorial political party ruled the entire planet, which made them quite aggressive towards any outsiders who might introduce more liberal ideas. They threatened our envoys with destruction and other obscene things, so we decided to let them be for the moment, and let the council decide what was to be done. So far, so good."

"We also placed a hidden sensor drone near their planet, in order to keep an eye on developments." Terrence continued, activating the holographic display in the middle of the conference table and pointing at the 3d hologram of the Ecksian planet. "As you can see, their fleet suddenly started mobilizing, and promptly left the system en masse. Then, one day later, these guys show up." The hologram now displayed images of the swarm fleet wreaking havoc among the outnumbered defenders, slowly bringing the planet into their firm grip. "As far as we can tell, there was only one survivor..." the image switched to an apparently quite confused Ecksian pilot in an interrogation room. He had white skin, long neck and ears, and continously blabbered at the interviewer in a language consisting of guttural sounds.

"As far as we can tell, it might very well have been the Ecksians who started the hostilities. However, what is more important, is the fact that this race, this "swarm" of sorts, seems to be part of what are commonly referred to as the followers of the Chaos sect. We have slipped hidden drones into the system and unto the planet, scanning and observing the enemy. They have several things in common with the forces of Chronosia, which presents us with two possibilities; either they are an independent race that indulges in the same doctrine as our friends from the Galactic Empire, or they are more closely connected to them, maybe in an experimental weapon sort of way... either way, we have not been able to detect any Ecksian survivors, and thus it is apparent that they have committed genocide. Wether it be in time of war or peace is not the issue. They have actively sought to harm civilians.

"Our spy drones have scanned and observed several classes of these beings, and I have put together all the available information on this datapad, in order that our ground troops know exactly which parts of the enemy physionomy to target, thus maximizing the damage inflicted when fighting them on the battlefield." Terrence said, handing the ASguard a datapad which the General accepted with a nod and a satisfied smile. "Also, to answer your previous question regarding the number of ships, I am more than confident that my suggested plan will suffice to obliterate their space forces and give us the upper hand for the time frame required. We cannot afford to stretch ourselves too thin, as the Empire may soon go to war against the Republic and we might be called upon to aid our allies. I will lead this operation myself, and I will personally lead the groundtroops into the large fortress where our sensor drones indicate the brain behind this atrocity is located. We will capture the leader and destroy the system. Our forces are specialized in doing battle against outnumbered odds, while the Swarm itself utilizes overpowering tactics. We will strike fear into their hearts by showing a display of the opposite tactics, unleashing a limited amount of forces that will send a message hard to misunderstand; quality wins over numbers... Now, let us plan the more detailed aspects of our assault..."


6 hours later, near the Swarm-occupied planet

Space temporarily twisted itself into a wormhole, a small fighter-craft exiting the hole before it closed in upon itself. The fighter must have been eerily familiar to the Devourers in space, as it was the exact same fighter which had escaped the system with only half a wing and a failing engine. Now, however, it seemed to be completely restored to it's original condition, flawless and immaculate. It had popped into existence not too close to the planet, giving the Devourers plenty of time to scan and observe it, before it came within firing range on it's unflinching course that brought it straight towards the planet. No life-signs could be picked up from the cockpit, as the fighter seemingly guided itself towards the planet, it's rear exhaust tubes spreading an orange glow behind it. It was an omen, an ominous sign of the vengeance that was going to be brought upon the Swarm. It was also a psychological factor intended to increase the suspense and spread fear and uncertainty; no enemy would in fact willingly let their presence be known to the swarm, unless they were 100% sure of the imminent doom they were about to unleash upon their foes. So, the devourers would have to look at the empty space around them, and wonder, who or what lay out there, observing them, toying with them. They were, or they were about to become, the victims of a Satyr trickster, a chuckling shadow, a spectre who would attack without warning...

Yet, the single solitary flaw in their plan, was assuming the swarm thought in such ways. Truth of the matter was, the swarm did not care. The fighter was left alone, almost blatantly so, simply because the swarm did not feel threatened by it.

So it was that the swarm continued to drift about, watching but not watching, waiting but not waiting, simply existing, waiting for some command from The Overmind to spur them on in their next direction.

The only thing of interest was that when the last refugee from their attack tried to enter the planet, the devourers would shoot it down, and then continue on about their normal drifting like nothing ever happened.


An interesting non-swarm event happened though, a massive civilian space station, large enough to house a small empire, drifted into the system. It stopped near the planet itself, observing the swarm.

The station was well known, it belonged to the Inter-Galactic Science Consortium, a very well respected body known for it's high quality research into peaceful projects. The Devourers noticed the station, flew over to it, nudged it fondly like a dog might greet it's master, and then went back to the planet.

OOC: Don't worry about the station, they'll gladly get out of the way for a chance to see the swarm in action. Also, you can get all the information available on the swarm through them. They have the best information available, and hand it out freely. It lets you know everything in my factbook, and yes, there is a Guardian in the hive.

The IGSC appears in every thread I'm in. Your well advised to NOT attack them.

The only thing of interest was that when the last refugee from their attack tried to enter the planet, the devourers would shoot it down, and then continue on about their normal drifting like nothing ever happened.

The other thing of interest, was when the fire from the devourers harmlessly passed through the mysterious fighter-craft, as if it were a ghost. The craft did respond however, by stopping dead in it's tracks and not moving. Would the devourers come closer, to investigate the mystery, or would they continue firing? And how would the space station react?

The other thing of interest, was when the fire from the devourers harmlessly passed through the mysterious fighter-craft, as if it were a ghost. The craft did respond however, by stopping dead in it's tracks and not moving. Would the devourers come closer, to investigate the mystery, or would they continue firing? And how would the space station react?

The station just sat there observing, and running my scans in a minute on so many levels analyzing so many different things, that not even a military craft could keep up, but they didn't share the results of their scans with anyone, except everyone on board, information which was promptly broken down, passed around, discussed, theorized on, and rebuilt into reports that were sent to other departments for further uses. The swarm decided the craft was harmless and continued drifting about the planet.

It'd take something far more interesting to get a reaction out of either the station or the swarm.

OOC: I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just how the swarm is. The station simply observes, unless it feels threatened, then it shields itself in an undetectability field.

Uplifted into Netherspace, the small taskforce consisting of few but enormous ships coldly observed all that took place in the system, undetectable to even the advanced station, and beyond the grasp of the swarm, they remained hidden. Standing on the bridge of his Dreadnought, Terrentius Grove sighed to himself. They had utilized the undetectable Nether scans to try and find out what this new arrival actually was. It appeared to be an advanced observation outpost, as well as a scientific laboratory ship of sorts, along with some potential for advanced weaponry. "So..." Terrence thought out loud, "are these just innocent observers, or are they the owners/creators of this murderous brood?" - "Sir, our database has matched the station to what is called "the Inter-Galactic Science Consortium"..." - "Ah yes... peaceful scientists no doubt... who just happen to show up at the site of a recent genocide... makes one wonder doesn't it? Science without ethics can be a most dangerous development, this is the perfect example. Plus, we do not know what they have in mind... possibly they want to harvest this life-form for weapons research? Neutral and innocent civilian scientists, the perfect cover-up... and yet they make themselves guilty of genocide through their refusal to deal with a threat which I'm quite sure they have been monitoring for some time... I'll have a chat with these white-gloved villains of science... there is no way I'm going to enter a battle with an unreliable observer who is analyzing our forces and tactics, and who may very well sell this information on to our enemies... for scientific funding, heh..."

Terrence chuckled a cold Satyr chuckle, as he sat down in the command seat that was surrounded by a strange orb-like contraption, similar to those that surrounded the other seats on the bridge, uplinking his entity with the entire ship. He closed his eyes, and extended his psionic entity, projecting himself unto the station, to the place where hidden sensor sweeps had indicated that the main technical functions of the station centered themselves, the command center. He would remain unseen, only detectable as a smooth untraceable voice in the head of those located in that particular room.

Greetings my friends. I would like to make you aware of a few simple facts. The race that has occupied the planet below, has committed genocide, and will be exterminated for their actions, in order to vanquish this threat from the galaxy. I cannot be held responsible for any harm befalling you in the battle that is about to ensue, should you decide not to comply with our directions. Our directions are simple: Leave this system. This is our one and only request, which we will most thoroughly enforce. This entire system is scheduled for destruction. You have five minutes. Any questions?

"Greetings, I am Dr. Yamato Nasagori, chief researcher on The Eternal Swarm. Perhaps you would like the complete data file on the swarm. We've almost hit upon a way to eradicate them from existence forever, but the bastards keep evolving. However, if you feel up to the task of removing them from the burden of living, more power to you, we just ask that you go in fully armed with knowledge, and not the inconsistencies of satellite viewing. If not, then we'll be on our merry way. I've been studying them since they first arrived in the Milky Way from wherever it is they came from, and one thing is perfectly clear. The old saying that what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, is a complete truth with them. If you fail to utterly eradicate the swarm, both the one here, and the mother brood in the Zerus system, then the swarm WILL become more powerful than they are now, and they WILL turn on you, barring some unforeseen occurrence, like striking a bargain with the legendary Overmind I've often heard of, but never confirmed the existence of." The station responded.

Meanwhile, the swarm just drifted there.

Secret IC:

Irene sat in her throne room, all eyes trained upon her. She cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"Rally the surface troops, we're expecting some guests shortly after the Devourers finish properly welcoming them once our guests knock on the door. We mustn't leave guests without proper entertainment." she said to the walls, knowing she only needed to will the act and it would happen.

OOC: You still get the first shot, but you'll have to ask her once you find her how your surprise got spoiled. You can probably guess oocly just from reading my post. However, no communications channels were opened...

"Greetings, I am Dr. Yamato Nasagori, chief researcher on The Eternal Swarm. Perhaps you would like the complete data file on the swarm. We've almost hit upon a way to eradicate them from existence forever, but the bastards keep evolving. However, if you feel up to the task of removing them from the burden of living, more power to you, we just ask that you go in fully armed with knowledge, and not the inconsistencies of satellite viewing. If not, then we'll be on our merry way. I've been studying them since they first arrived in the Milky Way from wherever it is they came from, and one thing is perfectly clear. The old saying that what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, is a complete truth with them. If you fail to utterly eradicate the swarm, both the one here, and the mother brood in the Zerus system, then the swarm WILL become more powerful than they are now, and they WILL turn on you, barring some unforeseen occurrence, like striking a bargain with the legendary Overmind I've often heard of, but never confirmed the existence of." The station responded.

How very interesting. If you wish, you can open one of your hangar bays, and I will send an envoy in a cloaked ship to have a look at the information you have collected. I'm in not too much of a hurry, and it shouldn't take long. After that is done, I must insist that you leave the system however, for your own security...

And so a Hanger bay swung open.

A techie stood there to greet the Envoy.

"Our sincerest apologies, but Dr. Yamato was caught in a tragic yet comical accident involving a banana peel and a fully operational Light Sabre. As soon as we've finished reconstituting his body and reviving him, I'm sure he'll be right along. Meanwhile, If you'll come with me to the Data Centre, we can get started with the info feeds." the techie said.

Dr. Yamato was waiting for them in the Data Centre though, and appeared to be the picture of health. He had long black hair, ponytailed behind him. His skin was off white, slightly yellow, but naturally so. His eyes were slanted, and black. He wore a white lab coat, with a light blue sweater underneath, with a pair of grey slacks, and black shiny shoes. All sorts of small objects were all over his lab coat in pockets. he wore a pair of thin glasses in which lights flickered, his own personal HUD.

"Find the irresponsible Jackass responsible for my accident and terminate their tenure with the Consortium." he snapped at the techie.

"I hate dying, it's always unpleasant, especially when voices begin whispering about how you owe them. Anyways, the swarm." Nasagori said. He looked at a screen and it flickered on, showing a Devourer.

"These are likely to be your first opponets, their not so tough they can't be beaten, but they like ganging up on their opponets in large numbers. They have two attacks, a weaponized energy blast comprised of The Warp, and a rare acid capable of eating through the vast majority of substances found in the universe. At least, it's eaten through all the common metals, plus a few rarer ones. They also have a shield. One alone isn't a threat, it's the fact that there's about two thousand of them out there that's a problem, even for you. See, the swarm assimilated a species called a Tribble. Tribbles breed at an astounding and theoretically impossible rate. What I'm saying is, every five minutes or so, once the swarm starts it's self replication, every five minutes or so, about another three hundred or so Devourers are going to come up from the planet. You can get into a fist fight with them all day, and not make any headway. I'm not a strategist, but I know a thing or two about fighting the swarm. If your going to disable the Devourers, and stop Taros from evolving, hell to disable 99% of the swarm, you need to destroy their Chaos Temple. It's the Hive on the world below that gives them their strength, but the Devourers, and the rest of the Swarm will block your shots all day in an effort to protect their below ground temple. No, you need to land a ground force, and occupy their ground forces, while some skilled person sneaks in with a powerful bomb of some sort, like a Nuke or something, and blow the Hive to smithereens. The best place to do that, is to find the Cerebrate's chambers in the hive.

The Cerebrate is the controlling force behind the swarm. Kill the Cerebrate, and throw the swarm into Chaos. Hell, they'll likely destroy themselves if you do that. The Cerebrate however, is just a large brain, it's defensless, which is why whoever goes has to be your best. The Cerebrates are protected by something called "The Swarmling Guardian." It's easy to defeat something that relies on Swarm tactics. Thus, even though I'm glossing over most of the swarm, I know you'll do okay. I mean, wear strong enough armor, and you'll be protected from Spitters and Khornates. Taros are only a nuisance if you have an air force or something.

But Guardians, their one creature armies. I know for a fact that a single Guardian went through an entire legion of Space Marines, and still had enough to go round and round with one of Phenixica's finest soldiers. Lord Harrison Solus, Order of the Burning sky, or so he named himself. Lord Harrison won, but at the cost of his arm.

A Guardian cannot be defined as anything less than the complete and total summation of the entire combined might of the Swarm's power." Dr. Nasagori said, pausing to catch his breath.

A Guardian was shown on screen, a thirteen foot tall monster hunched over to seven feet, with sharp claws, wings, and thick, very thick body armor.

Terrence, passing himself for the courier, now stood and listened to Dr. Yamato.

These are likely to be your first opponets, their not so tough they can't be beaten, but they like ganging up on their opponets in large numbers. They have two attacks, a weaponized energy blast comprised of The Warp, and a rare acid capable of eating through the vast majority of substances found in the universe. At least, it's eaten through all the common metals, plus a few rarer ones.
"Aha, interesting... I presume the acid is mainly a short range weapon?"

What I'm saying is, every five minutes or so, once the swarm starts it's self replication, every five minutes or so, about another three hundred or so Devourers are going to come up from the planet. You can get into a fist fight with them all day, and not make any headway. I'm not a strategist, but I know a thing or two about fighting the swarm. If your going to disable the Devourers, and stop Taros from evolving, hell to disable 99% of the swarm, you need to destroy their Chaos Temple. It's the Hive on the world below that gives them their strength, but the Devourers, and the rest of the Swarm will block your shots all day in an effort to protect their below ground temple. No, you need to land a ground force, and occupy their ground forces, while some skilled person sneaks in with a powerful bomb of some sort, like a Nuke or something, and blow the Hive to smithereens. The best place to do that, is to find the Cerebrate's chambers in the hive.
"Sounds like a reasonable plan, I know just the man for the job..." Terrence chuckled, thinking that this would indeed be an interesting experience to add to his Curriculum Vitae.

The Cerebrate is the controlling force behind the swarm. Kill the Cerebrate, and throw the swarm into Chaos. Hell, they'll likely destroy themselves if you do that. The Cerebrate however, is just a large brain, it's defensless, which is why whoever goes has to be your best. The Cerebrates are protected by something called "The Swarmling Guardian." It's easy to defeat something that relies on Swarm tactics. Thus, even though I'm glossing over most of the swarm, I know you'll do okay. I mean, wear strong enough armor, and you'll be protected from Spitters and Khornates. Taros are only a nuisance if you have an air force or something.

But Guardians, their one creature armies. I know for a fact that a single Guardian went through an entire legion of Space Marines, and still had enough to go round and round with one of Phenixica's finest soldiers. Lord Harrison Solus, Order of the Burning sky, or so he named himself. Lord Harrison won, but at the cost of his arm.

A Guardian cannot be defined as anything less than the complete and total summation of the entire combined might of the Swarm's power." Dr. Nasagori said, pausing to catch his breath.

A Guardian was shown on screen, a thirteen foot tall monster hunched over to seven feet, with sharp claws, wings, and thick, very thick body armor.
Looking at the picture, several weaknesses were already obvious to the Satyr. "Oh this IS going to be interesting... a legion of Space Marines, and a Phenixican Knight... let's see if I can beat that... Terrence thought to himself, then turning to Dr. Yamato, "Pardon for asking, but prior to me leaving the ship, our sensors indicated a sudden increase in activity of the groundbased Swarmlings... which mysteriously occurred directly after we contacted you... my captain wishes to know if you have any theory concerning what this could have been caused by... Terrence smiled at the Doctor, an unnervingly pleasent smile...

"I haven't the faintest clue, unless...." Dr. Yamato says, stopping to gesture at an assistant.

The assistant brings over a crown, sets it on the doctors head, and all at once the crown begins glowing.

"Well, this IS interesting. It seems that at some point during my research, the hive put a psychic tap on my mind, subtle enough to pass standard tests, yet powerful enough to do the job. It had to be Irene. That woman is scary. She was human once, but she was taken by the hive and mutated into one of them, an abomination against nature." Dr. Yamato said. He put a picture of Irene up. The pose she was in was her battle stance, her claws ready, and the tube wing formation had turned into sharp blades. Psionic energy cracked in the air about her. Dr. Yamato couldn't be blamed, as smart as he was, he was still just a normal, yet exceptionally smart, person. He had no defence against a predatory woman like Irene. Her white Carapace seemed to be all that she wore.

The image came to life, seemingly of it's own will.

"So you figured out my little joke. Consorting with Deer Boy over there won't help you remove it any. I told you how my Psychic Tap can be removed. Come on down, a night of pleasure in my bed won't hurt, much. As for you faun man, I'll be waiting for the pleasures of your company..." the hologram of Irene said. The presence of The Hive mind could be felt, and it was receding back to the planet.

"The thought of sleeping with that thing is very disturbing. Not because of how she looks mind you, but those claws. I'd prefer to remain in one piece." Nasagori commented, still keeping the crown on.

"I haven't the faintest clue, unless...." Dr. Yamato says, stopping to gesture at an assistant.

The assistant brings over a crown, sets it on the doctors head, and all at once the crown begins glowing.

"Well, this IS interesting. It seems that at some point during my research, the hive put a psychic tap on my mind, subtle enough to pass standard tests, yet powerful enough to do the job. It had to be Irene. That woman is scary. She was human once, but she was taken by the hive and mutated into one of them, an abomination against nature." Dr. Yamato said. He put a picture of Irene up. The pose she was in was her battle stance, her claws ready, and the tube wing formation had turned into sharp blades. Psionic energy cracked in the air about her. Dr. Yamato couldn't be blamed, as smart as he was, he was still just a normal, yet exceptionally smart, person. He had no defence against a predatory woman like Irene. Her white Carapace seemed to be all that she wore.

The image came to life, seemingly of it's own will.

"So you figured out my little joke. Consorting with Deer Boy over there won't help you remove it any. I told you how my Psychic Tap can be removed. Come on down, a night of pleasure in my bed won't hurt, much. As for you faun man, I'll be waiting for the pleasures of your company..." the hologram of Irene said. The presence of The Hive mind could be felt, and it was receding back to the planet.

"The thought of sleeping with that thing is very disturbing. Not because of how she looks mind you, but those claws. I'd prefer to remain in one piece." Nasagori commented, still keeping the crown on.

Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, those claws are going to come off, one way or another... Terrence mused. Also, that mind tap, I might be able to remove it. See, what science can't do, a good portion of magic usually can. There are several classes of Satyr, the two main ones are Tricksters, who are pretty much the elite warriors... Terrence continued, removing the crown from Dr. Yamato's head, "... and then there are the invokers, somewhat like archmages. I'm not only a force-using Technoton Cleric, but also a satyr Trickster, and Invoker... it goes with the royal ancestry and that..." he confided to the doctor. "Now, let's see... a sword appeared in his hand, jumping out of the various pocket-dimensions with which the Technoton Cleric was equipped. The blade tip was curled forwards in a scyth-like way, and the runes glowed with a greenish light. Terrentius Grove whispered some obscure words, and then, without warning, sliced the sword right through Dr. Yamato, passing through him unhindered, as if he were a ghost, but severing the psychic connection. The whole process was actually quite simple, and the sword was not really necessary, but Terrence didn't feel like telling that to the Doctor. The last thing which Irene would hear through the tap, would be a distant Satyr laughter, and a rather disturbing one at that.

"Now...", Terrence continued, as if nothing had happened, the sword vanishing back into the dimension from which it had been retrieved, "I would like you to leave this system. Our main goal, was to capture the leader of this species. That is in fact why they are still alive. Once that is done, we will cause this star to go nova, and destroy everything in this system. If you wish to conduct experiments on the captured leader, you are welcome to let one of your scientists accompany me in my shuttle. He or she will also be able to observe the coming battle... but this station of yours, must leave this system as soon as possible. Thank you for your hospitality, and now, I must be getting back. The Satyr turned and exited from where he had come, provided of course that the Doctor didn't have anything important to tell him.

"Then, I shall come with you myself. No one knows more about the swarm, no one, save for possibly the swarm itself." Dr. Yamato said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out an odd device.

He aimed it at a small black box, and pushed a series of buttons. The high technology of the Consortium went to work, and if Terrance had the power with his magic to feel the compression and twisting of the dimensions around the station, he'd have a pretty clear guess of what that box did.

A viewscreen showed what everyone outside was seeing, the station was crumpling up like it was a giant tin can, yet there was no evidence of this inside, save for the occasional passage of light through the doors and walls. In the length of time it would take Terrance to go back to his shuttle, the station, to all outward appearences, would have compressed itself to a small shuttlecraft.

Dr. Yamato was with him the whole way.

"Just fly out like normal." he said.

He turned to leave, and stopped.

"I'll see ya from my bridge. This station now takes up all the space of a single one man shuttle on the outside. It's a simple matter of twisting and compressing the dimensional fields. Sir Sidney in R&D developed the technology, marvelous gizmo, based on magic. What the Supernatural and Paranormal can accomplish, science can learn and reproduce, if given enough time. Sufficiently advanced enough Science is indistinguishable from magic." Dr. Nasagori said. Then he left for his bridge.

The swarm continued to wait.

Irene simply smiled to herself, almost salivating in anticipation of a match with Terrance. the blood lust of Khorne flowed through her, which made sense as it was only that very morning she had prayed to the Chaos God in question. The entire experience left her with the desire to kill someone, or something, and the forty-three slaughtered drones hadn't satisfied her any.

How very interesting, that is similar to the pocket dimensions we Technoton Clerics use, they come in quite handy don't they? Terrence remarked on his way out. He was soon aboard his shuttle, and one minute later, he was aboard his own ship again.

One single Dreadnought (http://www.ravestats.com/public/fen/minmatar-carrier-hel-3.jpg)appeared in real space near the planet. Not too near mind you, but near enough for most projectiles to travel the distance within 8 seconds at most. The 10 kilometer long ship was quite a sight to behold, rows upon rows of gunports and turrets training their sights on the devourers. Terrentius Grove stood facing the tactical holographic display, hands clasped behind his back, an expression of silent contemplation on his face. He turned and smiled at the silent efficiency of his crew. "Open fire. he ordered, and just as the last syllable had left his mouth, countless flares of light came into existence as the the ship's full broadside errupted in the silence of space, flooding the viewfield with death and destruction. The powerful Flayer Cannons did their best to disintegrate the enemy's armor (thus the name), while Quantum Pulse Cannons fired away their deadly pulses of energy, accompanied by Polaron Beams, and Gauss Cannons that were currently firing photon munitions. Last but not least there were the vicious AHEN cannons*. As the deadly broadside rung out, Terrence watched the devourer's reaction. This broadside, deadly as it was, had only been a catalyst to bring the enemy to action, and was not nearly all the Dreadnought could bring to bare. The second Dreadnought, still uplifted into Netherspace and undetectable, was circling around, positioning itself were it's broadside would do most harm, once it decided to appear in real space...

*The AHEN cannon (Advanced High-Energy Neutron Cannon ) utilizes a miniature cyclotron to accelerate neutrons to relativistic speeds and then launch them in a tight beam at the desired target. The cyclotrons consist of two D-shaped magnets placed back to back with a small distance between them. The alternating polarity of the magnets gives the neutrons the energy needed to accelerate them to the high velocities. Upon impact with the hull of a ship, the neutrons cause a fission chain reaction, cutting a hole clear through the target. The neutrons are stored in magazines that are pre-charged with beta radiation on Asfaltum worlds.

The Devourers wheeled about, an eighth of the swarm destroyed in the onslaught. They returned fire with their Warp Rays.

Meanwhile, a small white shuttle stood behind the action, observing quietly, well, almost quietly. It felt the need to radio in when it noticed a new breed.

"Over on the left side of the planet, what the hell are those things?"

Small TIE fighter looking creatures flew at almost light speed, to give themselves a Kamikaze death by bashing itself into the ship. It would explode when struck by, or running into, anything, without exception, being highly volatile and highly charged with energy. A Devourer beam hit one, and it exploded with enough force to be a prime cause of concern if one struck the ship.

Meanwhile, a Swarmling Satellite moved away from the battle, being an unarmed, and unarmored. A strong Psionic frequency could be detected within it.

The Devourers wheeled about, an eighth of the swarm destroyed in the onslaught. They returned fire with their Warp Rays.

Meanwhile, a small white shuttle stood behind the action, observing quietly, well, almost quietly. It felt the need to radio in when it noticed a new breed.

"Over on the left side of the planet, what the hell are those things?"

Small TIE fighter looking creatures flew at almost light speed, to give themselves a Kamikaze death by bashing itself into the ship. It would explode when struck by, or running into, anything, without exception, being highly volatile and highly charged with energy. A Devourer beam hit one, and it exploded with enough force to be a prime cause of concern if one struck the ship.

Meanwhile, a Swarmling Satellite moved away from the battle, being an unarmed, and unarmored. A strong Psionic frequency could be detected within it.

Terrence watched as the devourers attempted to return fire. The only threat they could pose was in connection to their massive numbers, seeing that a full broadside had only taken out an eighth of their numbers, but Terrence was hardly bothered by that. In fact, he would use their numbers against them. The Dreadnought had ceased firing now, and several wormholes appeared at it's side. Reflective wormholes, inverted so as to have the entrance and exit at the same place, anything entering them would be reflected back to it's origin. As the devourers poured out their warp-beams, they soon came under fire from their own weaponry, reflected back at them.

The new breed of swarmlings seemed to pose a possible nuisance, should a great number of them impact the ship, but Terrence did not plan on letting that happen. "Bring the Thaleron guns online." he ordered. "I want a broadside fired to starboard, large spread, slow move." A few seconds later, a greenish bank of Thaleron radiation started to drift away from the ship, placed between the Dreadnought and the oncoming kamikaze swarmlings, they would have to pass through it in order to reach the ship. There were in fact very few advanced shields who could put up with thaleron radiation, and the swarmlings weren't equipped with them. While leaving the hull of an enemy ship intact, the radiation would sweep through the ship and kill all living matter, leaving it without a crew. Utilized against the swarmlings, it was guaranteed to bring even the most crazed charge to a halt, reducing it to a heap of squirming death. In fact it was a rather cheap and effective means of orbital bombardment, as only half the planet would have to be bombarded seeing that the radiation would pass right through it and kill all life on the opposite side as well... but that was thinking ahead of time. Right now there was the business of removing the enemy fleet from orbit, and the second Dreadnought went at it with gusto, suddenly appearing on the left flank of the main swarmling battle-line that was trying to cope with the fact that all it's fire was being returned to it. The Thaleron bank, this time fired at maximum strength, slammed into the swarm, passing through most of the main body of the fleet, or what was left of it...

While the the terrors were instantly killed the Devourers had a different plan. Seeing what direction the radiation took, they altered their path and flew around it as it came, glowing brighter and brighter with every second until at last, they exploded over a wide area with a great amount of force. It would be as though a large star ship had been blown up.

On the positive side, no more space fleet.

While the the terrors were instantly killed the Devourers had a different plan. Seeing what direction the radiation took, they altered their path and flew around it as it came, glowing brighter and brighter with every second until at last, they exploded over a wide area with a great amount of force. It would be as though a large star ship had been blown up.

On the positive side, no more space fleet.

The Dreadnought rocked at the violent explosion, the advanced multi-layered shields deflecting and absorbing the energy. Terrence merely raised an eyebrow at the futile self-destruction of his enemies. "Prepare the troops..." he calmly ordered, knowing that it was time for him to ascend upon the planet below, and what was inevitably waiting for him. Before that took place however, the two Dreadnoughts trained their guns upon Irene's fortress, orbital bombardment incinerating any ground forces surrounding the fortress in a wide radius around it...

OOC: A description of the fortress and it's surroundings would be appreciated...

There was, nothing. The ground was plain and empty, there were no forces, nothing. It was clearly a trap, even a moron could see that, but where'd they all go? Where'd the Hive go?

The environment itself was mountainous, filled with caves, but they were empty.
Sure, they could bomb it anyway, but if they were hidden nearby, that could damage the leader they wanted to capture alive.

The usual scans would reveal a massive field of Warp Energy emanating from within the ground, at depths varying levels of literally just beneath the surface, to the lower depths of The Upper Mantle. The entire area registered as one massive life sign, which was an incidental side effect of being close to The Hive Cluster, it's life sign tended to shroud everything else, unless the sensors were exceptionally good, then it still wouldn't make too much difference, accept that there was only a paltry thousand Khornates beneath the surface. Everything in the Hive was obscured by it's own life sign and warp emanation, but it would be safe to assume, anything in the hive could get to the surface rather quickly.

Edited as best as I could think of for a swarm of things hiding inside a living hive. That was my intent, but I forget things, often. It really is a living entity all it's own.

Edit an IC into your post, lets not waste room.

IC:

The orbital bombardment did not last long, mainly because there wasn't much to bombard. A squirming mass of swarmlings could be detected beneath the surface, where it was thought that Irene was hiding. Terrence looked at the sensor readings and tried to predict his opponent's next move. Their fleet had been swept away withing minutes, perhaps that was why they cowered underground? Or were they waiting for the groundtroops to be sent in, so that orbital bombardment no longer stood as an option, and they could do what they did best, overpowering their foe with classical swarm tactics? Or would they just sit tight, and wait for the time when groundtroops would attempt to invade the stronghold? He would soon find out...

There was no enormous fleet of landing-craft, no sign of imminent invasion. There were only three cloaked landing-craft. Undetectable to both eye and sensor, they space-folded into the atmosphere. They did not land straight away, but hovered above the ground, as small droid-craft (also cloaked) exited from various openings and started setting up an advanced cloakingfield on the ground. When that was done, the transports landed inside the cloaking field, and several teams of AS-guard soldiers (http://nanopedia.case.edu/image/I.Robot.jpg) disembarked. They soon set about assembling four portals, designed to transport soldiers, equipment, and light machinery, from the Dradnought's cargo bay straight unto the planet surface.

Once the four portals were operational, things started moving fast. More AS-guard soldiers streamed unto the planet surface, setting up various perimeter defense systems, walls, wires, and mines, as well as assembling one huge portal, which was then used to bring in various types of armoured battle-mecha, large mobile defense towers and other weapon plattforms. This all took place within minutes, the artificial soldiers moving with great speed and accuracy, remaining within the cloaking field. Three of these small bases were set up, outside the perimeter of the main swarm fortress, and so far things looked good. When everything was ready, the cloaking fields were shut down, making the bases visible to the enemy...

In orbit, Terrentius watched and waited...

And yet still, nothing happened. Though at some unknown point during set up, the ground began to breath. It looked like it was alive, like it was the layer of some giant thing's skin.
It was in truth, The Creep, and it didn't matter how cloaked the armies were, step one foot on the creep, and the swarm would know of their presence, in the same way a Cat knows when its tail has been stepped on.

Though the Orbital Bombardment had burned it considerably, the Creep itself had been regenerated, even as more Swarmlings were born deep within the hive.

A single flower blossomed on the creep, small, and yellow, and seemingly innocent. Irene's Pheromones drifted out of the flower, a mere extension of the hive, to lure men to their doom, such was the purpose of this trap.