Rebirth (Original-Free Federation)

[Alan Bolte]

The white are in some deep shit.

[Ford Prefect]

The white are in some deep shit.

They've always been in deep shit. It's the way of the White.

[Imperial Overlord]

Reaver Class Battlecruiser Chainbreaker
Sinnaleese System
The Free Federation

The flag bridge of the Chainbreaker was buried deep in the guts of the ship, protected by screens that could take multiple multimegaton nuke hits and nearly indestructible plates of adamantium armour. Naval officers and specialists were cyberlinked to advanced computers and comm systems, processing a mountain of data for their seniors that was displayed on holo displays and repeater screens. Fleet Admiral Charven sat impassively in his chair, plugged into the data stream.

"Sir!" said a specialist seated at a com station. "We have a report from Navinna."

"Stream it," the Fleet Admiral ordered.

The data came and with it the fate of the Free Federation. A huge fleet had jumped into range of Navinna's long range monitors. Precisely how big was unknown as they were putting out a massive amount of jamming and the use of stealth shrouds to hide their exact numbers. Clever of them. Hide their true strength, since they couldn't hide their presence.

"Display star map on main holo. Plot the Black Fleet and all systems with substantial ship building or support industries and facilities within two full jumps." A huge mass of stars appeared floating in the air. A sinister red dot glowed near the ceiling. Pearlescent dots were scattered around it.

"Refine," said Chavren. "Assume minimal distance jump from out of detection range. Deduct that distance from one hundred fifty percent full jump capacity of a Reaver class battlecruiser. Remove all locations more than that distance from Black Fleet." Stars faded out, leaving only a small cluster.

"Expand target systems," said Chavren. The few remaining stars burned brightly. It was a small enough selection. There were several good targets, but only one worthy of a desperate, all or nothing plunge. "Prepare the fleet to go for Goytha within twenty four hours. Coms, signal all ships from neighboring systems that make it within that time frame to join us, my authority as Fleet Admiral."

"Yes sir," the young woman said.

"Signal all fleet elements in the vicinity of Goytha, except those that can reach Goytha within twenty-four hours, to mass at Karind. Move mobile elements from the Elvindar boarder to Karind."

"Sir?"

"The Elvindar did nothing, except for Panther, during the First War. They won't do anything in the Second. If we don't beat the black at Goytha, we'll need a strong local presence to keep them down."

"Yes sir." It was a respectable gamble. Even if the Black struck somewhere else, they were in a position to intercept and harry them from Goytha. Goytha's own system defences would add to their strength, which was stronger than the Black were likely to be. Even if they lost, they would extract a high price in blood and there would already be another fleet massing for another strike at the Black before they could recover or jump much deeper into Free Federation Space. It was a beautiful plan. The right move. Chavren smiled.


Arack City
Silvergrass
Former Nazarian Domain
The Free Federation

Junas Nalvado looked at his watch again. He was late. Nalvado tried to be a forgiving man, that's what the Lord would want him to be, but he wasn't a patient man. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, reciting a calming mantra. He rolled his shoulders and tried to relax. He opened his eyes and his gaze swept the restaurant. No sign of him.

An elegantly dressed young man in a dark suit with golden cross cuff links walked towards his booth. He stopped the exact and proper distance from Nalvado of a subordinate carrying a message to his social superior. "Mister Nalvado?"

"Yes?" said Junas.

"My principal sends his regrets. He will be unable to meet with you today."

"I see."

"He did also convey a message me to give to you, in private."

Nalvado nodded. His guards let the young man advance, after subjecting him to a discreet sensor sweep. "Thank you sir," he said after taking a seat next to Nalvado. A privacy screen would prevent all sorts of eavesdropping. The young man reached into his jacked and activated a device of his own. Business could be cutthroat these days, even when it mixed with religion. Perhaps especially when it mixed with religion.

The young man looked Nalvado in they eyes. Junas found himself looking at a pair of skulls swimming within an ocean of darkness before they resumed normality. "My principal extends his regrets. James Talemont won't be joining your organization."

Nalvado felt his blood ran cold. "You killed him."

"He declined to do the right thing. Measures were taken."

"He was a man of God."

"He was a man. Who loved money and decided to support tyrants." He looked over at Nalvado. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"No, I just don't like it."

"You're not required to like it. It is, in fact, preferable that you hate it. The Laws of Iron are unkind. I have instructions for you."

"Why do you think I will carry them out?"

"Because your masters have shown their true face. Cancelled elections, seizure and arrest of so many prominent Liberal Party supporters and their companies. Do you prefer a dictatorship or an oligarchy? Those are your choices now. Or resistance. You are committed. Either way, they would kill you. Even if you betrayed me they would still kill you because they would scan your mind and see the treason. And destroy everything you ever tried to do."

"You're right."

"Of course I am." He got up and picked up his jammer. A small data crystal was left behind. "Have a nice day."

[Imperial Overlord]

House of Many Doors
Tezingal System
Free Federation Space
Near the Boarder with the Grand Court of the Stars


The House of Many Doors was nearly two thousand years old. It had begun as a trade station between the Sithi and the Elvindar and had grown and expanded since then, the old replaced by the new. Throughout most of its history it had been a center for trade and diplomatic meetings, helping secure the peace and prosperity of both nations.

The Civil War changed that. Now it was a naval base, its vast facilities turned over to service and maintain a powerful border fleet and serve their crews. The facility itself was mostly unarmed, but protected by powerful defences. Layers of weapon platforms surrounded the House of Many Doors, making it a strong point that any fleet would hesitate before challenging. Even with ships sent away to deal with the Black invasion, a powerful fleet remained stationed here. More than enough to deal with an attack from House Panther, even if they were joined by several other houses.

There is no hiding the jump signature of a large fleet from military grade sensors in the same solar system. Lean and graceful Elvindar ships sprouting sail and wing like radiator fins for their energy sink networks, broke into real space. One and a half kilometer long cruisers were joined by smaller frigates and destroyers as well as massive two kilometer long battleships. Their hulls were spell reinforced steel, inferior to spell reinforced adamantium but equal to or superior to that of any other ship. The graceful ships relied more heavily upon beam weapons and defensive screens than Free Federation ships, but other than that they were much alike.

And they were there in number. Not only the vast majority of the fleet of House Panther and a few minor houses, but the even larger fleet of House Phoenix. And House Griffin. And House Stormdrake. And, in fact, every House. And they were not alone.

Gliding alongside them were Zarkos Elvindar warships. Their ships were dark reflections of their Lios brethren, built along similar lines but with barbed blade and dragon winged radiators projecting from dark hulls. There were not a small handful, the refugees that had joined the Lios when their houses collapsed and were scattered, but many. The surviving houses that lived as raiders in the great dark had joined their cruel might to that of their cousins.

Fear gripped those manning the House of Many Doors. Their sensors did not reveal the precise strength of the invading fleet, stealth shrouds and jamming obscured that, but they knew enough. They were completely boned.

Battle stations sounded. Crews on leave scrambled to get back to their ships and emergency disembarking procedures began. Defensive screens and shields were raised, point defence clusters activated, and electronic warfare systems turned to full power. Powerful sensor arrays swept space as warships assembled for battle.

A massive energy spike appeared just a light minute away from the House of Many Doors. The combined Elvindar fleet reappeared in the wake of the energy spike, having completed their short range jump. Countless weapon arrays were trained on a much smaller number of targets. D-scramblers churned space, disrupting any jumps within half a light hour. There would be no escape for their prey.

[Imperial Overlord]

Reaver Class Battlecruiser Chainbreaker
Goytha System
The Free Federation

The Fifth Fleet, more than one hundred and fifty warships, took up positions near the Goytha's famous shipyards. Seventeen different facilities had been carved out of the rock of Goytha's asteroid belts and wrapped in a defence system that could shred an attack squadron. Raw materials were shipped in from moons, planets, and the rest of the belt, fueling industries that served civilians and military alike. Goytha was a hard target to crack and well within Free Federation space. Only someone desperate or daring would try to do so.

Fleet Admiral Charven was well aware of this. It was as obvious as the Black presence in the outer system. "Refine the data," he barked. "This junk only tells me that something is there."

"I'm sorry sir," said Lieutenant Strann. The pale woman was nervous. "They're wrapped in a shroud and jamming the hell out of us. We can see the shroud and their EW emission, but everything else is almost impossible."

"Do better!" Charven snarled. "I need to know how many of them are there. If its a large enough fleet I need to stay here and protect Goytha, but that means staying here and letting them escape hit somewhere else. Every minute you delay is another minute they can spend recharging their jump drives! Now get me some sister raping data that's worth something!"

There was dead silence on the flag bridge. "Move the fleet closer. Program a micro jump to a half way point between our current position and theirs. Full d-jamming after emergence so they can't jump on top of us and a full scan at closer range."

The bridge erupted into a flurry of activity as the preparations for full fleet maneuvers began. Strikecommander Krane, a thin, dark haired man, approached Charven. "We may not be able to get good data, even from that range. The shroud encountered by Battle Group Vok was quite effective."

"Then we'll have to make an educated guess," said Charven. He knew that Krane was trying to temper him. The grape vine must have communicated his acquisition of Presidential disfavor to some of the officers of the fleet by now. They would expect him to be rash and glory hungry in a desperate attempt to salvage his career. He smiled inside. The truth was somewhat different.

The Fifth Fleet disappeared and then reappeared in the outer system, completing their microjump. D-scrambler fields were activated and powerful sensors were trained on the shroud, which was mostly visible thanks to its own sensor jamming emissions.

Patience was required now as the lightspeed delay would affect many sensor systems. Charven accessed a direct link to his ship and squadron commanders, but there was little to do there. Despite the poisonous erosion of nepotism, politicking, and corporate influence the navy was still a professional organization. His people knew their business.

"Results back sir," said Strann. "We've been able to refine the data."

"Send me a direct link," ordered Charven. Data streamed to him, pinpointing counter measures emissions, analysis of the results of degraded scanning beams that managed to penetrate the shroud's weak points. Calculations and interpretations based on the retrieved data. A small fleet, masquerading as something larger.

"Plot a jump just outside their scrambler range," Charven ordered. "Full battle stations, prepare for maximum acceleration as soon as we emerge from jump. Weapons armed, screens at full. We will engage the enemy." And victory would be his.

House of Many Doors
Tezingal System
Free Federation Space
Near the Boarder with the Grand Court of the Stars

The Elvindar fleet closed in on their prey. Beam weapons flashed through space as the opened fire at long range with multiple weapons, each squadron picking a separate target on which to mass firepower. The screens on the defence satellites attenuated or absorbed most of the first volley while suffering only minor damage to their armoured hulls. Ten seconds later the second volley fell upon them and overloaded already taxed energy sink systems and burnt through damage hulls. To a distant observer new stars would seem to have been born and died suddenly as the satellites blazed and died. Scraps of metal and cooling gas drifted through space. The Elvindar continued to close.

The disembarking Free Federation ships assembled themselves into a fighting force as the Elvindar closed. They were too few to have any chance against so many. A transmission, cracking from the jamming that filled the void, was picked up and forwarded to the commanders.

Their was no image, only words. "This is Shepheran Nes Elemenathis, Ruling Prince of House Phoenix, speaking for The Grand Court of All Stars and the Grand Alliance. Surrender and you will be treated with the dignity and rights granted to every citizen of the Grand Alliance. Resistance is pointless and futile. I urge you to think of the lives of those under your command and your responsibilities to them. If I must, I will kill you all. You have it within your power to prevent that."

Targeting beams painted the closest warships. Beam turrets on the Free Federation vessels locked on to their targets and fired. Range and force fields attenuated the beams before Elvindar energy sinks absorbed their fire. Fire was massed on two cruisers and such was the weight that even their defences failed. Energy sinks were locally overloaded, the arcane shields failed, and laser burned through their hulls.

The Elvindar retaliated. Eight Free Federation vessels died under the storm of high energy lasers and another two were seriously damaged. It was enough for Battlecommander Shen. "We surrender!" He beamed down the comm. "We surrender! Stop this!"

The firing stopped. The brief and completely one sided Battle of Tezingal had cost nearly ten thousand lives and left a gaping wound in what had been a Free Federation strong point on the Elvindar border. The White would want heads on platters to answer for this disaster, perhaps even literally. For the Grand Alliance, everything was going exactly as they desired.

[Raj Ahten]

The Free Federation just can't seem to catch a break. Everyone is piling on, but I imagine their superier numbers and production capacity will tell eventualy (do they even have superier production now that Elvindar jumped in?) Also I must confess I like some of the Free Federation cast, such as Admiral Charven, who gives me Halsey vibes, better than the Vampires. I'm also fond of the team of tricked out federation enforcers that include that assassins guild (?) guy who is always bitching at the commander. It must be that I've never been overly fond of the mysterious powerfull overlord types.

[Imperial Overlord]

The Free Federation still has superior numbers (enough to have superior firepower since their ships are often inferior) and production. Personnel quality is where they are hurting as the degradation of the Free Federation's education system and the political screening and the rampant careerism in their officer corp hurt them.

[Imperial Overlord]

Calidore City
Sanhereel
The Free Federation

"This is pointless," said Slayer Rike as he looked down across the street. "No one worth our time is clumsy enough to go to this place. A restaurant with Slaver War era memorabilia? Why not hang a sign around their neck that says 'malcontent'."

The Master Slayer got out of his chair and paced the small apartment. The other man, a compact and pale Security Directorate Captain by the name of Anzar Dwelt, shrugged. "It's worth doing. Besides, we might get lucky."

Rike sneered. He wasn't in a mood to suffer fools. "Who knows, I might get lucky and Night's Edge will fall out of the sky. Or I could try something that might work better. These men will have played knife in the dark with the Slaver Lords, or been trained by men who have. This wont work."

"I keep forgetting you are that old. Don't look it."

"Darkhold trained necromancer," said Rike. "We're a dying breed."

"You guys had quite the rep in your day."

"We earned it."

"The Black still lost."

"Yes it did. Too bad you don't even know how much losing the war cost you. Or what really happened. I bet you believe that the Lords of Darkhold somehow had and then lost absolute power."

"Sound like a sympathizer."

"You're a fucking genius," said Rike. He walked back to the window. "I pulled the trigger for the Grand Alliance during the Resurgency and the Avalon War. Sent Slavers on the express route to hell. Then came the Civil War. I took the Black coin."

"Why?" asked Dwelt, his gaze darting away from the magnified images of the Wolves' Den's patrons to the Slayer. "I mean, they fucking tried to take over the state."

"That's what they say now. Winners write the history. They would say they tried to prevent an illegal power grab. Elections always occurred during the Slaver War. Democracy survived Darkhold's rise and Daemonstraum's assault, but not the White government."

"It's a temporary measure."

"Sure it is," said Rike. "Perfectly legal. Of course, with so many arrests of members and supporters of rival parties, I'm sure there will be a strong opposition left to protect our cherished government institutions." Rike snickered. "Do you know why the White won?"

"Go ahead and tell me. This should be good."

"They talked. They talked to the White Winds and played on their rivalry with Darkhold and their second place status. They talked to the navy and promised more ships and promotions while they stroked their egos and inflamed their discontent about being less recognized than Darkhold's necromancers and the Guard Legions. They played on the divide between what the Free Federation had become and the old warriors who had fought and beaten the Slaver Lords twice. And where was the Black?

"Many of them were dead. Incaradine was trying to hold onto the Zarkos with both hands and keep the peace. Other retired from public life. Most of the rest had concerns other than which political party would win the election. That was there mistake. They didn't see how much money could buy until it happened. And then when the White went to rewrite the constitution, well none of their talking about how they would run things when in power had been treasonous but it was enough to make a lot of people support treason now. And the state burned. Because Solem and his ilk wanted more money and power and the Black was focused on holding things together and doing their jobs. They didn't anticipate a corporatist party would do a naked power grab until it was happening and Solem had paid for the groundwork. And look where that got him today? Dictator in all but name."

"A problem for those above my pay grade."

"Spoken like a true slave."

Dwelt flushed and rose to his feet. "Take your best shot chain dog," said Rike. "Just remember that I've taken the skull from a Second Circle Slaver Lord."

"You might remember which side your fighting for," hissed Dwelt.

"The side that put a gun to the head of my friends and colleagues. That's how I got unretired. I'm fighting for the same government that nuked the Vault of the Sleepers after the war was over because it knew that many of the inhabitants would be sympathetic to the Black. Execution for a political crime that people in stasis never had a chance to commit."

The door opened and Vorlar Kadril stepped in. "I can hear you through the walls," he said irritatedly. "And the Vault was unfortunate collateral damage during the storming of Shadowcatch."

"Your hearing's augmented," said Rike. "Of course you can hear us through the walls. I was rearguard during the retreat off Shadowcatch. Care to tell me how an armoured, underground facility away from the fighting caught a couple of stray nukes after I left? I thought not."

"Stop bitching Rike and get back to working."

"You think my eyes have to be on that building for me to monitor it? No wonder it wasn't until after the war that you got rank."

"Stop trying so hard to provoke my people," said Kadril. "It won't work and I won't buy self defence even if it did. I would just shoot you myself. You pissed away your amnesty with this bullshit, so stop fucking whining. You can work or be shot for treason, your choice."

"I take it telling the truth to members of my team and honest expression of opinion have become treasonous. How unsurprising. Since I got strong armed by you when I had the amnesty and was in Elvindar space, I'm not exactly overwhelmed by the protection it offered."

Static shrieked through several command frequencies. "What in Daemonstraum's name was that?" Kadril barked.

"That would be my people blowing up Directorate planetary headquarters from the inside with a nuclear charge," said Rike. His left hand was surrounded by an intense sphere of jade light as he pointed at Dwelt. The Directorate agent's shields collapsed instantly and the organs in his torso were reduced to the consistency of runny oatmeal. Blood poured out of his mouth and he spasmed. "I told you there were consequences to trying to rape the Slayer's Guild. If you had remembered the old days better, you might have listened."

[White Haven]

To quote an earlier passage, 'all debts can be paid in skulls.' Rike sems to follow that philosophy as well...I like.

[Raj Ahten]

Well it looks like my favourite dynamic duo is finished (Their working relationship, anyway.)

At least I'll probably get to see some more high powered fighting.

[White Haven]

Well, Rike is a necromancer. Who knows, we might have a buddy-cop routine with a necromancers and his undead slave?

[Imperial Overlord]

Calidore City
Sanhereel
The Free Federation

Kadril went for his pistol, his hand a blur of motion, as he leapt to the side. The ancient skills had been kept sharp with continual practice. Don't aim for the head, not against a sorcerer of Rike's power. It was a harder target and his shields would be stronger there. Shoot him in the chest, weaken his shields and wound him, and then finish him with a head shot when he was down. Zerakis's bones, he wished he had a death whip.

A blue-white disruptor beam shot from Rike's right hand and tore into his shields. Brilliant jade light flashed around the necromancer's left hand as he invoked a rupture effect. Pain shot through Vorlar as his right hand was magically flayed down to the bone, only a few bloody orichalcum wires and strips of muscle holding the adamantium sheathed finger bones together. His gun fell from his dead hand. Rike was rushing toward him.

As a rule, close quarters combat didn't favor sorcerers. An augmented soldier didn't have the study of sorcery eating up his practice time and could match the sorcerer's enhancements with his own. Add in shield piercing arcanetech weapons and it meant that dedicated sorcerer-killers with the right equipment could end up with a long skill lists. Internal Security's Witch Hunters had been the most famous of these and Kadril had been one of them. Orichalcum blades popped from his wrists, blue-white lightning crawling over the orange-gold metal. He sprung forward.

Rike leapt back, smashing through the window to stand in mid air. He drew a pair black bladed adamantium shortswords out of his shadow cloak, orichalcum rune circuitry running down the spine of the blades. Kadril followed him into the air, his spellwire and power crystal implants generating the forces necessary for him to fly briefly.

Rike dodged to the side, out of the reach of Kadril's blades, and then darted in to stab the Directorate agent in his right shoulder. The blade pierced body armour and skinweave to cut through reinforced muscle and glance off bone. Blood poured from the wound for a brief moment before it the vessels clamped off and coagulants flooded the local area.

Vorlar cursed and spun. His right arm was weakened now, he could barely lift it up. Autoinjectors were pumping healing agents into his flesh to undo the damage. If he could just hold out for a few more moments he would start to recover. Rike's eyes blazed orange-red.

A stream of blazing bolts erupted from the Slayer's eyes and tore into Vorlar's damaged shields at close range. If the disruptor beam hadn't ravaged his shields and the sword strike added to the damage, the shields might have held. Part of energy of Rike's bolts leaked through as the bolts struck Kadril in his left shoulder and burned through armour and flesh. Pain killers and stimulants flooded Kadril's body as his left arm was severed.

Reaver Class Battlecruiser Chainbreaker
Outskirts of the Goytha System
The Free Federation

Space rippled and distorted, heralding the arrival of the Fifth Fleet. Then the Free Federation ships appeared. Ten Reaver Class Battlecruisers leading a fleet of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers numbering one hundred and sixty vessels.

"Sensor readings?" Charven asked impatiently. His career, his life, and the life of all the people under his command depended on the answers that he would receive.

"We're active," said Strann. "We should be able to rip right through the shroud at this range."

Charven feigned patience. "Results coming in," continued Strann. "Shroud is being dropped. Oh gods."

"Link me," said Charven snarled. A direct data feed connected the fleet admiral to the results. The Grand Alliance fleet had abandoned its shroud and its closely packed ranks were breaking up. D-scramblers were being run full strength from their largest capital ships, which included thirty odd-Reaver based hulls and twenty Zarkos Elvindar cruisers. The massive form of the Sun Eater was at the center of the formation. One hundred and twenty four warships, on average each one much more powerful than his own ships.

"Hades," said Krane. "That's more ships than we though they had period."

"Sir," said a comm officer. "There's a transmission for you. Drone routed."

"Put it through," Charven said calmly.

The image of a stern faced man wearing the almost black shade of green worn by the Nazarian Navy filled the screen. Gold glinted on the shoulders of his uniform. Charven didn't need to look for his rank markings. "This is Grand Admiral Arelan Sus-Elararian, Thrice Chosen by Dread Nazan, commander of the Grand Alliance fleet. You are defeated. Escape is impossible. Preserve the lives of your people and surrender. Your only other option is to die for no purpose."

[Alan Bolte]

Damn. That was quite the tactical blunder.

[LadyTevar]

Damn. That was quite the tactical blunder.

That was exactly what the Black wanted them to do, as well.

[Raj Ahten]

Well, Rike is kicking ass, which is to be expected. Rike basically ambushed Kadril and with people of their skill level I imagine being the one on the attack is a decisive advantage. Kadril has to rely on his training, as he had no time to even think about any other course of action. Rike meanwhile had all the time in the world to prepare himself.

In the fleet action the Free Federation may not be completely screwed. winning is out of the question, but I imagine if they keep their cool they may be able to punch out and escape with at least a good portion of their combat power intact. No way is that fleet giving in without a fight. The Grand Alliance must have a serious Intel advantage, because they are playing the Federation like a fiddle. Maybe they have broken fleet codes, have infiltrated the Federation command, or both.

[Imperial Overlord]

Calidore City
Sanhereel
The Free Federation

Kadril twisted in the air, trying to circle Rike and slice him up with his right arm blade. Rike retreated up and back, but not fast enough. The Slayer knew it. He dropped his swords, which floated by him obediently. Beams of blue light shot from his hand and smashed through Vorlar's shields to shatter adamantium reinforced bones. The Directorate agent fell.

Vorlar's mind swam as he tried to sort out why the world was swimming around him through haze of the chemical cocktail in his veins and the pain. The world's spinning because I'm falling, he realized. He tried to focus the power to reinforce his shields and arrest his fall. Impact.

He hit the road and bounced up two meters before coming back down. He was screwed, he realized. He pushed off with remaining hand, agony shooting through his body. Then everything stopped working and he fell bonelessly.

Rike landed next to him, his swords in hand. "You were warned," he said. "The Slayer's Guild remembers what it is to be Free Federation. We are not prey."

"Get it over with," Kadril hissed.

"All debts are payable in skulls," said Rike. "You are a slaver's dog and a tyrant's lackey, but once you shed Slaver blood. That has not been forgotten." Rike raised his right arm and the blade came down.

-------------------------------------------------

Reaver Class Battlecruiser Chainbreaker
Outskirts of the Goytha System
The Free Federation

Charven sat in silence. Sus-Elararian was one of the greatest naval commanders of all time. He could win this battle with half as many ships. Maybe a few ships could escape the death trap the Fifth Fleet was in, but he wouldn't have put money on it.

In his closed right hand he felt the cool metal of the effector orb. The arcanetech device was active and cloaking itself. He might need it again, if the next bit didn't go well. He waited another moment and then stood.

"Signal the Black fleet," he ordered. "Ask for terms." A dead silence reigned on the bridge for a moment. They were well disciplined men and women and whatever failings they had, most of them did not lack courage even if the wanted to live.

"Sir?" the comm officer said. "Could you repeat the order? I'm not sure I heard you correctly."

"Ask for terms," Charven repeated. "My life is over, whether it's by a White execution or a Black firing squad. Yours aren't. I'm not going to throw them away against Sus-Elararian for nothing. The state, which isn't even a shell of a democracy any more, will survive this loss. A few more hulls won't allow the Black to win against the Free Federation's industrial might. We aren't going to be able to hurt them badly enough. It isn't worth the butcher's bill. My life is over. Yours don't have to be. Now send to the fleet and ask for terms."

"Yes sir," he replied and returned to his station. Data links confirmed that he was following orders. Charven slipped the effector orb back up his sleeve.

"Sir," said Krane, "I'm afraid I have to relieve you of duty."

"On what grounds?" said Charven. "Cowardice? I'm a dead man either way. I'm just not dragging the rest of you with me. Are you so eager to die Krane? Are you going to throw away all these lives just to take a few ships with us?" Charven's eyes flicked to the guards on duty. Neither moved. "Stand down commander or I'll have you put under arrest. Don't worry. All the blame will be mine."

"Sus-Elararian's replied sir," said the comm officer. "Guarantees of humane treatment and all personnel will be spared interrogation."

"Like I believe that," said Krane.

"I do," said Charven. "They had to have infiltrators with good data access to set this trap. We don't know enough to be worth their time. Comms, signal our surrender and confirm with the rest of the fleet. Power down all reactors to stand by status and stand down all stations.

"Your disgrace will live forever," said Krane as Charven's orders were obeyed and relayed to the rest of the Fifth Fleet. "No matter who wins you'll be remembered as a coward."

"I'm already dead," said Zahn. "There's nothing worse they can do to me. Everyone else has a chance of life. I won't throw those lives away for no purpose and no gain." Privately, the shapeshifter was laughing inside. A fleet defeated without firing a shot. It was a better outcome than they had dared hope, but even with the Elvindar's hopefully successful strike, this was the sideshow. The real fight was elsewhere.

[Raj Ahten]

Well, replacing the fleet commander certainly will make ambushing that fleet easier. The Free Federation needs to upgrade their security measures.

[Imperial Overlord]

Well, replacing the fleet commander certainly will make ambushing that fleet easier. The Free Federation needs to upgrade their security measures.

One of the White's problems is that the Black chose to attack after gathering a lot of intelligence on the holes in their systems. The advantages the Black enjoy from this are, of course, short term and the Free Federation is a huge stellar nation so they need to do a lot for the Black to win.

Engineering a naval disaster does help though.

[White Haven]

A fiddle? No, no, this is beyond fiddles. I'm definitely getting the mental image of the White as a set of drums.

[Imperial Overlord]

The Senate
Sandresha
The Free Federation

President Solem walked into the wood paneled conference room and found Minister Rhodan sitting at the head of the table and drinking Kalex Reserve out of a skull. Two praetorians looked on impassively. Rhodan straightened. "Mister President."

"Take your ease Rhodan. Someone has to."

"Thank you," the man returned to slumping. Solem approached. The skull was held together with silver wire and then a sealant was applied internally so it could be used as a drinking vessel. Letters across the brow proclaimed "Unknown Member of the Third Circle."

"You're drinking out of a Slaver's skull? Rather old fashioned."

"Always wanted to. It's one of Incaradine's trophies."

"That must have set you back a lot, even on your salary."

"Not really. Price has dropped through the floor. If the Black win Incaradine will want his possessions back and will be making the law. And who would want the Lord of Vengeance looking into their personal affairs? So yeah, I picked it up pretty cheap, all things considered. What's he going to do, have me shot twice?"

"True," said Solem. "I just don't understand how you can be so calm about this. The Elvindar hit us by surprise and every single house has joined the Black. Hell, I'm more scared of them than the Black."

"Very sensible of you sir. There are, after all, more of them."

"Even the Terrani are making noises about attacking us and having joint fleet exercises. This is a problem. If this battle at Goytha doesn't go well. . . ."

"If I've got the time right, it should be starting almost about now," said Rhodan. "It's not something I worry about. If we win, we cripple them. If we lose, they're still fighting a long uphill battle. We lose Goytha and then say the next three, then I'll worry." He raised the skull and took a drink.

"Maybe you haven't been paying attention to the reports. Riots, terrorism, sympathizers in all branches of the armed forces."

"To be expected," said Rhodan. "This is after all, a civil war, and you have been doing a marvelous job of centralizing wealth and power in your own hands. The disenfranchisement of the majority of the Free Federation populace, the increasingly powerful and ethically blind security services, and the concentration of wealth, power, and political authority in a very narrow group is something the populace can be expected to resent. The media's nicely obedient, but you have taken the "plunder the people and the state" part of the equation a bit too far. I'll correct that. Better circuses and the stabilize the working class situation. Nice secure jobs with enough money to raise the kids and the occasional vacation. Problem with you corporate raider types. You don't think long term social stability at all."

"You over step yourself Rhodan," said Solem coldly. "I am master here. I was one of the men who financed the White Revolution and I am now the master of the entire nation."

"You are nothing but my pawn. Let me demonstrate." Rhodan's eyes lifted to the praetorians. "Put him on his knees."

Impossibly strong arms grabbed Solem's shoulders and forced him down. Solem tried thrashing. It was useless.

"They are, quite literally, my slaves," said Rhodan. "The conditioning you approved for the new elite troops, well they'll, also be my slaves. So will you and the rest of the Senate. I will need the endorsement of the legitimate authorities until you nice and legally hand everything over to me. And then you will live out the rest of your life as stupid zombie."

"Oh gods, you're a Slaver Lord."

"Not quite," said Rhodan as he got up. "They attempted military conquest of the Grand Alliance and that failed. I merely waited for the right conditions and then helped certain ambitious people, people like you, seize power and change things. I've been watching and influencing from the sidelines and now everything has been set up to fall into my lap. The Black will fall in however many battles it takes for it to happen and the domestic unrest will justify an iron grip domestically. So you can see, I have very good reasons to celebrate. My ascension is at hand."

Suddenly his eyes went wide. "No!" Rhodan screamed. "No! Get me a data feed and set all forces at full alert!"

"What's happening?" asked Solem. Rhodan ignored him. Sandresha had been secured against breaches being opened up Between, but now one was opening, a huge one. It was theoretically possibly that with enough power a breach could be forced against D-scramblers, but even Nalhen couldn't do that. Not alone. That's when Rhodan realized exactly what was happening.

[LadyTevar]

Shit. A hidden SlaverLord.

And he just felt the Necromancer start ripping his way out of Hell.

[Imperial Overlord]

Shit. A hidden SlaverLord.

And he just felt the Necromancer start ripping his way out of Hell.

No on both counts, although close on the first.

[White Haven]

...and on cue, the FF7 boss theme just started playing in my head. This is going to get...deliciously messy. I'm curious, though, have you played Dark Messiah of Might and Magic at all? The storyline's unrelated, for the most part, but the whole 'demons versus necromancers' theme seems a slight echo.

[Imperial Overlord]

I'm curious, though, have you played Dark Messiah of Might and Magic at all? The storyline's unrelated, for the most part, but the whole 'demons versus necromancers' theme seems a slight echo.

Nope.

[Raj Ahten]

Okay, I just had a wtf moment. I bet that really old vampire dude (I can simply not remember names here) is the one coming on in. I got to find new characters to root for, now that the status quo has been shot to hell.