Domus, the Asteroid City

Adam was getting used to this. Again he found himself walking around the space station he never even knew existed before leaving with Dagganoth. It felt like so long ago since he had regained his free will on Barkanos, yet he knew it couldn't have been more than a month or two at most. He had just gone through so much with the Garamar Brood: the Erana escape, the encounter with Orloth, the Imperial science lab, the strange creatures at the Wandering Tribes' research center and then the Overmind.

The last encounter had been the most thrilling for all the non-Zerg aboard Murkag, but Dagganoth had put the minds of the crew at ease by being incredibly open about the encounter. Turned out the Overmind needed Dagganoth and in turn had no ill intentions towards the Terrans and Protoss with him. Yet, anyway. The Cerebrate had kept some of the crucial details of their mission from the majority of the people, but Adam figured that this was really no different from how a Terran captain would treat his crew if he were on a mission personally assigned to him by Aranov.

He had shared some bits though, and that was why Adam and Jack were here right now. They were to discreetly ask around to see if anyone knew how to traverse the Caelorum system. Obviously the details would have to be kept hidden, but the two planned on posing as explorers who made a living of precious goods taken from hard-to-access areas.

Adam and Jack knew they needed to be looking for someone who knew about technology that allowed a ship to survive intense plasma storms, and also for a way to navigate the system - which was known for messing with regular positioning techniques and equipment. Dagganoth had also asked them to take a peek on the big Domus job board; these Overmind missions would probably take a long time and lots of traveling to complete, and any simpler jobs that could be completed along the way for money were a bonus.

As the two set off, three more Garamar loyalists stepped off the transport behind them. Both because the two would enjoy taking some time off from the lab and because they had the best background in science, Bob Gentry and Amar volunteered asking around if anyone on Domus happened to know of a biological being that made use of Protoss shields, or could perhaps make use of them. Jeremy accompanied the them, if only for the reason that the two physically weak scientists wouldn't have the slightest chance of survival if they met the wrong people.

In the meantime, aboard Murkag, Dagganoth had just come to a conclusion on what to do regarding the third task. Quietly he set his mind to finding Yatara's.

SoA

-Murkag arrives at Domus and two groups enter the asteroid city.
-Group 1 exists out of Adam and Jack. They are posing as explorers and are gathering information on how to traverse a hostile system like Caelorum, this assignment being related to Dagganoth's first task for the Overmind.
-This group will also look at the Domus job board to see what available missions are lying around that the Garamar Brood can possibly complete while on longer Overmind-related voyagers.
-Group 2 is Bob Gentry, Amar and Jeremy. They are seeking information on exceptional biological beings that either use or could possibly use Protoss shield technology, all of this in relation to Dagganoth's second Overmind task.
-In regards to the third task, Dagganoth decides to talk to Yatara.

Forty-five hours ago, Link cargo bay five

The captain ended his speech on top of a set of stairs as he looked out across the small field of Outsiders. There was some movement on the right side of the formation. 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.

The two Outsiders that seemed older looked firm and unphased. One of them had a mischievous glow in his eyes - one that was only visible when looking for it. It looked like Tenara was getting exactly what he was after.

As the Outsiders walked up to one of his crewmembers to register, Tenara turned to his chief of security, Officer Sheen, who had been standing next to him during the entire speech.

"You register these guys and give them proper jobs. Make sure they're not hassled or harassed and fit in well with the crew. But do not let them out of your sight. I want 24/7 surveillance on these guys. If one of them does anything you'd consider unsavory, hold off in acting unless it's life-threatening, but call for me right away".

-

Seven hours ago, Link Bridge

"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.

Akirano watched her captain leave and then turned her head back at the screen, where Corrino's officers had just finished reporting in. Another screen popped up showing a handsome young face with a strong jawline and short wavy hair.

"Greetings miss! Captain Ajax of the TSS Rivet, at your service"

"Pleased to meet you", Synna replied. Before the newest captain had a chance to respond, another screen turned on and showed the face of a tall, scrawny man with a small black moustache.

"Lyren of the Lisanov, awaiting your orders".

Synna looked at him briefly and then adressed the five captains and their officers on the screens before her, intend on setting up the meeting.

-

Four hours ago, aboard the Link

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. As the marines took a turn around the corner he smiled; he was in the clear.

Or so he thought. As he looked up from the floor he was mopping, he found himself staring at two guards whose side-arms stared back at him.

"Mr. Guerra, you're coming with us."

He realized there was no point in running and held up his hands. "Where are we going?", he shot back.

"The brig.", the guard answered.

-

Now, moon of Delios, Link's bridge

Captain Tenara was nervously staring at his screen. His play had been large and daring and all three his first mates had backed it up, but would it be enough? Did the Outsiders take the bait? Just as the captain was about to do another nervous pace to the other side of his bridge, his screen flipped on again and showed the handsome young face he recognized as Captain Ajax'. A small cut was visible on his temple and a drop of blood was rolling down from it.

"They're biting, Captain. It's working", he said.

"Excellent", Tenara said more to himself than to Ajax as he grinned widely.

Ajax' screen went static for a second before he spoke up again. "Captain... the Lisanov wasn't made for this, we need that assistance now!"

As Tenara woke up from his momentary lapse he looked at Ajax as he called out. "Absolutely. You heard the man. You know what to do. Get to it!"

With those words, the entire crew came into action. A communications officer in the back sent a transmission to the Sokol as the pilot activated the ship's engines and steered it from behind the moon it was hiding at. At the same time, three Medivacs filled with Marines and Marauders launched from one of the cargo bays towards the lone ex-Tirion ship located in high orbit of the planet.

SoA

-The Outsider spy was anticipated on and manipulated by Tenara from the get-go in order to give the Outsiders false information.
-While the Outsider flagships deploy their troops on Delios to combat the Lisanov and Rivet who have set up there, the Link and Sokol appear from behind a nearby moon in order to engage the Outsider ships from behind. They also send a boarding party onto the Aegis, the prototype Tirion vessel that Ambassador Wheelwright asked the Collective to return.

Lance Alarum stared at the scanner on the table in front of him, his mind far removed from the room and the matter at hand. His brow furrowed as he concentrated on the device. Such a small thing, to tell him who he was, to bind him...

The clearing of a throat interrupted his thoughts and his attention shifted from the scanner to the man sitting on the other side of the table. Wray was his name. General Wray.

"Your signature is required for the promotion to come into effect, major," the General said, not for the first time that day.

Lance nodded, smiled, then frowned. His attention wandered away from the man and the table, and he found himself looking around the room. Not that there was much to see. Grey, bland walls, a single shut screen, a spare chair. It was clearly not meant to be used for as long as he had been in it. And yet he did not care. He kept his quiet, letting the silence fall over them, like a mantle.

It lasted for a full five minutes before it was broken by the steady drumming of General Wray's fingers on the table. Lance looked up at the man's stern faced and stared into his eyes. The drumming stoped. General Wray stared back, his face a blank mask, betraying none of the irritation others would surely show after this much of a wait.

Lance had to admire the man's patience: it was the only thing driving him crazier than the choice he faced. They had been in the room for almost an hour now, waiting for him to sign the form, to confirm his promotion to commander - the youngest ever - but he hadn't shown the slightest sign of doing so. It would take less than a minute: all he had to do was slip his finger into the scanner and it would be done: fingerprint, DNA, blood and it was over, confirmed. Others in his position would have done it in the blink of an eye: the rank of commander came with great honor, and an even greater paycheck.

But Lance and General Wray had been there for far longer than a minute. Both of them knew that something needed to be discussed but neither of them seemed eager to start, preferring the silence.

So be it, Lance thought, I'd rather confess than complain and that means speaking second, even if I'm saying the exact same thing.

Another five minutes went by, their eyes never parting, barely blinking. At last, when Lance felt like he would rather scream than keep staring at General Wray's dim blue eyes, the silence was broken by a rhythmic digital beeping. Wray's eyes tore away from his and he looked down at the personal computer strapped to his arm.

"It would seem I am sorely needed elsewhere, major. An urgent matter, I am told. No doubt the zerg are invading." the bearest hint of a smile played on the general's lips, yet Lance knew he wasn't joking, not entirely. He was wasting his time and a general's time was important. Allegedly. Lance shifted uncomfortably in his seat but did not reply.

"Major Alarum, I have the feeling you are not entirely willing to accept your promotion," the general said. Their eyes locked again. For a few seconds. Then Lance sighed and looked down at the table.

"I believe you are right, sir," he answered after a while.

"Why?" Wray shot right back, his voice laced with surprise.

You know why, Lance thought. "A few reasons," he said instead. He hated the way the general was playing dumb with him, dragging the information out of him. Hell, he hated the reason he was here. The Command for promoting him, the Academy for teaching him, his goddamn pa- He stopped there, aware that emotion was showing on his face. Wray watched him, his face blank, waiting for a response.

"I am nineteen," Lance said bluntly.

Wray made a show of looking down at his computer and tapping at it.

"I know," he answered. Lance almost growled. But then he saw an opening.

"And so will my crew. And anyone I work with," he said.

"Is that a problem?"

"I am not sure. What do you think, general?" That got him. His mouth closed and he stared at him, his expression inscrutable. After a moment, he started slowly.

"I... don't see why it would be."

"Truly? Would you serve and obey a teenager, general?"

"If he or she was a capable commander, I would, yes."

"And if you did not know?"

"I would attempt to find out."

"And if you found out he -or she- was an incapable commander?" Lance expected another irritating reply, but for once the general seemed to take him seriously. He sighed and steepled his fingers.

"Major Alarum, our military academies are the best in the Coalition. Anyone who graduates from them, especially from the Zagrov Academy of War, is more likely to be a zerg than incapable."

Lance snorted. "In the end, yes. After years of experience. But I don't have that."

The general again made a show of checking his computer.

"You must be mistaken. It clearly states here that you spent eight months aboard the Manta."

"That was a glorified cargo ship. Two guns don't make a battlecruiser."

"Making what you did to those outlaws even more remarkable."

Lance had to bite back his response to that. The general was right there. It was hard to ignore how he had defeated twenty would-be raiders with nothing more than four marines and a few crates at his disposal. And wits, another part of him said. Don't forget the wits.

"One battle doesn't win a war. Nor does one victory make a commander," he said defiantly. General Wray finally sighed at that. He parted his hands and rested them on the table.

"Mr. Alarum," he began, "do you think that the three hundred billion we invest annually into our military training institutions is wasted? Do you think we use it all on parties and ceremonies? Do you think you spent four years in our best academy not being prepared?"

Lance was about to reply but the general silenced him with a quick motion of his right hand.

"No, you listen, major. What do you think we are? The incompetent morons you see in holos? The zerg invasion ended four years ago, not four decades ago. We haven't become soft, not yet. Because the zerg are still out there, waiting. We don't know what they're waiting for but we know they'll come again. And it's up to us to face them. And guess what? We can't do it alone. We need every soldier, every ship and every brilliant commander we can get our hands on. Not just us, all of humanity. The protoss too, damn them. So now here's your choice: either you sign this bloody form and take the responsibility that would be forced on you if it were up to me, or quit and get out of my sight. But whatever you choose, please quit wasting my time."

Lance stared at the general... and signed.

That was a week ago...

SoA: Lance Alarum is promoted to commander... two weeks ago. Intro post. Srry it took so long

Space battle site between Delios and Ekson

It only took a few seconds for more ships to show up. As the Outsiders aboard the RR-13 prepared for a direct battle with the Aranov Sokol facing them, the Link left warp just to the side of the ship. At the same time, the Lisanov appeared to the right of the RR-13 while the Rivet showed up behind the ship and the Aegis left warp above it.

At the Link's bridge, the captain had a decision to make. As the Sokol engaged the RR-13 and the first shots were fired, Tenara hailed Asimov and Corrino who were still keeping their ground on Ekson. As soon as their slightly distorting images appeared on the Link's big monitor, Tenara adressed the two.

"We've caught an Assault ship on its own and are about to take it down. How's the situation there?"

Though Tenara saw officers running and shouting chaotically on the red-lighted bridge behind Asimov, he laughed as he replied. "We're doing fine my friend! I see you've just sent us some more of those clowns for us to take care of!"

Corrino quickly interjected, looking a lot more worried. "Captain, we're holding our ground so far and have managed to activate the planetary cannons. This battle just turned into a two versus five, though. I don't know about the Medvedar, but the Vorobey won't be able to hold them off very long if the situation doesn't change..."

Tenara nodded and quickly replied. "Alright, sit tight you two... I've got something that should take the pressure of you until we deal with this Assault."

As the screens went black, he turned to Akirano. "Tell Xavier to get in there, good."

A few seconds later, the Aegis, which had been floating above the RR-13, leapt back into warp as it headed for Ekson. In the meantime, the Lisanov and the Rivet had also engaged the Outsider Assault ship which was already showing signs of damage, despite its strong armor. Its normally large fleet of Wraiths was dwarved by fighters from all of the Coalition ships - this battle too seemed to be heading the way the Coalition wanted it.

When the Link's cannons started roaring as well, it was a matter of minutes before the RR-13 showed multiple hull ruptures and puffs of smoke coming out of all its sides. The fighter activity had also slowed down as the combined Coalition airfleet was busy finishing the remnants of the Outsider airfleet. Tenara was pleased; the Sokol had taken the brunt of the damage, which was still pretty much negligible for a ship with such thick armor. The other ships had remained relatively untouched, only showing some light bruises and paint scratches despite their lower armor: because of the Coalition's sheer amount of ships and the fact that the Outsiders had been caught mostly off-guard, the RR-13 hadn't been able to deal even close to the damage it would have if it had engaged the Coalition ships one by one and on its own terms - it may have even won that battle.

"Hail them and tell them they will not be harmed if they surrender now", Tenara said to an ensign.

"No response", the ensign replied after a few seconds.

Tenara sighed. "Stubborn bastards..."

At that point, the Assault suddenly started turning. The positions of the ships in the fight were still similar to how they started, but the RR-13 was now turning its front towards the Link.

"What the hell are they doing?", Akirana said. "They're exposing their flank to the Sokol, which they know has the strongest weapons!"

Sure enough, as soon as the RR-13 faced the Link directly, the Sokol fired a full volley that wrecked half of the Assault's flank. Still, it kept turning, slowly facing its back towards the Sokol and its wrecked side to the Link.

That's when the most unlikely person finally caught on. "THEY'RE GOING TO RAM IT!", Verron cried out.

For a brief moment, Tenara was confused. Why would the Outsiders ram them if they could just surrender? The Link was too well armored for a frontal ram by a nearly broken ship to do much damage. Plus, the Assault's front wasn't even directed at them anymore.

That last thought made it click for him too. The Assault was now facing the Rivet. The Tirion Support ship with low armor and no maneuverability. They were going to ram the Rivet, and it wouldn't survive such a blow.

"GET ME AJAX, NOW!", Tenara shouted.

As the screen turned on seconds later, Ajax' puzzled face showed up on it as outside, the burning Outsider Assault ship slowly started to pick up speed.

"Cap'n? Do you have any idea what they're doing?"

"GET OUT OF THERE! THEY'RE GOING TO RAM YOU!"

There was just enough time for everyone on the Link's bridge to see Ajax' eyes go wide before he closed the channel. As the Rivet initiated its reverse thrusters, ensigns on the Link's bridge started shouting through eachother.

"The Sokol's still reloading, captain!" - "The Lisanov's doing all they can, but their guns are weak!" - "We're turning to face them captain, ready to fire again in thirty seconds".

Sure enough the Lisanov fired several more volleys, but its meager weaponry didn't do much to slow down the RR-13 that was now scooting towards the Rivet, which was slowly moving backwards. The next ten seconds seemed to pass in slow-motion.

With ten seconds left to go until the Link could fire again, the RR-13 collided with the Rivet. Nine, its frontal hull started digging into the Rivet's. Eight, the Rivet's front half started to split in two. Seven, it connected with the ship's central core. Then at Six, in one short blast of light, it was over. As soon as the area cleared again, the Rivet was gone, along with the RR-13. In place of the two ships was what appeared to be a dark grey cloud of dust, which any Terran aboard a Coalition ship would recognize as a gigantic debris field.

After three more seconds of eerie silence, Tenara ordered an ensign to hail the Rivet. "No response, sir", he replied grimly.

Some more time passed before anyone spoke again. Tenara bit his lip so hard he drew blood as he spoke up. "Tell all ships to look for survivors. Shoot any Outsider escape pod-"

At that point an ensign shouted out, blurring out the rest of Tenara's order. "There's a huge wave of escape pods on each side, captain! Their captain must have given an early evacuation order!"

Tenara's face lightened slightly as he looked around the bridge and gave new orders. "Tell all ships to haul in survivors and escape pods... put any Outsiders in the brig, we'll deal with them later. Notify me if Captain Ajax is found. As soon as the area is clear, tell everyone to move straight to Ekson... this isn't over yet."

SoA

-Xavier travels directly to Ekson with the Aegis in order to take some pressure of the Medvedar and Vorobey, who are now fighting a 2v5.
-The Link, Sokol, Lisanov and Rivet take out the Outsider Assault ship RR-13 with relatively minor losses, but the RR-13 rams the poorly armored Rivet as a last ditch resort and takes it out. Escape pods do manage to leave the ship, saving some of its personell and forces. The three leftover Coalition ships are to pick up any survivors from the pods before heading to Ekson as well.

Two Weeks Ago

He drifted in the abyss, god overlooking creation. A million million million tiny points of light lay below him, above him, around him. This was the Void. Inside him and outside, his window to the universe.

He scried the stars, learning each one's history and nature at a glance and forgetting it as soon as he moved on. Time did not pass and he searched for an eternity until he came upon a specific point of light.

It was unremarkable, like any other, but it was what he had been looking for.

Davir. The name echoed through his mind and he looked closer. The other points of light disappeared from his vision and new ones emerged. The solar system lay before him, tiny and huge at the same time.

Closer.

He could see the planet now. Barkanos. And around it smaller points of light, dimmer, almost too dim to see. But he saw two leave it. A thousand years ago, a decade ago, an hour, twenty minutes. It did not matter when. It had happened.

And then, he searched for another point of light. His eyes settled on it and all went blank. That was how it always ended. No matter what he did, he could not look back at himself.

But he did see one thing. He saw the Oscura move as his mind tugged at it.

Barkanos

Vardanis writhed and squirmed on the cold stone floor. He could sense Asala nearby, sometimes standing over him, other times at the entrance. But he did not pay attention to her. He was in too much-

Pain! The pain! The Pain! He convulsed as another seizure caught him, and would have rolled away if one of the Nerazim wasn't there to hold him still. But that was all he did. They did not tend to his wounds: they could not. And they did not comfort him either: that was not their way.

So he lay there, for who knew how long, on the cold stone floor of a cave, while the others stood guard, waiting - waiting for what? There was nothing to wait for. They were done. Stranded on this desolate rock with vermin, shamed and forgotten, left to rot. Or being hunted down. There was no way to tell which.

At times he was strong enough to open his eyes and sometimes he spied Asala there, staring down at him. It made him rage. Arrogant, foolish, reckless CHILD he thought venomously. How he would love to grab her, tear off her precious nerve cords, bash her empty head against a wall...

But he couldn't, he was too weak. So he lay there, alone with his wounds. For hours or days or weeks. He might have been dead, was certainly dying. He did not know at which point they came. He only felt arms hoist him up and take him away. And then he was gone, swimming in darkness.

Oscura ,Barkanos Orbit

Asala regarded the dark templar in front of her suspicously. It was his subordinates who had rescued her and the others from the terran planet but she did not know his name, or even where his allegiance lay. They were all Nerazim, so she first guessed they were with the Tama. But the Nerazim from her own team had assured her that these Nerazim were with the Imperium and meant them no harm. Why they refused to talk to her, she could not guess.

It was only after they had sealed Vardanis in a capsule and exited the planet's atmosphere that they brought her before their leader. And there she was now, a lone Khalai facing a single Nerazim in a dark spherical room that she took to be the ship's bridge, though it looked nothing like one: there was a single platform in the center surrounded by a fence and a few screens, nothing more.

{Asala,} the protoss in front of her said, as if testing the name.

{That is my name, yes. May I know yours?}

The dark templar said nothing, merely shook his head and turned around.

{You have failed your mission. As of now, it is suspended until such a time as we encounter this cerebrate you hunt for. The planet has been seeded and is now hostage. Do not worry yourself further with its fate. We will leave now.}

{Where for?}

There was silence for a while. Then, the dark templar turned around slowly.

{Your master still sleeps. You do not exist until he wakes. It is only then that you shall suffer punishment and rejoin us. Leave.}

Asala was about to ask what he meant by punishment but the look in his eye told her it would be a futile question: they were dead eyes, staring somewhere far away. She left as quickly as she could.

SoA

Operatives Vardanis, Asala and their companions were recovered from Barkanos two weeks ago by the Oscura

3 Ravager Orbs have been planted on the planet.

Quote:

Special Weapon - Ravager Orb

Modifiers: Mechanical, Armored, Ground
Health: 100
Shields: 100
Energy: 200
Armor: 1
Shield Armor: 1
Mov. Speed: 1
Sight: 8

Weapon: None.

Abilities:
Burrow: The ravager orb burrows itself in the ground, becoming invisible unless detected by detectors.
Detonate(200 energy): After a 10 second charge up time, the Ravager Orb detonates its energy core, dealing 500 damage to all units in a 9 radius area. The Ravager Orb is not harmed by this.
Psifall(200 energy): Grounds all enemy air units in a 9 radius area, dealing 50 damage to them (100 to massive). Grounding lasts 30 seconds.

The Oscura is en route to Lidrim. 4 posts/days till arrival.

Deiliri, Rasalin system

David looked down into his cup, slowly swirling the dark brown liquid, ignoring the bustling cantina around him. Another boring drop come and gone. Even the less legal jobs had been going smoothly.

He surely didn't miss the excitement, did he? Then why was he sitting in a cantina, staring sadly into his drink? A small smile slowly crept over his face. So maybe he did miss the excitement. It had been a few quiet months since Barkanos. He hadn't had to deal with zerg, or protoss. Well, aside from Po'Nath, but he had gotten used to dealing with the calm protoss's remarks.

Things had been so quiet, he didn't even feel the need to bring back-up with him. He hoped it didn't last for long. Things were more lucrative when the stakes were higher.

He downed the drink and put the cup down on the bar as he stood up. As he turned away from the bar, he saw two men walk into the cantina. He watched them with interest as he made his way closer to the door.

They were dressed casual, but he had been in enough fights to notice combat training. Military training. These were dangerous men. And they looked to be hunting something. David almost thought it was a shame they didn't have any reason to be hunting him.

As he skirted the wall, one of the screens above the bar caught his eye. The smallest screen was always scrolling through the latest and most high-profile fugitives. He usually paid it no mind, except when he saw a face he recognized. Like now.

The soft blue eyes of a young woman stared down at him, with mousy brown hair and a small, cute, nose. Casey hadn't mentioned anything about being a fugitive from the Technocracy.

SoA:

After many weeks of boringly easy jobs, David is wishing for excitement.

He is answered by finding out that Casey is a fugitive from the Technocracy.

Mora, Planet zagrov, Dinari System

The wind howled around him, a starved animal trying desperately to break into the building and grip it with its cold embrace. Commander Lance Alarum could feel that cold, even through the insulating bubble that encased the terrace. Even the filtered air was cold up here, whereas at the lower levels of the Aranov Tower it had been stale and warm.

Lance shivered and for the first time that day he was grateful for the ceremonial uniform he wore. Mora was a city with a perfect climate but even that hadn't stopped him from cooking in his thick uniform as he sat on the dais with the sun beating down mercilessly while two dozen officers went on about him and his ship and the Consectorate. Yet now that he had left the square where his inauguration had taken place and arrived at the topmost level of the Tower, he was grateful for the clothes and the warmth they offered.

Seeing that he would be alone for a while, Lance sat on one of the red sofas and stared out of the bubble as night set in and the lights of Mora lit up. The bubble was as transparent as air and he could make out the city's skyscrapers and streets in sharp detail. Aranov's Tower was the tallest building in the entire city and he was at its very top: even with a dozen smaller skyscrapers blocking the view, he could see most of the city from here. The river, the streets, the parks further on. Some people would have been breathless at the sight of it, but Lance had always had more of a liking for the open country than packed cities. That, and the strategic part of his mind screamed at the sight.

"Too damn vulnerable," he murmured as he pictured a zerg invasion hitting the city, or protoss fleet obliterating it from orbit.

"Oh, indeed." a voice said from behind him. Lance bolted upright and turned around to face... but I never heard him enter.

Lord Domovoi Aranov stood before him, dressed in his customary blue and silver uniform, though he looked far more comfortable in it than Lance felt in his. The only thing that looked out of place on the leader of the Aranov Consectorate were his gloves: the black did not fit in well with the rest of the uniform. The commander knelt before the lord.

"Rise," Lord Aranov said, in a tone of voice that hinted at resigned annoyance. Lance had heard that the Lord of the Consectorate despised formality and courtesies but this was the first time he truly believed it. At his inauguration, Aranov had been nothing short of the perfect lord, praising everyone and bowing to no one. Lance rose.

"Sit," Lord Aranov commanded. Lance sat. Aranov took a seat opposite him. There was a long glass table between them and Aranov placed a small holograph display on it but made no move to turn it on.

"I must congratulate you, Commander Alarum," Lord Aranov said as he made himself comfortable on his seat.

"I believe you already did, my lord," Lance answered. There had been more congratulations earlier that day than he would need in an entire lifetime.

"On your promotion. Now I am congratulating you on your first command."

"On my first-" Lance's words caught in his throat. His first command? So soon? For a second he thought Aranov was joking, but then he remembered there was a 'Lord' before that Aranov. And those eyes did not look like they were joking.

"Sir," he said, choosing to keep his quiet. His lord studied him for a long while, eyes never wavering, barely blinking. Lance returned the stare as best as he could but soon found his eyes wondering. He looked at the table, then at the city. It was fully night now and the city was bright with traffic and apartment lights. Lord Aranov's gaze followed his.

"You are not entirely wrong in what you say. Mora is vulnerable, that is true, but vulnerability is the cost of prosperity. And it is not as defenseless as you may think. Its skyscrapers are as fortified as any battlecruiser and boast almost as much weaponry and some of them hide shield pylons. Its underground tunnels are vast and organized, its power grid decentralized and difficult to shut down.

"All a waste, really. If any of its defenses are ever put to the test, it will be because the war is already lost. Because-"

"I am the shield and wall," Lance blurted out. They were words from the officer's vow, the one he had sworn once when he was assigned to the Manta, and again earlier today, when he was made commander. He didn't know why he had said the words but they seemed to amuse Lord Aranov. A smile crept across the man's face.

"You and many others. There used to be a time when even the most common recruit said those words. Now it's only officers. Most of them just say them as part of the ceremony - empty words. A few others really mean them. But I've never heard someone say the Vow with as much doubt as you did today, commander Alarum. General Wray tells me you had difficulty confirming your promotion."

Lance bit his lip, trying to think of something to say. He had signed the form in the end and that had put an end to his doubts... for a day. Then they had returned, stronger than before, gnawing at him day and night. He had been raised to become a commander, yet he had never been so unsure of something his whole life. He shrugged. Aranov took that as a sign to continue.

"It is not your capability that worries you. You are the best cadet we have had in... a very, very long time. You proved your worth on the Manta and countless battle exercises before that. You did not learn to command: you knew how to do so from the very beginning. The Academy was just a way to refine your talent. You yourself might not think so, but deep down you know that I'm right. You are capable.

"And even if you aren't, what of it? Worse commanders have come before you, worse men. Once upon a time they would have remained commanders, leeching off of the Consectorate and ravaging its forces from the inside out. No more. If an officer fails me, I make sure he doesn't continue doing so for long, one way or another.

"But that's beside the point.Something is worrying you, and it's not doubt regarding your skill. Care to guess what it is?"

Lance stared. Aranov was wrong. Every night for the past year, and even before that, the thoughts gnawed at his mind as he drifted of to sleep: Am I really good enough? What if I fail? Do I rise too fast?. Even daylight and human company brought no respite from the anxiety. His worries were there, at first in the eyes of his teachers and fellow students, then in those of his superiors and subordinates: envy, disdain, hatred, mistrust. They said he was a prodigy and yet most everyone didn't seem to believe it, so why should he?

And yet Lord Aranov's words rang true. It was no accident that he had risen so quickly in the Academy. At the very beginning he had been set apart from his older colleagues, spying their mistakes and punishing them, at first in the simulations and then in the mock battles. He was better than them, but it took a long time for them to accept that, and even then their respect was bitter and grudging. Was that what he feared?

"I don't doubt my... capability. But that won't be true of my crew and other captains. How can I command those who look at their commander and see a kid?" he said.

Aranov just shrugged. "Gaining the trust and respect of one's crew is as much a part of command as strategy and tactics. It is a challenge, but not a reason to doubt your decision."

Lance bit his lip. Lord Aranov talked as if he knew exactly what was troubling him, even though Lance himself didn't. In that case, I'll let him tell me, he thought. He shrugged.

"It's because you're not sure if command is what you want," the lord said.

"What I want?" Lance was taken aback. From the beginning he had been taught that his wants did not come into it. First it was his father, telling him that the family was relying on him, then it was the professors and officers telling him the Consectorate was relying on him. You leave the wanting to the civilians and soldiers. Officers are made of tougher stuff, he remembered one of them saying. Or had that been all of them? "What I want does not factor into it. Into this." he answered. Lord Aranov laughed. A real laugh, the likes of which he hadn't heard in a while.

"What you want is the only thing that factors into it. Tell me, Commander Alarum, have you ever been to school?"

Lance narrowed his eyes. Was the man joking?

"I spent my entire life in school, my lord," he answered. Aranov waved a dismissive hand.

"In institutions. In the Academy. I'm talking about a real school, with other kids your age. Dumber kids, but actual kids, not the people you've spent your life besting. So? Have you ever been to school?"

"No, my lord."

"Have you ever walked the lower levels of the city, bought your own food, driven your own car, thought about the next bill or meal instead of the next invasion? Has your noble ass ever sat on a public shuttle?"

Lance was smart enough to know Lord Aranov was getting at something important, and more than smart enough to keep his mouth shut. The Lord of the Consectorate went on.

"Most of my officers do their jobs for the money or the reputation. They want to retire rich, or famous enough that their wealth doesn't matter. Others do it out of blind loyalty, and that's only slightly better. They give their years to the Consectorate, not their lives, see the military as a career rather than service. They call themselves soldiers but they're civilians at heart, working instead of serving and never giving up the other life. They do it because they want something out of it, and that is wrong."

"And what is right?"

Lord Aranov rose and gestured in a circle at the city that could be seen all around them.

"That is right. You are the wall and shield, you said. Those words mean something. They make you a protector. The point of the military is to protect, to serve. As a commander, you fight so others can get something out of it, not you. As a soldier you must live to serve, and to do that you must give up the civilian life.

"This is more than true for you: you have never tasted what it's like to live the common life and if you forego the opportunity to do so now, you never will, mark my words. So it really does come down to what you want. Do you want the life of the soldier? Of serving and protecting, killing and dying, fighting or waiting to fight? Because I assure you, that is all you will get out of it.

"Or do you want the life of the civilian that I described for you earlier? You don't know, of course, because you've never tasted either. But I will be honest. The civilians have it ten times easier than we do, and they get to make use of that, too. What will it be then?"

He is letting me bail out, Lance realized, shocked. He looked into Domovoi Aranov's stern face and for the first time he saw a man instead of the distant lord seen on the holos.

"That can't be right. If it comes down to what we want, everyone would choose to be a civilian... or a bad soldier."

Aranov grinned.

"Why else do you think we have a thousand of those for every good commander? But what you say is true, in a way. Why choose the hard way if we want life to be easy? And my only answer to that is that we don't always know what we want. I myself didn't know for a while. But then this happened." Lord Aranov took hold of one of his gloves and pulled it off, revealing a scarred and burnt hand beneath. Lance kept down a gasp.
Everyone knew that Domovoi Aranov burnt his hands saving a woman from a fire, but the general opinion was that the damage had since then been fixed. No one wanted burned hands. And yet the lord of the Consectorate had them: their skin was wrinkled and reddish, anything but lordly to look upon.

"I burnt my hands to save a life and since then I knew that that was all I ever wanted to do with my life. Saving lives, I mean, not burning my hands. That is what told me what I want. You might have a similar experience, though what it tells you may not be the same."

Lance thought of a certain ship and a certain boy who had saved its crew from a pirate raid. A fond smile came to his face and he opened his mouth to speak but Aranov silenced him.

"I don't need to know. I can see the conviction in your eyes. Don't get too happy. It'll be gone by tomorrow. You won't really know until you've actually done it time and time again and even then you'll doubt yourself. But don't worry. This'll do for now. Onto business then."

Aranov donned the glove again, and with it he donned his title. The man whom Lance had briefly seen was gone, replaced by the lord of the Consectorate again. Domovoi touched the holographics display he had brought with him and it lit up to show a star system.

"This is the Naran system." Lord Aranov said and zoomed in on one planet - Ekson. "As you see, a relatively even amount of Outsiders and Coalition forces are currently present."

Lance was about to correct Aranov's false statement when he realized it was not so false - It might be six on five with planetery defence cannons on the side of the six, but the Outsider Flagships sheer firepower and the lack of weapons on the Tirion ship evened it up.

"A number of Outsider ships have been noticed moving around Coalition territory, spotted around Fyrd, but their destination was unknown. They could be heading for Naran, or Naran itself may just be a distraction and they could be targetting something more important, like Tennos or Magraia. We simply lack the information necessary to prepare well. We've decided to assemble a capable quick response fleet, and you're the one in charge of it.

"The Auruleans and Quantum Legion have sent a ship each, which are already in orbit, but if you want to replace them with other ships feel free to. In addition to the new ship you will be commanding and the two I already mentioned, you'll be allowed to bring one more ship with you. I can make a Patrol or one of our Standard ships available to you. Go over any reports and other documents you need to educate yourself about your enemy and the situation, then decide on what forces you will want to bring and let General Wray know.

"And don't forget to read up on your potential allies. The Magrathean-Tirion Collective in charge of the Naran situation highly values its independence from us, so as Lord of the Aranov Consectorate I am telling you that you should respect that independence. As one of the main Coalition Strategists, I am telling you to do whatever necessary."

"Yes, sir." Lance said and rose to go, feeling that he had been dismissed.

"Oh, and one more thing, Commander." Lord Aranov said as Lance turned around to leave.

"Yes, my lord?" Lance asked, turning back.

"There has been a change concerning the name of your ship."

"A change, my lord?" Lance was confused. Why change the name of a ship?

"Yes. It is brand new and has yet to lift off so I saw no problem in changing its name. Your own lord father petitioned the change and I agreed. After all, your family invested a lot of money in its construction."

Somewhere in the back of Lance's head, a thousand alarm bells began to ring at once. He felt his throat tighten and his stomach churn.

"Ah. What is the new name, if I may... what is my ship called now?" he managed to ask, though he dreaded the reply. Knowing his father...

"Why, it is named after your own family, commander," Lord Aranov tapped at the display and it shifted to show a battlecruiser, the words "Alarum" painted along its hull. Lance's heart sank.

Gaining the respect and loyalty of the crew as a noble far too young to be a commander would be hard. But doing it with a ship named after his family would be impossible: nothing would make his future men think he hadn't bought his way into the military. His father was too arrogant to see it that way, but Lance was not.

"My lord, I think it best if-" he started, but then he saw the look on Lord Aranov's face: cold, distant, studying him intently. He knows. Of course he knows. He's Lord Aranov.

Lance got the feeling that the name was more Aranov's idea than his father's. What was it the lord had said? Gaining the trust and respect of one's crew is as much a part of command as strategy and tactics.

Despite himself, Lance Alarum found himself smiling.

"I am glad not everyone takes me for a faultless prodigy," he said, turned around and left.

SoA

Lance Alarum is inaugurated as commander of the Alarum and has a chat with Lord Domovoi Aranov.
The Coalitions new Rapid Response Fleet, led by Lance Alarum, leaves towards a point halfway between the Dinari, Naran and Magrathea systems. 3 ICs travel time. (2 Hexes away from Naran, 3 from Dinari and Magrathea)

The Fleet consists of: One Quantum Legion ship, One Aurulean Special Operations ship, One Aranov Patrol and the Alarum.

Domus, the Asteroid City

Inside a bar towards one of the many shady sides of the pirate complex, four men were talking. Two of them looked like relatively simple starship crewmen, while one of the two men on the other side of the table seemed burly and wielded a large moustache. The fourth one looked a tad skinnier and ironically enough more intimidating than his burly companion; whether it was because of his one skull-symbol earring, his leather jacket or his unwashed long hair, it was obvious he held some kind of rank on the more plainly dressed 'stache-wielder.

"So what, you're saying you have technology that would allow a ship to travel through an environment as hostile as Caelorum?", Adam sneered at skull-earring.

The man snickered. "Me? No. D'you think I'd be hanging out with the likes of you in a place like this if I had that kind of tech?"

Adam had learned much in his position as Dagganoth's 'diplomat' and was becoming more versed in dealing with the likes of Earring as well. He knew the pirate wasn't trying to insult him per se, but that he was simply showing his rough edge and expected Adam to do something similar if he wanted to remain on equal footing in the conversation.

"Speak for yourself, that smell's definitely coming from your side of this joint."

Both Earring and his burly companion burst into laughs as Adam grinned - he knew he had hit the right note. As they came too, earring raised his hand and yelled at the bartender.

"Hey you! Two of your finest for my palls here!"

As Earring turned back to Adam, Jack jumped in and addressed earring.

"So then... who does possess that technology?"

Earring looked a more serious before replying.

"Well... I've heard some rumors about the Quantum Legion. Word has it they've got a team 'o four-eyes working on some kind of tech that can pull of what you're describing. That's all I can give you, though."

Adam weighed his options for a second before answering.

"No offense mate, but I've heard that excuse far too often around here."

Earring snickered and looked right into the eyes of Adam, who merely returned the stare. When nobody spoke up for another three seconds, Earring started talking again, this time with a more quiet voice.

"Alright, you're right. I know some more. But even though I like you, I don't like you that much... my information doesn't come free, y'know?"

Adam nodded before replying.

"Makes sense... if only we weren't strapped for cash..."

"Tell you what", Earring replied. "I'll give you a fair chance at my information. Beat me in a drinking game. Three glasses of whatever the strongest piss is they sell in this place - first one to finish wins".

Adam hesitated. He didn't dislike alcohol, but he wasn't a big drinker either. By the looks of it, Earring was. Just as he was about to confirm a spending of coins, Jack stepped in again.

"My buddy here isn't really a drinker, but tell you what: same game, me versus your companion. He seems to look like he can hold his liquor."

Earring looked at Jack for a second before bursting into laughs again. "You? Against Donar? Are you serious? What d'you say Donar, d'you think you can beat that puppy?".

The burly man simply laughed and grunted something, causing Earring to shout out. "Alright then, let's do this! Barman, six of your strongest here!"

As Earring went in for a quick talk with Donar and the barman poured the drinks, Adam shot a look at Jack. "What the hell are you doing? That guy looks like he drinks for breakfast!", he whispered. Jack said nothing and simply smiled back.

"Alright then... everybody set? Three, two, one, GO!", Earring started the game.

Within no time, the burly man had gone through his first drink. He quickly grabbed the second glass and started chugging it down. He had to take a pause halfway through the glass and looked up to see how his competitor was doing. He saw Jack sitting there with a half-full glass in his hands, and snickered as he figured the boy must still be on his first. As he poured the rest of his second glass down his throat, he looked up again to find Jack putting down his empty glass. His third empty glass.

The group went silent. Somehow Jack had managed to pour three glasses of whatever this poison was faster than Donar, who definitely looked like he'd be able to take this lightweight by ease. Then Jack burped. After another second of silence, everyone burst into laughs; Earring nearly fell of his stool.

"God damn, where did you learn to hold your drink?!", he shouted at Jack, who simply smiled as he quietly replied; "let's just say I've learned to drink for two".

As the ruckus died down, Earring turned back to Adam. "Well, you've earned it. I don't have a lot of additional information, but I can tell you of a ship that tried to enter Caelorum a while back."

"What happened to it?", Adam replied.

"We don't know", Earring said. "If you ask me, it's probably toast, which means you should be able to find debris around the phenomenon, though no one has really heard anything from the ship since it entered the phenomena".

Adam thought for a second before getting up from his chair.

"Alright... Thanks for the company."

Earring casually raised his left hand as a greeting and turned back to Donar as Adam and Jeremy walked out of the bar. As soon as they entered a quieter area Adam looked at Jack.

"How did you pull that off? Drinking for two? What are you talking about?"

Jack grinned as he replied. "That parasite Dagganoth put inside me needs nourishment too. It seems the Zerg are rather adept at processing alcohol".

Adam burst into laughs yet again as the two walked around a corner.

-

At the same time, another group of Garamar loyalists found themselves in a different bar in the same complex. Bob, Amar and Jeremy found themselves sitting around a table by themselves. The three had been looking around for some kind of biological creature strong enough to make use of the Protoss force shields. Apart from some unlikely drunken boasts involving space 'beasts' of allegedly thousands of kilometers long, they hadn't come across anything useful.

"I'm beginning to doubt the existence of such beings, at least in this sector", Bob said.

{It seems unlikely.}, Amar replied.

"Why does it need to be some kind of huge creature, anyway?", Jeremy asked.

"It's relatively simple", Bob started his explanation. "The shielding we're after is called Plasma shielding. This style of shielding functions by heating up particles - something Protoss do through their psionic capabilities - and thus directing them towards any incoming projectile to absorb its impact. The larger a creature, the easier it is for it to heat up those nearby particles."

"Makes sense, generating heat is easier to do for me than for an ant, I guess. Still doesn't seem like the best starting point, though?", Jeremy prompted.

"True, but we didn't have much of a better idea...", the scientist replied.

"Aren't there any organisms with a more advanced skin or such then, that can be heated up at will?

The doctor thought for a second before replying.

"Well, not directly... but you did give me an idea: several biological essences should theoretically be able to achieve this effect with relative ease. We may be looking simply for living matter rather than an entire organism."

{Are you suggesting something more plantlike?}, Amar interjected.

"Plantlike... That might be it. Maybe we're not looking for strong skin, but rather for flexible skin. Something we can fashion out of organic matter. What do you think, Amar?"

{That could work. My race has never had the need for such materials, but it would be a good bet in applying shields without armor.}

"Either way, we're unlikely to find any of that here", Jeremy said as he chugged down the last of his drink and got up from his chair. "We should return to Dagg, see what he thinks."

With that, the Protoss and the Doctor got up as well and followed their bouncer out of the bar.

-

{Yatara of the Warplight... I wish to converse with you.}

{So you do.}

{I had a question. Ssomething important musst come first, however. Amar told me of your customary use of what you call the 'Khala', but I could not help picking up your anger at me. I would like to see us on more equal groundss. Would you tell me why you are angry?}

{Is it really that hard to figure out?}

{I have my guessess, of coursse. Do you blame me for desstroying your old companions' compound?}

{I blame you for destroying that planet. It was inhabited by one of the most unique species known in the universe. And from what we have seen, it may have been older than the three primary species. And you wrecked our only chance at studying it.}

For the first time during his many conversations, Dagganoth noticeably paused before answering.

{I undersstand. Thiss may be a question of value. I too am interessted in what could have been found there - thiss is why I decided to take as many sampless as possible before the ssituation got hectic. But my main concern was ssaving the livess of both our people. I put individual livess over possibly the greater good. Now that you mention it, this seemss like behaviour unnatural to my race.}

This time, Yatara paused.

{I had not looked at it this way. Are you saying you let the planet collapse because you were too focused on saving my kin?}

{I suppose I am. I would like to have foreseen the use of the pillarss so I could have prevented the collapsse. But I could not. It is not in my geness to think about thingss past. Apart from learning from them.}

{That must be rough... do you not have feelings?}

{I do not know. I cannot define feelings. My peerss and I have personalitiess and ideass and emotionss are bound to them. I do not know if my exhilaration is similar to yourss. I do not keep any of these traitss for long.}

{But then what drives you? You must have something you like doing to keep going? Why else would you live?}

{I live for the Swarm. To strive for perfection.}

{And what happens when you reach it?}

For the first time ever, something snapped for Dagganoth. Not in an angry way. Thinking about what happened after perfection had been reached was simply not a thing any kind of Zerg did. The Zerg lived for perfection and did not consider a goal past it. When Dagganoth sensed his own answer, he realized it seemed more Terran than anything else. The hesitation didn't help either.

{I... do not know. I have never thought about this. I do not know how to.}

In this moment, Yatara felt pity for the creature she was having a conversation with. She decided to take a leap of faith and briefly opened her underthought to the Cerebrate.

This in turn was something the Cerebrate did not expect. For the first time ever, he got a glimpse of a real emotion - something that was not a reaction formation hardwired into his biological system.

And then it was gone, leaving the Cerebrate with a wanting for more. He now knew more about himself and where his true allegiance would lie - in a place he doubted the Overmind ever be capable of ever understanding. As things cooled down, Yatara felt herself more understanding of the Cerebrates position and at least partly forgave him. Though not announced by anything specific, the formal part of the conversation started and both participants realized it.

{The question I have for you. One of the taskss set upon me by the Overmind (The overmind? When had he ever called the father that?) is to find an animal associated with your race that is known to generate some kind of biological electricity. Do you happen to know of such a being?}

Yatara's answer was quick.

{I'm sorry - I know very little of things normally associated with 'my race'... Our tribes do not have very close connections with the Imperium. We only study what we find, and I recall no such lifeform. You should perhaps rather ask Amar.}

{Very well. I shall do sso.}

{Alright. Good luck. I... would like to speak to you again some day.}

{That can be arranged. I spent most of my time sensing and directing my brothers, but I available often. Yatara Warplight... ?}

{Yes?}

{Thank you.}

-

As Amar, Bob and Jeremy boarded the Terran transport ship for a ferry back, they found Adam and Jack already inside. After a few short greetings, Amar said down and immediately became aware of Dagganoth's presence in his mind.

{You seek conversation?}

{I do. I shared thoughtss with Yatara. I am looking for an organism associated with your race that wieldss biological electricity. Sshe could not help me, but thought perhaps you could.}

{Biological electricity? As in a form of energy?}

{Indeed.}

{I do not recall such an organism at first thought. I have definitely heard about the concept before, though, a long time ago. I would need to gather my thoughts to say anything worthwhile.}

{Then do so, and we shall speak again.}

Minutes later, when the transport ship boarded the strangely looking 'docking port' inside Murkag's third stomach, Adam stepped out and made for the privacy of his own room. As soon as he reached it, he grabbed the well known communication's device from his nightstand, turned it on and spoke into it.

"Kenny, you here?"

"Sure thing. What'd'ya need?", was the reply.

"An opening into the Quantum Legion. Turns out they're performing some research that might be... of interest to the Brood."

"Hm, interesting. Funnily enough, we were thinking of introducing you guys to them anyway. Give me a day, I may have something for you."

"Good. We'll stay around. Hopefully we'll be able to work something out."

"Knowing you guys, I'm not too worried", Kenny said as he broke the connection.

SoA

-Dagganoth receives information on his Overmind missions. He is now passively looking for some kind of biological material that may be able to adept to plasma shielding. At the same time he is waiting for Amar to think about a certain Protoss lifeform that does something interesting, and for word back from Kenny in regards to finding an opening into a Quantum Legion research team working on shielding that would allow ships to pass through phenomena like Caelorum.
-Additionally, Jack wins a drinking contest for additional information on Caelorum and learns that a ship has tried to enter the system before and that its remains are likely still floating around the anomaly.
-Yatara reveals her anger at Dagganoth, who tries to reassure her and has an interesting talk.

The Flying Drunkman

Deep in the Var'shiri Nebula

“Cap’n, got a busy day ahead of me.” Kenny said as he walked onto the bridge with a crate of rum.

“Oh really?” Doom asked as he pulled a bottle out of the crate.

“Outsider signals bounced off one of our relays. I can track where it came from, and possibly estimate where they were going. With a bit of luck we’ll catch em.”

“And how is this different than any other day?” Doom asked, opened the bottle and gave Kenny a suspicious look.

“Dagganoth wants to come in contact with the Quantum Legion.”

“Well, we’ve been delaying that conversation for a while now. That all?”

“No... I got invited to tea.”

Doom raised an eyebrow - The wrong one, above the eyepatch.

“Orloth.” Kenny said, as if it were self explanatory.

“The guy in Dvergar?”

“No, that hot guy I met in the bar on Domus. Of course I mean Dvergar!”

“Well, how do you wanna handle that one?”

“I was thinking of going. He might have found something useful on the Auruleans. Plus maybe he can tell where the coordinates we got off Dagganoth’s communicator lead to.”

“Well, I’m guessing we aren’t telling Keeva he went deep into zerg space for unknown reasons, are we?”

“Kenny doesn’t know.” Kenny said.

“Alright. Can you get me a channel to Keeva?”

“I’ve already begun rotating the relays so that we have a clear line to Zeta relay outside the nebula, should be able to reach Myrym in two minutes, and the Arken should be capable of contacting us inside the nebula.”

“Do that, then grab the Andrumeda and make your way to Dvergar. I’d rather have my ship here though for when we find the Outsiders, so do some hitch-hiking if possible. And go update Waiter.”

“Aye aye, cap’n.” Kenny said and left the room.

Doom twirled the bottle around in his hand, thinking, as he waited for the relays to line up. Getting the Legion in touch with Dagganoth would end up making things a bit easier, no more worrying about the cerebrate slipping up and leaving a trace. On the other hand, he was far too busy in the nebula right now, tracking down the Outsiders. He would’ve preferred being present, or at least having Waiter or Kosh present.

“What do you want, Doom?” Keeva asked as her hologram appeared in front of Doom.

“Ye look hot today.” Doom said, looking at her - She was wearing her ghost uniform, and he was reminded why she was called the most stunning woman in Eurim.

“And you don’t. I’m busy, get to the point.”

“Remember the asset we talked about?”

“Yes...?” Keeva asked, looking very suspiciously at Doom.

“He wants to talk.”

“What about?”

“Do I look like a cerebrate to you?”

“So you didn’t ask?”

“Girl, do I ever ask if you tell me to do something? I wouldn’t have the job I have if I asked questions all the time. The guy said he wanted to talk to ya guys, I trust him enough to not ask him why.”

“Well, as I said, I’m busy. I’m taking part in the quick response fleet, I can’t really just leave and meet a cerebrate at the moment.”

“So what should I tell him?”

“If he wants to talk to me, he should make himself useful, and prove his faith and trust in our relationship. Tell him to scout Bysdoch - No one has an idea what is going on there. But more importantly, tell him what Bysdoch is - The strong Outsider system we know of, likely filled with half a dozen ships that want to blow his face of. And tell him that none of your ships will help him if he gets in trouble - I will make sure he is supported by proper Coalition forces. And the last thing he should know is that I already killed a cerebrate with my own hands. If he wants to be an asset to the Coalition, he should learn to work with us instead of you.”

“Well, I wasn’t planning on leaving the nebula soon anyway. I’ll let him know.”

SoA

Kenny gets invited to tea by Orloth, and makes his way to Dvergar. 12 ICs/Days travel time.

Doom informs Keeva about Dagganoths request, and she gives him the terms.

Ekson orbit, Naran System

A chaotic sight was visible from the Link's bridge. As a large, glowing bulb, the planet Ekson provided the background for the battle that raged in space. Just in front of the Link, two ships were slowly making their way forward; on the left was the slightly damaged Sokol while the still brand-new-looking Lisanov hovered on the right. Past these two blue-coloured Coalition ships lay a collection of six iconic, gray, makeshift Outsider ships. Further still, closer to the planet's orbit, the worn-down but still intact-looking Medvedar and Vorobey could be seen. In between the Medvedar and Vorobey and the Outsider fleet floated a relatively small ship with a hull that seemed to be missing parts.

As a bitter-looking Tenara turned his head from the scene outside the window, the status report he had ordered came in.

"Sir: we're dealing with one Outsider Assault vessel, two Outsider Patrols and two Outsider Raiders here. It looks like the Outsider Assault ship marked 'JI-03' has taken most of the hits from our Ekson forces. It's heavily armored and scans still show it at 82% capacity, though. All other Outsider ships are still at roughly 100%. The Aegis has been shielding Ekson and is down to roughly 60% capacity. Our Ekson forces seem to be holding out well: the Medvedar is at roughly 75% capacity and the Vorobey at a comfortable 85%. One of the planetary cannons seems to be offline, but the other one is still firing. Our ships on this side are all still close to 100% and good to go. Awaiting orders."

Tenara took a second to take it all in and then started rattling through commands, each person adressed setting to work as his cue came up.

"Com, tell the Aegis to get out of there and reposition as discussed earlier. Contact Major Hiroshi for me and tell him he needs to take out as much of their anti-air as possible so we can take a boarding party through. Lieutenant Cinnet, take command of communications and direct our ships where needed - tell everyone to focus their efforts on taking down the Outsider Patrol ship marked BYS4. Lieutenant Akirano, open a line to the Aegis and ask Xavier what he needs for a succesful sabotage boarding party - then gather the men. Lieutenant Barage... I need you here. Helm, take us in."

Within the ten seconds it took Tenara to say all this, the bridge turned from an intensely focused circle into a well-oiled orchestra. As the captain turned to his oldest lieutenant to discuss more detailed tactics, Synna Akirano turned and left the bridge to enter the ready room.

Once inside, she pushed a couple of buttons, and a holographic version of Xavier appeared.

"I take it we're commencing our earlier discussed plan?", he said.

"Exactly", Akirano replied. "The Captain told me to ask you what you need for this to work."

Xavier didn't even pause to think and answered instantly. "I need an air force that gets me into the ship and a group of Marauders to take care of any strong doors. I will handle the rest."

Akirano nodded. "I'm gonna inform the men. Sit tight; we're still clearing airspace, but I'll get back to you soon. It won't be long before this goes down."

"Understood", Xavier replied as his hologram disappeared.

-

The Lisanov's medical bay, same timespan

Doctor Zane threw down his knife, turned away from the bed and leaned down on a small cabinet next to him, still wielding his bloody gloves. As he regained his breath he thought about the circumstances. Usually Coalition physicians used high-tech equipment such as cutting lasers for operations, but the fact of the matter was that these weren't always available. The Lisanov was a small ship with a small medical bay to begin with, and the fact that they had picked up tons of survivors didn't help. Zane had spent the past ten minutes rushing from body to body to do what he can, and he was glad that his manual surgical skills were excellent compared to some of the lazier physicists in the Coalition military.

"Doctor?! I think we have a hot one here!", a male nurse cried out from a couple of meters away. Zane looked up and around the area. The nurse was calling out his plea in general with all the Lisanov's doctors being in action already. As soon as Zane noticed he was the only one that seemed able to respond he figured his breather had last long enough and ran over to the nurse.

"What's his situation?", Zane inquired.

"Looking bad, sir... he's all torn up. If it's even a he."

Zane took a proper look and immediately saw that the nurse meant. The person before him looked more like what a pack of wolves would consider dinner than a real human being. If Zane didn't know better he would say that whoever the unlucky sod was, he had been hit multiple times by a giant meat tenderizer. With the Coalition's knowledge of medicine, a lot was possible, however.

"Get me some proper tools, this one needs them", Zane said to the nurse as he set to work.

SoA

-The Link, Lisanov and Sokol arrive at Ekson where the battle is now set to turn into a 6v5 in the Coalition's favour. They focus their attacks on the Outsider Patrol ship marked BYS4, and a boarding party is being put together while the Coalition's air-forces attempt to take out as much Outsider anti-air as possible.
-Doctor Zane treats his patients inside the Lisanov's medical bay.

Dones Surface, Nick Reyd’s Hideout Bysdoch System, Outsider Territory

They never saw her coming, nor did they notice her as she passed them by, every defense that would stop her from reaching her goal had suffered a “malfunction” due to her abilities, convincing the other two to agree on joining had been a pain, that bloody weakling of an original where a fine example of resistance to anything she wanted to do.

Still it would all be worth it, that Terran knew how to have a good time after all, and being around someone who could understand the finer points in life would be a nice change of pace, sure the childish one could be fun from time to time, but her inconsistency on who she backed could be a royal pain, even more so when she was having fun and the child and weakling doubled up on her to stop her from being anything but an observer.

She stopped, in front of her was a massive blast door that she was not likely going to penetrate anytime soon, and there were no visible ways of getting past.

{Umm, Ms. Grumpy, I can get us through the air vent up there}
She felt her eyes twitch and focus on a vent halfway up the wall, no way she was reaching it that’s for sure, but the child...

{Fine, child, do it, but do it quickly}
There was a brief pain as she felt herself getting pushed back and the child took control.

She looked around expectantly; being the one in control was a relatively rare occurrence for her, since Ms. Grumpy and Ms. Happy were rarely if ever able to work together, even now the sole reason they were not fighting right now was because Ms. Grumpy had made a good point about Ms. Happy needing help to “cure” herself, and she would need someone capable of tolerating the antics of both Ms. Grumpy and herself, granted she had no idea what antics meant, but she was pretty sure it was something fun.

She carefully grabbed a nearby pipe and with practiced ease climbed upwards, carefully scaling the sheer wall towards the vent, reaching it without too much trouble; sure she had nearly lost her balance twice, and both Ms. Happy and Ms. Grumpy were yelling at her to be careful, but it was not like it had put them in any danger or anything, besides, even if she fell, she could just try again.

She was just about to grab the vent when her hand just froze.

{Khinu, enough, I will be taking care of the rest, besides I doubt that vent would be without some kind of trap, and I can take such a hit better then you can}
She mulled over it for a few seconds, and then she felt Ms. Grumpy about to try and drag her out of the driver’s seat by force.

{Fine, do as you like, party pooper, and here I wanted to play in the vents}
{We are not here for you to amuse yourself child, now do as the weakling told you or we will both join forces to make you}

She gave a small sigh then let herself go, floating back to an observing position, while Ms. Happy took control.

The brief pain passed and she finally had control of her body again, oh how she longed for the day when she could be alone in her own head again, Khinu was annoying enough to deal with, but the psychopath Marrhe was a danger to everyone around, preventing her from relaxing her mind for a second for fear of letting her out.

She carefully touched the vent and was awarded with a jolt of electricity for her trouble.

{Wow, Ms. Happy was correct, it was booby-trapped! What a mean thing to do}
{The weakling might be a nuisance, but she more often than not know what she talks about}
{Please shut up, I need to concentrate to remove this thing}

She reached out with her mind and grabbed the vent, carefully pulling it out from the wall, once removed she levitated it out of the way and slowly crawled inside, before reattaching it, so far so good.
{Well then, let’s see if we can find Mr. Nick Reyd}

SOA:

Intro post, not much happens, you get introduced to the 3 personas and what they call each other , I have them do this to simplify who are who during inter persona conversations, oh and she has infiltrated the location Nick Reyd are in, still need to work out things on that end so I’m stopping it here.

Domus, the Asteroid City

As they entered the bar, Adam spotted the character Kenny had described to him sitting in a quiet corner: average height and build, short brown hair and a matching suit. With Jack right behind him, Adam walked up to the man and held out his hand.

"Mr. Kosh?"

Kosh looked at Adam and took his hand as he replied. "Yup, that's me. Adam I take it?"

"Correct. My friend over here is named Jack. He reports back to the big boss fairly directly, if you know what I mean."

"Hello Jack, nice to meet you guys. Barman, three beers! You guys want to order anything?"

After Adam's response he continued speaking.

"Alright. Not really a fan of psionics myself, makes it really hard to play poker, and where would I be if I couldn't cheat people out of their money? Anyway, you guys wanted to get in touch with the Quantum Legion, right?"

"Indeed. Kenny told us you'd be able to help us out."

Kosh took a deep breath and started talking.

"Well, here's the thing. Saying the Legion trusts us is not entirely accurate. They trust in the fact that we'll lie to 'em, and they also trust us to not fuck up. We're like a shadow ops division the government doesn't want to keep tabs on. Deniability is what's important: We don't get any direct orders and we don't report back, and they can't be held responsible for any problems we cause. Doom would never have agreed to work with the Coalition full time if he had to follow protocol, and if he did... Well, chances are you guys wouldn't even be alive right now. To cut to the point: We can't help you guys. That doesn't mean the Coalition isn't gonna hear you out, but that we just simply are not allowed to help you guys. Doom talked to Keeva. She's busy at the moment, and she wants to use that time to test your guys trust until she is actually able to have a face to tentacle with your boss."

He then paused for a second to take a sip from his beer and shot a question at Adam. "What do you guys know about Bysdoch?"

"That it's on the far end of the sector... that's about it.", Adam replied.

Kosh took another breath before going off into another monologue.

"Well, it's one of the Outsiders' major systems. Only real big one we really know of, to be honest. The rest are probably somewhere in the nebula and therefore practically impossible to track down. Now the thing is: we can usually pick up radio chatter from Bysdoch - Not necessarily understandable, but definitely recognizable as artificial terran communication signals. We don't anymore. The system just went dark. No informants reported back, whether official Coalition ones or contacts of information brokers here on Domus. Not even Network data from civilians left that system. They either nuked themselves to death, something else did, or... Well, point is, we have no idea. And Keeva does not like not having an idea. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Adam paused a second before answering. "I think so. Something really big and bad is going on and Keeva wants to send in her most expendable asset to scout, testing its use at the same time. It's what I'd do, I guess."

"Expendable may be the wrong word. She doesn't want to lose you, she isn't like that. If I had to guess, this is just the perfect test. Throw you into an impossible situation and see how you react, great way to get a decent read of character. She had a few instructions: First of all, don't get yourself killed, you're more valuable than a bit of information, feel free to run away if things get too hot. Second of all, us Pirates are not getting involved, training wheels are off. You want to work with them, you'll have to trust them that that trust is mutual. Kenny can redirect the communicator to the Legion if you ask him to, and they'll respond to any calls for help. So if you need an army to back you up, an army you will get. That's about it."

"That seems fair. We have some unused broadcasting equipment of our own on board, maybe if we work with Kenny we can start getting that up and running for our Terran communications."

"Alright. Give Keeva a call once the job is done or you screw up or whatever."

With that, Adam and Jack finished their beers and got up. "Alright, will do. Thanks for the asistance. You'll be seeing us around."

SoA

-Garamar Brood talks to the Pirates' man Kosh and embarks indirectly on a mission for the Quantum Legion; the Brood is to scout what's going on in the Bysdoch system and report back its findings to Keeva Llane.
-Murkag leaves Domus for Bysdoch, 17 hexes away. A speed of 6 makes for 12 IC's/days travel time until arrival.

Outside the Dinari system

David ducked back under cover, pointing his assault rifle over his head, spraying bullets down the corridor. Damn pirates, he thought as he took stock of the situation. It looked like there were about a dozen of them against him, Leo, and Casey. No telling how many were coming from elsewhere in the derelict ship, especially now that there was gunfire.

At least they weren’t Bonecrusher’s. These were freelancers. No one would miss them if they didn’t come back.

“Easy money,” he muttered angrily as he flicked to single-fire and nodded at Leo, who was floating above him near the floor of the ship. “‘It’s empty,’ they said. ‘It’s easy-pickings!’ they said.”

A red light blipped on in the top right corner of his helmet display as he floated out of cover with his rifle under a hail of cover-fire from Leo. In the next three seconds five of the pirates recoiled from precise shots from his rifle and Casey’s ghost rifle. Her’s was better suited to the task, but his shots still accounted for two of the fallen.

The pirates had grown to two-dozen in number. Fortunately, there was only one way they could attack from. Unfortunately, they were backed up to the end of a corridor that had been sheared off, the open stars behind them. The pirates would lose many men before they won, but they would win.

The captain clicked his teeth to activate the secure channel to Gambit. “About time you showed up, dammit.”

A short chuckle came over the channel and filled his helmet. His helmet automatically balanced the sounds over the channel and those coming from outside the suit, allowing him to hear over the gunfire without sacrificing awareness or balance. “We were busy lying-low like you told us to. We can come back if this is an inconvenient time.”

“Puck, I will flay you alive if you so much as...” he replied, exchanging fire. A bullet glanced off his armor, sending him back into cover. A breach in his suit would definitely make any sort of rescue pointless.

“Cool yer guns, man. We were dodging the galley that came in about half a cycle ago. We’ve been monitoring their channels. Figured now was a good time to step in.”

“Well I don’t fancy fighting through these scum to the rendezvous, especially with this cargo. They’re well-equipped, if not well trained, and there are a lot of them. Are there any alternate routes.”

There was a pause and then Puck’s voice came back. “I’ve got an idea.”

Before David could begin to ask a question, the channel clicked off, and the full noise of the combat came back. He switched over to the short-range channel to speak to Leo and Casey.

“Alright, you two. Looks like we’re getting out of here soon. Hold tight.”

Leo snorted derisively, kicking off the floor to float across the corridor, spraying bullets. Return fire zipped and whizzed down the corridor, as well as the cries of pain and broken vacuum suits. Once on the other side, he freed one hand to grab a hold of the wall, swinging close to it and back into relative safety on the other side. “Puck keeping you in the dark again?”

“Watch yourself, bonehead. A breach in your suit and you’re done. Not even Doc can keep you breathing then.”

“So what do we do, captain?” Casey asked in the clear, precise manner that she adopted when under stress.

“You heard me. Hold tight.”

Just then, the red dot reappeared momentarily. “Alright, Puck. Tell me you got something good.”

“You bet your ass I do,” Puck crowed. “You’re gonna love this.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re lying to me.”

“Here’s what you need to do...”

David listened intently, letting Casey and Leo handle the pirates for a few seconds so he didn’t miss anything. Then he shut off the secure channel. A little display popped up in the corner of eyes, counting down from one hundred. He quickly filled Leo and Casey in on the plan.

“Is he crazy?” Casey asked, true terror coming through in her voice. “There’s no way he can pull that off.”

Leo just snorted as he threw a grenade down the corridor at the pirates. They were slowly making their way forward, but the grenade-blast sent them back a little. David reached over next to the safety and pushed a small switch, listening to the loud ‘whrrrr-clank’ as the chambers shifted in his gun. Then he popped out of cover, sighted down the barrel and pulled the trigger. A loud roar filled the space and the round sped down the corridor in a streak of red light, slicing through in a straight line, heedless of obstacles, breaching the suits of seven pirates before the rocket-propelled round came to a halt.

The gun kicked hard against his shoulder, sending him into an awkward spin as he crossed the corridor to the cargo. He ejected the red-hot chamber out of the rifle, slipping a new one in, toggling the switch back. Couldn’t use that too often. The gun simply couldn’t handle the stress of too many Penetrator Rounds fired too quickly.

“Look, Casey,” he said, grabbing a hold of the cargo-box that was their prize, secured to the wall by magnetic locks. “He can. And if he doesn’t, we’re dead anyway. So shut up and get to.”

He released the locks and the box floated away from the wall. He planted his feet on the wall and pushed himself and the box out into the open space, twisting in midair to continue firing down the ruined corridor. Leo threw a few more grenades before jumping out towards him.

Casey waited a few seconds, and David almost thought that she wasn’t going to follow before she crouched down and pushed away with all of her strength, catching up to them quickly. Leo reached out an arm to catch her, and they tumbled together. David continued firing into the corridor until Casey and Leo could orient themselves and take over covering fire.

They floated further out, and David looked around them, trying to catch a glimpse of their rescue. It could also be their death, but he chose to be optimistic until Puck splattered him on the windshield. Pessimism wouldn’t help anything.

He caught sight of Gambit approaching them at break-neck speed along the hull of the wreck. He cringed. At that speed there was a lot that could go wrong, the least of which was the bone-breaking speed at which they were about to come to a stop. He looked at the counter on his display.

3....

2...

1..

The Gambit came within the short-range mic, and David could hear Puck screaming at the top of his lungs in exhilaration as Gambit abruptly braked hard, jerking its nose away from the wreck, turning its forward dive into a spin that scooped Leo, Casey, David, and their prize into the aft airlock.

David could hear Casey screaming in terror with another voice, possibly his own, as they passed into the cargo bay airlock. As soon as they were inside, Gambit braked hard once again as the airlock closed with a snap so that the impact against the wall was only bone-jarring instead of bone-crushing.

{Secure} A surreal voice said calmly, and Gambit jumped forward again, this time away from the wreck.

A second passed in which the Gambit accelerated, sending them up against the wall again before the vacuum stabilized and they were able to float away from each other. A few more seconds passed, and then the hiss of the airlock pressurizing surrounded them, and they all fell to the ground, the cargo box making a loud clang as it hit the floor.

“Remind me once we hit planet-side that we really need to fix the fore airlocks. I don’t fancy doing an emergency pick-up like that ever again,” David said to noone in particular.

“By all the divine light of the stars,” Casey whispered as she opened her suit, lowering her visor. “He did it. He did it, gorrammit.”

“I told you he was good,” David said, raising the visor on his marine suit, putting his rifle aside for a moment. He clicked onto the onboard channel in the suit. “How we doing, Puck?”

“We got flags once I came in. Some nobody pirate is threatening to tear your spine out through your nose. I told him to shut up and eat his fork. Hope you don’t mind me speaking for you.”

“They scramble any fighters?”

“Doesn’t look like it. Appears they are just a troop transport. We’re safe.”

“Alright. Good flyin’. You saved our backs out there.”

“Damn right I saved your backs.”

“Thanks. Set a course for the rendezvous with our employer.”

“And your fronts, and sides-” David powered down his suit before he got any further.

“Leo! Get this crate out of the airlock and out of the way!”

Leo and Casey set to work as David walked through the cargo bay towards his quarters. It had been a long day, and in four hours another long day was going to start.

SoA

-Gambit resurfaces, taking a job to retrieve an unspecified cargo

-Meeting unknown unfriendlies, they make a spectacular getaway with the goods

Dones Surface, Bysdoch system

Blue energy crawled over the air vent around them, and ripped them down to the ground. The landing was somewhat painful, but not particularly bad.

“These Outsiders really don’t know how to build air vents, do they?” A man with white hair in a black ghost suit covered in pulsing blue lines said. “No offense.” he added as he turned to a man in a gray uniform.

Rakah slowly rose to her feet, a quick mental scan of the room revealed her intended target, and 10 other people in the room, most of which were busy pointing the wrong end of a gun at her.

{I would strongly recommend that you ask your men to lower their weapons, I am not here for a fight, but I can not guarantee their safety from my companions should they keep them at the ready}

As if on cue Rakah felt Marrhe claw at her for control so she could show them just how outmatched they were.

Nick Reyd looked at her and smiled.

“Have a coffee break, guys.”

“I’d rather not.” Arcus said, not lowering his rifle.

“I can handle her, Arcus. But I guess you can stay if you want to. But lower your gun.”

The ghost lowered his rifle. The others in the room were confused.

“You heard the boss.” Arcus said. “Lower your guns and piss off.”

The soldiers, some wearing Arcus’ dark blue and others the Outsider gray, did as they were told and left the room. Only Nick, Arcus and the man in the gray uniform remained.

“So... I’m Nick. This guy is Arcus, and that guy is Colonel Ian Smith. It’d be nice if you introduced yourself, and maybe explained why you were crawling around in my vents.”

Rakah nodded.

{I have a rather interesting dilemma, and due to this dilemma I cannot remain with my own kind, as I pose a direct threat to their mental health, I basically have developed a rather contagious case of multiple personalities, and any Protoss that gets to close tend to catch whatever I am infected with, the two other “Me” are rather violent, and after seeing your little display I figured that you wouldn’t mind have someone like me around, no offense, Mr Nick}

As she finished talking she let her mental self float back and after a brief struggle Khinu gained control.

Immediately Khinu’s mental energies changed the color of the psionic energy in her eyes from blue to a brilliant emerald green, and in less than the blink of an eye she was behind Arcus and patted him on the shoulder.

{Smart choice to lower your gun Mr. Blue, Ms. Grumpy was really wanting me to gut you if you didn’t, anyway I am Khinu, I am the fun one of the the three of us, Pleased to meet you Mr. Potential-Boss-Sir}

“Well, she’s definitely fast.” Arcus said, turning to face Nick, not Khinu.

“That she is.” Nick said and turned to Khinu. “And Miss Fun, I highly recommend you do not try to gut me, it wouldn’t end well for either of us. You seem like you could be a quite remarkable asset, and I’m sure neither of us would like it if you were... Well, not here anymore.”

Nick accompanied the mild threat with a glimpse of his mind. All she could sense was a being filled with fire, bloodlust and rage - And that being was definitely no the one looking at her with a smile right now.

Khinu seemed unphased by the spectacle and just made a mental whistling sound.

{And here I thought Ms. Grumpy was broody, whatever you're lugging along makes her seem rather cheerful, Mr. Potential-Boss-Sir, no wonder she likes you}

Not only did her mental voice seem unphased, but it “sounded” like she was commenting on a rather interesting portrait, and not a bloodthirsty otherworldly entity.

{She’s weird.} The devil commented.

That she is. Nick agreed.

{I like her.}

You’re weird.

“Well then, what are you girls good at? And why should I trust you?”

Khinu was just about to answer when Marrhe took a hold of her mental “Self” and gave a powerful yank, and then grasped the reins, immediately the psionic energy took on a crimson hue and started giving off a rather bloodthirsty vibe.

{Trusting us would be a very bad idea, as for what we are good at, the Weakling of an original can take quite the beating, attacks what would kill me or the Child outright would hardly phase her, the Child is, as you saw, extremely fast, i dare say nothing can keep up with her once she starts running, as for me, I specialises in long distance bombardment, I can take out missile turrets and other such defenses from extreme range, the “Malfunctions” in this base’ defense grid over the last half an hour has been my doing to secure an easy entry into the base}

Marrhe’s voice was stone cold, yet held barely masked murderous intent, clearly the statement that she was not to be trusted was an honest one.

{Oooh... I like her.}

Didn’t expect any different.

“Interesting... Still, what reason do I have to believe that you will not just turn around and kill all my men as soon as I walk away? If I have to babysit you three all of the time, you’re useless to me as I can pretty much all you can myself. Well, without any subtlety. I’d just wreck shit.”

“You’re seriously considering having this lunatic work for us?” Smith asked.

“We can use every advantage we can get.” Nick said. “And they seem quite skilled. They got this far, didn’t they? If they turn on us, we can just leave them on the planet and let them and our enemies kill each other.”

“And if she turns while on a ship?”

“We’ve got more than one. And I’m sure she’ll understand that I’m the stronger of the two of us, so she won’t cause us any trouble as that would get her killed. The only other option she has it to use the hypothetically hijacked ship to cause trouble for our enemies, so I wouldn’t really count it as a loss.”

“We’d lose a lot of men.”

“We will one way or another. Wars can’t be won without casualties.”

{Lots and lots of casualties.} The devil whispered to Marrhe with an image of a burning smile.

Marrhe responded in kind to the Devil, finally someone she could relate too, she was just about to give the answer when a rather insistent Rakah demanded the drivers seat again, and Khinu, who had gotten annoyed at her immediately stepped up to back Rakah in her demand.

{see you around, handsome}

She whispered to the devil as she let herself float to an observing position and rakah seized control.

The psionic energy changed again as Rakah took control, and it became calm, like a river flowing through a wide valley.

{While I can not give any guarantees where Marrhe is concerned, Khinu is simple, keep her entertained and your safe, cause her to become bored, and your life is in peril as she finds it amusing to think up ways to kill things, which is one of the reasons Marrhe even tolerates her childish antics, I myself prefer to discuss things peacefully rather than having to become violent, granted this does not mean I won’t kill if I have to, but I prefer a peaceful solution, or at least the solution with the least casualties}

She paused for a bit and seemed to be in an internal discussion with the two others, and suddenly the three voices could be heard at once.

{We have all our own reasons for joining, so going against you would be counter productive to our goals, and while we cannot guarantee no casualties should we get too bored or too stressed, we will at least try to keep the bloodshed to a... minimum.}

Rakah opened her eyes again and the dark blue pools of her eyes bored into Nicks, a steely resolve that would not bend for anything.

{I seek a cure for my condition Mr.Reyd, and I don’t care who I have to align myself with, nor what I have to do in order to achieve this, I would align myself with even the Zerg if that would help me, as for a ship, I wouldn’t worry about losing one of your own, I have one already, it’s a bit empty at the moment, but if I could get a crew in and some troops she’ll be fully operational}

With that she simply sat down and closed her eyes.

“Arcus, Smith, any comments?”

“As I said, I’m not comfortable with this.” Smith said. “But I guess we can use help, especially if you want to stay in the back lines as you’ve said.”

“She seems volatile.” Arcus said. “But I picked you up on Deiliri as well, didn’t I?”

The ghost just left the room.

“I guess you’re hired.” Nick said. “Welcome to the Black Hand. I’d name you my Right Black Hand, but I already promised that one to Arcus, and Smith here got leftie. If I know Arcus as well as I think I do, which isn’t actually that well, we only met a few weeks ago, then he’s probably putting together a crew for you right now.”

{I don’t like the main chick.}

Well, I do. And I don’t care what you think. Besides, without her we would have no way to ensure that the other two only kill people when its in our favor.

{I don’t care about whose favor it is.}

Nick just sighed and shut out the devil. He could keep him away as long as he had control. As long as no one angered him, or irritated him.

SoA

Rakah, Khinu and Marrhe have a chat with Nick Reyd.

Space, Bysdoch system

... and then the shots stopped, without explanation, just as Dagganoth was about to order a risky escape. Not even he had anticipated this. Murkag had entered the system quietly and scouted the edges carefully, but nothing useful had come out of it. Dagganoth had then made the decision to go in a little bit deeper, closer towards one of the planets. He hadn't been on course for more than five seconds before a host of Terran ships jumped out of warp and surrounded his Behemoth. They started firing immediately, but stopped firing just as quickly, leaving those aboard Murkag puzzled. With a quick burst of thoughts, Dagganoth asked Adam to hail the Terran ships. Their hailing equipment might be relatively primitive, but it was helpful in situations like these.

Or not. When even after ten seconds no answer came, Dagganoth rapidly started calculating his options. Five seconds later he came to the conclusion that sitting tight might be the best way to proceed - they weren't being fired upon and he was sure he had more patience than the average Terran. Because of that conclusion, he was the only sentient being aboard Murkag not worrying when a reply didn't come for another ten seconds. But then a psionic signal entered Dagganoth's mind.

{Well who do we have here?}

-{I could assk you the ssame. You are not an Outssider.}

{Not that hard to figure out. But usually it's the visitor that introduces himself first.}

As the conversation went on Dagganoth scanned the mind of the being he was communicating with. It was as impressive as it was ugly, even to a Cerebrate. To him, it was represented as a room full of unbreakable cages holding Zerg Larvae. They would never be able to evolve, they would never be able to further the Swarm, and they would never be able to explore the universe and all of its features. Any Terran would have probably seen destructive fires, corpses and doom - what Dagganoth saw was the Zerg version of hell.

-{Very well. My name iss Dagganoth.}

{I like to call myself Nick Reyd. Out of curiosity, what brood sent you?}

-{What doess that mean to you? Do you know of our broods?}

{I know a little. I wish to know more. It is my goal to unite the races of this sector, so that they may live in peace, and what is probably more interesting to you, continue on their path of evolution - We will never achieve perfection without unity.}

-{But you have a Terran's name?}

{Depends on your definition of "having a name". I was nameless, the terrans asked me for a name, and I told them one. A terran one was appropriate for the situation.}

-{What race are you?}

{Hard to tell. You're avoiding my initial question.}

-{I am not. I ssimply wanted to know where it came from before ansswering it. No brood sent me, however. I am the Garamar Brood, and these are my children. We came to explore thiss system in the name of the Father.}

{Interesting. An independent Zerg.}

With that, Nick Reyd took a short pause to think before continueing the conversation. {What is your opinion on my goal?}

-{If you really purssue it, it is ssimilar to that of the Father. I can not believe you sseek it, however.}

{I've been created to destroy. I've destroyed my creators, and wish to seek a different path. I know I myself will never achieve true perfection, ascend, but I do believe it is possible for the three races to do so, and I know I am capable of starting the process. Here is my offer: You may join me in my quest, or you are free to leave. There is no reason for me to kill you. But if you do wish to join me, I will have to warn you, I do not plan to use pacifism. The sector is in chaos, and in order to unite it order must be brought to it first.}

-{This is not an offer I can accept. It is not up to me to decide this. If you sseek my allegiance, you sshall need to kill the Father and assume control over the Sswarm. What created you? It musst have been a being of immensse power if these are your goalss...}

{Their goals are not mine. I killed them before they had a chance to explain. Had they been beings of immense power, they could have prevented their deaths. I am sure you will understand my reluctance to share details considering we barely know each other, and don't seem to be getting closer. You may tell your Father that if he's open to peace and symbiosis instead of death and destruction, I will not get in his way. If not, our paths are bound to cross sooner or later and what will happen then I highly doubt anyone can predict. You are free to leave this system, my ships will not fire upon you. But think twice if you plan to return with a reinforcements - I am not very hospitable when provoked.}

-{I did not mean to insult, if you are insulted. Your goal doess intrigue me. It is just that I think there is little I can sshare about me. Perhaps we can take turns in our questionss, if you want uss to get closer?}

{If you have no intentions of cooperation, there is little use in sharing information. And no, I am not insulted, but it is hard to sound nice when telling someone that large groups of tresspassers will be shot, don't you think?}

-{Very well... Thank you, this conversation was... interesting. We shall take our leave, then, and conssider your words.}

{It was nice meeting you. Good bye, and if you change your mind, you know where to find me.}

With that, Dagganoth broke the connection. As Murkag started turning, one of the Terran ships fired another shot at it, barely missing. Just as Dagganoth's mind started booming through his plan of against after betrayal another one of the ships fired two warning shots at the first, causing it to cease fire. Dagganoth barely registered this before Murkag glided out of the system.

-

The communication device portrayed Kenny. It wasn't the Pirate version of Kenny however, Adam could tell this much - it was wearing a gray and purple uniform, had a proper haircut and a more serious look on its face. Adam grinned as he looked at it.

"New haircut, Kenny?"

"We haven't met yet, I believe. Kenny informed about you though. Anything to report?", the new Kenny replied. Adam took up a more serious posure before answering.

"Yes. We need to talk to whoever in the Quantum Legion will take our report on the Bysdoch scouting mission."

"That'll be me.", Kenny answered.

"Very well", Adam replied.

"We were met by three Terran ships upon entering the Bysdoch system. We tried to hail them with our on-board equipment, but instead the big one got a psionic reply by their leader. Said he had no idea what race the leader was. Dagga lied to him and posed as a scouting brood fully under the Overmind's control. The leader scared him, he said. He talked about creating peace and unity throughout the sector, but his mind was filled with rage and...", Adam hesitated.

"He said the leader's mindscape looked like... what we'd call 'hell'. He said that for all the peace he was promoting, that leader seemed like a chaotic, deranged murderer. I don't think I've ever seen something scare Dagganoth before". Adam took a big pause before continueing.

"Dagga tried to get as much information out of the leader as possible. It said that it 'had been created to destroy', 'destroyed its creators' and then 'decided to take a different path'. Eventually he simply told us to either join him or leave, and said we were welcome to return if we wanted to join his cause but were warned not to return with reinforcements."

When it was clear that Adam had finally stopped talking, Kenny gave a clear and direct response. "Noted. I will attempt to contact Lady Lane immediately, but she appears to be busy. I will let you know if I get a message for you. In the meantime, we do not require your services at the moment, so feel free to do as you wish. This communicator will, by default, contact the Pirates again from now on, in case you wish to talk to them for whatever reason."

"Alright... we'll head to Domus to think of our next move. I'll assume we'll hear from the Legion soon, then."

With that, the official Kenny politely nodded at Adam and turned itself off. Adam turned around to Jack, who was standing in the doorpost behind him. He grinned as he spoke. "I prefer the other one". Adam sighed and smiled at Jack. "I know you do..."

SoA

-Dagganoth meets Nick Reyd in Bysdoch and has a conversation with him. Afterwards he reports his findings to the Coalition version of Kenny.
-Murkag leaves Bysdoch and sets a course back to Domus, 17 hexes away. 12 IC's/days travel time until arrival.