NationStates Jolt Archive

-The most militaristic signitaries of the federal union’s TEC agreement and those sympathetic to romederos furry protection act would each receive a simple video mail if they could receive such things. The message is simply labeled ‘urgent’. Upon opening it showed a completely robed fur. The only way one could tell it was a fur were two large rounded ears sticking up from the sides of the robe. The message transmitted in basic but it was recorded in latin…-

“Leaders of humanity and good furkind, I am Mayori. I do not have time to explain who I am to those who do not know me. I have simply been tasked with delivering a simple message and call to arms.”

-The fur’s picture minimized to show a what appeared to be a revamped version of an initative heavy cruiser. With long range guns, torpedo launchers, rail guns and enhanced shields added. The cruiser looked like it had seen better days, with six massive holes in it’s port side, three around the engine unit crippling the entire section-

“This is the XPV Typhoon. Belonging to the Xiscapatain confederated protectorate, it drifted into romedosian space two days ago, the inside was almost completely gutted by raw anti matter. It was escorting freighter convoy 117233, also presumed lost. There were also no surviving crew found onboard and all the escape pods were onboard and intact. We didn’t even find any dead bodies aboard. I am sending you this message because we have uncovered something disturbing from what we could salvage of the ship’s log.”

-The video feed drifted to a somewhat fuzzy picture which to veterans of the first allied conflict against the GPI would recognize it as a destroyer but different. It was honestly too fuzzy to tell. There was audio at this point too.-

#..Known Vessel… Po… Down your W…pons and submit to inspection.#

#No …Sponse ma’am… Doesn’t…ake sense……… Eading… Like… a battlecruiser. No way a ship that size could produce that much p…r.#

#Battlestations! Signal the convoy to……. Evasive jump#

#....voy reports …. Perspace not ….. Responding. They can’t hyperspace.#

#What? Then tell them to get out of the way… We’re…#

#Enemy ship… iring …m!#

-a massive crackled thud fills the recording now immediately followed by alert klaxons indicating multipule system failures-

#Damage report!#

#...ere holed m..m! Port thrusters… ot responding! Starborad thrusters not responding. Auxillary engines… They’re gone.#

#We’re supposed to be out of their weapon’s range! Return fire! Return fire!#

#I can’t get a lock! Sensors are reporting a dozen targets one minute then none the next!#

#I think I’ve got a fix on them sir! firing torpedo tubes one through four!#

-A moment later three other dull thuds enter the recording followed by four muted explosions.-

#We’re hit again! The whole engine system is un….onsive! The freighter mallius is… She’s been destroyed ma’am. Wait… Oh g…s…#

#...hit our own freighter…#

#And we’re dead in space Ma’am… Thrusters and main engines are down. All system aside life support and gravity generators are losing power…#

#Unknown target is closing at ramming speed!#

#Prepare to repel boarders! Signal all stations to prepare to repel boarders! Get a message out!

#To anyone that can hear this. This is Captain Loder of the XPV Typhoon. We have suffered heavy damage and are being boarded by what appears to be a genetic purification initiative vessel of unknown class. We need immediate assistance, I repeat immediate assistance!#

-The transmission cuts out switching back solely to the robed fur-

“So, if these logs are correct then we have an initiative vessel that can interdict our convoys, fire from long range, disrupt our sensor scans, and penetrate some of our heaviest armor like it was nothing. They can also wipe out a superior crew complement or carry a great number of marines into battle. This also means they’re targeting TEC trade convoys.

I’m happy to report that this might be the only vessel of its kind in our galaxy. Though my agents have indicated there may be more vessels like this under construction, somewhere in this galaxy. Therefore I’m asked to implore each of you to assemble separate task forces with two tasks. The first is finding this vessel we’ve dubbed the ‘satyr’ with the intent of destroying or capturing the vessel, then the second is finding the initiative shipyard manufacturing the satyr class and more importantly the galactic gate bringing supplies and perhaps even more military vessels here.

My master decrees that this galaxy will not tolerate another initiative invasion. So my mission is to stop whatever their plan is if this is the prelude to an invasion. My time has expired as some new information has surfaced. I hope all of you find it in yourselves to do what is right and meet this new threat with the appropriate force.”

Xiscapian Imperial Warship Ice, Bridge...

"Status?"

The soft voice was heard over the entire silent bridge, causing fox ears to twitch and flick with it's passage as Bridge Officers subconsciously acknowledged the sound. Rear Admiral Inritus was looking to his Executive Officer, not arrogantly staring out the viewscreen as other officers of the Xiscapian Imperial Navy might when addressing subordinates, tawny-furred features mild and unassuming. The Rear Admiral was well-liked among most of his crew for, unlike most commanders, who would simply enroll in a Officer's School after graduating from Naval Academy, he had risen from the lowly position of a Navigation Officer all the way to Rear Admiral, clawing his way up the ranks though hard work, competency and intelligence. Due to this he had never forgotten that those under his command were sapient beings too, not just tools or pawns, and so treated the kitsune of the hastily assembled Second Task Force with respect and dignity. Thus the response, while professional and concise, was immediate and deferential.

"All systems are nominal, sir, the formation has remained stable, our ETA to the edge of Romederos territory is approximately ten minutes."

"Very good," Only now did Inritus turn his back, pondering the purpose of his mission. The message he had been shown during briefing had been troubling, to say the least: The nearly total annihilation of the ill-fated original Initiate foray into this galaxy had resulted in the Kitsune Empire taking on some twelve thousand Initiate refugees fleeing the conflict, so he did not want to think about what a second disaster might mean for them all. He had been on alert, of course, there was a war on after all, but this was an entirely unexpected assignment: Not a raid or assault against Danaversian or Boolean forces or holdings, nor reinforcements to bolster the strength of a sector, but he and his ships were to search out and destroy (or capture, though he doubted this would be possible) the rouge Initiate vessel and the dockyards which had spawned her. For this task he had been given the Dominator class Battleship Ice, his flagship, with the Wasp class Heavy Cruisers Legacy and Luck, the Annhilator class Light Cruisers Servant and Krystal, the Nova class Carrier Dagger in support, as well as the Protector class Medical Ship Cloak and ten Marchamp class frigates as auxillarys. Between them all he possessed over two hundred strike craft and five thousand assault troops, and the full authorization to use all the firepower at his disposal at his discretion.
It was his greatest assignment yet.

"ETA five minutes..."

Ideally he would coordinate with another nation or organization, or perhaps multiple such entities, to assist him in the mission he had been given from his superiors which was lifted almost directly from the message. However, he had no intelligence pertaining to the ship or the locations of its docks, no one to contact, no one to help him: He was a Rear Admiral, not a detective, Qonndamnit! In lieu of anyone contacting him he would have to comb the galaxy with probes, drones and scouts for the ship long enough to be convincing: Any sensible sapient knew that the chances of finding a single starship or even multiple docks in the massive space of the galaxy were slim to none. The mission had the potential to propel him to the next rung of the promotional ladder, Vice Admiral, but it also carried all the warnings of an assignment that might stonewall his career. Being associated with such a wild goose chase would not do well for his image, and it might be some time before he got a chance to prove himself again.

"ETA thirty seconds..."

The expanse of space and stars spread out before him and the eighteen ships of his Task Force, the glow of the Kitsune Empire behind him, reaching out into the void. A mission like this, in which an entire fleet went out to search for a single thing, had not been undertaken since before the war, and for good reason: Such operations were long and costly, better suited for scout ships piloted by drones and androids.
But then, a mere scout had not the firepower of a fleet.

General Log Star date 981702..

“Captain Declan Keogh reporting, the Odyssey along with two fighter escorts has been sent in to imperial space to help investigate a message and a mysterious ship with unknown markings that seemed to have appeared randomly in to their space..”

The older man said shifting in his command chair, his hands were folded on his lap, his uniform well kept , the pips on his collar polished, His grey hair was short and thinning almost as if he was going bald. The bridge of the Odyssey was some what large, holographic consoles blinked with sensor readings officers walked throughout the bridge attending to ships business. The rumble of the ships engines echoed through the well lit bridge as officers worked at their stations. Keogh just shifted in his chair he looked over to the con officer just in front of the view screen. He spoke out with a soft voice ordering him.

“Set a Course for those coordinates, Tell Two SF42's to get ready to disembark when we reach the area”


The con officer nodded and briskly responded

“Aye sir setting course now”

The medium sized Galaxy class ship Turned and banked, its engines crackling with energy its form warped and twisted as it rushed in to a singular point of light a loud energetic flare emanating as it jumped to warp. The ship rushed towards imperial space, its inter phased drive pushing it at high speeds, thousands of stars with blue and red shift colors passed by hundreds at a time. Several moments passed, Keogh waited idle blips of consoles and taps of key pads where the only thing braking the silence the energetic rumbles of the engines still prevalent. These Several moments seemed almost like hours, things where a bit tense on the ship they didn’t know what they would find or what was going on.

Even Captain Keogh himself was wondering what this sudden message was about. The Federation Had heard about the Xiscapian’s only through third party mentions and off hand information, this would be the first time they got to see on of their ships let alone meet one of their people.


The Odyssey Had already sent a message to Imperial authorities and border post about their arrival a few seconds later the Odyssey had passed the border it would be a few more seconds before they got to the sector they where told to be at by Fleet command. All in all the trip took about three minuets. The ship dropped out of inter-phased warp its sleek form was silhouetted against the thousands of stars of deep space.

Ensign Jones Spoke out looking towards the captain saying.

“Sir we are approaching the coordinates, we have no ships on sensors. Not in the area any way..”

Keogh responded quickly to what the ensign said his voice had the inflection of surprise.

“ What? Its not like The Imperials to be late to their own party.. Long range sensor sweep now.. Also scan the ship and try to access its main computer system if we can.. Give me a visual”

A blip was heard as Its Six Hundred and Forty Three meter body floated towards the ship in question Keogh could see its battered form . There where no sign of any imperial ships in the area.

Keogh Raised an eyebrow as he stood up his uniform strait and pressed , he peered out of the holo viewer. He was uneasy about this whole situation, he looked around and spoke out once more.

“I want you to focus the sensor arrays on figuring out what happened to that ship, it’s obvious what happened to it was no accident. We don’t board it until the imperials get here. In the mean time tactical-”

He looked up to an officer who was at another station behind the captain’s chair, she was working with the rendition of the ships sentient AI, The female officer looked back and gave her attention to the captain.

Keogh Continued to speak his voice more commanding

“ Go to yellow alert Raise shields but do not power weapons, launch the SF-42's and keep them on a sensor sweep pattern.”

“Yes sir”


She said with a nod and a brisk voice, quickly she pressed the bottons on the holographic console. The shuttle bay of the Odyssey opened up with a swish and a mechanical whine. The Hue of the blue containment field Buzzed, two mid sized escort craft with four engines rushed out, their forms glinted softly as they moved at high speed out towards the darkness of space, the massive ship they left coming in to view as they banked towards each side, the whitish blue hue of their particle streams faded gently in to space their forms silhouetted against the stars and the sleek form of the Odyssey as they came to a crawl several thousand kilometers away from both ships.


L.T Commander Ronald Johnson spoke out through his comn in the cockpit of his fighter

“ Johnson to Odyssey our sensors have started their sweep, I set it on top to bottom pattern, I also set our secondary sensors to scan for any other ships..”

Keogh Smiled and sat back down on his command chair, he shifted in it sinking back on to the chair it self crossing one leg over the other.

“Acknowledged Johnson, let me know if you find any thing our sensors have missed..”

The Odyssey’s sensors where among the most advanced and powerful in the Federation, Being as the ship was a galaxy class Medium Cruiser it was equipped for long winded missions of various kinds including scanning , medical work, and scientific work, as well as high capacity troop transport and combat missions. The sensors would most likely discover much.

Keogh Did not believe 100% What that message to the federation had to say... He knew If GPI was back there would be a major problem.

Sensor readings blipped and beeped for a few seconds, Jones spoke out reporting on what he found quickly with a stiff voice.

“Sir, Readings confirm it is GPI weapons fire that totaled this ship.. No doubt a bout it they shot the thing up.”

Keogh stiffed up and straitened, his heart sank a bit he closed his eyes and reopened them slowly saying .

“Send what we found to Star Fleet Command, continue scans I want the exact type of weapons that where used, analyze every thing.”

The inflection of his voice was that of a command tone, nonetheless it had a bit of worry to it this was big, really big, and he was wondering where the hell those imperials where, he placed both of his hands along the armrest of the captain’s chair. He and the ship/crew where all waiting now...


The Odyssey and escorts (http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/USFU/UFSOdessyescortsspace.jpg)

Aboard the ‘satyr’ a young vixen stood before ‘the core’. It was an engineering and biological marvel, or so they kept reminding her. The core was really made up of six purple glowing tubes surrounding a massive red center. The room was filled with what sounded like hundreds, maybe even thousands of transmissions from various sources translated into the initiative tongue. The transmissions played on as the vixen eyed each of the tubes suspiciously as though expecting them to be the source of a plague or some other misfortune. The tubes were obscured by the purple light but the vixen knew what was inside and what the tube was for.

“Who were you?”

She asked laying a hand on the tube that was before her. The transmissions stopped for a moment as she spoke.

#We are unable to process your query captain. We have also found no viable targets to strike without encountering the resistance you specified to be significant. We must continue our mission and acquire new disposables.#

She hated how the ‘core’ spoke, sounding like a compilation of voices speaking as one, male and female tones mixing together like some bastardized chorus. She looked at the center as she had an easier time talking to it rather than the ceiling.

“Very well then are there any military targets in the sector?”

#There are seven viable military targets, though only one of which possesses enough personnel to be valuable to our objective.#

“Which one is that?”

-A screen appears before the vulpine, highlighting a small triangle heading in the complete opposite direction of the vessel, somewhat near the site of the original attack.-

#A group of combat vessels heading to an unknown destination. Most likely to the last reported location of the convoy we attacked. My counter sensor module is also picking up scans at that location.#

-the map displayed a red ‘field of vision’ display coming from a location northwest of the satyr’s current location.-

“That’ll add to our combat experience if we can take them all down. Tell navigation to set a parallel course with the first group of combat vessels, when they’re within sensor range of the group scanning our previous mess throw them a bone and disengage CSM for a split second.”

#Yes captain, oh there is an incoming report from ‘the body’. They are having difficulty interrogating those we have not made disposable. They are requesting permission to use enhanced methods in order to get the information they require.#

-the vixen snorted at that, turning her attention away from the chamber. She instead started to walk out of the core room. She’d talk to ‘the mind’ on her ship herself-

“Tell them they have all the information they need and they’ll have to get their ‘jollies’ some other way. Permission denied.”

Sure it had been a few dozen years, sure these furs were our enemies for turning against mother’s light. Sure they were heretics but that was no reason to torture them just because they existed.

Meanwhile at the remains of the XPV Typhoon the union fleet would find that it wasn’t plasma fire that gutted the vessel. It was anti-matter, nearly raw anti-matter but there was something different in the scans, a sort of ‘remnant’ around the points of impact. There were also traces of several unknown elements and materials around each point of penetration. Further scans would have to be done and detailed metallurgical analysis would have to be performed in order to actually see what exactly they were dealing with.

Xiscapian Imperial Warship Ice, Bridge...

"Contact, sir."

The Bridge Officer reported the fact utterly without infliction to his tone, turning his head to look at the Rear Admiral. Inritus frowned, they were still some distance away from the site where the ruined ship was floating, solid contact at this range could only mean one of two things: Either the local Romederos had beaten them to the punch and secured the site, or...the killer ship was still hanging around.

"Can you I.D. it?"

"Negative, sir, and...there's three of them, sir."

And it had friends.

"Raise the alert to Code Green and bring our shields up to thirty percent power. Instruct the frigates to fall back around the support ships, I want the Legacy and the Luck on our flank, we'll be going ahead to investigate," Inritus commanded. As he spoke klaxon lights began to flash throughout the decks and corridors of the XIW Ice, indicating that the ship was now on Guarded Status, a step above Nominal and a step below Red. Crew, Marines and pilots were to be close to their battle stations in case a conflict did break out, and the atmosphere was one of tense apprehension. Across the Second Task Force the reaction would be the same as the Captains initiated their own sequences, following orders from the Rear Admiral. The Battleship and its two escorting Heavy Cruisers surged on ahead, scything though the vacuum as their scanners extended to their furthest reaches, searching for any hidden threats.

"Attempting to contact them now, sir."

Attention unidentified ships, this is Rear Admiral Inritus of the Xiscapian Imperial Warship Ice, flagship of the Second Task Force. We are en route to investigate the destruction of an Xiscapian Protectorate Vessel in this sector, and would be much obligated if you would kindly identify yourselves and your intentions in this area.

Ensign Jones spoke out , as his console started to blip indicating that there where incoming ships.

“Sir we are detecting vessels, they identify themselves as Xiscapian ..”

Captain Keogh mumbled a bit he stiffed up and stood up from his chair his form emphasized by the by the white lighting of the bridge , officer rushed past him from behind attending to several stations.

Jones spoke again just as Keogh was about to order him.

“Sir we are receiving a hail from the Xiscapians.”

Keogh nodded to Jones he walked back to his command chair and stood in front of it as the screen was activated . The message was played over the viewer, Keogh listened a bit he was some what stunned that they would have the audacity to request knowledge of why they are here. Nonetheless he responded in a brisk and diplomatic voice his image being thrown across to the other ships via sub space/D space or what ever form of communications they used.

The older man appeared he had a smile on his face, it was obviously genuine and polite rather than fake.

“This is Captain Keogh Of the Terran Federation Star ship Odyssey, we’re here at the request of imperial allies to assist in the investigation of this odd ship, that happens to be yours that drifted in to their territory, we received a message, and distress call from it a while ago...”

Keogh Did not want to share it was suspected GPI attack mainly because he did not know the xiscapians , and the federation did not want a security breach if they where working with them.

Keogh sat back down on his command chair crossing one leg over the other , his eyes looking out in to viewer, mean while the tactical officer spoke to him as sensors began to scan the xiscaptian ships with both short and long range sensors.

“Sir...” She said softly and with urgency. Keogh Looked up to her and nodded responding

“Yes LT?”

The tactical officer started to speak with a tense voice.

“We are detecting what seems to be a heightened alert status from their ships, and our long range scanners picked up more farther out, should we go to red alert?”

Keogh shook his head he folded his hands on his lap and said.

“No we do not want to cause trouble, besides why would they want to attack us?”

He said with an upward inflection in his stiff coarse voice.

The tactical officer thought for a second, her mind running with all the possibilities their could be as she responded in an exasperated voice.

“Sir they could be working with the GPI to throw us off the trail, or some thing like that..”

Keogh nodded and looked to Jones as he spoke.

“Jones any indication of any characteristics shared with the GPI?”

Jones responded in a brisk voice as he looked over his holo console tapping on the buttons again and again.

“Other than some bio readings of a similar structure to one of their species... Not that I can tell totally different technology ship configurations etc..”

Keogh sighed and looked to his tactical officer once more saying in low toned voice.

“Good thought but it looks from what we can tell that they aren’t related.. But keep an eye on them..”

Keogh tapped his wrist a blip was heard over the ships com. as he spoke out is a brisk commanding voice.

“Keogh to Engineering, prepare a boarding party for that derelict, I also want you to run a low level passive scan for any thing on the ships that just contacted us that might indicate similarity between the two nations.”

A male voice was heard over the com speaker

“Yes sir right away.”


Engineering would be able to comb over the active and passive scans and run their own low level quantum scans upon the ships in the area, they could be able to find a certain signature and try to mach it on the data base of ships to see if they where related in anyway. This was standard federation technology aboard all ships, but the galaxy class had an advance variant since it was a front line ship to send in to situations.

The ship remained at yellow alert, Shield’s where raised but weapons where not powered. They waited for the response from anyone.

Keogh was getting worried that the allies that had requested federation presence where no place to be found, this was odd very odd indeed even the ships crew was wondering what was going on here.

Imperial battlecruisers were not battlecruisers in the traditional, nautical sense. Traditional battlecruisers were effectively heavy cruisers fitted with less armor, and more powerful guns and engines. These were more like pocket battleships, just a battleship though not quite as large or as heavily armored but with the same guns and engine packs. This combination package of a fast, powerful, well defended ship made it the perfect kind of ship to be used on security missions. Most of the battlecruisers in Imperial service also carried a sizeable Marine force aboard, in this case, a battalion. That was also suited to the mission here, as repeated boarding actions were likely to be required, to examine the vessel.

Her Majesty’s Ship Yorktown had been approaching at cruising speed when the Federation ships were detected approaching. Wishing to identify the contacts before she was spotted, she had gone dark and kept approaching at a drifting pace, until she confirmed them as Federation ships. She was just about to drop emissions control.

“Skipper, we have several new unidentified contacts in close scanning range.”

Captain Bonnie Rockwaller, the ship’s CO, stood up from the command chair, rising to her full height, which was an unimpressive 5’3. Anybody who knew her, however, could tell you that packed deep into her slight, 5’3 and 115 lb frame was a seriously mean, tough woman. They didn’t call her “Rottweiler” for nothing.

“Maintain current degree of Emissions Control,” she ordered, taking a step toward the primary projection screens. “Attempt to match new ships against current databases.”

“Aye, Captain!” was the reply. That business took but a few minutes. “Captain, database matching confirms new ships are Xiscapians.”

“Is a Xiscapian presence projected in our mission orders?” Rockwaller inquired.

“No, Skipper, not a line,” said the Ensign. Rockwaller nodded.

“Bring us up from Emissions Control,” she ordered, returning to her seat. “Communications, prepare a message to Squadron Command apprising them of this situation, and then open a general channel.”

“Aye, Skipper!”

“Attention all Federation and Xiscapian ships, this is Captain Bonnie Rockwaller, commanding Her Majesty’s Ship Yorktown. You are operating in Imperial Federated Systems space. I was told to expect a Federation presence, but the presence of Xiscapian ships concerns me. Therefore you, my Xiscapian friends, will kindly explain yourselves. Now, if you please.”

“It looks like we hit a nerve… Lets see if we can listen to what they’re saying.”

The vixen stated from the bridge of the satyr as she observed a map of the area on the ship’s viewscreen. Things could be seen as not going too well as she was almost in the middle of three attack groups all aiming to find her. She sighed from her command seat squirming somewhat. Not at the situation, no she could simply hyperspace away without any of them knowing it. No it’s about what her ship A.I said parroting the words of high command. She had to get into a fight and this was the perfect opportunity.

“Playing back captured general communications ma’am… Stand by.”

Attention unidentified ships, this is Rear Admiral Inritus of the Xiscapian Imperial Warship Ice, flagship of the Second Task Force. We are en route to investigate the destruction of an Xiscapian Protectorate Vessel in this sector, and would be much obligated if you would kindly identify yourselves and your intentions in this area.

This is Captain Keogh Of the Terran Federation Star ship Odyssey, we’re here at the request of imperial allies to assist in the investigation of this odd ship, that happens to be yours that drifted in to their territory, we received a message, and distress call from it a while ago...

Attention all Federation and Xiscapian ships, this is Captain Bonnie Rockwaller, commanding Her Majesty’s Ship Yorktown. You are operating in Imperial Federated Systems space. I was told to expect a Federation presence, but the presence of Xiscapian ships concerns me. Therefore you, my Xiscapian friends, will kindly explain yourselves. Now, if you please.

“It sounds like they don’t trust each other. A shame since it was an alliance that unmade us…”

The vixen scratched her chin as she mused, leaning back in her chair. She genuinely didn’t want to do this. Especially since it could honestly plunge this sector into total warfare, but she had to since she had to follow orders. She nodded at her weapons officer.

“Set, when the shooting starts get them to hit each other. Especially that federation ship, their leaders are stupid and easily goaded.”

The woman leaned back in her chair, her XO should really be here for this but of course members of ‘the body’ were holier than thou and above all protocol. She smiled as she saw the romodoesan battleship get closer and closer to the mission area.

“Helm,bring us directly in front of the imperial battleship. Line us up directly with her main guns. We’re going to cause an international incident. Wait until she’s in weapons range of the target battlefleet and then fire on the protector class vessel.”

“We’re not firing on their battleship first ma’am?”

“No ensign. If we fire on their battleship we might cripple her with the first barrage, an imperial battlecruiser can’t do that. Besides all the ships here will eventually figure out it’s really ‘us’ firing anyway, and I have a hunch that ship’s important to the fleet somehow.”

“Yes ma’am targeting the smaller ship with out the big guns also adjusting antimatter stream to mimic the color of their weapons.”

As the imperial battlecruiser closed in at it’s snail’s pace it would see a slight, ever so slight contact for a moment and then it would disappear. The composition genuinely looked like space dust or some other anomaly. A minute later, every sensor, every recording device and every electronic piece of equipment aside a visual contact would display the imperial battle cruiser’s main guns opening up on the Xiscapain medical ship and it’s escorts. With each successful hit on the vessel and its minimized shields raw anti-matter flooded into wherever it could, somewhat coating the area and remaining to melt through the hull or further damage the grid. Analysis would reveal that the ‘fire’ from the battle cruiser was much to hot and traveled much too fast to actually be any imperial weapon.

The minor ‘sensor glitch’ soon turned into a nightmare as contacts now appeared all around the warship and then fading into the black as quickly as they came. The satyr announced it’s presence, now it was just a question if anyone could sift through the chaos and decipher what was happening. The satyr fired from alongside the imperial battle cruiser, projecting a holographic image of the imperial guns turned in the correct angle and firing for whatever reason. The captain kept a religious watch over the imperial battleship as the first salvo left flew towards her target.

“Core get those disposables of yours ready to board the imperial battle cruiser. if you want your test subjects then go get them from the monster’s stomach.”

In the lower decks there was a hum of activity, not from the ship’s crew but from the ‘disposables’ as they laboredly picked up their weapons. Massively over sized and overpowered for the various furs and some humans among the Typhoon’s original crew, some of their uniforms ripped and torn from where anti-matter rounds penetrated. They shambled onto specially made drop pods as the impromptu charade went on, ready to launch and claim more subjects for their tests.

Xiscapian Imperial Warship Ice, Bridge...

On the viewing screen of the Odyssey one would be able to see Rear Admiral Inritus dominating the scene, with bits of the bridge behind him and the other Bridge Officers visible at the edges. Inritus resembled nothing more than a tawny-colored fox which had the necessary skeletal and body structure to stand upright, wearing the black and marine blue uniform of the XIN with his duel silver Captain's stars winking in the light, larger-than-life fox ears poking out of his cap. It was quite difficult to ascertain exactly how he was feeling: His visage and body language was utterly alien when compared to a human, to the point that it would take another kitsune or at least one well-versed in their ways to tell how he saw the situation.

"Captain Keogh," he bowed, speaking in soft, accented Galactic Common keeping his fiery eyes focused on the man, "you are mistaken. That ship, the XPV Typoon, does not belong to the Kitsune Empire. The vessel is a possession of a newly-established protectorate of ours, and since they do not have the craft necessary to investigate this incident by themselves, we are assisting them in this matter."

The Diagnostics Officer began to speak, but Inritus cut him off with a swift wave of his hand. The kitsune got the message and spoke in his native tongue.

"Ngài, chúng tôi đã bị quét..."

Scanned? Inritus thought. How rude of them not to inform us first.

"Tôi có thể xiên đi sóng-"

The Rear Admiral shook his head. "Không, cho họ xem xét. Tất cả các hệ thống quan trọng là sự bảo vệ, và chúng tôi không có gì để ẩn." Truly, they should be blocked as the D.O. suggested, but there was no harm in it and they did not want to arouse suspicion.

"Liên hệ, viên chức." The Scanning Officer reported, now wary as the rest of them were of the so-called Terrans. "Độc thân tàu, chúng tôi nhận được một tin nhắn."

The indicated hail appeared as text as it sounded itself out over the computer, the image of the HMS Yorktown appearing on one of the viewscreens next to those of the Odyssey and her escorts.

“Attention all Federation and Xiscapian ships, this is Captain Bonnie Rockwaller, commanding Her Majesty’s Ship Yorktown. You are operating in Imperial Federated Systems space. I was told to expect a Federation presence, but the presence of Xiscapian ships concerns me. Therefore you, my Xiscapian friends, will kindly explain yourselves. Now, if you please.”

"Ah," Inritus slipped back into Common, looking to the Communications Officer. "Send as I dictate-"

"Energy signatures detected, they're firing!" Cried out the Scanning Officer as the instruments reported the weapons spitting their anti-matter payloads past the Ice and her escorts to strike the Medical Ship Cloak in the center of the more distant formation. The fire was devastatingly effective: The shields, already at less than a third of their total power, absorbed the first few shots and failed, exposing the vulnerable hull of the non-combatant vessel to the deadly anti-matter. The thin "middle" corridor that linked the forward command, preparation, hanger and crew quarters areas and the rear engines and medical facilities was eaten though and snapped in two, tearing the ship in half and allowing the near absolute zero vacuum of space to roar in. Coughing flame, spiraling uncontrolled away from each other, the pieces of the doomed Cloak began to drift, shedding escape pods and shuttles as the surviving crew abandoned ship. Immediately after powering up weapons and shields to full strength the Marchamp class frigates began gathering the hundred plus personnel from the depths of space as the Light Cruisers Servant and Krystal moved protectively to the head of the formation, projecting their shields to guard against further attacks.

Those bastards! That wasn't even a combat vessel! Though his haze of fury as he cut off contact with the other two parties Inritus was vaguely aware of two things: That annihilating a hospital ship when there was an array of juicer military targets about made zero tactical sense, and that the real-time scanners had never actually shown the Yorktown firing. However, this was no time to second-guess himself: The fire had come from them, there was no other explanation, and now they had to respond in kind. "Get all our weapons and shields online, the Legacy and Luck are ordered to prepare for battle and maintain their current positions, the rest of the Task Force is to retreat to a safe location." He spat out the orders with rapid fire precision, the commands being carried out almost before he had uttered them, a variety of hums and warning klaxons sounding as the Alert elevated to attack level: Red.

The strong shields of the Ice flared with power as her turrets and cannons swiveled, locking-on to the Yorktown along with those weapons of the Legacy and Luck as they too prepared for the incoming conflict. There would be no offer of surrender: No time, no chance, and Inritus was out for blood now. The mighty guns of the Ice sounded into the emptiness of space, or would have if there was a medium to carry them, and the full force of twenty five MAC shells, ten Heavy Ion Cannon blasts, three hundred turbolaser shots of varying power, one hundred Ion Cannons blasts and twenty R.E.A.P.E.R. entropy rays shot towards the Romandeos battlecruiser. These were shortly followed by the combined power of the two Heavy Cruisers, being twenty MAC guns, ten Heavy Ion Cannon blasts, one hundred forty turbolaser shots, one hundred sixty Ion Cannons, and twenty R.E.A.P.E.R. weapons. As if this was not enough, a combined nine hundred torpedoes containing both nuclear and anti-matter warheads were launched from the three starships to finish the job. The Xiscapians had been hurt, and now they were out for nothing less than total destruction of the enemy ship. However, it was entirely possible due to the sheer volume of fire that some of it could strike the Satyr.

Keogh bolted up from his seat his eyes focused upon the now firing xiscapians. He fisted his hands and started to bark out orders his eyes still locked on the screen, the night sky out side filled with the hellish glow of weapons fire between allied and xiscapian forces.

“Red alert, All hands battle stations.! Open a channel to those Xiscapian ships”

Jones nodded and then said as he pressed the holographic console in-front of him.

“Sir we detected an odd signature just before the Xiscapians opened fire, it came from the direction of the imperial cruiser but it did not appear to have the same weapons signature’s.”


Keogh nodded he sat back down shifting and adjusting him self in the chair, klaxons started to blare, the bridge became dark, red bathed every thing every now and then as the klaxons noised every few seconds


“ I know.. Their firing on our allies we have to put an end to this ”

A blip was heard the comn channel was open now, Keogh spoke out in a stern commanding voice.

“This is the Federation start ship Odyssey to Xiscapian forces. We implore you to cease hostile conduct immediately, we demand that you withdraw from our allies territory or we shall be forced to engage you, I repeat withdraw now”

The message was cut Keogh looked over to Jones and said with a stiff commanding tone, he sank back on his command chair.

“Send out a call to any star fleet units over the border and tell them we need assistance, in the mean time Load all torpedo bays, and charge all Phaser banks Lock on to the Xiscapian Ships”

The tactical officer and Jones both responded, Jones tapped a few buttons and sent a standard call for assistance the tactical officer said with a brisk and stiff inflection.
“Aye sir!”

The Odyssey moved in to position its small sleek form silhouetted against the fire of the xiscapian ships, the noise of energy crackling to life reverberated around the insides of the ship softly and gently ever increasing in tone until it leveled off and a pitched sound.

Mean while several light years away several star ships including the UFS Enterprise where on patrol.

Captain Richard Chance was the captain of the enterprise it was a prestigious assignment one of the best in the fleet, being the flag ship of the federation and all. The UFS Lexington, the UFS Saturn , the UFS Galaxy and the UFS Tryian where among the ships in its escort. The Enterprise was a massive ship its ominous imposting form blotted out many of the stars, its massive body rumbled towards the darkness of space the rest of its escorts following dots upon its grate and large body.

The Bridge of the enterprise was well lit and large, many officers wandered the massive bridge attending to their various duties. Holographic consoles blipped and blinked, tactical screens and scanners showing maps of every sector in secession, tactical screens showing the status of the Enterprise and her escorts.

Ensign Hathaway turned from the helms control , his neutral implants controlling most of the ships movement, he spoke out to the captain who was sitting in his command chair sinking in to it.

“Sir we are receiving a commination from Captain Keogh of the Odyssey... it’s a call for additional ships! Long range sensors are indicated a battle , weapons fire.. I can tell any thing else from this range.”

Chance Sighed he stiffed up in his chair, his form was slender and well toned, his hair thick and black his eyes brown and his skin tanned. He folded his hands on his lap as he started to speak with a commanding inflection in his voice.

“All right, Red alert, charge weapons and raise shields, tell the escorts to follow, I guess we’ll get to test this ships new combat systems after all. All hands.. Battle stations!”

The enterprises’s bridge lit up with red as klaxons blared with a distinctive noise officers rushed to their stations engaging neutral link ups, three dimensional panels appeared in front of them, stations that normally had scientific data scans on them now turned to tactical scans, and weapons frequency scanners. The massive ships form shifted as its engines revved up the energetic build up becoming more high pitched reverberating throughout the massive form of the warship. Space began to rush past it, Chance peered out of the screen his eyes focusing upon the torrent of colors and thousands of stars rushing past the ship. Several seconds passed. Hathaway Spoke out again the ship starting to slow the torrent of stars and colors moving past the massive ship and its escorts slowing to a halt.

“Sir we are reaching the coordinates of the battle, theirs a lot of fire and chatter between ships..”


Chance stood up his form was tall and slender, his uniform fit well on him, he peered over to Hathaway and said softly.

“On screen!”

As Klaxons roared out, as the lights turned red every so often, Chance saw the massive torrent of fire being unleashed , he sighed a bit, he crossed his arms, and started to think. He then spoke out to the tactical officer who had been tied in to the weapons control AI basically sharing their being with one another.

“Target the Xiscapian ships, set a course to nine eight mark five two four opposite of what their shooting at.

The Tactical Officer nodded Hathaway and the officer in unison started to work, the ship and its escorts shifted positions their Inertia-less engines revved up the ships started to move at high speed banking and maneuvering for a 1.8 Km battle ship it was quick its weapons where charged its six hundred meter spinal mount imposting and ominous. Its form dwarfed most other ships in the area. It came to a stop a reasonable range from the enemy group.

Chance said with a soft voice to Hathaway..

“Open a channel”

A blip echoed out, and chance started to speak in a stiff inflection.

“This is captain Richard Chance Of the UFS Enterprise, we have come here with our task force to assist the Odyssey, it seems we arrived in to a fight. Being as the imperials are our allies and one of our ships is in the area we demand that Xiscapian forces leave at once, or there will be dire consequences. We do not seek a conflict nor would we want one, but the Odyssey has informed us that you cut communications before they forwarded an odd blip in scanners just before this incident, we implore you to seek reason. Chance out. ”

The comn cut, the young captain sat on his chair with an exasperated sigh, he was still tense so was the crew and so was this situation if this wasn’t handled correctly this could turn in to a war, and the federation did not want, but could fight one if pressed.

The Enterprise (http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d110/USFU/UFSEnterpiseF.jpg)