Leo couldn't believe the past few days. Stepping off of Gambit, he had expected nothing more than a simple information run. Maybe apply a little pressure, break some bones, a little hot poker torture if absolutely necessary, and then adios. Nothing had prepared him for the reality.
He couldn't remember whether he had been on the planet for two or three days. The entire time had passed in a haze of drinking, women, and merriment. And futile attempts to get Rodrick alone to explain things. It wasn't as simple as the man believed. He believed he had saved his father, but the reality was much less flattering for Leo.
All these thoughts ran through his head as he sat at the table surrounded by townsfolk. The story we was telling he had told so many times, he didn't even have to think about it anymore. The people around were enraptured by his voice. He looked at a young man, no more than seventeen, who hadn't left his side since he had arrived. He was pretty sure the boy slept outside the room he had been given. He hadn't even learned the kid's name.
This thought was forgotten as he looked up over the crowd and saw Rodrick and David sitting at a table talking. He stood up.
“Sorry, boys and girls, but I just remembered something I need to talk to Captain Rodrick about,” he said as he pushed his way through the press of people. They groaned and pleaded with him to stay, but they didn't stop him.
He stopped at the table Captain David and Captain Rodrick were sitting at. David was asking questions, and Rodrick was answering them as if it wasn't the first time he had had to.
“-just came in, killed the Archon, freed you all, and then left, offering to take those that wanted to go with him?” David asked unbelievingly. Leo rolled his eyes. They knew that even before they landed on this planet, why was he having such a hard time believing it now that he was being told it by someone who knew?
“That's right,” Rodrick answered.
“Didn't demand anything? Didn't attack any of you?”
“Only the ones that tried to stop him from getting to the Archon.”
“Unbelievable.”
“That's the fourth time you've said that,” Rodrick said, and then looked up at Leo. “Please, hero, have a seat. I was just telling your captain a little about what has happened here over the past few years.”
“I wish you'd stop calling me that,” Leo said as he sat down. “I'm not a hero.”
“Hear that, David?” Rodrick said, slapping Leo on the back. “Not a hero? What modesty. You are an astoundingly honorable man, Leo. I hope that I'm half the man you are someday.”
“Look,” Leo began. “Let's straighten a few things out. First of all, I didn't save your father. I was one of the ones hired to kidnap him. Things got dicey, and the others panicked, turning on each other. It's not my fault I was the last one standing.”
Rodrick laughed uproariously. “Barkeep! Get this man another drink,” he yelled. The bar roared its approval as the barkeep complied. “You tell some of the craziest stories, man. Can you believe him?” he said to David.
“No, this isn't a story,” Leo insisted. “I would have collected the bounty on your dad myself if I thought I could get away with it. I was sure I would have been nabbed, so I left your dad and got off that planet as fast as I could.”
“No joke?” Rodrick asked, biting back a laugh.
“No joke,” Leo replied seriously.
The man busted out laughing. “And I'm the king of the Imperium!”
Leo sighed and shook his head.
----
Gambit
{Where are you going, my student?} Vardanis said as he materialized out of the darkness.
Asala stopped in her tracks, and the other Nerazhim accompanying her stopped as well. {This David has had ample time to perform his duties. It is time we took matters into our own hands.}
{Be calm, child. Patience and composure will bring you closer to your target, not rash and unthought actions. We will give him more time. The situation is... complicated.}
{You can wait here as long as you want,} Asala said angrily. {I'm going to do what we came here to do.} She then left the ship. The other Nerazhim waited, watching him. After a few moments, he nodded, and followed them off the ship.
----
SoA:
Partying commences on Barkanos
Imperials get impatient and decide to take matters into their own hands
Aria watched events unfold through the eyes of the Overseers, as they slowly drifted about the system. It was inefficient to allow them to wander this far from the ship, but this far outside her Mistress's realm, she did not want to be seen until she had the opportunity to complete her mission. After her victory in the Jorin system (which Orloth had again helped with, one wonders what he accomplished by orchestrating Themos victories from afar) her Mistress had sent her to this backwater to "Learn more of our dear lost lamb's business". Strangely, those order's had recently been overridden, as she now received a directive to protect Dagganoth's interests and insure that he was not hindered. This was strange, not only because it seemed to contradict her Mistress's earlier intent, but also because Aria did not think it came from Lilith; but who else could give her a directive that she had no choice but to obey? Could Orloth have gained that much of her allegiance? or did the order come from the Overmind himself? Neither possibility boded well for the future, but she deemed it best to obey. It was ultimately simpler and safer. So she watched and waited for any indication that these strangers would harm the colonists of Barkanos; because if a move was made against them, she would be forced, by that unknown will that held her allegiance, to intervene; and she did not like the outcome of such an intervention.
SOA: The Rossvelt has been parked in the Davir system for a while now. Hopefully nothing will come of it, but dear Aria has orders to throw in on whichever side Dagganoth is on should things get hairy.
Also, check the map. There have been some slight shifts in zergy space.
“Come on, Leo!! Wake up, Leo!! I need to talk to you!!”
Leo groaned, waking up from his heavy slumber. David was outside his door, yelling fit to wake the dead and pounding on the door.
“Who's that, babe?” a female voice said from his chest, and he looked down at his companion from the evening before. He'd done worse.
“That's the captain,” he said groggily, sitting up and pulling on some pants.
“Leo, don't make me break down this door! You have until the count of three!”
He stood up and ran a hand through his hair as he walked over to the door, muttering. He opened it to see David standing there with his sidearm pointed at where the lock had been.
“What d'ya want, cap'n?” he asked, leaning on the door. His head was killing him. How many days had they been on the planet? Four, five? He couldn't tell anymore.
David stepped past him into the room, reholstering his gun. The boy outside looked apologetically at Leo, before he closed the door.
“Have you seen Rodrick?” David looked around the room. When his eyes reached the bed, he suddenly spun around, facing the wall. “Leo... Get your groupie out of here.”
“Hey!” the woman said. Leo couldn't even remember her name. “What gives you the-”
“Barbara,” Leo guessed. “It's alright. I need to talk to him privately.”
“It's Sarah,” she said angrily, gathering her clothes. “Make sure you set him straight, hero. That's no way to speak to a lady.”
Leo winced at her mention of his status here. He wasn't nearly drunk enough to handle this. Since his last talk with Rodrick, he had given up trying to convince him or the people that he wasn't a hero, he just drank and tried to ignore it.
“Now what did you want?” he asked as the woman left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Have you seen Rodrick?” David asked, turning around once more. “I haven't seen him since we last talked in the bar two days ago. People are starting to wonder.”
Leo thought for a second. “Y'know... I haven't seen him. Have you asked-”
“Yea, yea,” David interrupted him irritatedly. “I've asked everyone. No one knows where he is at.”
Suddenly, his captain's eyes widened in shock. “No,” he said disbelievingly.
“What?” Leo said, more than a little confused.
“Those little, blue-skinned.... Get everyone together, we need everyone armed and ready for action. I think the Imperials have worn out their welcome.” David moved quickly to the door. “Scratch that, you just get to the ship and get your gear. Make sure the townspeople don't follow you. Last thing we need is a witch-hunt on the Imperials. Let's try to settle this without any further bloodshed.”
Leo was suddenly struck with what was happening. The Imperials had what!? He didn't even notice David leave the room in his hurry to get dressed. Right as he was about to leave through the front door, he thought better of it, instead throwing his pack out the window. He jumped to the roof underneath him, and then grabbed his pack and jumped the rest of the way to the ground.
He then made his way to where Gambit was berthed. He had to double-back three times to avoid being seen by the townsfolk. It really wouldn't do for them to get caught in an altercation between David and the Imperials.
Finally, he made it to the ship, and within minutes he was in his combat armor with his heavy machine gun, standing in front of the ship. He had kept his eyes open on the ship, but he hadn't seen any of them. They were probably in the cargo hold.
Soon, the other's began arriving. David in his combat armor, Dr. Rark in his medic armor, Casey in her ghost uniform. Haley arrived holding one of the protoss observers.
“What are you doing here?” David asked. “This is no place for you to be.”
“Yea?” she asked haughtily. “Without this here observer, how are you going to know where they are. They're Nerazhim, numbnuts. They'll rip you pieces before you even see them.”
“Good point,” David answered. “Alright, you can come, but stay out of the way, and don't get dead.”
“Believe me, I have no intentions of getting in between you guys.”
{You realize the implications of what you are about to do, do you not?} Po'Nath said, materializing out of the shadows. The protoss was almost as stealthy as one of the dark templar. The only reason Leo had noticed him even a micro-second before he spoke was because of his suit.
“Hey,” David began. “I'm not gonna go in guns blazing. But yes, I do realize what I'm doing if this goes sour.” He turned to the rest of them. “And I believe all of you do?”
Everyone, Leo included, nodded.
“If any of you want to back out, you are more than welcome to,” he went on. No one did.
After a few moments, he went on. “Okay then. Puck.”
“Yessir,” the chipper pilot said with a mock salute.
“Get to the bridge and prepare to take off. Once this goes down, I want to be away from here as soon as possible.”
“Gotcha,” Puck quipped, moving off at a run.
“Everyone else... Let's misbehave.”
“They appear to be in the cargo hold,” Haley added as they set out with David in the lead with his large rifle, flanked by Po'Nath and Leo. Haley and Dr. Rark walked behind them, and Casey brought up the rear.
They made their way towards the cargo hold, and Leo couldn't help but get the pre-fight jitters. It had been awhile since he had had a good fight. It had been even longer since he had fought protoss. They were tricky opponents.
They entered the cargo hold in formation, and David immediately gestured for them to spread out. With the help of the observers, each of them were able to find and tag the dark templar so their cloaking wouldn't work.
Asala stood in the center of the cargo hold, with the two scout ships hanging above her and the three civilians and Rodrick, who were each huddled on the floor clutching their heads. Vardanis picked up his long, gem-studded rifle and stepped up next to her as Leo and David approached them, staying a good distance apart so as to be able to create a crossfire if the worst should happen. Leo could see Casey above them with her sniper rifle pointed down, choosing her target, an unfortunate dark templar who knew he was under crosshairs.
“Stand down, Imperials,” David said, bringing his rifle up and pointing it at Asala. “This isn't the way we do things.”
{And how do you do things?} Asala sneered, stepping forward. {The hallmark of inefficiency, you terrans are. Always doing things in your clumsy and childish ways. This is how you get the job done! This is how you perform your duties!}
{Calm, Asala,} Vardanis said. He turned to David. {We are performing the duties that you have failed to in the week that we have been on this planet. A week, and no new information. A week of frivolous parties and inane banter. Do not blame us for deciding to do the job for you. Doing the job that you lack the resolve and honor to do.}
Leo stepped forward, and found himself looking down the barrel of Vardanis's rifle. {Don't try it. You will be dead before you take another step.}
“You let these people go!” Leo said. “They don't know anything!”
{Then they have nothing to fear,} Vardanis replied. {But, if they are hiding something-}
Leo took an involuntary step forward in anger, and the next seconds passed in a blur. He heard a scream “Noooo!!”, saw the muzzle flash of the protoss's rifle, and then heard a thud as a figure passed in front of him.
The cargo hold was completely silent as Leo looked down at the crumpled heap that used to be the boy. The one that had followed him everywhere since he had made landfall. The boy who's name he still didn't know.
A wordless roar escaped his lips as he charged the protoss. Three more muzzle flashes, and he felt a little resistance in his charge. His gun forgotten, he dropped it, seizing Vardanis's rifle and wrenching it upward as his armored shoulder slammed into the protoss's head.
Leo faintly heard gun shots and psi-blades around him, but he had eyes only for Vardanis. He brought the rifle down like a club on the offending creature's head, and roared again as he brought the club up and down, up and down. The protoss feebly tried to defend against the armor-empowered strikes, turning the first few away, but the ferocity of Leo's attacks broke through, and Vardanis was beat down.
A few more gunshots rang out, as Leo dropped the rifle and stumbled around aimlessly. He fell to his knees. His legs were numb. He looked downward. His armor showed three cracked holes, one in his chest, and two in his abdomen. Blood poured out of them.
He fell over onto his side. As his head rolled around to look upwards, and his vision fuzzed away, he saw the ships above him suddenly explode, and darkness descended on him.
-----
SoA:
Imperials kidnap and torture Rodrick and three Barkanos citizens
David figures this out and confronts themselves
David and crew “kill” Vardanis and Asala, as well as three of the dark templar. The other two dark templar escape once their leaders are downed.
Leo sustains serious gunshot wounds (10% point reduction)
Asala self-destructs the two protoss scout ships that were hanging in the cargo bay, crippling Gambit until further notice
As he had done so often, Murkag glided into the Davir system. As Dagganoth looked through its eyes, he immediately noticed the same scene as he had several weeks ago. Davir II, a hot desert-planet, looked like a golden globe from this distance. Right across from it, past the system's sun, was the ocean world of Davir V. Due to its similar size, it looked like the blue counterpart to it's golden brother. Furthest away from the sun, and more off to the side was the lush mountainous planet of Barkanos. Everything looked ordinary. Not everything felt ordinary to Dagganoth, though. As he carefully scanned the area for psionic Zerg activity, his mental radar went haywire. There was a large Zerge force hiding in the shadows of Davir V, and Dagganoth immediately recognized their psionic signature as being from the Themos Brood.
{Didn't expect you back here so soon.}, Aria's voice spoke as it entered Dagganoth's mind.
{Didn't expect you here. Though I cannot say your... presencce does not make sensse. I do not think it can remain, however. If the Piratess were to find out...}, the Cerebrate replied.
{I'm expecting them not to. You see, my orders are to keep an eye on your planet and funnily enough, assist you if any battle might break out. Not that you'd get into a fight. Or would you, Dagganoth?}
Dagganoth quickly reasoned with himself for a second. He knew that it was unlikely she was lying; if there was indeed a malicious reason behind an underling of Lillith being here - which there likely was, knowing Lillith - its orders had been overwritten by the Overmind's call. There was no way Lillith would have stationed troops here to guard his interest for no apparent reason. Realizing who he was dealing with, he adjusted his pose. One of the major advantages of being a Cerebrate was that his emotions and character weren't as easy to read as those of infested Terrans.
{Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. Regardless, I guess I wouldn't want to interfere with such a... 'noble' goal.}
{I had thought you wouldn't.} were the words Aria ended the conversation with as Murkag slowly glided on towards Barkanos.
-
David had just finished hammering a nail into an iron support beam when Puck's head stuck around the corner.
"Captain, I need you on the bridge. You need to see this."
Grudgingly, David left his repairs behind for now and followed Puck to the bridge. As the two stepped into the room, Puck began to speak.
"Though a lot of our systems were rather heavily damaged, I'm pretty sure your sensors are still intact."
"What do you mean, 'pretty sure'?", David replied.
"Do you see these dots here, surrounding our ship? I think that's a circle of Mutalisks, closing in."
With that, David ran out of the room and yelled for everybody to prepare. As he equipped his armor and closed the loading bay door, he made his way back to the bridge, from where he could look outside. A ring of Mutalisks was indeed closing in on the vessel, but something curious happened as well; as David watched, a fairly regular Terran transport landed not thirty meters from his ship. David looked on as two Terrans came out - one completely unarmed, and another seemingly infested shielding him and walking up front. Following the two Terrans, a host of Zerglings formed a line as they came to a halt. He saw the unarmed Terran put his hands to his mouth as he yelled at the Gambit:
"David... We want to talk to you. Please stand down and come out of your ship unarmed."
"Do you think I'm stupid?", David shouted back. The unarmed Terran put his hands to his mouth again.
"We promise you will not be harmed."
"I am NOT coming out there unarmed with an entire Zerg army on the lookout. What do you take me for?"
David watched as the two Terrans looked at eachother. A few second later all of the Zerglings backed off, and the Mutalisks flew back a fair distance. He considered his options for a second, and then decided to go for it. He made his way down to the loading bay and opened the door. He then walked outside in full armor, his gun at the ready but not raised.
"I can talk cordially, I've just had a bit too many guns pointed at me recently. Not to keen on getting shot at again."
As the 'infested' Terran took a step in his direction, David got a clearer look at him. It appeared that he was wearing some kind of infested body armor and wasn't as much infested himself.
"Makes sense... we want to talk. But know that if you betray or harm any one of us, you've got a problem. An enormous amount of flying problems, actually."
"Understood, as long as you know that if you attack me, I'll take as many of you with me as I can, starting with you. I take it you're Dagganoth's lot?", David replied.
The unarmed man chuckled at this remark. He looked at David and then walked towards him, holding out his hand.
"I Think we haven't been called that way yet, but yes. I'm Adam. That's jack.". He nodded at the 'infested' next to him.
David looked at Adam's hand, not taking it. "Let's save the pleasantries until after I know I can trust you. You've got me. My ship can't take off, you've got superior numbers. But you haven't attacked. What do you want with me?".
"Simple... We want to know what you want with us."
This time it was David's turn to chuckle.
"Well, here's the rub. I don't want anything with you guys. My business has been conducted."
"What was it you wanted, then?"
"That is between me and the Imperials. By the way, THEY want to talk to you."
"Imperials... interesting. I don't think it's between the two of you anymore, though. It stopped being such when you landed on this planet.". The man named Adam eyed the smoking Gambit. "And judging from what Rodrick tells us, you seem to have fairly little reason left to protect them."
David's previous chuckle was now surpassed by an all out laugh. "Protect them? They now want to kill me almost as much as they want to kill you. But simply, my business, is no longer their business."
Adam looked at him for a couple of seconds, apparently thinking things through before replying. "Alright... Well, here's the thing, whoever you are. We want to trust you. If you've asked anybody on this planet, you'll know we're not the bad guys. But you have to give us something. You're on our planet. One of our citizens has been killed. Your ship looks as if it's about to explode. You can't expect us to allow you to just make your repairs and fly out of here as if nothing happened."
"If Rodrick told you everything, then you know that I literally put my neck on the chopping block between you and the Imperium. I think that more than suffices."
"His story was somewhat incoherent, but you're saying it's completely true, then? You were hired by the Imperium to find information on Dagganoth and had a falling out with them?"
"Let's not talk here. Too many things I can't say. I take it your master will want to talk to me?"
"I wouldn't call him my 'master', but yes. As you'll know though, he's a Cerebrate. I'm talking on his behalf. He is viewing this scene right now. Where would you like to go?"
With that, David nodded at Adam as he turned around and walked into the Gambit. Adam appeared to stare into thin air for a few seconds before nodding at Jack, both of them following David inside. As they entered the ship, David lead them to the apparently empty bridge. After several seconds of silence, Adam broke it.
"Alright, so talk. What happened?"
David told the story. "Approximately two months ago, I took protoss refugees seeking passage to Sindiris. A Khalos among them, who I understand was outfitted with..."
"...I didn't agree with their methods, and so they had to be stopped. And so far, you've been painfully friendly, so I think I made the right choice."
In the silence after David's story, Jack and Adam looked at eachother again. Suddenly, David saw the infested parts of armor on Jack's arms and torso shrink rapidly until nothing but small objects were left, looking a bit like gauntlets. David noted that Jack's gun had disappeared along with the infested armor. As Jack neatly tucked the gauntlet-like object away into his belt, Adam spoke again.
"In that case, you have our trust, and our thanks. We'd like to repay the debt. Do you need help with your repairs? We have an engineer on board our ship who could probably help you out. I also heard that one of your crew was wounded? We may have a solution to that, too..."
"We can take care of our own, but if you want to lend your aid, I won't stop you."
"Can you take us to him?"
-
Fifteen minutes later, the group walked into the medical bay of the Gambit as a tall, handsome man with short red hair and an iron earring walked into the loading bay, two volunteers standing behind him. He took a slow look around the ship and the damage that had been caused. This was going to be a bit of work.
A short, red-haired girl flipped up the visor of her face-shield and looked down at the trio of newcomers from where she hung from the ceiling. She quickly repelled down the side as the leader of the trio continued looking around. She detached herself and slowly walked over to him, until she stood beside him, looking around with him.
"You ever worked on one of these?"
“Back in the early days,” the man replied. “They don't make 'em like this anymore. A Mark VI, am I right?"
"Indeed. One of the best series out there. The extra stabilizers, and dual-rotating engines make for a smooth ride,” she said probingly.
“If you have a skilled pilot,” he shot back immediately. ”But the real kicker that makes these shitcans worthwhile is the alternating engine coils. For such a small thing, these guys sure do pack a massive punch. Speed-wise, that is. And with that skilled pilot, ain't nothing touching you once you're off the ground.”
“You really do know your stuff. You've used one of these then, I assume?”
"Indeed I have, miss. I've been working on ships longer than you've been alive, I reckon. Name's Barclay O'Scott, but most call me Barc. I'm an engineer. It's been a while since I got to practice my profession, but Dagganoth sent me to help. These two numbnuts here are Donnal 'n Daigo. Mostly for the heavy-lifting.” he added with a grin.
“Well then they can start with...”
-
As the group in the cargo bay set off to work, a floor up Jack approached Leo's bed. David had introduced him and Adam to a Dr. Rark, who had informed him that the bullets had been taken out of Leo's body, but that he was going to need time to recover fully. Jack looked from Rark to David.
"I may have a way to speed his recovery up. Please trust me on this."
Jack took one of the gauntlets from his belt and took it in his left arm. As soon as he gripped the handle the object seemed to grow around his hand and all the way up to his torso, the front end shaping back into the gun barrel David had seen before. As Rark and David looked at Jack cautiosly, he aimed his arm at the ceiling.
"Here goes nothing!"
One second later a green blur came out of Jack's gun. David followed it with his eyes as it bounced off the ceiling, seemed to catch itself on the edge of Leo's bed and used Jack's knee to jump onto Leo's leg. Only once it had stopped moving could David see that the green ball was actually some kind of Zerg-like creature, sporting a round mouth and several tentacle-like arms. He shifted uncomfortably...
"Leo won't like this."
Adam leaned over and whispered to him;
"Don't worry. Your Leo seems very similar to our Jack. It's almost adorable how he handles them by now..."
"Jack's family wasn't killed by the Zerg", David replied. Adam immediately shut up and shifted back, holding his tongue.
On the bed, the Terling was slowly creeping its way up to Leo's gunwounds, treading with such light footsteps that the unconscious Leo didn't even seem to notice it. As soon as it reached the three wounds, it quietly spittled drops of seemingly acidic saliva into them. The wounds quickly begun to sizzle and close up as they turned into extremely pale white human flesh. After finishing up, the Terling jumped back onto Jack's shoulder.
Dr. Rark spoke for the first time since Jack launched his Terling. "Fascinating."
"They have their uses", Jack replied. "Not saying he'll be up and running within the hour, but it should shave a week or so of his natural healing time."
"I must say," Jonathan went on. "That is utterly fascinating... May I... see one? ... Have a sample maybe?"
"Sure, you can keep it.", Jack replied, holding up his hand. The Terling on his shoulder used Jack's hand to jump across the room, swing off a lamp and land on Jonathan's shoulder."
"Amazing..."
This time, Adam replied. "Study it all you want. Keep in mind though - the Terling is a new specimen of Zerg, even if not a very complicated one. Dagganoth essentially controls them. If you get too far away from him, Dagganoth will lose control. There's no saying what will happen to it. It will most likely go dormant or feral, or simply disintegrate. Unless another psionic were to take control of it, anyway."
"Very well. Thank you for the head's up", Rark said.
Jack nodded politely at Rark and David as Adam again stuck out his hand at David. "Now, will you shake it?", he asked cheerfully.
SoA
-Murkag enters the Davir system and Dagganoth notices Aria's forces. He has a small talk with Aria and finds out she's here to back up him or his assets. He keeps this information to himself for now.
-Adam and Jack approach David and talk with him. David shares his story as things turn friendly between both sides. Jack uses his Terlings to repair some of the damage done to Leo, spending 3 of the 6 points required to 'heal' him back up to full stats.
-At the same time, engineer Barclay and two twin volunteers (Donnal and Daigo) meet up with Haley in the docking bay in order to offer their services in repairing the Gambit back to full.
“What is it this time, Aranov?” Arthur Dent of the Magrathean Empire asked as the Coalition Conference started.
“Keeva, do you mind if I do this?” Lord Aranov asked.
“Not at all.”
“We all know that the Outsiders have been a thorn in our side for very long now, and are just causing us many unnecessary problems. Their acts of terrorism force our people to live in fear, and the Quantum Legions stance on peace prevented us from taking any action against them.”
Orion of the Aurulean Technocracy just let out a loud “pfft”, and Aranov shortly shot him a dangerous look.
“But the recent attack on the Naran system finally changed Keeva’s mind. We are going on the offensive.”
“Define “we”.” Doom said. “I’m getting the awful feeling it isn’t plural.”
“We are all--”
“I’m not gonna do this alone.”
“That’s not what I was--”
“Alright, fine, I’ll do it.”
“Will you just sh--”
“But there better be a good paycheck.”
“SHUT UP.” Aranov yelled at the filthy pirate. “You’ll get paid as usual. You’ll be in charge of clearing the eastern systems, in and close to the nebula. I’ll send my own troops and any support I get from the Tirion and Magratheans to conquer and defend our border with the zerg.”
“What about the southern central ones?” Doom asked.
“You’ve got Ratar there. Once we’re done with Naran, we can help out there if necessary.”
“When do we start?” Doom asked.
“The sooner the better.” Aranov said.
“Alright, I’ll finish loading up these crates of rum and then it’s off to Karibia for me.” Doom said, draining his bottle.
Lord Domovoi Aranov's Penthouse Zagrov, Dinary Sytem
After the conference ended, Aranov walked over to the table and poured himself a glass of wine. He tasted it, decided he was satisfied with it and then walked back to the communications station in his room. He pushed a few buttons with his free hand, sending out a call to the Auruleans, and then walked to his floor to ceiling windows to admire the view. As he took another sip of wine, Orion’s hologram appeared behind him.
“What is it?” He asked, sounding annoyed. But annoyed at something else, not Aranov.
“I received some bad news.” Aranov said, not turning around to the hologram. The time to play nice with the Auruleans was over, it was time to show them who the dominant person here was.
“And what would those be?” Orion asked after Aranov didn’t continue, somewhat annoyed at Aranov as well now.
“I’ve always liked the name “Wychata”.” He said. “How’s that stealth cruiser been doing lately?”
“It’s absolutely fine. We haven’t really had much use for them because we are forced to be peaceful.” Orion practically spat the last word.
“Oh, alright then. I was already worried because I heard it was gone. But if you say it’s fine, it’s fine.” Aranov took another sip of wine. “If I may ask, how is our project going?”
Orion took a while to answer, Aranov smiled and took another sip.
“Our test subject is showing much progress, he should be ready within a couple of weeks.”
“Good. I was already worried that he... I don’t know... Somehow blew up an entire high tech lab or something, killed all the military personell and then hijacked an expensive stealth cruiser with high tech equipment for him and some of the most valuable ghosts in the Coalition after Xavier.”
Orion did not know how to answer. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, and made some light noises that sounded as if he were very offended.
“Orion, fix this.” Aranov said, not sounding even remotely polite anymore. “Or the two of us are done.”
“Don’t you--”
“Don’t I what?” Aranov said as he turned around to face Orion’s hologram. “Threaten you? As far as anyone is concerned, I’m not paying you any money whatsoever. So please tell me, what am I threatening you with?”
Aranov ended the call, and smiled as he took another sip of wine.
SoA:
Coalition goes offensive on the Outsiders
Doom Bonecrusher with his 3 ship fleet (Flying Drunkman, Andrumeda, Black Pearl) is leaving for the Karibia system. 7 IC travel time
Aranov sends a fleet consisting of one Aranov Standard, one Aranov Patrol and one Aranov Light towards Naran to meet up with the rest of the troops. Chaos, if you still want to do this, please hurry up. Otherwise I'm putting Xavier in charge of one of the ships and he'll take care of it. 3 IC travel time to meet up with the other ships one hex above Naran, will wait a couple of ICs/until I hear from Chaos before taking control of this myself.
OOC: Might be a bit too dramatic. Or badly written. Same thing?
Run. Hide. There is still time.
They were as rigid as statues. Living substitutes for the stone guardians that had once guarded the entrance to the building. Four warriors and two dragoons. They were all that was left, apart from the two that were resting. And they were all tired... So tired.
You know that they are only stalling. They can destroy you whenever they want to. But they are merely withholding, keeping you trapped while they destroy what you haven't already. Claiming this planet as their own.
A barricade blocked most of the entrance. Several meters thick. Fallen masonry, pieces of metal, zerg bodies, dragoon shells. Whatever they could find. But they had to keep a small part of the passage free, so that the zerg rushed through it instead of simply destroying it.
Oh, but you've seen what they can do. You've seen them dig and you've seen their worms. They can end this whenever they want to. They are toying with you. They are toying with you and they are not stupid, not dumb animals streaming in through your small gap to be slaughtered. They are wearing you down, robbing you of your hope and strength, while they fulfill their real goals.
They were the last ones. The only thing standing between the monsters and the remaining civilians. Their ship was gone, packed with as many refugees as could fit into it and on its way to safer space. They were alone...
And dead. You have been left here to die, along with those you think you saved. Overloading the psi network, destroying the zerg, destroying the city, trapping yourself and the civilians in this building. They are as dead as they would be had they stayed outside. Without light to live off of, save for the light of their hope. And what a foolish hope! That the Imperium will return! And rescue them! That Erana will hold her promise!
They felt their minds before they saw their bodies. Feral, cruel, ignorant. The zerg climbed the hill of dead bodies and debris in front of the building and charged the barricade. The dragoons immediately began picking off the banelings, trying to keep them from destroying the barricade. The faster ones -zerglings- kept running.
Watch them now. They funnel in even before they arrive at the barricade. Disciplined, organized. And you think them stupid beasts?
The first zerglings passed through the gap and leaped at the zealots, slashing, biting, screaming. They fought like demons. And the protoss responded in kind. Their blades cut through zerg after zerg, spilling ichor over themselves and the stone floor. But this time it was different. He knew it as soon as he felt the ground shake.
You could have run. You still can. You can live while they die. Why not do it? Why die here? There are no preservers alive to remember your valiant last stand. And there are also no preservers alive to condemn your flight. You can still live!
One of his warriors sent out a psionic scream as his shields gave out and he disappeared under a flood of zerglings. The dragoon behind him exploded, spewing its blue goo all over him. A zergling jumped at him. His shields gave out and he was toppled to the ground. He lashed out blindly and managed to decapitate the creature and stand back up. His warriors were gone, replaced by living carpet of zerg. He was-
Alone. And now you die. Alone.
He fought like a demon. His vision became clouded, his body was quickly covered in zerg ichor. He felt nothing, saw nothing. He lashed out at minds he could barely feel, defended himself from attacks he did not register. And then the barricade exploded. A flying zerg hit him squarely in the chest and he was thrown to the ground. He looked up. Where the barricade had been stood the largest zerg he had ever seen. An ultralisk. So they had finally decided to end it. He closed his eyes, awaiting the end he knew would come. It did not.
-
{Praetor, we are about to arrive.} Khalos had already been awake for an hour but it was the captain's announcement that stirred his thoughts. He sat up in his bed now, shaking his head to clear it of the memory that had visited him unbidden in his sleep. But it persisted: a few small pockets of fear and despair clinging to his mind as he purged it.
He began to pace around his room - the Executor's Quarters - focusing on eradicating the feelings nagging at him, but the more he thought about them, the stronger and more resistant they became. He could almost feel the panic he had felt at the time, the blind fear gnawing at his mind as he withstood wave after wave of zerg trying to break through. All up to the point where the terrans came and saved him from the zerg's clutches, quite literally at the last second.
That had been more than five years ago. So why did it all feel so recent? Why did he remember it now, and not in his days of boredom on New Aiur? During his recovery under Dagganoth's "care"?
Khalos looked down at "his" arm at the memory of the cerebrate. He remembered the series of events that had lead to the most unlikely of encounters, the battle with the Order... the fear. His fear. To his surprise, the hybrid hand seemed to clench itself into a fist at the memory. At first he thought it was acting up on its own, but then he realized his own hand was clenched tightly. More than that, he suddenly felt anger. No, rage. Blind, inexplicable rage, erasing the fear that no amount of thought had been able to control.
{Praetor, we will be arriving very shortly. I suggest you present yourself on the bridge.}
{I am aware,} Khalos answered, putting far more irritation into the response than he intended.
{Is something amiss, Praetor?} came the immediate query.
{No... no... it is...} Khalos was taken aback by his own behavior. Confused, he tried to find its cause, a reason for the anger. He thought back to his thoughts, to the battle... It was a murky area of his memory. He really did not remember that much and hadn't tried to since: more important things had needed tending to. But he thought back to it now, thought as hard as he could. And after a while, it came back to him. Erana's offer. Her immediate betrayal. His own folly. His own terror.
And then, as suddenly as it had struck, it all disappeared. The fear, the anger. All gone, leaving behind nothing but a tempered mind, metal forged in the fires of a star.
{I will be there shortly,} he notified the Flame's captain, and left the room. And on his way to the bridge, he moved both his arms as if they were entirely his own, making that gesture which he had seen terrans use so often: a fist hitting an open palm. A clear sign that a battle was about to start. Or as the terrans so eloquently put it: "that shit was about to go down."
Nick stood in the sandstorm, waiting, sand flying into his face. But he did not care - No amount of sand in his eyes could irritate him. Oh, it irritated him shortly, but it didn’t take more than a couple of seconds for his body to devise an acid that would vaporise anything that touched his eyes and his nerves adjusted themselves to no longer feel irritated unless the acid couldn’t finish its job.
It wasn’t the hot kind of desert - It was freezing, forty degrees below the freezing point. There just simply wasn’t any water at the north pole of Dones to turn into snow or ice. But Nick did not feel the cold, and it wasn’t the black ghost suit with blue lines he needed to thank for it. He did not wear the visor and helmet as it seemed to worsen his sight, instead of enhancing it. He could already see everything naturally - Angles, distances, heat, UV, infrared, and the dark did not prove challenging either. If the stars weren’t so bright to him, he wouldn’t be able to tell if it was day or night.
A few hundred meters behind him lay the Wychata. He covered it with sand, so it merely looked like a hill. After they had landed - undetected, of course - He had asked Arcus to transmit a video, a speech he had recorded prior to their arrival, asking the Outsiders to join him, and then giving them his coordinates. Even now his suit was broadcasting a signal on a massive range of frequencies.
He ran a hand over the blade of his “X-04 Katana”. He did not expect the Outsiders to join his cause. Not many at least, not before he showed them his power.
Not before he finally got to kill.
He could hear the sound of dropships, roughly ten kilometers away, and smiled. Even through the thick sandstorm, he could see the Outsider flagships in the distance.
I AM HERE. His mind was heard for tens of kilometers. I DO NOT FEAR YOU. JOIN ME, OR DIE BY MY HAND.
It was not him talking. Well, it was... But mostly his other him. His fun him. Not like he minded, it was himself he was talking about afterall.
“This is Commander O’Connor.” He heard over the radio. “Surrender now, Mr. Reyd, and your lives will be spared. And don’t think we don’t see your ship under that sand.”
Make me.
A set of dropships stopped a good distance further away and began to deploy its troops at a safe distance.
Or so it thought.
Nick ran over the terrain at a speed that would put a hellion to shame. He cut off the first marines head before its feet reached the floor. He clenched his fists, and made a motion as if he were throwing something at the ground.
Blue energy enveloped the dropship, pulling it to the floor and shattering it to a million pieces, a lot of which flew straight into Nick. But he did not care, nothing could hurt him.
He took out his rifle, and a single shot tore an entire dropship apart. Another motion of his hand, and a gravity well formed in midair, dragging in dropships and the few troops they already dropped into it. Screams echoed across the desert as men and women were crushed. A wave of his hand, and it all exploded, raining blood, fire and shards of metal on the ground.
The voice inside his head laughed, and he laughed with it.
Siege tanks had already deployed themselves and fired at him, but blue energy absorbed their projectiles. He turned to them, and shot down three of them before they could fire a second shot. A wave of his hand and they flew into the air and towards him. Another flick and they all shattered in a massive blue explosion.
He ran over to a large squadron of firebats, marines and medics. A wall of solid blue energy appeared behind them, and a shockwave of blue emanated from Nick, slamming the entire squad against the wall resulting in a massive explosion of blood.
Blood running down his hair, face, over his mouth and entire body as he turned to the rest of the amassed army, grinning like the madman he was. Blood, fire and metal covered a large section of the desert already, and Nick was far from done...
The crowd roared as the Link landed. The event had been turned into a special celebration and many had come out to see it. While none of the Empire's inhabitants were particularly prideful or nationalistic, the feeling that the launch of the Collective project had created was one of enthousiasm. Aside from improving relations with the Tirion republic, the Magratheans liked the tiny taste of military independence. Not that they were unhappy with the Aranov Consectorate; quite the opposite. However, some more direct control and nationality did cause a glimmering interest.
As the Battlecruisers' main dock opened, four figures came out. Any Magrathean would instantly recognize the one leading the group: he was Douglass Lass, the president of the Tirion Republic. Behind him stood a somewhat older-looking man, a black-haired woman and a strong, young official. All three were clad in a grab coloured dark green with bright red details.
Two men approached the group; one clad in a similar garb, the other instantly recognizable by just his face: Arthur Dent, the leader of the Empire. As the two shook hands and greeted eachother the cameras rolled freely. Once they finished up their brief introduction, the officials in the green-red garbs shook hands with the man next to Arthur Dent. Soon after, Dent turned around and walked to a makeshift podium to adress the crowd.
"Magratheans, sisters, brothers... Today is the start of something new. If you have been following the news, you will know this ship is known as the Link. And you will also know that these people behind me are both Tirion and Magrathean officers. These men will work together to perform the will of the Empire and of the Republic, our close allies.
Our forces have worked together over the past months to realize this project, and this is where it finally begins. As of today, the Link is officially 'in action' and it will start performing missions around the sector. This is a fine example of what craftsmanship and hard work can achieve."
Dent gestured at Lass when mentioning craftsmanship.
"Normally I would say to you: 'Long live the Empire'. Today however, I say to you... 'Long live the Collective'!"
Applause was heard once more as Dent and Lass shook hands again and disappeared from the scene. The crowd then started talking amongst themselves as a legion of Magratheans in green-red outfits started to board the vessel and the officials disappeared into the ship.
-
The Link ready room, roughly two hours later
"Well, so much for the formal introduction", the captain said to the three first mates standing around the holographic projection table in front of him. "In case you didn't catch it outside, my name is Moranno Tenara. While on duty, I prefer 'sir' because it's shorter, but my surname or rank will suffice. First name's fine off-duty."
Tenara paused, waiting for a reaction from any of his officers. It came from the middle-aged woman. "Synna Akirano. Pleasure to properly meet you". She nodded.
Next, the younger man on the right spoke. "Verron Cinnet, at your service", he said as he saluted. Tenara grinned.
"You can leave out the salutes from now on - saves us both some crucial time."
Verron went red as the older man took a small step forward and introduced himself. "Joshep Barage, sir".
The captain then pushed a button on the table, activating its holographic projector; it was a representation of the Magrathea system. "With that out of the way, lets get down to business. What you see here is the system we are currently located in. I assume you'll recognize it."
Synna thoughtfully scratched her cheek as Joshep looked on silently. Verron's eyes were locked on the hologram so tightly it made the young officer look like he was trying to pierce an Ultralisk with his gaze.
"This", Tenara said as he pushed a button and the holograph zoomed in on a planet, "is the nearby planet of Elos. As you'll know, we are to use the resources in our cargo hold to set up a base for ourselves. That planet is where we'll do so."
Miss Akirano looked thoughtful for a second before speaking out. "Weren't there Outsider forces scattered over the planet, last time it was scanned?"
"Exactly", Moranno replied. "And that is where our first mission lies. We are to clear the planet of Outsiders in order to set up our own base."
"I'm guessing that means a planetary assault? An orbital bombardment would ruin the planet's surface", Joshep interjected.
"Right again, were it not for one obstacle...", Tenara replied. "The Outsiders are said to have a large flagship in the area, which will need to be neutralized before we can take control of the planet. We will need some support to take out this ship. Only once we reach the planet, we'll find suitable landing spots and begin our assault. I've decided to radio the nearby Pirate patrol vessel for orbital assistance."
"The Pirates? We can't trust them! We ask them along and they'll turn against us as the battle starts!", Verron immediately shouted out.
Tenara looked from Synna to Joshep. When no one replied to Verron's outburst, Synna started talking. "I do not think we need to be so afraid of Pirates from the coalition; even if they wanted to sell us out, their betrayal would mean war in the entire sector. I do however agree that we shouldn't trust them so readily if we haven't explored other options, though."
The captain looked somewhat annoyed as he gave his reply. "Fine, fine... I know the rules; if two of you disagree, I can't make the decision. What would you suggest however? We need that support or we may as well stick to this planet and never leave."
Suddenly Joshep interjected. "I may have a solution for that problem. The Pirates are not the only ones who can offer us support. There's an Aranov Patrol at the system's edge that we could request assistance from."
"Aranov? Well, no offense, but I thought we were doing all this precisely to grow less dependent on his army."
"Be that as it may, the Consectorate is still a loyal ally. Plus, we will be in charge of the operation, since we are running it. We will still have our independence", Joshep shot back.
Moranno thought for a second before answering. "I guess that makes sense. Unless you two disagree, that's how we'll do it. Mr. Barage, make the call. Mr. Cinnet, you have the bridge. Ms. Akirano.... dismissed". With that, Moranno and two of his officers left the ready room, leaving Joshep alone to access the projection table.
Ten minutes later, the remaining crowd roared one last time as the Link undocked and departed Magraia.
SoA
-A Tirion-manned Link lands on Magraia and the Magrathean part of the crew boards.
-Dent adresses the Empire in a speech.
-The Link receives its first mission: to clear out the planet Elos of Outsiders and set up its base of operations/colony there. It travels there from the planet of Magraia, along with an Aranov Patrol vessel for support. Since these planets are both located in the same system, there are 0 IC's/days travel time.
As soon as the Link exited warp space to meet up with the Aranov Patrol ship, a transport ship left the Aranov vessel and requested docking permissions - No form of identification was sent. Tenara looked at his advisors before making a decision.
"Let them dock." He said after a short while, and watched the transport ship get closer.
"Who do you think it is, sir?" One of the crew members asked him.
"I don't know." Tenara said after some consideration - Coming to his ship in person was completely unnecessary, no matter who it was.
{ Ship has docked. } A voice said over the radio.
"Who is it?" Tenara asked.
There was a short pause before the reply.
{ He wishes to see you. Looks like a ghost operative, ID X-01 according to his suit and gun. Wears mostly black with minor pieces of Aranov colors. }
"Escort him to me." Tenara said, somewhat wary. Ghosts were never a good sign.
One of the crew members pushed a few buttons and a holographic screen with the security camera feed showed up beside Tenara, showing the ghost. He was rather tall, athletically built and had a heavy sniper rifle on his back. His hair was black, he seemed to have blue eyes and his face showed no emotion whatsoever. It didn't take him particularly long to reach the Captain.
"My name is Xavier Origin. Aranov has asked me observe and evaluate how you handle the Elos situation." The ghost said bluntly.
"Greetings, Xavier." Tenara replied and extended his hand. Xavier did not take it. "I'm Captain Moranno Tenara. These are two of my officers, Synna Akirano and Joshep Barage. Aranov asked you to "observe and evaluate" us?"
The ghost had been calmly observing the room, taking in details rapidly while Tenara had been talking.
"He is always looking for new talent." The Ghost said, returning his gaze to Tenara, looking at him with his cold blue eyes. It was unnerving, even for a ghost. "His father focused too much on protocol and rules in his opinion, so there are very few high ranking officers at the moment who can use their own heads instead of blindly following instructions to the letter."
He paused for a second, examined Tenara, re-read his file in his mind, and then continued.
"He fully spports your independence," He said, knowing that that was what the Captain was worrying about. "He just wants to know how good you are at your job, should you ever request support or be requested to support us."
Moranno looked at Akirano and Barage, the latter of which lightly nodded. He then replied "I would not like to have to start this mission with Aranov looking over our shoulders, but if you put it like that, I can see where the man is coming from. How can we help you?"
"Just do your job. The Patrol ship I came from is under your command. A couple of rules regarding me:
1.) I do not exist, so there is no point of talking about me with anyone, not even Domovoi himself.
2.) I am not in charge nor just an observer. If you require my assistance, ask for it."
Akirano and Barage looked at each other for a second before the first spoke up. "That's all fine and good, but how do we know we can trust you, then? An illusive ghost who does not exist and who's alleged credentials should not be backtraced to his alleged commander. You could be an Outsider spy for all we know."
"If you've ever trusted a ghost, you've been doing your job wrong." The ghost said, complete unfazed by the accusations. His calm- and directness was becoming really unnerving.
"I don't know... None of them have ever asked for my trust... I think they were doing their job right" Akirano shot back with a grin.
"Well then, I take it we are done?"
Akirano wanted to reply, but Tenara cut her off. "I guess we are. Will you be staying on this ship or return to the Patrol?"
"It would be hard to observe your actions and thought process from the Patrol, wouldn't it?"
"That seems fair, but if you want to remain on my ship, I need to know that you will not get in the way of my operations. Can I at least trust you on that?"
"As I said, I am not in charge of anything. If you need my assistance you may ask for it, otherwise I will just observe."
"Very well". Moranno pushed a button on the bottom side of the projection table he was standing in front of and a guard entered the room. "Can you please assign this gentleman a room?"
"I will not require one."
"If you say so. Dismissed, then."
Xavier was the first to leave the room, but Akirano stopped the others from following.
"Why did you cut me off?" She asked Tenara. "We need to know who we are dealing with!"
"I agree, but argueing with the man isn't going to be of much use. Barage, acompany me to the bridge. Akirano... try and run a background check on the man. Ask our sources, ask Dent or Lass if you have to... Anything that can confirm he's not with the Outsiders."
SoA
The Link has an uninvited guest
OOC: Too tired and lazy to put into a spoiler button. Also, my writing today is pretty bad >.>
As soon as everyone had left the room, Synna walked over to the control panel and pushed a few buttons. A few seconds later a friendly-looking female hologram popped up in the middle of the room.
"What can the AIA do for you, Officer Akirano?”
"I need some information on a Ghost called Xavier Origin, code X-01", the dark-haired officer replied.
"Ghost information is highly classif-", the hologram started as Synna interrupted her.
"Yes yes, save me the speech. I just need to know if he's with the Consectorate or not."
The hologram typed displayed a typing motion for a few seconds and then turned back to Synna. "A Ghost named Xavier Origin does not exist, miss Akirano".
The Tirion officer looked slightly to the side as she softly bit her lip. She was not entirely sure what she was looking for, but decided to press on anyway. "That's strange, seeing as he just arrived on my ship and says he's following Aranov's orders to observe our actions."
The female hologram typed again for a few seconds, seemed to read something, and then looked back at Synna. "That seems correct".
Synna blinked. "But he does not exist?"
"That's right."
Synna had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but she had what she wanted: a confirmation that there were in fact records, regardless of how strangely classified they were. Adding this to the fact that Xavier had mentioned Domovoi himself, she reasoned that at the very least this man was known to the Consectorate. Which was enough. Synna looked back up at the hologram.
"Very well... Thank you for your assistance."
The hologram smiled as it replied "You're welcome" and closed itself down. With that, Synna exited the ready room through its automatic doors and stepped onto the bridge. She went over to the captain, leaned over to him and whispered in his ear.
"The Ghost is clean."
Tenara nodded at her. With that, she straightened back up, smiled at Xavier, who had been sitting in a corner and had watched her since she came in, and left the bridge.
-
Elos, Magrathea, three hours later
Elos was a relatively hot planet. The areas near the equator were in fact so hot that they were completely uninhabitable. The areas close to the extreme north and south points of the planet were very habitable areas though, and everything in between was hostile but livable. Though there were several smaller settlements spread around the planet, its largest city was located high up in the northern hemisphere. This city's northern end was surrounded with impassible mountains, but its southern end led into large open fields. The Outsider forces on the planet had retreated back into the city and set up defensive Siege Tank-lines backed up by Marines, Marauders, Science Vessels and a couple of Wraiths as soon as the Aranov fleet had come into view scouting the area. Their enormous flagship was floating above the cloudline, high above the city. They were prepared for a long lasting siege, and that would be exactly what they would get.
The usually quiet fields at the south end of the city were now booming with noise. Both the Aranov Patrol ship and the Link were floating in the background of the Siege Tank-line the Coalition forces had just set up around the city. The Siege tanks were spread out, blocking all exits out of the city, and Marines, Marauders and Hellions were positioned to support them. The sky was littered with Medivacs, Ravens and Wraiths, and several squadrons of Vikings were patrolling the area. No shots had been fired yet, but both armies were completely locked down.
Aboard the Link, Captain Tenara realized this. He and his three officers had retreated to the ready room, where a holographic version of the Aranov Patrol's captain was lit up. Xavier was standing against the wall near the round room's entrance.
"Whoever makes the first move in this scenario takes the losses", Barage said.
"You're right", Tenara chimed in. "We could win the battle if we charged everything right into the city, but we'd lose nearly all our troops. We need a way to pick off their Tanks without losing units - at that point we've got them in a stranglehold. Plus, we'll be able to flush them out of the city and minimize civilian casualties."
The young Verron stepped forward. "Can't we use the Aranov Wraiths to take out the tanks?"
"Good thinking", the Aranov captain replied, "but I'm not sending my Wraiths up against that many Marines as long as those damn Science Vessels negate my cloak. They'll be toast in seconds."
"So we'll need to take out the Science Vessels", Ms. Akirano concluded. "Your Vikings' range should be great at getting that job done, no?", she said to the Aranov captain.
"Definitely. I can send them in to solve our problem at your command, Captain Tenara."
"Hold on a second", Tenara replied, seemingly thinking things through. "While that tactic would be very effective, we may be able to do one more. If we simply open fire, a bunch of the Vessels will get away and hide behind enemy lines until they are needed. If we can provide a distraction, we may be able to take them all out in one fell swoop".
Joshep Barage was the first to react. "Of course! If we force them to keep their Science Vessels near the frontline, we can snipe all of them down before they even notice. And then our Wraiths will have free reign".
"What kind of distraction did you have in mind?", Ms. Akirano asked.
Captain Tenara looked at his officers briefly before resting his eyes on Xavier who was standing in the corner. "Agent Origin... you said you could help?"
"A distraction in the truest sense of the word would not work." Xavier said. "Only one vessel is needed to give the marines time to kill your wraiths, and Wraiths are not known for the range on their anti-ground weapons, so the vessels could stay a good deal behind the tank and marine line. What you need is pressure, not a distraction. Take out a vessel and attack the undefended location, force another vessel to come, destroy that one. After that the Outsiders will more likely retreat than send more vessels, but you should be able to destroy a good chunk of their troops."
Xavier paced to the middle of the room.
"Taking out vessels after the first one would be hard and result in losses if you used Vikings or Wraiths. I can assist there, my equipment is beyond that of any regular ghost."
"The siege tanks will tear you apart." Tenara said.
"I can handle them." Xavier said calmly. "My cloak isn't as limited as that of the Wraiths either, so I can be a constant threat to them."
He looked at the hologram of the city, showing the last known troop positions. They had barricaded themselves in on one of the main roads.
"Once the first vessels are down, they will be forced to play more defensive and lose ground. I will strike and take the first vessels in the west, a small squadron of wraiths will assist - mostly just for the pressure. Vikings should make advances in the east, while Wraiths show themselves in the south. It won't take them long to realize they won't be able to hold their current positions, and they will be forced to group all their forces up, making it impossible to take out their vessels without severe losses."
"And how is that going to help, Agent?" The captain of the patrol asked.
"They will be out of ground to maneuver on. If they place their tanks on the edges of their forces, I can eliminate them. If there is a marine line in front of the tanks, your tanks will be able to hit them from a barely safe range."
"Makes sense", Tanara replied. "I want those Vikings ready to fire, though - any Science Vessel they can snipe should be taken out."
The captain looked around the room. When he saw that nobody replied, he simply said "Make it so". With that, Xavier took off to the docking bay as the hologram of the Aranov captain closed itself down and the Link's crew left for the bridge.
SoA
-Officer Akirano gets told by the Aranov Intelligence Agency that the Ghost named Xavier does not exist, but figures out that he has to be allied with the Consectorate anyway.
-The Link and Aranov forces land near Elos' capital city after scouting the area. The Outsiders are holed up inside the city with a Siege Tank line, the Collective/Aranov forces block the way out with their own tankline.
-Xavier is sent in along with several Aranov Wraiths to provide pressure and clear out the Outsider Science Vessels along the western side of the city. A number of Wraiths and Vikings provide constant pressure from both the southern and eastern sides.
Xavier watched the barricades ahead intently, waiting for the signal. He was one thousand five hundred eighty four meters away from the closest science vessel, underneath which a group of marines together with a siege tank waited. And even though tall buildings blocked the view, he knew the main road was littered such groups, prepared for battle.
{ Wraiths incoming in 15 seconds. Proceed with maneuver. } A voice said into Xavier's ear.
He took his rifle and looked down the road, towards the barricades. There was a car used to block the road roughly eight hundred meters away from the science vessel.
He started counting to ten. He could already hear the Wraiths coming - but that did not mean the Outsiders could. He continued counting and waited, the buzz in the air from the Wraiths growing louder and louder.
Ten.
As he started running, he pushed a button on his rifle, and it began to hum and glow. He ran as fast as he could, covering most of the distance between him and the car in less than two seconds.
The turret of the tank started turning towards him as he was a fifty meters away from the car - The science vessel detected him.
Twenty metres to the car, the turret locked on.
He let himself fall, stretching his legs out in front of him and aiming his rifle upwards at a low angle. He hit the ground and slid incredibly fast towards the car.
The tank calculated his trajectory.
Xavier heard a click, followed by a comparatively incredibly loud explosion.
As he reached the car, an explosion hit it, flinging it up spinning in the air. He slid underneath it, one of the side mirrors almost grazing his head.
Once the flying car was no longer in his way, he pulled the trigger. The air rippled as the projectile tore through it, even the flames and smoke from the explosion were cleared.
Xavier was so composed that time passed slowly enough in his eyes that he could see the bullet tear a hole through the science vessel, before it went up in flames and rained debris onto the soldiers below.
He got up, and as he ran for cover behind a building, out of sight of the science vessel that was coming to detect him, he fired two shots at the tank standing there, turning it into a pile of scrap.
{ Wraiths on site in two. Take out the backup vessel, now. }
Xavier waited a second, watching the Wraiths come closer and closer, then walked out of his cover and towards the Outsider baricade. The marines were all ready to shoot down the Wraiths, and it would not take them particularly long to do so.
He pushed the button on his rifle again. The Wraiths were almost in range. A couple of the marines noticed him and changed their aim, but one second was far more to Xavier than it was to them. He raised his rifle and aimed at the science vessel. A premature shot was fired by one of the marines, missing all of the Wraiths.
The next shot was taken by the Ghost.
The Wraiths disappeared from sight completely rained down hell on the blinded marines, immediately picking off two of the nearby Siege Tanks. Xavier made his way to the next position as he saw two friendly Siege tanks rolling up near where he started his sprint.
-
An exhausting four hours later, the Collective had achieved its goal. Like a wrench prying open a door, Xavier and the Aranov air troops had continued to poke holes into the Outsider defenses, forcing them to fall back while the Collective's tanks had inched their way forward. At this point, all that was left of the Outsider army was a host of Marines, Medics and Firebats, a couple of Wraiths, seven Siege Tanks and three Science Vessels. These forces had dug in at the city square, which was roughly four hundred square meters in size. They were surrounded by Coalition forces at every angle, and their outlook was bleak.
Though the Collective's outlook was better, the situation aboard the Link's bridge was tense as well. The ship had followed the Aranov Patrol and both of them were now positioned halfway over the city. Just outside of weapon range of both ships the Outsider Assault flagship could be seen, while the tiny grey clutter of dots on the planet's surface indicated the position of the Outsiders' ground forces. The Outsider flagship was their one saving grace, Tenara knew. And while they could win the two-on-one battle, he'd prefer not having to fight it.
"Open a channel", he ordered. The Outsider ship responded quickly as a strict looking captain became visible on the bridge's big screen. He remained silent and looked at Tenara sternly.
"Captain...", Tenara started. "Your forces are surrounded. You are outnumbered, there is no way out and your supplies have to be running thin by now. Lay down your arms and surrender, and I promise you will not be harmed."
The Outsider captain laughed grimly. "Not be harmed? Hah, of course not. We'll just get to spend the rest of our lives in a Coalition prison for rejecting your authority and fighting for our freedom!"
Tenara sighed. "We are not your enemy... Only if you want us to be. Your situation is hopeless, you have to recognize this. You are throwing away the lives of your men. You owe them this!"
The Outsider captain remained silent for a few seconds before looking back at Tenara. "The day we surrender to you is the day we distance ourselves from all our hopes and dreams... we will NEVER bow down to you, dogs!".
With that, the channel closed itself. A few seconds later, machines on several ends of the bridge started bleeping.
"Captain, they're on the move!", yelled one of the crewmen.
"Take us in!", captain Tenara shouted out.
SoA
-Xavier and the Aranov airforces spend four hours picking off Science Vessels, Siege Tanks and Marines until what's left of the Outsider army has been pushed back onto the city square, where they are surrounded by the Collective's tank-line. The Outsiders suffer heavy Siege Tank, Marine and Science Vessel losses but replenish some of them from their flagship as the fight is moving along slowly.
-The Aranov Patrol loses 10 Vikings during the poking exchanges, but no Collective forces are lost so far.
-Captain Tenara hails the Outsider flagship and asks them to surrender. The Outsider captain does not comply and orders an all out attack. The flagships approach eachother for aerial combat as the Outsider ground forces rush out from the city square in all directions, charging at the Collective tank-line.
It was gruesome. As the Outsider infantry charged at the Collective's line, the Siege Tanks sprung into action and turned their turrets like tiny towers of doom. As if heralding the arrival of Death, the barrels blasted in unison as Marines, Firebats and Medics alike exploded in a grizzly scene of flying intestines. Whoever made it through the blasts was immediately gunned down by machine gun fire, concussive shells and Wraith lasers. The only lucky ones were the soldiers knocked unconscious by the blast waves, and the ones in the back who immediately halted their advance as their brothers and sisters in arms literally evaporated in front of their eyes. As the scared and panicked Outsider forces threw down their arms, the battle on the ground ended. Aranov's Vikings, Wraiths and Ravens all turned their noses upwards sharply and quickly ascended towards the Outsider's flagship; the battle in the air had only just started.
Not fully realizing what had happened to its remaining ground forces, the crew of the Outsider Assault ship prepared for battle as they floated closer towards their enemies. As the Aranov Patrol and the Link got into its range, it was the Outsiders who fired the first round. Though half of the lasers and missiles missed their targets, several of them did good damage to the Patrol's hull and the Link's right laser battery. Immediately, a strong response came. As the Coalition's ships fired their own weapons, the Outsider's bridge shook as the ship took heavy damage to its frontal hull, left missile batteries and cargo compartments.
Outside of the ships, the battle was also raging. Outsider Wraiths were in aerial dogfights with the few Vikings and Wraiths the Aranov Patrol had left close to it. Though the Aranov fleet looked like it would lose the battle at first, the tables turned rapidly as Wraith after Wraith jumped out of the clouds below the site. Soon to be followed by a massive wave of Aranov Vikings, it wasn't long before the Outsider Wraiths were all either crashing, exploding or attempting to flee. With aerial superiority attained, the Aranov fliers turned their attention towards the Outsider flagship, shooting at its plates wherever they could hit it, like hundreds of ants biting at a dog's legs.
Twice more did the Outsider Assault ship fire its batteries before it succumbed to the joined forces of the Aranov fleet, the Aranov Patrol, and the Link. As a large explosion took out the entire right side of the ship, it arced to its side before slowly beginning to lose height. Several seconds later, it was in freefall, right until it crashed in the middle of the city with an ear-shattering noise.
Half a minute later a screen opened up at the Link's bridge. It showed a distorted feed of what seemed to be a scared, young Outsider officer, covered in blood and dirt. Behind him, his bridge lay in shambles as several corpses and crying wounded lay spread out across it. The young man looked Tenara in the eye and spoke in a soft voice. "Please... no more... have mercy... we surrender."
Tenara looked straight back at him as he gave the command loudly. "Hold your fire!"
The young officer looked at captain Tenara with a thankful, nearly revering look as a tear rolled down his cheek. The captain gave him a small, melancholic smile before closing the channel. It was over.
-
Five hours later, the situation had already begun to clear up. The few Outsider survivors there were were still being given medical attention in cargo bay five aboard the Link, which had landed just outside the city. Several armed guards were positioned among them, keeping an eye out for anybody who'd try anything. Mechanics and engineers had already begun to repair the damage dealt to both the Link and the Aranov Patrol.
At the same time, hundreds of Collectivists in vehicles were moving in and out of cargo bay four, emptying it as they went. Several taskgroups had disembarked and construction of the Collective's new base was well underway - these people were no fighters and had seen very little of the fight that had just taken place; they had no reason to waste time.
A bunch of them had also gone into the city, where a group of hundred or so were busy taking apart the crashed Outsider flagship, stripping it of useful materials to rebuild the city as they went along. They were joined by civilians who had both left the city and hidden themselves in cellars as the fighting started: the majority of these people had been Magratheans or Tirions before their government joined with the Outsiders. The ones who weren't didn't care who their planet owned to politically and simply wanted to rebuild their city. There was much to be done, but there were many hands working.
SoA
-The Collective's Siege Tanks along with Xavier and the Aranov airforce clean up the charging Outsider ground forces in a short exchange just before the air battle commences. In this exchange, all Outsider ground forces either die or surrender while the Collective loses 16 Marines, 5 Marauders and 2 Medivacs. During the short air battle, both the Link and the Aranov Patrol receive minor damage before destroying the Outsider Assault ship, which crashes into the city. The Aranov airfleet loses 10 Wraiths in dogfights with Outsider Wraiths.
-The Outsider forces surrender completely and are taken captive, resulting in 15 soldiers and 35 Outsider crew members being stored in the Link's fifth cargo bay.
-After the dust settles, Collective forces disembark and start cleaning up and repairing the city. They bring building materials from the Link's cargo bay and start setting up a military base on the planet as well. Repairs on the Link commence; the Aranov Patrol returns to Magraia for repairs since it sustained heavier damage.
-From this point on, the Collective colony is active and starts mining. Because of a 4 point penalty however, the faction will not receive +1 point per post for another 4 posts.
-The Collective receives 10 points from the Magrathean Empire and Tirion Republic for repairs/funding.
-The Link fills up an additional 50 supply worth of room with scrap and parts from the Outsider flagship along with some of the Outsider's infantry equipment. None of this is (re)usable but these goods can lateron be traded or sold.
OOC: Sorry about the massive delay. With the holidays and everything, my schedule blew up in my face. Should be pretty calm now for a while. We'll see. :-D
Barkanos, Davir System
David looked up at his ship. After two weeks of working almost day and night, Gambit was pretty well space-worthy once again. It would be good to be living full-time on the ship again. It had only been his home for a few months, but those months had had an effect on him. It hadn't felt right, sleeping anywhere else. But after the fourth sleepless night due to the constant work that Haley and that Barclay guy put in, he forced himself to find a place in the locale to sleep.
He would be glad to put this dustball and all of its problems behind him. Every minute that stayed spelled greater doom for himself and for the people of Barkanos. It was only a matter of time before the Imperium tracked him to this planet, and they weren't going to be gentle when they caught up to him. He had double-crossed them, and tipped their hand to the cerebrate.
And that brought to mind another reason to be away from the planet as soon as possible. In the aftermath of the combat and explosions, Asala had escaped. And though he had seen the bloody mess that Leo had turned Vardanis into, he hadn't been able to find the operative later on. He surmised that Asala had returned to retrieve her teacher.
They were out there, licking their wounds no doubt, waiting for their opportunity to get back at him. He doubted that was the last he had heard of them, and the longer they had to wait to leave, the more he anticipated the trap that he had narrowly escaped to slap closed around him.
“You gonna stand there all day? Or are we gonna get the hell out of here?”
He was shaken from his thoughts by Puck's chipper voice over the comm. The little imp was probably up in the cockpit, waiting to get out of here. He shook his head and stepped onto the ship. With one last look at the planet of Barkanos, David closed the cargo hatch.
“Let's get out of here.”
“You got it, cap'n.”
SoA:
Repairs are finished on Gambit and it is space-worthy again
Gambit sets out for Apoca in the Dras Lana System (2 IC's until arrival)
Dagganoth watched through Murkag's eyes as he saw the Gambit take off. These were interesting Terrans. They had taken an impossible situation and decided to stand up to it for the sake of both him, a Cerebrate they didn't know, and the people of Barkanos, beings of the same race that they barely had any affinity with. As far as Dagganoth was concerned, he was in their debt. He would repay the debt the only way he was able to right now, without David and his crew even realizing it.
-
Adam picked up the communicator and switched it on, opening a channel to the by now well known Pirate Kenny.
"Been a while. What do you need?", the Pirate said as he picked up.
"Here's something you might like hearing: I don't need anything. Today, we're giving.", Adam responded.
"Well, that's good. We are sorta busy anyway, so any help from us would've been pretty limited."
Adam thought for a second before responding. "That guy who was looking for us... his name is David Kanaro. He's a good chap. We got to talk to him on Barkanos and he's on our side now. There's some things you should know, however. I'll start with the reason he was here: the Imperium hired him to track down Dagganoth. He double crossed them. There's one Imperium officials still wandering around Barkanos somewhere. While I don't know what's keeping you busy, the Imperium is likely to know or soon find out about Barkanos. We may have a bit of a situation here we should both keep our eyes on."
"I'll see what I can do... We aren't really around at the moment. Thanks for the information, I'll let Doom and Waiter know.", Kenny replied.
"I hope you can keep a bit of an eye on the Gambit... they may become a more important player in this scheme."
"I'll try, but I can't really do much if he pisses off and doesn't show himself again.", Kenny promised.
"Alright. Then there's one last thing; there's Zerg in the Davir system. Dagganoth told me there's one army of the Themos Brood hiding behind one of the planets. Currently they're inactive and have apparently been ordered to protect Barkanos, though the Themos are the Pirates of the Swarm; Dagganoth's words. As soon as they plan on doing anything you'll likely see movement in Davir."
This time it was Kenny who remained silent for a second before responding. "Interesting. I'll make sure to leave a ship there to keep an eye on things..."
"Very well. That should be all for now. We might be up for some more of your jobs later, but we'll be in touch."
With that, Adam turned off the device and sat down. Dagganoth had also informed him of their next destination, and he had to admit it frightened him a bit. Teaming up with the Garamar Brood had been one thing, but this would take his Zerg interactions to an all new level. The Cerebrate had asked him to share the news with the other Terrans, but he'd need a day or so to work out how to bring it. Adam got lost in his thoughts as Murkag accelerated in the direction of Tartarus...
SoA
-Adam contacts Kenny and informs him of what happened between the crew of the Gambit and the Imperium officials. He asks the Pirates to keep an eye on David Kanaro and prepare for possible trouble with the Imperium. He also notifies them of the Themos fleet hanging about in the Davir system.
-Murkag leaves for the Overmind on Tartarus. 8 IC's/days travel time until arrival.
As Murkag drew closer to the lone planet the sight alone would be enough to take away the breath of any non-Zerg: the black sphere glowed eerily in the light of the green lightning storms that seemed to surround it as it followed its slow elliptical course around a star. Within seconds, the Behemoth was surrounded by a large host of Mutalisks and Scourges send to escort it into the planet's surface. Not much later, the creature landed and a presence was felt leaving it by its Terran and Protoss crewmembers who were nearly literally in the dark of Murkag's third stomach: they had grouped up in the common room for the ordeal.
{He has left.}, Amar shared with Yatara and the Terrans. {I can feel it.}
The room remained silent for some time as most of the Terrans as well as both the Protoss looked in deep thought. It wasn't until a good ten second later when Adam spoke up that the silence was broken.
"That has to be the first time he's left...". He didn't need to add anything; the entire crew knew what was at stake here. Adam had informed them of Dagganoth's intended location a few days earlier and the entire group had had a big discussion on what to do next - many of them were not fond about going to the Overmind, wherever that may be. Part of Dagganoth's plan was to keep his crew in the proverbial dark, as not even he could afford to tip off any non-Zerg as to the actual location of the overmind. The crew had gone through the discussion somewhat painstakingly, though in the end everybody did decide to trust that Dagganoth would not betray them. This decision was being tested right now, and everybody on board Murkag was completely aware of this.
-
Half an hour later a presence could be felt returning to Murkag. A second later Dagganoth addressed his crew, who had nervously spent the hour in nearly complete silence in the common room.
{Terrans, Protoss, friendss... I realize I have tested your trust by coming here. I apologize for any discomfort I have caused you. Please know that this situation is as conflicting for you as it is for me, though I do not intend to betray your trusst. Neither does the Father. He has an assignment for me, and I'm willing to answer all your questions about it. I view you as part of my Brood, and will treat you as equalss.}
A few seconds of confused but relieved silence followed from the crew as to everyone's surprise, Yatara was the first to respond.
{We get to ask a Cerebrate questions about the Overmind... At least this time the subject of our study has a planet left.}
Most of the Terrans, who had little experience with Protoss, regarded the comment as a joke and burst out into laughs. One of them didn't, however. Bob Gentry had worked with the two Protoss aboard Murkag for long enough to know neither of them joked, at least not this idlely. While Amar privately recognized the remark as some kind of strange Wandering Tribe way of trying to fit in with the Terrans, Bob recognized it for what it really was: genuine anger, or at least annoyance, towards the Cerebrate. He made a mental note to follow up on this later.
Regardless of Yatara's intention, the comment cleared the room of the serious air that had filled it for the past half hour. As the Terrans unleashed their questions on Dagganoth, Murkag slowly took off from the planet...
SoA
-Dagganoth arrives at Tartarus and has a talk with the Overmind, who wants to evolve his minions in order to pass into the nearby energy storm. He has requested Dagganoth's help on this, feeling that the Cerebrate has promise after the Projective Cortex evolution it had unlocked for its brood. This overarching mission exists out of three sub-missions which will be revealed in the posts to come.
-Bob picks up on Yatara's alleged anger towards Dagganoth.
-Garamar Brood buys Ground Carapace level 2 from the Overmind for 27 points.
-Garamar Brood restocks its army and buys 23 Zerglings and 14 Mutalisks for an additional 4 points.
-Murkag leaves Tartarus again and heads towards Domus. 7 IC's/posts until arrival.
As the Link was slowly making its way to Magraia, Tenara carefully paced down the row of Outsider prisoners in cargo bay five. All of them knew what likely lay before them on Magraia, and it impacted each of them differently. Some looked nervous, some looked sad, others looked angry and some looked outright scared. All of them looked at Tenara.
"Soldiers... Crewmen... Officers, Outsiders, Terrans... Today, you stand before a crossroads. As you will all know, in several hours we shall land on Magraia. Governmental judgement awaits those of you who get off this ship there. I offer you a choice, however: to stay aboard my ship. Never mind your previous choices. Never mind your previous alliances. Never mind your previous life. I offer you the opportunity to work for me as a crewman aboard the Link. Now I will not lie: I will not entrust you with your old positions from the get-go. Trust has to be earned. But aboard the Link, trust can be earned. You will start at the bottom. As grease monkeys working engines... Janitors mopping floors... Kitchen chefs chopping meat. But you will be able to rise. You will have a fair chance at a new life. You can either take that chance, or you can take your chances with the government of Magraia. Even though you may consider yourselves captives, know that this one choice is fully yours. Take your pick."
The captain ended his speech on top of a set of stairs as he looked out across the small field of Outsiders. He saw the group on the left mumble, stare angrily at him and even spit on the ground. Those were the Outsider soldiers. Tenara knew none of them would want to join him. To work on an Outsider ship was one thing, but it was the soldiers who really believed in Ray Kane's cause. They were the ones willing to die for it, and they would most likely rather do so than join the Collective.
There was some movement on the right side of the formation, however. A small number of people stepped forwards out of the line. Tenara counted six. At least four of them looked young and scared. It wasn't much, but he was happy some made the choice.
-
Magrathean Army Headquarters, Magraia, four hours later
The Link's bridge crew walked through a hallway on their way to a ready room inside the building. Vennon was walking next to his captain, while Joshep and Synna were following them. The young officer looked nervous as he shot questions at his commander.
"Is there anything I should know, sir? I've never been to the Magrathean high command. Should I salute them? Should I use their names or ranks to address them?"
Joshep laughed. "You're expecting too much, son", he said as the group took a curve through a corner.
"What do you mean?", Vennon asked.
This time, Tenara answered with a grin. "You'll see... Just hold your tongue, anyway."
With that, he opened the door the group had just reached and walked inside as his officers followed him.
The room was relatively small; only a bit larger than the Link's ready room, but with more holographic projectors - a total number of thirteen positioned equally around a round table, with one large one being in the middle. Inside the room were three people: an elderly looking man in a green military uniform with grey hair and a general's hat, a younger dark-haired man with a similar uniform and a man in a ceremonial red outfit. As the group came inside, the elderly man immediately spoke up.
"Moranno, hey there! Good to see you again! I see you brought your officers. Come in, sit down! How was Elos?"
"Well, full of explosions, General", Tenara managed to reply as the old man started talking again.
"I heard you did a damn good job there lad. Wouldn't have it any other way! Still a shame though, I miss having you around here. Had to grab this goon to help me write my daily orders now. He still has a lot to learn."
The dark-haired man's eyes twinkled as he replied. "I'd learn a lot faster if you'd stop forgetting what it is I actually need to know".
With that, the general burst into laughing. As he came to again, he looked at Moranno.
"Well, come on, aren't you going to introduce me to your crew?"
Moranno looked from the general at his crew. "Crew, this here is General Oatcombe, leader of the Magrathean military and member of the board of the Coalition Military Executives. General, these are Synna Akirano, Joshep Barage and Vennon Cinnet, my first mates."
"Pleased to meet you!", the older man replied. "This gentleman here is Lieutenant Levant, my assistant". He then turned and noticed there was a seventh person in the room. "Ooh, and this is Ambassador Wheelwright of the Tirion Republic. Please forgive me, Ambassador."
The ambassador, who spoke for the first time since the Link's crew had entered the room, looked like a friendly type. "That's quite alright, General. Shall we get to business?"
The general seemed to settle down as captain Tenara spoke up. "Business, yes. I heard something about Aranov recommending us, General?"
"You're right there", Oatcombe replied. "The board of the Executives was discussing once again what to do about the situation in the Naran system. You see, the system has been occupied by an Outsider fleet for ages now. We've been trying to do something about it for a while and have gathered some ships in a nearby nebula, but every time stuff is about to go down the mercenaries they gave the job to seem to disappear. We were sick of it and wanted someone reliable to finally get the job done. Aranov recommended your Collective."
Tenara thought for a few seconds before nodding. "Naran has Magrathean and Tirion colonies. We'll take care of it."
"Good", the general said. "There is something else...". His words trailed off as he looked at the Tirion ambassador, who finally spoke up properly.
"There is indeed more to it. Captain: the Tirion republic was experimenting with new flagship hull designs at its colony of Delios. One prototype ship was in orbit of the planet when the Outsider fleet took over the sector. We want the data aboard that ship back."
The captain again thought for a few seconds. "A boarding mission... very well. Could I use the ship in battle, if needed?"
"If you can actually manage to commandeer it, by all means", the ambassador replied. "That would be a great test of the new hull designs. We just want that data."
"Consider it done, then", Tenara said.
Oatcombe then spoke up again as he got up. "Very well son. Well, I'm gonna have to be heading off. Receptions and all that business". He rolled his eyes as he said it. "Levant has the details. Hope to see you again soon with more good news. Good luck out there, and show them how it's done!"
With that, both he and the Tirion Ambassador left the room.
-
Bridge of the Link, docking bay, Magraia
"Get me the Aranov Patrol", Tenara spoke. A crewman behind him pushed some buttons and a familiar face came up on the screen in front of him; it was the captain of the ship that had fought alongside the Link on Elos.
"Looks like we're heading out together again", Moranno said.
"You're not getting rid of me so easily", the Aranov captain said with a smile.
"You're not the only one", Tenara replied with a grin as he nudged his head back. Behind him, in a corner on the bridge, Xavier was standing and observing the activities of the various crewmen. "If we're gonna keep working together, we may need to swap names, captain."
The Aranov captain smiled and then saluted. "Captain Barbarossa of the Sokol, sir."
Moranno returned the smile and the salute. "Captain Tenara of the Link, at your service."
-
Pinegrove, Elos capital
Mayor Johnson looked around. There were festivities all over. The Link had come and gone quickly, but it had done so like a whirlwind. The planet's new Magrathean-Tirion settlers had helped rebuild the city and set up a military base and several mining complexes in record time. All that remained of the once huge Outsider flagship that had crashed into the heart of the city was a piece of its hull, which had been set up in the city's square as a monument to those that had fallen. A new city hall had been built behind it, and it was on the building's stairs where the new mayor was now standing with a pair of scissors, ready to open the new hall and start off a new period in the history of the planet. Most of the planet's population had come out to see the event.
As Johnson turned to cut the satin ribbon a man in a similar official green-and-red garb smiled at him from a few meters away. The man was Mayor Ackles, Johnson's new partner. As an official colony of the Collective, its leadership had been tuned in fashion: mayor Johnson, a Magrathean, was in charge of the colony's internal politics and laws. Mayor Ackles held a similar position in rank, but was to focus his attention on the industrial and productive capabilities of the planet's population. A third person, Colonel Wreave, was in charge of the planet's military.
With a soft but clear 'shick' Johnson's scissors cut through the ribbon. The crowd roared as it fell to the ground.
SoA
-Captain Tenara makes his Outsider prisoners an offer: stay on board and work as his crew, or face justice on Magraia. This gains him 6 new crewmen. The remaining Outsider crewmen (29) and soldiers (15) are all left on Magraia.
-The Collective's officers talk to the 'Magrathean high command' and a Tirion ambassador. A Magrathean general tells them Aranov has recommended them to the Coalition's board of Military Executives for a mission regarding the clearing of the Naran system, which has been occupied by Outsider forces.
-As Tenara accepts, the Tirion ambassador gives him a secondary mission: a Tirion Support ship with prototype plating is floating in orbit of the Tirion planet of Delios. The Tirions would like it back. Tenara has Tirion permission to use it in combat if needed (this would in fact be a great test of its armor).
-The Collective spends 6 points on Magraia to recruit 16 new Marines, 5 Marauders, 10 Siege Tanks and 2 Medivacs.
-The Link along with the Sokol (Aranov Patrol) set out for the Naran system. 4 IC's/days until arrival.
-The Collective's colony at Elos is officially rebuilt and working. Starting with the next post, the faction will now generate 1 point per post.
"So... Why are you staying?" One of the ex-Outsider soldiers asked as he sat opposite another one in the cantina.
"Seems to be a common topic in the last few days..." The other soldier answered.
"I'm Carl."
"Jeff."
"So, why are you staying?"
"You first." Jeff said with a full mouth and pointed at his almost empty plate. "Eating."
"Well, that speech inspired me. This sector is a pretty fucked up place, so much wars and so much killing, us Outsiders are a prime example of it. I joined the Outsiders because I wanted to help defend our systems, seeing as Aranov and the Coalition wouldn't. And I also agreed that those bastards need to be taught not to abandon their own kind as they did in the Zerg war... But that Reyd guy made a good point. All of this bloodshed, the betrayal, corrupt alliances, it will all just continue and repeat itself over and over again. Oh, we might succeed in breaking the Coalition, we might not. But what does it matter? In another one hundred years there'll be wars for another reason, if the Zerg haven't killed all of us by then. His plan makes sense - Force not only the terrans to be unified under a single banner - ours - But also take control over the other races. As long as we're all seperated the way we are, there are going to be unnecessary wars. We will never evolve if we don't get our shit together and work together."
"And you think violence is the way to do it?"
"Well, us humans are stubborn beings. It'll be impossible to get all factions to unite completely just by asking them nicely, they will all still want to keep their autonomy and relative independence, they'll still want to keep their secrets, just like the Coalition does now. Taking it over by war may not be the prettiest solution, but it seems the only one that will work. And once that is achieved, we can resort to more peaceful methods. Imagine it, all humans united, sharing knowledge and resources for the advancement of our entire kind, instead of all of us fending for our selves, keeping secrets even from our allies."
"Eh, sounds like I'd be out of a job then." Jeff said.
"Why's that?"
"Same reason I'm staying. I'm a gun for hire, I got hired. End of story. Can't say a sort of utopia won't be nice, but I wouldn't bet on the ideal case."
"So you don't think we'll make it?"
"I don't know." Jeff said. "No way I can say, really. I'm just a soldier, I don't know that much about what's going on and what not, I don't even know how many others I'm fighting with. I hope we do make it, means it's more likely I'll be alive as well, plus I'll probably be able to retire then, find a girl and live happily ever after while the rest of you build your utopia."
"To each his own I guess." Carl said.
SoA
Two turned Outsider soldiers discuss their motives for joining Nick Reyd
The yellow cloud located at the far end of the Naran system was more commonly known as the Chronae Nebula. It had been mapped quite a while back, when Terrans first settled the nearby systems. Because of the large amount of dust and the fact that warp travel through it was not conveniently possible, few Coalition ships had bothered to check its insides. As a hidden entrance to the system, it had been used with great effect by criminals and smugglers seeking to both leave and visit the planets of the system. Ever since the Outsiders had taken control of the region however, it had been empty.
Up until now, that is. The Link's crew looked out of the ship's windows at the Sokol as both ships disappeared into what looked mostly like a combination of orange juice and a sandstorm. It was only because of the continuous transmissions that the ships sent eachother that they could keep track of eachother's whereabouts.
Tenara liked it this way. This was where he was going to strategize his first big play. Sure, he had cleared Elos, but that had kind of been Xavier's battle. He had a carefully structured plan in mind to clear Naran of Outsider troops, and he preferred to be hidden from prying eyes when discussing it with the captains that would be commanding the ships in the fleet he could, at least temporarily, call his own.
"Alright... Hail our support", the captain Ordered. An ensign pushed a few buttons as a short-length wave sent out an identification message to other Coalition ships in the cloud. In front of Tenara was a big screen that had been divided into several smaller screens that could show multiple persons. The identifcation message had only just been sent out when one of them switched on and a familiar face appeared on one of the screens.
"The Sokol here, reading you clearly", the pale, brown-haired Barbarossa said. A few seconds later, more screens started flipping on.
"The Medvedar", a rather rough-looking man with long black hair and a long black beard nodded. "I am captain Asimov. These are my first and second mates". As he spoke the last seven words, two more screens flipped on and showed several younger looking officers clad in the blue garb of Aranov's military.
Before Tenara had a chance to respond, a bald man with a thin red moustache popped up on one of the screens and spoke up. "Hi there! Captain Corrino of the Vorobey reporting in. My officers should be joining us shortly."
Tenara looked at Akirano, his currently active second in command. "Set up a meeting", he ordered. As more screens started flipping on, he turned around and walked off the bridge.
SoA
-The Link and the Sokol arrive in the Naran system and the ships' respective captains, Tenara and Barbarossa, meet up with the captains of their backup ships to discuss the plan of attack.
He looked around casually, making sure there was no-one close. He checked his watch - 8:29. In one minute the security shift would change, and no one would be looking at the camera feeds for at least a minute, more than enough time. He kept casually walking down the corridor, waited until ten seconds past the minute mark, then quickly paced back to underneath the camera.
A panel was quickly removed with the use of a simple screwdriver, revealing some wiring. The man pulled out a small device with a couple of cables attached to, grabbed the cables with clamps at the end and attached them to the ones he just uncovered. The screen on the device lit up, and he pushed a couple of buttons for a loading bar to appear, together with a pile of jumbled letters and numbers. It took only five seconds for the bar to fill up, after which he quickly disconnected and pocketed the device, put the panel back and walked out the corridor.
He took two turns and was back at the Janitor's cart. He took the mop and continued cleaning the floor, just a couple of seconds before a pair of marines walked by him.
Outsider Assault JI-03 Naran System
"Captain Weckam, we're receiving a message."
"From where?"
"The closeby nebula. Message seems to have been sent in plain text, no encryption on the signal itself, but the text itself seems encrypted."
"Run it through encryption processes. See if it matches up to any of the encryption codes useable by the ship on Elos."
"None of the standard decryption methods work." The tech-lieutenant said after half a minute. "Trying out all secondary methods now. This may take a minute."
The captain sat in his chair, thinking. Hoping that their Elos ship had somehow survived was the most he could do - The Coalition was bound to show up here soon, and he would need all the help he could get. They had a large force already here in Naran, but the Coalition had far more ships than all the Outsiders put together twice over.
Suddenly holographic text showed up a few meters in front of the Captain.
Elos fallen. Ship destroyed.
Taken prisoner, tried to turn me. Pretending to cooperate.
Eavesdropped. Attack on Naran system imminent.
3 Arnv + 1 Tir/Mag
2 Arnv -> Ekson/Delios, unsure
Tir/Mag+Arnv -> Jaran, confirmed.
"Is this message authentic?"
"Encrypted using one of the Elos ships crew members first, middle and last name, date of birth, date of enrolling in the military, date of joining that ship and personal ID code. While the Coalition would be able to find out such things, encrypting a message with all those things - and in the right order - would be too much of a long shot for them to try it."
"What if a ghost dug the information out of him?"
"I'm sure they would have just sent it with some of the more standard primary or secondary encryption codes, this method is really obscure - I almost didn't check for it. And even if, we're expecting an attack anyway, now we at least know it's about to hit."
"What do we do, captain?" Another man asked.
"Send half the ships to Jaran to set up base and prepare themselves. Our and the other two ships will wait for the Coalition to hit before moving out."
Multiple members of the bridge crew started talking, coordinating the fleet.
Aranov Tower Zagrov, Dinari System
"Good day, Lady Lane." Aranov adressed Keeva with her title of choice. "What can I do for you today?"
"The Outsider situation is getting stranger. Some civilian ships say they noticed some ships moving, large ships. Battle ships, and it seems they belonged to the Outsiders. Then Doom's intel on Jinnings is strange as well... There's a lot of Outsider ships currently unnacounted for, and Bysdoch seems to have gone dark as well."
"Something is definitely wrong." Aranov agreed. "I take it we aren't taking the pacifistic approach for once?"
"We swore to protect the Coalition, and if it's under attack, guns seem like the only way to resolve that issue."
"So, what exactly do you want me to do? Where do you need my troops?"
"I don't know. The ship sightings were near Fyrd, direction unknown. It could all be a distraction, or they could be readying a frontal assault on one of our homeworlds. We may outnumber them by a massive degree, but we are also very spread out. They could devestate our homeworlds before we would have enough time to react if they grouped all their forces."
"Well, if our Naran intel is correct, they have six ships there, and from what I hear the Collective is about to make its move. The Outsiders could be heading there, expecting us to send a large force which they could then destroy to cripple us."
"I think it would be best if you assembled a small fleet ready to reinforce Naran."
Aranov looked onto the coffee table further behind him in his room, which had a file lying open on it.
"I think I know just the person to send." He said.
"Oh? And who would that be?"
"A recent graduate from my military academy."
"You want someone with no experience to command such an important army?"
"He won't get the experience he needs any other way. And don't worry, I've got my best man in Naran, and the Collective seems to be competent as well, plus each of the ships there has an at least halfway competent leading staff. My commander will have enough people to point out any mistakes before he makes them. If he makes them."
"You seem pretty confident of him."
"He shows a lot of promise. He may even be a second me."
Keeva raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised at that statement.
"Talking of you, why would you not lead that group yourself?"
"We both know what my father was like, you can imagine what kind of commanders he left me with after he died. I need competent commanders, people who can work effectively alone. This is a great chance to test my top candidate. If you insist, I will go, but I'd rather see how my people do on their own. I won't be able to lead every fight, every war, and I sure as hell won't be around forever. My military needs to learn to think for itself again, learn to show initiative."
"Fine." Keeva said. "Tell your commander I'm putting one of my ships to his use if he wants it. Do not tell him that I will be on that ship."
Aranov smiled as the hologram disappeared. He had been wondering how long it would take that ghost to use her trigger finger again.
Xavier, Keeva... There was one more ghost that could be worth adding to the team. He walked back to the console and typed out a message.
Orion Nell's Office Onilon, Rasalin System
Orion paced angrily through his office. He had not anticipated how much trouble another failed experiment would bring - Not only were they lacking majority of their funds now that Aranov pulled out, the bastard, but now he's even missing one of his few ships, and it just had to be the one with his top ghosts and advanced equipment on it.
He didn't know what to do. He felt like sending an attack against the Zerg, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything - He didn't have the forces to deal a substantial amount of damage, let alone win a battle. He didn't have the money acquire more ships and equipment, or mercenaries. And he hated the damn pirates anyway, he wouldn't trust them to do as they're told.
No... He had to earn himself some money. And the best way to do so was to get it out of the Coalition. If the pirates could ask for money in return for their aid, why shouldn't he be able to? Once he would have some new funds, he could continue his projects, maybe restart the X-Series project. But a new lab, new scientists, new... "resources"... It would all cost a lot.
And then, as if a sign from god, a message lit up on his screen. He smiled.
"Computer, get me Operative X-3N on the line."
"Connecting." The female hologram said. It looked like a young woman, very young, and not particularly tall or strong. Sometimes when he got angry, he'd need a... Punching bag, and it was always safest to let your anger out on an innocent hologram than get an actual person...
"Sir." The girl turned into a ghost with the code X-3N printed on the uniform.
"Are you up to date with the happenings on Deiliri?" Orion asked the ghost.
"Of course, sir."
"Then you probably know that we are no longer receiving funding from Aranov, leaving our budget rather thin."
"What would you have me do? I could probably do some shady deals on Domus, covertly. Or orchestrate some chaos there and "acquire" unsupervised objects while things are being sorted, without drawing attention to myself."
"No, no. Very risky and might jeopardize our relationship with the Coalition. I thought about something more straightforward, something that would not only not have the risk of pissing off our allies, but actually make them like us more."
"I'm not sure I follow."
"The newly formed Magrathean-Tirion Collective is trying to reclaim Naran, and a lot of Outsider ships seem to be moving, last seen close to Fyrd, but they are possibly moving to Naran, or maybe even Magrathea. Aranov is setting up a fleet to quickly reinforce any location the Outsiders may hit, and he wants you on it."
"So... You want us to play mercenary?"
"The Coalition does not have many infiltration teams, which is mostly because only the Technocracy is able to supply them. It's in their interest to supply us with the funds for more ships and crews like yours, isn't it?"
"Indeed it is." Xen said. "Consider it done. We will make our way to Dinari."
"Good. Make sure to impress, to show we are worth investing in."
SoA:
An Outsider spy reveals Coalition attack plans for Naran. A force of 3 Aranov ships and a Tirion/Magrathean ship will perform the attack. Two Aranov ships will hit either Delios or Ekson while the remaining Aranov will hit Janan with Tirion/Magrathean support.
Lord Domovoi Aranov and Lady Keeva Lane have a conversation about suspicious ship activity around Fyrd and make plans.
Orion Nells sends Operative X-3N to Dinari by Aranov's request.
As the Vorobey and Medvedar pulled into orbit, drop-pods were immediately shot down from the ships in order to hasten the process of gaining a foothold. The inhabitants of colony sites on the planet quickly hid themselves as they realized a major battle was about to break out. Corrino and Asimov had carefully gone over the details of the battle just moments prior to their attack. Commanding an Aranov Patrol vessel, Corrino's forces were to provide air support for the ground troops Asimov's Aranov Standard would be deploying. Their goal was to set up a foothold on Ekson and hold the planet as long as possible - their allies would complete their own tasks and then set towards assisting Ekson.
When the Marines and SCV's started landing in the forest, small groups quickly formed and made their way towards both of their first priorities: two standard-issue defensive Ion Cannons set up to defend the planet from flagships. Though they had obviously failed the Coalition earlier, they would now be able to give the soon-to-be defending army some much needed reprieve; once they came back online, anyway. In the original Outsider invasion of the sector the rebels had been quick to disable the cannons to prevent Aranov insurgents from sabotaging their ships once the planet was firmly in their grasp. In order to ensure the best defensive position possible for the upcoming battle, Asimov had ordered his forces to set up mining bases as close to the cannons as possible.
As the first Siege tank rolled out of newly landed drop-pod, batallions of Aranov infantry could be seen setting up sandbags and rushing all through the forest. It was clear that they were in a hurry: this was the calm before the storm.
-
The Outsiders, on the other hand, were not in a hurry just yet. The captain of the ship marked by the Coalition as JI-03 tugged as his moustache as he looked at the screen in front of him. The spy had given them valuable information, and they had been prepared for the Aranov attack. As the JI-03 spearheaded the JI-01 and BYS-05, the three Outsider vessels carefully maneuvered into the best angle to attack Ekson from. Within minutes they entered orbit as the two to them unnamed Aranov ships came into vision. The JI-03 launched a quick volley as Outsider drop-pods started making their way towards the surface. With just one word, the Outsider commander had unleashed the storm. As if by a melancholic reaction by the planet, Ekson's clouds tore open as the rain started.
SoA
-The Vorobey (Aranov Patrol) and Medvedar (Aranov Standard) set up a foothold on Ekson and take defensive positions. Their primary goal is to get the two anti-flagship Ion Cannons that were part of the planet's original defenses back online. It will take them 3 IC's to do so.
-As three Outsider ships (JI-01, an Outsider Patrol, JI-03, an Outsider Assault, and BYS5, an Outsider Raider) enter Ekson's orbit, the battle for the planet commences.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Barkanos, Davir system
Leo couldn't believe the past few days. Stepping off of Gambit, he had expected nothing more than a simple information run. Maybe apply a little pressure, break some bones, a little hot poker torture if absolutely necessary, and then adios. Nothing had prepared him for the reality.
He couldn't remember whether he had been on the planet for two or three days. The entire time had passed in a haze of drinking, women, and merriment. And futile attempts to get Rodrick alone to explain things. It wasn't as simple as the man believed. He believed he had saved his father, but the reality was much less flattering for Leo.
All these thoughts ran through his head as he sat at the table surrounded by townsfolk. The story we was telling he had told so many times, he didn't even have to think about it anymore. The people around were enraptured by his voice. He looked at a young man, no more than seventeen, who hadn't left his side since he had arrived. He was pretty sure the boy slept outside the room he had been given. He hadn't even learned the kid's name.
This thought was forgotten as he looked up over the crowd and saw Rodrick and David sitting at a table talking. He stood up.
“Sorry, boys and girls, but I just remembered something I need to talk to Captain Rodrick about,” he said as he pushed his way through the press of people. They groaned and pleaded with him to stay, but they didn't stop him.
He stopped at the table Captain David and Captain Rodrick were sitting at. David was asking questions, and Rodrick was answering them as if it wasn't the first time he had had to.
“-just came in, killed the Archon, freed you all, and then left, offering to take those that wanted to go with him?” David asked unbelievingly. Leo rolled his eyes. They knew that even before they landed on this planet, why was he having such a hard time believing it now that he was being told it by someone who knew?
“That's right,” Rodrick answered.
“Didn't demand anything? Didn't attack any of you?”
“Only the ones that tried to stop him from getting to the Archon.”
“Unbelievable.”
“That's the fourth time you've said that,” Rodrick said, and then looked up at Leo. “Please, hero, have a seat. I was just telling your captain a little about what has happened here over the past few years.”
“I wish you'd stop calling me that,” Leo said as he sat down. “I'm not a hero.”
“Hear that, David?” Rodrick said, slapping Leo on the back. “Not a hero? What modesty. You are an astoundingly honorable man, Leo. I hope that I'm half the man you are someday.”
“Look,” Leo began. “Let's straighten a few things out. First of all, I didn't save your father. I was one of the ones hired to kidnap him. Things got dicey, and the others panicked, turning on each other. It's not my fault I was the last one standing.”
Rodrick laughed uproariously. “Barkeep! Get this man another drink,” he yelled. The bar roared its approval as the barkeep complied. “You tell some of the craziest stories, man. Can you believe him?” he said to David.
“No, this isn't a story,” Leo insisted. “I would have collected the bounty on your dad myself if I thought I could get away with it. I was sure I would have been nabbed, so I left your dad and got off that planet as fast as I could.”
“No joke?” Rodrick asked, biting back a laugh.
“No joke,” Leo replied seriously.
The man busted out laughing. “And I'm the king of the Imperium!”
Leo sighed and shook his head.
----Gambit
{Where are you going, my student?} Vardanis said as he materialized out of the darkness.
Asala stopped in her tracks, and the other Nerazhim accompanying her stopped as well. {This David has had ample time to perform his duties. It is time we took matters into our own hands.}
{Be calm, child. Patience and composure will bring you closer to your target, not rash and unthought actions. We will give him more time. The situation is... complicated.}
{You can wait here as long as you want,} Asala said angrily. {I'm going to do what we came here to do.} She then left the ship. The other Nerazhim waited, watching him. After a few moments, he nodded, and followed them off the ship.
----SoA:
Partying commences on Barkanos
Imperials get impatient and decide to take matters into their own hands
The Rossvelt, in the shadow of Davir V
Aria watched events unfold through the eyes of the Overseers, as they slowly drifted about the system. It was inefficient to allow them to wander this far from the ship, but this far outside her Mistress's realm, she did not want to be seen until she had the opportunity to complete her mission. After her victory in the Jorin system (which Orloth had again helped with, one wonders what he accomplished by orchestrating Themos victories from afar) her Mistress had sent her to this backwater to "Learn more of our dear lost lamb's business". Strangely, those order's had recently been overridden, as she now received a directive to protect Dagganoth's interests and insure that he was not hindered. This was strange, not only because it seemed to contradict her Mistress's earlier intent, but also because Aria did not think it came from Lilith; but who else could give her a directive that she had no choice but to obey? Could Orloth have gained that much of her allegiance? or did the order come from the Overmind himself? Neither possibility boded well for the future, but she deemed it best to obey. It was ultimately simpler and safer. So she watched and waited for any indication that these strangers would harm the colonists of Barkanos; because if a move was made against them, she would be forced, by that unknown will that held her allegiance, to intervene; and she did not like the outcome of such an intervention.
SOA: The Rossvelt has been parked in the Davir system for a while now. Hopefully nothing will come of it, but dear Aria has orders to throw in on whichever side Dagganoth is on should things get hairy.
Also, check the map. There have been some slight shifts in zergy space.
Barkanos
“Come on, Leo!! Wake up, Leo!! I need to talk to you!!”
Leo groaned, waking up from his heavy slumber. David was outside his door, yelling fit to wake the dead and pounding on the door.
“Who's that, babe?” a female voice said from his chest, and he looked down at his companion from the evening before. He'd done worse.
“That's the captain,” he said groggily, sitting up and pulling on some pants.
“Leo, don't make me break down this door! You have until the count of three!”
He stood up and ran a hand through his hair as he walked over to the door, muttering. He opened it to see David standing there with his sidearm pointed at where the lock had been.
“What d'ya want, cap'n?” he asked, leaning on the door. His head was killing him. How many days had they been on the planet? Four, five? He couldn't tell anymore.
David stepped past him into the room, reholstering his gun. The boy outside looked apologetically at Leo, before he closed the door.
“Have you seen Rodrick?” David looked around the room. When his eyes reached the bed, he suddenly spun around, facing the wall. “Leo... Get your groupie out of here.”
“Hey!” the woman said. Leo couldn't even remember her name. “What gives you the-”
“Barbara,” Leo guessed. “It's alright. I need to talk to him privately.”
“It's Sarah,” she said angrily, gathering her clothes. “Make sure you set him straight, hero. That's no way to speak to a lady.”
Leo winced at her mention of his status here. He wasn't nearly drunk enough to handle this. Since his last talk with Rodrick, he had given up trying to convince him or the people that he wasn't a hero, he just drank and tried to ignore it.
“Now what did you want?” he asked as the woman left the room, closing the door behind her.
“Have you seen Rodrick?” David asked, turning around once more. “I haven't seen him since we last talked in the bar two days ago. People are starting to wonder.”
Leo thought for a second. “Y'know... I haven't seen him. Have you asked-”
“Yea, yea,” David interrupted him irritatedly. “I've asked everyone. No one knows where he is at.”
Suddenly, his captain's eyes widened in shock. “No,” he said disbelievingly.
“What?” Leo said, more than a little confused.
“Those little, blue-skinned.... Get everyone together, we need everyone armed and ready for action. I think the Imperials have worn out their welcome.” David moved quickly to the door. “Scratch that, you just get to the ship and get your gear. Make sure the townspeople don't follow you. Last thing we need is a witch-hunt on the Imperials. Let's try to settle this without any further bloodshed.”
Leo was suddenly struck with what was happening. The Imperials had what!? He didn't even notice David leave the room in his hurry to get dressed. Right as he was about to leave through the front door, he thought better of it, instead throwing his pack out the window. He jumped to the roof underneath him, and then grabbed his pack and jumped the rest of the way to the ground.
He then made his way to where Gambit was berthed. He had to double-back three times to avoid being seen by the townsfolk. It really wouldn't do for them to get caught in an altercation between David and the Imperials.
Finally, he made it to the ship, and within minutes he was in his combat armor with his heavy machine gun, standing in front of the ship. He had kept his eyes open on the ship, but he hadn't seen any of them. They were probably in the cargo hold.
Soon, the other's began arriving. David in his combat armor, Dr. Rark in his medic armor, Casey in her ghost uniform. Haley arrived holding one of the protoss observers.
“What are you doing here?” David asked. “This is no place for you to be.”
“Yea?” she asked haughtily. “Without this here observer, how are you going to know where they are. They're Nerazhim, numbnuts. They'll rip you pieces before you even see them.”
“Good point,” David answered. “Alright, you can come, but stay out of the way, and don't get dead.”
“Believe me, I have no intentions of getting in between you guys.”
{You realize the implications of what you are about to do, do you not?} Po'Nath said, materializing out of the shadows. The protoss was almost as stealthy as one of the dark templar. The only reason Leo had noticed him even a micro-second before he spoke was because of his suit.
“Hey,” David began. “I'm not gonna go in guns blazing. But yes, I do realize what I'm doing if this goes sour.” He turned to the rest of them. “And I believe all of you do?”
Everyone, Leo included, nodded.
“If any of you want to back out, you are more than welcome to,” he went on. No one did.
After a few moments, he went on. “Okay then. Puck.”
“Yessir,” the chipper pilot said with a mock salute.
“Get to the bridge and prepare to take off. Once this goes down, I want to be away from here as soon as possible.”
“Gotcha,” Puck quipped, moving off at a run.
“Everyone else... Let's misbehave.”
“They appear to be in the cargo hold,” Haley added as they set out with David in the lead with his large rifle, flanked by Po'Nath and Leo. Haley and Dr. Rark walked behind them, and Casey brought up the rear.
They made their way towards the cargo hold, and Leo couldn't help but get the pre-fight jitters. It had been awhile since he had had a good fight. It had been even longer since he had fought protoss. They were tricky opponents.
They entered the cargo hold in formation, and David immediately gestured for them to spread out. With the help of the observers, each of them were able to find and tag the dark templar so their cloaking wouldn't work.
Asala stood in the center of the cargo hold, with the two scout ships hanging above her and the three civilians and Rodrick, who were each huddled on the floor clutching their heads. Vardanis picked up his long, gem-studded rifle and stepped up next to her as Leo and David approached them, staying a good distance apart so as to be able to create a crossfire if the worst should happen. Leo could see Casey above them with her sniper rifle pointed down, choosing her target, an unfortunate dark templar who knew he was under crosshairs.
“Stand down, Imperials,” David said, bringing his rifle up and pointing it at Asala. “This isn't the way we do things.”
{And how do you do things?} Asala sneered, stepping forward. {The hallmark of inefficiency, you terrans are. Always doing things in your clumsy and childish ways. This is how you get the job done! This is how you perform your duties!}
{Calm, Asala,} Vardanis said. He turned to David. {We are performing the duties that you have failed to in the week that we have been on this planet. A week, and no new information. A week of frivolous parties and inane banter. Do not blame us for deciding to do the job for you. Doing the job that you lack the resolve and honor to do.}
Leo stepped forward, and found himself looking down the barrel of Vardanis's rifle. {Don't try it. You will be dead before you take another step.}
“You let these people go!” Leo said. “They don't know anything!”
{Then they have nothing to fear,} Vardanis replied. {But, if they are hiding something-}
Leo took an involuntary step forward in anger, and the next seconds passed in a blur. He heard a scream “Noooo!!”, saw the muzzle flash of the protoss's rifle, and then heard a thud as a figure passed in front of him.
The cargo hold was completely silent as Leo looked down at the crumpled heap that used to be the boy. The one that had followed him everywhere since he had made landfall. The boy who's name he still didn't know.
A wordless roar escaped his lips as he charged the protoss. Three more muzzle flashes, and he felt a little resistance in his charge. His gun forgotten, he dropped it, seizing Vardanis's rifle and wrenching it upward as his armored shoulder slammed into the protoss's head.
Leo faintly heard gun shots and psi-blades around him, but he had eyes only for Vardanis. He brought the rifle down like a club on the offending creature's head, and roared again as he brought the club up and down, up and down. The protoss feebly tried to defend against the armor-empowered strikes, turning the first few away, but the ferocity of Leo's attacks broke through, and Vardanis was beat down.
A few more gunshots rang out, as Leo dropped the rifle and stumbled around aimlessly. He fell to his knees. His legs were numb. He looked downward. His armor showed three cracked holes, one in his chest, and two in his abdomen. Blood poured out of them.
He fell over onto his side. As his head rolled around to look upwards, and his vision fuzzed away, he saw the ships above him suddenly explode, and darkness descended on him.
-----SoA:
Imperials kidnap and torture Rodrick and three Barkanos citizens
David figures this out and confronts themselves
David and crew “kill” Vardanis and Asala, as well as three of the dark templar. The other two dark templar escape once their leaders are downed.
Leo sustains serious gunshot wounds (10% point reduction)
Asala self-destructs the two protoss scout ships that were hanging in the cargo bay, crippling Gambit until further notice
Davir System
As he had done so often, Murkag glided into the Davir system. As Dagganoth looked through its eyes, he immediately noticed the same scene as he had several weeks ago. Davir II, a hot desert-planet, looked like a golden globe from this distance. Right across from it, past the system's sun, was the ocean world of Davir V. Due to its similar size, it looked like the blue counterpart to it's golden brother. Furthest away from the sun, and more off to the side was the lush mountainous planet of Barkanos. Everything looked ordinary. Not everything felt ordinary to Dagganoth, though. As he carefully scanned the area for psionic Zerg activity, his mental radar went haywire. There was a large Zerge force hiding in the shadows of Davir V, and Dagganoth immediately recognized their psionic signature as being from the Themos Brood.
{Didn't expect you back here so soon.}, Aria's voice spoke as it entered Dagganoth's mind.
{Didn't expect you here. Though I cannot say your... presencce does not make sensse. I do not think it can remain, however. If the Piratess were to find out...}, the Cerebrate replied.
{I'm expecting them not to. You see, my orders are to keep an eye on your planet and funnily enough, assist you if any battle might break out. Not that you'd get into a fight. Or would you, Dagganoth?}
Dagganoth quickly reasoned with himself for a second. He knew that it was unlikely she was lying; if there was indeed a malicious reason behind an underling of Lillith being here - which there likely was, knowing Lillith - its orders had been overwritten by the Overmind's call. There was no way Lillith would have stationed troops here to guard his interest for no apparent reason. Realizing who he was dealing with, he adjusted his pose. One of the major advantages of being a Cerebrate was that his emotions and character weren't as easy to read as those of infested Terrans.
{Maybe I would, maybe I wouldn't. Regardless, I guess I wouldn't want to interfere with such a... 'noble' goal.}
{I had thought you wouldn't.} were the words Aria ended the conversation with as Murkag slowly glided on towards Barkanos.
-David had just finished hammering a nail into an iron support beam when Puck's head stuck around the corner.
"Captain, I need you on the bridge. You need to see this."
Grudgingly, David left his repairs behind for now and followed Puck to the bridge. As the two stepped into the room, Puck began to speak.
"Though a lot of our systems were rather heavily damaged, I'm pretty sure your sensors are still intact."
"What do you mean, 'pretty sure'?", David replied.
"Do you see these dots here, surrounding our ship? I think that's a circle of Mutalisks, closing in."
With that, David ran out of the room and yelled for everybody to prepare. As he equipped his armor and closed the loading bay door, he made his way back to the bridge, from where he could look outside. A ring of Mutalisks was indeed closing in on the vessel, but something curious happened as well; as David watched, a fairly regular Terran transport landed not thirty meters from his ship. David looked on as two Terrans came out - one completely unarmed, and another seemingly infested shielding him and walking up front. Following the two Terrans, a host of Zerglings formed a line as they came to a halt. He saw the unarmed Terran put his hands to his mouth as he yelled at the Gambit:
"David... We want to talk to you. Please stand down and come out of your ship unarmed."
"Do you think I'm stupid?", David shouted back. The unarmed Terran put his hands to his mouth again.
"We promise you will not be harmed."
"I am NOT coming out there unarmed with an entire Zerg army on the lookout. What do you take me for?"
David watched as the two Terrans looked at eachother. A few second later all of the Zerglings backed off, and the Mutalisks flew back a fair distance. He considered his options for a second, and then decided to go for it. He made his way down to the loading bay and opened the door. He then walked outside in full armor, his gun at the ready but not raised.
"I can talk cordially, I've just had a bit too many guns pointed at me recently. Not to keen on getting shot at again."
As the 'infested' Terran took a step in his direction, David got a clearer look at him. It appeared that he was wearing some kind of infested body armor and wasn't as much infested himself.
"Makes sense... we want to talk. But know that if you betray or harm any one of us, you've got a problem. An enormous amount of flying problems, actually."
"Understood, as long as you know that if you attack me, I'll take as many of you with me as I can, starting with you. I take it you're Dagganoth's lot?", David replied.
The unarmed man chuckled at this remark. He looked at David and then walked towards him, holding out his hand.
"I Think we haven't been called that way yet, but yes. I'm Adam. That's jack.". He nodded at the 'infested' next to him.
David looked at Adam's hand, not taking it. "Let's save the pleasantries until after I know I can trust you. You've got me. My ship can't take off, you've got superior numbers. But you haven't attacked. What do you want with me?".
"Simple... We want to know what you want with us."
This time it was David's turn to chuckle.
"Well, here's the rub. I don't want anything with you guys. My business has been conducted."
"What was it you wanted, then?"
"That is between me and the Imperials. By the way, THEY want to talk to you."
"Imperials... interesting. I don't think it's between the two of you anymore, though. It stopped being such when you landed on this planet.". The man named Adam eyed the smoking Gambit. "And judging from what Rodrick tells us, you seem to have fairly little reason left to protect them."
David's previous chuckle was now surpassed by an all out laugh. "Protect them? They now want to kill me almost as much as they want to kill you. But simply, my business, is no longer their business."
Adam looked at him for a couple of seconds, apparently thinking things through before replying. "Alright... Well, here's the thing, whoever you are. We want to trust you. If you've asked anybody on this planet, you'll know we're not the bad guys. But you have to give us something. You're on our planet. One of our citizens has been killed. Your ship looks as if it's about to explode. You can't expect us to allow you to just make your repairs and fly out of here as if nothing happened."
"If Rodrick told you everything, then you know that I literally put my neck on the chopping block between you and the Imperium. I think that more than suffices."
"His story was somewhat incoherent, but you're saying it's completely true, then? You were hired by the Imperium to find information on Dagganoth and had a falling out with them?"
"Let's not talk here. Too many things I can't say. I take it your master will want to talk to me?"
"I wouldn't call him my 'master', but yes. As you'll know though, he's a Cerebrate. I'm talking on his behalf. He is viewing this scene right now. Where would you like to go?"
With that, David nodded at Adam as he turned around and walked into the Gambit. Adam appeared to stare into thin air for a few seconds before nodding at Jack, both of them following David inside. As they entered the ship, David lead them to the apparently empty bridge. After several seconds of silence, Adam broke it.
"Alright, so talk. What happened?"
David told the story. "Approximately two months ago, I took protoss refugees seeking passage to Sindiris. A Khalos among them, who I understand was outfitted with..."
"...I didn't agree with their methods, and so they had to be stopped. And so far, you've been painfully friendly, so I think I made the right choice."
In the silence after David's story, Jack and Adam looked at eachother again. Suddenly, David saw the infested parts of armor on Jack's arms and torso shrink rapidly until nothing but small objects were left, looking a bit like gauntlets. David noted that Jack's gun had disappeared along with the infested armor. As Jack neatly tucked the gauntlet-like object away into his belt, Adam spoke again.
"In that case, you have our trust, and our thanks. We'd like to repay the debt. Do you need help with your repairs? We have an engineer on board our ship who could probably help you out. I also heard that one of your crew was wounded? We may have a solution to that, too..."
"We can take care of our own, but if you want to lend your aid, I won't stop you."
"Can you take us to him?"
-Fifteen minutes later, the group walked into the medical bay of the Gambit as a tall, handsome man with short red hair and an iron earring walked into the loading bay, two volunteers standing behind him. He took a slow look around the ship and the damage that had been caused. This was going to be a bit of work.
A short, red-haired girl flipped up the visor of her face-shield and looked down at the trio of newcomers from where she hung from the ceiling. She quickly repelled down the side as the leader of the trio continued looking around. She detached herself and slowly walked over to him, until she stood beside him, looking around with him.
"You ever worked on one of these?"
“Back in the early days,” the man replied. “They don't make 'em like this anymore. A Mark VI, am I right?"
"Indeed. One of the best series out there. The extra stabilizers, and dual-rotating engines make for a smooth ride,” she said probingly.
“If you have a skilled pilot,” he shot back immediately. ”But the real kicker that makes these shitcans worthwhile is the alternating engine coils. For such a small thing, these guys sure do pack a massive punch. Speed-wise, that is. And with that skilled pilot, ain't nothing touching you once you're off the ground.”
“You really do know your stuff. You've used one of these then, I assume?”
"Indeed I have, miss. I've been working on ships longer than you've been alive, I reckon. Name's Barclay O'Scott, but most call me Barc. I'm an engineer. It's been a while since I got to practice my profession, but Dagganoth sent me to help. These two numbnuts here are Donnal 'n Daigo. Mostly for the heavy-lifting.” he added with a grin.
“Well then they can start with...”
-As the group in the cargo bay set off to work, a floor up Jack approached Leo's bed. David had introduced him and Adam to a Dr. Rark, who had informed him that the bullets had been taken out of Leo's body, but that he was going to need time to recover fully. Jack looked from Rark to David.
"I may have a way to speed his recovery up. Please trust me on this."
Jack took one of the gauntlets from his belt and took it in his left arm. As soon as he gripped the handle the object seemed to grow around his hand and all the way up to his torso, the front end shaping back into the gun barrel David had seen before. As Rark and David looked at Jack cautiosly, he aimed his arm at the ceiling.
"Here goes nothing!"
One second later a green blur came out of Jack's gun. David followed it with his eyes as it bounced off the ceiling, seemed to catch itself on the edge of Leo's bed and used Jack's knee to jump onto Leo's leg. Only once it had stopped moving could David see that the green ball was actually some kind of Zerg-like creature, sporting a round mouth and several tentacle-like arms. He shifted uncomfortably...
"Leo won't like this."
Adam leaned over and whispered to him;
"Don't worry. Your Leo seems very similar to our Jack. It's almost adorable how he handles them by now..."
"Jack's family wasn't killed by the Zerg", David replied. Adam immediately shut up and shifted back, holding his tongue.
On the bed, the Terling was slowly creeping its way up to Leo's gunwounds, treading with such light footsteps that the unconscious Leo didn't even seem to notice it. As soon as it reached the three wounds, it quietly spittled drops of seemingly acidic saliva into them. The wounds quickly begun to sizzle and close up as they turned into extremely pale white human flesh. After finishing up, the Terling jumped back onto Jack's shoulder.
Dr. Rark spoke for the first time since Jack launched his Terling. "Fascinating."
"They have their uses", Jack replied. "Not saying he'll be up and running within the hour, but it should shave a week or so of his natural healing time."
"I must say," Jonathan went on. "That is utterly fascinating... May I... see one? ... Have a sample maybe?"
"Sure, you can keep it.", Jack replied, holding up his hand. The Terling on his shoulder used Jack's hand to jump across the room, swing off a lamp and land on Jonathan's shoulder."
"Amazing..."
This time, Adam replied. "Study it all you want. Keep in mind though - the Terling is a new specimen of Zerg, even if not a very complicated one. Dagganoth essentially controls them. If you get too far away from him, Dagganoth will lose control. There's no saying what will happen to it. It will most likely go dormant or feral, or simply disintegrate. Unless another psionic were to take control of it, anyway."
"Very well. Thank you for the head's up", Rark said.
Jack nodded politely at Rark and David as Adam again stuck out his hand at David. "Now, will you shake it?", he asked cheerfully.
SoA
-Murkag enters the Davir system and Dagganoth notices Aria's forces. He has a small talk with Aria and finds out she's here to back up him or his assets. He keeps this information to himself for now.
-Adam and Jack approach David and talk with him. David shares his story as things turn friendly between both sides. Jack uses his Terlings to repair some of the damage done to Leo, spending 3 of the 6 points required to 'heal' him back up to full stats.
-At the same time, engineer Barclay and two twin volunteers (Donnal and Daigo) meet up with Haley in the docking bay in order to offer their services in repairing the Gambit back to full.
OOC: Might be a bit too dramatic. Or badly written. Same thing?
Run. Hide. There is still time.
They were as rigid as statues. Living substitutes for the stone guardians that had once guarded the entrance to the building. Four warriors and two dragoons. They were all that was left, apart from the two that were resting. And they were all tired... So tired.
You know that they are only stalling. They can destroy you whenever they want to. But they are merely withholding, keeping you trapped while they destroy what you haven't already. Claiming this planet as their own.
A barricade blocked most of the entrance. Several meters thick. Fallen masonry, pieces of metal, zerg bodies, dragoon shells. Whatever they could find. But they had to keep a small part of the passage free, so that the zerg rushed through it instead of simply destroying it.
Oh, but you've seen what they can do. You've seen them dig and you've seen their worms. They can end this whenever they want to. They are toying with you. They are toying with you and they are not stupid, not dumb animals streaming in through your small gap to be slaughtered. They are wearing you down, robbing you of your hope and strength, while they fulfill their real goals.
They were the last ones. The only thing standing between the monsters and the remaining civilians. Their ship was gone, packed with as many refugees as could fit into it and on its way to safer space. They were alone...
And dead. You have been left here to die, along with those you think you saved. Overloading the psi network, destroying the zerg, destroying the city, trapping yourself and the civilians in this building. They are as dead as they would be had they stayed outside. Without light to live off of, save for the light of their hope. And what a foolish hope! That the Imperium will return! And rescue them! That Erana will hold her promise!
They felt their minds before they saw their bodies. Feral, cruel, ignorant. The zerg climbed the hill of dead bodies and debris in front of the building and charged the barricade. The dragoons immediately began picking off the banelings, trying to keep them from destroying the barricade. The faster ones -zerglings- kept running.
Watch them now. They funnel in even before they arrive at the barricade. Disciplined, organized. And you think them stupid beasts?
The first zerglings passed through the gap and leaped at the zealots, slashing, biting, screaming. They fought like demons. And the protoss responded in kind. Their blades cut through zerg after zerg, spilling ichor over themselves and the stone floor. But this time it was different. He knew it as soon as he felt the ground shake.
You could have run. You still can. You can live while they die. Why not do it? Why die here? There are no preservers alive to remember your valiant last stand. And there are also no preservers alive to condemn your flight. You can still live!
One of his warriors sent out a psionic scream as his shields gave out and he disappeared under a flood of zerglings. The dragoon behind him exploded, spewing its blue goo all over him. A zergling jumped at him. His shields gave out and he was toppled to the ground. He lashed out blindly and managed to decapitate the creature and stand back up. His warriors were gone, replaced by living carpet of zerg. He was-
Alone. And now you die. Alone.
He fought like a demon. His vision became clouded, his body was quickly covered in zerg ichor. He felt nothing, saw nothing. He lashed out at minds he could barely feel, defended himself from attacks he did not register. And then the barricade exploded. A flying zerg hit him squarely in the chest and he was thrown to the ground. He looked up. Where the barricade had been stood the largest zerg he had ever seen. An ultralisk. So they had finally decided to end it. He closed his eyes, awaiting the end he knew would come. It did not.
-{Praetor, we are about to arrive.} Khalos had already been awake for an hour but it was the captain's announcement that stirred his thoughts. He sat up in his bed now, shaking his head to clear it of the memory that had visited him unbidden in his sleep. But it persisted: a few small pockets of fear and despair clinging to his mind as he purged it.
He began to pace around his room - the Executor's Quarters - focusing on eradicating the feelings nagging at him, but the more he thought about them, the stronger and more resistant they became. He could almost feel the panic he had felt at the time, the blind fear gnawing at his mind as he withstood wave after wave of zerg trying to break through. All up to the point where the terrans came and saved him from the zerg's clutches, quite literally at the last second.
That had been more than five years ago. So why did it all feel so recent? Why did he remember it now, and not in his days of boredom on New Aiur? During his recovery under Dagganoth's "care"?
Khalos looked down at "his" arm at the memory of the cerebrate. He remembered the series of events that had lead to the most unlikely of encounters, the battle with the Order... the fear. His fear. To his surprise, the hybrid hand seemed to clench itself into a fist at the memory. At first he thought it was acting up on its own, but then he realized his own hand was clenched tightly. More than that, he suddenly felt anger. No, rage. Blind, inexplicable rage, erasing the fear that no amount of thought had been able to control.
{Praetor, we will be arriving very shortly. I suggest you present yourself on the bridge.}
{I am aware,} Khalos answered, putting far more irritation into the response than he intended.
{Is something amiss, Praetor?} came the immediate query.
{No... no... it is...} Khalos was taken aback by his own behavior. Confused, he tried to find its cause, a reason for the anger. He thought back to his thoughts, to the battle... It was a murky area of his memory. He really did not remember that much and hadn't tried to since: more important things had needed tending to. But he thought back to it now, thought as hard as he could. And after a while, it came back to him. Erana's offer. Her immediate betrayal. His own folly. His own terror.
And then, as suddenly as it had struck, it all disappeared. The fear, the anger. All gone, leaving behind nothing but a tempered mind, metal forged in the fires of a star.
{I will be there shortly,} he notified the Flame's captain, and left the room. And on his way to the bridge, he moved both his arms as if they were entirely his own, making that gesture which he had seen terrans use so often: a fist hitting an open palm. A clear sign that a battle was about to start. Or as the terrans so eloquently put it: "that shit was about to go down."
SoA
Khalos flashback to days of zerg invasion.
The Flame arrives in Aris.
Khalos reflects on battle with Order
Empire's capitol, Magraia, Magrathea
The crowd roared as the Link landed. The event had been turned into a special celebration and many had come out to see it. While none of the Empire's inhabitants were particularly prideful or nationalistic, the feeling that the launch of the Collective project had created was one of enthousiasm. Aside from improving relations with the Tirion republic, the Magratheans liked the tiny taste of military independence. Not that they were unhappy with the Aranov Consectorate; quite the opposite. However, some more direct control and nationality did cause a glimmering interest.
As the Battlecruisers' main dock opened, four figures came out. Any Magrathean would instantly recognize the one leading the group: he was Douglass Lass, the president of the Tirion Republic. Behind him stood a somewhat older-looking man, a black-haired woman and a strong, young official. All three were clad in a grab coloured dark green with bright red details.
Two men approached the group; one clad in a similar garb, the other instantly recognizable by just his face: Arthur Dent, the leader of the Empire. As the two shook hands and greeted eachother the cameras rolled freely. Once they finished up their brief introduction, the officials in the green-red garbs shook hands with the man next to Arthur Dent. Soon after, Dent turned around and walked to a makeshift podium to adress the crowd.
"Magratheans, sisters, brothers... Today is the start of something new. If you have been following the news, you will know this ship is known as the Link. And you will also know that these people behind me are both Tirion and Magrathean officers. These men will work together to perform the will of the Empire and of the Republic, our close allies.
Our forces have worked together over the past months to realize this project, and this is where it finally begins. As of today, the Link is officially 'in action' and it will start performing missions around the sector. This is a fine example of what craftsmanship and hard work can achieve."
Dent gestured at Lass when mentioning craftsmanship.
"Normally I would say to you: 'Long live the Empire'. Today however, I say to you... 'Long live the Collective'!"
Applause was heard once more as Dent and Lass shook hands again and disappeared from the scene. The crowd then started talking amongst themselves as a legion of Magratheans in green-red outfits started to board the vessel and the officials disappeared into the ship.
-The Link ready room, roughly two hours later
"Well, so much for the formal introduction", the captain said to the three first mates standing around the holographic projection table in front of him. "In case you didn't catch it outside, my name is Moranno Tenara. While on duty, I prefer 'sir' because it's shorter, but my surname or rank will suffice. First name's fine off-duty."
Tenara paused, waiting for a reaction from any of his officers. It came from the middle-aged woman. "Synna Akirano. Pleasure to properly meet you". She nodded.
Next, the younger man on the right spoke. "Verron Cinnet, at your service", he said as he saluted. Tenara grinned.
"You can leave out the salutes from now on - saves us both some crucial time."
Verron went red as the older man took a small step forward and introduced himself. "Joshep Barage, sir".
The captain then pushed a button on the table, activating its holographic projector; it was a representation of the Magrathea system. "With that out of the way, lets get down to business. What you see here is the system we are currently located in. I assume you'll recognize it."
Synna thoughtfully scratched her cheek as Joshep looked on silently. Verron's eyes were locked on the hologram so tightly it made the young officer look like he was trying to pierce an Ultralisk with his gaze.
"This", Tenara said as he pushed a button and the holograph zoomed in on a planet, "is the nearby planet of Elos. As you'll know, we are to use the resources in our cargo hold to set up a base for ourselves. That planet is where we'll do so."
Miss Akirano looked thoughtful for a second before speaking out. "Weren't there Outsider forces scattered over the planet, last time it was scanned?"
"Exactly", Moranno replied. "And that is where our first mission lies. We are to clear the planet of Outsiders in order to set up our own base."
"I'm guessing that means a planetary assault? An orbital bombardment would ruin the planet's surface", Joshep interjected.
"Right again, were it not for one obstacle...", Tenara replied. "The Outsiders are said to have a large flagship in the area, which will need to be neutralized before we can take control of the planet. We will need some support to take out this ship. Only once we reach the planet, we'll find suitable landing spots and begin our assault. I've decided to radio the nearby Pirate patrol vessel for orbital assistance."
"The Pirates? We can't trust them! We ask them along and they'll turn against us as the battle starts!", Verron immediately shouted out.
Tenara looked from Synna to Joshep. When no one replied to Verron's outburst, Synna started talking. "I do not think we need to be so afraid of Pirates from the coalition; even if they wanted to sell us out, their betrayal would mean war in the entire sector. I do however agree that we shouldn't trust them so readily if we haven't explored other options, though."
The captain looked somewhat annoyed as he gave his reply. "Fine, fine... I know the rules; if two of you disagree, I can't make the decision. What would you suggest however? We need that support or we may as well stick to this planet and never leave."
Suddenly Joshep interjected. "I may have a solution for that problem. The Pirates are not the only ones who can offer us support. There's an Aranov Patrol at the system's edge that we could request assistance from."
"Aranov? Well, no offense, but I thought we were doing all this precisely to grow less dependent on his army."
"Be that as it may, the Consectorate is still a loyal ally. Plus, we will be in charge of the operation, since we are running it. We will still have our independence", Joshep shot back.
Moranno thought for a second before answering. "I guess that makes sense. Unless you two disagree, that's how we'll do it. Mr. Barage, make the call. Mr. Cinnet, you have the bridge. Ms. Akirano.... dismissed". With that, Moranno and two of his officers left the ready room, leaving Joshep alone to access the projection table.
Ten minutes later, the remaining crowd roared one last time as the Link undocked and departed Magraia.
SoA
-A Tirion-manned Link lands on Magraia and the Magrathean part of the crew boards.
-Dent adresses the Empire in a speech.
-The Link receives its first mission: to clear out the planet Elos of Outsiders and set up its base of operations/colony there. It travels there from the planet of Magraia, along with an Aranov Patrol vessel for support. Since these planets are both located in the same system, there are 0 IC's/days travel time.
Magrathea System
As soon as the Link exited warp space to meet up with the Aranov Patrol ship, a transport ship left the Aranov vessel and requested docking permissions - No form of identification was sent. Tenara looked at his advisors before making a decision.
"Let them dock." He said after a short while, and watched the transport ship get closer.
"Who do you think it is, sir?" One of the crew members asked him.
"I don't know." Tenara said after some consideration - Coming to his ship in person was completely unnecessary, no matter who it was.
{ Ship has docked. } A voice said over the radio.
"Who is it?" Tenara asked.
There was a short pause before the reply.
{ He wishes to see you. Looks like a ghost operative, ID X-01 according to his suit and gun. Wears mostly black with minor pieces of Aranov colors. }
"Escort him to me." Tenara said, somewhat wary. Ghosts were never a good sign.
One of the crew members pushed a few buttons and a holographic screen with the security camera feed showed up beside Tenara, showing the ghost. He was rather tall, athletically built and had a heavy sniper rifle on his back. His hair was black, he seemed to have blue eyes and his face showed no emotion whatsoever. It didn't take him particularly long to reach the Captain.
"My name is Xavier Origin. Aranov has asked me observe and evaluate how you handle the Elos situation." The ghost said bluntly.
"Greetings, Xavier." Tenara replied and extended his hand. Xavier did not take it. "I'm Captain Moranno Tenara. These are two of my officers, Synna Akirano and Joshep Barage. Aranov asked you to "observe and evaluate" us?"
The ghost had been calmly observing the room, taking in details rapidly while Tenara had been talking.
"He is always looking for new talent." The Ghost said, returning his gaze to Tenara, looking at him with his cold blue eyes. It was unnerving, even for a ghost. "His father focused too much on protocol and rules in his opinion, so there are very few high ranking officers at the moment who can use their own heads instead of blindly following instructions to the letter."
He paused for a second, examined Tenara, re-read his file in his mind, and then continued.
"He fully spports your independence," He said, knowing that that was what the Captain was worrying about. "He just wants to know how good you are at your job, should you ever request support or be requested to support us."
Moranno looked at Akirano and Barage, the latter of which lightly nodded. He then replied "I would not like to have to start this mission with Aranov looking over our shoulders, but if you put it like that, I can see where the man is coming from. How can we help you?"
"Just do your job. The Patrol ship I came from is under your command. A couple of rules regarding me:
1.) I do not exist, so there is no point of talking about me with anyone, not even Domovoi himself.
2.) I am not in charge nor just an observer. If you require my assistance, ask for it."
Akirano and Barage looked at each other for a second before the first spoke up. "That's all fine and good, but how do we know we can trust you, then? An illusive ghost who does not exist and who's alleged credentials should not be backtraced to his alleged commander. You could be an Outsider spy for all we know."
"If you've ever trusted a ghost, you've been doing your job wrong." The ghost said, complete unfazed by the accusations. His calm- and directness was becoming really unnerving.
"I don't know... None of them have ever asked for my trust... I think they were doing their job right" Akirano shot back with a grin.
"Well then, I take it we are done?"
Akirano wanted to reply, but Tenara cut her off. "I guess we are. Will you be staying on this ship or return to the Patrol?"
"It would be hard to observe your actions and thought process from the Patrol, wouldn't it?"
"That seems fair, but if you want to remain on my ship, I need to know that you will not get in the way of my operations. Can I at least trust you on that?"
"As I said, I am not in charge of anything. If you need my assistance you may ask for it, otherwise I will just observe."
"Very well". Moranno pushed a button on the bottom side of the projection table he was standing in front of and a guard entered the room. "Can you please assign this gentleman a room?"
"I will not require one."
"If you say so. Dismissed, then."
Xavier was the first to leave the room, but Akirano stopped the others from following.
"Why did you cut me off?" She asked Tenara. "We need to know who we are dealing with!"
"I agree, but argueing with the man isn't going to be of much use. Barage, acompany me to the bridge. Akirano... try and run a background check on the man. Ask our sources, ask Dent or Lass if you have to... Anything that can confirm he's not with the Outsiders."
SoA
The Link has an uninvited guest
OOC: Too tired and lazy to put into a spoiler button. Also, my writing today is pretty bad >.>
The Link ready room
As soon as everyone had left the room, Synna walked over to the control panel and pushed a few buttons. A few seconds later a friendly-looking female hologram popped up in the middle of the room.
"What can the AIA do for you, Officer Akirano?”
"I need some information on a Ghost called Xavier Origin, code X-01", the dark-haired officer replied.
"Ghost information is highly classif-", the hologram started as Synna interrupted her.
"Yes yes, save me the speech. I just need to know if he's with the Consectorate or not."
The hologram typed displayed a typing motion for a few seconds and then turned back to Synna. "A Ghost named Xavier Origin does not exist, miss Akirano".
The Tirion officer looked slightly to the side as she softly bit her lip. She was not entirely sure what she was looking for, but decided to press on anyway. "That's strange, seeing as he just arrived on my ship and says he's following Aranov's orders to observe our actions."
The female hologram typed again for a few seconds, seemed to read something, and then looked back at Synna. "That seems correct".
Synna blinked. "But he does not exist?"
"That's right."
Synna had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but she had what she wanted: a confirmation that there were in fact records, regardless of how strangely classified they were. Adding this to the fact that Xavier had mentioned Domovoi himself, she reasoned that at the very least this man was known to the Consectorate. Which was enough. Synna looked back up at the hologram.
"Very well... Thank you for your assistance."
The hologram smiled as it replied "You're welcome" and closed itself down. With that, Synna exited the ready room through its automatic doors and stepped onto the bridge. She went over to the captain, leaned over to him and whispered in his ear.
"The Ghost is clean."
Tenara nodded at her. With that, she straightened back up, smiled at Xavier, who had been sitting in a corner and had watched her since she came in, and left the bridge.
-Elos, Magrathea, three hours later
Elos was a relatively hot planet. The areas near the equator were in fact so hot that they were completely uninhabitable. The areas close to the extreme north and south points of the planet were very habitable areas though, and everything in between was hostile but livable. Though there were several smaller settlements spread around the planet, its largest city was located high up in the northern hemisphere. This city's northern end was surrounded with impassible mountains, but its southern end led into large open fields. The Outsider forces on the planet had retreated back into the city and set up defensive Siege Tank-lines backed up by Marines, Marauders, Science Vessels and a couple of Wraiths as soon as the Aranov fleet had come into view scouting the area. Their enormous flagship was floating above the cloudline, high above the city. They were prepared for a long lasting siege, and that would be exactly what they would get.
The usually quiet fields at the south end of the city were now booming with noise. Both the Aranov Patrol ship and the Link were floating in the background of the Siege Tank-line the Coalition forces had just set up around the city. The Siege tanks were spread out, blocking all exits out of the city, and Marines, Marauders and Hellions were positioned to support them. The sky was littered with Medivacs, Ravens and Wraiths, and several squadrons of Vikings were patrolling the area. No shots had been fired yet, but both armies were completely locked down.
Aboard the Link, Captain Tenara realized this. He and his three officers had retreated to the ready room, where a holographic version of the Aranov Patrol's captain was lit up. Xavier was standing against the wall near the round room's entrance.
"Whoever makes the first move in this scenario takes the losses", Barage said.
"You're right", Tenara chimed in. "We could win the battle if we charged everything right into the city, but we'd lose nearly all our troops. We need a way to pick off their Tanks without losing units - at that point we've got them in a stranglehold. Plus, we'll be able to flush them out of the city and minimize civilian casualties."
The young Verron stepped forward. "Can't we use the Aranov Wraiths to take out the tanks?"
"Good thinking", the Aranov captain replied, "but I'm not sending my Wraiths up against that many Marines as long as those damn Science Vessels negate my cloak. They'll be toast in seconds."
"So we'll need to take out the Science Vessels", Ms. Akirano concluded. "Your Vikings' range should be great at getting that job done, no?", she said to the Aranov captain.
"Definitely. I can send them in to solve our problem at your command, Captain Tenara."
"Hold on a second", Tenara replied, seemingly thinking things through. "While that tactic would be very effective, we may be able to do one more. If we simply open fire, a bunch of the Vessels will get away and hide behind enemy lines until they are needed. If we can provide a distraction, we may be able to take them all out in one fell swoop".
Joshep Barage was the first to react. "Of course! If we force them to keep their Science Vessels near the frontline, we can snipe all of them down before they even notice. And then our Wraiths will have free reign".
"What kind of distraction did you have in mind?", Ms. Akirano asked.
Captain Tenara looked at his officers briefly before resting his eyes on Xavier who was standing in the corner. "Agent Origin... you said you could help?"
"A distraction in the truest sense of the word would not work." Xavier said. "Only one vessel is needed to give the marines time to kill your wraiths, and Wraiths are not known for the range on their anti-ground weapons, so the vessels could stay a good deal behind the tank and marine line. What you need is pressure, not a distraction. Take out a vessel and attack the undefended location, force another vessel to come, destroy that one. After that the Outsiders will more likely retreat than send more vessels, but you should be able to destroy a good chunk of their troops."
Xavier paced to the middle of the room.
"Taking out vessels after the first one would be hard and result in losses if you used Vikings or Wraiths. I can assist there, my equipment is beyond that of any regular ghost."
"The siege tanks will tear you apart." Tenara said.
"I can handle them." Xavier said calmly. "My cloak isn't as limited as that of the Wraiths either, so I can be a constant threat to them."
He looked at the hologram of the city, showing the last known troop positions. They had barricaded themselves in on one of the main roads.
"Once the first vessels are down, they will be forced to play more defensive and lose ground. I will strike and take the first vessels in the west, a small squadron of wraiths will assist - mostly just for the pressure. Vikings should make advances in the east, while Wraiths show themselves in the south. It won't take them long to realize they won't be able to hold their current positions, and they will be forced to group all their forces up, making it impossible to take out their vessels without severe losses."
"And how is that going to help, Agent?" The captain of the patrol asked.
"They will be out of ground to maneuver on. If they place their tanks on the edges of their forces, I can eliminate them. If there is a marine line in front of the tanks, your tanks will be able to hit them from a barely safe range."
"Makes sense", Tanara replied. "I want those Vikings ready to fire, though - any Science Vessel they can snipe should be taken out."
The captain looked around the room. When he saw that nobody replied, he simply said "Make it so". With that, Xavier took off to the docking bay as the hologram of the Aranov captain closed itself down and the Link's crew left for the bridge.
SoA
-Officer Akirano gets told by the Aranov Intelligence Agency that the Ghost named Xavier does not exist, but figures out that he has to be allied with the Consectorate anyway.
-The Link and Aranov forces land near Elos' capital city after scouting the area. The Outsiders are holed up inside the city with a Siege Tank line, the Collective/Aranov forces block the way out with their own tankline.
-Xavier is sent in along with several Aranov Wraiths to provide pressure and clear out the Outsider Science Vessels along the western side of the city. A number of Wraiths and Vikings provide constant pressure from both the southern and eastern sides.
Pinegrove, Elos capital, Magrathea
Xavier watched the barricades ahead intently, waiting for the signal. He was one thousand five hundred eighty four meters away from the closest science vessel, underneath which a group of marines together with a siege tank waited. And even though tall buildings blocked the view, he knew the main road was littered such groups, prepared for battle.
{ Wraiths incoming in 15 seconds. Proceed with maneuver. } A voice said into Xavier's ear.
He took his rifle and looked down the road, towards the barricades. There was a car used to block the road roughly eight hundred meters away from the science vessel.
He started counting to ten. He could already hear the Wraiths coming - but that did not mean the Outsiders could. He continued counting and waited, the buzz in the air from the Wraiths growing louder and louder.
Ten.
As he started running, he pushed a button on his rifle, and it began to hum and glow. He ran as fast as he could, covering most of the distance between him and the car in less than two seconds.
The turret of the tank started turning towards him as he was a fifty meters away from the car - The science vessel detected him.
Twenty metres to the car, the turret locked on.
He let himself fall, stretching his legs out in front of him and aiming his rifle upwards at a low angle. He hit the ground and slid incredibly fast towards the car.
The tank calculated his trajectory.
Xavier heard a click, followed by a comparatively incredibly loud explosion.
As he reached the car, an explosion hit it, flinging it up spinning in the air. He slid underneath it, one of the side mirrors almost grazing his head.
Once the flying car was no longer in his way, he pulled the trigger. The air rippled as the projectile tore through it, even the flames and smoke from the explosion were cleared.
Xavier was so composed that time passed slowly enough in his eyes that he could see the bullet tear a hole through the science vessel, before it went up in flames and rained debris onto the soldiers below.
He got up, and as he ran for cover behind a building, out of sight of the science vessel that was coming to detect him, he fired two shots at the tank standing there, turning it into a pile of scrap.
{ Wraiths on site in two. Take out the backup vessel, now. }
Xavier waited a second, watching the Wraiths come closer and closer, then walked out of his cover and towards the Outsider baricade. The marines were all ready to shoot down the Wraiths, and it would not take them particularly long to do so.
He pushed the button on his rifle again. The Wraiths were almost in range. A couple of the marines noticed him and changed their aim, but one second was far more to Xavier than it was to them. He raised his rifle and aimed at the science vessel. A premature shot was fired by one of the marines, missing all of the Wraiths.
The next shot was taken by the Ghost.
The Wraiths disappeared from sight completely rained down hell on the blinded marines, immediately picking off two of the nearby Siege Tanks. Xavier made his way to the next position as he saw two friendly Siege tanks rolling up near where he started his sprint.
-An exhausting four hours later, the Collective had achieved its goal. Like a wrench prying open a door, Xavier and the Aranov air troops had continued to poke holes into the Outsider defenses, forcing them to fall back while the Collective's tanks had inched their way forward. At this point, all that was left of the Outsider army was a host of Marines, Medics and Firebats, a couple of Wraiths, seven Siege Tanks and three Science Vessels. These forces had dug in at the city square, which was roughly four hundred square meters in size. They were surrounded by Coalition forces at every angle, and their outlook was bleak.
Though the Collective's outlook was better, the situation aboard the Link's bridge was tense as well. The ship had followed the Aranov Patrol and both of them were now positioned halfway over the city. Just outside of weapon range of both ships the Outsider Assault flagship could be seen, while the tiny grey clutter of dots on the planet's surface indicated the position of the Outsiders' ground forces. The Outsider flagship was their one saving grace, Tenara knew. And while they could win the two-on-one battle, he'd prefer not having to fight it.
"Open a channel", he ordered. The Outsider ship responded quickly as a strict looking captain became visible on the bridge's big screen. He remained silent and looked at Tenara sternly.
"Captain...", Tenara started. "Your forces are surrounded. You are outnumbered, there is no way out and your supplies have to be running thin by now. Lay down your arms and surrender, and I promise you will not be harmed."
The Outsider captain laughed grimly. "Not be harmed? Hah, of course not. We'll just get to spend the rest of our lives in a Coalition prison for rejecting your authority and fighting for our freedom!"
Tenara sighed. "We are not your enemy... Only if you want us to be. Your situation is hopeless, you have to recognize this. You are throwing away the lives of your men. You owe them this!"
The Outsider captain remained silent for a few seconds before looking back at Tenara. "The day we surrender to you is the day we distance ourselves from all our hopes and dreams... we will NEVER bow down to you, dogs!".
With that, the channel closed itself. A few seconds later, machines on several ends of the bridge started bleeping.
"Captain, they're on the move!", yelled one of the crewmen.
"Take us in!", captain Tenara shouted out.
SoA
-Xavier and the Aranov airforces spend four hours picking off Science Vessels, Siege Tanks and Marines until what's left of the Outsider army has been pushed back onto the city square, where they are surrounded by the Collective's tank-line. The Outsiders suffer heavy Siege Tank, Marine and Science Vessel losses but replenish some of them from their flagship as the fight is moving along slowly.
-The Aranov Patrol loses 10 Vikings during the poking exchanges, but no Collective forces are lost so far.
-Captain Tenara hails the Outsider flagship and asks them to surrender. The Outsider captain does not comply and orders an all out attack. The flagships approach eachother for aerial combat as the Outsider ground forces rush out from the city square in all directions, charging at the Collective tank-line.
Pinegrove, Elos capital, Magrathea
It was gruesome. As the Outsider infantry charged at the Collective's line, the Siege Tanks sprung into action and turned their turrets like tiny towers of doom. As if heralding the arrival of Death, the barrels blasted in unison as Marines, Firebats and Medics alike exploded in a grizzly scene of flying intestines. Whoever made it through the blasts was immediately gunned down by machine gun fire, concussive shells and Wraith lasers. The only lucky ones were the soldiers knocked unconscious by the blast waves, and the ones in the back who immediately halted their advance as their brothers and sisters in arms literally evaporated in front of their eyes. As the scared and panicked Outsider forces threw down their arms, the battle on the ground ended. Aranov's Vikings, Wraiths and Ravens all turned their noses upwards sharply and quickly ascended towards the Outsider's flagship; the battle in the air had only just started.
Not fully realizing what had happened to its remaining ground forces, the crew of the Outsider Assault ship prepared for battle as they floated closer towards their enemies. As the Aranov Patrol and the Link got into its range, it was the Outsiders who fired the first round. Though half of the lasers and missiles missed their targets, several of them did good damage to the Patrol's hull and the Link's right laser battery. Immediately, a strong response came. As the Coalition's ships fired their own weapons, the Outsider's bridge shook as the ship took heavy damage to its frontal hull, left missile batteries and cargo compartments.
Outside of the ships, the battle was also raging. Outsider Wraiths were in aerial dogfights with the few Vikings and Wraiths the Aranov Patrol had left close to it. Though the Aranov fleet looked like it would lose the battle at first, the tables turned rapidly as Wraith after Wraith jumped out of the clouds below the site. Soon to be followed by a massive wave of Aranov Vikings, it wasn't long before the Outsider Wraiths were all either crashing, exploding or attempting to flee. With aerial superiority attained, the Aranov fliers turned their attention towards the Outsider flagship, shooting at its plates wherever they could hit it, like hundreds of ants biting at a dog's legs.
Twice more did the Outsider Assault ship fire its batteries before it succumbed to the joined forces of the Aranov fleet, the Aranov Patrol, and the Link. As a large explosion took out the entire right side of the ship, it arced to its side before slowly beginning to lose height. Several seconds later, it was in freefall, right until it crashed in the middle of the city with an ear-shattering noise.
Half a minute later a screen opened up at the Link's bridge. It showed a distorted feed of what seemed to be a scared, young Outsider officer, covered in blood and dirt. Behind him, his bridge lay in shambles as several corpses and crying wounded lay spread out across it. The young man looked Tenara in the eye and spoke in a soft voice. "Please... no more... have mercy... we surrender."
Tenara looked straight back at him as he gave the command loudly. "Hold your fire!"
The young officer looked at captain Tenara with a thankful, nearly revering look as a tear rolled down his cheek. The captain gave him a small, melancholic smile before closing the channel. It was over.
-Five hours later, the situation had already begun to clear up. The few Outsider survivors there were were still being given medical attention in cargo bay five aboard the Link, which had landed just outside the city. Several armed guards were positioned among them, keeping an eye out for anybody who'd try anything. Mechanics and engineers had already begun to repair the damage dealt to both the Link and the Aranov Patrol.
At the same time, hundreds of Collectivists in vehicles were moving in and out of cargo bay four, emptying it as they went. Several taskgroups had disembarked and construction of the Collective's new base was well underway - these people were no fighters and had seen very little of the fight that had just taken place; they had no reason to waste time.
A bunch of them had also gone into the city, where a group of hundred or so were busy taking apart the crashed Outsider flagship, stripping it of useful materials to rebuild the city as they went along. They were joined by civilians who had both left the city and hidden themselves in cellars as the fighting started: the majority of these people had been Magratheans or Tirions before their government joined with the Outsiders. The ones who weren't didn't care who their planet owned to politically and simply wanted to rebuild their city. There was much to be done, but there were many hands working.
SoA
-The Collective's Siege Tanks along with Xavier and the Aranov airforce clean up the charging Outsider ground forces in a short exchange just before the air battle commences. In this exchange, all Outsider ground forces either die or surrender while the Collective loses 16 Marines, 5 Marauders and 2 Medivacs. During the short air battle, both the Link and the Aranov Patrol receive minor damage before destroying the Outsider Assault ship, which crashes into the city. The Aranov airfleet loses 10 Wraiths in dogfights with Outsider Wraiths.
-The Outsider forces surrender completely and are taken captive, resulting in 15 soldiers and 35 Outsider crew members being stored in the Link's fifth cargo bay.
-After the dust settles, Collective forces disembark and start cleaning up and repairing the city. They bring building materials from the Link's cargo bay and start setting up a military base on the planet as well. Repairs on the Link commence; the Aranov Patrol returns to Magraia for repairs since it sustained heavier damage.
-From this point on, the Collective colony is active and starts mining. Because of a 4 point penalty however, the faction will not receive +1 point per post for another 4 posts.
-The Collective receives 10 points from the Magrathean Empire and Tirion Republic for repairs/funding.
-The Link fills up an additional 50 supply worth of room with scrap and parts from the Outsider flagship along with some of the Outsider's infantry equipment. None of this is (re)usable but these goods can lateron be traded or sold.
OOC: Sorry about the massive delay. With the holidays and everything, my schedule blew up in my face. Should be pretty calm now for a while. We'll see. :-D
Barkanos, Davir System
David looked up at his ship. After two weeks of working almost day and night, Gambit was pretty well space-worthy once again. It would be good to be living full-time on the ship again. It had only been his home for a few months, but those months had had an effect on him. It hadn't felt right, sleeping anywhere else. But after the fourth sleepless night due to the constant work that Haley and that Barclay guy put in, he forced himself to find a place in the locale to sleep.
He would be glad to put this dustball and all of its problems behind him. Every minute that stayed spelled greater doom for himself and for the people of Barkanos. It was only a matter of time before the Imperium tracked him to this planet, and they weren't going to be gentle when they caught up to him. He had double-crossed them, and tipped their hand to the cerebrate.
And that brought to mind another reason to be away from the planet as soon as possible. In the aftermath of the combat and explosions, Asala had escaped. And though he had seen the bloody mess that Leo had turned Vardanis into, he hadn't been able to find the operative later on. He surmised that Asala had returned to retrieve her teacher.
They were out there, licking their wounds no doubt, waiting for their opportunity to get back at him. He doubted that was the last he had heard of them, and the longer they had to wait to leave, the more he anticipated the trap that he had narrowly escaped to slap closed around him.
“You gonna stand there all day? Or are we gonna get the hell out of here?”
He was shaken from his thoughts by Puck's chipper voice over the comm. The little imp was probably up in the cockpit, waiting to get out of here. He shook his head and stepped onto the ship. With one last look at the planet of Barkanos, David closed the cargo hatch.
“Let's get out of here.”
“You got it, cap'n.”
SoA:
Repairs are finished on Gambit and it is space-worthy again
Gambit sets out for Apoca in the Dras Lana System (2 IC's until arrival)
I am back from sabbatical :-P
In orbit of Barkanos, Davir System
Dagganoth watched through Murkag's eyes as he saw the Gambit take off. These were interesting Terrans. They had taken an impossible situation and decided to stand up to it for the sake of both him, a Cerebrate they didn't know, and the people of Barkanos, beings of the same race that they barely had any affinity with. As far as Dagganoth was concerned, he was in their debt. He would repay the debt the only way he was able to right now, without David and his crew even realizing it.
-Adam picked up the communicator and switched it on, opening a channel to the by now well known Pirate Kenny.
"Been a while. What do you need?", the Pirate said as he picked up.
"Here's something you might like hearing: I don't need anything. Today, we're giving.", Adam responded.
"Well, that's good. We are sorta busy anyway, so any help from us would've been pretty limited."
Adam thought for a second before responding. "That guy who was looking for us... his name is David Kanaro. He's a good chap. We got to talk to him on Barkanos and he's on our side now. There's some things you should know, however. I'll start with the reason he was here: the Imperium hired him to track down Dagganoth. He double crossed them. There's one Imperium officials still wandering around Barkanos somewhere. While I don't know what's keeping you busy, the Imperium is likely to know or soon find out about Barkanos. We may have a bit of a situation here we should both keep our eyes on."
"I'll see what I can do... We aren't really around at the moment. Thanks for the information, I'll let Doom and Waiter know.", Kenny replied.
"I hope you can keep a bit of an eye on the Gambit... they may become a more important player in this scheme."
"I'll try, but I can't really do much if he pisses off and doesn't show himself again.", Kenny promised.
"Alright. Then there's one last thing; there's Zerg in the Davir system. Dagganoth told me there's one army of the Themos Brood hiding behind one of the planets. Currently they're inactive and have apparently been ordered to protect Barkanos, though the Themos are the Pirates of the Swarm; Dagganoth's words. As soon as they plan on doing anything you'll likely see movement in Davir."
This time it was Kenny who remained silent for a second before responding. "Interesting. I'll make sure to leave a ship there to keep an eye on things..."
"Very well. That should be all for now. We might be up for some more of your jobs later, but we'll be in touch."
With that, Adam turned off the device and sat down. Dagganoth had also informed him of their next destination, and he had to admit it frightened him a bit. Teaming up with the Garamar Brood had been one thing, but this would take his Zerg interactions to an all new level. The Cerebrate had asked him to share the news with the other Terrans, but he'd need a day or so to work out how to bring it. Adam got lost in his thoughts as Murkag accelerated in the direction of Tartarus...
SoA
-Adam contacts Kenny and informs him of what happened between the crew of the Gambit and the Imperium officials. He asks the Pirates to keep an eye on David Kanaro and prepare for possible trouble with the Imperium. He also notifies them of the Themos fleet hanging about in the Davir system.
-Murkag leaves for the Overmind on Tartarus. 8 IC's/days travel time until arrival.
Tartarus, homeworld of the Overmind
As Murkag drew closer to the lone planet the sight alone would be enough to take away the breath of any non-Zerg: the black sphere glowed eerily in the light of the green lightning storms that seemed to surround it as it followed its slow elliptical course around a star. Within seconds, the Behemoth was surrounded by a large host of Mutalisks and Scourges send to escort it into the planet's surface. Not much later, the creature landed and a presence was felt leaving it by its Terran and Protoss crewmembers who were nearly literally in the dark of Murkag's third stomach: they had grouped up in the common room for the ordeal.
{He has left.}, Amar shared with Yatara and the Terrans. {I can feel it.}
The room remained silent for some time as most of the Terrans as well as both the Protoss looked in deep thought. It wasn't until a good ten second later when Adam spoke up that the silence was broken.
"That has to be the first time he's left...". He didn't need to add anything; the entire crew knew what was at stake here. Adam had informed them of Dagganoth's intended location a few days earlier and the entire group had had a big discussion on what to do next - many of them were not fond about going to the Overmind, wherever that may be. Part of Dagganoth's plan was to keep his crew in the proverbial dark, as not even he could afford to tip off any non-Zerg as to the actual location of the overmind. The crew had gone through the discussion somewhat painstakingly, though in the end everybody did decide to trust that Dagganoth would not betray them. This decision was being tested right now, and everybody on board Murkag was completely aware of this.
-Half an hour later a presence could be felt returning to Murkag. A second later Dagganoth addressed his crew, who had nervously spent the hour in nearly complete silence in the common room.
{Terrans, Protoss, friendss... I realize I have tested your trust by coming here. I apologize for any discomfort I have caused you. Please know that this situation is as conflicting for you as it is for me, though I do not intend to betray your trusst. Neither does the Father. He has an assignment for me, and I'm willing to answer all your questions about it. I view you as part of my Brood, and will treat you as equalss.}
A few seconds of confused but relieved silence followed from the crew as to everyone's surprise, Yatara was the first to respond.
{We get to ask a Cerebrate questions about the Overmind... At least this time the subject of our study has a planet left.}
Most of the Terrans, who had little experience with Protoss, regarded the comment as a joke and burst out into laughs. One of them didn't, however. Bob Gentry had worked with the two Protoss aboard Murkag for long enough to know neither of them joked, at least not this idlely. While Amar privately recognized the remark as some kind of strange Wandering Tribe way of trying to fit in with the Terrans, Bob recognized it for what it really was: genuine anger, or at least annoyance, towards the Cerebrate. He made a mental note to follow up on this later.
Regardless of Yatara's intention, the comment cleared the room of the serious air that had filled it for the past half hour. As the Terrans unleashed their questions on Dagganoth, Murkag slowly took off from the planet...
SoA
-Dagganoth arrives at Tartarus and has a talk with the Overmind, who wants to evolve his minions in order to pass into the nearby energy storm. He has requested Dagganoth's help on this, feeling that the Cerebrate has promise after the Projective Cortex evolution it had unlocked for its brood. This overarching mission exists out of three sub-missions which will be revealed in the posts to come.
-Bob picks up on Yatara's alleged anger towards Dagganoth.
-Garamar Brood buys Ground Carapace level 2 from the Overmind for 27 points.
-Garamar Brood restocks its army and buys 23 Zerglings and 14 Mutalisks for an additional 4 points.
-Murkag leaves Tartarus again and heads towards Domus. 7 IC's/posts until arrival.
Space, Magrathean system
As the Link was slowly making its way to Magraia, Tenara carefully paced down the row of Outsider prisoners in cargo bay five. All of them knew what likely lay before them on Magraia, and it impacted each of them differently. Some looked nervous, some looked sad, others looked angry and some looked outright scared. All of them looked at Tenara.
"Soldiers... Crewmen... Officers, Outsiders, Terrans... Today, you stand before a crossroads. As you will all know, in several hours we shall land on Magraia. Governmental judgement awaits those of you who get off this ship there. I offer you a choice, however: to stay aboard my ship. Never mind your previous choices. Never mind your previous alliances. Never mind your previous life. I offer you the opportunity to work for me as a crewman aboard the Link. Now I will not lie: I will not entrust you with your old positions from the get-go. Trust has to be earned. But aboard the Link, trust can be earned. You will start at the bottom. As grease monkeys working engines... Janitors mopping floors... Kitchen chefs chopping meat. But you will be able to rise. You will have a fair chance at a new life. You can either take that chance, or you can take your chances with the government of Magraia. Even though you may consider yourselves captives, know that this one choice is fully yours. Take your pick."
The captain ended his speech on top of a set of stairs as he looked out across the small field of Outsiders. He saw the group on the left mumble, stare angrily at him and even spit on the ground. Those were the Outsider soldiers. Tenara knew none of them would want to join him. To work on an Outsider ship was one thing, but it was the soldiers who really believed in Ray Kane's cause. They were the ones willing to die for it, and they would most likely rather do so than join the Collective.
There was some movement on the right side of the formation, however. A small number of people stepped forwards out of the line. Tenara counted six. At least four of them looked young and scared. It wasn't much, but he was happy some made the choice.
-Magrathean Army Headquarters, Magraia, four hours later
The Link's bridge crew walked through a hallway on their way to a ready room inside the building. Vennon was walking next to his captain, while Joshep and Synna were following them. The young officer looked nervous as he shot questions at his commander.
"Is there anything I should know, sir? I've never been to the Magrathean high command. Should I salute them? Should I use their names or ranks to address them?"
Joshep laughed. "You're expecting too much, son", he said as the group took a curve through a corner.
"What do you mean?", Vennon asked.
This time, Tenara answered with a grin. "You'll see... Just hold your tongue, anyway."
With that, he opened the door the group had just reached and walked inside as his officers followed him.
The room was relatively small; only a bit larger than the Link's ready room, but with more holographic projectors - a total number of thirteen positioned equally around a round table, with one large one being in the middle. Inside the room were three people: an elderly looking man in a green military uniform with grey hair and a general's hat, a younger dark-haired man with a similar uniform and a man in a ceremonial red outfit. As the group came inside, the elderly man immediately spoke up.
"Moranno, hey there! Good to see you again! I see you brought your officers. Come in, sit down! How was Elos?"
"Well, full of explosions, General", Tenara managed to reply as the old man started talking again.
"I heard you did a damn good job there lad. Wouldn't have it any other way! Still a shame though, I miss having you around here. Had to grab this goon to help me write my daily orders now. He still has a lot to learn."
The dark-haired man's eyes twinkled as he replied. "I'd learn a lot faster if you'd stop forgetting what it is I actually need to know".
With that, the general burst into laughing. As he came to again, he looked at Moranno.
"Well, come on, aren't you going to introduce me to your crew?"
Moranno looked from the general at his crew. "Crew, this here is General Oatcombe, leader of the Magrathean military and member of the board of the Coalition Military Executives. General, these are Synna Akirano, Joshep Barage and Vennon Cinnet, my first mates."
"Pleased to meet you!", the older man replied. "This gentleman here is Lieutenant Levant, my assistant". He then turned and noticed there was a seventh person in the room. "Ooh, and this is Ambassador Wheelwright of the Tirion Republic. Please forgive me, Ambassador."
The ambassador, who spoke for the first time since the Link's crew had entered the room, looked like a friendly type. "That's quite alright, General. Shall we get to business?"
The general seemed to settle down as captain Tenara spoke up. "Business, yes. I heard something about Aranov recommending us, General?"
"You're right there", Oatcombe replied. "The board of the Executives was discussing once again what to do about the situation in the Naran system. You see, the system has been occupied by an Outsider fleet for ages now. We've been trying to do something about it for a while and have gathered some ships in a nearby nebula, but every time stuff is about to go down the mercenaries they gave the job to seem to disappear. We were sick of it and wanted someone reliable to finally get the job done. Aranov recommended your Collective."
Tenara thought for a few seconds before nodding. "Naran has Magrathean and Tirion colonies. We'll take care of it."
"Good", the general said. "There is something else...". His words trailed off as he looked at the Tirion ambassador, who finally spoke up properly.
"There is indeed more to it. Captain: the Tirion republic was experimenting with new flagship hull designs at its colony of Delios. One prototype ship was in orbit of the planet when the Outsider fleet took over the sector. We want the data aboard that ship back."
The captain again thought for a few seconds. "A boarding mission... very well. Could I use the ship in battle, if needed?"
"If you can actually manage to commandeer it, by all means", the ambassador replied. "That would be a great test of the new hull designs. We just want that data."
"Consider it done, then", Tenara said.
Oatcombe then spoke up again as he got up. "Very well son. Well, I'm gonna have to be heading off. Receptions and all that business". He rolled his eyes as he said it. "Levant has the details. Hope to see you again soon with more good news. Good luck out there, and show them how it's done!"
With that, both he and the Tirion Ambassador left the room.
-Bridge of the Link, docking bay, Magraia
"Get me the Aranov Patrol", Tenara spoke. A crewman behind him pushed some buttons and a familiar face came up on the screen in front of him; it was the captain of the ship that had fought alongside the Link on Elos.
"Looks like we're heading out together again", Moranno said.
"You're not getting rid of me so easily", the Aranov captain said with a smile.
"You're not the only one", Tenara replied with a grin as he nudged his head back. Behind him, in a corner on the bridge, Xavier was standing and observing the activities of the various crewmen. "If we're gonna keep working together, we may need to swap names, captain."
The Aranov captain smiled and then saluted. "Captain Barbarossa of the Sokol, sir."
Moranno returned the smile and the salute. "Captain Tenara of the Link, at your service."
-Pinegrove, Elos capital
Mayor Johnson looked around. There were festivities all over. The Link had come and gone quickly, but it had done so like a whirlwind. The planet's new Magrathean-Tirion settlers had helped rebuild the city and set up a military base and several mining complexes in record time. All that remained of the once huge Outsider flagship that had crashed into the heart of the city was a piece of its hull, which had been set up in the city's square as a monument to those that had fallen. A new city hall had been built behind it, and it was on the building's stairs where the new mayor was now standing with a pair of scissors, ready to open the new hall and start off a new period in the history of the planet. Most of the planet's population had come out to see the event.
As Johnson turned to cut the satin ribbon a man in a similar official green-and-red garb smiled at him from a few meters away. The man was Mayor Ackles, Johnson's new partner. As an official colony of the Collective, its leadership had been tuned in fashion: mayor Johnson, a Magrathean, was in charge of the colony's internal politics and laws. Mayor Ackles held a similar position in rank, but was to focus his attention on the industrial and productive capabilities of the planet's population. A third person, Colonel Wreave, was in charge of the planet's military.
With a soft but clear 'shick' Johnson's scissors cut through the ribbon. The crowd roared as it fell to the ground.
SoA
-Captain Tenara makes his Outsider prisoners an offer: stay on board and work as his crew, or face justice on Magraia. This gains him 6 new crewmen. The remaining Outsider crewmen (29) and soldiers (15) are all left on Magraia.
-The Collective's officers talk to the 'Magrathean high command' and a Tirion ambassador. A Magrathean general tells them Aranov has recommended them to the Coalition's board of Military Executives for a mission regarding the clearing of the Naran system, which has been occupied by Outsider forces.
-As Tenara accepts, the Tirion ambassador gives him a secondary mission: a Tirion Support ship with prototype plating is floating in orbit of the Tirion planet of Delios. The Tirions would like it back. Tenara has Tirion permission to use it in combat if needed (this would in fact be a great test of its armor).
-The Collective spends 6 points on Magraia to recruit 16 new Marines, 5 Marauders, 10 Siege Tanks and 2 Medivacs.
-The Link along with the Sokol (Aranov Patrol) set out for the Naran system. 4 IC's/days until arrival.
-The Collective's colony at Elos is officially rebuilt and working. Starting with the next post, the faction will now generate 1 point per post.
Turned Outsider Assault Ship
Dones Orbit, Bysdoch system
"So... Why are you staying?" One of the ex-Outsider soldiers asked as he sat opposite another one in the cantina.
"Seems to be a common topic in the last few days..." The other soldier answered.
"I'm Carl."
"Jeff."
"So, why are you staying?"
"You first." Jeff said with a full mouth and pointed at his almost empty plate. "Eating."
"Well, that speech inspired me. This sector is a pretty fucked up place, so much wars and so much killing, us Outsiders are a prime example of it. I joined the Outsiders because I wanted to help defend our systems, seeing as Aranov and the Coalition wouldn't. And I also agreed that those bastards need to be taught not to abandon their own kind as they did in the Zerg war... But that Reyd guy made a good point. All of this bloodshed, the betrayal, corrupt alliances, it will all just continue and repeat itself over and over again. Oh, we might succeed in breaking the Coalition, we might not. But what does it matter? In another one hundred years there'll be wars for another reason, if the Zerg haven't killed all of us by then. His plan makes sense - Force not only the terrans to be unified under a single banner - ours - But also take control over the other races. As long as we're all seperated the way we are, there are going to be unnecessary wars. We will never evolve if we don't get our shit together and work together."
"And you think violence is the way to do it?"
"Well, us humans are stubborn beings. It'll be impossible to get all factions to unite completely just by asking them nicely, they will all still want to keep their autonomy and relative independence, they'll still want to keep their secrets, just like the Coalition does now. Taking it over by war may not be the prettiest solution, but it seems the only one that will work. And once that is achieved, we can resort to more peaceful methods. Imagine it, all humans united, sharing knowledge and resources for the advancement of our entire kind, instead of all of us fending for our selves, keeping secrets even from our allies."
"Eh, sounds like I'd be out of a job then." Jeff said.
"Why's that?"
"Same reason I'm staying. I'm a gun for hire, I got hired. End of story. Can't say a sort of utopia won't be nice, but I wouldn't bet on the ideal case."
"So you don't think we'll make it?"
"I don't know." Jeff said. "No way I can say, really. I'm just a soldier, I don't know that much about what's going on and what not, I don't even know how many others I'm fighting with. I hope we do make it, means it's more likely I'll be alive as well, plus I'll probably be able to retire then, find a girl and live happily ever after while the rest of you build your utopia."
"To each his own I guess." Carl said.
SoA
Two turned Outsider soldiers discuss their motives for joining Nick Reyd
Naran, system's edge
The yellow cloud located at the far end of the Naran system was more commonly known as the Chronae Nebula. It had been mapped quite a while back, when Terrans first settled the nearby systems. Because of the large amount of dust and the fact that warp travel through it was not conveniently possible, few Coalition ships had bothered to check its insides. As a hidden entrance to the system, it had been used with great effect by criminals and smugglers seeking to both leave and visit the planets of the system. Ever since the Outsiders had taken control of the region however, it had been empty.
Up until now, that is. The Link's crew looked out of the ship's windows at the Sokol as both ships disappeared into what looked mostly like a combination of orange juice and a sandstorm. It was only because of the continuous transmissions that the ships sent eachother that they could keep track of eachother's whereabouts.
Tenara liked it this way. This was where he was going to strategize his first big play. Sure, he had cleared Elos, but that had kind of been Xavier's battle. He had a carefully structured plan in mind to clear Naran of Outsider troops, and he preferred to be hidden from prying eyes when discussing it with the captains that would be commanding the ships in the fleet he could, at least temporarily, call his own.
"Alright... Hail our support", the captain Ordered. An ensign pushed a few buttons as a short-length wave sent out an identification message to other Coalition ships in the cloud. In front of Tenara was a big screen that had been divided into several smaller screens that could show multiple persons. The identifcation message had only just been sent out when one of them switched on and a familiar face appeared on one of the screens.
"The Sokol here, reading you clearly", the pale, brown-haired Barbarossa said. A few seconds later, more screens started flipping on.
"The Medvedar", a rather rough-looking man with long black hair and a long black beard nodded. "I am captain Asimov. These are my first and second mates". As he spoke the last seven words, two more screens flipped on and showed several younger looking officers clad in the blue garb of Aranov's military.
Before Tenara had a chance to respond, a bald man with a thin red moustache popped up on one of the screens and spoke up. "Hi there! Captain Corrino of the Vorobey reporting in. My officers should be joining us shortly."
Tenara looked at Akirano, his currently active second in command. "Set up a meeting", he ordered. As more screens started flipping on, he turned around and walked off the bridge.
SoA
-The Link and the Sokol arrive in the Naran system and the ships' respective captains, Tenara and Barbarossa, meet up with the captains of their backup ships to discuss the plan of attack.
Ekson, Naran system
As the Vorobey and Medvedar pulled into orbit, drop-pods were immediately shot down from the ships in order to hasten the process of gaining a foothold. The inhabitants of colony sites on the planet quickly hid themselves as they realized a major battle was about to break out. Corrino and Asimov had carefully gone over the details of the battle just moments prior to their attack. Commanding an Aranov Patrol vessel, Corrino's forces were to provide air support for the ground troops Asimov's Aranov Standard would be deploying. Their goal was to set up a foothold on Ekson and hold the planet as long as possible - their allies would complete their own tasks and then set towards assisting Ekson.
When the Marines and SCV's started landing in the forest, small groups quickly formed and made their way towards both of their first priorities: two standard-issue defensive Ion Cannons set up to defend the planet from flagships. Though they had obviously failed the Coalition earlier, they would now be able to give the soon-to-be defending army some much needed reprieve; once they came back online, anyway. In the original Outsider invasion of the sector the rebels had been quick to disable the cannons to prevent Aranov insurgents from sabotaging their ships once the planet was firmly in their grasp. In order to ensure the best defensive position possible for the upcoming battle, Asimov had ordered his forces to set up mining bases as close to the cannons as possible.
As the first Siege tank rolled out of newly landed drop-pod, batallions of Aranov infantry could be seen setting up sandbags and rushing all through the forest. It was clear that they were in a hurry: this was the calm before the storm.
-The Outsiders, on the other hand, were not in a hurry just yet. The captain of the ship marked by the Coalition as JI-03 tugged as his moustache as he looked at the screen in front of him. The spy had given them valuable information, and they had been prepared for the Aranov attack. As the JI-03 spearheaded the JI-01 and BYS-05, the three Outsider vessels carefully maneuvered into the best angle to attack Ekson from. Within minutes they entered orbit as the two to them unnamed Aranov ships came into vision. The JI-03 launched a quick volley as Outsider drop-pods started making their way towards the surface. With just one word, the Outsider commander had unleashed the storm. As if by a melancholic reaction by the planet, Ekson's clouds tore open as the rain started.
SoA
-The Vorobey (Aranov Patrol) and Medvedar (Aranov Standard) set up a foothold on Ekson and take defensive positions. Their primary goal is to get the two anti-flagship Ion Cannons that were part of the planet's original defenses back online. It will take them 3 IC's to do so.
-As three Outsider ships (JI-01, an Outsider Patrol, JI-03, an Outsider Assault, and BYS5, an Outsider Raider) enter Ekson's orbit, the battle for the planet commences.