STGOD 4 Game Thread

[Stormbringer]

[Nyllorian Grand Fleet]

"We have been ordered to reinforce our Unification brothers, the Ousters."

"Very good Admiral, the fleet stands ready."

* * *

Moments later the Nyllorian fleet scurried to join the war.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Across the Republic,plan ZC 103 was put into effect. The worst situation one could imagine.

The Republic was facing imminent destruction by outside invaders.

The ships used for attack against the Hajr were recalled... the UP's disappearance doing nothing to deter the Unification

A military Stop Loss was ordered. And those discharged from the military who were still able to fight wer instructed to report for active duty.

Civilian militias, of which there are many many many, were federalized, and every planet throughout the republidc was prepared to make foreign invaders bleed for every inch of ground and space.

Any ship that had eny kind of armements was made ready to possibly serve in defense of the homeworld. Ready on a moments notice to hold the line.

Atmospheric fighters, and the surface navy, were all put through regular drills, ans on 24 hour alert. Surface artillery, much of it nuclear was readied, as well as nuclear missile silos. All prepared for war.

Those incapable of fighting, who had access to unarmed vessels, many fled the republic for ports unknown, mostly in the accord, but in other places as well.

The planetary defense grids were activated...

The Republic was ready for war.

[Dahak]

Gladsheim Prime, Imperial Plaza

<<What is our status?>> the Empress asked.
<<Everything is under control,>> Consensus answered. <<The colonization efforts of our newest three systems are running smoothly. The cities settled in, and already started construction the new infrastructure.>>
<<Wonderful,>> she nodded. <<What else?>>
<<Operation Tranquility is now absolutely ready and can be implemented any time. Project Cerberus is launchable, as well. Fleet is prepared, as well. We are ready.>>
<<Perfect. Our war games should start within short time. The ships will be sent to join the Accord forces?>>
<<Yes, they are already preparing to leave.>>

***

The Gladsheim ships vanished as one from their systems, traveling to a secret staging point for a long-planed war game with the other Accord forces. Admiral Tjoerhom was really looking forward to the fun.

[Marcao]

Veithan Empire

The orders reached out from the government offices in Veitha III and were quickly carried out. The Veithan Empire possessed an extensive and secure network for communications, utilizing two central systems. Ansibles were used widely in military matters allowing for instanteneous point to point communications. When shorter ranges were at stake, there were other means at the Empire's disposal. In this case, Ansibles were the method of choice, the information sent from the government to the fleet headquarters of various fleets.

The Accord was not the largest or strongest power block in existance. The so called Quintiple Alliance had taken that honor until recently, when it was overshadowed by the Unification. Nonetheless, the three nations of the accord worked closely. War Games were a common occurrance, as the Accord took an approach which suggested that their smaller fleets, had to be able to coordinate on a far more...intimate level than most. The orders which arrived were quickly carried out, ansible communications opened between fleet headquarters and the mighty Dreadnoughts which commanded Veithan fleets.

Veithan Empire
Al Quadim System

The Veithan Fifth fleet was one of the most experience in the Empire. Originally percieved as an attack fleet, the annexation of Al-Quadim had changed all that. The Empire had not moved a heavy civilian presence into the planet, instead choosing to base a few military installations and several research complexes. When the orders arrived, Admiral Luthair Stone was immediately made aware of them. Secondary channels were opened with the fleet as his thoughts were carried out to the bridge officers of the fifth fleet.

~This is Admiral Stone. We have been given new orders. We are to rendezvous with other Acccord elements in order to engage in war games. The Empire is sending other forces to carry out our obligations here. The fleet is moving out immediately.~

The admiral's thoughts were readily acknowledged, the Fifth fleet moving as a singular whole as it moved away from its holding area in the system. It took a mere one hundred and eighty seconds before the one hundred and twenty signatures of the Veithan Fifth fleet vanished into hyperspace.

[Beowulf]

Lastport
Pre-anamoly

"Well... looks like they're not going to let me land... going to have to try and figure out some other way down..."

The freighter left orbit, and jumped into hyperspace.

[ooc] getting Oni out of Dodge... [/ooc]

[Straha]

The Nashtari Buisnessman was rich, powerful, and of Monacoran desent. He was also a Monacoran interlocutor, unofficial speaker of foreign policy for a powerful nation, and though it had its perks it also had its downsides when he had to do something like this.

A secretary poked her head out of the door, "He'll see you now, sir."

The Buisness man stood up, brushed himself off and walked in. He'd been security checked repeatedly before, and as he entered the office now bodyguards stood at edge, watching him.

"Hello President-Major, I'm here with something I think you'll be most pleased to hear about."

[Spyder]

The planning:

"The trade convoy will be passing through the Boyanes system to recheck their co-ordinates before moving on to the regional depot. When they arrive we'll trigger the interdiction net hidden inside the asteroid belt near their entry point. Once they're trapped we'll attack from three points. The first team will attack the convoy with a small fighter detatchment from the asteroid belt. Second, Star King; our destroyer for you new people, will jump in from the Oort cloud and provide the big guns should the convoy leaders require more persuading. Thirdly our assault transports will jump in and load up the cargo. Once you're all in position maintain comms silence. We'll be broadcasting multi-spectrum jamming once the attack starts, this should buy us enough time before local security forces show up. You all know the drill, the motherload's coming and we intend to collect."

The execution:

"All units in position, alright cut the comm chatter."

Aboard the Star King, "Picking up hyperspace signature. The convoy's here. Something's interferring with the sensors, I can't get a reading on the convoy."

One of the pilots listened intently to his comm hearing nothing but static and seeing nothing but a few shadowy sensor blips on his erratic screen. They've started the jamming, he thought to himself, it looked as though it was screwing with the sensors too.

He moved his craft out of the hiding position, as did the rest of the fighter crew.

Moments passed, given the condition of their sensors and comms the jamming was no doubt in effect, right this very moment the fighters would be engaging the convoy, picking off point defenses and drawing away any escorts. A carefully plotted hyperjump would put the ship in position to tighten the noose.

The transports picked up on the jamming, right this moment the fighters would be engaged and the destroyer would be ready to join them. Soon it would be their turn.

"Okay, jump!" The Star King's leader ordered. The engines flarred into life as the vessel propelled itself into the battle.

"ABORT, ABORT! IT'S A TRAP!" The warning from the fighters came to late as the Star King came into range. Within seconds after its return to normal space it was struck by a barrage of missiles followed by a repeated stabbing of gluon beam fire.

"Maintain fire on that ship." The Captain of the Minmatar cruiser ordered as energy beams from his ship and two Minmatar frigate escorts stabbed the pirate vessel's hull into fragments. Most of the Star King's crew were suddenly exposed to hard vacuum and ushered from their vessel by the atmosphere that a moment ago had sustained them.

Xeron fighters, with their superrior flight control and armaments effortless picked off the outnumbered and outgunned black market fighters.

The transports entered the field just as the Star King started to break apart. Immediately the Xerons took up position blocking their escape. "Pirate vessels, power down your engines and prepare to be taken into custody. Fail to comply and we will open fire."

The transports complied as the Star King's engine compartment drifted away from the battle, it was unlikely the Minmatar were bluffing.

After a quick sweep, "This is escort nine, the convoy is secure. Requesting salvage crew."

"Acknowledged, salvage crew dispatched."

Minmatar engage pirates at Boyanes

"Earlier today Minmatar forces engaged pirate militia in the Boyanes system between Jormungandr and Bex. Our sources indicate that the engagement occured as a result of a pending pirate attack on a convoy travelling between a Minmatar trade depot and Jormungandr. A particular trade lane that is now protected by the UTO, under which the Minmatar have pledged to provide military assistance and neutrality protection to any member trade convoy. There have been several arrests and several vessels have been impounded."

A UTO spokesman, "The message to pirate militias everywhere is simple. 'Our trade lanes are open and you can't have them.' This last operation proves that military assisstance is by far the most effective means of dealing with trade lane security. When someone attempts the disruption of UTO operations they face a professional military force that no pirate militia could ever match without major economic assisstance."

[Beowulf]

"Tell our sponsor, mission accomplished."

"You didn't really do that, did you?"

"No, but it's convienent to say that I did."

[Bugsby]

Sirius, Hephaestus Shipyards
1 Day after Brethis

The Combine Brethis attack force slipped out of hyperspace and headed for the shipyards. Half the fleet went right to open berths for repair work. The other half, relatively undamaged, spread itself out in a defensive formation over Sirius. It's new job of agression over, it returned to the default job of defense of the Client Worlds. As the Brethis fleet settled in, the old defensive fleet formed up. The planet was safe. Now other priorities could come into play.

The last of the Krell ships, the only ones that hadn't seen any battle during the war, formed up and blasted into hyperspace.

[Rogue 9]

The Nashtari Buisnessman was rich, powerful, and of Monacoran desent. He was also a Monacoran interlocutor, unofficial speaker of foreign policy for a powerful nation, and though it had its perks it also had its downsides when he had to do something like this.

A secretary poked her head out of the door, "He'll see you now, sir."

The Buisness man stood up, brushed himself off and walked in. He'd been security checked repeatedly before, and as he entered the office now bodyguards stood at edge, watching him.

"Hello President-Major, I'm here with something I think you'll be most pleased to hear about."

President Charles Major looked after the Monacoran as he left his office under the eye of the Presidential Marine Guard. The treaty they'd discussed was virtually a mirror of the Versailles treaty of 20th century Earth. Surrender of all the colonies, ceding Mintar and Marince to Monacora to remove the Republic's prime agricultural areas, and gutting of the Republic Space Command to make the Republic utterly unable to defend itself. It was, of course, unacceptable. And the Senate would see it that way, thought Major with a half-smile once the businessman left. He'd see to that, just in case they couldn't see it for themselves. He pressed a button on his desk. "Miss Thatcher, get me Senator Farnsworth on the secure line." Then he sat back, satisfied. He'd gotten his cease-fire. The UBT ships that the Alliance had hired at the war's outset would arrive within the day, as would the surviving Protectorates vessels. Oh so sorry that the massed Nashtari fleet couldn't be reached in time to warn them off.

Mintar, Nashtar Star Cluster

The fleet reverted to realspace with the enemy fleets at a 50 degree angle with the Nashtari task force and Mintar. The largest combined strike force Nashtar had ever mobilized released a devastating salvo of missiles the instant the enemy's position had been ascertained. 9,292 missiles left the various destroyers, cruisers, and battleships and shot towards the Asgard and Monacoran fleets, angling for Asgard capital ships, particularly those identified as types that had fired Kincaid torpedoes in earlier engagements.
____________________________________________________________________________

7 Venture class fleet carriers
9 Claymore class battleships
20 Carnegie class heavy cruisers
12 Merovingian class attack carriers
8 Warhammer class missile cruisers
60 Starlight class destroyers
74 Dawn Raider class frigates
52 Sun Striker class light carriers
40 Nova class missile destroyers
32 Solar Flare class minelayer destroyers
3 Liberty class battlecruisers
3 Ronoshi class cruiser/carriers
6 Hangrabi class light cruisers
15 Gonohan class frigates
20 Yonohan class destroyers

[Agent Fisher]

LOCATION: ORBITAL SHIPYARD 013, NEW ROME

The STACKER pulled out of the shipyard. The workers at 013 were glad to see it go. They had been working on it for two years. It was supposed to be finished in another eight months but because of the buildup orders everything had been sped up. At another yard, they were producing one LIBERTY ship every month. While the LIBERTY was easy to build it wasn't the most sturdy ship. At another yard they were putting the finishing touches on a CARRACK. With everything put on WAR SCHEDULE, a single yard could produce a massive WRAITH in six months. And with fifty shipyards, and more being built, there were alot of ships being produced. However, resources were going to be a problem. Already, the massive asteroid field that surrounded New Rome, was being mined dry for all of its resources, and so were any fields in the Confederation. While the shipyards in orbit were busy building ships, the factories on the planet were busy build tanks, armored vehicles, fighter craft, remote sensing stations, and guns. However, some of the factories continued producing items for the citizens.

LOCATION: NEW BERLIN, CODENAME HELMS DEEP

It had taken a long time for the planet to recover from the nuclear destruction. When it had, the military set up Covert Operations headquarters there. With the COHQ there, there was alot more privacy. They now had an entire planet to train on. In orbit there were a few defense platforms. Before what had become known as the Contact, it had been small, lightly defended and barely funded. Now that had changed, every day there was more funding going into New Berlin. There were multiple defense installation being set up soon it would be the most heavily defended world in the confederation, though the going was slow. Also in orbit was a research station. On this station, scientists were developing interdictor technology. On the ground, there was the SPARTAN and IMMORTAL divisions. They were being put through a somewhat watered down version of ELITE training. On another continent, scientists were hard at work developing weapons and testing them. One of the top projects was the SHARK. It was a two seater, Close Air Support craft. It had four turreted miniguns, all linked to the gunners heads up display. It also carried 12 rocket pods, each with 20 12mm high explosive rockets. It would soon be ready for production. In a secure medical facility, Dr. McQuiddy looked down at his patient. He was the first of the ELITES. He was a major in the SPARTAN division. He was the best canidate. "Okay, lets get started. Nurse a little music please, some classical." said Dr. McQuiddy. Through out the facility, a hundered more were undergoing the same procedures. Soon the ELITEs would be ready for war.

LOCATION: JACKSON STATION

Admiral Stanforth gazed over the report. They now had full access to the massive communications network. It turned out that the Nashtar and their alliance were at war. He reviewed all the data files attached to the report. They showed that both sides had been less than admirable in the conflict. He read on. Out of all the nations he had read about the Nashtar seemed most like the Confederation. And since they seemed to be outnumbered, why not help them. Maybe the Confederation, with its forces could help turn the tide of the conflict, make the others more willing to back down. The admiral shook his head. By doing that they were more likely to raise the conflict. The Admiral drafted a message.


TO NASHTAR

THE CONFEDERATION OF SPARTAN WORLDS OFFERS A PLACE OF REGUEE INCASE YOU HAVE NEED OF IT. TO CONTACT US SEND A MESSAGE TO THESE CORDINATES.

The cordinates were a small repeater station set up by a PROWLER.

[Straha]

Lt. Commander Prochnow looked ahead. The ship, a freighter and a large one at that, was slowly slipping into his ships site's.

"Ten seconds to optimum range."

"I prepare to decloak"

"Prepared to decloak"

The ship had been tagged by the inner wolf-pack ring, the message had been relayed out, and CS-8 had moved to intercept. They'd almost missed the bugger too, but they finally got a sensor ping, and plotted off of that.

"Optimum range achieved."

A small timer clicked on, they only had fifty seconds to get off the shot, more than enough time.

"Prepare to fire weapons."

"Prepared, sir."

Thirty-eight seconds.

"Decloak"

"Decloaking... decloaked"

"Fire"

"Firing, shot away"

"Cloak!"

The ship hummed, and the cloak light came on.

"Change course, 038, by 268."

"Course changed"

"Sensors?"

"Direct hit on engine, ship is gone."

"Move us out of sensor range, than decloak and report hit."

[Spyder]

"We're here live to oversee one of the many graduation ceremonies taking place at the Minmatar Naval Academy. The cadets we see today will soon find themselves behind the helms of one of Minmatar's newest spacecraft being constructed as part of Minmatar's plan to provide safe and secure trade lanes for both itself and its neighbors."

"After these recruits graduate into the ranks of the Minmatar Navy and Starforce they will likely be assigned to one of the many trade routes now protected by the UTO charter."

Massive cheers sounded from below as the proud recruits were awarded their colours.

Cutting back to the studio, "In finance today, several more companies have joined the ranks of those investing in access to the UTO marketlink, one of the fastest growing trade intelligence services in the galaxy,"

"...oh yeah its been a really good season for us. With the active marketlink we can track prices and demand throughout both ours and floater controlled trading posts. Not only that but the protected trade routes are providing enormous benefits in terms of loss prevention. Hopefully, others such as the Monacorans, the Asgard and perhaps even a few of the alliance or accord factions will open their markets to the marketlink for it is currently the only system to date that can streamline a nation's entire trade economy."

[Rogue 9]

Veithan Empire
Mulaya System, Mulaya III

The moment the Nashtar Ambassador walked in he and his aides had all of the attention of all the Veithans within the room. The head ambassador was well aware of the situation between the Unification and the so called UPA. The Veithan intelligence apparatus was excellent, and there were…other means which were available to the Empire. The Veithan ambassador was certain that the Empire was considering a move, the exact specifics however were pure speculation. The ambassador smiled briefly as the Nashtar representatives approached the table, the Veithan representative and his aides standing in a show of respect and sitting once again only when the Nashtar had done so.

When the Nashtar ambassador spoke the Veithans listened exchanging thoughts occasionally as various points were considered and analyzed. The sad facts of the matter were that the situation was not as clear cut as many believed. The Empire felt that the Unification was in the midst of a power play, it had been made readily apparent when the Veithan “report” had been so easily ignored. It had never been meant to ease hostilities, only delay them. It had taken two weeks for the report to have been made, and that had been a slightly rushed but far more thorough report than the evidence which had been provided by the Ousters. The central problem was easy enough to determine, in a galaxy where several races and beings could change their shape, visual evidence alone was highly suspect.

When the Nashtar ambassador finished, the Veithans waited for a handful of seconds before the chief Veithan negotiator replied. He spoke his words pleasant and practiced. “Please Ambassador; I am honored to be here. The Unification did get involved something which we found particularly distressing all things considered, but your alliance did declare war against the Ousters. It may have been more prudent at the time, to simply reinforce the White Suns with a great deal of alliance ships. But, we gain little by considering what could have been.”

The Ambassador went silent for a moment before he continued. “We do agree that the evidence which the Ousters are using as justification for their assault against the White Sun to be suspect. It is not in the eyes of the Empire, thorough enough to remove reasonable doubt. The actions of the Vampires will be remembered, their claims will be tested. Ultimately, it was the relative ease in which the Ousters disrespected our viewpoint which signaled to us, that they are unconcerned about the evidence. It is enough for them, and they are willing to fight and die for that.” The Veithan shrugged, power had its own means of working. If all the Ousters had needed was an excuse to unify their people behind a goal, the death of six million had certainly done an admirable job of it.

”I do not believe that anyone doubts your eagerness to defend your ally, but at that task you have failed. Our projections indicate that the White Sun will fall without foreign ships, these ships you cannot provide at the moment since the Unification forces threaten your own home worlds.” The Veithan paused for a moment, considering the words of the Nashtar for a second. “I appreciate your candor ambassador, but at this time even if you could provide us with all the data you possess, it may not be enough.” He sighed softly and shook his head. “I am certain that you are aware of this, but there are strong ties between Monacora and the Empire. Information which you provide will be resisted irregardless of how thorough it may be. It will be questioned, what sort of guarantees do we have that it is all the information? What will happen when the Monacoran’s provide evidence to the contrary of your own?” The Veithan paused, watching the eyes of his counter part. “I mean no disrespect. I make no accusations, I can only point out what people will say, and that forces are at work here that supercede my own abilities. Nonetheless, I will do all I can to allow you to present your case.”

”When it comes to aid I can not promise anything. Those decisions are ultimately not my own, although I do believe that should your nation wish for the Accord to act as mediators in search for a settlement it may be possible. Nonetheless, be aware that the Unification and the Ousters do not seem to hold our words in high regard. As such, I would ask you that you and your nation prepare for the worst.” He took a deep breath and glanced to his left, the woman wearing the Veithan intelligence colors nodding and standing before walking towards a side door and disappearing. “is there anything else I may assist you with?”

"I realize that I cannot prove the negative that is asking me to demonstrate that we have no more information, but all the same, it would be difficult in the extreme for us to have a task force as large as the one the Monacorans are claiming out of port and in their space with no one noticing the ships were gone, wouldn't it? If we really made such an invasion, where is this phantom fleet?" He sighed. "With the destruction of the United Protectorates, we are almost certain to be overrun. The only peace overtures the Unification has been willing to entertain until today involve making us into a client state, something which we will not allow as long as we have a fleet and armies. We do not wish to invade or harm the Unification. Our only interest in this was the defense of our ally and the prevention of the Ouster genocide. What the Unification is engaged in is nothing more than armed robbery writ large, you must see that. I have word that the latest offer made by Monacora involves the surrender of all our colonies, the ceding of Mintar and Marince to Monacora in order to give them control of our primary food supply and food exports, the slashing of our navy to levels unheard of for defending the nine systems we would be left with, and massive taxations on all our foreign trade for the purposes of 'reparations.' In the beginning of the negotiations, they were also attempting to pry from us the total surrender of the remaining United Protectorates forces and turning over their ships to New Tortuga, even though we cannot give such an order to Admiral Tzu. This is the most generous offer we've heard, and it's a mark of how bad our situation is that it's going before the Senate for a vote. I do not think they will accept.

"What we wish from the Accord is a neutral mediator in negotiations, if you will not exert military pressure on our behalf. Perhaps you could talk something from the Unification that we cannot. Frankly, the way it looks now, the Republic could very well cease to exist within days if something is not done, and if we follow the Protectorates into oblivion then the rest of the Alliance will likewise fall. You'll be dealing with a Unification hegemon with the Ousters at its head, something that you will not likely survive. We've seen how far they are willing to go and the risks they were willing to take to remove the Alliance as a possible threat and gain our territories. Not to belittle your forces, but if they were willing to risk war with us, they would think little of risking it with your far smaller alliance."

[Marcao]

Veithan Claimed Space
Capricorn System
The Gateway

Since the system had been found and claimed by the Veithan Empire, Capricorn formerly known as VPX-11 had been of great importance to the Empire. Its location was away from known space, and had been found during the hunt for the Overseer. It had been pure chance which had made it possible, a drone that had strayed too close to the system and doing so, managed to catch the anomaly in its sensors. The anomaly had later been identified as a wormhole and the Empire quietly sent a group of ships to claim the system. The move had been successful, and now, the system was the most important system within the Empire after Veitha herself.

At the beginning, the system had only been quietly reinforced and traffic in and out of it had been dominated by the Veithan Navy and a handful of corporations. After drones had been sent through the wormhole along with survey ships, the term “far space” had been granted to the area beyond the wormhole. It had not taken long for colony ships to move through, and several systems to be claimed in the name of the Empire. Lilandra had taken great interest in the wormhole and the opportunity it offered the Veithan people. Over time, the system had come to possess a steady trickle of ships which moved through the wormhole on a daily basis. These ships were tasked with preparing the future of the Veithan Empire as quietly as possible. The secret of Capricorn could not be allowed to be let out, not until all the preparations had been made.

It had taken months for the preparations to be completed and the fact that they were done in absolute secrecy was even more surprising. The Veithan Empire was quite capable of keeping secrets, and although it possessed a great deal of so called “democratic” undertones such as elections, beneath the surface the term Empire fit the Veithan government well. Although over the last week or so, what had once been a trickle had slowly but surely started to become a stream. The Empire had been in the process of building shipyards in far space, but the moving of entire colony cylinders through the wormhole caught many by surprise. It appeared as if a small exodus was taking place, and the data which was available to the most highly placed was telling.

Nearly every prime which did not possess a military or central government position had been moved to the Veithan far space holdings. It was not surprising, primes were the most precious resource of the Empire. Nonetheless, it was not merely primes. There were P2s and P3s in abundance, the so called “holy trinity” of Veithan psionics. When Entire colony cylinders which had been located in the Veithan colonies began to arrive in twos and threes, it quickly became apparent that the Empire was preparing for something. The exact how or why was unknown, but there were many theories. Had Lilandra foreseen the end of the Empire? Or had she simply seen a new beginning? Only time would tell…

Veithan Empire
Ashana System, Ashana III
Black Tower

The Black Tower trembled.

Lilandra sat upon her dais, her mind plugged into the gestalt device which functioned as her link to the minds of the others around her. Her facial expression was neutral and utterly unconcerned, as the tower around her trembled her breathing even as her mind reached out. Familiar thoughts felt within her own mind as she concentrated on a particular location of the tower.

~Psy drives online.~
~Sensors online.~
~Grid stable.~
~Docking systems disabled.~
~We are ready to proceed.~

Lilandra smiled, the thoughts of the bridge crew acknowledged for a moment before she gave the order, a sensation that she had not felt in years washing over her as the black tower left her moorings and ascended. The location of the tower had been a well kept secret for years, and while many believed that the tower was simply a secure facility somewhere in the planet, it was far more than that. The Black Tower glided through the water in its quest to reach the surface, its psy-drives utilizing the psychic energy in the ships grid to propel the ship telekinetically. It took one hundred and thirty two seconds for the ship to reach the surface.

~We have a surface contact, roughly one point eight kilometers to the east. It is a civilian liner.~
~Any chance of collision?~
~Negative.~
~Will our emergence cause any harm to the vessel?~
~Negative. Sensors indicate at that range the disturbance of our emergence should be minimal~
~Very well, proceed with emergence.~

The Black Tower broke through the surface and continued to climb, its sleek ebony shape towering over the waves below and the civilian ship less than two kilometers away. The Black Tower was a relic, one of the oldest vessels in the possession of the Empire and still one whose secrets had not been fully understood. The two and a quarter kilometer long vessel hovered silently in the air, a mere sixty meters above the waters of the Lucian Sea, the home for the vessel for the last decade. The civilian ocean liner was allowed to glance at the shadow hovering over the sea for only eighty seven seconds, the time it took the Black Tower to activate its psy-enhanced submergence drives and disappear into hyperspace.

International Deep Space

The pirate ships lurked silently in the void, smiles gracing the lips of the bridge crew as the information they desired was finally made available. Their gardens had been planted, and the locations were punched into the computers. All that was left now was to wait for the signal and get to work. They were well aware of the situations in known space, and understood the risks of their current assignments. Nonetheless, they had been fortunate. They had gotten the tools they would need built by the Minmatar just in time to leave before the new government had cracked down. Now, all that was left was to do what they had promised to do and manage to stay alive. If the information they had been provided was accurate however, their chances were good. That was all they asked…

At the same time which the pirates were considering their plans, Veithan vessels slid silently through the void in the depths of international place and went about their usual business. Their displacers activated as they delivered their cargo to various key points in space. After their task was done, they would disappear into the embrace of hyperspace and return to the Empire in order to resupply their cargo bays before starting the process all over again.

[Murazor]

The Sharing had given strength to the Ethereals in the past. Now it became their doom. Vopelum, White Sun ambassador at the United Protectorates was an Ethereal and as the distortion destroyed Lastport, his link with the Sharing became Death for his species. An inmense pain destroyed the mind of millions of them. Over half the Ethereals had their minds broken in a mere instant. Most of those died. Only one out of every three managed to shield their minds from the onslaught and when it ended, even those survivors found themselves changed. Isolated. The Sharing had been shattered by the sudden traumatic death of so many of them.

The Ethereals had been the soul and brain of the Confederation. Without them coordinating the war effort, the White Sun Confederation was doomed to collapse in short order.

[Thirdfain]

Home

The Black Ships. The Grey Legions. They were things of nightmare. They could not- would not- be denied, and now they had come to the White Suns Confederation. In far-off Eketrina, a smile like razors glittered. Another set of worlds, another nation, was falling beneath the iron fist of the Hajr.

Atja su Miitgar's 2cnd War Cluster hung over the homeworld of the Confederation. Sheets of fire rippled, and the world's shields flared and fluctuated under the assault. It was a well-defended world, but under such a force, it could not hold long. Soon, it's shields would fall. When that happened, the invasion which would stamp out the last pale remnants of the Confederation would begin.

[Bugsby]

Veitha III
The spaceport was busy. Crews and techs scuttled all over the place, prepping ships for flight, unloading cargos, and engaging in all the hundreds of activities that happened every minute in a major hub of trade and travel. Two men walked silently through the hustle and bustle of the spaceport, each caught in their own thoughts. Yrt and Faran.

Yrt was still running through his conversation with Avery. That had been just hours ago. When he had left Avery's quarters, he had found a note waiting for him in his own rooms. A delegate from the Combine was here to pick him up. His time with Veithans was over, and now it was time to return to his old existance as a gun for hire, something that he didn't like for two reasons. First, after meeting Avery, he wasn't too sure that he even wanted to be an assassin for hire anymore. Also, he didn't want to be involved with Adar anymore. The memory was dim, but he still remembered when Adar had come to him in his prison on the Nexus, shrugged off his psychic barrage and thrown him to the Veithans. Not that he wasn't grateful for the healing the Veithans had given him, but Adar's cold strength was disturbing. Meeting him again was a thing to be avoided.

Faran was just glad to be turning his ship towards home. It had been over a month while he was away with the Ravenlock and now the Veithans, but finally it was time to go home. He wanted to see Trilla again, if only to just be with her and know that she was safe. And he wanted to see what Adar had done in his absence. At first it had seemed like a great idea to get away from Adar, but in the last week or so it had occurred to him that leaving Adar in sole control of everything in the Nexus was not the best idea, especially considering the state the man had been in. So many reasons. The Nexus was where he needed to be, and he couldn't wait until he got back.

They boarded Faran's personal shuttle, and after they got clearance from space traffic control, they were off. A few quick course corrections once they left the atmosphere, and the shuttle was in hyper.

"Well, that's that. We should be back at the Nexus in two days." Faran stretched in his seat and leaned back. "So just sit back and relax. You want something to drink?" Yrt gave his head a terse shake. Faran shrugged and leaned over to the synthesizer behind him which spit out a gin and tonic. Faran took a sip, smiled, and settled down into his seat.

After a minute or two, Yrt spoke up. "I don't want to go back, Mr. Tor."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"The Nexus. I don't want to go back. It's Adar Krell, he... well, I can't describe it really; too bad you're not an empath. But I don't want to work for the man anymore."

"I hear you. Thing of it is, you don't have a choice. You're in the elite program. You signed yourself over to the Combine. I have the papers to prove it in my office." Yrt frowned. "No, don't get the wrong idea. I'm not being an asshole, I'm just telling you what the situation is. You want to leave? You can't. I won't stop you, but anyone else will."

Yrt sat in thought for another minute. "I have no choice but to work for Krell again? Somehow that doesn't seem right."

"Well, you don't have to work for Adar, specifically. You're just tied to the Combine. It's not such a bad deal. Hell, it's a paycheck. But I know what you mean about not wanting to work for Adar. I'm not too keen on the idea myself. The guy's losing it, although you didn't hear that from me. But the way I figure? You can't run from this kind of thing. I've got an obligation to the Combine, to everyone I know there. I gotta do what I can. If I just ran and let Adar screw over everyone I know, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. It's a bitch, but I'm doing what I have to." Faran frowned into his now-empty glass, then turned and reached for another. "That's all I can do."

Yrt watched Faran sit and drink, and suddenly he felt comfortable. He wasn't about to intrude on Faran's mind - that would be a horrible breach of ettiquette - but he thought he sensed something in Faran's character that could only be described as "something good." He didn't want to work for Adar again, but - "Mr. Tor, if you will have me, I'd like to be your bodyguard." Faran put down his drink and shot a curious glance at Yrt. "It's the perfect solution, right? Working for the Combine, but not for Mr. Krell."

"Yeah, I guess. But why my bodyguard?"

"It's what I do. And I would... I would feel more comfortable working for you."

"Hm. Well, I guess that's fair enough. Can't say theat I really need a bodyguard, but since you asked so nicely... Come on, Yrt. Have a drink."

"No, sir, Mr. Tor. I'm on duty now."

"Call me Faran."

[consequences]

Unity Station
New Tortuga

A slow and erratic hyper trail was detected, curiously enough, on a nearstraight-line course from LastPort.

[consequences]

Edo

In two separate areas on the outskirts of the system, fleets emerged from hyperspace and rapidly oriented themselves on their foes. The Battle-line contingent charged straight for their targets, while the carrier fleet stood off, and rapidly launched its fighter swarm as its escorts cautiously closed towards missile range. Both fleets sent the same simple message: "Withdraw, surrender, or die."

[Spyder]

Unidentified Hyperspace activity detected in New Tortuga. Dispatching Griffon fighter wing to investigate.

[consequences]

As the fighters approached, they found a charred and mangled luxury transport, and began to receive a repeated broadcast:

"This is the Shi Combine vessel Mononoke. We have barely escaped from the catastrophe that has befallen the United Protectrates, and are carrying numerous refugees. We are in dire need of immediate medical assistance. Repeat, this is..."

[Spyder]

"Understood Mononoke, what's the condition of your vessel? Can you dock with the station?"

[consequences]

"Understood Mononoke, what's the condition of your vessel? Can you dock with the station?"

"We should be able to, braking thrusters and attitude control are about the only things still working properly."

[Spyder]

"We should be able to, braking thrusters and attitude control are about the only things still working properly."

"Mononoke, this is Captain Julian Santiago. Prepare your ship for emergency docking proceedures, I'm sending medical teams to the docking ring. You're cleared for docking."

Klaxons sounded throughout the docking area.

"Attention all personell, incoming refugee vessel. All emergency, medical teams and security units two and three to the docking ring. Prepare to take on refugees."

"Incoming vessel has sustained heavy damage, emergency docking proceedures are in effect."

Meanwhile, back in operations. "Comm, relay a message to griffon wing, tell them to form up on the Mononoke. If their braking thrusters fail tell Griffon wing to target their reactor and open fire."

A few members of the bridge crew turned to Santiago with a cold glance. "I know what you're all thinking. We're going to do everything we can to save those people but the safety of the men and women aboard this station comes first. You all have your orders."

Aboard the lead Griffon, "Acknowledged, assuming formation." A bead of sweat trickled under the pilot's flightmask.

Aboard the docking ring, medical teams rushed to the docking arm hatches with stretchers, medical kits and various other supplies while an armed security detail stood by.

The Mononoke travelled closer and closer to the point of no return with no sign of their braking thrusters firing. Various gasses were starting to leak out of the aft section of the Mononoke, one of the Griffon pilots had to perform a quick evasive maneuver to avoid a piece of debris that had dislodged itself from the Mononoke's hull.

"Griffon one, lock target. Arm missile banks one and two."

The pilot's heart sank as he tapped the targeting computer. A red crosshair appeared on his hud over the Mononoke's reactor.

"Come on." He whispered. "Slow down."

The Mononoke pressed forward.

"Oh shit, please." The pilot thumbed the primer on his flightstick, a graphical representation of his missile loadout started to flash.

"Don't make me do this." He winced, his thumb ready to bring a swift and explosive end to the Mononoke's bid for refuge. "Please."

"10 seconds to deadline!"

"Come on..." The pilot whispered. The thousands of people aboard this ship were not enemy combatants, they were not some terrorist or pirate force. They were people that were guilty of the crime of losing their homes and griffon one was about to blow their reactor and expose them all to vacuum for it. The pilot felt sick to his stomache. This wholesale slaughter would linger in the back of his mind for the rest of his life.

"This is griffon one." The pilot grimaced and readied himself to do his duty.

"5 seconds." Came the voice over the com.

"Preparing to fire."

For the operations crew, for the personell in the docking ring, for the pilots of griffon wing, the seconds ceased to be relevant as their perception of time became that which was between each heartbeat. Then the order came.

"Griffon one, hold your fire! We have confirmed braking thruster fire. I repeat, the Mononoke's braking thrusters have fired! They're slowing down and preparing to dock."

Griffon one, immediately removed his target lock, disarmed his missile pods and let out the longest sigh of relief he'd ever let out in quite some time. This was an experience he hoped he'd never have to repeat again.

Moments later the docking arm coupling met with the Mononoke's main hatch and the pressure was stabilized.

"Security teams, board the Mononoke and scan for threats. Medical teams, evacuate the wounded. Let's move people!"

Minmatar personell boarded the Mononoke and started moving out the mostly UP survivors as well as the Shi.